My thoughts on Continuum after 3 months of daily use

Lumious

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I have been using Continuum as a "kitchen PC" replacement almost daily for about 3 months. It is intended for light use such as browsing the web, streaming youtube videos, messaging, etc. Here is a link to my set up. http://forums.windowscentral.com/continuum/414760-finding-good-use-continuum.html

Microsofts intentions were good here and i think this is a good start. But beyond that, this new technology will not replace your desktop PC in any way shape or form. I'm not even going to get into the fact that x86 apps wont run here because we all know that. I want to talk about the technology as-is. Plugging the phone into the dock and getting started is hit or miss right out the gate. Sometimes my phone (950XL) will freeze completely or not display on the screen, a restart almost always fixes this. Using Continuum feels like i am using a mid range computer from the late 90s. The animations are slow and buggy, the browser is slow and takes forever to load even with an amazing 175Mbps internet connection. The most annoying thing is that the browser only loads one page at a time, so watching a YT video stops when the browser is minimized or a new tab is opened. After about 15 or 20 minutes of use (maybe less) the phone gets very very hot and bogs down to a CRAWL. Once i had to take it off the dock and put it in the fridge because it was so damn hot. I wouldn't even think about doing something intense like running office or playing games - fuggedaboutit!

Now on to the positives. Setting a PC that allows you to do all of the basics (email, YT, web, messaging) in a part of your house for under 200 is priceless (assuming the cost of the phone already). The dock was free with the XL, the monitor i used 23.5 FHD lenovo was $100, the keyboard 30, the speaker 30, and the mouse (had this from my pro 2). The wow factor and coolness of showing this off to people is pretty rad. It's a futuristic type thing that almost no one knows about it because, well, Windows Phone. Also the fact that this is your PHONE is a really nice plus. Say you want to type messages (SMS) on a full screen and keyboard, it makes it really nice and convenient to do this. Checking emails full screen, photos you've taken, rearranging tiles, etc is much more pleasant to do on a full keyboard and mouse.

All in all i think that Continuum is a good first crack at using the phone as a desktop PC and it does function the way it's intended if you don't mind putting up with the slowness, bugs and overheating issues. I will continue to use Continuum but not push it beyond a few minutes a day and try to keep everything light.

What are your thoughts on Continuum?
 

Chintan Gohel

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My thoughts are that you're missing a firmware update if your continuum experience is as you've described it. I haven't read about others getting the issues that you have - so could it be your device is faulty if the firmware is up to date?

By the way, you seem to have a lot of MS devices :cool::grin:
 

iampwd

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I have a much better experience than this with Continuum. But I agree with Edge. It's slow on pages with many scripts and ads. I use apps as much as I can instead of Edge. mTalk, Newsflow, Tweet it and Readit are fantastic in Continuum. Remote Desktop also get a lot of use.

I have the dock and the wireless display adapter v2. The wireless performancce is mind blowingly good with the adapter. The range is also very good. The phone is upstairs on a wireless charger and I'm downstairs with bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Stil almost no lag.

You have to remember that this is a phone that you can actually have in your pocket. This is my childhood dream and hopefully it will only get better.
 

Lumious

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My thoughts are that you're missing a firmware update if your continuum experience is as you've described it. I haven't read about others getting the issues that you have - so could it be your device is faulty if the firmware is up to date?

By the way, you seem to have a lot of MS devices :cool::grin:

I do have a lot of MS devices. Lumia 640 X 2, Lumia 950 XL, Display Dock, Surface Dock, Surface Pro 2, Surface Type Cover 2, Arc Touch Mouse, Sculpt Comfort Mouse, MS branded HDMI to Display Port adapter, Surface Book, thats all i can think of off the top of my head. Although my posts may seem like im some kind of hater or disgruntaled customer, i really love MS and try to be as objective as possible. My love for their vision and passion really kicked up when i went to their Devices Event in NYC like Oct 6th, seeing panos, terry, satya all speak so passionately about what they're doing. And watching the recent inside the surface lab was really mind blowing too.
 

