Surface Phone / Panos' Phone Wishlist

[power5]

Type cover would be impossible to type on connected to the phone. Lay a piece of paper down the same size as your phone and try to put an entire qwerty keyboard on it and then be able to type on it in any way besides maybe 2 finger touch.
Better option would be to have a laser keyboard option projected from a corner when the integrated rear kickstand is popped out of the back. Though laser keyboards have never been very good. So it would take some serious R&D and probably an acquisition to make it work as well as it would need to. Maybe their lack of quality is due to some sort of processing limitation in their hardware and a pocket computer could help. The thought has been dangled for years on so many concept phones, but has not been tried by anyone. Maybe there is a reason.

I want a phone that can run x86 when needed. Not sure how to safely do that with all the malware out there. Somehow it needs to still have a sandbox. Not sure if windows 10 for surface is designed that way but probably not since it's full on windows. I am not sure how much space is available on a <6" screen phone to put an intel chip and an arm chip. Pretty sure arm is using different ram in mobile devices than Microsoft is in the surface with intel chips. So you would need double the ram space and double the processor space. You would basically need 2 motherboards. At least I think that is true. Not a computer engineer, just going off the basics. No idea why arm needs to stay around. Intel has seriously caught up in the power level arena while destroying arm in processing power. You want apps? How about every app that is available in the windows store for desktop/laptop/surface/surface book? You think that would bring developers over? Instead of only being able to sell your app to phone users, you can sell your app to anyone with any sort of windows 10 device. Desktop, laptop, surface, other tablet, phone. Do you think snapchat would like your computer as well as your phone? Sure they would, same with nearly every other developer. Unity apps would evolve into an app that can flow seamlessly from phone, to ext. monitor, to tablet, to surface book, to desktop. Apps could still be designed for a single device if desired.
Instead of a continuum dock, how about a wireless dongle to plug into the monitor housed in back of the phone? Combine that with a laser keyboard that works decently and I could have a computer anywhere I need.


Would love to see the phone just become a sort of continuum screen for some things. Sort of like the chrome books. Yet have the ability to also run local apps. So for the embedded apps, you would run them from the local device. Phone, maps, texting, camera, contacts, email.... Those things you use almost if not every day. Then, all those dumb game apps you download and use maybe a handful of times, they are played on the cloud and the video is streamed to your device. No loss of device storage required. But if it turns into a game you love and cannot live without, you press the option to make it local on the device. Not sure the bandwidth of even 4g is up to this task though. I have a hard enough time streaming Netflix when my phone is updating an app. Or maybe a stop gap is to allow an SD card have any app installed on it, not just the phone internal memory. So as I grow to use my phone for more and more apps and stuff, I can put in a larger SD card. Similar to what we did with HDDs in our PCs before terabyte drives were commonplace.

 

[Joe920]

Fun thread, here's my wish list, seems almost doable but not easy:

The Surface Phone should include

- everything that the 950XL has
- 5.5-6.0" screen, almost zero bezel
- solid metal feel body
- no sharp corners
- straight sides, no buttons on left (so it can stand on its side)
- optional replacement back with landscape kickstand (personally I'd get that)
- no camera bump
- at least 64GB of fast storage
- 180g (6.4oz) or less
- launch price of $799 or less

- 'all the bands' for universal network compatibility
- deals with all major US network operators
- support call center located in the US
- sufficient supply on launch day
- clearly announced launch plans

- replace iris scan with realsense3D
- fingerprint reader on back or in screen (no bezel)
- amazing speakers please
- stereo high dynamic range mics in landscape (i.e. one on each short side)
- one dock that works with both Surface PCs and the Surface Phone
- both Surface Phone and Surface Pro able to use discrete GPU in optional GPU dock
- work with game companies to show off external GPU use when docked

 

[UniverseWolf]

I?m not sure if I should post this or not, mostly because it?s all conjecture, but if some of those things are true then I don?t think ?we? are being too unrealistically demanding (albeit some things are a bit out there) for a device that should be the best MS can offer.
After all the surface brand dose and should embody premium, well imho at least.

And now about the rumors I mentioned above are about the Galaxy Note 6 supposed specs:

? 6-inch Foldable display
? Android 6.0
? 4K Resolution
? 3.1 GHz 16-Core processor
? Exynos + Snapdragon Chipset
? 6 or 8 GB RAM
? 32, 64, 128GB Internal Storage
? Micro SD card support
? 27 MP Primary camera
? 4000 mAh Battery

 

[LIEBER]

