It seems like yesterday when computers were the size of rooms, used by military or industry elites, and running at clock speeds that can actually be measured by an abacus. It was a big calculator basically. Today, we have powerful personal computers and laptops with multi-core hardware and compatible, multi-threaded software. Cell phones have evolved independently to also include similar internals, almost becoming mini-PC's themselves. Almost. Do you see where this is headed?
An article on Engadget has foretold the future of personal/business computing. The geniuses at Canonical have installed their Ubuntu OS for desktops into an Android phone! One minute it is a normal smartphone accessing the web, taking pictures, texting friends, answering calls, playing Angry Birds. Dock it into a USB port, and now it is a personal computer running Ubuntu. What an age we live in.
The article contains a video showcasing and explaining this masterpiece. Using what Canonical dubbed as a "shared kernel architecture", the Android system is untouched while Ubuntu has full access to read/write/memory in addition to the smartphone capabilities such as text messages, calling, and apps. The interface on the monitor display is a full Ubuntu desktop, complete with taskbar, icons, and wallpaper. Looking at the top right corner, the taskbar section resembles what it appears to be the Android pull down menu and it displays the 3G connectivity, wireless connectivity, phone signal strength, and incoming text messages. So the phone (Android) OS is still functioning in the background while Ubuntu is the main show while the phone is docked. There is some limitations due to hardware capabilities and integration, as shown by some hangs and lagging. With the Mobile World Congress coming up, however, I think this roadblock is going to be very temporary.
Imagine a world where you carry your personal and work computer in your pocket. Mornings: load up some news and read it offline during the commute. At work: connect it to your monitor, keyboard, and mouse to send/receive texts/calls while seamlessly crunching numbers on a spreadsheet. Heading to a meeting? Undock your "comphone", review your presentation on the way, and then dock it again to present your slides exactly the way you wanted it. Unfortunately, this scenario assumes an ideal world where workers strive for optimal productivity, but you get the idea.
There is also the flip side. Some might say this is a case of too much technology. People lose and drop phones all the time. Other people steal them. Protecting company secrets and confidential data could become a manager's worst nightmare with this kind of portability.
Whether for or against, the "comphone" (someone please think of a better name) is definitely another milestone for computer-human interaction. I cannot wait to see what develops.
how about calling it the handtop?
ReplyDeleteI think even though smartphone are getting more advanced these days, but they are still not comparable with PC. Because they are more likely use as a tool for gather information and entertainment such as receive email, browse websites, read news, gaming and music. They are much less productive than PC due to size restriction and lack of physical keyboard. On the other hand, with PC we can do a lot more than smartphone, and better software installed, and better hands on experience. I think in the future, the PC and the smartphone will cooperate together in order to increase our productivity, and none of them can occupy the market share of each other.
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