Alexander Long

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well, i won't suggest it can replace your PC, at least not in any near future. However, I did use it as a alternative for netbook/tablet. as I don't have to carry another device with me, but just a simple USB-C adaptor(and yes,not just the heavy MS display dock, most of the usb-c adaptor with video out works for continuum even the ones with VGA)? so I can virtually carry a "PC" with me anywhere, and hooked up to a monitor/TV.(actually I am type this in my office with this solution on my work monitor/keyboard/mouse using an USB-C VGA/PD/USB-A adaptor i nought from ebay for $20) , and the university I work for have AZURE like virtual desktop remote machine service for us, so i can access thing like visual studio and matlab remotely if i need to. and I mean i understand for recent version of continuum is more like a thin client solution rather than heavy duty beast, which i doubt it would ever be.
 

Lumious

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well, i won't suggest it can replace your PC, at least not in any near future. However, I did use it as a alternative for netbook/tablet. as I don't have to carry another device with me, but just a simple USB-C adaptor(and yes,not just the heavy MS display dock, most of the usb-c adaptor with video out works for continuum even the ones with VGA)? so I can virtually carry a "PC" with me anywhere, and hooked up to a monitor/TV.(actually I am type this in my office with this solution on my work monitor/keyboard/mouse using an USB-C VGA/PD/USB-A adaptor i nought from ebay for $20) , and the university I work for have AZURE like virtual desktop remote machine service for us, so i can access thing like visual studio and matlab remotely if i need to. and I mean i understand for recent version of continuum is more like a thin client solution rather than heavy duty beast, which i doubt it would ever be.

Nice it should work with just an adapter so you dont have to carry around that heavy dock with all those wires. I think the main purpose of the dock is it gives charge to the phones battery while youre using continuum and for the sake of extra ports
 

Alexander Long

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Nice it should work with just an adapter so you dont have to carry around that heavy dock with all those wires. I think the main purpose of the dock is it gives charge to the phones battery while youre using continuum and for the sake of extra ports
Besides, third party adaptors don't have to plugin power source to use, which could be handy on the Go. while MS dock won't be able to use without power in. beside the MS display dock is really bulky and heavy, i can't put it in my pocket easily without making my pants look like Bone.r
 

KimRM

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You never said what build you are on? Continuum has got hell of a lot better for me on the redstone builds. On TH it would randomly crash and quit on me, phone would get hot, and so on. I have not experienced this in a while now.

But I do agree that the Multitasking is not great, to say it gently.
 

Lumious

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You never said what build you are on? Continuum has got hell of a lot better for me on the redstone builds. On TH it would randomly crash and quit on me, phone would get hot, and so on. I have not experienced this in a while now.

But I do agree that the Multitasking is not great, to say it gently.

I have always used it on TH2 10.0.10586.xxx I recently just put the latest RS1 build on it so i will try it and get back to you
 

Chintan Gohel

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I do have a lot of MS devices. Lumia 640 X 2, Lumia 950 XL, Display Dock, Surface Dock, Surface Pro 2, Surface Type Cover 2, Arc Touch Mouse, Sculpt Comfort Mouse, MS branded HDMI to Display Port adapter, Surface Book, thats all i can think of off the top of my head. Although my posts may seem like im some kind of hater or disgruntaled customer, i really love MS and try to be as objective as possible. My love for their vision and passion really kicked up when i went to their Devices Event in NYC like Oct 6th, seeing panos, terry, satya all speak so passionately about what they're doing. And watching the recent inside the surface lab was really mind blowing too.

you went to the event? That's amazing
 

anthonyng

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I'm on vacation this week, left the SP3 at home. Brought the S3 which my wife fights for and I decided to go continuum to the TV at the home we are staying.

Remote desktop to my SP3 is the easy way out, otherwise, catching up on stuff is not bad with continuum.

