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Smartphones to replace computers soon

Just an update...

Looks like the Atrix will be $150, the laptop dock will be $150, and the HD dock $60. So $360 for the total package.

Pretty cheap considering it can replace a laptop, google tv, and desktop computer.
 
I have 4 terrabytes of data on my home PC and can carry a full TB on my laptop, and when I travel I often take it about full: pictures to share with relatives, games, programs of various sorts, movies, music, etc. How do you solve this with a phone? The very best and biggest solid state (read: small form-factor) drives are 250 gb to 500 gb and cost about the same in dollars. Don't tell me online storage because that has been hit and miss for years now, with security and stability issues that keep it from taking over home-based hard drives.
 
SaltyDawg said:
A tablet is a smartphone. I posted that before anyone asked, and later agreed with TIS when he said it too. They run the same OS as smartphones, have the same form factor, and can even make calls if they have cell service and a dialer app installed.

No, I haven't given up my laptop. Why would I? None of the smartphones for sale today were designed to replace my laptop.


Sent from my HTC Evo using Tapatalk.
Click to expand...

Except the iPad has no phone capability.
 
SaltyDawg said:
So let me make sure I understand....

You're saying you wouldn't want to carry the phone and dock (or the phone in the dock, which would make it like a single device). Instead, you'd want to buy the same smartphone, spend several hundred more on a laptop, and then carry them both anyway?

And this, even though the phone is significantly faster than a laptop and requires only a second or so boot time?

I'm being serious here, that is about what I'm getting from your post. Please correct me if that is not it...


Sent from my HTC Evo using Tapatalk.
Click to expand...

How is a dual core phone with limited ram faster than a quad core laptop with 6 gig of ram?
 
LogGrad98 said:
I have 4 terrabytes of data on my home PC and can carry a full TB on my laptop, and when I travel I often take it about full: pictures to share with relatives, games, programs of various sorts, movies, music, etc. How do you solve this with a phone? The very best and biggest solid state (read: small form-factor) drives are 250 gb to 500 gb and cost about the same in dollars. Don't tell me online storage because that has been hit and miss for years now, with security and stability issues that keep it from taking over home-based hard drives.
Click to expand...
1: Most people don't carry a TB around with them.

2: Cloud storage has been fine for quite a while now. It's not hit or miss, it works fine.

3: You could put your old laptop hard drive on your home network and make it a network drive accessible from anywhere.
 
LogGrad98 said:
How is a dual core phone with limited ram faster than a quad core laptop with 6 gig of ram?
Click to expand...
Because it's not wasting most of its resources just running the bloated OS.

The same way an ancient linux box destroys a newer pc in performance.

Similar to how a sports car has less horsepower but is faster than a semi.

I'd put my Evo up against your laptop any day and see how much faster my single core phone is.
 
SaltyDawg said:
I'd put my Evo up against your laptop any day and see how much faster my single core phone is.
Click to expand...

K, install Starcraft 2 on there and let's see how it does.

I don't know how many times people need to tell you that computers always will have applications that phones won't ever have (at least not sensibly).
 
unluckyseventeen said:
K, install Starcraft 2 on there and let's see how it does.

I don't know how many times people need to tell you that computers always will have applications that phones won't ever have (at least not sensibly).
Click to expand...
Actually there is a version of starcraft being made for the atrix.
 
SaltyDawg said:
Actually there is a version of starcraft being made for the atrix.
Click to expand...

I want the full version. Just install Combat Arms or COD so we can check an online game since your phone operates entirely on the internet.
 
SaltyDawg said:
1: Most people don't carry a TB around with them.

2: Cloud storage has been fine for quite a while now. It's not hit or miss, it works fine.

3: You could put your old laptop hard drive on your home network and make it a network drive accessible from anywhere.
Click to expand...

Define "most people" and where you get your data. My son is tired of his iPod touch because it only has 64 gig and he has maxed that out and has to swap files all the time. So somehow everyone will start downsizing rather than continuing the upward trend of storage needs that has been the driving force in developing computer technology?

Also you are right about cloud storage, it is out there....for $0.15 per gig per month. Want a TB, 1000 gig for only $150 per month. If you think people won't continue this trend to make money on such a high-demand product you do not understand marketing at all.

https://www.rackspacecloud.com/cloud_hosting_products/files/?CMP=Google_cloud+storage_exact

Also remember Windows 8 is supposed to be the same form factor for both PC and phone, meaning no more clunky OS for the home computer either. So put the same OS on both and I am afraid my Core i7 Extreme with 12 gig of corsair ram blows your phone out of the water. Come to think of it so does my wife's quad core processor with 2 gig of ram.

