14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has become a productivity-obsessed company and rivals themselves agree with it, so the software giant based in Redmond is now setting a new long-term goal: bringing Windows in your product.
Windows is described as the most productive operating system, be it a software or a service (users still call it software, while Microsoft already talks about the OS as a service), so deploying it on a phone that can be easily carry around should provide you with on-the-go productivity where you go, right? Right.
But with Continuum, Microsoft's going beyond this and allows customers to turn a simple phone into a fully-featured PC which can run universal apps and let you work just like you would at your desk. The Continuum adapter comes with USB ports to let you connect mice and keyboards, but also with display connectors for screen projectors, TVs, or monitors. The phone can also be used as a trackpad if you don't have a mouse around.
Productivity by all means
This is what Microsoft calls “Windows in your pocket.”
Panos Panay, the man in charge with devices at Microsoft, said the same words over and over again at the company's event in New York, explaining that the new Lumia models “are the most productive phones you've ever picked up.”
“If you haven't thought about these phones, wake up and spend a minute. You got full Windows 10. It's coming to the phone. We have Office, we have Cortana, we have Skype, OneDrive. We want to put Windows in your pocket,” Panay explained.
CEO Satya Nadella had a similar message at the end of the conference, explaining that everything is designed to keep users productive wherever they go (this is actually Microsoft's new vision since Nadella took over from Steve Ballmer and the company became more focused on a mobile first, cloud first world).
“No single device will be a hub of activity forever. The hub is you. This means your content, your data, your settings, your apps need to be mobile with you. In developing markets where phones can be your first or your only computing device, they give you a phone and PC-like experience in a single device,” he said.
So there you go, Windows is now almost everywhere, including in your pocket. Now let's see how many people agree to go all-in on Microsoft's products.