
We're Andromium. Making the Superbook, a $99 Android Laptop Shell. AMA - ajiang
Hey HN!<p>There have been a couple HN posts that others have posted about our Kickstarter for the Superbook, our shell that turns any Android phone into a laptop for $99. We didn&#x27;t see them until fairly late, so wanted to do an AMA, answering questions about the technology, its applications, our production schedule, manufacturing costs (how we can price it so low), or just anything else in general.<p>Also wanted to put out an open offer to stop by our offices on 5th and Mission and play with the current working prototype (bring your Android phone too!). Just email me at andrew@andromiumos.com.<p>Kickstarter: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.kickstarter.com&#x2F;projects&#x2F;andromium&#x2F;the-superbook-turn-your-smartphone-into-a-laptop-f
======
ethanpil
Whats your plan on competing with China copycats, who are no doubt already
working on a lower cost clone of your product?

Since its such a great idea, but uses mostly off the shelf parts and doesn't
require much specialization, its a perfect target for them.

Look at the patterns: They quickly cannibalize and eventually completely
commoditize the market for easy-to-copy products by flooding ebay, amazon,
aliexpress, etc with comparable but cheaper items, some of which are probably
going to be made by your own supplier/factory in China. Eventually the best of
these these get on Engadget or Gizmodo and that's it.

Examples: Android tablets, Google Cardboard, Android Phones, Phone Batteries,
etc.

Certainly many will have inferior packaging and engrish manuals. But some will
be good enough or better than your product... I would be terrified to base a
business around this type of item.

~~~
adultSwim
Great question. The copycats will be agile (quick to market, quick to iterate
through changes) but I imagine their software side would be lacking. Should
Andromium be more afraid of Samsung/HTC/etc? Xiaomi? (in between a generic
copycat and a Samsung)

With so much data being pushed off devices and onto 3rd parties, I wonder if
the real competition is Apple and Google?

~~~
ethanpil
But they don't need software. You are doing that work for them by giving away
your core platform for free. I would imagine that if you change that now your
userbase would likely rebel and/or clone/fork your software. Do you plan on
hardware locking Andromium?

~~~
ajiang
Hardware locking is an option, but to be perfectly honest, we can be a lot
more creative than that: \- Freemium tier pricing \- Software licensing for
enterprise (security features) \- 'Preloading' apps \- Direct app integration
into desktop features

Given how critical the software experience is (and by the way how difficult
building an OS experience inside of another OS is), I wouldn't be too quick to
assume people jump to whatever is free.

------
Jedd
I have a bunch of possibly naive questions.

I have an Android tablet (Samsung Tab Pro - the 12" beast). An experiment at
replacing a laptop on some outings. I bought the A$140 Logitech keyboard /
cover, which is good but not great, with some keys being a bit recalcitrant.

Some UI features are frustrating (example: alt-tab brings up the alt-tab
switcher - you need to alt-tab twice to move to the most recent process, and
toggling between two or three apps on the top of the stack is a common use
case for me if I'm trying to do Real Work). An Android problem, I concede.

Given that context - how good is the keyboard, and how are you shipping
keyboard + screen at less than a Logitech keyboard - I know, retail, scale,
brand mark-up, two years later, etc ... but nonetheless?

Does the app smooth out some of the frustrations (f.e. the alt-tab problem) of
working with Android with a keyboard & mouse as though it's a real grown-up
DE? Is the app going to offer an increasingly customisable experience, or does
it defer to the phone's native Android (and skins) features?

How does it _feel_ \- I know you're biased, but have you tried some phones
that it just doesn't work on, and/or have some benchmarks or recommendations?
I'm on an original Nexus 5 - which still performs adequately, but with low
expectations on a phone interface - how well would it drive the Superbook?

~~~
ajiang
Yea totally - trust me when I first started on this, I had a lot of the same
question.

Keyboard: Think of the keyboard of your standard Chromebook. That's the
keyboard. We have to use off the shelf, component parts that are fairly common
in order to keep costs low.

