Although smartphones are getting smarter all the time, some of their landmark features limit their use as a laptop, two of them standing out prominently. One is the lack of a full-fledged keyboard and the other, a reasonably sized display screen. Therefore, although the smartphone has nearly the same computing powers as your laptop, it fails to compete successfully with a laptop or netbook.
To remedy the situation, you can take recourse to the lapdock. This is a mobile docking station with a built-in battery, a Bluetooth keyboard, and a 14” LCD monitor. While you can connect your smartphone or tablet to the lapdock, it also allows you to dock your single board computer such as the Raspberry Pi or RBPi with equal ease. The lapdock can make use of any device that has an HDMI output.
NexDock is a budget lapdock with a built-in battery that supplies 3.8 V with a capacity of 10,000 mAH. It provides the user with a Bluetooth keyboard, a 14” display, two USB ports, and one micro SD card slot. NexDock has two small loudspeakers built-in, but you can use headphones on the 3.5 mm socket. This is a revolutionary concept helping to harness the productivity of single board computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Single board computers such as the RBPi3 come with an HDMI output. That makes the RBPi3 a suitable candidate for use with the NexDock. As the NexDock uses the operating system of the RBPi, you can use either Linux or Windows 10 easily. An advantage with using the Windows 10 is its Continuum feature, which allows switching between touch and desktop modes. Using NexDock with the iPhone or Android provides the user with a substantial screen size and upgrades the productivity.
This revolutionary budget concept allows you to have the best of both worlds with an SBC, a smartphone, tablet or mini PC. Simply plug in your device and continue to work with it without fear of the battery running out of juice. The massive battery in the NexDock lasts for days on one charge. That means you now have a powerful laptop to take anywhere and do anything along the way. The device measures 351 x 233 x 20 mm, and weighs 1,490 gm. Most of this weight is due to the generously sized battery with a capacity of 10,000 mAH. The display screen is 14.1 inch TN, with a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels.
Although the main functionality of the NexDock is boosting mobile productivity, it can also serve to turn your RBPi into a full-fledged computer. However, you can also use it as a secondary portable monitor, a game controller for your iPhone or use it as a dual-screen for AirPlay-enabled games.
For the future, the company is planning to build high-end mini-computers, where you can swap parts. These will have the capability to connect with devices via a single USB-C port. This will serve to reduce the cost of upgrading your computer, as the process serves to separate components that need frequent updates from those that do not. Therefore, while you retain the keyboard, display and the battery, you can update the processor, memory, and operating system as you wish.
