How's this for a Surface Phone?

[Cartman]

So I was thinking... I have no doubt that the Surface team could produce some excellent hardware but no matter how good the hardware is it will be crippled from the lack of apps.

Soooo....have it dual boot Windows 10 mobile and Android (concurrently)! Switch between the two as fast as switching apps. Copy/paste across them. Receive calls and text message on which ever one you have active but ensure calls are reflected in both environments and text messages are there in both..including read status. Have notifications work between the two environments.

We could call the feature Concurrent.

Honestly....that would be huge for Surface phone. Imagine?! The Android side could be Microsoft version of Android pre-loaded with all Microsoft apps...Android Pro if you will.

This would dramatically and immediately increase the appeal of a Surface phone and allow people to experience Windows 10 mobile with no risk.

If anyone could....Surface could pull this off best...this is the mind blowing stuff Surface was designed to represent.

 

[abhishek singh21]

why do we need a dual boot? just because of apps? i wish Microsoft shuts down its hardware division instead of launching dual boot. It will appear as if Microsoft is in a desperate situation.

 

[Cartman]

...another idea...extend UWP apps to run on Android. Microsoft IS in a serious and desperate situation with Windows 10 mobile. They need to do something extreme to keep it relevant.

I personally have used Windows phone since it first came out (Samsung Focus?) and currently have a 950 XL. I love the environment and UI but the lack of apps has caused me to also start carrying an iPhone. We are in an unacceptable situation in regard to apps. At this point it is surprising to see the app support that is still on Windows 10 mobile. I do not expect it to continue. Also, the apps that we do have are highly inferior to their counterpart on iOS and Android.

It is time for some extreme decisions on Microsoft's part. Dual boot and UWP to Android may help...maybe not. Haven't thought through the feasibility of extending deployment of UWP apps to android or if that would make any difference at all to developers. I am inclined to believe it wont.

Dual boot would be a way to sell a lot of hardware (not something I am sure MS cares about) and expose a lot of users to the Surface brand and W10M. It would also allow MS to showcase the best that they have to offer through Android. That IS something MS cares about. They WANT as many android (and iOS) users using MS apps. They want to showcase what a premium experience can be like on Android. It is what the Surface brand is all about. Showcasing what is possible with seamless hardware and software designed to work well together.

A Surface Phone that runs only Windows 10 mobile is (unfortunately) a non-starter. We have to come to grips with the harsh reality of current market forces.

 

[aximtreo]

why do we need a dual boot? just because of apps? i wish Microsoft shuts down its hardware division instead of launching dual boot. It will appear as if Microsoft is in a desperate situation.

And you don't think they are in a desperate situation? I believe they are and I feel the people driving the Mobile business have very little if any foresight into what they have in hand.

 

[FXi2]

I have no wish of the Android security mess to be added to the windows platform unless perhaps they figure out a way to sandbox it which in a phone environment is unlikely to work well.

I'm not trying to create an argument in asking this but can you list for me the apps for which you are carrying an iPhone? If it's just too long, you could tell me the number overall and the top 5 and that would be fine. I have both devices and using IOS isn't nearly as nice as windows phone. I know, go figure right? But since I'm constantly on the hunt for some apps that would be cause to switch you have me curious. Not trying to be a bother.

 

[jabtano]

If Microsoft does this device I hope and pray that it is not exclusive. the last tow Microsoft phone were even though T-Mo US said they wanted them too, but were never asked. exclusive really hurt WP. when my 925 died there was no were to go high end wise on my carrier so Android it is for now perhaps someday there will be a high end WP that is not exclusive for those of us who are stuck on family plans.

 

[Cartman]

can you list for me the apps for which you are carrying an iPhone?

It's not about the apps I use personally. It is apps the general public desire. People who use this site can be considered advance users who exerting effort to continue using a platform that is generally not supported by app developers. That level of effort and devotion simply can not be expect from others. The situation will continue to degrade unless something drastic changes.

I love the W10M UI. I can appreciate what MS is trying to accomplish and continue to support their efforts.

iOS is very bland in comparison but it is a polished, reliable and a seamless experience. Even still...using it makes me appreciate W10M even more. Microsoft does need to improve the OS and they are getting there but it is the lack of quality APPs that is deterring people. People will accept an inferior platform if it means the apps are there. It is simply one or two key apps for some people that will cause them to leave.

