The Superbook: Transforming Smartphones into Laptops

A new tech gadget called the Superbook potentially answers the prayers of those who have hoped to use their smartphones as laptops. Resembling a slim notebook computer and featuring a screen, keyboard, and battery but no processor or other core components, the Superbook, which costs $99, allows users to turn smartphones into the “brain” of the laptop using only USB cables. Thus far, the Superbook only works with Android phones. Since launching on Kickstarter a month ago, the Superbook has raised nearly $2.2 million dollars, exceeding its initial fundraising goal of $50,000 by a factor of 40.

Features of the smartphone-enabled laptop include an 11.6-inch HD Display, a QWERTY keyboard, a ten-hour battery and a trackpad. Because the laptop is essentially a clone of the smartphone, it uses the core functions of the phone, including accessing apps and connecting to the Internet. The ability to turn a smartphone seamlessly into a laptop could solve people’s daily struggles with small screens, especially working on document edits and data entries. And it potentially removes the hassle of constant syncing data between smartphones and laptops.

“The Superbook is a fraction of the cost of a traditional laptop,” explained Andrew Jiang, co-founder of Superbook developer Andromium, in the Kickstarter promotional video. “I was frustrated with having such a powerful smartphone but with an interface designed purely for mobile interface.” Jiang, along with co-founder Gordon Zheng, founded Andromium in 2014 to build a future “where the only computer you’ll need is your smartphone.” A worthy goal, if perhaps a few gigabytes short for those who have hefty storage needs.

Backers can support the project with a minimum of $99 to purchase the Superbook for themselves, or as a donation to at-need communities in Africa through the startup’s partnership with the #Freedom2learn campaign, organized by the Nelson Mandela Long Walk To Freedom Education Project.