Then start running multiple apps....let's say Word 8 (my daughter was doing a paper so I had to minimize it) then the internet (google chrome, already very resource friendly, that I also minimized because my wife and son were both using it and I didn't want to get yelled at for closing it), then Excel 8 (I was working on a home finances spreadsheet and didnt want to have to reopen it, so, minimized). My other son is working on a video edit for some friends for youtube (using windows movie maker, minimized now) all still running while I open a powerpoint my dad sent me about god in my email. And my RAM usage is higher than the entire onboard memory of your phone. Cloud RAM is not there yet, if it ever will be due to latency. You can handle delays in downloading a file, but not in running the app itself.

Got that covered?

I think the problem is you yourself do not understand what a "typical" computer user is. Typical computer users use a very very wide array of software (obviously not every computer user uses all software, but the computer they use has to be ablet to handle whatever they might throw at it, and that software has huge variety). My wife's computer can handle all that being open but it starts to slow down. And as the kids get older what they use gets more complex. Simply driving some flash programs my son uses slows down the rest of the system (try Bloons Tower Defense 4 on round 110 and see how it bogs things down).

So what happens when I am not at home? See some people have families and do not necessarily want every member of the family to have a different computer. So if I have this fancy new computer/phone and am not at home, what then? Sure you go ahead with your millions and add another phone line just to add another smart phone/pc. For most of us it makes more sense to add a computer that doesn't go anywhere. We have 2 PC's now because often more than one person wants to be online at the same time. Can't do that with only one phone. And no way am I buying my 8 year old or even my 12 year old a phone like that just so they don't use my computer. Sure, it can be cheap with a new contract. Do you get a new contract with every phone you buy? I know we have 3 cell phone lines (one for the kids) and we have had to buy many phones due to kids losing/breaking them, and we don't get a new contract every time we do. So if you break it or damage it you buy a new one or you buy insurance, another added cost. I am not taking that chance with kids (I have a friend who has bought now 3 iphones for his daughter because she insists on texting in the shower...hope that's all she is doing with it in there). They get cheapo phones until they can buy their own or pay their own bill.

They can also use my computer. And I know countless other couples who manage things exactly the same way (ok I could probably count them, but we have to be a representative sample of some population, right?). You imagine that entire paradigm will just change. That we will suddenly have no problem adding the extra phone lines for extra computers (when we don't now because of monthly costs). You think we will all of a sudden be thrilled knowing one of our computers went to the water park with our kid so they could get ahold of us?

It is nowhere near as simple an issue as you make it out to be.
 
Last edited:
LogGrad98 said:
I want the full version. Just install Combat Arms or COD so we can check an online game since your phone operates entirely on the internet.
Click to expand...

You know xbox live is already on Windows Phones right? And most new xbox live games are either already on, or will soon be on those phones. Sony is about to release a Playstation phone too.
 
LogGrad98 said:
It is nowhere near as simple an issue as you make it out to be.
Click to expand...

Masterful post, but.. you know, Salty doesn't ever give up. I hope you were multitasking during the majority of this post because since it was directed at Salty, most of it's wasted.

And I also wonder if this will warrant a response: Salty, you do understand that having worse games on an inferior platform != better games on the superior platform, right?
 
LogGrad98 said:
Define "most people" and where you get your data. My son is tired of his iPod touch because it only has 64 gig and he has maxed that out and has to swap files all the time. So somehow everyone will start downsizing rather than continuing the upward trend of storage needs that has been the driving force in developing computer technology?

Also you are right about cloud storage, it is out there....for $0.15 per gig per month. Want a TB, 1000 gig for only $150 per month. If you think people won't continue this trend to make money on such a high-demand product you do not understand marketing at all.

https://www.rackspacecloud.com/cloud_hosting_products/files/?CMP=Google_cloud+storage_exact

Also remember Windows 8 is supposed to be the same form factor for both PC and phone, meaning no more clunky OS for the home computer either. So put the same OS on both and I am afraid my Core i7 Extreme with 12 gig of corsair ram blows your phone out of the water. Come to think of it so does my wife's quad core processor with 2 gig of ram.

Then start running multiple apps....let's say Word 8 (my daughter was doing a paper so I had to minimize it) then the internet (google chrome, already very resource friendly, that I also minimized because my wife and son were both using it and I didn't want to get yelled at for closing it), then Excel 8 (I was working on a home finances spreadsheet and didnt want to have to reopen it, so, minimized). My other son is working on a video edit for some friends for youtube (using windows movie maker, minimized now) all still running while I open a powerpoint my dad sent me about god in my email. And my RAM usage is higher than the entire onboard memory of your phone. Cloud RAM is not there yet, if it ever will be due to latency. You can handle delays in downloading a file, but not in running the app itself.

