One of last year’s most unique Android devices was the Motorola Atrix 4G. A top-notch phone in its own right, the Atrix stood out by having a truly unique accessory, the Lapdock. The concept was simple, but elegant. Using a couple of standard connections (micro-USB and micro-HDMI), the phone slotted into a docking port in a laptop shell. From that point on, the user got a laptop, with a full-sized screen, keyboard, mouse, and the Webtop interface, with some desktop apps like Firefox. For internet access, you had the phone’s 4G data connection, but you now had a productivity device with far more utility than a mere phone.
Unfortunately, the execution left us wanting something better. The docking port’s placement behind the screen was awkward. Performance was severely hampered by the decision to have the phone run a totally separate operating system on the Lapdock, doubling the pressure on the phone’s resources. And the price was outrageous, especially for an accessory that almost certainly wouldn’t work with your next phone upgrade.
Enter the ClamBook, the first Android-compatible product by iPad keyboard-case maker ClamCase. Using a single MHL cable (making it compatible with many of today’s high-end Android smartphones), the ClamBook provides an Android-laptop experience delivered by your phone. With Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), devices can switch to Android’s tablet interface on a 13-inch, 16:9 screen. The ClamBook’s design is reminiscent of a MacBook air, extremely thin with an aluminum body. ClamBook also gives you speakers, a battery to charge your phone from, a full keyboard (with dedicated Android keys), and a touchpad mouse that supports multitouch gestures for ICS.
Interestingly, it looks like users of Motorola devices that support Webtop can use that functionality on the ClamBook. Even if the price ends up the same as an official Motorola Lapdock, this may be a worthwhile alternative, if only to get something a little more future-proof.
Even though iPhone users can also look forward to the ClamBook, functionality will be somewhat more limited. ClamBook’s iOS doesn’t include mouse support, so you’ll get the keyboard, but any other interactions will need to use the phone’s touchscreen.
The most disappointing part about the ClamBook at this point is that it’s not available yet. ClamCase plans to launch in time for the holidays this year, but for now, information is limited. We don’t know pricing, what Android devices will be compatible, or even what the ClamBook will look like. All the available images are concept art. Still, ClamCase has a solid track record. I don’t expect this one to stay vaporware for long.
The problem I have with this idea is that it’s essentially a second device, but one that can’t be used without the first one. If I’m going to have a second device to begin with, I think I’d rather have an *actual* tablet or ultra-light laptop.
I have a challenging question. I want to know if is possible to connect my iphone 4 to a Motorola lapdock. I believe it is, but what do you think?
yes this is a great idea and yes i agree this should be more future-proof.
just look at asus if you got the padfone 1 and later upgraded to padfone 2 you would need a whole new docking station, this clambook just means you only need to update the phone.
not only that , but friends and fam who’s phones have MHL could borrow this(that maybe bad)
i was going to buy a padfone 2 if it had ubuntu for android , but it did not even come with a keyboard dock :( this clambook would be great has now i should be able to buy any phone with ubuntu for android and a MHL port
I’m looking for something similar ever since my atrix lapdock died… This should be great for all those Chinese hdmi sticks(latest quad core with 2Gigs of ram are pretty fast) running Linux or just android or maybe crome os…. But pricing should be proper for lifeless device (around 100$ cheaper then cheapest cromebook or netbook since you need smart device to run this thing). Bluetooth, usb(in and hub), hdmi, display port, MHL and SlimPort should all be included. Miracast would be nice as well.