Well, here's a thing - one day before Apple primes its spotlight on the laptop, upstart firm OLO has introduced its very own netbook concept that uses your iPhone as the CPU..
That's right, this firm wants to build a netbook around your iPhone - you actually insert the iPhone into the notebook and use the iPhone’s touchscreen as a trackpad for the computer!!
There's no shipping product, no spec sheet, no other information, and it is possible this gadget just lets you operate your iPhone in a normal way with the advantage of a keyboard and a bigger screen...
Still, in a sense this underlines what could be so phenomenally important about Apple's glass trackpad, conceivably.
We don't really think this product will see the light of day, BTW, but as an iPhone accessory to offer features described above Apple may let this product through...who knows.
(Unless they launch their own netbook tomorrow...)
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that would be coo. i thought
that would be coo. i thought of this a while ago too.
$$
That might mean that in order to use your laptop you would also have to buy an iPhone. It would be cool if it came with it tho. :/
at least
thats a cool approach :) wondering how nerds come to such ideas
Foleo
Palm more or less tried this with the Foleo, which met horrible reviews and was subsequently canceled. At the time NetBooks weren't on the radar (at least my radar). If this has a chance, it's because of ground broken by the NetBook camp. I'm not sure how viable it'd be though unless it had a full OS X GUI and could run apps other than those installed on the iPhone. Beyond Apple's core apps (iTunes, Safari, and Mail), there haven't been enough compelling apps that would benefit from a larger screen.
i think it's an intriguing
i think it's an intriguing idea. Certainly if apple brought out such a product it could goose the OS to provide much greater functionality than is already on the iPhone. OR they could bring out a bigger, tablet/netbook sized "iPhone" that would achieve the same functionality.
I just took a 16 day trip overseas and left my macbook behind for the first time. I did just fine with the iPhone browsing, handling email and text messages, etc. What i lacked, what i'd like to have, is a tactile keyboard to replace the virtual one which, especially in its non-landscape mode for some operations, is inadequate.
Wait til you get your phone
Wait til you get your phone bill.
This
This too...
http://flickr.com/photos/chop/2427278220/in/photostream/
go OLO!
Great! This I want! Would be 110% perfect for my ultraportable needs! (110% as in 10% more than perfect)
it'd be perfect if it coold
it'd be perfect if it coold have normal macbook functions and have extra storage
I thought of this idea, back when the first iPhone was released.
...but I didn't think of using the iPhone as the CPU. I thought of using it only as the multi-touch trackpad. I dismissed the idea, when I realized that removing the iPhone would give you a laptop with a hole in it. What if you lose your phone or forget to bring it? You have MBP with a hole.
Seemed like a cool idea, but lame after I gave it some more thought.