Another Kickstarter project has caught my attention, this time a project called Casetop. The project design is intended to utilize the processing power and connectivity of your mobile phone handset to create a laptop experience while not degrading your phone battery in the process.
The Casetop incorporates connectivity with Android, Blackberry and yes, even iOS devices. Indeed, it will work with any smartphone that has Bluetooth and video output capabilities. The full list of phones is fairly extensive and you can view the full list of compatible devices on the Casetop website
The design
From all descriptors available, the design is very smart. The casetop is built in small sections with interchangeable parts which are cost effective in the event of a breakage. They’ve also included an amount of customization, specifically in the colors you can order as well as the type and number of front bars (the way your various mobile devices can clip into the casetop)
On their kickstarter page the makers of casetop comment on their design and quality by stating:
Glass covered LED LCD Display, full-size island-style keyboard. Think Apple, ASUS, Sony, this won’t be netbook quality. No large and complex motherboard, no RAM, no difficult heat management. Just a beautiful screen, wonderful Polycarbonate and a huge battery.
The specs
- 11.1 Inch 720p HD LED Backlit LCD Screen (Stretch Goal for 1080p)
- 56 Watt Hour Battery Pack (Est. Equivalent of a 6 Cell Laptop pack)
- Full size 78-key keyboard (Island-style, think Sony, Apple, IBM)
- 2x 1 Watt High Fidelity Speakers
- 1x Standard HDMI Input
- 1x MHL Video Input, Power Output. Dual mode Micro USB.
- 1x 3.5mm Audio Output
- 1x Full-size ‘Always Powered’ USB for charging other products
- Thickness: 0.8 inches closed, bottom is 0.375 inches thick.
It’s not the cheapest accessory going for an Android device, at US $250.00 + a $20 international shipping fee, you really should want something like this device to make the investment. However, keep in mind that like many electronic devices if you take care of this; as an accessory to your mobile device this could last you far longer than any mobile phone and therefore the investment across time will be a very reasonable one.
Is the casetop something that might interest you? Have they missed the mark with the cost? Let us know in the comments below
Editor’s note: As is usually the case when we post KickStarter projects on Ausdroid, our writer’s personal opinion is just that — his personal opinion. We don’t offer any endorsement or guarantee of any products that use KickStarter to raise funds, and if you invest money and you don’t end up with a product that you expected, unfortunately that’s not something that we can help. Caveat emptor.
This is exactly how the Moto Lapdock should have been when it was released by Moto instead of the crippled OS they threw on there. The price point is right too, it’s low enough for people like me to stop and think “that might actually be fun, and it’s cheap enough to check out!”. If they can actually execute this and it lives up to their claims this could be awesome, and essentially begin a movement to really begin to shake up the mobile computing workspace. Tablets have shown themselves to be an “addition” to mobile computing. Most people have… Read more »
Saw this on Gizmodo yesterday, as much as I hate the user base on that site. I like the idea. I wouldn’t take advantage of it though.
I have used my RAZR Lapdock with a “Pen Drive” Android device and now my MX2. Really good idea, and the fact that if the lapdock device gets stolen and you have your phone in your pocket.. the thief has not stolen anything personal of yours just the device itself.
This has been done before in the form of the Motorola lapdock accessory for the Atrix and to an extent the Asus padphone, but making it something that will extend beyond the life of one phone is very appealing.
Brilliant Idea.
I can see this taking the need for a tablet for some.
I actually thing that this is the way forward for computers in general, with only stand alone computers for specific needs required.
Indeed. Thats why I like the idea of the atrix and padfone but the processing power just wasn’t quite there yet. Now with the new chips around we have the option. I was very tempted to get the padfone but the lack of sd card slot and keyboard dock put me off.