#surfacephone

http://bit.ly/2flHfUs : #SurfacePhone #WindowsMobile – Microsoft Surface Phone release date: Microsoft may launch three smartphones under the line-up in 2017

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Inspiration to Aspiration While rumors and speculation on a Surface Phone have been around for a while a lot of discussion remains on what a "Surface Phone" device could be. Should Microsoft introduce this device, they certainly want to achieve a level of success akin to the Surface product line. To date Microsoft has found hardware success in the emerging dual category market - think Surface Pro and Surface Book (tablet/laptop) – and in that line of thinking they've suggested they are aspiring to do the same for phone/mobile computing.

"We need some sort of spiritual equivalent on the phone side that doesn't just feel like it's a phone for people who love Windows" - Chris Capossela, Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer

The Great Windows Phone Debate At the time Microsoft released the Lumia 950/950XL they were the Windows Phone flagships – Windows Phone taken to refer to any Windows powered handset – created for the fans. OS and app ecosystem aside, a run down the specs list placed these two devices in league with the current competitors in the iPhone 6S/6S Plus and various Android flagships. In spite of this consumer reaction was largely placid, and besides knocking on the ever present app gap issue the propagated majority opinion that a metal body enclosure is a flagship feature gave the tech media more ammo to dismiss Microsoft's latest entry in the high-end smartphone market. Strongly opinionated voices continue to lament such issues on comment forums for blaming Windows Phones "death", while holdouts point to a highly anticipated and rumored Surface Phone as the platform savior. However even in these factions consensus on how a Surface Phone can redeem consumer interest is hotly debated – ambitions for the enterprise sector is of little concern in these circles.

Pen support, integrated kickstand, all metal magnesium casing, Intel x86 chips, and a keyboard cover – my personal favorite (sarcasm) – are all bullet point items proposed to define a Surface Phone. At first consideration I envisioned a Surface Phone in a similar light, as these features would squarely give such a device Surface brand association, and with a focus towards consistency in design language I naively stopped rationalizing there. However, Surface as a brand has come to mean a lot more than just a marketing label for Microsoft's premium hardware. It's designating a device as inspiration for product category reinvention, and while many would jubilantly welcome a Surface branded smartphone I now asset such a simple foray would be harming to the brand's signature.

A Revolutionary Smart PC Phone Solution So how can Surface Phone fight for supremacy in the highly contested smartphone market? High end specs – is a never ending race, killer features – are subject to personal utility, premium design – is a matter of material and design preference. Competing within these categories with a phone-centric device Microsoft is unlikely to find success no matter how cutting edge the device hardware, how productive the Windows 10 experience, or how beautiful the chassis. I believe Microsoft's best chance forward in mobile is to circumvent smartphones altogether by reinventing mobile computing within the PC market. Not only in bowing out on smartphones will Microsoft be able to pivot and run unchallenged in a new product category, but I believe it will benefit by dissociation from any lingering stigmas with its phone business – as lasting consumer and media perception may be as big an obstacle to fight as the app gap.

Consider that the prefix "smart" has been attached to smartphones to denote the expanding capabilities phones have acquired as they take on more PC-like functionality; however PC terminology never progressed to reference its increasing capabilities under a "smart" badging. Furthermore recognize that our lexicon maintains reference to smartphones based on its legacy function, while the telephone capabilities have been delegated to just another app, and is not even a number one use case of smartphones anymore. Its obvious smartphones have become pocket PCs people actually want, but their potential for continued development languishes under their classification as "phones". Why should calling and SMS messaging be a feature restricted to phones? Would it be so much of a stretch to conceive of PCs able to natively make and receive phone calls or send and receive SMS texts? In our fixation on developing mobile into all-purpose devices we may be overlooking that it might be easier to just bring phone and texting to PCs. A realized "Surface Phone" should embrace such a break from convention, eliminating the "phone" moniker from any potential product branding and exist outside the confines of a "smartphone" product label. Promoting the ultimate Windows 10 mobile experience with a "mobile slate PC" – one potential form factor description – where call and texting capability are integrated as just another OS and device feature could be Microsoft's best strategy going forward in mobile.

A Possible Tech Development in Semantics From the Windows Central contributor who likes to share his views in six-piece editorials – not complaining as his collective pieces are some of my favorite readings from the #techmedia coverage I follow – comes the latest: 'Smartphones are Dead'. The previous 'Windows Phone Isn’t Dead' was a good read focusing on Microsoft's refocusing and retrenching of their mobile phone platform and hardware. Naturally, given the topic, the article comment forum discussion quickly fell to blasting haters as trolls or lamenting desperate fan boys holding on their last bastion of hope. In any case I appreciate the editorials Jason Ward puts out for Windows Central. To me they are a rarity, showcasing well-presented and researched perspectives on Microsoft's strategy with Windows 10 Mobile in the past or most recently considering a potential shift in what is considered mobile phone computing. Good reading, I highly recommend if you enjoy technology development conversations and can approach the topic with an open mind, otherwise feel free to take the comment discussion down the typical wormhole.

Facebook F8 Spring time appears to be the time for tech company keynotes and latest on the scene was Facebook with their F8 developers conference. Delivering heavy on their social platform future Facebook discussed their 10 year plan envisioning the advances AR & VR will bring to social sharing and the gains bots will bring in joining our messaging conversations. Overall nothing that got me to excited, but then again I'm no developer and on the consumer side all I essentially use Facebook for these days is to post photo albums and occasions messaging. I am interested in the bot platform, but more for what I hope it brings and the potential shift it might have on the industry. Just one thing I want to pick over: on the day 1 keynote Mark Zuckerberg said he wants to capture his daughter's first step in virtual reality video to share with his family and friends, because you know nothing will make that memory special like obsessing over having your VR camera at the ready. I guess in this new era it's not enough to just enjoy the moment without ensuring a lens is catching it too. I admit I'm not the leading example as I look to stage enough photos when I go hiking, but I don’t think I'll be strapping any VR headsets to my face to watch footage of friend's or even relative's children's pinnacle moments growing up.