What is a "surface", and what does it take to qualify as a "surface phone" (or whatever)? I don't know how Microsoft thinks, but perhaps the name "surface" indicates a frontend tool/a way to look into backend data? What I'd like a "surface phone" to be, is a pocketable "surface". A tool to communicate (phone, e-mail, calendar, etc.) and give a view into various sensor data (IoT, health sensor data, etc., etc.) In this respect, the Surface Pro and Surface Book series are larger screens with added computing power to do analysis, etc. A "surface wrist" or whatever would be a smart watch a la the Band 2, which integrates sensors and collects data, while sending these to "the cloud". In a future, emergence of IoT would add many more sensors -- simple sensors collecting single data (body temperature at different time instances), complex data such as the GPS coordinates of a hike (at a given "time instance" -- such a hike will obviously have some time duration, but it could e.g. associated with the time at which the trip starts or ends) or a picture (taken at a given time instance), a sound file (taken at a given "time instance"), a video (at a given "time instance"), etc. Storage of such data needs some generic drivers and APIs so that users/developers can access the "sensors" and store the data in a database in a simple way + read data from this database. APIs should be available for e.g. programming languages in Visual Studio, etc.

IoT would need storage of data -- in the "cloud"? Should this "cloud" be in OneDrive or Dropbox? Or in private on the disks of the individual? In some case, the individual would like to keep such data private and stored in the home. A server would be needed to store such data, and the system should allow access to the data by the owner from "anywhere". One could store data on a NAS, but the storage system should use open storage formats so that it is possible to access the data by moving the disk to other computers. It should be possible to back-up the data e.g. to a disk in the home of a friend in a different city (e.g. to reduce the harm of earthquakes, fires, etc.).

Is OneDrive a suitable "storage vault" for such data? I'm not sure -- I don't know exactly how OneDrive works. OneDrive is at times extremely frustrating. My view is that a storage system should have a local disk which works as a cache for data, and that there should be a background process to store data from the cache to OneDrive (or Dropbox, etc.). This way, I can e.g. type documents at full speed in Word, and experience immediate storage to the local disk/SSD. This ensures that I always have the latest document (or sensor data or whatever) in the local disk, and become independent of a network/Wi-Fi. Simultaneously, the background process should attempt to upload the data to the Cloud (OneDrive, etc., or your private cloud on your NAS, server, etc.). Clearly, if there is no WI-FI access, this uploading has to wait until such access becomes possible. But it is still possible to work on the Surface, with quick access.

At times, I get the experience that Word etc. actually doesn't save the data to the disk until it is simultaneously stored to OneDrive... This is of course good for e.g. simultaneous editing on a Word document by to or more parties. But if your are a single worker on the data (which is the case most of the time), one wants to save data at full speed to the SSD/disk!!, and not to a possibly slow WI-FI/OneDrive!! As an example, I have experienced touch-typing in Word (some 60 words per minute -- not very fast, but decent speed) and Word has not been able to keep up... no characters has showed up in Word for perhaps a minute, and then suddenly it catches up and fills a couple of lines of text. This behavior is extremely frustrating. I don't know if it is because Word waits by saving data until OneDrive can take the data, or if it simply is the result of poor multitasking in Windows where Word waits to present the characters until OneDrive has been updated. In any way, this is extremely frustrating.

What should a "Surface Phone" (or "Surface Pocket" or whatever) be like? It would be nice if it is based on an Intel processor, because this gives access to lots of apps/applications and development tools. But it should not be too dependent on WI-FI... it must be possible to cache data in a disk/memory and still get decent performance even with low bandwidth connection. Battery life is important. As an example, I just received my Lumia 950 and my Surface Pro 4. The Lumia has very good battery life (61% remaining after 13 hours). The Surface Pro has disappointing battery life: it has gone from 100% to 15% in ca. 2 hours of typing :-(. A good screen is important, with possible wireless connection to various sensors.

 

[Jakoh]

I hope someone keeps making quality smaller phones, even though carrying a waffle iron is all the rage. I look around and there are an awful lot of iPhones around with smaller screens, which seems to refute the idea that "everyone" wants a waffle iron phone.

I think the main reason everyone has a small Iphone is not because they dont want a bigger iphone its because the Plus is close to a thousand dollars for 64GB and to most people any iphone is good enough. Most People are already streched out and hemorrhaging when they buy the small iphone.

 

[Jakoh]

Then it obviously should be a x86 phone running windows 10. When the iphone first came out the battery life sucked, i think they should just do it!:winktongue:

What is a "surface", and what does it take to qualify as a "surface phone" (or whatever)? I don't know how Microsoft thinks, but perhaps the name "surface" indicates a frontend tool/a way to look into backend data? What I'd like a "surface phone" to be, is a pocketable "surface". .

 

[aliphlamro]

Honestly renewable is everything -- Deconstructed & reconstructed from the rest.

 

[Ten Four]

I think the main reason everyone has a small Iphone is not because they dont want a bigger iphone its because the Plus is close to a thousand dollars for 64GB and to most people any iphone is good enough. Most People are already streched out and hemorrhaging when they buy the small iphone.

I don't think so. I work at a tech company where the vast majority of people could have any phone they want, and they mostly have iPhones. However, I would guess 90% are the smaller ones. I just spent a lot of time traveling and most phones I saw were smaller sized ones. I think people may be purchasing phablets to replace the role formerly served by tablets, but they apparently have another portable phone for use when out and about.

