Surface Phone / Panos' Phone Wishlist

[darth furious]

It can't be a copy cat, me too phone. It has to offer something new and different like the surface line. What do people use their phone for? social media, videos, and 90% of what used to be done on laptops (web browsing/email/shopping)

-maybe a refined 3d touch from the maclaren project (if it works well)
-a modular phone with just a few components that are screwed in. What if you crack your screen, you take the cover off, unscrew 4 screws, pop the screen off the connector and put a new one in (ordered directly from MS store), screw it in, and turn on ready to go. Could be made thin. include just screen, camera, battery (already removable), memory chip.
-x86 processor and arm processor. Arm runs the phone and x86 kicks on when needed. Good battery life and lots of power when needed and w32 apps in continuum
-work on all wireless carriers
-dual SDXC slots for extra storage capacity
-LED notification
-smaller bezel
-full size USB-A on the side?
-water proof
-front facing speakers

and if we want to have fun ... a flux capacitor, arc reactor, or tesseract. In fact I'll take any infinity stone

 

[DavidinCT]

Yea, 5.5" display, x86 CPU, 64gb, MicroSD expanablity (MANDATORY)....and slimmer than a iPhone 6+...

I have a ICON and a LG G3, I have used the 1520 as well, I honestly think the 5.5" display with a very small bezel is the best size.

Would love if PC connection could run x86 apps, with a full version of 10 in it.... also a battery that is changable and a battery by default can last 3-4 days with heavy use (I can dream right ?)

and by the way.....MUST WORK ON VERIZON

 

[EMINENT 1]

I really like this concept folder to become a Surface tablet. It'd be a game changer. Have a dock with a discrete cpu and detachable big screen for Miracasting Continuum and these would sell like hotcakes.

 

[John M Beauchemin]

For hardware, I'd like it to have as good a camera as they can cram in there, an SD card slot, a thumbprint reader, and a very generous battery. I want a phone that will last me MORE than a day of vigorous use, so that I don't have to be fretting about whether or not I'm going to run out of battery. Gimme some wiggle room instead of riding the razors edge like everyone is doing right now. I'm sure spec-wise it will be top-of-the-line so I'm not worried about the processor or RAM or anything.

The most important aspect of the Surface phone however is the OS. MS needs to spend this next year polishing the crud off of Win10 to make it as slick and presentable as possible for the Surface Phone launch, so that people don't tie Win10 around its neck like an anchor and use it to sink the phone in the press like they're doing with the Lumia950/XL. They also need to spend the next year making deals. Bribing, if need be, to get companies to develop apps for Win10m. They need to get Bank of America on there. Snapchat if possible. Official apps from all of the major players, and that means Google apps as well. Front-load the spending. If they really expect this iteration of Windows10 to be the 'last' iteration, then they need to invest NOW in the bells and whistles that will draw customers to the platform... and IMO should not release a Surface phone until they have set it up for success by giving it a thriving ecosystem to land on. No matter how good a Surface phone is, no one will use it if no one wants to write apps for it.

 

[Krystianpants]

It can't be a copy cat, me too phone. It has to offer something new and different like the surface line. What do people use their phone for? social media, videos, and 90% of what used to be done on laptops (web browsing/email/shopping)

-maybe a refined 3d touch from the maclaren project (if it works well)
-a modular phone with just a few components that are screwed in. What if you crack your screen, you take the cover off, unscrew 4 screws, pop the screen off the connector and put a new one in (ordered directly from MS store), screw it in, and turn on ready to go. Could be made thin. include just screen, camera, battery (already removable), memory chip.
-x86 processor and arm processor. Arm runs the phone and x86 kicks on when needed. Good battery life and lots of power when needed and w32 apps in continuum
-work on all wireless carriers
-dual SDXC slots for extra storage capacity
-LED notification
-smaller bezel
-full size USB-A on the side?
-water proof
-front facing speakers

and if we want to have fun ... a flux capacitor, arc reactor, or tesseract. In fact I'll take any infinity stone

I think the dual chip idea is quite possible. Have intel take care of the continuum. They just have to make sure the phone itself can't run w32 apps as to not jeopardize the app store. It would only allow it in continuum. I hope they can phase w32 out all together. As long as they provide a great api no reason anyone wouldn't want to take that route. I hope valve also make some deal with ms to have their app be much like the xbox app and give them their own section in the store. Ms shouldn't take any money from them either. But I think valve sees them as competition now.

 

[Jakoh]

The "ideas" are all over the place.
Most the ideas here don't sound transformational. Who cares if it is Intel or ARM - its battery powered and portable thus both have the same constraints? how will 3d touch make it beat the iphone? Continuum with Win32 apps sounds good, but thats only 5% use case, it is a PHONE. win32 program on a capactive touchscreen = bad combo.

