I have been using the Palm Pre since July 4th. Out-of-the-box functionality was terrific, especially the integration between Google/Google Apps Contacts and Facebook Contacts. Additionally, I have installed many 3rd-party apps, both homebrew and from the official App Catalog. I can do a lot of stuff with my Pre that used to require a desktop or laptop computer.

Yesterday, I installed the Terminal homebrew app. For those who don't know, the Palm Pre WebOS runs on top of a Linux kernel. Terminal allows you to access the Linux command line. This allows you to login as root (analogous to Administrator in Windows terminology) and from there, you can download and install various packages (programs) from Linux repositories. WebOs Internals even has a tutorial which explains how to install Debian Linux (basically a full-blown desktop OS) on your Pre. This leads to some interesting possibilities.

My first computer was a hand-me-down Gateway running Windows95 on 128MB of RAM. I believe it had a 2GB hard disk. It had a huge, heavy tower and CRT monitor. That computer opened up a whole new world of information for me. The Palm Pre has 256MB of RAM, a faster processor, and 8GB of flash disk memory. The Pre fits in my pocket. It is in fact a more powerful computer than my old Gateway.

My first brand-new computer was a Dell Inspiron 600m running WindowsXP Pro on 512MB of RAM with a 60GB hard disk. This laptop was compact and light enough to transport, but mostly I kept it in my home office. It was just too much hassle to drag around, especially when you factor in the absurdly large power brick, cables and other accessories. Not to mention trying to find and use a printer when away from home!

My current "primary PC" is the Fujitsu Lifebook U810. It's a tiny, convertible netbook with tablet functionality. It's about the size of a paperback book. It runs Vista Pro on 1GB of RAM with a 40 GB hard disk. Initially, I thought that this device would prove to be the ideal portable computer. I was wrong.

First, there's the issue of battery life. It won't last all day on a single charge. The power brick is absurdly cumbersome in comparison to the size of the device, rather negating the advantage of portability. Second, the keyboard is so small as to be less than fully functional. It works, but not well. Third, the tablet functionality just doesn't cut the mustard and the included stylus is pathetically useless. Fourth, the high-resolution screen, while sharp and brilliant, is too small to be easily usable. Everything displays well, but it's just so tiny that the eyestrain is intense. Fifth, it only has one USB port. Finally, the processor is simply underpowered for Vista. It's very. Very. Slow.

The Fujitsu does have a cradle, which provides you with several more USB ports. Guess what? My ultraportable Fujistsu U810 stays in the cradle. All the time. I use a 22" external monitor and a Microsoft Comfort Curve keyboard to make the thing usable. It is, in effect, a very underpowered desktop computer. Ideal? Hell no, but I paid for it and now I will use it until it is fully depreciated (or until the disk fills up, which will probably happen sooner).

The Palm Pre, by contrast, goes with me wherever I go. With a 2600mAh extended battery from Seidio, it lasts all day on one charge. I can do most of my routine computing tasks with it. As time goes on, I expect even more functionality to become available. However, there are some hindrances. Similarly to the Fujitsu U810, the Pre's tiny keyboard is only useful for short tweets or emails. The Pre's tiny screen limits the amount of information I can view.

Now take another look at my Fujitsu in its cradle above. Big external monitor. Large external keyboard. Charging cable plugged in. Extra ports. See where I'm going with this?

The Pre (and all other phones) should have this capability too. Then you could run, say, the Linux version of Firefox while connected to the cradle. Would that be cool? I think it would!

Imagine if the Palm Pre Touchstone inductive charger also had extra USB ports and an HDMI display port. Would that be cool? I think it would!

Imagine now, if instead of public kiosk computers with crippled functionality, we had large displays with keyboards, docking stations and inductive charging for our phones. You could peer the display with the phone over bluetooth or wifi. Use the phone's touchscreen as a mousepad. Would that be cool? I think it would!

If the interface were standardized across platforms, everyone would benefit. Laptops would be obsolete. You could spend more money on a really nice display which would last over the lifetime of many individual devices. If you like this idea, please comment below.