3 ms·

MSFT has the "phone becomes a computer" with Continuum already: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Contin

by Qworg 10y ago

MSFT has the "phone becomes a computer" with Continuum already: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum (but you need a Lumia... :| ) Having a laptop form factor is very interesting though - it brings in a lot of questions too. Is it a dumb peripheral? What does it need access to on the phone?

0x6c6f6c 10y ago
It's one of the main points to Ubuntu Phones as well, convergence from phone/tablet to desktop. Plug it in and use it as a full scale desktop experience. It's only available on the newer models as the entire system is beta and under testing though.
- Qworg 10y ago
  Very cool, thanks. There's definitely a marketing bridge to cross here - when Steve Jobs released the iPhone, it wasn't "your iPod as a phone!", it was "here's a magical device that does things you never imagined were possible". I've yet to hear a good pitch for any of these systems that appeals broadly outside of tech. =/
  - 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
    I don't find extremely compelling arguments, but there's points to be made. Having a phone that's also your computer is convenient, so having a desktop/laptop dock for your phone that would seemlessly interface would be an interesting take. Remove the $900 work laptop and instead purchase a smartphone capable of everything you need for your business. Most employers provide smartphones already, so if you can manage the ecosystem for the company standards, you could effectively cut your costs in half for every employee. Plus, licensing costs would also drop, having only one device rather than two. A phone that requires a license on top of the work computer is just doubling cost. A single device has a single license. Honestly, I see how it could be useful, but the arguments aren't exactly convincing. At a personal level, I could see how a strong smartphone could be beneficial to have as a simple docking solution whether I go to work or home, plus constantly having it charged would be nice- Those lapdocks have batteries that charge the phone while it operates, same for desktop dock solutions. All in all, I'd buy into it if I liked the ecosystem the phone offered at every level- but now you need to convince me on how the application offering is for Android/iOs/Windows/Ubuntu on likely ARM devices in terms of mobile applications, scaling up to desktop applications.

by Qworg 10y ago

0x6c6f6c 10y ago

It's one of the main points to Ubuntu Phones as well, convergence from phone/tablet to desktop. Plug it in and use it as a full scale desktop experience. It's only available on the newer models as the entire system is beta and under testing though.

Qworg 10y ago
Very cool, thanks. There's definitely a marketing bridge to cross here - when Steve Jobs released the iPhone, it wasn't "your iPod as a phone!", it was "here's a magical device that does things you never imagined were possible". I've yet to hear a good pitch for any of these systems that appeals broadly outside of tech. =/
- 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
  I don't find extremely compelling arguments, but there's points to be made. Having a phone that's also your computer is convenient, so having a desktop/laptop dock for your phone that would seemlessly interface would be an interesting take. Remove the $900 work laptop and instead purchase a smartphone capable of everything you need for your business. Most employers provide smartphones already, so if you can manage the ecosystem for the company standards, you could effectively cut your costs in half for every employee. Plus, licensing costs would also drop, having only one device rather than two. A phone that requires a license on top of the work computer is just doubling cost. A single device has a single license. Honestly, I see how it could be useful, but the arguments aren't exactly convincing. At a personal level, I could see how a strong smartphone could be beneficial to have as a simple docking solution whether I go to work or home, plus constantly having it charged would be nice- Those lapdocks have batteries that charge the phone while it operates, same for desktop dock solutions. All in all, I'd buy into it if I liked the ecosystem the phone offered at every level- but now you need to convince me on how the application offering is for Android/iOs/Windows/Ubuntu on likely ARM devices in terms of mobile applications, scaling up to desktop applications.