I made a post a long while ago with things I’d like to see made. While I’m still waiting for cellphone away messages, I learned about Freenet, which is essentially the second idea I described. I’ve been meaning to play around with it, but I haven’t really had the time. Still, good to know it exists.
New ideas!
These are very mobile-computing based. Netbooks have gained popularity as of late, and I’m a little confused as to why. They’re alright, but for all they do you’re better off carrying a decent smart phone around (I’ve been eyeing Nokia’s N85). I think there are considerable advantages to this approach, and with a few addons, a smart phone could outperform netbooks.
The first is a very simple idea, which would make smart phones more usable for mobile computing. Imagine a small keyboard, with an empty slot where the calc pad usually is. Plug your phone into that slot, and you now have a large keyboard to use to type things (like actual documents, not SMSs). Since keyboards require very little actual space, underneath the keys can be a small bank of batteries that will charge the phone while it is plugged in. Since this battery bank is larger than the phone, I would imagine this setup would have an incredibly long battery life (days of activity, weeks of standby) before you had to recharge it all. It would also be easy to throw a couple ports on this, just to make the package complete. Most smart phones support video out in some capacity, so building that into this device would make hooking up to a monitor or TV easier. And a USB port of two for that misc gadget that needs charging or whatnot. There you go – everything a netbook does and more. Slip your phone back in your pocket when you don’t need all that crap.
Next is a sort of toned down version of that last idea, just to achieve full keyboard functionality. Anywhere with a computer, you can usually find a USB keyboard (I never see PS2 anymore). A small bluetooth dongle that would attach to the USB cord of a keyboard, and allow it to interface with your phone would be pretty slick. Just pop it on, sync it with your phone, and you’ve got a full-size input device. And all you have to carry around is something smaller than a thumbdrive.
I would buy either of these things if they were made. Someone please make them.