Screen: Basic screen is a TN 768p. It's not fantastic, but at a 11.6" screen
size, it's fine. For an extra $30, you can get the IPS 1080p upgrade. They're
pretty solid.

Keyboard / Mouse / Alt-Tab frustration: Yep. Our software mainly spends a lot
of time making the experience of using keyboard and mouse decent. We do take
on a number of the phone's native features, but desktop experience
optimization is why we built our app - it's the missing software link. For
those of you with tablets and usb mouse / keyboard that want to give it a try,
test out the beta:
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andromium.os&hl=en

Phones that don't work: Yea, definitely lower end phones, phones with <2GB RAM
run a little rough. There are still a bunch of software features to add / fix
/ optimize. It still has a bit to go before we hit full desktop parity. We see
this as a software problem that we just need to spend a bunch of time on.

------
ajiang
I'm serious about the offer to visit our office. We know Kickstarters have a
bad rap for vaporware that takes forever to deliver. You can visit and play
with our working prototype. You can try our software beta on your Android
phone. And if you're in Shenzhen next week, you and I can kick it at one of
the CMs we're looking at (currently in Shanghai myself).

~~~
brudgers
I think one of the reasons for the reputation is that in order to attract
funding, the price has to be highly competitive and the features have to be
remarkable and it's hard to one, let alone both with hardware [with software
the price is easier because free to use is possible since revenue can come
from advertising and data sales and subscriptions].

I think another reason for the reputation is that crowdfunding is often a
necessity when there is a lack of sufficient capital to carry out the project
to completion. For hardware, with long lead times and multi-level supply
chains lack of sufficient upfront working capital. The attractiveness of
crowdfunding when faced with working capital shortfalls means that projects
likely to run out of money are more likely to wind up with overly optimistic
pre-sales pitches on crowdfunding sites.

Which leads to my question: Since crowdfunders are investors, is there a place
where prospective investors can see the full company financials including cash
on hand, operating expenses, accounts payable, receivables, and all the other
documents that due diligence would suggest?

~~~
ajiang
The basic premise here that crowdfunders are investors is wrong. They're idea
backers - people that are willing to donate money to see great ideas come to
life. Kickstarter says this themselves, and it's a little strange to make the
jump that a backer == and investor. Wouldn't you agree?

~~~
brudgers
I think the reputation stems primarily from crowdfunders ultimately receiving
less than was expected earlier when the money changed hands. So I think
"investor" might be overly generous for crowdfunding projects where the sales
pitches that are structured like advertisements for consumer products.

That's not to say that there are not crowdfunders who are having fun funding
projects while recognizing there is little or no chance of delivery. What I am
saying is that the reputation comes from people without that view of the
world.

All that with the caveat that my definition of 'donate' appears to have a
different connotation.

------
franciscop
Hi I love the superbook. However I totally feel like calling 11.6" a "Large
screen" is a stretch. Is there any plan to bring an actually middle-sized
screen such as 13.3"? If there was a 13.3" 1080p screen I'd buy it right now.

PS, would love that it was backlit, that is literally the only complain I have
with my Asus UX305CA

~~~
ajiang
Yep, it's marketing - can't deny that. You wouldn't believe how easy it is to
fail at Kickstarter and how important preparation and good marketing is.

Yes, we've gotten a ton of good feedback that people are willing to pay for a
premium version. If we hit the 2.5M stretch goal, backlit will be a
possibility :). We like it, but we also did a survey of our backers that said
~50% would pay for it.

~~~
franciscop
By premium you mean backlight, right? 13" is not an option so far?

~~~
ajiang
We're definitely considering 13" for our next version. But we want to deliver
this version out first. 13" would require us to design a new shell and also
source a few more components, including new packaging. Gets a lot tricker.

