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Microsoft Operating Systems Windows

Microsoft Details Secret 'Pocketable' Surface Device (theverge.com) 92

Posted by BeauHD from the two-in-one dept.
Microsoft's mysterious new Surface device, codenamed Andromeda, that's been in development for the past two years is going to be pocketable, reports The Verge. The company says it will create a "new and disruptive" device category to influence the overall Surface roadmap and blur the lines between what's considered PC and mobile. From the report: "It's a new pocketable Surface device form factor that brings together innovative new hardware and software experiences to create a truly personal and versatile computing experience," is exactly how Microsoft describes the device internally. The Andromeda device is still being developed in secrecy inside Microsoft, with a wraparound display that bridges the gap of the hinge when it's fully opened. We understand current engineering samples of the pocketable Surface look identical to the 3D concept created by David Breyer.

Microsoft has also been experimenting with stylus input for Andromeda, so that the device can fold over like a book and a pen can be used to capture digital ink. Microsoft is also experimenting with ARM processors inside prototype Andromeda devices. Microsoft views Andromeda as a unique response to its failures with Windows Phone devices. "It will blur the lines between mobile and stationary computing," reads one internal document describing the device. Microsoft is tentatively planning to release Andromeda in 2018, with similar devices from some of Microsoft's top OEMs to "follow afterwards."
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Microsoft Details Secret 'Pocketable' Surface Device More

Microsoft Details Secret 'Pocketable' Surface Device

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  • "Surface" is what used to be IE for a long time, that eventually became "edge". Surface? They better chose a different name if that device is really going to be "new and disruptive".

  • Give this thing a chance (Score:3)

    by hcs_$reboot ( 1536101 ) on Friday June 29, 2018 @07:13PM (#56868818)
    Make it able to run Linux.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by zeiche ( 81782 )

      Make it able to run Linux.

      If Microsoft implements NT on the ARM device, there is a good chance it could run a Linux environment as Windows 10 does today.

    • Android locked down and running Microsoft Services still counts as Linux... right? LOL

  • "new and disruptive (Score:4, Insightful)

    by hduff ( 570443 ) <hoytduff@[ ]il.com ['gma' in gap]> on Friday June 29, 2018 @07:35PM (#56868896) Homepage Journal

    Like the Zune?

  • Buy a Mac (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Chibouki ( 704162 )
    i hate it when Slashdot editors fall into marketing BS. Innovative new hardware and software experiences? Wow, buy a Mac.

  • Blurred lines (Score:5, Insightful)

    by grasshoppa ( 657393 ) on Friday June 29, 2018 @07:51PM (#56868940) Homepage

    They still don't get it, which is frankly quite the feat.

    We don't want mobiles-like desktops. We don't want desktop-like mobiles. We want mobiles that are mobiles, and desktops that are desktops. They're two distinctly different devices, and should be treated as such.

    • Speak for yourself. I would like a pocket-sized laptop to be able to do work on. I don't care about "apps" or games or TV or whatever most people do with their phones today. A pocket-sized computer would be very cool because it would be very useful.
      • Such as the GPD Pocket or the soon to be released upgrade which will be called the GPD Pocket 2?

      • And once you solve the two problems this entails, i.e. needing screen real estate beyond the capabilities of a smartphone screen and fitting a usable keyboard in less than 10x5cm, this will actually become a reality.

        But until you somehow manage to violate the laws of physics it probably won't.

        • I dunno, they do have folding keyboards now. Granted, it takes up a second pocket after the phone, but for most people who want this that won't be a problem. As to the screen size, that's only a limitation if your vision is poor and can't be corrected, and you also have a problem with immediate working memory. For people who can either see, or remember what was on the screen before they pressed "page down," then it works out just fine.

          I go to the next level and the folding keyboard includes a trackball.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Njovich ( 553857 )

          i.e. needing screen real estate beyond the capabilities of a smartphone screen and fitting a usable keyboard in less than 10x5cm

          If you want a laptop, go buy yourself a laptop, there are lots of stores out there that sell them. Some people perhaps have different wishes and requirements than you. I could use my Motorola Droid just fine for doing some basic development work over SSH. The keyboard was fine for it too. If you have proper eyesight there is a hell of a lot of information you could put on an HD pho

    • Re:Blurred lines (Score:5, Interesting)

      by David_Hart ( 1184661 ) on Friday June 29, 2018 @10:55PM (#56869410)

      They still don't get it, which is frankly quite the feat.

      We don't want mobiles-like desktops. We don't want desktop-like mobiles. We want mobiles that are mobiles, and desktops that are desktops. They're two distinctly different devices, and should be treated as such.

      I would love to have something like this to replace my old Nexus 7. There is room in the market for a mid sized mobile device that is pocketable for two very simple reasons: Not everyone is comfortable reading tiny web pages or scrolling forever through excel attachemnts on a cell phone and some people enjoy a slightly bigger surface to type on.

      My biggest question for a device like this, assuming a continuous screen, is just how durable the screen is going to be over repetitive opening and closing? And, assuming a limited lifetime, how easy and how costly is it going to be to replace the screen?

