Microsoft has filed a patent called "Smart interface system for mobile communication devices" to turn your smartphone into a "full-fledged" PC with peripherals. The patent application dated January 22, 2009 (originally filed in Dec 2007) describes the Smart Interface as an intelligent cradle that acts as an interface between the mobile device and the peripherals.
The cradle would have its own CPU, memory and an embedded OS that handles communication between the phone and peripherals such as LAN, external HDD, keyboard, mouse, display etc., of your choice. For instance a video stream, downloaded by the smartphone can be translated by the cradle into commands that a display or a projector can handle.
Microsoft includes a virtually unlimited list of peripherals that can be connected to the smart system such as:
- TV
- LED, LCD displays
- Projectors
- Mice and Keyboards
- Gesture input systems
- Touchpads
- Touch screen displays
- Printers
- Cameras
- Audio and Audio Processing systems (speakers, electronic music systems, etc.)
- Image/Video and Image/Video Processing systems (video cameras, digital cameras, scanners, etc.)
- Storage systems (USB drives, IEEE 1394 drives, external drives, flash drives, etc.)
- Wire and Wireless Networks
- Set-top-boxes
- High-Definition systems
- Home Theater Systems
- Security Systems
- Sensor Systems
Because you can't talk in the cradle or put it in your pocket?!
It's a hardware patent...
- The idea here is to make the "personnal computer" concept even stronger. Imagine : You are at home, you need power from your PC so you use the dock (which has a co-processor and all the niceties). You want to go to work ? no synch stuff is needed, you just "unplug" your smartphone and take it with you. Then once you're at work, plug in your smartphone again in your dock and you're ready to go ! That's what we usually call convergence.
Your entire post sounds like it was from a hidden microphone in Microsoft's board room when this idea was pitched. Do you work there?
Your entire post sounds like it was from a hidden microphone in Microsoft's board room when this idea was pitched. Do you work there?
I personally think that device is just what I would buy straight away.
I think there will be public screens installed in former telephone booths where everyone would be able to enter, authorise, work a bit on a big screen, save data on the personal smartphone, and buggerroff.
Critical notes "ad hominem" don't make much honour.
Hmm... makes the iPhone nearly obsolete by most comparisons considering the iPhone is only really just starting to do what the smartphones could do years ago, save for the fancy multi-touch stuff.
Windows Mobile was almost first (RIM beat them slightly) with push email, first with GSM, first with UMTS... first with most everything.
Last edited by abecedarian on 31 Jan 2009 - 04:33
Then you connect it to peripherals you need at the moment. Let's say if you want to work on a Word document, you need keyboard, mouse, big screen. If you want to play a game, you need joystick or game controller, big screen, powerful graphics adapter, DVD/BluRay reader.
For simpler things, phone should be quite enough per se. You will wear an OLED display instead of your watch, this is where you will see who's calling you, or SMS you're typing...
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