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Motorola's Whacked Lapdock Can Make Raspberry Pi Base

Posted by samzenpus on from the making-the-best-out-of-the-situation dept.

Nerval's Lobster writes "Poor sales have driven Motorola Mobility to whack the Webtop, its attempt to make Android into an all-in-one operating system for both smartphones and traditional PCs. Motorola confirmed the death to CNET before issuing a widely circulated statement. Webtop allowed users to plug their Motorola device into a special laptop dock, which could then display Web pages and files on a full screen. Supported devices included the Motorola Atrix 2, which launched with Android 2.3 ('Gingerbread') and a dual-core 1GHz processor. For those few who bought a Webtop and now need something to do with it, Liliputing posted an article earlier this year about using the device to transform Raspberry Pi into a laptop (with the aid of some key accessories). Raspberry Pi's homebrew computer features a 700MHz processor capable of overclocking to 1GHz and 256MB of RAM, as well as an SD card for longer storage—specs that lag those of the latest smartphones, but Raspberry Pi has the virtue of being quite a bit cheaper at $35."

52 comments

  1. Sony's Boink Thighboard Pot Go Strawberry Mu Home by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Subject makes about as much sense as the title + first few lines of the summary. Yikes, could you at least try to write something coherent?

  2. Why did google buy Motorola anyway? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Doesn't seem like they really want anything from them and they have nothing good left now.

    1. Re:Why did google buy Motorola anyway? by alen · · Score: 0

      Moto threatened to sue all the other android manufacturers into oblivion

    2. Re:Why did google buy Motorola anyway? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Moto threatened to sue all the other android manufacturers into oblivion

      That would of have been fun to be watching.

    3. Re:Why did google buy Motorola anyway? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Motorola had a ton of mobile related patents, Google had very few mobile related patents and needed to acquire some. That's about it really.

  3. Re:Sony's Boink Thighboard Pot Go Strawberry Mu Ho by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 2

    Motorola's Whacked Lapdock Can Make Raspberry Pi Base

    So what do I do? Add water? Mix and bake?

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  4. Translation: by Tastecicles · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...wait, what?

    --
    Operation Guillotine is in effect.
    1. Re:Translation: by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      The WebTop used to be a $499 Firefox-driven accessory that you purchased on top of your (already very expensive) Photon/Atrix Android phone.

      For $499, one would have expected a full laptop/netbook, or that it came with a free limited 2-year data plan (like you get with the Chromebook), but at that price point, the product made little sense. I actually know a couple of people that already owned Photon phones that could plug into such a device, but that were just not going to purchase a WebTop because of the high mark-up.

      Now that the line has been cancelled, those existing Photon users will actually be able to purchase those WebTops at rock-bottom prices, which is actually nice for them. I doubt that many will be purchasing WebTops to hook up to their Raspberry Pis thought. The budget of the average Photon phone user is still going to be much higher than the budget of the average Raspberry Pi user.

    2. Re:Translation: by Splat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you bought this one thing, you can combine it with this other thing, and then buy some additional things, to make an inferior version of this real thing.

    3. Re:Translation: by Tastecicles · · Score: 1

      oh, I get it. It's like buying a shell kit for a Lamborghini Aventador, combining it with a chassis for a Mazda 6, and dropping in a 3-cylinder block meant for a Daihatsu Charade.

      While it looks good standing still, it's not that stable and 0.0 is about as fast as it's ever going to go.

      --
      Operation Guillotine is in effect.
  5. Re:Sony's Boink Thighboard Pot Go Strawberry Mu Ho by raydobbs · · Score: 1

    I'm still trying to decide if it blends...

  6. Re:Sony's Boink Thighboard Pot Go Strawberry Mu Ho by chronokitsune3233 · · Score: 1

    If you're trying to figure that out, I must advise against trying to use the Blender.

    --
    I have been a captive in America my entire life. Everybody and everything uses customary units instead of metric.
  7. It's "whack" ... by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

    ... so it must be good!

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:It's "whack" ... by idontgno · · Score: 2

      CHEERLEADER: Ya'll are so wack.

      THE UGLY ONE: Wiggidy-wack?

      CHEERLEADER: Nope, just regular type.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
    2. Re:It's "whack" ... by ItsJustAPseudonym · · Score: 1
      From Not Another Teen Movie:

      Sure, why not? I am the token black guy. I'm just supposed to smile and stay out of the conversation and say things like: "Damn," "Shit," and "That is whack."

