Raspberry Pi laptop

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My last post showed how I assembled a portable Pi using a 3.5" composite LCD.  Well, I've got a better option this time around, the Motorola Atrix lapdock!

The Atrix lapdock was originally intended for Motorola's Atrix Android smartphone.  It didn't sell very well for it's original purpose, so you can pick one up for around to $50 to $100 on eBay and Amazon.  I ordered mine from eBay for $50 (shockingly my seller is now listing at $199).  It was listed as refurbished but is in great condition.  The beauty of its 11.6" HD display is a stark constrast to my 3.5" composite LCD:

I recommend checking out this insightful blog which details how to use it with the Pi: Raspberry Pi and Atrix Lapdock.  Adafruit also has a helpful video from Becky Stern on how to hack together an appropriate USB cable:

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However, the USB cabling described in the above blog and video is only needed for Raspberry Pi's that have F1/F2 polyfuses.  "Fresher" Pi's now have either 0-ohm resistors on F1/F2 (Model B Revision 1.0 + ECN0001) or no F1/F2 pads at all (Model B Revision 2.0).  More info on the board revisions is on the Foundation's blog.  I got a Pi from MCM Electronics last week, and it has 0-ohm resistors (labelled "000" in the upper right corner of the board):

With those polyfuses gone, the Pi can be powered via it's USB host ports as an alternative to the micro USB jack.  This is great for the Atrix lapdock as it was designed to both power the Atrix phone and connect it to USB devices over the same connected.  This means that no USB cable modifications are needed at all.  Here's my setup:

A close-up of the back of the lapdock with micro HDMI on the right and micro USB on the left:

My cables and connectors (from left to right):

• male micro to full-size male HDMI cable
• female to female micro HDMI coupler (little black rectangle at top)
• female micro type B to female USB type A USB cable
• male Type A to male Type A USB cable
  

I highly recommend buying an Atrix lapdock while they are still available for cheap.  Beyond the Pi, it can be used as a HDMI display for an array of other devices, too.

[UPDATE: check out Raspberry Pi lapdock tricks]

[UPDATE: I received a male Type A to male Type A adapter from Amazon and a HDMI Male to Micro HDMI Female Adapter from DealExtreme.  Along with the micro HDMI extension cable that came with my lapdock, the result is a more compact setup without long HDMI or USB cabling:

Cheers,

Drew

http://twitter.com/pdp7

*Products and resources listed are listed to help members build their own Pi Projects. They are suggestions and listed for educational purposes. For substitutions of any parts, please post a question asking the original author.