Got that covered?

I think the problem is you yourself do not understand what a "typical" computer user is. Typical computer users use a very very wide array of software (obviously not every computer user uses all software, but the computer they use has to be ablet to handle whatever they might throw at it, and that software has huge variety). My wife's computer can handle all that being open but it starts to slow down. And as the kids get older what they use gets more complex. Simply driving some flash programs my son uses slows down the rest of the system (try Bloons Tower Defense 4 on round 110 and see how it bogs things down).

So what happens when I am not at home? See some people have families and do not necessarily want every member of the family to have a different computer. So if I have this fancy new computer/phone and am not at home, what then? Sure you go ahead with your millions and add another phone line just to add another smart phone/pc. For most of us it makes more sense to add a computer that doesn't go anywhere. We have 2 PC's now because often more than one person wants to be online at the same time. Can't do that with only one phone. And no way am I buying my 8 year old or even my 12 year old a phone like that just so they don't use my computer. Sure, it can be cheap with a new contract. Do you get a new contract with every phone you buy? I know we have 3 cell phone lines (one for the kids) and we have had to buy many phones due to kids losing/breaking them, and we don't get a new contract every time we do. So if you break it or damage it you buy a new one or you buy insurance, another added cost. I am not taking that chance with kids (I have a friend who has bought now 3 iphones for his daughter because she insists on texting in the shower...hope that's all she is doing with it in there). They get cheapo phones until they can buy their own or pay their own bill.

They can also use my computer. And I know countless other couples who manage things exactly the same way (ok I could probably count them, but we have to be a representative sample of some population, right?). You imagine that entire paradigm will just change. That we will suddenly have no problem adding the extra phone lines for extra computers (when we don't now because of monthly costs). You think we will all of a sudden be thrilled knowing one of our computers went to the water park with our kid so they could get ahold of us?

It is nowhere near as simple an issue as you make it out to be.
Click to expand...

Wow, where should I start...

#1: Most people to me is "count up everyone that carries a laptop around. What percentage have a "must have at least a TB" requirement. It's pretty small, I can assure you.

#2: Cloud storage for $150 per TB? Only to large corporations who are paying for offsite storage and don't care about the cost (or fools who do no research at all). here is 25 GB dfor free, and you can sign up for as many as you want:
https://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive
You can also buy one of these:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148614
And now you have more than enough storage, accessible from anywhere, with no monthly fee.
You could even get one of these:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817810014
and use your old hard drive, accessible from anywhere.

I think you really need to get some experience with Android. It multitasks much better than Windows. you could easily do all that stuff you said (minimize word, chrome, excel, etc). Android pauses the apps that don't need to waste CPU power when they are minimized. So if you minimize word, excel, chrome, and all that, your phone would run just as fast as if you had just booted it up and not opened anything.

So yes, I would put my phone against your computer any day of the week. I'll minimize all the same stuff as you and my phone will still be a lot faster than your computer. In fact, the more stuff you minimize the slower it will get, while my phone will still be blazing along like I hadn't opened anything.

Let me put it to you like this- I have a Google Chrome laptop. It boots up in a few seconds and does everything faster than any Windows or Mac computer I have ever seen. And the entire OS is web based. It's basically what these smartphones of the future will be running when they get put in a laptop dock (not the Atrix, but the next gen after that). I'm pretty sure you've never even seen Google's Chrome OS (it's a private Beta that you have to be selected for by Google) so you have no idea what you're talking about.

If you think Google is getting into this business to lose, you're crazy. Their smartphone OS is now the most popular, even more popular than Symbian. If you don't think their Chrome OS will do to Windows what their smartphone OS did to Windows Mobile, you're crazy. And Google is quite clear, Chrome OS will be what runs when you dock an Android phone in the future.
 
unluckyseventeen said:
Masterful post, but.. you know, Salty doesn't ever give up. I hope you were multitasking during the majority of this post because since it was directed at Salty, most of it's wasted.

And I also wonder if this will warrant a response: Salty, you do understand that having worse games on an inferior platform != better games on the superior platform, right?
Click to expand...
It depends on who you ask. Most people are just fine with their Xbox 360 games. They don't need the latest and greatest PC games. And Xbox 360 quality games are absolutely possible on the Atrix. PS3 quality games are possible on the Atrix.
 
