I have several collections of various electronic devices - few ones that I bought because they were "cool" (or cheap), but mostly ones that I saved from otherwise being thrown to e-waste.
Categorizing every single type of devices would be nearly impossible (without adding pages for just a single item), so I've worked out a few main categories:
- Laptops (TBD) - portable PCs with the x86 architecture.
- Mini PCs/STBs - small computers, embedded systems without displays (that includes set-top boxes).
- Computers (TBD) - classic desktops, without a built-in monitor/keyboard/etc; also some PC parts/expansion cards.
- Smartphones - "modern" touchscreen phones, with cellular connectivity; also some PDAs.
- Tablets (TBD) - mobile devices with larger touchscreens, usually without 2G/3G/4G modems.
- Phones - older generation cell phones, usually with a physical keyboard and no touchscreen.
Interestingly, nearly every device can be assigned to each of the categories, using something like the following "truth table":
| S | M | B | L | 7 | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | Mini PCs |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | Computers |
| 1 | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | Computers |
| 1 | - | - | 1 | - | Laptops |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Tablets |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Smartphones |
where: 0 - no, 1 - yes, - - don't care or N/A.
and:
S- has a built-in screen?M- is mains-powered?B- has a built-in battery?L- has a screen lid?7- is the screen 7" or larger?
Categorizing by "has a keyboard", "has a touchscreen", or by CPU architecture doesn't fully make sense, because there exist touchscreen ARM64-based laptops, just like there exist smartphones with a built-in keyboard. And yes, there are mains-powered laptops too.
A couple of notes about the "scoring system": devices in some categories have their visual condition and working state assessed on a 1-5 scale:
- 1/5 (Terrible) - device is not powering up, has a cracked screen/touch panel, missing critical parts, or is otherwise unusable, no matter the visual condition.
- 2/5 (Bad) - severe cracks on the screen glass or enclosure, severe usage marks and scratches, damages to the structural integrity, device otherwise unpleasant to look at or use.
- 3/5 (Fair) - minor cracks on the screen or the enclosure, non-critical parts missing/broken, above normal usage marks and scratches.
- 4/5 (Good) - normal usage marks with no missing/broken parts or features, device fully functional.
- 5/5 (Perfect) - near-new visual condition, fully functional device, well-preserved with barely noticeable usage marks.