Use your smartphone as your main computer

Seeing as now we have access to very high spec and high performance smartphones like the iPhone 4, HTC Desire and many more. Could we use them as our main computer?

The main reason i want to be able to do this is because, this seems like the greenest approach. Smartphones are powerful and versatile, very small and so use smaller amounts of materials than desktops, laptops and even netbooks. They also consume less power and are fully mobile.

I'd love to be able to hook my computer up to an external full size, screen, keyboard and mouse, but is it possible? Well you can buy external cabled and bluetooth keyboards and mice so no problem there. However external display is the one things you dont seem to be able to do that easily. The reason being is that most smartphones do not have an external video port. The only one i have found that has an external HDMI port is the new Sone Ericsson Experia Arc and Pro, although seems to only provide this for pictures and movies, but can you edit documents live and write emails etc.....this i just dont know and it doesn't seem so.

The only device i have found that will allow you to hook up your mobile when back at base to full size peripherals is the Celio Corp - RedFly device.

The RedFly mobile dock when back at base allows you to connect your smartphone to a full size computer screen, mouse and keyboard. Maybe even a projector! This seems like a great solution for those of us that want to use just one device for everything but be able to see what we are doing and do it in a way that is going to be the most ergonomically benefial to us and not cause any pain or physical problems through long term use.

RedFly make 2 devices one is the desktop dock as mentioned above and the other is the RedFly Companion which is a netbook sized device. This device allows you to connect via blutooth or USB to your smartphone and interact  with it via a larger screen, keybaord and touchpad.

Both of these devices seem to take a bit closer to being able to use a smartphone as a main device and help save huge amounts of material and energy use all because currently smartphones cannot be used very easily as main devices due to screen size and other issues. These are the kinds of devices i'd expect to see emerging more in the future until that is the mobile companies embed such capabilities into their phones will only be a matter of time. Expect smartphones to become the main device of the future.

RedFly companion C8N as shown above costs $249

and the RedFly Desktop Dock is £249

More information can be found at www.celiocorp.com