      Really bad movie. Hilarious, in places.

  8. What's the point? by colin_faber · · Score: 1

    So you can buy an expensive, rare piece of kit to build a some what crappy laptop with?

    Other than an exercise in rPi development this seems like a solution looking for a problem.

    I own a Moto Razr phone (for which this dumb idea was intended) and opted to buy a very cheap ($50 off CL) eee pc for my tinkering...

  9. Oh no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's the Foleo curse!

  10. Missing link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I think there is a link missing to the actual article on Liliputing: http://liliputing.com/2012/06/turn-a-raspberry-pi-into-laptop-with-a-70-motorola-lapdock.html

    1. Re:Missing link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The link wasn't missing. This is just regurgitated SlashBI/Cloud/Shit posts by Nerval's Lobster.

  11. I Like Mine As Is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I bought a lapdock for my Droid RAZR Maxx and have been very pleased with the results. It wasn't worth the retail they were asking but getting one off of eBay for less than $100 was suitable for me. I use it to exploit the access that my company gave to our BYOD cellphones. I can now remote in with my "phone" and use Citrix or RDP connections and do just about everything I might need to use my laptop for. Sort of sad it is discontinued, but not unexpected. Works great for Netflix and other streaming as well. I am glad I got mine when I did. Perhaps I ought to troll eBay for other examples to use as parts?

  12. Good job Motorola Marketing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The only time that I ever heard of this device is when it's getting whacked. Maybe if they put a little bit more effort into marketing this thing...

    But making a specialized device that works with only a few select phones seems to be a bad idea anyway. If they have more clout and developed a standard that will work with all Android phones, then maybe they would find more demand. Now that MMI is a part of Google maybe that will happen.

    Also, for phone accessories -- a very expensive accessory -- you would need at least 2-4 years for any good sales to take hold. No one is going to upgrade their phone immediately after seeing this. Even if they want it, most people would wait until their current contract with their carrier ends. Then they have to remember about this device so they'd pick a Motorola phone. Then again, knowing it will only a few select phones means it is a very bad investment for the money because in 2 years, it could be useless again.

  13. Re:Sony's Boink Thighboard Pot Go Strawberry Mu Ho by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, the title is a little too inside baseball to make sense to the average reader. Fortunately the summary clarifies the title nicely.

  14. Bad execution of a great idea by scorp1us · · Score: 2

    As a former Atrix owner, the lapdock was really enticing until I learned its limitations. There's no webcam, so your front-facing camera only sees the back of the lapdock. For whatever reason the trackpad lacked any kind of scrolling, which is imperative for webpages. There was no edge scrolling or two-finger gesture.

    They were overpriced and the only way to get them not overpriced was when you're buying your phone, which is when you're already dropping a few hundred bucks on that and new accessories (unless you've already switched to android). Then you even had to buy the $35/mo "tethering option" (what why?! It's not like you could use your phone while it was docked) after dropping another $200 on the hardware.

    In the end, great concept, bad execution. Tablets moved in to this space, which I guess were more profitable for Motorola. I can't but think had it changed to be scrollable and not require tethering and have a camera, that many more people would have signed up.

    --
    Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
  15. Why bother? Get a low-end Android tablet by Animats · · Score: 1

    If you want a low-end tablet, get one. They start at around $45 now. By the time you get this thing, a Rasberry Pi, and all the necessary cables and connectors, you'll have spent more, and you'll have an underpowered laptop.

    And if you want an "entertainment device", you can get Allwinner-based set-top boxes for about $75, with case and connectors. They usually come with Android, and you can load other Linux distros if you want.

    If you're doing homebrew embedded work, one of the ARM boards in the Auduno form factor is probably more useful.

  16. Come on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We're not even trying anymore.

  17. Ahead of its time. by DMJC · · Score: 2

    it was an idea before it's time. The phones needed more ram and more storage to be useful. 1gb of ram just wasn't enough to drive X11 and be responsive. The thing was always running out of memory and it stopped firefox from being usable on it.I loved my lapdock but the limitations were obvious. They need to revive the concept in about 3 years time and make a phone with 4-16gb of ram, when 128-256gb micro sd cards are affordable for users. Then it could replace a laptop. I can see the potential of the webdock to be a fantastic device, but right now it's too hamstrung by physical limitations.