I think a smallest form factor with the most usable screen size is the winning design. I am going to the communicator/LG V10 for inspiration because this is what Surface did for notebooks mesh two formats (big/small, notebook/tablet) into one (medium) with capability of big notebook. Following the same trend we take (big/small, tablet/phone) into medium with capability of tablet (big).
Idea 1: Inwards Fold-able design: Small V10 like screen on the outside - for notifications and calling. Big tablet sized screen on the inside for all the productivity and media tasks.
Idea 2: Outwards fold-able design: both back and front are screens and then they open outwards to form 1 big screen.

Either case, both of these designs will be more expensive than the iPhone. considering M$ is not a hardware research company, idea 2 is more feasible for them with the surface book hinge.
Idea one will more likely be suitable for Samsung. http://news.oled-display.net/samsung-display-worlds-first-foldable-oled-display-at-ces2014/

 

[Lundon44]

- 4K, 6" screen. If the screen is edge to edge (which it will likely be) they can fit that on a phone smaller than we think.

- Xbox One controller support

- Xbox One streaming support

- Win32 games capable of running on a dgpu

- More universal apps for Continuum!

- Similar pen use as Galaxy Note. Don't just make a pen compatible and allow us to use it as a stylus. Give us reasons to need it and interesting ways to utilize it.

- Styling has to be sexy as hell to make up for the 950's. I expect it will.

Lastly, based on what I've seen so far on pricing lately.. If this phone is what we expect it to be I also expect to be priced easily over $1000CAN. My 950XL was $960CAN after taxes so I would expect this phone to be closer to $1200-$1300. iPhone 6S+ sell for $1200 and much higher depending on storage options.

 

[anon(9630986)]

Clamshell form factor with dynamic fulcrum hinge. The screen can detach if too. Its like a teeny tiny surface book, lol.

 

[mikepalma]

Microsoft Courier

 

[midnightfrolic]

If this phone has a metallic body, one drop or bump can dent it, forever. I assumed that was why most phones are polycarbonate. If I get one, it's going inside a case immediately.

Hope continuum gets handoff feature and multi screen support. Foldable expandable screen. Tricorder. 128/256GB internal mem. 6GB RAM. 8core cpu. 16core gpu. High bandwidth SOC. THE GOOD STUFF.

 

[ajayden]

Something like this will be good.

 

[CygnusOrion]

I don't understand why some of you are clamoring for a 6.0"+ device. You realize that makes it another "phone for MS fans" and the general public won't give a frak? It has to be around 5.0".

 

[darth_furious]

Something like this will be good.View attachment 118111

you realize for a 6in phone, the keys would be incredibly small. I don't know how it would be better than the onscreen keyboard. Now if that keyboard unfolded, it would be bigger than a surface keyboard (the one I'm typing on) while still 4 rows high.

 

[J F A Today]

I'd start with a 5.8-6" screen. AMOLED but not super high res. 1080 HD with perfect colors and incredible brightness. Super sensitive screen and clear black technologies continue in the line up. Surface water cooling apparatus. Huge battery, 4200-5000mAh. I'd love a built in stand. Should have 8GB RAM available maybe but 4 should be base level. Best Intel chip available that fits. Stylus integration including on board storage.
The thing should feel like a substantial yet relatively tiny brick with the angled edges and other Surface features. The camera has to be top notch as well so with the battery considerations we should go back to the 41MP camera in the 1020. Maybe an entire operating system runs the camera in ready mode all the time. Waiting for the camera app to load was killing me on my old 1020, I missed so many shots. A Surface Pro phone should snap an incredible picture in less than a second from touching the phone with that intention.
Hey Cortana integration, Glance screen tech.Wireless charging. MicroSD storage ability.
And it has to have interactive live tiles like we were going to get in the canceled McLaren flagship. Whatever hardware it takes to do that is a requirement for my hero phone.
This is the only phone that has a hope of changing MS's hideous fortunes in the mobile world. Once there is a drop-dead gorgeous flagship PC/hero phone that everyone lusts over the rest of W10M needs to be in such fantastic shape that it draws in the curious and the jaded rather than send those people to competitors.
It's so freaking easy! /s

 

[JaySeeDoubleYou]

My biggest hope for [we'll just call it] "Surface Phone" is that it's x86 based and that it's iteration of Continuum will

a) be a FULL-FLEDGED Windows 10 desktop PC, as well as

b) incorporate "Handoff"-like features into the platform, such as handing off documents, emails, open browser windows, taking and making calls and SMS between all the Windows 10 devices you own, but take it even further yet with things like start-menu sync, "app matching" between devices, include XB1 in that, and also enable streaming game-play (and other things) to and from the continuum experience with the XBox and other PCs in the house

and

c) Have the phone either be carried by, or at least "whitelisted" by Verizon so I can actually use it as a phone!!!

