Microsoft to Build a Dock for Smart Phones
Microsoft Corporation has applied for a patent for a smart phone dock that can hook onto computer peripherals like printers, external hard drives and probably every other accessory that can be connected to a PC. The patent filing also refers to compatibility with Ethernet port as well.
The idea is to have a dock that communicates with peripherals through Universal Serial Bus (USB) and to networks through standard ports. In essence, the device will be on the same lines as laptop docks that we see in the market today. But, the element that intrigues me is the dock’s ability to communicate with smartphones made by various manufacturers and operating systems such as Symbian, Mac, Windows and Unix.
The patent filed on 22nd of January reflects this notion – “The cell phone is rapidly evolving into a smart communications device that can provide sufficient computing power and functionality to drive a wide variety of peripherals as well as access network services,
“A major impediment to taking advantage of this evolving technology in the cell phone, for example, is the inability to connect the phone to peripheral devices and systems.”
Microsoft might start with smartphones that are based on Windows Mobile operating system but if they want to cash on the popularity bucket, it needs to set its sights on iPhone.
When this dock takes off in a big way, it can eventually boost the sales of smartphones and drastically reduce PC sales. Users will start using computers differently and the age of new computing is all set to begin in a few years to come.
About the author:
Abhinav has been blogging about printing and related technologies on CreativeCloud for several years. He is also a project manager for a large technology company.
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