------
outdooricon
You mention that you can write code on the Superbook, but I've yet to find any
good ide in Android. Any plans to create or partner with someone to get
something like Atom running in Andromium/Android? Do you have a particular
favorite that you always use right now?

~~~
ajiang
YES! We want to. Please reach out to us Atom guys. We're working with some
friends working on a cloud IDE, but this is an area where we admit theres a
gap in software. We intend to close this gap.

~~~
benologist
Have you looked into wine / crossover? They already have the Windows version
of Steam and playable games running on x86 android.

~~~
ajiang
Oh interesting, looking into WINE some more.

------
daveguy
How well does it work _without_ Andromium? For instance:

Can I enter directly to the phone with the keyboard? Does the phone screen
show on the large screen without Andromium? Is the large screen a touch
screen?

Even more important -- if I have a rooted/virtual machine instance of a
_standard Linux distro_ running on my smartphone, can I use that? Do I have to
use Andromium if I have a setup like a rooted chromebook? Turning the
smartphone into a laptop it seems the biggest limitation would then be the app
store. I don't want it to "feel" like a computer. I want it to be a computer
-- OS and all.

One final question. What is your privacy policy, open vs closed source and
permission requirements for Andromium and why?

This is a great idea, but I am raising a serious eyebrow at the Andromium
aspect of it.

~~~
ajiang
It works fine without Andromium, but it is just a larger version of your phone
screen.

The answer is Yes. As long as the device you're working on as a displaylink
driver, you can use it. In fact:

Superbook + Surface tablet:
[https://vimeo.com/176370847](https://vimeo.com/176370847) Superbook + Mac:
[http://imgur.com/a/oZwwN](http://imgur.com/a/oZwwN) Superbook + PC Stick:
[http://imgur.com/a/eTbtm](http://imgur.com/a/eTbtm)

~~~
tmzt
Is it a DisplayLink 3? There doesn't seem to be an open driver for that due to
hardware copy protection features.

~~~
ajiang
4 series :)

------
daveguy
A few items that would make me buy two $200+ versions of this:

Video extension for multiple monitors. For example the ability to plug my
phone into a dual monitor setup for coding.

A 13" primary monitor.

Touchscreen on the primary monitor for those annoying times when you forget
it's not touchscreen.

USB ports on the device so I can plug in a wireless mouse and keyboard.

Standard Linux OS virtual machine or rooted a la chromebooks.

Then I would carry my phone between home and work and plug it in both places.
No more need to carry a laptop. You could pick one of them up and take it with
you for travel. That would be beautiful.

I currently tote my 13" laptop around and plug in an extra monitor and
wireless usb mouse/keyboard at the endpoints.

------
ajiang
Real talk on limitations: really intensive apps will be hard to run in
Andromium. Also, phones with <2GB RAM will run into latency issues. Most apps
will currently run in full screen mode, with only those with our SDK included
having resizing / multi-window capabilities.

~~~
austinsharp
What about the multi-window support coming in Android Nougat, will that enable
more out of the box functionality?

~~~
ajiang
YES! And also more apps that have tablet mode either built in or capable of
being included.

------
wiredfool
Is it plausible that this could work with a raspberry pi?

Or hell, even as a tty/dumb terminal for a random linux box?

~~~
ajiang
Haha..keep it a secret: [http://imgur.com/PViKxMD](http://imgur.com/PViKxMD)

Actually have only sneaked this to our commenters. Will do an update to
everyone soon...

~~~
irq-1
Cool! Have you considered embedding a Raspberry Pi Zero so the Superbook can
get on the web when there's not a phone attached? I know that's like
reinventing the Chromebook, but the CPU and memory are so cheap...

~~~
ajiang
It is really cool, but for our vision, it is just a neat feature. We want to
empower device convergence, so that Android smartphone can be leveraged as
laptops for learning and productivity use :)

~~~
type0
> It is really cool, but for our vision, it is just a neat feature.

