stridermt2k
Android Enthusiast
While it isn't stellar, the experience that I've had with my new Bionic Lapdock under ICS has been pretty good with a couple of exceptions:
The volume control is stuck as 3/4 and cannot be controlled by the volume control on either the Lapdock or by the Bionic's volume control.
The slider is displayed and moves, but there is no change in level until you turn it down all the way, then it turns off entirely.
Headphones or an external speaker plugged into the Bionic's headphone jack work perfectly. No problems plugging into the Bionic directly for audio.
Otherwise the speakers are about as tinny and awful sounding as I've ever heard on a device of this type. Not good for multimedia at all, but adequate for other uses.
This is known, but the trackpad is frustratingly bad. A bluetooth or wired mouse is a necessity for serious use, although I haven't tried a wired mouse with it yet.
The screen is actually pretty darn nice, with good brightness and color.
Webtop 3.0 is the saving grace that came too late unfortunately, but it is still a usable environment and one that more wisely harnesses the power of the Android OS. (as it really should have been from the beginning, IMO)
Overall the Droid Bionic Lapdock is useable, but the thought of having to plug in an external speaker and use a BT mouse definitely pushes the convenience factor more squarely into the laptop category, which I suppose it should given the form factor, but limits how well the Lapdock can be used spontaneously.
I was also able to use a 1TB external hard drive formatted Fat32 plugged into one of the the Lapdock's USB ports to play media files; however, it appeared that the videos are not playing at the full frame rate, which was distracting. Media played from on board the Bionic played perfectly.
What IS neat is that these things are so inexpensive that I don't have any problem whatsoever taking my Lapdock into situations where I'd rather not expose my comparatively expensive Android tablet to risk of damage but I'd have my phone along anyway, such as off-roading in my Jeep.
I have yet to try it, but I imagine locally stored maps combined with the Bionic's GPS would make for a decent enough enhanced GPS experience.
The Bionic Lapdock is also the biggest, coolest phone charger ever.
It's a bummer that more attention wasn't paid to these accessories, but the mobile sphere is changing at a lighting pace.
It's inevitable that concepts like this will sprout up, but ultimately get left behind as the segment evolves.
Addendum (veering somewhat off topic):
Personally I have an interest in hardware hacking, so it is likely that I will be exploring the Bionic Lapdock's potential in this area as well.
When you look at the Lapdock from a hardware perspective it's a very low-cost self-powered HDMI monitor attached to a USB audio system, hub, keyboard, and trackpad in a compact, portable form factor.
YouTube already has some videos of folks attaching tiny computers like the Raspberry Pi and various Android systems like the MK802/Mk808 to the Lapdock as well.
The volume control is stuck as 3/4 and cannot be controlled by the volume control on either the Lapdock or by the Bionic's volume control.
The slider is displayed and moves, but there is no change in level until you turn it down all the way, then it turns off entirely.
Headphones or an external speaker plugged into the Bionic's headphone jack work perfectly. No problems plugging into the Bionic directly for audio.
Otherwise the speakers are about as tinny and awful sounding as I've ever heard on a device of this type. Not good for multimedia at all, but adequate for other uses.
This is known, but the trackpad is frustratingly bad. A bluetooth or wired mouse is a necessity for serious use, although I haven't tried a wired mouse with it yet.
The screen is actually pretty darn nice, with good brightness and color.
Webtop 3.0 is the saving grace that came too late unfortunately, but it is still a usable environment and one that more wisely harnesses the power of the Android OS. (as it really should have been from the beginning, IMO)
Overall the Droid Bionic Lapdock is useable, but the thought of having to plug in an external speaker and use a BT mouse definitely pushes the convenience factor more squarely into the laptop category, which I suppose it should given the form factor, but limits how well the Lapdock can be used spontaneously.
I was also able to use a 1TB external hard drive formatted Fat32 plugged into one of the the Lapdock's USB ports to play media files; however, it appeared that the videos are not playing at the full frame rate, which was distracting. Media played from on board the Bionic played perfectly.
What IS neat is that these things are so inexpensive that I don't have any problem whatsoever taking my Lapdock into situations where I'd rather not expose my comparatively expensive Android tablet to risk of damage but I'd have my phone along anyway, such as off-roading in my Jeep.
I have yet to try it, but I imagine locally stored maps combined with the Bionic's GPS would make for a decent enough enhanced GPS experience.
The Bionic Lapdock is also the biggest, coolest phone charger ever.
It's a bummer that more attention wasn't paid to these accessories, but the mobile sphere is changing at a lighting pace.
It's inevitable that concepts like this will sprout up, but ultimately get left behind as the segment evolves.
Addendum (veering somewhat off topic):
Personally I have an interest in hardware hacking, so it is likely that I will be exploring the Bionic Lapdock's potential in this area as well.
When you look at the Lapdock from a hardware perspective it's a very low-cost self-powered HDMI monitor attached to a USB audio system, hub, keyboard, and trackpad in a compact, portable form factor.
YouTube already has some videos of folks attaching tiny computers like the Raspberry Pi and various Android systems like the MK802/Mk808 to the Lapdock as well.