We’ve seen several manufacturers try to use the “turn a docked smartphone into a laptop” idea, and most of them have failed. Motorola pushed their lapdock for the original Atrix, we’ve seen Asus try to do something with their PadFone, and most recently, the world watched Canonical fail to get funding for its docking Ubuntu Edge smartphone. The idea never seems to take off with most people, but that’s not going to stop Acer from trying their hand at the idea.
The Acer Extend is essentially a blank laptop that’s used with a smartphone. The two are connected via MHL cable to mirror the screen of the phone onto the larger Extend screen. Acer says using an MHL cable as opposed to actual docking reduces lag and latency, and also makes it easier to use your phone for things like answering a call or using any of the sensors a phone might have. In concept, it’s just as cool of an idea as any other docking accessory, but the biggest pain point on an accessory like this is price. Acer is aiming to hit a “low price” with the Extend, somewhere around €400 or $530. Now, for a laptop, I agree that it’s cheap, but I see the Extend as nothing more than a smartphone accessory. I can’t even convince myself to drop more than 30 bucks on a phone case, so buying an accessory that almost costs as much as my phone just doesn’t seem like something I would do, but maybe Acer thinks enough people would be willing to shell out that kind of cash for a device like this.
As far as specs go, there’s nothing concrete about the device yet, but the early proof of concept device had a 6,000 mAh batter and two USB ports for things like a mouse, keyboard, or USB flash drive. Acer isn’t fully committed to the device yet, but they say if it gets enough positive attention it we might see it at the start of 2014. You can check out the source below to read CNet’s account of testing and playing with the device.
Would any of you be interested in buying something like this for your smartphone? Would you be willing to pay more than $400 for it?
source: CNet
Come comment on this article: Acer Extend shows off phone/laptop connectivity proof of concept device
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