Do you NEED Continuum?

[Citizen X]

I also agree that the price of flagship phones is getting to be pretty crazy... i'm thrifty and usually pick up a used phone a year old for a fraction of the new price.... kinda miss the old days when everyone was on contracts and thought top of the line phones were really worth $200 brand new ha.

The point I was trying to make with continuum being a gimmick is that it's essentially saving you the cost of a cpu, ram, and hard drive for the cost of the continuum display box which is basically a wash price wise but going down the continuum route you wind up with a phone and then extra devices that are useless without the phone.

So you won't buy a phone on contract but you don't mind paying $20 a month extra for data for a laptop vs using Continuum. Strange. You also don't seem to mind paying $230 for Office with outlook vs free with Continuum. Why is a dollar spent on data for an extra device and a dollar spent on windows just a rounding error to ignore but the monthly payments on a contract phone are something to mock and laugh at? Aren't they both dollars?

And why are HD TVs around your house, in office conference rooms, and in hotels rooms useless now that Continuum has been invented? I mean they are free and I assume they can still serve their old purpose when a Continuum dock still isn't in use. What am I missing?

 

[jeffoffline]

So you won't buy a phone on contract but you don't mind paying $20 a month extra for data for a laptop vs using Continuum. Strange. You also don't seem to mind paying $230 for Office with outlook vs free with Continuum. Why is a dollar spent on data for an extra device and a dollar spent on windows just a rounding error to ignore but the monthly payments on a contract phone are something to mock and laugh at? Aren't they both dollars?

And why are HD TVs around your house, in office conference rooms, and in hotels rooms useless now that Continuum has been invented? I mean they are free and I assume they can still serve their old purpose when a Continuum dock still isn't in use. What am I missing?

Well i can tether my laptop for free so your $20 extra per month is a moot point, not to mention if I'm somewhere that i have a monitor and keyboard setup there's a pretty good chance there's also wifi i can connect to. I don't use MS Office so that's completely irrelevant for me. No need for me to mock anything.... not even sure where you're going with that...

I really don't get what you mean about HD TV's... they're plenty useful and if i want to connect a laptop to them I'll just use an HDMI cable.

 

[Citizen X]

Well i can tether my laptop for free...

Okay so you aren't even using the largest carrier in the US that will launch a Continuum phone. Wonderful. How does that help the rest of us?

I don't use MS Office...

Well suspend disbelief for a minute and make believe that I am one of the 3/4 of a billion people on planet earth who use Office. How does your analysis relate to me?

 

[jeffoffline]

Okay so you aren't even using the largest carrier in the US that will launch a Continuum phone. Wonderful. How does that help the rest of us?



Well suspend disbelief for a minute and make believe that I am one of the 3/4 of a billion people on planet earth who use Office. How does your analysis relate to me?

I use AT&T (gophone)... the only carrier carrying phones that work with continuum... so... yeah...

If your entire reason for using continuum is Microsoft office licensing then yeah i guess it works for you... but claiming continuum is some technological breakthrough cause you don't need two MS Office licenses is a fairly weak argument in favor of it.

 

[Citizen X]

I also agree that the price of flagship phones is getting to be pretty crazy...

Lumia 900 was free on contract. Lumia 1520 was $130 on contract. I think the extra $130 was worth it. After 2 years my Lumia 900 was worthless. My Lumia 1520 is still going strong. Nothing is broken on it. I could sell it for perhaps $200.

I use AT&T (gophone)... the only carrier carrying phones that work with continuum... so... yeah...

Yeah but here is the problem you aren't telling us the whole story. How much does all that cost and how much unthrotted LTE data do you get on that plan to share between your phone and laptop. I suspect... not much. Am I right? at&t website says 4GB on a plan that costs more than my unlimited data plan. And of course you get the extra insult of having to pay for your own phone too! Full disclosure I get a company discount on my plan but I'm not sure the discount is applicable to go phones. Never asked. Even if the discount was applicable the gophone plans are a rip off for someone like me (heavy data user). Unless of course there is something I don't know, which is possible.

If your entire reason for using continuum is Microsoft office licensing then yeah i guess it works for you...

