Surface Phone new moto Atrix ????

[rafal soboczynski]

I know a lot of people here are very excited about what we call 'surface phone', and there is a lot of speculations on the hardware, most of them is just some ridiculous things that people want like 4gb ram 128 rom 40megapixel camera, best in class 2k display and all that lot. As far as we know microsoft is working on x86 based phone (again not official and as far as we know it may be cancelled), however I think this phone could be Really useful as business device if it could be used as laptop as well. Motorola did that with atrix and maybe some other phones to but I don't remember properly, I think asus did that with some phones that docked into tablet. Although I really liked the idea of these devices, their biggest limitation was android. Now with windows 10 and continuum I think Microsoft could create such device in Surface line.I am wondering what are your opinion on this.

 

[fatclue_98]

I had an Atrix with the Lapdock. It was an extension of the Android OS on a bigger display with a real keyboard. It was no different than the Celio RedFly used with WinMo devices back in the day. Mirroring a mobile OS and being able to run full x86 programs from a phone are different animals altogether. Let's wait and see.

 

[chuckdaly]

The Atrix was ahead of its time. It could have been Googles Chrome Phone, but ultimately, the lapdock was only good for using Firefox.

The Asus Padfones were priced higher than buying a dedicated phone and tablet.

Until Contiuum can be more useful than using productivity software, but games and social media apps, it will go the way of the Atrix. This requires inspiring developers to think beyond mobile screens for their apps. So far I haven't seen MS doing this.

 

[rafal soboczynski]

The Atrix was ahead of its time. It could have been Googles Chrome Phone, but ultimately, the lapdock was only good for using Firefox.

The Asus Padfones were priced higher than buying a dedicated phone and tablet.

Until Contiuum can be more useful than using productivity software, but games and social media apps, it will go the way of the Atrix. This requires inspiring developers to think beyond mobile screens for their apps. So far I haven't seen MS doing this.

Thats what i think continuum for phone needs another 12-18 months to mature properly and some good universal apps to be developed. But I dont think we should expect 'surface phone' till at least next august- September for announcement. By the i think continuum will be ok, there are going to be apps hopefully. But the question is if Microsoft succeeds with software side of things, would device like that have a market?.

 

[chuckdaly]

I too was an Atrix owner. The consensus in the tech media is that the concept of continuum is great, but its a solution in search of a problem. If an app doesn't benefit from being used on a larger screen, then it doesn't benefit from Continuum. The Atrix launched on a mobile platform with the most users world wide, and had Office been available for it, it would have been a success. Continuum will only be on a fledgling mobile platform, so it needs to offer more than productivity to gain users.

 

[aximtreo]

Doesn't Google own Motorola Phone division?

 

[rafal soboczynski]

not any more they sold it to lenovo or asus i believe

 

[ParoleGA]

not any more they sold it to lenovo or asus i believe

Lenovo. Shame, US based consumer electronics companies are few and far between.

As far as a full fledged X86 system on a pocket device; it's a great idea, but an idea ahead of it's time. We are already nerfing hardware for ultrabook form factors. The hardware isn't there yet, for an enjoyable X86 experience on a phone, I don't believe. Mobile OS experiences on larger screens are also not quite ideal, IMO.

 

[Vittorio Vaselli]

Yes i would love it. Continuum wil have much more sense! Not always we have an external monitor for use it, a dock with Monitor, keyboard and trackpad can resolve this problem.

 

[SteveNoza]

Even though the Surface phone should be Continuum capable, I think it should be a stand alone device with a keyboard cover and pen enabled, able to do pretty much what the Surface tablet can do.

 

[ajayden]

Even though the Surface phone should be Continuum capable, I think it should be a stand alone device with a keyboard cover and pen enabled, able to do pretty much what the Surface tablet can do.

Then what would be point of having the Surface tablet? Since it has the capability of a tablet, will you pay the price of the tablet for a phone?

Continuum is very useful for business customers, who are the largest customer base for windows phones currently. Presentation can be conducted directly from the phone itself.

 

[SteveNoza]

Then what would be point of having the Surface tablet? Since it has the capability of a tablet, will you pay the price of the tablet for a phone?

Continuum is very useful for business customers, who are the largest customer base for windows phones currently. Presentation can be conducted directly from the phone itself.

If the Surface phone is a mini Surface tablet, then the only reason for the tablet would be a bigger display. Yes, I would expect this device to be pricy.

 

[elindalyne]

Big difference between the Atrix and an x86 powered Windows phone...

People actually care about software on Windows, not so much for Android on a large screen.