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Acer Launches a Phone-Powered Portable Monitor With Keyboard

The PM161Q JB is a 15.6-inch screen that pairs with a pogo keyboard and your phone, trying again to make your handset a working PC.

Acer showed off the PM161Q JB at Computex: a 15.6-inch portable monitor that attaches to a pogo-style keyboard and uses your phone as its computer.

The device snaps onto a pogo keyboard (the spring-loaded connector type common in tablet keyboard covers) while your phone drives the display. The pitch is a laptop-shaped setup that weighs only what you're already carrying. Acer's Computex showing was light on specs and pricing, so the full picture is still coming.

The idea of your phone replacing a laptop has been a recurring industry bet since at least 2017, when Samsung launched DeX to let Android phones run a desktop-style interface on an external monitor. A keyboard-integrated portable monitor like the PM161Q JB removes the need for a separate dock or dedicated desk space, which is the friction point that has limited phone-as-PC adoption for years.

The entry-level laptop market exists for a reason, and none of those machines ask you to route your entire computing life through your phone.

TR

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