The combination is not as good as a notebook, but it works if you are patient. I've used mine on several flights where a notebook does not fit well on the pull-down tray and a tablet is hard for me to type on my lap for any extent. 

Also, it not may seem like much, but my bluetooth keyboard has the four arrow keys that allows me to move the cursor in the text.   That's not available on the phone or tablet keyboard. And, moving the cursor around by touch is not always simple. 

That is great! Thanks for the information. I have been thinking of upgrading my phone for Christmas and I really appreciate the information! It would be very handy for being able to create documents for Grad school while I am on the road!!!

Sure, Stacey

I use an application called Documents to Go. And, it blows my mind that a 13 dollar app can do darn near everything the $500 plus Office 2010 does 

http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/

And it works seamlessly with Apps like Dropbox.

When I first read this article I thought "There is no way a phone could replace a laptop", however, after reading your posts My opinion has changed. I think its great that you can use the Samsung SIII with the key board to write articles, etc. instead of your work computer. My question is, can you use software like Microsoft Word to create documents?

Alan,it's interesting. Probably, everything depends on why  we are using our devices for. For me, a keyboard is the most important part of my gadget, so I don't really care about a screen.That's why, I don't believe  a phone can substitute a laptop for me. Even if there is a special keyboard, I don't think, I would buy it.But...I am sure for many people, it will be a great option.

Hi swijeyakumar,

I don't think anyone, including RIM, thinks phones will replace laptops in the near future or for all purposes. But as phones become increasingly powerful, they could continue to supplement laptops or even replace them for certain functions, as they already have some applications like e-mail.

And who knows -- as I've noted in comments, projectors integrated into phones, virtual keyboards projected on flat surfaces and other advances could further enhance the usefulness of phones. Perhaps eyeglass displays like Google Glass could become mainstream in the future.

AN interesting idea but sometimes I just need more power or a bigger screen. How will a smartphone ever match up. I have a smaller lighter laptop & a tablet but I still love my laptop and would never get rid of it for a smartphone entirely. DOnt get me wrong I love the mobility but sometimes I prefer power and size.

Hi abdlah,

Perhaps there are ways to provide smartphone with "larger capabilities." For example, smartphones can be embedded with LED projectors to display content on surfaces to create a large screen. Also, keyboards, made from light rays, can be projected onto a flat surface.

These two technologies exist now, but they don't seem to be practical for different reasons.

Another technology could be augmented reality glasses, such as the Google Glass project, so that a phone's content could be projected on eyeglasses or a display attached to eyeglasses, rather than limited to the phone's screen.

I agree that the size of phones limits some of their capabilities when compared to a laptop. But who knows what technologies will offer in the future?

I think, as you said, the smartphone may be able to undertake some laptop like functions and therefore users will miss the laptop less often when on the move with their phones.

However, unless people will reduce in size, we will never be able to comfortable work on the phone with the same efficiency that we can we laptops - with most of the functions we would need for the myriad of applications we run (there is simply no space).

So like a man and a woman - smartphones and laptops will best complement each other and not compete with each other, of course the few exceptions remaining.

Hi Brian Newby,

You raise a good point about the importance of being able to take a phone call when a phone is docked as a laptop. Speakerphone capability and Bluetooth headsets could reduce that problem as could eyeglasses with microphones and earpieces. (I'm still waiting for Google Glass-type augmented reality displays to become mainstream products.)

Battery life certainly is an issue. It's one reason why many people carry, for example, a separate hotspot modem rather than tethering to a phone. We're seeing some improvements in battery life, although that's mostly because manufacturers are adding larger batteries to their larger phones!

I don't know whether we'll have multiple phones, although I can see having multiple devices that could be used for calls, such as tablets. (I now use Google Voice as my main number and it rings to multiple phones.) I do see individuals and families owning mulitple tablets, everything from E Ink readers to "phablets" (ugh), seven-inch tablets, ten-inch tablets and perhaps even larger sizes. TVs with Internet access will, eventually, become mainstream as that capability is included as a standard feature -- the lack of standards notwithstanding.