Touch Screen Monitor Tablet for your Smartphone
Samsung and Huawei have been making the headline on their folding phones recently, and I’m excited about it! However, there’s always a BUT, the price tag of US$1,980 and the display crease seen on the folding edges aren’t attractive. Would you pay for that price so that you could fold your “tablet” and keep it in your pocket? Wouldn’t it be cheaper if I get myself a phone and a tablet separately?
Speaking of the tablet, I had my fair share use of tablet since my very first generation Apple iPad (2010), my second, current and also probably the last tablet I’m going to own is the Apple iPad Air (2013). After having these tablets, I realized I just wanted a big, giant screen version of my phone for watching Netflix and YouTube. Reading books and comics from Kindle and Comixology app, and browsing the web in the comfort of my sofa and dining table. I don’t see myself using it like the advertised “prosumers” who does illustration, design and video editing on the iPad Pro even though I’m a designer myself. Probably edit a photo or two once in a while. One of the problems I faced is continuity when I’m using the iPad; I can’t use Whatsapp or Instagram because the developers didn’t create the app for it. I have put down my iPad and reach for my phone.
Another problem is where I need to install and log into the app twice, both on the phone and the iPad. Receiving the same notification on both devices can be annoying at times. Over time, your hardware gets old and slow after five years of software updates. Would I shell out S$749 for a 2019 iPad Air 64GB Wifi to upgrade and replace my current slow iPad even though it’s still working? That’s a no from me. However, that doesn’t mean nobody is buying them; I’ve met people who replace their laptop with an iPad, because they are light, portable and the battery last longer.
For minority people like me, who want a cheaper bigger screen at some time of the day, we need another solution. Let’s see what we have in the market right now.
Some Android phones today can turn into desktop mode whenever you plugged into external monitors, like the Samsung DeX and Huawei EMUI Desktop. It’s cool, and I want it. Question is would I replace my gaming PC for my phone? That’s a hundred percent no.
Instead of using external monitors, keyboards, and mouse for your phone, there are better solutions where these products come in, NexDock, Sentio, and Razer Project Linda. They are mainly an empty shell laptop with a larger screen, battery, keyboard, and trackpad. Plug in your phone, and you got yourself an Android laptop. I would get one if I ever change to an Android phone, but still, I wanted a little more out of it.
Aside from the empty shell laptop, another accessory we can look into is the portable external monitors, one in particular, is the Vinpok Split. It’s a portable 15.6 inches ten-point touch screen display. However, this portable external monitor was intended for laptop and game consoles in mind. So you would have to plug in an external battery to power the screen, cause your phone wouldn’t be powerful enough to power it. Finally, the big screen wouldn’t be the tablet size I wanted.
Solution or rather my ideal product:
Just imagine it’s an empty shell Microsoft Surface Pro 6 with 11” touch screen display with built-in battery, kickstand, SD card reader, speakers, and audio jack. The tablet is where you connect any Android phone to as an external display via USB-C to USB-C. There should be a way for you to attach the phone to the back of the screen, so while you’re in tablet mode, the phone and the wire won’t get in the way. Moreover, the design should hold most flagship phones.
Then there’s the detachable keyboard trackpad cover, pen, and mouse you can buy separately. If this device cost under US$300 I would get it, and switch to an Android phone. Why should this device exist? People change their phone more frequently than their laptop or tablet. By swapping to a new phone, you got yourself a new laptop and a tablet at the same time, making Android tablet and laptop great without even making any.
No fancy gimmicky tricks, just practical and economical use.
Use cases
- If the phone I’m using is my main camera, there isn’t a need to use the cloud or file transfer to a tablet. While resting at a coffee house, I could quickly flip out my tablet, connect my phone to it and start editing the photos on the big screen. While it still charges your phone. If not, there’s an SD card reader, transfer, edit, and post on Instagram.
- Multitask between chatting and watching Netflix
- Writing stuff on your phone with a bigger screen
- Mobile gaming with a keyboard and mouse?
Edit Jan 26, 2021
The closest product I have seen to date is this pi-top display and keyboard, but I’m not sure if it works with Android phones, especially with Samsung. The display is definitely not the best in the world but it’s sufficient as there aren’t many product in this category.
https://www.pi-top.com/products/display-keyboard
Edit Mar 09, 2022
I think Nex got it right, it always bothers me how should I deal with dangling phone if I held the “tablet”. Magnets. Now, they just need a detachable keyboard.
https://nexdock.com/meet-nexpad/
