I spoke with a good friend of mine for a bit, and we ruminated on the new mobileme service from Apple and it’s integration with the iPhone.  Given the processing power, storage, connectivity and portability of this device (particularly the new 3g version) it begs the question: what exactly do I need a computer for?

Apple would answer, “well, to make that iPhone work”.  You can’t update software, sync non-itunes purchased songs and media, or otherwise pimp up your iPhone without a computer to slave it into.  I think the app store, and the SDK-developed software that it will support will resolve these issues rapidly.  The biggest issue is one of interface.

The real need is screen realestate.  eeePC is proving that horsepower isn’t the driver for technology investment, that portability is.  I suspect that Apple, or a coordinating partner, will rapidly release a dock for your iPhone with the obvious usb ports for keyboard and mouse, but revolutionarily an internal video card (ala the targus usb docks or matrox firewire external display boxes) that will allow you to run a screen.

Apple has already patented (saw this on apple insider) a monitor-as-dock system where a tablet or (suspected at the time) macbook  air could slide in the side to dock, and leverage increased screen realestate.  The only extension to this is the technical hurdle of driving a display via USB rather than the MBA’s internal video processor.

Perhaps the better solution is improving the internal video processor in the iPhone to support external resolutions.  I would suspect that performance wouldn’t be the issue (forget 3D, altho Nvidia’s recent releases are driving on this point) it’s more about being able to support BIG pixel realestate.

What system already does this?  AppleTV.  We’ve seen AppleTV mockups with docks in the top for iPods.  The AppleTV is basically just a video card in a box.  Do I have to spell it out Apple devs?  Make this happen and free us from our desks and our laps!