I found that it was harder than it should have been to post to windowscentral forum some photos from your phone, I was hoping to get the full desktop while in continuum but still got forced into mobile optimized one. And even then had to find a nice way to size the photos down in order to allow it to be posted.

web.whatsapp.com works in edge continuum browser! :)

Anyhow, my confidence with using it increases each time and looking to find my own limits with this tool!
 

cracgor

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well, i won't suggest it can replace your PC, at least not in any near future. However, I did use it as a alternative for netbook/tablet. as I don't have to carry another device with me, but just a simple USB-C adaptor(and yes,not just the heavy MS display dock, most of the usb-c adaptor with video out works for continuum even the ones with VGA)? so I can virtually carry a "PC" with me anywhere, and hooked up to a monitor/TV.(actually I am type this in my office with this solution on my work monitor/keyboard/mouse using an USB-C VGA/PD/USB-A adaptor i nought from ebay for $20) , and the university I work for have AZURE like virtual desktop remote machine service for us, so i can access thing like visual studio and matlab remotely if i need to. and I mean i understand for recent version of continuum is more like a thin client solution rather than heavy duty beast, which i doubt it would ever be.

https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...t.com%2Fen-us%2Fstore%2Fb%2Fpc&token=1C0oQfj0

How is it different to carry around a phone, dock, keyboard, and mouse than it would be to carry around phone, pc, keyboard, and mouse? I think the competition is that a PC can be purchased for $100-200 range which means even if you were just planning on setting up an office with a bunch of docks, you'd probably still be better off just setting up an office with a bunch of PCs.
 

Alexander Long

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https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...t.com%2Fen-us%2Fstore%2Fb%2Fpc&token=UFpkpXDD
How is it different to carry around a phone, dock, keyboard, and mouse than it would be to carry around phone, pc, keyboard, and mouse? I think the competition is that a PC can be purchased for $100-200 range which means even if you were just planning on setting up an office with a bunch of docks, you'd probably still be better off just setting up an office with a bunch of PCs.

As I mentioned, I can fit a small third party adaptor and the phone and a usb-c charging cable all in my pocket without looking "bone r", I don't drive and hate to carry a bag or holding things in my hands when trying to catch bus/train. I don't need to carry a mouse or keyboard, since wherever there is a monitor for me to connect there would be keyboard/mouse. Besides, you carry all the local files with in one device instead have to either put on cloud or transfer over back-forth.
 

Krystianpants

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Is your 950XL on redstone? I find that my experience with stable branch was horrible. But they have really done a much better job optimizing with the redstone branch. And you always want to look for app alternatives rather than using websites like youtube. For example, MyTube is what I use. But edge has really improved as the builds have been coming out. I can actually use feedly now and don't get too many issues. Some ad-heavy sites still slow it down but extensions should solve that.

As far as heat goes, my unit doesn't get hot at all except for one scenario with candy crush jelly. In continuum It gets a bit warm because it's also doing battery charge but it's barely noticeable. But I noticed that it differs for everyone based on many factors. I always thought people had bad units because they were complaining about them getting hot and running poorly but I never experienced it. The previous build did exactly that! MY phone was getting hot. To a point where I was blowing on it to cool it down! It was the first time I have ever experienced this and I realized that it's not the phones but the software just sucks.

The latest build has been able to stop the heat issue. Though it still gets hot while playing Candy Crush Jelly. That's the only game that makes it hot and I play a lot of higher performing games. It must be doing something odd. But it's sort of weird that MS could cause these issues between builds. It must be something in the install process that happens or some particular rogue process that gets triggered. It just makes no sense why some get it some don't. MS has quite a way to go before Windows 10m is actually consumer ready.

One build I had was perfect, no issues, and my antutu score was usually 93k every single time I ran it and it performed lovely. I don't remember the build number but it went down hill after that. Current build my antutu has dropped to 83. I do get some slow downs on games which I never got before. And of course the candy crush jelly heat issue. The heating issue coincides with the battery drain. Candy Crush jelly is the game that destroys my battery. Before it would only make my unit luke warm, which no other game did, and battery was a lot better. Now it gets hot and battery just gets chewed up. The only thing I can think of is certain scenarios cause some sort of out of control loop that taxes resources. MS even had a problem where their cortana or band software (can't remember) was causing android units to overheat. That's pretty funny if you ask me.

