Do you think a larger version of Andromeda would sell better than a pocketable version?

[scoots37]

In ZDNet's report, it is said that Microsoft might ditch the pocketable version of Andromeda and remake it lager and more apt to run old, win32 apps efficiently with larger screens. I was wondering if you think there is a bigger audience for this type of device than there might be for a pocketable version.

For me, the best aspect of Andromeda would be that I could put it in my pocket and take it with me without a bag or hassle. A larger version (in my opinion) would be competing with tablets and laptops. My laptop is currently a 2-in-1 with inking capabilities, and I do not feel limited in any way when using my laptop at the moment. I do, however, feel limited on my smartphone and often stop using it to use my laptop to finish a task.

Furthermore, wouldn't Microsoft mostly be cannibalizing it's own Surface sales with a lager version of Andromeda? It might steal some iPad sales, but nothing in comparison to the potential sales a pocketable version of Andromeda could steal from iPhones and Android in the long run.

 

[smoheath]

In ZDNet's report, it is said that Microsoft might ditch the pocketable version of Andromeda and remake it lager and more apt to run old, win32 apps efficiently with larger screens. I was wondering if you think there is a bigger audience for this type of device than there might be for a pocketable version.

For me, the best aspect of Andromeda would be that I could put it in my pocket and take it with me without a bag or hassle. A larger version (in my opinion) would be competing with tablets and laptops. My laptop is currently a 2-in-1 with inking capabilities, and I do not feel limited in any way when using my laptop at the moment. I do, however, feel limited on my smartphone and often stop using it to use my laptop to finish a task.

Furthermore, wouldn't Microsoft mostly be cannibalizing it's own Surface sales with a lager version of Andromeda? It might steal some iPad sales, but nothing in comparison to the potential sales a pocketable version of Andromeda could steal from iPhones and Android in the long run.

I think that either size (pocketable or tablet) would have a market, but a pocketable one would be more revolutionary. I completely agree with you that making Andromeda pocketable is the best aspect of it. By making it bigger it becomes a tablet/laptop hybrid instead of a phone/tablet hybrid. Microsoft already has the former in the surface pro.

Phones are getting stale and somewhat useless in my opinion. I only use my phone for news, email, Instagram, messaging and phone calls. I'm an engineer and I use a desktop all day, so my phone is mostly unused during the day. I usually have a few meetings everyday and Andromeda would be fantastic for meetings. I would mainly use it for handwritten notes but i could also use it for emails, other docs, etc. Also, Andromeda would be a great on the go device and then at the end of the day I could dock it to a monitor and remote into my desktop at work. I realize that I could get a mini tablet to do all this (although there isn't a great Windows one) but then I'd have a phone and a tablet, which to me seems unnecessary. So, for me, Andromeda is a dream device and I'm sure there are other enterprise folks that would 100% agree. Obviously it wouldn't be for everyone. But it doesn't need to be. In a world where the Surface Studio exists there is no reason Andromeda cannot as well.

 

[scoots37]

My thoughts exactly! I'm an engineering grad student and work on multiple projects and am constantly using scratch paper. Some of my scratch paper is just a quick calculation or something that can be forgotten, but I wish I could save a lot of my notes and be able to search for them just by pulling Andromeda out of my pocket. Would be super convenient

 

[covfefe]

You just described Booklet... it's around Surface Pro sized when unfolded and docks into a keyboard.

 

[TechFreak1]

My thoughts exactly! I'm an engineering grad student and work on multiple projects and am constantly using scratch paper. Some of my scratch paper is just a quick calculation or something that can be forgotten, but I wish I could save a lot of my notes and be able to search for them just by pulling Andromeda out of my pocket. Would be super convenient

Ditto. My rucksack is full of scrap paper, filled with random thoughts. Which I now type into my phone but I need a pen... to fully jot down what I'm thinking. It's hard to do with a digital keyboard.

 

[fatclue_98]

Ditto. My rucksack is full of scrap paper, filled with random thoughts. Which I now type into my phone but I need a pen... to fully jot down what I'm thinking. It's hard to do with a digital keyboard.

I used to be like you. Until I discovered PDAs some 15 years ago that I could keep in a shirt pocket for that quick note. I still carry a Palm T/X sometimes when I'm in a cramped room or climbing on a ladder to look at equipment.

 

[Daniel Stevenson Sutton]

I like many see the Andromeda device as the successor to the old palm pda or the Nokia communicator. My smartphone is great on the go but I still have to carry an ipad mini or surface if I know I may have work to do when out and about. My hope for the Andromeda is a true one mobile device experience that a smartphone does not quite reach.