> Smartphones have been "pocketable PCs" for more than a decade already, but are dumbed down because their inputs and outputs are limited.
I wish it was only about the i/o: pocket Bluetooth keyboards, mice and other i/o devices would be just a few bucks away. No, the problem is rather that phones/tablets use crippled dumbed down and tight closed operating systems that offer only a small fraction of the power a real computer offers, not to mention the huge privacy and security issues involved. Having the same hardware performance and storage of a good laptop means nothing if the OS doesn't offer a way to use it in a transparent and trustworthy way.
What is stopping you from adapting AOSP to have better keyboard integration? Android has been modified before to adapt to folding screens, tablets and multiple screens.
Locked bootloaders, for one. Even if you can unlock it, there's a disincentive to do so thanks to losing the SafetyNet status - which will brick a whole range of apps that refuse to run if it's not intact.
I wish it was only about the i/o: pocket Bluetooth keyboards, mice and other i/o devices would be just a few bucks away. No, the problem is rather that phones/tablets use crippled dumbed down and tight closed operating systems that offer only a small fraction of the power a real computer offers, not to mention the huge privacy and security issues involved. Having the same hardware performance and storage of a good laptop means nothing if the OS doesn't offer a way to use it in a transparent and trustworthy way.