Edit: I've never had issues with connecting to the dock and it not recognizing it. Maybe check the gadgets app to see if there are any updates to the continuum dock? I had an update at one point I had to install.
 

Lumious

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you went to the event? That's amazing

Yes there was about 15 of us (Windows Insiders) that got chosen out of the 5 million or whatever there is. It seems they selected by location all of us seemed to be from the tri-state area (NJ, NYC, CT) and active/valued insiders of the program. It was a blast I got to meet panos and Terry personally after the big show and we got to do a Q&A with all the insiders. 95% of the questions were about the 950/950XL and carrier support including if they were coming to Verizon etc..haha. When the show was over, the two walls on either side of the auditorium lifted up and on the left side was all the products displayed so the media could take pictures. On the right side was the all the products where you could do hands on, demos, take picutres, ask questions etc..and a center bar with free drinks and food. Heres some pics WP_20151006_08_10_40_Pro__highres.jpgWP_20151006_08_29_22_Pro__highres.jpgWP_20151006_11_22_12_Pro__highres.jpgWP_20151006_13_07_52_Pro.jpg
 

Lumious

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Is your 950XL on redstone? I find that my experience with stable branch was horrible. But they have really done a much better job optimizing with the redstone branch. And you always want to look for app alternatives rather than using websites like youtube. For example, MyTube is what I use. But edge has really improved as the builds have been coming out. I can actually use feedly now and don't get too many issues. Some ad-heavy sites still slow it down but extensions should solve that.

As far as heat goes, my unit doesn't get hot at all except for one scenario with candy crush jelly. In continuum It gets a bit warm because it's also doing battery charge but it's barely noticeable. But I noticed that it differs for everyone based on many factors. I always thought people had bad units because they were complaining about them getting hot and running poorly but I never experienced it. The previous build did exactly that! MY phone was getting hot. To a point where I was blowing on it to cool it down! It was the first time I have ever experienced this and I realized that it's not the phones but the software just sucks.

The latest build has been able to stop the heat issue. Though it still gets hot while playing Candy Crush Jelly. That's the only game that makes it hot and I play a lot of higher performing games. It must be doing something odd. But it's sort of weird that MS could cause these issues between builds. It must be something in the install process that happens or some particular rogue process that gets triggered. It just makes no sense why some get it some don't. MS has quite a way to go before Windows 10m is actually consumer ready.

One build I had was perfect, no issues, and my antutu score was usually 93k every single time I ran it and it performed lovely. I don't remember the build number but it went down hill after that. Current build my antutu has dropped to 83. I do get some slow downs on games which I never got before. And of course the candy crush jelly heat issue. The heating issue coincides with the battery drain. Candy Crush jelly is the game that destroys my battery. Before it would only make my unit luke warm, which no other game did, and battery was a lot better. Now it gets hot and battery just gets chewed up. The only thing I can think of is certain scenarios cause some sort of out of control loop that taxes resources. MS even had a problem where their cortana or band software (can't remember) was causing android units to overheat. That's pretty funny if you ask me.

Edit: I've never had issues with connecting to the dock and it not recognizing it. Maybe check the gadgets app to see if there are any updates to the continuum dock? I had an update at one point I had to install.

I'm going to try it with the latest RS1 build today and get back to you
 

Chintan Gohel

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Maybe one day I'll be going for those events - I missed the windows 10 launch last year in Nairobi - I was at work unfortunately, doing night shift
 

Alexander Long

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Is your 950XL on redstone? I find that my experience with stable branch was horrible. .

I never put insider build on my Lumia 950, it only ever runs on official build. and I didn't experience too much trouble as you mention. and I actually use continuum as everyday drive now, since I always have my phone and the adaptor in my pocket all the time.
 

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