SaltyDawg said:
It depends on who you ask. Most people are just fine with their Xbox 360 games. They don't need the latest and greatest PC games. And Xbox 360 quality games are absolutely possible on the Atrix. PS3 quality games are possible on the Atrix.
Click to expand...

Ugh.. forget it. Even a little research will show you the huge discrepancy between the quality and quantity of games available on what you're claiming to be available, versus the actual console.
 
SaltyDawg said:
It depends on who you ask. Most people are just fine with their Xbox 360 games. They don't need the latest and greatest PC games. And Xbox 360 quality games are absolutely possible on the Atrix. PS3 quality games are possible on the Atrix.
Click to expand...

You keep throwing "most people" around. How does that explain that millions upon millions of PC based games are sold each year and that many games, especially very complex games, are still developed for the PC before other systems.
 
unluckyseventeen said:
Ugh.. forget it. Even a little research will show you the huge discrepancy between the quality and quantity of games available on what you're claiming to be available, versus the actual console.
Click to expand...
Please take your own advice because you're wrong. I guess there won't be any disputing that in the near future.

Yes, top notch PC games are better quality. No, Xbox 360, PS3, and especially Wii games, are not better than the games made for next gen smartphones.
 
SaltyDawg said:
Wow, where should I start...

#1: Most people to me is "count up everyone that carries a laptop around that agrees with salty". What percentage have a "must have at least a TB" requirement. It's pretty small, I can assure you.

#2: Cloud storage for $150 per TB? Only to large corporations who are paying for offsite storage and don't care about the cost (or fools who do no research at all). here is 25 GB dfor free, and you can sign up for as many as you want:
https://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive
You can also buy one of these:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148614
And now you have more than enough storage, accessible from anywhere, with no monthly fee.
You could even get one of these:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817810014
and use your old hard drive, accessible from anywhere.

I think you really need to get some experience with Android. It multitasks much better than Windows. you could easily do all that stuff you said (minimize word, chrome, excel, etc). Android pauses the apps that don't need to waste CPU power when they are minimized. So if you minimize word, excel, chrome, and all that, your phone would run just as fast as if you had just booted it up and not opened anything.

So yes, I would put my phone against your computer any day of the week. I'll minimize all the same stuff as you and my phone will still be a lot faster than your computer. In fact, the more stuff you minimize the slower it will get, while my phone will still be blazing along like I hadn't opened anything.

Let me put it to you like this- I have a Google Chrome laptop. It boots up in a few seconds and does everything faster than any Windows or Mac computer I have ever seen. And the entire OS is web based. It's basically what these smartphones of the future will be running when they get put in a laptop dock (not the Atrix, but the next gen after that). I'm pretty sure you've never even seen Google's Chrome OS (it's a private Beta that you have to be selected for by Google) so you have no idea what you're talking about.

If you think Google is getting into this business to lose, you're crazy. Their smartphone OS is now the most popular, even more popular than Symbian. If you don't think their Chrome OS will do to Windows what their smartphone OS did to Windows Mobile, you're crazy. And Google is quite clear, Chrome OS will be what runs when you dock an Android phone in the future.
Click to expand...

Did you sign up for your free 25 gb? Did you then pay to expand that out or is 25 gb enough for you? In your "all phones are PC's utopia" you keep skirting around cost. "Oh yeah the phone will be basically free, $300 bucks max." does not jive with "The phone will completely replace all PCs and laptops." Where there is increased demand there is increased price. The same will apply to the phone as well as the storage medium. You think these storage companies exist out of the goodness of their hearts? Really?

You do realize the other options you gave are stand-alone items right? Flies in the face of your "nothing ever needed ever again thanks to cloud everything" platform. Fact is cloud memory will cost you in the end.

If you really think 1 TB is such a gigantic number you really have no clue what the average computer user has on their computer. I upgraded my dad's memory just from photos video and music. He is about as computer savvy as any other 74 year old. We upgraded him to 1 Tb so we didn't need to worry about it for a while. He started scanning his old slides and such and now we might need to upgrade again.

Your definition of "normal user" is specious. What about the millions who have a desktop and not a laptop at all. You forgot to add something to your definition. I fixed it above.

And you avoided the very crux of my post: I need multiple computers in my home and will not buy multiple phones that can be much more easily lost/damaged/stolen than a home PC can, especially with kids, also that I have to pay monthly fees for each one separately. Much cheaper monthly to pay for the phones I use as phones.

It is still not as simple as you make it out to be.
 
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