…or can it?
Pin64 is a relatively unknown company that makes relatively unknown Linux smartphones. This week it has introduced the latest in it’s offerings, the new PinePhone Convergence Package handset. It can be used as a PC when connected to an external display and keyboard.
This is not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination. HP, Windows and Samsung have all launched products based on this idea. None of them have had any traction. Pine64 may have a better chance at their phones actually being used as a desktop by its owners, as the Lunix community tends to be a bit more adventurous, tech savvy and experimental.
The major challenge that I see is that this is an entry level phone with very moderate specifications. Desktop users are the type of people (like myself) who prefer really robust and feature rich applications that boast capabilities and functionalities that eclipse the potentials of mobile devices.
Techradar reports “The smartphone comes with a 5.95-inch display with a 1440×720 resolution and is powered by the Allwinner A64 SoC with four energy-efficient Arm Cortex-A53 cores and Mali-400MP2 GPU that is accompanied by 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of eMMC storage. The phone has a 5 MP main camera and a 2 MP selfie camera.” They conclude by stating “The main component that transforms the PinePhone into a PC-like device is its USB-C docking bar that features an HDMI display output, two USB Type-A connectors, and a 10/100Mb Ethernet port.”