If you release it for Raspberry Pi, you could get a lot of exposure on techy
blogs, that's essentially free advertisement to reach many more core
customers, I think you're underestimating what level of goodwill it might
bring.

------
ajiang
A few technical questions also covered in our AMA on Reddit a couple weeks
back:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/4ty163/were_androm...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/4ty163/were_andromium_making_the_superbook_a_99_android/)

~~~
ajiang
Also XDA did a little bit of a technical dive into our product:
[http://www.xda-developers.com/andromiums-99-superbook-
conver...](http://www.xda-developers.com/andromiums-99-superbook-converts-
your-android-smartphone-into-a-laptop/)

Particularly relevant is the portions on the use of the DisplayLink 4xxx
chipset, USB-OTG, and battery size

------
franciscop
Another question, how does it all work internally? Is it just an USB Hub?
Would I be able, for example, to connect my main Laptop to the Superbook and
use it as another screen+keyboard+mouse?

~~~
ajiang
USB hub + a display link chip + power circuitry. Yes you can!

Check it out:

Surface + Superbook:
[https://vimeo.com/176370847/ddd187ceab](https://vimeo.com/176370847/ddd187ceab)
Mac + Superbook: [http://imgur.com/a/oZwwN](http://imgur.com/a/oZwwN) PC Stick
+ Superbook: [http://imgur.com/a/eTbtm](http://imgur.com/a/eTbtm)

~~~
franciscop
I really want to try it then in pair programming or while teaching programming
to someone. Looking forward for the 13" version, thanks!

~~~
ajiang
YES we really want that to happen.

------
logfromblammo
What I want is to sit in my recliner at home, and put one device--that
includes monitor, keyboard, speakers, and mouse--into my lap, with one shared
cable--for USB, audio, video, and power--running down to a MiniITX shoebox on
the floor next to my chair.

Can Superbook do that, with any combination of commodity cable adapters?

I want to turn a large self-assembled home computer into a laptop, not just my
phone. That is, something with a powerful processor and dedicated high-
resolution video hardware. I think you probably know what I'm getting at,
here. I want to put my feet up and play 3D games with WASD+mouse, without
juggling all the human interface devices in my lap or building my own custom
swing-arm stand for them. Right now, I can handle a regular laptop and
wireless mouse, but if the monitor is not affixed to the keyboard, it all
falls apart. More specifically, the monitor falls over.

So will Superbook be able to connect with DisplayPort/HDMI in addition to
connecting the human interface devices through USB? If not, extra bonus
stretch goal?

------
ChartsNGraffs
I remember a while back there was the similar ClamCase Clambook[1] (all
manufacturer links now non-existent). It never shipped. Any relation to that
project? 1 - [http://www.zdnet.com/article/clambook-turn-your-
smartphone-i...](http://www.zdnet.com/article/clambook-turn-your-smartphone-
into-a-laptop/)

~~~
betimsl
There was also Motorola Atrix and one can get that laptop/shell for $75 on
eBay. I wonder if their app works with it.

~~~
ajiang
Haha yes! But when it came out, the laptop shell was $500-$600. Unsupported
hardware has a tendency to get cheap ;)

~~~
skykooler
I've been using the Atrix lapdock for a while with a Raspberry Pi, and the one
thing that bothered me is that keys for adjusting things on the dock itself
(like screen brightness, or keyboard backlight) don't work unless the USB is
connected to a device that recognizes it. Is this the same for the Superbook,
or does it process its own key presses?

------
tikumo
Already bought the Nexdock..

I would really like to see a slot for the phone, like the old Asus Tablet
where you could insert a telephone in the back.

~~~
ajiang
That's cool! We're big fans, and Nexdock is great for Windows mobile phones.
We are not compatible with Windows mobile phones at all.

The slot is interesting, but makes it hard to fit with every phone. One of the
biggest challenges of Android is the fragmentation across devices, OSes, and
experiences. We wanted to make this accessible to ALL Android devices, so
that's why we opted for the side mount option instead.