    1. Re:Ahead of its time. by pmontra · · Score: 1

      Actually I think that to succeed those devices need to do without the docking station. One should be able to walk into a friend house or any office and borrow a usb/bluetooth keyboard and mouse and connect to any hdmi screen. One doesn't have to leave a docking station at work, another one at home and a third one somewhere else. That's too inconvenient.

      That said, I agree with you on the other requirements. I'd love to have my current computer compacted into my phone form factor (and SG2) but we'll also have to think to some new usage scenarios. For example you want to bring your phone with you when you leave your office desk to go to another room, out for lunch, to the restroom, coffe machine, etc. Tethering the phone with cables to screen, mouse and keyboards will be a bad idea because you don't want to detach/reattach those cables everytime. As IMHO docking stations are also a bad idea we'll need some wireless link to screens as well, something that disconnects and reattaches quickly to the phone when it goes back to the desk. Maybe is there already something like that?

    2. Re:Ahead of its time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you heard of 'Ubuntu for Android'?

      http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

    3. Re:Ahead of its time. by EzInKy · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure my N900 uses xorg, and it still performs just fine.

      --
      Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
    4. Re:Ahead of its time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Last month I looked for a phone that has a multimedia dock for this precise reason, however there's nothing out there. The old Atrix seems to be the only device that has this available, possibly because it's HDMI output is on the same plane as it's micro USB port.

    5. Re:Ahead of its time. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      1gb of ram just wasn't enough to drive X11 and be responsive

      That's a bunch of shit. X11 is not the problem, Firefox is. My first Unix machine was a SunOS4 machine with 24MB. I could run X11R6 with Netscape 2 and it was OK. They should have used Opera, it is the only credible browser which does nearly as much as Firefox, but while genuinely using less system resources.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:Ahead of its time. by Thumper_SVX · · Score: 1

      The concept was actually perfect timing; the problem was it was hobbled by horrendous execution. The Webtop environment was horribly limiting, basically allowing you to do nothing except run Firefox. The $499 price tag on launch day was also unbelievable when you could buy a functional laptop for less. Add on the AT&T options you had to add to your plan in order to own it ("Tethering plan + smartphone data plan") and it made the whole thing horribly cost-prohibitive.

      I had an Atrix myself and liked it a lot. It was a great phone. My girlfriend purchased the lapdock (for $299 after a few months) and still uses it for her school (she's working on her MBA) so I got to play with it. To me it was effectively unusable without hacking it for a full Ubuntu install instead of the rather crap environment it had. Even then, it was still limited in storage until I hacked it some more to move it to the SD card... and then... and then. Yeah, it could have been a great tool and I loved the idea of everything being right there on my phone, but when I had to turn to XDA-Developers in order to make it functional, there's a problem.

  18. Disappointed and Using a Webtop Now by defective_warthog · · Score: 1

    I'm in the process of relocating and have been using my Droid4 with the Lapdock made for the Bionic as my only non 4 inch screen internet access device. It will likely be another two weeks until I can get my PC's back online. I paid $120 for the lapdock, much less than a new laptop. The phones could definately use more RAM; that would improve the performance. Also when VZW rolled out ICS the Webtop went to crap without Firefox and Flash. Of course I've installed those. I only trusted the motel computers to print out files that I downloaded to the phone and then moved to a USB stick using the lapdock. Three weeks in West Virginia and I have found a decent place to live and a union carpenter job. Don't fuck with me, I build your house your office.....

  19. Re:Why bother? Get a low-end Android tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What the hell? Where did you learn to do math?

    (Also, WTF is an Auduno?)

    I am one if the crazy people who bought one of these Motorola Lapdocks, and am using it happily with my Raspberry Pi. I plan to use it with other boards in the future. No regrets here, whatsoever. I'm sure that many others out there who purchased one of these have similar plans.

    I fail to see what makes this so outrageous.

    Mine was ordered from Amazon, for right at $60 (w/ free shipping). I spent another ca. $15 on the needed cables and adapter. (Also free shipping, though that meant I had to wait five weeks or so for the cables and adapter to arrive from China.)

    For me, the convenience made it all worthwhile. The Lapdock has a power supply, 1366x768 display, built-in speakers and two USB ports. It can run a Raspberry Pi for many hours from its battery. It provides a very nice, compact environment for working with the rPi, and I'd recommend one of these Lapdocks to anyone considering one.

  20. Re:Sony's Boink Thighboard Pot Go Strawberry Mu Ho by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

    "if it BLENDS, its funny. if it breaks, its not."

    (...)

