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Phones HP Elite X3
- Thread starter Michael Goff
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Ahh the usual macrumors slating when a discussion would be much more pleasant, no?
Anyways, I think the phone itself looks nice.
Like the OP says, it could be the high end Windows device that people have been waiting for, although there probably are not too many waiting for it.
Did I read that it isn't going to be sold in stores?
Probably going to be a big factor if true.
I think it looks like a nice design, I like the speaker on the bottom.
It just always comes back to the apps for the majority of users (rightly so in most cases), and with the big names not being there, and the ones that are not giving a good app experience (Facebook), not many outside of the Windows faithful will buy into it, sadly.
Anyways, I think the phone itself looks nice.
Like the OP says, it could be the high end Windows device that people have been waiting for, although there probably are not too many waiting for it.
Did I read that it isn't going to be sold in stores?
Probably going to be a big factor if true.
I think it looks like a nice design, I like the speaker on the bottom.
It just always comes back to the apps for the majority of users (rightly so in most cases), and with the big names not being there, and the ones that are not giving a good app experience (Facebook), not many outside of the Windows faithful will buy into it, sadly.
We've had this discussion with Windows phones for the last number of years, and with Microsoft essentially killing its own mobile division and smartphones going forward - it frankly is dead on arrival.
The app situation is never going to be sorted and Contiuum is as limited and buggy as heck. Indeed the fact as we have already discussed here recently, if you had a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to plug Contiuum dock into, the chances are you have a computer.
$800 and sold outside of stores (other than perhaps Microsoft retail) the device has very little chances of traction to turn around what is essentially the titanic after it has hit the iceberg and everyone has jettisoned the ship for the lifeboat.
This is just sadly the reality of the situation. It's not MR hate or anything such, but merely a spade being called a spade.
I appreciate that but it's the same thing all the time.
Everyone know its DOA but the device surely still has something that's worth discussing seeing as the majority of people who post on here are supposed tech nerds.
Instead it's the same as the BlackBerry discussions in people being very quick to just throw shade and say '****, should have left mobile years ago'. Well a lot of people don't feel that way, and a lot of devices outside of the chosen Android few do actually do the job for a number of people.
All I'm saying is, those people know the situation, but they might still have some interest in the device but they have to go through the usual comments like the above ones which I find a bit boring.
And re Continuum, not everyone has a Windows PC.
I have a Mac, but I have a monitor I plug my Macbook into for a desk top set up.
Therefore, having a Windows mobile allows me to use Office from my mobile via Continuum, something I don't get on my mac. But I am aware that I'm not going to be in the masses of people that use it this way, and agree that if you have the gear, you've prob already got a better set up of what you need.
I guess I like what MS are trying to do, despite them seemingly going out of their way to not build upon a good idea.
It makes a better talking point than a snide comment, anyway.
Everyone know its DOA but the device surely still has something that's worth discussing seeing as the majority of people who post on here are supposed tech nerds.
Instead it's the same as the BlackBerry discussions in people being very quick to just throw shade and say '****, should have left mobile years ago'. Well a lot of people don't feel that way, and a lot of devices outside of the chosen Android few do actually do the job for a number of people.
All I'm saying is, those people know the situation, but they might still have some interest in the device but they have to go through the usual comments like the above ones which I find a bit boring.
And re Continuum, not everyone has a Windows PC.
I have a Mac, but I have a monitor I plug my Macbook into for a desk top set up.
Therefore, having a Windows mobile allows me to use Office from my mobile via Continuum, something I don't get on my mac. But I am aware that I'm not going to be in the masses of people that use it this way, and agree that if you have the gear, you've prob already got a better set up of what you need.
I guess I like what MS are trying to do, despite them seemingly going out of their way to not build upon a good idea.
It makes a better talking point than a snide comment, anyway.
Revive my own old topic to say... just ordered the full package. I'm getting the dock, the laptop dock, a case, a screen protector, and obviously the phone. It only set me back 1200 after taxes...
Nice! Would love to read your thoughts on the Elite 3. It seems like a beast of a phone!
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Oh wow!
