HP Elite X3 - a bold move by HP

At the Mobile World Conference (MWC) in Barcelona this week - HP announced the Elite X3 Mobile device.  This flagship specs mobile device runs Windows 10 Mobile and provide 2 very unique accessories - a great docking station and "mobile extender" laptop device that supports Windows 10 Continuum.  The X3 device shown along with the accessories were prototypes and the device will not be available until this summer. 

 Along with the latest Snapdragon 820 processor Adreno 530 and 4GB of DDR4 ram, the X3 also supports Pogo contacts for 3rd party add on devices and HP announced they were working with some 30+ partners across a number of industry verticals who would provide the device extensions.  So think everything from Card readers to Scanners, etc.   From a specifications perspective the X3 blows away MS's latest Lumia 950/950XL.  

 One interesting comment that came from the announcement was the choice of Qualcomm Snapdragon versus Intel Atom.  According to HP they felt that Intel was still a few years behind with their Mobile CPU.  That comment added more to the speculation regarding the rumored MS Surface phone that was to be Intel based.  

 Clearly aimed at the enterprise - HP in my opinion made a bold move in choosing Windows 10 Mobile as the OS platform.  

 HP has a long history with Windows Compact and Embedded OS editions and in fact used to make some really good high end phones even 10 years ago.  I owned an iPaq hw6500 series device way back in like 2005.  HP even sold it directly as an unlocked device.  

 Considering the markets they are going after - it will be interesting to see if the device see's the light of day at AT&T, TMO, etc.   Hopefully like the hw6500 I bought over a decade ago - HP will allow direct unlocked purchase for those folks so inclined.

 Two thoughts came to mind as I read the announcement and went through the specifications.

 First is the approach of the "phone" being the central focus for end user compute is not new.  Remember the DROID Lapdock back in 2011.  With many corporate customers looking to reduce end user compute and communications costs - the concept of having a single device that can provide both capabilities is potentially very compelling.   

 So think about the ability to come to work with your X3 - plunk it down into the docking station that is connected to a monitor/keyboard/mouse and be able to work all day.  it will be interesting to see how this use case pans out with a Windows based device.  Similarly the ability to wirelessly connect to the mobile extension laptop to either work or run to a meeting where you need a full screen/keyboard etc.  

 HP is also focusing their HP Workspace VDI with the X3 - so again a very enterprise focus.

 Second is the addition of the Pogo contacts for 3rd party applications.  Pogo contacts are designed to provide direct motherboard access - so no need for USB drivers, etc.  I have not seen any details on the actual X3 motherboard - but I can see where 3rd party vendors in Healthcare to Retail to Hospitality could be very interested.

 Finally - it will be interesting to see how the rest of the industry responds to this.  The market that HP is focusing on has the potential to be pretty lucrative - there are potentially a lot of unique vertical applications.  I wish them good luck

 .




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ASUS RT-AC68U Router & WDS - a nice solution for a large home.

I recently had a newer Asus RT-AC87U Router die.  The wireless chipset never seemed to work well and first the 5Ghz bands started to fail and then the 2.4Ghz failed leaving my 25 wireless device household high and dry. So after some due diligence I decided to replace with 2 of the older RT-AC68U and implement a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) configuration. In the past - I've mentioned an open source router OS called DD-WRT.  The Asus routers come pre-installed with their version of DD-WRT.  Asus does utilize their own UI overtop DD-wrt and overall I do not like nearly as much as the traditional UI - but core dd-wrt capabilities are there.   Additionally you can flash the RT-AC68 with native DD-WRT if your so inclined. In my previous configuration I was also using an older Linksys 4200 running dd-wrt configured in Client Bridge mode that allowed clients to connect to the Linksys as well as use some of the bands to connect back to the RT-AC87U. While it worked - I felt that
Read more

Solar Storage - 2023 Update

  A few years back I published a 2 Part post discussing Solar Energy systems.  The discussion focused on all the due diligence and prep work needed and what were some of the key considerations around designing and implementing a solar system. One of the discussion points was around solar storage or batteries.  What were the use cases for batteries and if they were a good investment and should you incorporate them into your design. Back in 2020 - the math around batteries said no - that you wouldn't be able to break even on the cost of a storage system over its normal warranty life of 10 years. So here we are three years later and so I figured it was time to revisit.   There are two primary uses cases for solar storage.    First is what's called peak offset or peak shifting.  This is a concept where you utilize stored solar generation to run your home during what many utilities call Peak Periods that are part of a general category of rate plans known as Time of Day (TOD) plans.
Read more

Home Automation Platforms + Matter - Early Observations

For those of us who have been involved in automating homes by adding "smart" devices from light switches to thermostats, cameras, sensors, controllers, etc - there was always a challenge with managing the wide range of devices. While each OEM had their own app that would allow you to control their devices - you'd often end up with anywhere from 4 - 10 apps that were required to manage the entire home.  And depending on your product choices you also had to have hubs to communicate from your Wifi network to other RF networks like Zigbee or Z-Wave.  With many of these "hubs" they had native support across multiple vendors or you had to add plugins or provide specific OEM support. Some OEM apps were great, some sucked, but it became challenging to provide a solution for a client where they could easily manage their home on their own.  Between having to maintain multiple credentials/logins across the apps and even communicating which app controls what - it sometimes
Read more