In an increasingly mobile world where the use of smartphones and tablets gains more ground than the use of the PC, users need to combine the convenience of the mobile devices with the usability offered by the PC. In this window of opportunity is making its way NexDock.
NexDock is the project of the same name startup that aims to make each mobile device a real laptop.
NexDock is a 14-inch monitor with bluetoot keyboard and touchpad, all integrated into a case of a normal laptop. This “shell” can be connected to any type of mobile device in order to obtain advantages from both.
You can get the best from NexDock connecting a Windows 10 Mobile smartphone or tablet. Taking the advantages of the Continuum function of the mobile SO you can have a real operating system on NexDock. If the connected device is an iPhone or an Android device, NexDock can be used as an auxiliary monitor to see our content or as a game controller. By connecting a Rasberry Pi as “heart” of NexDOck you can have a real laptop, while connecting a PC stick you will be able to exploit all the potential of it. NexDock can also be connected to a computer as an external monitor.
In detail, the NexDock HW specifications are:
- Dimensions & weight: 351 mm x 233 mm x 20 mm, 1490 g
- Display: 14.1 inch 1366 * 768 TN screen with 16: 9 display ratio
- Keyboard and Touchpad: Bluetooth 4.0 class
- Battery: Li-ion battery, 3.8V / 10000mAh
- HDMI port: mini HDMI
- Connectivity: 2x USB port, 1 x TF card slot, 1 x 3.5mm headphone port, built-in dual speakers (NexDock works as expansion dock when connected via USB)
- Power: 3.5mm DC 5V / 2.5A
But this is just the beginning
NexDock is only the first step in a much more ambitious project.
“By separating processor and operating system from the display, we hope to start a paradigm shift in consumer electronics, where computers can be adapted to match your exact needs, generating less electronic waste for the environment.”
To start the idea is to produce docks with screens of different sizes in order to be able to adapt to the needs of each user and allow the connection of devices via USB type-C.
But the most ambitious step is to produce a variety of modules, comparable to PC-sticks, with different processors and operating systems.
In this way you can have multiple operating systems on a single dock, switchable according to your needs. This will also allow users to take with them their own module to have their own computer available wherever there is a monitor.
NexDock is a project funded from the bottom through a fundraising campaign on indiegogo, which reached 121% of its target. The production of the first pieces is already in progress and we can only wait for the first reviews to see if it is “all that glitters is gold”.
The project seems ambitious and very interesting.
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