The Microsoft Store was completely out of stock of Windows 10 Mobile phones for a time last week, but they have been replenished this week. There are two models remaining.
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An initial lot of this Big Red flavor made available online was priced at $500 and sold out pretty quick. It's now at $599, in-store only.
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Windows 10 Mobile still has a bastion smartphone to hang onto, at least commercially, for the next couple years and change.
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An Elite x3 follow-up is said to be on the way, but the phone does have the potential to break way from the Windows 10 Mobile chain.
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Microsoft has sent out build 15204 out to fast ring Insiders. It only successfully brought up 12 of them, with some of one model getting stuck.
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How dead are Windows phones? So dead that only 13 of them are apparently eligible for Microsoft's latest mobile platform update.
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Admit it, you procrastinated and waited so long for the perfect holiday tech deal that you’re now suddenly running out of time to get your special someone an impressive gift earning you unlimited free passes for guys’ nights out and forgotten anniversaries in the new year.
The good news is it’s still not too late. But obviously, it will be soon enough, so you may want to order something off Microsoft’s “Holiday Super Sale” inventory ASAP. Yesterday would be a great time to complete your last-minute Christmas present/bargain hunt.
Now, we know what you’re thinking. How in the world is a $1,300 Surface Pro 4 a bargain? Well, it’s the Intel Core i7/256GB SSD/8GB RAM configuration you’re looking at here, bundled with a black Type Cover keyboard.
Normally, the versatile and super-powerful tablet/laptop hybrid package costs a whopping $430 more, so yeah, despite the extravagant price tag, this is a solid last-minute holiday deal. The same goes for a few other Surface Pro 4 variants combined with Type Covers, featuring 16GB RAM, Core i7 processing muscle and between 256GB and 1TB solid state storage, themselves discounted by a cool $429.99 off list each.
Then you have the even beefier and costlier Surface Book convertible laptop, available starting at $1,300 (down from $1,500), and with up to $400 savings in a trio of ultra-high-end versions. Don’t forget about renewed $450 Acer Liquid Jade Primo and $650 HP Elite x3 bundle offers either, or the crazy affordable $100 AT&T Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Windows 10-ready phone.
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If there is one thing I respect, it’s standing up for the little guy. Heck, I’ve practically made a career out of it myself. And speaking of the little guy, I was quite the fan of webOS when it existed. As such, when Palm was about to go under, I was thankful when HP stepped in and seemingly saved Palm from that fate. Sure, I harbor just a bit of resentment from HP’s subsequent actions, but to be honest, we got many more good months out of Palm because of HP. What seems odd is that I’m here to write about much the same thing with HP and Windows 10 Mobile.
(–sigh–) Dammit…
Don’t get me wrong; this certainly isn’t an apples to apples comparison. Microsoft isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Microsoft isn’t in trouble, though it’s likely losing market and mind share the further we go on. But HP standing up for Windows 10 Mobile is not a dissimilar situation. HP and Alcatel are basically the last major OEMs that are still producing Windows 10 Mobile hardware. But I want to focus on HP a little more here, because honestly, what’s with that?
I mean, don’t get me wrong. Windows 10 Mobile has a lot going for it, and HP seems to be aiming for a business phone. Windows 10 Mobile has the reputation for being a great business phone. Microsoft in has seen to that by including apps like the Microsoft Suite. Microsoft has been touting the business use case for Windows 10 mobile hardware pretty much always.
In some ways, I rather admire HP for sticking to its guns. HP has been building Microsoft hardware for some time now. It seems only natural to continue that tradition into the phone arena. HP’s Android experiments haven’t gone well, so why not? HP realizes that the future of computing is in mobile, and it has had great success in the computing field.
And thank goodness HP is sticking with Windows 10 Mobile, because few other OEMs in the world are. Because of HP, we still have some decent offerings in the Windows 10 Mobile space. HP is touting its 3-in-1 Elite X3 and is even planning a sequel for the near future. It makes sense when you stop and think about it. A business PC company wants to get in on the business phone. There’s just something about Windows 10 Mobile that emotes business, even more than Android. Android is more like the everyday phone – you can use it for whatever. But a business-centric phone is what HP is after.
The thing is though, I’m not sure how much sense that makes. It’s not like Android can’t be used for business. Android would have the benefit of being attractive to consumers as well. Rather than relying on a business offering, I wonder if HP should be trying to make its mark on the Android space, which once you get past Samsung is ripe for the taking.
Other Android OEMs have failed to put the stranglehold on the second-place Android market. I’m not saying any OEM should shoot for second place, but when first place is Samsung, that’s a pretty high bar. Rather, I’m wondering if HP is brilliant or crazy for staying out of that mass of Android offerings, and sticking with a platform is can rule one its own. Further, is it worth ruling such a small percentage? I’m not sure I know the answer to that.