Microsoft tried getting app developers to Windows Phone. They tried very hard...spent a lot of money and effort. Nothing seems to have worked. Sure a lot of the blame falls back on them with their miss-steps along the way. They have burned app developers too many times. I think app developers have had enough. First Windows Phone 7 then 8 and now 10. All almost completely different platforms when it comes to app development. With the market share of Windows 10 mobile it is hard for devs to justify the effort and expense. I applaud the ones that do but have a hard time faulting the ones that don't.

I doubt MS will do Android. If successful what does that mean for W10M?! There is no long term benefit. The dual boot scenario may open up the experience of W10M to more users but most will stick on the Android side. It would be a solution to make apps available but it is not a good one and further diminishes W10M. I don't see an answer to this dilemma.

I understand the MS has realized they have lost at this point. They are in life support mode waiting for the next technology bend. They realize there needs to be some killer feature available to drive adoption. This could be as simple as a killer app people must have at all cost. Something that will move people to use W10M in spite of the dearth of quality apps. Once enough people are here apps will come. At this point MS does not know what that is....Continuum is not it.

 

[kaktus1389]

I think that MS needs to do more PROPER marketing and they also need to show the numbers of Windows 10 desktop users to encourage developers even more.
I believe in future of Continuum, as the videos they've shown look great and I think there will be more than that coming to Continuum with RS2. I think they have some aces up their sleeves still saved, as they're the biggest software company on the planet. They have a philosophy about Universal Windows Platform and they won't give it up as I am sure they have enough resources to constantly improve it.

 

[Krystianpants]

You pretty much described a samsung phone patent that runs both windows mobile and android simultaneously without booting separately.

 

[techiez]

So I was thinking... I have no doubt that the Surface team could produce some excellent hardware but no matter how good the hardware is it will be crippled from the lack of apps.

Soooo....have it dual boot Windows 10 mobile and Android (concurrently)! Switch between the two as fast as switching apps. Copy/paste across them. Receive calls and text message on which ever one you have active but ensure calls are reflected in both environments and text messages are there in both..including read status. Have notifications work between the two environments.

We could call the feature Concurrent.

Honestly....that would be huge for Surface phone. Imagine?! The Android side could be Microsoft version of Android pre-loaded with all Microsoft apps...Android Pro if you will.

This would dramatically and immediately increase the appeal of a Surface phone and allow people to experience Windows 10 mobile with no risk.

If anyone could....Surface could pull this off best...this is the mind blowing stuff Surface was designed to represent.

Basically you are suggesting MS to build a custom UI over android

 

[ven07]

why do we need a dual boot? just because of apps?

No no I think OP is leaning towards being 'safe'. Users won't give up their platform for just any reason, but what if you can have your own platform and be able to test out a different platform at the same time with the same phone?

That's quite an incentive. Not everyone will go for it, but some will.

There's always the 'buy two phones' approach, but unless you actually need two phones, it seems a bit cumbersome to do that

 

[abhishek singh21]

when i think about dual boot device , i could imagine a device which is high priced , more complex to a few , new benchmarks in hardware. But i could never get to why a dual boot? You could be right but what if

 

[saras112]

I don't think dual boot phone, is great, not for regular consumers at least

 

[Cartman]

I don't think dual boot phone, is great, not for regular consumers at least

No, you are right. It is not the answer. I am trying to find a way to keep the platform I love relevant but ultimately a Surface dual boot phone would probably do more harm than good.

Carrying around two physical phones is far from convenient. I quite literally am in despair grasping at anything to keep using the device I prefer....realizing it is just a phone and ultimately not that important.

 

[Tom Westrick]

Regular customers aren't going to use a dual boot device any more than they'd use a Windows Mobile device today. There's too much complication on a dual boot device, especially for something as vital as a cell phone.

And there's no way in hell Google or Microsoft would certify that.

 

[ven07]

Regular customers don't care :/ I've seen people with a Note 7 that have no business carrying one around. Reason to buy? 'I heard it was good'

Tbh regular customers will buy anything that's trending at the moment and there is an alarming amount of regular customers out there :/

 

[Cartman]

Just came up with another idea for Surface Phone...

[FONT=sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, Trebuchet MS]Sell it with a dock that has a x86 processor in it! You could still connect to it wirelessly but when you do the x86 takes over and allows you to run legacy apps....ta da![/FONT]