Do we think Microsoft might do better if they include a great phone experience as well? Or can they just compete as a foldable tablet? Or... is the not-Phone concept a dead end for Microsoft?
What do you mean by "great phone experience" and "not-phone"?
AFAIK its highly likely that MS' foldable device will allow users to make phone calls. If that's true then it WILL act as a phone!
It just won't be MARKETED as one, because most people equate phone with smartphone and that term (for most people) raises expectations which MS' foldable device can't fulfill (because app-gap).
My impression is that you're thinking of MS' foldable device primarily as a W10 tablet and expecting it to provide that sort of experience. I think that is an incomplete expectation. When unfolded that may be true, but when folded you should expect an experience very similar to what we had with W10M. If that is what you'd call a "great phone experience", then you'll get that.
While this will allow you to check e-mails as you would with any other smartphone (at least when folded), that's not the reason anybody would purchase this. Any smartphone can do that. The reason to purchase this is because it can run Win32 software. That is its primary ability, and that defines what you can do with it. That the device is foldable and portable is secondary to that, as it simply makes it possible to do those things in more places while on-the-go.
Android and iOS tablets are essentially the same thing as Android and iOS smartphones. They all run the same consumerized mobile OS with access to the same mobile app stores. That's what the article you linked to was about. MS' device, despite also being foldable, is not in that category as it won't run a consumerized mobile OS.
If the article mentioned MS' device, it would have to be clear that:
- it is doing so based only on the secondary trait that it's also foldable
- it is intended for different tasks
- it won't run a consumerized mobile OS like all the others, nor run the apps typically associated with those OSes
Without making that distinction very clear, mentioning MS' foldable device in that context would likely be detrimental, as it would cause people to associate MS' foldable device with smartphones, which MS simply can't afford.
I agree with techiez. If MS pitches this device to consumers at all, that effort will likely be limited to students. It will primarily be pitched to corporations who need portable devices that can run Win32 software for their employees. In that sense I'm not sure hype is really that important, as corporations aren't hype-driven in the way consumers are.