Looking forward to your thoughts on it!
I am truly taken by this device, I am not a fan of the OS and its lack of devs, nor am I a fan of Microsoft or HP, BUT this particular device re-awakens the dream MOTOROLA had with the Atrix, and even what Nokia once tried with their Nseries, converging smartphone and laptop experiences.
I hope Apple, Google, Samsung and other OEMs are watching, finally putting all that power in these little pocket computers to good use.
I had the Atrix and laptop dock!!! Loved it. Just needed more apps. Now that technology has evolved a little this might be viable again.
Let's talk about the lapdock.
Why?
I'm on vacation, so that kind of cuts out some of the talk about the phone. I don't know if I'm ever going to use the desktop dock. And I'm using the lapdock right now to type up this post. All of that equates to that being a darn good time to talk about it.
Screen:
It's actually a pretty nice screen. The colors are less vibrant than the Surface Pro 3, but I'd say it looks better somehow. It's a nice 1080p screen if I'm not mistaken. I turned off the scaling, so I actually have a decent amount of space here.
Keyboard:
Pretty nice. I expected it to be bad , to be honest. The keys press in, there's enough space. It isn't the greatest keyboard ever, but it's probably better than the new MBP one. And it isn't lagging, which is always a plus.
Software:
Smooth and sometimes unstable. I haven't had a reboot in a while, but that's because I quickly learn that there are some things you simply can't do. The screen shows the notification tray, for example, but clicking it caused the phone to reboot. Also, having it plugged into the lapdock while it reboots seems to cause the phone to not start for whatever reason. PLUS, I'm not sure it took the firmware update (the lapdock) as it boots up to an earlier software version than my phone shows that it should have. I might be able to fix that eventually, and maybe some of my problems would be fixed.
Day one gave a somewhat bad impression, but it's not as bad as I expected. Now that I have it set up, and I know where the bugs are, I hope day two will be better. There are a lot of things I wish they'd change on the continuum front, and maybe they're coming in a future update. Regardless, those are my quick thoughts for now.
Why?
I'm on vacation, so that kind of cuts out some of the talk about the phone. I don't know if I'm ever going to use the desktop dock. And I'm using the lapdock right now to type up this post. All of that equates to that being a darn good time to talk about it.
Screen:
It's actually a pretty nice screen. The colors are less vibrant than the Surface Pro 3, but I'd say it looks better somehow. It's a nice 1080p screen if I'm not mistaken. I turned off the scaling, so I actually have a decent amount of space here.
Keyboard:
Pretty nice. I expected it to be bad , to be honest. The keys press in, there's enough space. It isn't the greatest keyboard ever, but it's probably better than the new MBP one. And it isn't lagging, which is always a plus.
Software:
Smooth and sometimes unstable. I haven't had a reboot in a while, but that's because I quickly learn that there are some things you simply can't do. The screen shows the notification tray, for example, but clicking it caused the phone to reboot. Also, having it plugged into the lapdock while it reboots seems to cause the phone to not start for whatever reason. PLUS, I'm not sure it took the firmware update (the lapdock) as it boots up to an earlier software version than my phone shows that it should have. I might be able to fix that eventually, and maybe some of my problems would be fixed.
Day one gave a somewhat bad impression, but it's not as bad as I expected. Now that I have it set up, and I know where the bugs are, I hope day two will be better. There are a lot of things I wish they'd change on the continuum front, and maybe they're coming in a future update. Regardless, those are my quick thoughts for now.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I hope some of that can be fixed with software updates.
That's the thing. I think it all can be fixed through software updates. The hardware is solid. We just need some firmware updates in the way of the phone and lapdock. I imagine some of the lapdock issues will be sorted the next time they send a firmware update for that, since it will brute force the other fixes that didn't take (and I don't know how to force). Microsoft also needs to fix some continuum bugs.
Day 2: Moved back to stable branch as opposed to fast ring. Stability of lapdock is much improved so far AND the function keys just do nothing as opposed to crashing the system. Thinking of staying out of the fast ring on the x3, since the lapdock is my laptop right now and I need the stability.
