Is there a market for Andromeda now????

[nate0]

Can't MS work out a deal with Samsung, LG, etc. to buy the devices and install windows 10 lite (or whatever version) for resale in MS Stores? I'd pay more for a folding Windows device that makes calls. Seems to me Windows would handle a folding screen better than Android.

It would handle anything better or just as good as Android minus the Android apps lol.

 

[BajanSaint69]

"Seems to me Windows would handle a folding screen better than Android."

I had always thought that was the rationale behind Andromeda

 

[Ryujingt3]

watching an unboxing video for the Galaxy Fold and the guy is raving about how "This is the future!!!" "Will this get to the point where it can replace a laptop???"

https://youtu.be/VSqkL31w69k

Meanwhile MS dithers about Andromeda.

I don't think this is the future at all. People said 3D was the future of movies (it wasn't) and VR is the future of gaming (also isn't). It's like in movies set in the future where we have all the flying cars and stuff, yet in the real world technology just doesn't progress that fast or even get adopted at all.

A foldable phone may be good, but it's still just a communications device. It'll still only be used by the same apps for the same use cases. So yes, if you use your laptop mainly to consume information and don't really do anything productive on it then it *could* replace that. But otherwise, it's just taking two existing devices and trying to fuse them together.

If Apple can build upon the Fold and have another iPod moment (something truly disruptive and new) then that could be the way forward, but it also won't be cheap. With phones getting more and more expensive the latest tech may soon only be available to those with the money.

 

[BajanSaint69]

I don't think the vision for Andromeda was ever just a communications device, I always had the impression it was more of a laptop substitute. (Think windows 10 not windows 10 Mobile) but that it could make calls. I think what's happening in the market is that Android is looking to "reach up" into the laptop space, and I'd always figured that Andromeda was looking to "reach down" into the phone space.

Point is one camp has a first gen device out and the other camp having massively invested in a project that gave them a head start.... is dithering.

 

[nate0]

I don't think the vision for Andromeda was ever just a communications device, I always had the impression it was more of a laptop substitute. (Think windows 10 not windows 10 Mobile) but that it could make calls. I think what's happening in the market is that Android is looking to "reach up" into the laptop space, and I'd always figured that Andromeda was looking to "reach down" into the phone space.

Point is one camp has a first gen device out and the other camp having massively invested in a project that gave them a head start.... is dithering.

Well said.

 

[Ryujingt3]

Well, what started out as a positive start for the Samsung Fold is turning sour, fast!

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/17/...roken-screen-debris-dust-hinge-flexible-bulge

MS must surely be paying attention to stuff like this.

 

[anon(50597)]

Well, what started out as a positive start for the Samsung Fold is turning sour, fast!

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/17/...roken-screen-debris-dust-hinge-flexible-bulge

MS must surely be paying attention to stuff like this.

You have to give them credit for putting out a first-generation device and taking a chance. That is always risky but I bet they work it out and win in the end.
MS is all talk.

 

[fatclue_98]

You have to give them credit for putting out a first-generation device and taking a chance. That is always risky but I bet they work it out and win in the end.
MS is all talk.

Proofs of concept usually are risky and most never see the light of day. How many times have you seen show cars make it to production? At most, maybe a design feature that needed exposure gets put on a wild design mock-up. If anything, it shows the smartphone industry is in the doldrums and needs something to spark interest.

I never thought a flexible panel would amount to much because the means and methods simply aren’t there yet for any kind of durability.

 

[anon(50597)]

Proofs of concept usually are risky and most never see the light of day. How many times have you seen show cars make it to production? At most, maybe a design feature that needed exposure gets put on a wild design mock-up. If anything, it shows the smartphone industry is in the doldrums and needs something to spark interest.

I never thought a flexible panel would amount to much because the means and methods simply aren’t there yet for any kind of durability.

I agree.
I’m not sure if it is a natural progression or just reaching for anything that is new or different but I had my doubts it would be anything we’d see mainstream anytime soon. Then the hype started and MS, Apple, Samsung etc. began leaking prototypes and people got all excited. Now were seeing it isn’t as easy as it sounds.

 

[fatclue_98]

I agree.
I’m not sure if it is a natural progression or just reaching for anything that is new or different but I had my doubts it would be anything we’d see mainstream anytime soon. Then the hype started and MS, Apple, Samsung etc. began leaking prototypes and people got all excited. Now were seeing it isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Except that the patent sketches from Microsoft show individual panels brought together with an ingenious hinge design. Granted, the Andromeda Unicorn is/was supposed to be a pocket PC that can take phone calls while the others are just Android phones with silly putty screens. I believe Motorola is on the right path with the RAZR clamshell approach. My theory would be to put an external display for those times when you need to check a notification or take a call without having to open the phone. It would reduce the overall number of times you flex that screen.

