Smartphones are often compared to older computers, in terms of processing power. With Casetop, we can now use smartphones brains in laptop bodies, thus taking advantage of a larger display and a fully-fledged keyboard.
Every smartphone owner out there is proud of his device and its capabilities, but we all have to admit that these devices still have some shortcomings. The diagonal of flagship smartphones has long passed 5″, and the line between them and tablets is thinning with each passing day, but they still don’t compare to the display of a notebook. Also, most people still consider hardware keyboards something necessary, since these are easier to use than the software counterparts. Other than that, modern smartphones (especially the ones running Android) pack fast enough CPUs and plenty of RAM to run all sorts of apps.
Livi Design, the developer of the Casetop, made sure that this product is available with a wide range of smartphones. Besides iPhones and Blackberry smartphones, Casetop supports most Android handsets. In other words, if your smartphones features video output and Bluetooth, it will work just fine with this device. The full list of compatible devices can be found here. Fret not, Livi Design will continue to update this list periodically, to ensure the relevance of their product.
One might say that Asus Padfone was built around a similar concept, since it uses the phone’s processing power for working on a tablet’s display. However, Padfone Infinity has a cost of around $950, while the Casetop starts at only $250 and it packs a hardware keyboard.
Casetop is currently featured on Kickstarter, so if you have faith in this project, feel free to back it. At press time, it received 20% of the necessary funds, with 24 more days to go.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVFrD9_5fZ8&w=600&h=338]
Livi Design prides itself for creating a product that could compete against Apple, Sony or Asus any time of the day. I beg to differ, as the Casetop looks a bit bulkier than Apple’s MacBooks. However, at least in this particular case, it’s functionality that matters, and the potential of this product cannot be denied. The developer certainly knows what cards to play, since it puts such things as extended battery power in focus. Make sure you visit the Casetop website to learn about the specs of this device, in case you’re interested in backing the project.
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