[Discuss] how much can i use a smartphone as a computer?

[sow_thistle at yahoo.com (barry)]

when i was in high school they promised us 100$ pocket computer, i
remember radio shack tried once... y this not happen?  i'm so
dissapointed!  of all the stinkin bells and whistles they pack into
these things, y not at least pack a virtual computer on it?  is
certainly computationally capable ....

would android cellphone at least navigate directory structure on an sd
card and manipulate it properly if i wanted to move around text files
etc...?

On Wed, 9 Sep 2015 12:44:09 -0400
Dan Ritter <dsr at randomstring.org> wrote:

> On Wed, Sep 09, 2015 at 12:25:44PM -0400, barry wrote:
> > i.e. manipulate text read (and maybe type with external (bluetooth?)
> > keyboard), cut and paste across apps, pdfs, manipulate files in
> > directory structure, write and execute programs in, say, python
> > (accessing some of the opsys capabilities?)  lets say android, lets
> > say rather low end for now
> > 
> > it's time for me to get new cellphone, thinking of graduating from
> > simple flipfone...
> 
> 
> Some of this stuff is extremely easy: cut and paste, read a PDF,
> connect a bluetooth keyboard and type something.
> 
> Writing programs on a smartphone? You could, but you won't enjoy
> the experience at all.
> 
> Android's native language is Java. Underneath all the Androidy
> bits is a Linux machine, but it's not very useful because it's
> not expected to be. You can install a chroot of Debian or
> Ubuntu, but it's not as useful as ssh'ing to a real machine.
> 
> The lower-end the device, the less happy you'll be. That said,
> low price is not the same as low-end. There are several very
> good phones for $350 - $450, contract-free, that are as powerful
> as you can expect these days. If you are willing to buy a used
> phone, you can get something very nice for under $200.
> 
> -dsr-