DeX Dock Overview

The dream of using a smartphone as a full-fledged PC has existed for almost as long as the mobile devices themselves. Could she finally come true? We are looking for the answer to this question by connecting the flagship from Samsung to the Samsung DeX docking station.

First Impressions

Samsung DeX is a round device with a diameter of only 10.5 cm. Very convenient: the compact docking station is easy to carry and use anywhere - from the lobby of the hotel to the library. The device is compatible with Samsung's flagship smartphones released since 2017 and looks accordingly: the design of the station is immediately associated with the Galaxy S8 and S8 +.

The station is equipped with a variety of connectors for a wide range of peripheral devices: two USB ports to which you can connect a mouse (it is mandatory) and a keyboard, an HDMI output for connecting a large screen, a network connector and a port for powering from a charger with a USB Type C connector .​

Getting started with DeX is very simple: you just need to connect the charger, TV or monitor and mouse, and then insert your smartphone into the docking station. No additional settings are required - the smartphone will automatically detect the type of connected screen. FHD and 4K displays are only supported in smartphone mirroring mode.

During work

Samsung DeX displays the smartphone desktop on a large screen in a familiar Windows-like PC interface: at the bottom there is a line with application shortcuts, on the right side there are status icons (for example, battery and network signal indicators). On the desktop, you can create your own icons, depending on personal ideas about convenience and efficiency.

DeX allows you to easily use all the necessary applications that are already loaded on your smartphone (from a web browser, office suite and Google maps to instant messengers and email clients). The device allows you to fully use the functionality of a smartphone on a PC - the interface offers advantages such as multitasking, multi-window mode and customizable window sizes. For example, you can watch movies and check for updates at the same time, or chat with friends on social networks. At the same time, Samsung took care of security: now you will not need to enter logins and passwords from insecure devices in public places, since all accounts will remain connected through your smartphone.

Connecting a keyboard turns DeX into a full-fledged workspace: the dock supports hotkeys such as Ctrl + C/V and Alt + Tab. Other handy "computer" features include right-click support, drag and drop, zoom and scroll.

Technical features

The device provides an Internet connection speed of up to 100 Mbps, a frequency sweep of 60 Hz, transmits data as quickly as possible and maintains a stable connection. At the same time, DeX can easily withstand high loads - a powerful built-in fan allows you to maintain a stable temperature and protects your smartphone and the dock itself from overheating.

conclusions

The Samsung DeX docking station truly turns your smartphone into a real computer, while maintaining the functionality of a communication tool. The monitor displays a taskbar for accessing phone calls, text messages, and settings. Now you do not need to break away from work or entertainment in order to just talk on the phone!

Canonical, which gained wide popularity after creating a Linux distribution called Ubuntu, presented another interesting project called Ubuntu for Android. The main purpose of this solution is to use Ubuntu on Android smartphones. If only one core is active, the system data can be shared on the same machine. If the mobile device is working in standard mode, then no changes should be expected. However, everything will change when you connect the docking station with a monitor and a special keyboard: e then the device will be a desktop PC, which will retain the various functions of the mobile device. This solution, according to the developers, will become known in a corporate environment in which people must fit the workplace in their own pocket. In such cases, even laptops are out of the question.

Brief overview of Ubuntu for Android

This solution is not some kind of Ubuntu shell that can only function on top of Android. It is known that developers do not try to popularize Ubuntu with their own development. It is also not supposed to use an Android emulator. Ubuntu for Android is a feature-rich workspace that runs alongside Android, using a single core that provides access to specific information on the device. Due to its small size, the smartphone is very convenient to use in various places. The magic begins when you connect your mobile device to a special docking station: the familiar Ubuntu environment with support for a mouse, keyboard and monitor will be available. Ubuntu for Android looks a cut above when compared to similar solutions. We can recall the Asus Transformer system, in which the developers connected a smartphone and a laptop. In the course of such actions, the developers of Canonical received an unspecified device, the system of which is able to activate the Ubuntu environment only when connected to special peripherals that can realize a large number of benefits.

Who will benefit from the new system?

This product is aimed at various corporate users who use both a smartphone and a laptop. With Ubuntu for Android, many of these professionals will cut their own gear to a minimum. For ordinary users, convergence can be considered a win.

Android/Ubuntu bundle allows you to create separate groups of data. Users no longer have to, for example, use multiple address books or synchronize them in a special way. This also applies to other content, which includes documents, music, and videos.