Treading waterWhat I do know is that HP is really backing Microsoft and Windows 10 Mobile, which for the moment is helping keep Windows 10 Mobile afloat while Microsoft continues to develop the platform. When/if Surface phones come around, it may be a different story. But HP is betting on the business phone parts of Windows to be compelling to its larger enterprise customers, and it’s not a bad bet to make.
But I ultimately have to wonder if HP is going to be patient enough for the long run, and stick with Windows 10 Mobile until it regains its steam. Or is this another Palm project that will ultimately fail when millions of users fail to flock to the almighty HP sticker gracing the back of the phone? Time will tell, but for now, I sure hope HP knows what it’s doing.
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This week we’re looking at some of the issues facing the OnePlus 3 and 3T. We’ll chat about FitBit buying Pebble, and return to that nearly dried up well of Windows Phone rumors. Can Microsoft (and HP) mount a come back in mobile phones? All these stories, plus we’ll tackle your tech questions, so make sure you’re charged and ready for the Pocketnow Weekly!
Watch the live video broadcast from 2:00pm Eastern on December 1st (click here for your local time), or check out the high-quality audio version right here.
For folks watching live, you can comment and ask questions by using the #PNWeekly hashtag on Twitter during the broadcast. For folks watching later, you can shoot your listener emails to podcast [AT] pocketnow [DOT] com for a shot at getting your question read aloud on the air the following week!
December 1, 2016
(00:04:10)
OnePlus 3T touch latency is a hot topic, but is it being blown out of proportion (partly by us)? If it is an issue, OnePlus claims they’ll fix it after they release Nougat updates. That Nougat update is currently an open BETA for folks who want to give it a spin.
Will these fixes and updates arrive in a timely fashion? Previous issues like RAM management and display accuracy point to fast fixes.
30:02 | Will FitBit buy Pebble? What might this mean for Juan’s Kickstarter Time 2 pre-order???
41:32 | Get nothing to recycle your Apple Watch!
45:06 | Are the internal problems at Cyanogen too large to overcome?
54:33 | Pixel estimates point to healthy sales in 2017
1:00:00 | Windows analysis: an Elite X3 sequel for consumers and x86 emulation on the Surface Phone
1:20:54 | CNN buys Beme, immediately shuts it down to change it
1:26:55 | Huzzah! Offline viewing arrives for Netflix tablet and smartphone apps!
1:32:03 | Motorola plans to deliver a Tango Moto Mod for the Moto Z
Send in your questions with the #PNWeekly hashtag on Twitter. We’ll be answering them throughout and at the end of the show!
•
See you next week!
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Still thinking about whether or not that special HP Elite x3 “Holiday Bundle” is worth a whopping $999? Well, technically, you’re getting a great deal there, Lap Dock, Desk Dock, phone case, screen protector and all, with Microsoft justly advertising total savings of $462.
But a thousand bucks is a lot of money to ask for a Windows 10 handheld, and if you’re not entirely sold on the idea of seamlessly converting the 6-incher into a 12.5-inch Full HD mini-notebook, a $599 bundle available through HP’s own US e-store until December 3 may feel like a more reasonable early Christmas purchase. Or late Thanksgiving.
Billed as a “Cyber Week” bargain, the package merely includes the actual Snapdragon 820 phablet, and a Desk Dock for easy Continuum synchronization to an external display. Of course, you’ll need to buy the monitor separately, as well as a mouse and keyboard, unless you already own such a setup waiting to bring your “critical” business applications from your pocket to the big screen.
Keep in mind that regularly, the HP Elite x3 alone costs $699, with the Desk Dock worth an additional $100 or so. Ergo, you’re looking at a solid bundle discount of around $200, and while the x3 is reportedly not the world’s most popular W10M device, it’s arguably the beefiest and sharpest of the bunch, thanks to 4GB RAM, a 4150mAh battery, military-grade durability, and Quad HD display resolution.
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While the HP Elite x3 isn’t the most popular new Windows 10 Mobile phone out there. — it got usurped by a days-old device! — you can’t deny that it’s capable and it has a pretty hardcore audience. If you’re messing around with Citrix to work on virtual desktops and such, maybe you should be looking at this thing.
And if you’re going to do that, you might as well hit up the Microsoft Store for the next day — through November 28, you can buy up an GSM-compatible HP Elite x3 along with a Desk Dock, a Lap Dock, a phone case and a screen protector for just $999.
Considering that we see the Elite x3 stand alone at $799, getting all the docks you need for Continuum multi-interfacing and a couple of brownie points add-ons for an extra $200 doesn’t sound too bad. It’s a proclaimed $462 savings, after all.
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If you see people using a Windows phone these days, it’s likely that phone will be a Lumia 640 or Lumia 635.
So the data says from AdDuplex which has tracked movement on the Windows mobile scene. It continues to be mostly dominated by budget entries including the Nokia Lumia 635 and the Microsoft Lumia 640.
The data is taken from device entries into about 5,000 Windows phone apps running AdDuplex’s SDK on November 21.