Correction on the function keys. They apparently just act like F1-12 and you hold the fn button to get them to do things like raise or lower volume. GG me.
Correction on the function keys. They apparently just act like F1-12 and you hold the fn button to get them to do things like raise or lower volume. GG me.
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Just out of curiosity, can the laptop dock do anything without the phone? Does it have its own operating system that would let you say surf the net or find something on Microsoft OneDrive?
Nope. Turn it on without a phone attached (wired or wireless) and not much happens. I should plug in a Lumia 950 to see how it works.
QQ...since your phone is the operating system when it is docked. How does it handle incoming texts? Are able to respond while it is docked? What about calls?
[doublepost=1480542617][/doublepost]Like in this picture...would you be able to answer texts messages on the monitor screen with the keyboard? This way you would not have to touch the phone. What about calls while it is docked like this?
QQ...since your phone is the operating system when it is docked. How does it handle incoming texts? Are able to respond while it is docked? What about calls?
[doublepost=1480542617][/doublepost]Like in this picture...would you be able to answer texts messages on the monitor screen with the keyboard? This way you would not have to touch the phone. What about calls while it is docked like this?
Texting is an app, which means the notification comes through continuum and you can just answer it on the laptop. I have to admit to not having used the included desk dock, so I'm not sure about how calls work when docked. Calls are routed to the phone in the laptop, though, and can be answered while also using the laptop.
I'll go looking for an HDMI cable to plug in my TV and check how it works. I'm going to hope it defaults to speaker phone.
[doublepost=1480544453][/doublepost]I hit the brick wall of having HDMI, but needing an adapter to use HDMI with my dock.
Somebody might be wondering why I haven't done any battery tests, and there are mediocre reasons for that. I'm able to be plugged in all the time, so I have been. Also, my battery tests will likely be pointless. I don't do a huge amount these days that would tax a battery. I type word documents, I use a web browser, I stream videos with apps. I also listen to podcasts and music at work, which I haven't been to much this week because of a vacation.
Maybe I could charge both the lapdock and phone to 100% and see how long it takes for the phone to go into power save mode over my normal use (or if it lasts all day for me, say it?). And maybe test, using normal work days, just how often I would have to charge my phone (for reference, iPhone 6S Plus could have gone two days before death if I had to push it).
Maybe I could charge both the lapdock and phone to 100% and see how long it takes for the phone to go into power save mode over my normal use (or if it lasts all day for me, say it?). And maybe test, using normal work days, just how often I would have to charge my phone (for reference, iPhone 6S Plus could have gone two days before death if I had to push it).
So, the lapdock battery is basically gone after around 4 hours of use. Web browsing, watching Crunchyroll, watching YouTube, looking at WC and MSPU through apps, twitter, and talking to my sister through SMS via Skype is what I've been doing.
What carrier are you using, how is the reception and call quality, finally does it have WiFi calling? I stopped at local Microsoft store yesterday to look at the holiday bundle. Phone is huge and solid feeling. The build quality of everything is very impressive. Nobody had a clue about operation of the lapdock. In fact the whole phone section had been banished to a back small corner since I was last there. Whole front of store is now VR stations.
My concern is having to switch to AT&T and not having WiFi calling. In my area Verizon works everywhere even in third sub basements at work. T-Mobile and AT&T not so much.
AT&T, about the same as any other phone I've used (faster speeds, though), call quality seems good, not sure about Wi-Fi calling.
Still not using anything but phone and dock and I am loving it. Something comforting about having lowered the number of devices to one w/ a lapdock. I do get some crashes, but nothing major and nothing I'm not used to.
This phone could do better on standby power use, but that's comparing it to an iPhone. Battery is fantastic. I don't think I could get 2 days through, though, unless I shut off location. That probably isn't good because of where I work. It was always the biggest draw on every phone I've ever had.
This phone could do better on standby power use, but that's comparing it to an iPhone. Battery is fantastic. I don't think I could get 2 days through, though, unless I shut off location. That probably isn't good because of where I work. It was always the biggest draw on every phone I've ever had.