 

[NinjaCat007]

Surface Mobile
- Surface design language. No kickstand required.
- X86 processor with 3 or 4 GB of ram
- A camera that is as good as lumia 950 and as fast at taking photos as an iPhone.
- 64 GB storage plus extended memory
- Continuum
o Ability to run x86 apps on 10 inch plus screens
o More reliable wireless continuum

Surface wireless slate (Accessory to the phone)
o A 10 inch tablet without a processor, storage, radios of its own. It?s just a wireless display that uses special wireless continuum hardware to connect to the mobile wirelessly. It will have a battery that will last 10+ hrs.
o Probably should have its own front camera, speakers & mic. Speaker and mic can use Bluetooth to pair with phone. Not sure how camera can connect to the phone tough.
o The design will be the same as surface 3 but much thinner as it does not have anything else apart from battery. It will include the type cover as well. The type cover will connect to the phone using blue tooth
o Doing this will allow a phone to be used as a tablet and also as a notebook with key board attached
o A usb type c port that can be used to connect to the phone. This will charge the phone from the slates battery.

Surface mobile dock
o Same dock as the one that exists now but will have its own speakers & mic.
o The dock will allow the phone to the inserted into it vertically. This way when we connect to external monitor we can use the phones camera for skype calls

 

[bulutsuzgece]

Dream Surface Phone

X86 processor with 6GB Ram
Better Continuum (with more app support)
Better Windows Hello (faster)
Better Cortana (with more language support)
Metal and thin body
5,2" screen with thin bezels
Removable 4000 mah battery
128GB internal storage and microsd support
21MP main and 8MP front cam
And the most important one: A better W10M

 

[Knud Aagaard]

Well that will do it. + Windows 10 Home or Pro.
The price ? I don't care.

 

[Migi2015]

Either Panos will make a phone that just appeals to him and WP fanboys, or he will have an epiphany and realize how to design a premium device that can actually appeal to millions of people and get the interest of developers at the same time. x86... Nah, not going to cut it for the elite mobile developers that Satya Nadella talked about the other day.

 

[Vittorio Vaselli]

I hope:
-x86 CPU
-2gb RAM
-64 GB internal storage
-L950 Camera
-Iris Scanner
-Removable Battery
-5.5" screen
- Real 3D Gesture (exploding tiles)
-Laptop Style Continuum Doc(like Motorola Atrix) or a DOC with integrated keyboard, trackpad and a projector in order to using continuum also without an external screen.

 

[Joe920]

- one dock that works with both Surface PCs and the Surface Phone
- both Surface Phone and Surface Pro able to use discrete GPU in optional GPU dock
- work with game companies to show off external GPU use when docked

A nice example of this in the latest Razer ultrabook:
Razer uses Thunderbolt 3 to add dedicated graphics to its sleek new Ultrabook | Ars Technica
How cool would it be if the Surface phone and the Surface 4 could use a dock like that? Very!

Edit: see also the Windows Central article on this same system.

 

[Vittorio Vaselli]

What about an eyetracking interface for one-hand use?
Tobii wants you to control your PC with just your eyes and we show you how | Windows Central

 

[Guilherme Roussin]

Hey guys what do you think about my concept? i think its nice to keep lumia design.

 

[ajayden]

Hey guys what do you think about my concept? i think its nice to keep lumia design.

Just need to add a key board and it will be complete.

 

[Ovidiu Petru]

I want a crash resistant touch screen first of all and a screen that I can read easy without problems in direct sun light.

 

[amcluesent]

What would make a 'premium' Surface phone for me -

• Surface exclusive Cortana voiced by Michelle Dockery
• 64-bit OS, Windows 10 Mobile Redstone
• 6GB RAM, 64GB store, 512GB micro-SD
• Snapdragon 820 clocked at 2.0GHz
• Secure voice comms with tamper-proof crypto-processor using 256-bit AES
• Quickcharge 3.0
• 28 mega-pixel camera
• Software-defined SIM
• Office 365 included with 2TB of cloud storage
• Audio and DAC technology licensed from Pono with 24/192 FLAC files in the Music Store
• Aircraft-grade titanium and leather case developed by Mozo
• Option of 999 limited edition with engraved signature of Panos, including 12 month subs for
• • Microsoft 'Concierge' app for 24-hour worldwide assistance, recommendations and priority bookings
  • Complementary entry to airport lounges (NFC chip coded)
• Continuum Dock 600 includes Atom processor for legacy X86 apps

 

[ajayden]

Type cover would be impossible to type on connected to the phone. Lay a piece of paper down the same size as your phone and try to put an entire qwerty keyboard on it and then be able to type on it in any way besides maybe 2 finger touch.

Tried it quite sometime back on paper and on plastic of the same dimensions as Lumia 1520 and it is possible to type on that.