Here are the top ten devices in circulation:
| No. | Device | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft Lumia 640 | 26.2% |
| 2 | Nokia Lumia 635 | 22.0% |
| 3 | Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | 3.9% |
| 4 | Microsoft Lumia 950 | 3.8% |
| 5 | Nokia Lumia 521 | 3.5% |
| 6 | HTC One M8 for Windows | 3.4% |
| 7 | Nokia Lumia 920 | 2.8% |
| 8 | Nokia Lumia 735 | 2.8% |
| 9 | Microsoft Lumia 650 | 2.7% |
| 10 | Nokia Lumia 630 | 2.6% |
| N/A | Other | 26.4% |
Once we whittle the population down to devices running Windows 10 Mobile software, we do see a little more high-end representation.
| No. | Device | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft Lumia 640 | 20.2% |
| 2 | Microsoft Lumia 950 | 19.3% |
| 3 | Microsoft Lumia 650 | 18.5% |
| 4 | Microsoft Lumia 950 XL | 6.1% |
| 5 | Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL | 5.6% |
| 6 | Nokia Lumia 1520 | 4.7% |
| 7 | Nokia Lumia 735 | 4.0% |
| 8 | Microsoft Lumia 640XL | 3.5% |
| 9 | HTC One M8 for Windows | 3.4% |
| 10 | Nokia Lumia 635 | 3.3% |
| * | Other | 11.3% |
One oddity to note is that while the months-old HP Elite x3 is stuck at #19 on the above list, the days-old Alcatel Idol 4s for Windows 10 has struck #16.
Windows Phone 8.1 remains the most popular version in use at a straight 80 percent with Windows 10 Mobile garnering 15 percent. In terms of manufacturer distribution of Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft takes the top spot, having made nine out of ten phones out in the market right now. Alcatel is second with 6.2 percent while HTC (the last effort it put out was that One M8) holds onto a surprisingly large 3.4 percent. BLU and other OEMs are tied at 0.5 percent.
Microsoft is aggressively sending updates out to its Windows 10 Mobile users and those packages have been installed. Build #1607 has reached 77.7 percent saturation in the US and 83.8 percent worldwide. #1511 has 9.9 percent of US users and 8.2 percent of users globally. A healthy proportion seems interested in the Insider builds, taking up 12.4 percent of the US space and 8.1 percent internationally.
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Can you remember the last time a 4G LTE-enabled Windows tablet was sold directly by Verizon or, for that matter, any of the other three major US mobile operators? The Nokia, yes, Nokia Lumia 2520 perhaps? No, we got it, it was probably the non-Pro Surface 3.
The point is, it’s been a while, and aside from the just-released HP Elite x2, Big Red exclusively carries Android and iOS tabs at the moment. Not to be confused with the 6-inch Elite x3 phablet, the x2 1012 G1 costs $900 on-contract or $1,000 full retail starting today, LTE connectivity included.
“Strikingly thin and powerful”, the 2-in-1 12-incher comes with a built-in kickstand, detachable travel keyboard and HP Active Pen stylus as standard, very clearly competing against “sister” Windows 10 Pro hybrid Surface Pro 4.
Only Microsoft’s entry-level configuration, unfortunately, as there’s no way to upgrade the Intel Core m3 processor or 128GB SSD, let alone the 4GB RAM. On the bright side, Verizon’s HP Elite x2, like Wi-Fi-limited SKUs available elsewhere, touts unrivaled “enterprise-class” security, MIL-STD-810G-certified robustness, as well as premium Bang & Olufsen sound powered by dual stereo speakers and a dual microphone array.
All in all, business convertible tablet/laptop users should be satisfied with what they’re getting here. Everyday consumers, not so much.
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Water test videos have given us quite a shock recently. The Galaxy S7 Active didn’t make it through a control test from Consumer Reports and one of our own real-life usage tests at a water park. And then there’s the Google Pixel — which, by official rating, is only rated for surviving a light shower — blasting through an hour in a bowl of water only to come away with perhaps broken speakers.
So… water we into now?
Well, the HP Elite x3 is rated IP67 for total protection against dust and immersion resistance in water as deep as 1 meter for 30 minutes. So it should survive a dunk in a casserole dish of H₂0 just fine, right?
Well, Windowsteca did an extremely cursory water test video to show the Elite x3 off in this respect — amazingly, it seems, one of the only videos on YouTube to do so.
The touchscreen becomes inoperable underwater, but other than that, the device just acts as if its on status quo. You know, as advertised. Of course, we would’ve liked to have seen the phone in the tank for more than 22 seconds, but still, as advertised.
At least we’re not watching a phone endure more than it’s rated for. That will need way more scrutiny. And way more disclaimers.
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General US retail availability of the HP Elite x3, the high-octane, business-focused Windows 10 Mobile phone, begins tomorrow. And you can get one if you hitch a ride to one of the 100 or so Microsoft Stores nationwide.PC Magazine has confirmed the move with Microsoft Vice President of OEM Worldwide Marketing, Peter Han.
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