      • With Microsoft, you can't even assume that they discussed replacement screens with the manufacturer. They might have no idea if you can easily replace it at the local phone repair place, or if it is not available and there are no repair centers.

      • You assumed my position. Allow me to explain;

        Mobile devices, cell phones specifically, are horrible at content creation. It really comes down to input methods; there's nothing like the mouse and keyboard, or even stylus, for creating content. Touch is something we "make do" with, but you'll notice that we don't use touch monitors on desktops even though they've been available for decades. This despite MS's best attempts to shove them down our throats with windows 8, btw ( and the shills then were out in

        • LOL, you have never used a thin client... If you have it was a crappy RDP session to a Windows server managed by monkeys. Load balancing, session balancing based on CPU and RAM are required for RDP farms. For video playback of users that need workstation graphics, HP RGS and VMware PCoIP rock with a gig connection.

          You think I am crazy, well guess what Microsoft wants users to use at home... RDP to all the excess RAM and CPU they have in the Cloun. I hope google or amazon can beat them to it...

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      In principle, I disagree with you. The best smartphone I've ever had was the Nokia N900 - a device which was essentially a miniaturized Linux desktop with a phone app.

      Modern phones - and indeed, so much of modern consumer technology - mask their power and complexity from the user, and in the process deny users agency. Both Androids and iPhones make me want to chuck the device full speed towards the nearest wall every time I have to use them. I want a pocket computer that can also make phone calls. I wan

    • We don't want mobiles-like desktops. We don't want desktop-like mobiles.

      Don't speak for us. Speak for yourself. You comments have been heard over and over again about smartphones, about phablets, tablets, notebooks, early laptops, Surface ... slates (horrible name). Guess what, they all sell well enough that companies happily continue producing for the form factor.

      You may not want a mobile like desktop, I do. Not a pocketable one specifically but a tablettable one. On the flip side just like the first Surfaces took on the tablets, this looks set to take on the phablet, also qui

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Njovich ( 553857 )

      "We want mobiles that are mobiles, and desktops that are desktops. They're two distinctly different devices, and should be treated as such."

      Ah yes, you are exactly like my grandmother was, just wants a phone she can call with. I think they have homes for people like you. God bless you. You wouldn't believe what the kids these days to with phones. Sending text messages, playing computer games with snakes.

      • "We want mobiles that are mobiles, and desktops that are desktops. They're two distinctly different devices, and should be treated as such."

        Ah yes, you are exactly like my grandmother was, just wants a phone she can call with.

        Bollocks. This is like not wanting your technical manuals to be printed in the small paperback format. Sometimes you need a small device, every other time you want a larger device. They weren't saying you shouldn't have the full functionality possible on a smaller device. What they said is that full functionality is not possible on a smaller device, and attempting to gain it is idiotic. You'll never get the full-screen experience, and applications which do not take that into account are garbage for mobile u

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Njovich ( 553857 )

          Ah yes, I don't need that feature because for you it doesn't work. Reminds me of my grandmother again! For me there are use cases where it's a hell of a lot better than what is there currently. Perhaps you don't need one, just don't buy one.

          • Ah yes, I don't need that feature because for you it doesn't work. Reminds me of my grandmother again! For me there are use cases where it's a hell of a lot better than what is there currently. Perhaps you don't need one, just don't buy one.

            Everyone who doesn't need one won't buy one, and the pool of potential users isn't large enough to justify an effort sufficient to produce one worth buying, so you can't have one either. If someone DID make one, it would cost a jillion dollars, because the market is vanishingly small. That's what people mean when they say "we don't want that" — it translates to "not enough of us want that for it to be a viable product". HTH you understand English, HAND!

  • Comment removed (Score:3)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday June 29, 2018 @08:03PM (#56868980)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Does it have a notch? Might be important one way or the other.

  • So, if I got this right, we will finally be able to have a laptop with an unusable keyboard and a way too small screen coupled with the usefulness of Windows on a smartphone?

  • So this is MS Courier then? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I have no idea what to expect. Courier was meant to be a distraction-free workflow aid. Gates killed it before it got off the ground internally—because it didn't run Outlook. That was a thing I wanted, but today's market doesn't want anything that fits in your pocket and isn't also a phone.

    I'm afraid the thing is going to end up in some kind of Win10S situation. Basically, all the disadvantages of a phone, none of the advantages of a not-phone. And a winphone at that. So basically, Zune 2018 edition.

    W

  • With the size I had my window, the end of the line was: "the device can fold over like a book and a pen." I was really confused as to why it could fold like a pen.

  • Exposing the Secret Office 365 Forensics Tool (Score:3)

    by najajomo ( 4890785 ) on Saturday June 30, 2018 @10:23AM (#56870808)
    'An ethical crisis in the digital forensics industry came to a head last week with the release of new details on Microsoft’s undocumented “Activities” API [lmgsecurity.com]. A previously unknown trove of access and activity logs held by Microsoft allows investigators to track Office 365 mailbox activity in minute detail. Following a long period of mystery and rumors about the existence of such a tool, the details finally emerged, thanks to a video by Anonymous and follow-up research by CrowdStrike.'

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