If you connect your own Ubuntu for Android-enabled mobile device to a specific TV model with HDMI port support, then the desktop will not be displayed: users will get an Ubuntu TV interface. Here you can view various types of content from your phone, or using the network. In the hands of users will be a set-top box called Ubuntu TV.

To discuss the proposed information, as well as get advice from specialists on installing and configuring software on mobile devices, go to

Mobile devices running Windows 10 Mobile contain a number of useful features for business: applications for working with documents, spreadsheets and presentations, task schedulers, cloud storage. But there's something else that makes a Windows smartphone stand out from the competition: the Continuum feature, which lets you turn it into a full-fledged desktop computer.

Often people have to carry a laptop everywhere with them in order to work on the road or to be able to demonstrate current developments on any issues to partners. A Continuum-enabled smartphone removes this burden: it is enough to have a special docking station and monitor, so that the mobile device has the functions of a full-fledged desktop.

How it works

So, what is needed for Continuum:

• Smartphone with support for this technology, sufficiently productive and equipped with Windows 10 Mobile. According to official data from Microsoft, devices based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 808, Snapdragon 810 and Snapdragon 617 processors received support. Confirmed models include Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950XL, Acer Liquid Jade Primo, Funker W6.0 Pro 2, NuAns Neo, Elite X3.

• Display Dock, which connects to a smartphone via a port, to a monitor via a Display Port or HDMI cable, to a keyboard and mouse via USB ports. There is also the ability to connect via Bluetooth via Miracast-compatible devices, but still Display Dock is more convenient and reliable to use.

• Monitor, keyboard and mouse. All information is displayed on the monitor screen - the Start menu, documents, browser windows, various applications and games, and so on. if you wish, you can not connect a keyboard with a mouse: their functions will be replaced by a smartphone screen.

By connecting all the devices together, the user will receive an almost complete desktop versionWindows 10, where you can work with documents, browse the Internet, play games, make purchases in the store, communicate via video calls.

Setting up and getting started with Continuum is done automatically, so anyone can easily figure out this technology. At the same time, the smartphone continues to perform its functions, thanks to which you can answer a phone call or send an SMS message without stopping working with desktop applications.

Conclusion

Microsoft is constantly trying to make life better for Windows users by developing new technologies for work and play. Continuum is ideal for corporate employees who want to replace bulky laptops with a small smartphone that can be turned into a desktop computer if necessary. Yes, the technology has not yet been perfected and has a number of small disadvantages, such as incompatibility with some applications, but even those of its functions that are available now allow you to perform a variety of tasks.

The idea of ​​creating a computer based on a smartphone is not new for a long time. Just imagine how convenient it would be if you could use one gadget in various places, simply connecting it as needed to image output devices and data input peripherals. At work, your smartphone becomes a laptop or a convenient assistant for presentations, at home - a multimedia, music or game center, in a car a carputer, and so on. You do not need to worry about data transfer or personalization of program interfaces, and all your media baggage or mobile office is with you at any time.

Of course, some of these things have long been easily implemented. For example, data can be stored in a cloud service, sound can be broadcast through a mobile DAC, and video can be shown from a projector to which a smartphone is connected via Wi-Fi. But the matter has not yet reached a full-fledged computer. The main difficulty lies in the lack of appropriate software capable of supporting desktop versions of programs, which, by the way, is already mentioned. It previously created on the basis of Windows Mobile partially solves this problem, but, again, we are not talking about any launch of full-fledged programs. On the other hand, HP approached the issue with its Workspace, offering to remotely use its server computer with a pre-installed set of applications, which can also be a very promising idea.

Lapdock

What options for creating a PC based on a smartphone exist today? Without touching the remote launch of programs on some remote computer, for which a mobile phone is not really needed, we can conditionally distinguish three different directions among them. The first is a wireless connection to a modern monitor or TV that has access to the network, as well as the use of peripherals that work via Bluetooth.

Thus, you can easily display the image on the big screen, working with a comfortable mouse and keyboard. The second option is to use special docking stations, by installing a smartphone on which you get physical USB, HDMI and Display Port ports that do not require a wireless connection. And finally, the third possibility is Lapdock, which got its name in 2011 thanks to Motorola. This term is not yet fully established, but it is regularly applied to such devices.

So what is Lapdock? In fact, everything is simple. Lapdock is nothing more than an abbreviation for the words Laptop and Dock, which in practice is a docking station made in the form factor of a laptop. Such a laptop does not have the hardware inherent in classic devices, and in addition to the display, battery and keyboard, it provides owners with a set of interfaces and the usual ease of use. Naturally, it is proposed to use a smartphone as a “brain” for it.