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  21. Other options by evilviper · · Score: 1

    Raspberry Pi isn't a great fit for much of anything, and there are cheaper options available.

    If you want a smartphone, the Venture has comparable specs, and sells for $50, contract-free, and VirginMobile has some of the cheapest cell plans, too.

    If you want a desktop, you can usually get a used, mini P4 system (40w idle) for $35 from geeks.com. Better deals are often available from local off-lease PC dealers.

    If you want a tablet, Walmart stocks a $50 Pandigital model for $50.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    1. Re:Other options by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Raspberry Pi isn't a great fit for much of anything, and there are cheaper options available.

      Just because you can't imagine what R-Pi is great for, that doesn't mean it's not a great fit for anything. There's dozens of tasks which R-Pi is the best fit for, because it has basic GPIO, lots of processing power, and a price tag like an Arduino. Name a cheaper, better way to get a couple of usb cameras onto an IP network, for example. And name a cheaper device with 1080p video decoding; you can't do it. That makes it an awesome option for digital signage. The fact that it doesn't make a good smartphone, desktop, or tablet doesn't make it not a great fit for much of anything. At this price, it's a good fit for MANY things.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Other options by evilviper · · Score: 1

      Name a cheaper, better way to get a couple of usb cameras onto an IP network, for example.

      You can get network-attached cameras, cheaper than a Pi+Camera, and I'm betting, better features and quality all-around. Not to mention surveillance DVRs with multiple cameras, and built-in network connectivity.

      And name a cheaper device with 1080p video decoding;

      D-Link MovieNite Streaming Player, DSM310.

      There are also several Blu-Ray players near the same price as well... If you need to add power, and storage, and more to a Pi for your purposes, these could easily work out cheaper.

      you can't do it

      Actually, it seems that I can... Nice try, though.

      At this price, it's a good fit for MANY things.

      I wasn't trying to say that there weren't a few niches where a Pi might be handy, but it's most certainly NOT "a good fit for MANY things". The areas were it might be useful are fleetingly small. There's nothing wrong with that, per-se, except that it's getting obscene amounts of coverage on /. and elsewhere, making it out to be the ultimate everything... Something we saw with the OLPC before it, and other devices that didn't live up to the hype before that...

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    3. Re:Other options by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Not to mention surveillance DVRs with multiple cameras, and built-in network connectivity.

      The R-Pi is a DVR with multiple cameras and built-in network connectivity, with the addition of some cameras which are dirt cheap now, and a hub, likewise.

      D-Link MovieNite Streaming Player, DSM310.

      That is not cheaper than an R-Pi. It's the same price, nominally, once you account for a remote for the R-Pi. That's a cool heads-up, though.

      There are also several Blu-Ray players near the same price as well...

      Problem is, most cheap Blu-Ray players have shit streaming, if any.

      I wasn't trying to say that there weren't a few niches where a Pi might be handy, but it's most certainly NOT "a good fit for MANY things". The areas were it might be useful are fleetingly small.

      As it is a nifty video player in a very small power envelope already, that seems a lot of nonsense. The only thing wrong with it really (since the rev 2 board anyway) is the difficulty of getting one in a timely fashion and at a reasonable shipping price. Also, that it doesn't have a power button, or even a place to put one. It's not like you can't solve that externally, but it's still a bit goofy.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Other options by Thantik · · Score: 1

      D-Link MovieNite Streaming Player, DSM310 is $80. $80 > $35...and that's the upper version of the pi. There's a $25 version that has the capability as well.

    5. Re:Other options by evilviper · · Score: 1

      D-Link MovieNite Streaming Player, DSM310 is $80.

      No, it's $38.00:
      http://www.walmart.com/ip/D-Link-MovieNite-Streaming-Player-DSM310/20666759

      $80 > $35...and that's the upper version of the pi. There's a $25 version that has the capability as well.

      No, in this case, $38 < $25.

      It's not even remotely fair to call the Pi even $35, because that's without power, SD card to boot off of, a case for the board, storage for videos, etc. When you drop down to $25, you LOSE NETWORKING, so you need to add the cost of a USB hub and USB to ethernet (or wifi) adapter as well. In short, the D-Link is a considerably cheaper option. And let's not forget, the $25 model isn't available yet... by the time it is, D-Link's unit could well be quite a bit cheaper.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    6. Re:Other options by evilviper · · Score: 1

      The R-Pi is a DVR with multiple cameras and built-in network connectivity, with the addition of some cameras which are dirt cheap now, and a hub, likewise.