It doesn't even have to be "your entire reason." You just have to use it enough that is saves you $230 on a copy of MS Office. At that point the cost of the dock saves you $130. Now you just have to buy a nongold plated keyboard and mouse. I picked up a bluetooth keyboard during the HP Touchpad fire sale for $5. Actually I bought three. Keyboards and mice are commodity items now. Just wait for a sale. Black friday is a month away and we have people on the internet screaming there is no possible way you can get a cheap keyboard and mouse. Really?

 

[jeffoffline]

Even if the discount was applicable the gophone plans are a rip off for someone like me (heavy data user). Unless of course there is something I don't know, which is possible.

I doubt the discount would apply to gophone plans and you're right, if you're a heavy data user they're not for you. I'm on wifi most of the time and don't watch much video on my phone so it works for me.

It doesn't even have to be "your entire reason." You just have to use it enough that is saves you $230 on a copy of MS Office. At that point the cost of the dock saves you $130. Now you just have to buy a nongold plated keyboard and mouse. I picked up a bluetooth keyboard during the HP Touchpad fire sale for $5. Actually I bought three. Keyboards and mice are commodity items now. Just wait for a sale. Black friday is a month away and we have people on the internet screaming there is no possible way you can get a cheap keyboard and mouse. Really?

I'm curious, what is the scenario you see using it?

I personally can't think of a situation where it would be more functional or practical than a small laptop. 10.1" and under laptops/tablets get Office for free although it's not the "Pro" version and as someone that doesn't use Office I'm not really sure how big of a deal that is.

 

[Rodrigo Mendes]

Personally, I think Continuum is a very niche product. It will not be a major contribution to Windows Phone sales.

If I purchase a Windows 10 phone, it will not be because of continuum. How will continuum benefit me?

I already have a Windows 10 laptop/tablet.. What advantage is Continuum to me? All the apps that are on my phone will be available on my pc/tablet.

In my opinion, Continuum will more be geared towards business users who travel a lot in between offices. It will help reduce the cost of laptops for a business.

But to your average day to day user... How is Continuum going to benefit you?

Yes, Continuum is about business productivity, not for everyone, since is almost a Windows RT tablet. There's no x86 or x64 compatibility.

But if someday Microsoft put these compatibilities on Lumia smartphone, I would say goodbye to my Asus Trasnformer next day lol.

 

[Citizen X]

I doubt the discount would apply to gophone plans and you're right, if you're a heavy data user they're not for you. I'm on wifi most of the time and don't watch much video on my phone so it works for me.

That's been the problem with this thread. People look at their own narrow use situation and then declare Continuum won't work for anyone.

I'm curious, what is the scenario you see using it?

You can't be that curious about it. Several use scenarios have been posted numerous times in the thread you keep replying to.

I personally can't think of a situation where it would be more functional or practical than a small laptop. 10.1" and under laptops/tablets get Office for free although it's not the "Pro" version and as someone that doesn't use Office I'm not really sure how big of a deal that is.

Which 10.1" laptop are you recommending to us? Got a link? I believe the price you told us we could get this machine was less than "$200."

I'm curious... do all the pro continuum people realize you can buy a Windows 10 laptop for less than $200?

Personally I don't know of any business people that own 10" laptops. That's even smaller than the original Surface running Windows RT!

 

[horseybob]

For <$200 here's an 11"
HP Stream 11

although I have an i7 quadcore with 24GB of RAM. It works for me.

 

[pallentx]

No matter how its portrayed, its still a niche feature REQUIRING you to be tethered to a monitor, the very antithesis of a "mobile" computing solution. Case in point, I'd like to see how continuum helps if you're a journalist covering its reveal at the Microsoft event next week...... It has its place but this is not the solution to all computing needs.
Sent from my Lumia 1020

No, when you're mobile, you can use the apps on your phone - not requiring a monitor. When you have the ability to connect to a monitor, you have more options.

 

[pallentx]

You mean like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Jm8IiwURQ

No. When you docked the Atrix, it booted up a separate Linux OS. It was not the same OS running the same apps. Continuum is the same thing you use on the phone, but formatted for a screen, keyboard and mouse.