And although the first Lapdock "appeared back in 2008, they are only now beginning to gain popularity. And this is not surprising, because modern eight- or ten-core smartphones with 6 GB of RAM can easily outdo most 5-6-year-old laptops in their performance This can be confirmed by Andromium Inc., which in 2014 failed to raise only $ 100,000 in Kickstarter for its docking station that can turn a smartphone into a computer, and already this year, backers donated to its Lapdock - Superbook very significant $ 2,952,508.The difference is in the face.

Story

First, let's dive into history a bit. Quite a lot of various concepts were created in the 2000s, but one of the pioneers of this direction can be safely considered Palm Inc., which introduced its Foleo subnotebook in early 2007. Of course, it was not a full-fledged Lapdock, but it was assumed that it would work in conjunction with Palm Treo smartphones. The product did not find significant support among buyers and the project was soon curtailed.

A year later, inspired by Palm, the same idea was decided to bring to life by the developer Willy Yonkers, who demonstrated the concept of iPholio. As the name unambiguously hints, his device was to be paired with the iPhone, which was proposed to be used both as a computing center and as a touchpad, placing it in a corresponding recess on the case. If Kickstarter had existed by that time, then, quite possibly, iPholio could have become the first Lapdock, but history had other plans for this.

In 2008, Celio released three models of the REDFLY line, which were already full-fledged Lapdocks and were even mass-produced. The most famous product of this format was Motorola ATRIX Lapdock, designed to work in tandem with ATRIX mobile phones, and then Lapdock 500 for RAZR smartphones and the universal Lapdock 100 for Android-compatible devices.A lot of different startups like Casetop, ClamBook or KT Spider Laptop have fallen since 2012, but none of them really became popular.

Our days

Things got off the ground only this year, not least thanks to the advent of Windows Continuum. Quite expensive Acer Liquid Extend and HP Lap Dock solutions were announced, designed to work in tandem with Acer Liquid Jade Primo and HP Elite X3 smartphones, as well as more versatile budget startups NexDock for Windows-compatible and Superbook for Android-compatible devices. I would like to tell you a little more about them.

HP Lap Dock

The device manufactured by Hewlett-Packard was designed for the Elite X3 smartphone, although, according to unofficial data, it works fine with the Lumia 950 XL, and possibly other models based on Windows Mobile. Initially, the company stuck to the name Mobile Extender, but later it was decided to call the gadget the classic Lap Dock. The unusual docking station is equipped with a 12.5-inch Full HD display, a backlit keyboard and a touchpad. Connection with a smartphone is carried out via a wired connection via a USB Type-C port or wirelessly via Miracast.

The device is made in a waterproof plastic case and has a 46.5 Wh battery, USB Type-C and micro-HDMI interfaces, a 3.5 mm mini-Jack for connecting headphones, a microphone and a Bang & Olufsen stereo system. The HP Lap Dock measures 289 x 201 x 13.8 mm and weighs 1 kg. The cost in pre-order on the Russian Microsoftstore is a very impressive 42,990 rubles.

Acer Liquid Extend

Little is known about Acer's Lapdock, which has not yet gone on sale. In addition to the form factor and the presence of a keyboard with a touchpad, the company only reports an 11.6-inch display diagonal and a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. There is also its own battery, as well as a set of ports, represented by several USB Type-C and one micro-HDMI. It is allowed to use the smartphone screen as a trackpad. The exact cost and date of sale have not yet been announced, but given that the start of implementation was promised in the third quarter of 2016, this should happen in the near future.

NexDock

Crowdfunding startup NexDock, which has successfully raised on Indiegogo the amount of $ 300,000 necessary for the launch, offers everyone its version of Lapdock "and without reference to a specific smartphone model. In addition to full-fledged work with Continuum-compatible devices, the device can act as a large screen for gadgets based on Android or iOS, or become a full-fledged laptop if you connect a PC stick or Raspberry Pi to it.

The 14.1-inch screen has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:9. There are two USB ports, one miniHDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a stereo system and a card reader. Connection with a smartphone is carried out using an HDMI port, for connection to which it is supposed to use a USB-C to HDMI adapter.

