My dream of one device is almost a reality

In early 2004, I dreamed of a single device for computing. I carried a cell phone, Palm T5 PDA and a Dell laptop for “on the go” access and had a desktop computer at the office. No matter what I wanted, it was on one of the other devices. I wanted one piece of hardware to be all that was needed.

I thought it happened in early 2005 when a customer came by the office to show off his OQO Model 1 computer. It was larger than my Palm with its 5” screen, but was still a handheld computer running a full version of Microsoft Windows. With the slide-out keyboard and the desktop dock, I thought this was it. Not exactly.

Disappointment

The hardware just couldn’t handle the bulk of Windows XP. It was slow and awkward with little memory and not enough room for all those big PC programs we ran on our desktops. The price was pretty steep at almost $2000. No, this wasn’t the ONE and I would have to wait a few more months for my one single device.

Android is the Bomb

A few months turned into a few years and now seven years later, it seems the promise of my dream is closer. Yesterday on Droid Life, they linked to a video out of the UK where a Galaxy Nexus was being used as a desktop computer. I’ve known this was possible for some time, but it is awful fussy. It’s still fussy, but the process is getting better.

Galaxy Nexus as a desktop engine

Using the right adapter and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, you can do almost everything on it. With cloud computing and the availability of great apps, one device can be your only piece of hardware.

We now have mobile versions of Mint, Evernote, Documents to Go, along with thousands of others. And if no app is available, just fire up the browser and do your computing from there. With a 20+ inch monitor it will be just fine.

With just a bluetooth keyboard, it makes an awesome mobile computer. Fire up Documents to Go and start drafting a business proposal, or open WordPress and get started on an article with pictures and videos posted straight from your phone.