My old netbook is about to die (yayyy the windows piece of s***)
I have external monitor , usb keyboard mouse ext hdd etc so….
thought about getting a whizzy smartphone and doing what this vid does

video on nexus 4 as a desktop replacement

without you having to watch it, its the obvious route of bluetooth key/mouse, hdmi output to external monitor – although screen resolution is compromised.

..problem is i quite like to do some webdesign for the other halfs website (xampp / notepad++ / file explorer / various web browsers)
could i do this on something like on an Andriod smartphone and still get the “desktop” web browser experience?

final problem is the external HDDs, it seems most smartphones are EITHER hdmi out or USB out, so there would be no way to connect the HDD and the external monitor. (unless there is a phone out there that ive missed in my research??) i could go via a 3G TABLET route with hdmi and usb (Acer Iconia etc) which may solve a these issues, but then its tricky to put that it the backpack on the bike for ride !

why would you take a tablet on a bike ride ?

if all you did was browse the net it be an ok compromise

but even with a smartphone and a tablet for home there are somethings you need a computer for i find.

for example one of my online bank accounts will not operate on either device.

cheap laptop would be a more competent less restricted solution.

tablet with 3G would be my only phone, hence why i would take it on a ride, unless i would then have to buy a smartphone and a tablet just to replace a “desktop” experience – as you say, at this point it becomes easier/cheaper to get a laptop!

tbh tablet with 3g as a phone and as a desktop replacement sounds like hell.

No and I’d say not really possible. I have replaced my laptop with a tablet but I still have a “desktop” (Mac Mini with the TV being the screen) and a phone.

infact id go as far as to say id rather a laptop with skype as a do it system.

I love my tablet, but I wouldn’t want to be without a laptop. They’re not really substitutes in my opinion. You can get some nice laptops not at a reasonable price.

thought about getting a whizzy smartphone and doing what this vid does

video on nexus 4 as a desktop replacement

EDIT: I’m an idiot, I didn’t watch the vid, I assumed it was the ubuntu for android vid, but it’s not 🙂

Here’s the vid my comment refers too:

http://www.ubuntu.com/phone/ubuntu-for-android

My original comment below –>

You realise you can’t actually do that yet, right?

They’ve shown off videos of prototypes but never released the software. They’ve publicly said (find the reddit AMA with the engineers) that they probably won’t and it’ll only appear with specific devices in partnership with manufacturers, which is a shame, but hey ho.

What do you intend to do on it.

Anything more taxing than web browsing and watching the odd film I wouldn’t have anything less than a laptop.

Don’t even buy in to the tablet as a replacement for some form of PC (or Mac before the lynch mob appears).

But then I do photo editing on 20mb RAW files and don’t fancy pushing those around on a tablet or smartphone!