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For years now there has been talk of BlackBerry building a smartphone dock that would essentially turn your device into a netbook of sorts. In fact, BlackBerry already has a patent for it all ready to go should BlackBerry CEO, Thorsten Heins, decide to make use of it. Those rumors aren't going away, they're only getting stronger as talks of mobile computing come up more and more often. Already taking the idea of using your smartphone as your computer and running with it is John Andrus, Founder of Livi Design, who has launched a Kickstarter project for his vision of mobile computing, dubbed Casetop. 

The Casetop offers a laptop-style dock which you can plug your smartphone into, whether it's powered by Android, iOS, or BlackBerry. From there, your device provides all the processing power, graphics power and will even work as a trackpad for the Casetop. In return for the computing power, the Casetop brings a full-sized keyboard, 11.1-inch 720p or 1080p display, powered USB port for charging devices, HDMI input, MHL video, audio output, and stereo speakers.

It's a pretty interesting package when all is said and done, but like anything else, the price has to be right. This style of product has been tried before and arguably failed with pricing being a major factor. If you're interested in Casetop and want one, you'll have to lay down $250 (or more if you want the 1080p display) for the package consisting of 1 White Casetop and 2 Frontbars, but of course that's only if the Kickstarter project gets funded. Casetop set their funding goal at $300,000 and right now the project sits at almost $80,000. In other words, they still have a ways to go before the Casetop becomes a reality.

Any takers? What if BlackBerry built something similar? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts on Casetop and let us know how you'd feel purchasing a BlackBerry built product like this.

Learn more about Casetop on Kickstarter

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