Today I read an interesting article called, “What is the Everyman’s PC?” by Ben Brooks.
“It’s easy to see why one would argue that the iPad could be better suited for most people than a MacBook Air, but a cellphone? That seems like a stretch, right?”
An iPhone is a very cool phone, but a computer? No way.
That may be your initial reaction, but I ran an experiment today…
I paired my iPhone 4S with my wireless Bluetooth keyboard and sat down in my recliner. Then I mirrored my iPhone onto my 42″ HDTV. You can do that if you have one of those little Apple TV boxes hooked up.
Over the next little bit I read and replied to email, browsed some web sites, checked in on Facebook, and wrote an article.
All things most “normal people” do everyday with their computers. But my computer in this case was my iPhone. With the addition of a keyboard and a (giant) monitor I had almost the full computer experience. Enough to see that, for a lot of people, it could be a replacement for an actual computer.
Most people wouldn’t choose to do that, but someone with a limited budget or limited space could do it and probably be pretty happy.
Do your email, check out some web sites, then pop your computer into your pocket and head to the store.
Awesome. 🙂
8 Comments on “Using the iPhone As A Computer?”
Um…. You can get a netbooks for way less than an iPhone 4S, Apple TV, keyboard, and mouse, etc. All I need is a vga cable.
Sure, but you’re going to have a phone anyway, right? So that doesn’t count toward the purchase. And 90% (okay, I made that statistic up) of households have an HDTV so that doesn’t count toward the purchase. So now you’re down to just needing an Apple TV and Bluetooth keyboard — about $160 or so. Pretty cheap.
Plus, it’s cooler than a netbook. 🙂
… Not to mention I actually DO get the FULL computing experience instead of an ALMOST full one.
“Plus, it’s cooler than a netbook.”
Plus it’s smaller than a netbook – important unless you’ve got clown sized pockets! 🙂
“…unless you’ve got clown sized pockets!”
Hey! You say that like it’s a *bad* thing!
Jay – Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, Class of 1980
Nice pic! Is that a netbook in your pocket coz I can see from that smile you’re pleased to see me! 🙂
I’ve been considering the same thing, using my iPhone 4S as a computer.
More food for thought…
If you don’t have an HDTV you can also buy a wired VGA adapter for your iPhone or Apple TV for $29 to $59.
I wonder about the lack of a mouse, whether you’re using an iPhone or an iPad, but the device may actually provide this functionality in a far superior manner, because the screen and the mouse are the same device.
I’m excited to try this out with productivity apps like pages, numbers and keynote.
Thanks. I’m going to do the same for my son’s room. He already has an iphone 4GS and I put our older 42 inch LCD tv w/ the Apple TV2 in his room. I just have to get him a Bluetooth keyboard and set up Google Drive to save his docs for school.