------
type0
Does my phone needs to have MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) to be able to
connect it? or how does it work via USB?

~~~
ajiang
No MHL needed. We use a DisplayLink 4xxx series chip that converts video data
over USB. Works with Lollipop and above.

See:
[http://www.displaylink.com/downloads/android](http://www.displaylink.com/downloads/android)

~~~
ajiang
It's also why we can work with almost any modern android device. Only USB-OTG
support is needed.

~~~
iofj
Doesn't that mean that there are serious limitations when it comes to 3d games
or video watching on the bigger screen ?

~~~
ajiang
Yes totally for 3D games. We see the Superbook as more of a productivity tool.
You would most likely still play your games on your phone. But for video
watching, no. There's virtually no lag. See our Surface demo to get a sense of
how well it works: [https://vimeo.com/176370847](https://vimeo.com/176370847)

Btw because we use DisplayLink, you can also use the Superbook as a secondary
monitor / keyboard / mouse for windows tablet,s laptops, and PC sticks.

------
nomanisanisland
Wouldn't have been possible to put a slot inside the keyboard dock where you
could insert your phone and close it inside?

Not an Ubuntu touch expert, but would it be compatible? Just plugging it in
and have what ubuntu want to reach? a complete linux distro on the go? If not,
are you able to support it?

~~~
ajiang
You could, buuuut Android phones are so fragmented that it would be really
really hard to do it for every phone and have it be aesthetically pleasing.
That's why we opted for the universal side mount option.

------
bergie
I'm curious about how the Superbook is charged. It seems you're shipping a
custom charger, but also somewhere on the Kickstarter it talks about micro-
USB. So, would a regular USB charger be able to charge the Superbook, or does
it only work with your own charging brick?

~~~
ajiang
Great question. The Superbook is charged using a standard micro-b cord. A
regular charger works fine. To charge the phone however is a little complex.
We have a custom USB-OTG cord for that. The reason is because we need to send
data one way and power the other.

~~~
organsnyder
Any chance that the Superbook could be charged over USB-C instead? I'm trying
(with middling success) to avoid purchasing any devices with other charging
ports at this point.

~~~
ajiang
Totally - I think we'll do this if we can, but there are some certification
challenges w/Type C if you ONLY use it as a charging port. At least that's
what we've heard - would welcome anyone who'd know more about this from a
hardware mfg standpoint

------
qwertyuiop924
Okay: Will you opensource you app?

On a related note, will you have a well-defined API for other apps to have
first-class support for this thing?

I think that's everything... ooh! ooh! No it isn't!

You said that the superbook would be suitable for coding. so will you provide
any of:

1: A terminal emulator

2: An X Server

3: Emacs

Thank you for your time.

~~~
aaronchall
You can get Termux on Android and run Emacs! I even run Spacemacs.

[https://termux.com/](https://termux.com/)

I don't think Termux comes with an X server though... However, looks like X
server is available on Android for a while now:

[https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/03/06/1837245/x-server-
no...](https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/03/06/1837245/x-server-now-
available-for-android)

~~~
qwertyuiop924
Alright!

------
tlundberg
Have you guys heard about the Casetop?
[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lividesign/casetop-
ever...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lividesign/casetop-every-phone-
becomes-a-laptop)

Cleaver way of docking the phone! (Especially the option to slide it in under
the keyboard.) I wish you could do something similar :)

------
cableshaft
Are there plans to bring the Superbook to retail later at a similar price
point (or even just selling off your website)?

I'm tempted to back this but I'm in the middle of a move and some personal
expenses so I'm trying to be good and conserve money right now, so it'd be
nice to know that the Kickstarter won't be the only opportunity in the next
year or two to get this.

~~~
ajiang
Please don't worry about it! We intend on having it up for pre-sale + online
purchase.

------
tlundberg
I read that someone mentioned it already, but didn't find a good response, so
I'll ask again.

When doing web development the browser dev tools are indispensable. Is there
any possibility to run a full desktop browser on an Android phone to get those
tools? Or some other way to inspect elements, live edit CSS properties, debug
JavaScript etc.