---------------

The ONLY reason I'm not planning to buy a 950XL at tax return time 2016 is because it's blacklisted by Verizon, and for manifold reasons I've shared before, I'm not really at liberty to switch carriers. As truly impressed as I am by even this very early "halfway-there" Snapdragon powered "Lumia Continnum", I just can't justify spending $650 on an XL when the "phone" part of the equation doesn't come with it.

------HOWEVER------ I am in the market for BOTH a high end gaming Windows 10 PC for the living room "gaming rig", AS WELL AS a more modest Windows 10 PC for upstairs in the office. My hope is to have bought both at or before tax return time 2017. Now, consider the merits of a "Surface Phone" like what I qualified above as that more modest PC!

It would spec "good enough". It would also be ultra-portable. I could do the wired continuum for optimum performance in the office using a real keyboard and mouse, and then all through the rest of the house, do the wireless connection using the phone's screen keyboard/touchpad - then my whole house is a computer! Plus, I could take it with me and use it when I visit my parents on the north side (which I do every other Saturday more or less), or I could use it out and about at "Continuum kiosks" if/when that day comes. If my XB1 and my gaming PC are both in the living room, then it doesn't make sense to stream between them, but if this "Surface Phone" could stream from both of them, then I could play both anywhere in the house, including up in the office!

And if we have the handoff-like stuff, that eliminates the problem of having three computers (including a Surface or Surface clone) with some work/apps/ files on one but not on the others with no super easy way to tear down those walls of division. Instead, not only would the "modest PC" of the phone's "Continuum" be an extension of the phone and vice versa, but they would both also be an extension of the beefy gaming PC, the Surface, as well as the XBox, and of course, in each of those cases also vice versa!

For that kind of experience, I'd be willing to pay a higher price than what I'd pay for one of those little HP box computers that would [in theory] spec and perform comparably. The flexibility, portability, and convenience would justify the price easily.

--------------

But let me take this one step further

--------------

Whereas I CANNOT justify the price of a 950XL minus the phone functionality just for its "halfway there" version of Continuum, I ---COULD--- (and would) still justify the "Surface Phone" for all the goods mentioned above from its Continuum experience....even if that phone gets blacklisted too!

In other words, for that kind of a PC, I would not even need the phone to "be a phone" in order to get the phone! Of course, it'd be even a million times better yet if for the same amount of money, and for the same sized block in my shirt pocket, I could also get a phone out of the deal...you know, of buying a phone.

Anyway that's my hope for the "Surface Phone", and my planned use case for such a beast should anything even remotely like it emerge from Panos' laboratory this time next year!

Cheers!

 

[EspHack]

I want something different, in a fundamental way, kind of like the surface pro is a tablet god, and I hope it doesn't lose anything the 950's already have like qi, what worries me is this kind of product needs time, again, same as surface pro, 3 attempts until it worked

 

[ArmandsFM]

I think that it is time to ditch charger connector and go fully for wireless. Same with audio out. Two SIM cards should be there and built in 250GB memory instead of card. Trimmed down battery but solar charger on back side and ability to function underwater. Screen size not beyond 5,5 inches, camera of 20-25 M is sufficient. Phone should be able to do continuum thing without docking station required.

 

[Steve Adams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULVoDXaujuI

THIS!

I just looked on youtube and found this concept. PANOS, just build this and be done.

Oh, and squeeze an updated version of the 1020 camera in there as well!

 

[v535]

My wishlist for Surface Phone:
1.A 6" IPS screen @FHD with 60Hz refresh rate and brightness & color profile calibration.
2.2GB DDR3L/DDR4 RAM.
3.Liquid Cooled & modestly overclocked CPU from Qualcomm or Intel.
4. Removable 4000mAH battery.
5.Exchangeable Back covers with accessory like zenflash for photo-entusiasts.
Removed:
Sliding keyboard.
Since its a surface phone, I'm sticking with 6" screen since lumia's already has 5.2 & 5.7" variants and simply putting a 5 incher would confuse the consumer "Which phone to buy with respect to screen size and specs"

 

[Mad Cabbie]

My wishlist for Surface Phone:
1.A 6" IPS screen @FHD with 60Hz refresh rate and brightness & color profile calibration.
2.2GB DDR3L/DDR4 RAM.
3.Liquid Cooled & modestly overclocked CPU from Qualcomm or Intel.
4.4000mAH battery.
5.Sliding keyboard.
Since its a surface phone, I'm sticking with 6" screen since lumia's already has 5.2 & 5.7" variants and simply putting a 5 incher would confuse the consumer "Which phone to buy with respect to screen size and specs"

Don't quite get the sliding keyboard. If it slides from the device won't that add bulk to the thickness? If it's a surface phone, wouldn't the term 'surface' be misplaced? Or am I barking up the wrong tree??