      NO, it certainly isn't. A surveillance DVR has maybe 16 (analog) channels for capture,includes all cameras, with 60ft of cable for each (or wireless otherwise), includes 500GB+ HDD, has realtime H.264 encoding for all 16 channels at 640x480, and enough power to stream out a live (or recorded) feed of all 16 at once, to numerous users at once. Let's not forget it includes a power supply, case, and all the software (no setup required).

      Nothing like that is even POSSIBLE with the Pi. USB cameras are cheap, but they've got a strict 3m upper-limit on cable length. And 16 off a USB hub, that's daisy-chained to the built-in USB hub, which is shared between cameras, networking, the data all streaming to the external HDD enclosure you also had to buy, and whatever else you need attached? I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell a Pi could do it... and if you could make any of it work, it would still be FAR more expensive...

      Hell, once you need a hard drive, fast networking, or more than a fraction of the speed of a single shared USB port, a refurb $35 PC is infinitely cheaper, and superior. Trying to pretend a Pi is a practical option for such a ridiculous poor fitting use case is exactly the kind of nonsense I'm decrying.

      That is not cheaper than an R-Pi. It's the same price, nominally, once you account for a remote for the R-Pi. That's a cool heads-up, though.

      NO, it's FAR cheaper than a Pi! Walmart has them for $38. A Pi plus shipping, plus power supply, plus remote, plus case/enclosure, plus SD card, plus other odds and ends, is dramatically more expensive.

      Problem is, most cheap Blu-Ray players have shit streaming, if any.

      You didn't mention streaming in your earlier post. Streaming 1080p over the network is non-trivial, and I'd bet for most uses, locally storing the video clips would be preferred... Burning a disc is simple and much cheaper than buying a Pi and supporting hardware, plus large SD card or USB thumb drive, or external HDD.

      As it is a nifty video player in a very small power envelope already, that seems a lot of nonsense.

      No, the D-Link and the Blu-Ray players are nifty video players... The Pi is only just one little component of a video player. What's more, it's the part that's already embedded in most HDTVs these days, anyhow.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    7. Re:Other options by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      A surveillance DVR has maybe 16 (analog) channels for capture,includes all cameras, with 60ft of cable for each (or wireless otherwise), includes 500GB+ HDD, has realtime H.264 encoding for all 16 channels at 640x480, and enough power to stream out a live (or recorded) feed of all 16 at once, to numerous users at once. Let's not forget it includes a power supply, case, and all the software (no setup required).

      Forget for a moment that I've seen countless counterexamples to your claim. I will address this.

      Nothing like that is even POSSIBLE with the Pi. USB cameras are cheap, but they've got a strict 3m upper-limit on cable length.

      No, in fact, they do not. First, I've extended some with 10' cables successfully, you could probably go further. Second, powered USB extensions are no longer heinously expensive. Third, due to the tree-wired nature of USB, you can accomplish all kinds of clever cable runs with it. Fourth, you can add USB capture devices to support other kinds of cabling, where and as necessary.

      And 16 off a USB hub, that's daisy-chained to the built-in USB hub, which is shared between cameras, networking, the data all streaming to the external HDD enclosure you also had to buy, and whatever else you need attached? I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell a Pi could do it...

      Of course it can. It can't do a lot else at the same time, but who cares? It doesn't have to.

      NO, it's FAR cheaper than a Pi! Walmart has them for $38.

      How odd that everyone else sells them for $50. I've never seen one in-store so you'll have to have one shipped, anyway.

      You didn't mention streaming in your earlier post

      "And name a cheaper device with 1080p video decoding; you can't do it. That makes it an awesome option for digital signage." That's a streaming application. So sorry you're not familiar enough with what I'm talking about to comprehend it.

      the D-Link and the Blu-Ray players are nifty video players... The Pi is only just one little component of a video player

      Really? From where I'm sitting it's everything but a remote. My TV is perfectly capable of powering my Pi, so I don't need a power supply. Bluetooth costs two bucks or less to add via USB, and I already have a Wiimote that I can use to control it. For me, the only things I need to make the R-Pi into a video player are an SD card (2GB will work, so $4 or so) and a HDMI cable, $2, and the bluetooth module, $2. And in the bargain, it's a lot more than a media player. For example, I can run a real web browser on it, because it runs a real operating system.

      What's more, it's the part that's already embedded in most HDTVs these days, anyhow.

