I spent a few days with Motorola's Ready For desktop mode

Ready For is Motorola's attempt at the delicious prospect of being able able to ditch your PC or laptop and work exclusively from a smartphone. 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MotorolaReadyFor,aproductivityfeatureintroducedbyMotorolaearlierthisyear,islikeawell-lookedafterantiquetypewriter.Itworks,inspiteofafewquirks,butitreallydoesn'thaveaplaceinthemodernworld.ReadyForisMotorola'sattemptatthedeliciousprospectofbeingableabletoditchyourPCorlaptopandworkexclusivelyfromasmartphone.Phonesthesedaysdonotlackthepowerneededtoruntheappsmostpeoplerequiretodotheirjob,buthavinganinterfacethatworksbothonaphoneandonalargerdisplayisamuchtrickierhurdle.We'veseenattemptsatthisbefore,mostnotablySamsung'sDeX,whichcontinuesappearingonSamsung'sflagshipdevicesbutwithlittlewidespreadacclaim.MotorolahasdevelopeditsowndesktopsysteminReadyFor,andIhadachancetotryitout.AftermytimewithReadyFor,Ifoundittobeafunctionaladditiontoalreadyfeature-packedphones,butitdoesn'tdoenoughtojustifyitspresence.BestsmartphonesMotorolaEdge2couldcomeinfourversions:ReportMotorolaReadyForset-upTouseReadyFor,youfirstneedacompatibleMotorolaphone.OnlythreephonescurrentlyworkwithReadyFor:thenewlyreleasedMotog100whichItestedthesystemon,andtheMotorolaEdgeandMotorolaEdgePlus,whichcameoutlastyear.OnceyouhaveyourMotorolaphone,it'ssimpleenoughtogetReadyForstarted,asallyouneedisaUSB-CtoUSB-CcableoraUSB-CtoHDMIcabletoplugthephoneintoyourdisplay.TheHDMIcableMotorolaincludeswiththeMotog100'sReadyForkitisparticularlywell-suitedforthejobsinceitalsofeaturesaUSB-Cporttoplugachargerinto,meaningyoudon'thavetopickbetweenusingReadyForandpoweringyourphone.(Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)Asidefromthecable,there'salsothe$59.99ReadyForDock.Youdon'tneedtousethis,butitcomeswithitsownbenefits.Itprovidesasturdywaytoholdthephoneandfeaturesabuilt-infantokeepthingscoolandrunningsmoothly. (Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)Themaindockismagneticallyattachedtothestandportionsoyoucaneasilypositionthephoneverticallyorhorizontally.Youcanevenattachthephonetoadifferentstandbyusingthescrewfitting.WhathappensonceyougetgoingdependsifyouhaveBluetoothaccessoriesornot.Ifyoudon'townany,theMotorolahandsetbecomesyourinputdevice,actingaseitheratrackpadorakeyboarddependingonwhatyou'redoing.Thisworksfine—insomecases,it'sbetterthanusingotherperipheralssinceallfeaturesarefullysupported. IfyoudohaveBluetoothperipherals,thentheMotorolaphoneisfreetobeusedasnormal.Thatseemstobethemoreoptimalwayofdoingthingsifyour'eworkingforlongerperiodsoftime.(Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)BearinmindthatdespitewhatMotorolasays,thisisn'tadual-screenexperienceinthetraditionalsense.It'smorelikehavingaone-plus-one-screen,sincethere'snorealinteractionbetweenthedesktopandtheg100'shomescreen.Instead,theybehaveliketwoseparatedevicesyoucantradewindowsbetweenonthefly.Youcanusetwoscreensinonehoweverbyopeningthephonewithinthedesktop,eitherverticallyorhorizontally.Thisallowsyoutouseyourmouseandkeyboardtonavigate,inputtextintothephone,ormovefilesanddataaroundmoreeasily. MotorolaReadyForinterfaceOnceyou'repluggedin,you'llfindyourselfwithfouroptionstopickfromwhenusingReadyFor.YourmainoptionistheReadyFordesktop,whichlooksawholelotlikeWindows10,downtothe"start"buttoninthebottomleftcornerwithnotifications,dateandothericonsontheright.Thedefaultset-upforwindowsistohavethemappearassmallpagesyoucaneasilyshufflebetweenonasingledisplay,muchlikemacOS. (Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)WhilethepackagingmaylooklikeaPCinterface,Android11stillbehaveslikeyou'dexpect.There'syournotificationwindowwithquicksettings,thelockscreenlookslikeabigversionoftheoneonthephone,andthe"start"menuisbasicallyanappdrawer.(Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)TherearesomeuniqueoptionstotakeadvantageofinReadyFor.ThemostinterestingoneistheSubjectTrackingcamera,whichyoucanoperatefromthedesktopwhenthecameraisopen.SimilartotheCenterStagefeatureAppleincludeswiththenewiPadPro2021,it'scertainlyfuntohaveyourfacealwaysinframewhileonavideocall.Thatalonegivesyouagoodreasontopluginthephonebeyondthedesktopinterface.(Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)TheTV,GameandVideoChatmodesinReadyFortakeyoutofull-screenmenusfeaturinganyappsyouhavedownloadedthatmatchthosecategories.It'sahandyshortcuttoplayingstufflikeAsphalt9onabigscreen,whichisquiteathrillifyou'vebeenconstrainedtoaphone-sizedplayareaupuntilnow.(Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)MotorolaReadyForuserexperienceAsIworkedthroughtheReadyFordesktopoverthecourseofaday,myoptimismwithMotorola'sfeatureturnedintofrustration,andIlongedtoreturntothecomfortofmyMacBook.It'snotthatReadyForiscompletelyunusable,it'sworsethanthat:ReadyForisalmostusable.(Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)Someofthiscan'tbehelped.Sinceyou'rerunningexpandedversionsofmobileapps,youdon'tgetquitethesamefunctionalityyou'dfindintruedesktopversions.Forexample,GoogleChromeonAndroiddoesn'tsupportextensions.ThatmeansunlessyouhaveanAndroidappversionofagivenextension,youcan'tuseitonReadyFor,whichcomplicatesyourtypicalworkflow.(MyworkatTom'sGuidemakesuseofalotofuniqueextensions,sothiswasparticularlytroublesomeforme.)(Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)Therearealsolotsofweirdlittleinconsistencies,likehowsomeappscanbescrolledwithyourmouse,andotherscan't.Someappsresizethemselvestothedesktop'slargerlandscapewindowswithoutanyproblem,butothersneedalotoffiddlingaroundintheoptions,orsimplycan'tunderstandthey'renolongerboundbyasmallphonescreen. Alloftheseissuesfeellikethey'dbesimplefixes,butIhavetowonderwhichappdevelopmentteamsaregoingtoinvesttimeintomakingtheirappsworkononebrand'sdesktopmoderatherthanfocusingonkeepingtherestoftheappupdated.WhatIcan'tfaulthoweveristheperformanceofReadyFor.TheSnapdragon870chipand8GBRAMontheMotoG100ranmultipleappwindowswithoutahiccup,butIimagineifyouwantedtousethephoneatitsmaximumpotential,you'llwanttooptforthe12GBRAMversioninstead.Thisextramemoryspacemayalsohelpkeepthefaninthestandquiet.WhenstartingReadyFor,thefandoesn'tspin,butoncethephonewarmsup,thefanautomaticallyswitchesonandwon'tshutoffuntilyou'vestoppedusingtheproductivitytool.It'satleasteffective,sinceholdingthephoneafterwardsrevealedithadstayedcool,butthefanitselfisnoticeablyhigherpitchedthanatypicallaptoporPCfan.Asaresult,it'salotmoreirritatingwhenyou'retryingtowork.MotorolaReadyForverdict(Imagecredit:Tom'sGuide)HavingtriedReadyFor,