- get a cheap android 15 tablet. which is possible.
- buy a usb c to usb, hdmi and rj-45 hub
- get a used monitor and cheap keyboard, mouse (the android probably has a touch screen, which is yuck)
- get a usb phone interface
the usb phone interface will connect to a softphone in the tablet and act like an office phone, whereas the tablet can run the android zoom app, until it can't and i can do it from the web instead. i can send it out to the monitor and use the normal computer peripherals. i can hack it eventually, or find one with ubuntu on it to start so i don't have to. but i'm going to get better hardware with the android 15 devices, i think.
these devices are designed for video and they work well for that reason. they will not have performance issues and should be compatible until well after 2035.
realistically, that's what a videophone is going to end up being, but with an older os you can't update and with less potential peripherals. but i can go through the yealink vp-59 and make sure i'm not skipping any features i want, too.