~~~
ajiang
Yea we see developer work as a key use case for the Superbook. We have a
decent desktop browser in the Superbook, but it's going to take some work to
integrate a full dev environment. Something that we're keen on doing.

~~~
tlundberg
Ohh, you have your own browser? What other browser is it based on? Do you have
any screen shots? Does it support plugins?

------
axit
Clickable link: [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andromium/the-
superbook...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andromium/the-superbook-
turn-your-smartphone-into-a-laptop-f)

------
nashashmi
On a more theoretical question:

Is a solution technically possible where the phone is connected to a normal
desktop/laptop via USB, and I could extend in to the phone via a semi-full
screen portal?

What limitations are there that are preventing this from happening?

~~~
pjc50
In that configuration the computer is the host and the phone is the 'device'.
You'd have to either install some kind of remote viewer on the phone (e.g.
Chromecast), or reverse the host relationship and put something like the
DisplayLink chip in the middle.

~~~
ajiang
Yep - spot on

------
skoczymroczny
I love the idea of the device, but I have doubts about international shipping
costs. It's hard for me to imagine buying a product, 50% price of which is
shipping costs :/

------
ChartsNGraffs
I don't know if this feature is on the roadmap, but touchscreen would be cool
(and probably super hard to implement) because of how much of the mobile
experience is geared towards that.

~~~
ajiang
100% possible and in the roadmap for v2. We couldn't add it to this version
and keep it at $99, but trust me - I've touched the screen more than a few
times.

------
echeese
How does the display work? I know my phone doesn't support MHL or Slimport so
is there some sort of HDMI over USB or something?

------
cordite
How does this compare to the user experience on Remix OS?

~~~
ajiang
Remix is unabashedly better of a user experience right now. It has to be. They
rewrote Android to be a desktop OS - you can't get more integrated than that.
However, two things: 1) they had to break Android, which means no more access
to Google services, including the play store. 2) you have to install Remix OS,
getting rid of your Android Os. Which wouldn't work on a phone. So you still
have to stick with multiple devices.

~~~
cordite
Apparently one can still get to the google play store [1], similar to
Cyanogenmod missing Play Store out of the box.

Is there inspiration or parts you can share with Remix?

[1]: [http://liliputing.com/2016/01/remix-os-for-pc-how-to-
install...](http://liliputing.com/2016/01/remix-os-for-pc-how-to-install-the-
google-play-store.html)

~~~
ajiang
Totally. We will absolutely love to get as pretty and as functional as Remix,
with just downloading an app. I think that's the key - it needs to live on the
phone and it can't require installing a new OS.

~~~
cordite
Best wishes! It would be very neat to see how this proceeds!

------
supernintendo
I see no mention of audio on your Kickstarter page or amongst these comments.
Does the Superbook have audio support or does it use my phone for that?

~~~
kylorhall
It's in the FAQ, a bit hidden..

\--

Here's a list of features that have been requested of us that we WON'T be
considering for our Kickstarter model (but maybe in the future):

\- Audio speakers (trust us, the ones on your phone are much better than any
speaker we could source affordably)

~~~
supernintendo
Ah, that's too bad but I guess it makes sense. Would buy a "pro" version of
this if it had a built in low latency audio interface or even just a DAC. I'm
not sure if the Android APIs support such a thing, however.

~~~
robocat
A Bluetooth speaker is a fine compromise.

~~~
supernintendo
Not for realtime audio applications, way too much latency.

------
davidiach
How do regular apps like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter etc. look like
on the device. Are they stretched out versions of the Phone apps?

~~~
ajiang
Right now, landscape mode versions of the phone apps. Part of the work we need
to do as a company is to build out our developer ecosystem, so companies can
allow the Tablet versions of their apps to show in multi-window mode when
plugged into the Superbook.

------
Rachine
Hi, with all the experiments you made on android smartphones, have you
documented the performance of the smartphone over the time?

------
ChartsNGraffs
Do I have to run Andromium to use it or can I also use my current setup and
have it simply mirror my display with keyboard/mouse?