There was not enough money yet to install a regular USB Type-C, but its presence is promised by the developers in the future. The battery capacity is 10,000 mAh, however, due to the HDMI connection, recharging a mobile gadget during operation, unfortunately, is impossible. The NexDock measures 351 x 233 x 20mm and weighs 1.49kg. The minimum price declared for backers is $79. The Lapdock will go on sale at a price of $150.

superbook

The latest in our review is the brainchild of Andromium Inc., which developed not only Lapdock, but also a special Andromium OS operating system that allows you to create a PC based on an Android smartphone, even without the need for additional docking stations. Launched on Kickstarter, the Superbook project turned out to be mega-popular, bringing the creators almost $3 million. Let's hope that they manage the funds received wisely and soon we will be able to see a really viable product.

The device received an 11.6-inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, a keyboard and a touchpad with multi-touch support. The battery capacity of 7500 mAh is enough for 8 hours of work. In the future, it is planned to release models with Full HD matrices, but for an additional fee. A USB port is used to connect a smartphone, and the mobile device itself must support USB-OTG.

It is noteworthy that Superbook became the first modern Lapdock "th, focused on use in tandem with gadgets based on Android (not lower than 5.0). To start working on a smartphone, you need to install Andromium OS, after which you can fully work on a "laptop" with any applications from Google Play, and, unlike Windows Continuum, there is the ability to open several windows at once.The price declared by the manufacturer for the production model is $ 99. The first backers should receive the long-awaited gadget as early as January next year, and the start of a wide sale expected in March.

Conclusion

As you can see, Lapdock is experiencing a new birth, and, quite possibly, will soon be able to take its place in the market. However, for this, developers will have to work hard to ensure the compatibility of mobile operating systems with desktop versions of programs.

Constant access to information and the ability to work with it is a vital necessity for a modern person. Until recently, the role of a universal gadget was assigned to a personal computer in the office or at the employee's home. The computer was assigned absolutely all functions related to information and leisure: sending and reading e-mail, editing office documents, sending faxes, creating presentations, communicating with colleagues via video link. It would seem that the presentation of all these requirements to the computer is justified, if not for one thing: portability. The rhythm of life dictates its own rules, according to which the computer should always be next to the person. With a personal computer, this is unrealistic, laptops are rather bulky. A smartphone on Android, iOS or Windows Phone is the ideal solution. Smartphones of the latest generations cope with all office tasks, allow you to organize a decent leisure time, and are always close to the owner.

You can replace a computer with a smartphone only if a clear list of requirements for it as a device has been formed. Obviously, running a server on Android or turning it into a render machine is not the best idea, but using it for everyday tasks is fine.

What is meant by daily tasks? For a working person, this is, first of all, maintaining contact with colleagues and loved ones, editing work documents, and, of course, watching a video or game during a lunch break. Each of these tasks has its own program.

Working with office files is the most important task. There are a number of programs that allow you to open and edit .doc, .docx, .rtf, etc. files. right on your smartphone. Most of them are paid, but there are also open source solutions. The most famous of them is OfficeSuite. The program is available for download in the AppStore, Google Play Market and WP Store.

OfficeSuite allows you to create presentations, Excel spreadsheets, databases, notes and everything else that the Microsoft Office suite offers, which has become the unspoken standard in many companies. In addition, the program has the ability to conveniently synchronize with a corporate or personal cloud, which allows you to save and share documents online.

The second and no less important task is to maintain contact with colleagues and loved ones. Here the undisputed leader is Skype. This messenger is the most common and has clients for all existing platforms. The functionality allows you to make calls on a be-to-be basis and organize conferences with an unlimited number of participants. It is possible to call mobile numbers of all countries of the world at a single and very democratic tariff. Calls between customers are free.

There are many alternatives to Skype, however, most of them have similar functionality and do not have radical differences. Popular analogues: WhatsUp and Viber.

Without quality rest, productive work is impossible. For mobile platforms, there are all imaginable and unimaginable forms of leisure. Video broadcasts of sports events, viewing content on video hosting sites, online games and listening to music from online libraries - all this is available in absolutely any modern smartphone connected to the Internet. The app stores of all three platforms offer users a virtually unlimited choice of entertainment, games, and music. It remains only to choose.

Even a superficial view shows that a smartphone can be used instead of a computer without any problems. On any platform there are all the necessary office programs, communication software, and entertainment for every taste. The only question is how to wisely use all the diversity offered by developers and make your work more productive and your leisure time more interesting. In addition, the functionality of modern devices can be considered truly limitless, because many of them have the ability to remotely connect to a personal computer on any OS. Limitless possibilities are already in your pocket, it remains to remove the restrictions from your worldview.