Of course, Microsoft could just share (for a fee, naturally) that hinge tech since they’re never going to release the damned thing anyway.

 

[anon(50597)]

Except that the patent sketches from Microsoft show individual panels brought together with an ingenious hinge design. Granted, the Andromeda Unicorn is/was supposed to be a pocket PC that can take phone calls while the others are just Android phones with silly putty screens. I believe Motorola is on the right path with the RAZR clamshell approach. My theory would be to put an external display for those times when you need to check a notification or take a call without having to open the phone. It would reduce the overall number of times you flex that screen.

Of course, Microsoft could just share (for a fee, naturally) that hinge tech since they’re never going to release the damned thing anyway.

I don’t want a hinge, a bend or anything else on my pocket device. I bought a Key2 LE to have a PKB again which suits me just fine. I’m still not convinced any of this foldable/bendable/TooBulkyForMyPocket crap will ever be mainstream. It’s fun to talk about though.

 

[fatclue_98]

I don’t want a hinge, a bend or anything else on my pocket device. I bought a Key2 LE to have a PKB again which suits me just fine. I’m still not convinced any of this foldable/bendable/TooBulkyForMyPocket crap will ever be mainstream. It’s fun to talk about though.

Never had a flip phone? Only a Palm Treo was bulkier.

 

[anon(50597)]

Never had a flip phone? Only a Palm Treo was bulkier.

I had a Razr at one point. I believe it was fairly thin but I never warmed up to it.
I was a candy bar fan myself.

 

[Ryujingt3]

Except that the patent sketches from Microsoft show individual panels brought together with an ingenious hinge design. Granted, the Andromeda Unicorn is/was supposed to be a pocket PC that can take phone calls while the others are just Android phones with silly putty screens. I believe Motorola is on the right path with the RAZR clamshell approach. My theory would be to put an external display for those times when you need to check a notification or take a call without having to open the phone. It would reduce the overall number of times you flex that screen.

Of course, Microsoft could just share (for a fee, naturally) that hinge tech since they’re never going to release the damned thing anyway.

Hopefully MS are watching what is happening with Samsung and that spurs them to actually release Andromeda as a way of doing it properly, similar to what Apple does.

 

[nate0]

I don’t want a hinge, a bend or anything else on my pocket device. I bought a Key2 LE to have a PKB again which suits me just fine. I’m still not convinced any of this foldable/bendable/TooBulkyForMyPocket crap will ever be mainstream. It’s fun to talk about though.

I am totally fine with a durable handheld Windows Mobile device with dual screens that are hinged and completely separate from each other. I use dual screens every day unless I am only on my laptop. I would take advantage of both screens. On top of that you would not have this elastic pealing screen fold design that costs a fortune to engineer and improve.

In fact it would just be a step up from that 8in tablet you have with a bi-fold flip cover. Just that the cover would be the second screen.

 

[anon(50597)]

I am totally fine with a durable handheld Windows Mobile device with dual screens that are hinged and completely separate from each other. I use dual screens every day unless I am only on my laptop. I would take advantage of both screens. On top of that you would not have this elastic pealing screen fold design that costs a fortune to engineer and improve.

I’m sure there are others like you, I’m just not sure how many. What are people willing to pay? How will you carry it? All interesting questions.

 

[nate0]

I’m sure there are others like you, I’m just not sure how many. What are people willing to pay? How will you carry it? All interesting questions.

Ya, honestly I would not use it everywhere. I am not convinced on buying a tablet anything yet. The last real tablet we bought was the original Surface and we bought it used. Any other tablet has either sat unused or been sold off to buy something we really need. Tablets are and still are a great idea, but just not for everyone. Same reason a foldable device is actually a great idea, but not for everyone, esepecially in this phase of development. AND especially running Android. Unless you are a Samsung fan, or just into it. I mean we all saw the reviews on Googles last tablet, so how much better and productive can Samsungs really be? I guess that is left to be determined. But a true productivity device that can also easily go anywhere, sounds like a winner. To me of course. Of course Microsoft is so far behind in the times as far as what people want (selfies, dual/triple/quad camera lenses, quad DACs, etc) that their device would only be good at that (productivity)... I have a hunch not many in the up and now would even think much about it. At least not yet.

 

[anon(50597)]

So now that everyone and his dog is looking at a foldable device, can we finally admit there's actually a market for this?

No.

 

[nate0]

No.

On a serious note that is all we can do or have done is look at them...

 

[anon(50597)]

On a serious note that is all we can do or have done is look at them...

Yup.
Someday something new will arrive. What it is we don’t know yet.
Interesting to watch though.