      Assuming your HDTV even has something embedded (I have a 52" Sharp Aquos and it doesn't have a player built in) it probably sucks shit and there's no upgrade path that doesn't leave you with a shitty player lurking in your TV that you will occasionally accidentally activate by selecting the wrong input. I would probably suggest the $50 unit that recently came out to an average user, since it comes with ICS (or was it JB?) and plugs directly into HDMI. But for a nerd, the R-Pi still receives high marks for its reconfigurability.

      I will not actually suggest to anyone that they buy a R-Pi until ICS is released for it. I am told that Broadcom is stalling on releasing the necessary driver blobs. Assuming it's true (and it is plausible) this has really soured me even more on broadcom, of which I was already highly suspicious.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:Other options by evilviper · · Score: 1

      "3m" was a typo, I meant 5m (or 15'). USB has strict timing restrictions. Far, far shorter maximum than the common 60' of cabling per-camera that comes with most surveilance DVRs.

      Of course it can. It can't do a lot else at the same time, but who cares? It doesn't have to.

      No, it can't do it, end of story. You'd be overloading the single USB bus like mad, and losing frames left and right. If it had multiple USB buses, like a real computer, you could potentially do it, but it doesn't makes sense to try, when real DVRs are better and cheaper. I have no idea why you're trying so hard to defend the Pi, to the point of making yourself look technically inept fool.

      How odd that everyone else sells them for $50. I've never seen one in-store so you'll have to have one shipped, anyway.

      No, I can walk down the street and pick one up for $38 right now. In fact ALL the walmarts in my area have them in-stock. Did you even bother to type in your zip code to check? I bet you didn't. Does all that willful ignorance make you feel better about being a Pi supporter? Besides, you aren't getting a Pi in stores (at least not for anywhere near $35), so it's a ridiculous complaint, anyhow.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  22. Re:Sony's Boink Thighboard Pot Go Strawberry Mu Ho by rtb61 · · Score: 1

    In a nutshell many companies are twisting their minds all out of shape as to how best combine the smart phone, smart tablet and smart book into as cheap and easily connectible system as possible. How to cut corners in cost, and where best to stick that smart phone, to the tablet, to the keyboard and of course to the big screen TV (will the problems never end). Everyone knows they who do it best will be the next Apple, while Apple rots in the barrel with the rest. Motorola is conducting experiments, with which the arm all competitors in the Android market space.

    For ease of use, tapping the devices together to let them sort it out remotely is the easiest but damn, you have to pay for all that hardware four time to do it. Twice is about the best you can hope for, you can hide the profit in the bug screen but eventually customers are going to wake up to how much they are getting screwed over when it comes to smart phones and charging them twice more is going to be a struggle. ASUS seems to temporarily be closest http://mobilesyrup.com/2012/02/28/asus-padfone-brings-phone-tablet-docking-station-and-stylus-to-ice-cream-sandwich/ but implementation is somewhat broken.

    Likely reality those profit margins on smart phones especially on their way over priced components is going to start crashing pretty soon and a quick tap is most likely the easiest solution. Specialist phones type companies are screwed as the broad product range companies take over on a commoditised product.

    --
    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  23. Raspberry Pi / Lapdock dock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With a bit of sugru a switch and some soldering you can make a very nice dock to mount the raspberry pi on - http://kimondo.co.uk/raspberry-pi-modmypi-case-motorola-atrix-lapdock-raspberry-pi-laptop/ - plus it works with a ps3 as well.

  24. How I made one.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://lizardmonkeyengineering.blogspot.com/

    I had an atrix and one of the laptop docks so I created one of these a while ago. All it takes is some cables and adapters and some time soldering. Everything works; mouse/keyboard. Able to power the raspberry Pi from the lapdock. Currently working on getting a good wifi dongle to work so it would be truly portable.

  25. Re:Raspberry Pi! Raspberry Pi! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Twice Raspberry Pi? Does that give Raspberry Tau?

  26. Re:Sony's Boink Thighboard Pot Go Strawberry Mu Ho by rs79 · · Score: 1

    "In a nutshell many companies are twisting their minds all out of shape as to how best combine the smart phone, smart tablet and smart book into as cheap and easily connectible system as possible."

    Is THAT what they're doing? Oh. Ok, well that's fairly easy, take the PCMCIA dock out of my thinkpad and let me stuff my phone in there. Problem solved on so many levels.

    --
    Need Mercedes parts ?