HP has been out of the smartphone game for a while now, so it is perhaps little surprise that its comeback device is something of a feature-packed powerhouse. HP is targeting the Elite X3 – which has a 5.96-inch screen and runs Windows 10 Mobile – at enterprises, but is open to launching a consumer handset, said Michael Park, general manager and global head of mobility at HP.
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“Consumers have an awesome choice of devices already, but when you enter into the enterprise and commercial market, security features need to jump up a few elements”, he said.
The TCO implications for this “will become more evident once Windows 10 gains more adoption”, he said. HP has basically gone all out on hardware here, that’s mostly because this isn’t just created to be your phone. Most of my Continuum experience has been with a Lumia 950 connected straight into a screen with cables – I couldn’t get Miracast connectivity to work even with a dongle Microsoft provided, and I’m wondering how many people will experience these same kinds of headaches with HP’s wireless lapdock.
No, HP is targeting this device straight at the enterprise, and it’s a smart move.
The HP Elite x3 shows promise for on-the-go access, but only if you work for a large company with the client-server infrastructure to support it. Otherwise, it’s just a really nice phablet with an innovative accessory set. HP Inc is pushing the productivity and convenience benefits of Continuum much harder than Microsoft ever did.
The Elite X3 is now showcased at MWC 2016, but if you plan to visit HP’s booth to see the device, then you should know that this is prototype unit, which lacks fingerprint scanner. Windows 10 Continuum will, of course, be a central feature of the 7.8 mm thin device, as well.
Plug the Elite x3 into a Desktop Dock to add DisplayPort, Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports, and a single USB-C port to the setup. We say dumb, because the Mobile Extender is pretty much useless without the Elite x3, and no data is stored on the device. “What that means is that the different devices you use – a workstation, a desktop, a notebook, a mobile phone, a tablet, a Surface Hub, a HoloLens, a big-screen monitor – are all rendered from the same OS kernel”. While the mobile extender doesn’t have a CPU or built-in storage, it does have a 48 wH battery which can recharge the x3 when you’re on the go.
The Mobile Extender seems to be a spiritual descendent of the 2007 Palm Foleo and Motorola’s more recent (2011) Atrix 4G Lapdock, neither of which met with success. HP has designed the seals for ports and other openings on the Elite x3 “from the inside out”, so there are no inconvenient flaps or covers to get in the user’s way. There’s a 6-inch, 2560×1440 display.
At least HP’s strategy of selling the Elite x3 into the corporate space is avoiding throwing good phones after bad. The rear features a 16MP camera with flash and what HP is calling a “low light sensor”.
The Elite X3 has 4GB of LPDDR4, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and a microSD slot for up to 2TB of storage. HP is working with multiple partners to bridge the app gap with visualization tools but it has yet to be seen how well that works.
HP has their own docks to sell you, too. HP thinks it has an answer with its Workspace product. But there was one big problem with that vision: no one really wants a Windows smartphone.
The desktop dock sounds a bit like the Microsoft own-brand equivalent but has a number of key connections that are important in this day and age. It remains to be seen whether the rest of us will.
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Windows 10 is meant to truly unite mobile and desktop computing. Instead of trying to take on the behemoths that are iOS and Android, Windows 10 Mobile can be the LinkedIn of the smartphone world: smaller than Facebook, but a worthy product, especially for business users – and that would be okay.