 

[pallentx]

For everyone saying this is a pointless niche because there's nowhere to dock.... Duh... You cant create a new category of computing without, at some point, releasing it to a world that doesn't have it yet. This is like the people who said the iPad would be a flop because there were no iPad apps yet. If what you have created has value (and I think this does), the market will accommodate and conform to the change you bring. I don't expect this transformation to happen over night. MS is going to have to address the apps issue for this work. But, if it adds value, you will see products emerge to accommodate it. But yeah, right now, its not a killer feature. Its the start of what could become a killer feature in the future - some people just want to play around with it now. I think sales people and other traveling presenters will love it out of the box. The rest of the market will need to see more work to make it useful.


Also, the thing about a $200 laptop. The point is, you now have to carry a laptop and a phone if you go that route and you have to be sure all your apps are setup on both devices and kept in sync. With continuum, you have one device. The apps are installed once. Nothing to sync. If you have it on your phone, you have it docked. You just need a world with docks everywhere so you don't have to carry that stuff around.

 

[ttsoldier]

Also, the thing about a $200 laptop. The point is, you now have to carry a laptop and a phone if you go that route and you have to be sure all your apps are setup on both devices and kept in sync. With continuum, you have one device. The apps are installed once. Nothing to sync. If you have it on your phone, you have it docked. You just need a world with docks everywhere so you don't have to carry that stuff around.

If universal apps are designed properly, everything will sync between your phone , pc and other windows 10 devices seamlessly.

 

[Smokin44]

I feel too much on the Continuum discussion is about making a phone a pc. And thats it.

This thing a total concept - re-thinking the whole eco-system of software, and how it relates to hardware. And MSFT is in the box seat, as windows is still the undisputed desktop king, and wont change for the foreseable future.

But, technology will adapt, and if the concept takes off - this is a game changer. Today, we are at a point where eco-system drives hardware sales, not vice versa. I run an Android phone, with windows on tablet/pc. It would take a huge game changing feature or development for me to purchase an ios or apple device.

However, most people have a windows eco-system of some sort. Making this seemless, from wearable to phone to phablet to mini-tablet to tablet to table-sized tablet to ultrabook to laptop to PC - is a game changer. Nobody is going to own all of these devices, but once you pick and chose your hardware - how you interact with your 'stuff' is seemless.

Take the phone, sure right now you need a dock to run 'windows'. "Tomorrow", the phone has a 4K projector at one end, and some sort of IR full sized keyboard and trackpad which can display on any surface. Suddenly, with just the 'phone' you have a fully fledged PC with any sized screen you like anywhere you are - on the bus, on a plane, in the car, next to a wall etc.

The day after tomorrow - all of this is on the 'band'.

The concept is - we all have 'stuff' out there, whatever it is. We all have 'devices' we can buy - literally thousands of them.

Doesn't it make sense to bring 'stuff' and 'device' together - regardless of what you do, or how you do. The connection to your stuff is seamless.

 

[Citizen X]

For <$200 here's an 11"
HP Stream 11

although I have an i7 quadcore with 24GB of RAM. It works for me.

Your link doesn't work. Anyway go ahead and add $230 to that price for MS Office. $100 dock isn't looking so expensive now is it?

We just keep covering the same ground over and over and over again in this thread.

 

[anon(9630986)]

Lets admit it. The OP unfairly asked if we NEED continuum. Need is such a strong and absolute word. But I think continuum has a place in our lives and the future. Pretty much like how we didn't "need" the iPHone when it first came out but we pretty much can't live without a smartphone now.

 

[vEEP pEEP]

I have no idea.

When txting started - I thought I would have no use for it.

Continuum is going to be used for things we have not thought of yet...

As it is now, not really, I can't find a use for it.

However, I have faith in the creativity of the people out there!

 

[madhouse1616]

I agree that for most on this forum "need" might not fit our category yet and we'll have to wait and see where it will fit in our lives. Otoh ... continuum will be a great product in emerging markets (china/india/africa etc..) (eventually) where many will only be able to afford low cost devices but need the capabilities of a pc

 

[midnightfrolic]

If you build it, they will come. Sure I do not NEED Continuum now, but if it's available, I'll use the hell out of it.
Just like, I do not NEED a smartphone, but since it's been invented, I'll abuse the hell out of it.

 

[jeffoffline]

I don't understand why people think this. This won't help "emerging markets" one bit as long as they're charging almost as much for the continum hub as they charge for low end laptops and tablets which are infinitely more useful. If they market continum as a wireless hdmi device on par with a google chromecast it might stand a chance.