~~~
ajiang
You don't need to, but the mirror of your smartphone display sometimes ends up
being a fully portrait screen - not the best experience.

------
pekingduck
Works well with Termux (especially with Emacs)?

~~~
ajiang
Yea it works with Termux just fine. We're working on getting a better solution
for programming though :)

------
blackguardx
What marketing did you do prior to launching the Kickstarter? Did you use paid
ads to build an email list?

~~~
ajiang
Everything we did that mattered, I actually detailed out in a piece for
Startup Grind: [https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/how-we-blew-past-our-
crowd...](https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/how-we-blew-past-our-crowdfunding-
goal-in-the-first-10-minutes/)

~~~
blackguardx
Great article. Did you use an outside marketing consultant or do all this
yourself?

~~~
ajiang
We had some great mentors who provided guidance from their on Kickstarter
experience :)

We did the work ourselves. Except for the video. That was all Glass and Marker

------
mstrblueskys
Hey - I'm thinking about pulling the trigger - but I have one question - does
it work with Continuum?

~~~
ajiang
Haha don't pull the trigger! It doesn't work with Continuum. Windows mobile is
hard to support -_-

~~~
tmzt
Is that just the lack of a compatible DisplayLink driver? Would it be possible
to support HDMI in (without HDCP)? Is that a limitation of the DL chip since
there are USB monitors that support HDMI in as well.

Also, on Reddit it was mentioned that you have a headphone jack, does this
involve a codec and pre-amp hardware? Does this increase the price or
complexity?

~~~
ajiang
Yep - that's exactly right.

We could at some point, but our goal isn't to support windows. Our belief is
that device convergence will happen and Android phones will lead the way.

We don't have a headphone jack! Sorry if there was any misinformation / if I
messed up there. Lots of chefs were in that particular AMA kitchen. This one:
just me.

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a_lifters_life
How really does this work? I plug in my android 5+ smartphone, and I can
access my apps on it?

~~~
ajiang
Yea. Andromium (our App) makes Android function like a familiar desktop OS,
and gives apps with our SDK some additional capabilities (resizing,
multitasking, etc.). Every other app simply opens up in full size mode, so you
can still use all of your regular Android apps. Check out the beta:
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andromium.os&hl=en

~~~
a_lifters_life
How is this different than airdroid?

~~~
ajiang
Airdroid is for your laptop to have access to Android apps. We're big
proponents of device convergence, that our smartphones are so important and
powerful now that we don't need to maintain multiple computing devices.
Consider how often you upgrade your phone and how much of your life / data /
files / apps are on it. For most people, 90% of their computing needs happen
on the smartphone. The remaining 10% of the time is spent mainly on things
like browsing, writing long documents etc - things that are simply made better
by a larger screen and laptop form factor.

The benefit of having everything on one computer is that you don't need to
sync files and constantly upgrade multiple devices. You get to stay in one
computing ecosystem.

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56k
Are you going to deliver, unlike most hardware Kickstarter projects?

~~~
ajiang
Haha I sense no underlying tone here at all.

Yea we're going to try. I mean honest to god we're like any other SF startup.
If we don't deliver, we're screwed.

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sgt
Slightly off-topic, but is there something similar that exists for iOS? I have
an old iPhone 5 in my car that I'd like to control using a much larger touch
screen that is to be mounted on the dashboard somewhere.

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mkaziz
How much are you anticipating this will cost after launch?

~~~
ajiang
Current plan is to launch at $129 post-Kickstarter

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humanfromearth
Love how the website in the demo is theverge.com. That pretty much convinced
me it's good hardware.

~~~
devopsproject
all the processing happens on the phone...