Ithinkit'saneffectivewaytodosomelightworkonyourphonemorecomfortably.ReadyForgivesyousimplewaytoimproveyourgaming,movieandvideocallexperiencesfromacompatiblephone. ButI'mstillnotsurewhotrulybenefitsfromtheReadyForsystem.GivenyouneedamonitortomakeReadyForfunction,andbuyingaportableoneisahugeexpense,theidealscenarioforregularReadyForusethereforeseemstobehot-deskinginanofficeorvisitinganotherlocationwhereyoudon'thavecomputeraccess.Youcanturnuptoworkwithonlyyourphoneandacableortwo,thenplugintoamonitorthat'salreadythere.Ifyou'relucky,youmightevenhavesomekeyboardsandmiceprovided,althoughforquicktasksthevirtualtrackpad/keyboardworkswellenough.ButthinkingaboutthesescenariosexposeshowReadyForfeelsbuiltforadifferentworldthantheoneweliveinnow.Withsomanypeoplehavinghadtoworkfromhomeforthepast12months,there'slessofaneedforsomethingdesignedtobemoreportablethanasmalllaptop.Pluswithvideocallsbecomingmoreandmorethenormevenbeforethegloballockdowns,itmeanstheusecasesforReadyForareattheirmostmarginalinyears.Ifyou'reconvincedbywhatReadyForoffersforwork,themainpieceofadviceIcangiveisthatyouneedyourmostimportantappstobeavailableasAndroidversions.ThisgivesyouthebestchanceofadaptingyourexistingworkflowtoReadyFor,althoughit'sstillnotperfectsincenotallappstranslateone-to-onefromPCorMactoAndroid.ReadyForhasmoreofapurposeasanentertainmentandleisuretool.Withdirectlinestoyourgamesandvideo,ReadyForletsyouexpandthefuntohoweverlargeyourdisplayis.ButyoucandothesamethingwithaGoogleChromecastorAmazonFireTVStick,andnotbeforcedintobuyingoneofthreespecificphones.Again,ReadyForfeelslikeatechnologythat'sdebutedhalfadecadeormoretoolate.Thepricemightbetemptingtosome,butitwouldbeafalseeconomy.Sure,theMotog100startsat£450,andthedockandcableareincludedinthebox.Itsoundslikeagreatdealforaphoneandaworklaptopinone,butthatsumdoesn'taccountforthemonitororTVyouneedtomakethesystemwork,nordoesn'tguaranteeyou'llbeabletoworkeffectivelyfromjustAndroidapps.Ifyou'reonalimitedbudget,you'relikelybetteroffpickingacheaperphone,includingsomeexcellentonesfromMotorolaliketheMotogPowerortheMotog10,andthenspendingthedifferenceonacheaplaptoporChromebook.Thiswayyou'renottiedtoneedingamonitorwithaccessibleports,andhavethegreaterpracticalityofPCapps.We'llhaveafullreviewoftheMotog100readyverysoon.Butforthemeantime,knowthatReadyForisn'tmuchofareasontorunoutandbuythisparticularphonerightnow.ReadyForhasafewneattricks,andsinceitcomesfreewiththeg100it'snotanunwelcomegift.Ijustcan'tunderstandwhyMotorolathoughtnowwasagoodtimetodebutatechnologythatothercompanieshavebeenfailingtomakeworkforyearsalready. RichardPriday StaffWriter RichardisaTom'sGuidestaffwriterbasedinLondon,coveringnews,reviewsandhow-tosforphones,gaming,audioandwhateverelsepeopleneedadviceon.FollowingonfromhisMAinMagazineJournalismattheUniversityofSheffield,he'salsowrittenforWIREDU.K.,TheRegisterandCreativeBloq.Whennotatwork,he'slikelythinkingabouthowtobrewtheperfectcupofspecialtycoffee. Topics Smartphones Seeallcomments(0) Nocommentsyet Commentfromtheforums BeIntheKnow Getinstantaccesstobreakingnews,thehottestreviews,greatdealsandhelpfultips. ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoTom'sGuide.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. 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