HP Elite X3 Available Aug 29 in US
This morning HP announced pricing and availability for its Elite X3 Windows 10 Mobile solution. MS and HP announced the X3 back at the MWC in February and is a part of new MS enterprise focus with Windows Mobile and Continuum.
According to the HP Press release, the X3 phone itself will go on sale in late July with availability on Aug 29.
The X3 phone itself will sell for $699, which is a fair price for a device that sports the latest Snapdragon 820 CPU, 5.96" WQHD 2560 x 1440 screen, 4GB RAM and 64Gb of internal storage with SD expansion up to 2TB. The X3 will also support a Dual SIM configuration without SD expansion. It also supports 16MP rear and 8Mp front cameras and both fingerprint and retinal Windows Hello security support. The X3 has a massive 4150mAh battery along with the unique POGO contacts for 3rd party attachments.
I had originally estimated the X3 to be in the $750 - $800 range - so $699 is better than expected.
By comparison an Apple iPhone 6s Plus starts at $849 for the 64GB version which has a 5.5" 1920 x 1080 screen, and 2GB of RAM with no SD expansion or Dual SIM support.
So from a technical specification standpoint and price point, the X3 blows away the current iPhone 6s Plus
Versus the Acer Liquid Jade Primo I discussed in a previous post, the X3 is a more enterprise focused device and higher end in materials, specs and capabilities.
On the all important Continuum support front, HP offers two options. The first is the desk dock which include 2 x USB-A, 1 x USB-C, 1 x DisplayPort and an Ethernet port. HP will initially offer an X3 bundle with the Dock for $799.
The second is the lap dock, which is a 12.5" FHD 1920 x 1080 laptop like form factor. The lap dock has no CPU or Storage and an X3 can connect either wired or wireless. Pricing and availability for this bundle was not yet announced.
While the primary focus on the Elite X3 is for Enterprise customers, I'm glad to see that HP is making it available for individuals as well. The device will come unlocked and supports nano-SIMs on LTE carriers. So here in the US that means AT&T & TMO. To date I have not seen support for Verizon or Sprint.
Additionally HP focuses on providing access to enterprise apps via it's virtual desktop solutions. You could use either Microsoft's Remote Desktop app or HP's Workspace.
But as with the Acer Liquid Jade Primo, the challenge with Windows 10 Mobile is the lack of a large portfolio of UWP apps and especially the lack of support for 3rd party apps like Chrome and no IE to support legacy sites.
This will make it somewhat challenging for potential enterprise customers. While the combination of the X3 and desk dock for example would potentially allow an enterprise to provide their employees with one device, the X3 as an alternative to a laptop and a phone, they will in most cases also have to have a VDI infrastructure to support access to corporate apps. This reduces the potential cost benefits.
And while the desk dock is relatively inexpensive at $100 a company would also have to buy a wireless keyboard/mouse and monitor - so depending on the monitor - figure $1,000 - $1,100 all in. Which about what many companies spend on the average corp laptop.
Bottom line is that HP announced pricing and available for the Elite X3 and it will be available for purchase by individuals. As with the other key partner in this new enterprise approach by MS, I am concerned that neither HP or Acer will sell enough of these devices to move the needle on Windows 10 Mobile sales or generate enough revenue to cover the development costs.
MS is making a huge bet on features like Continuum and Hello along with Mobile Device Management and Security to appeal to enterprise customers. And while these technologies are interesting and leading edge, the total cost to deliver these capabilities to corporate end users may be too high and only appeal to a small user set. Only time will tell.
According to the HP Press release, the X3 phone itself will go on sale in late July with availability on Aug 29.
I had originally estimated the X3 to be in the $750 - $800 range - so $699 is better than expected.
By comparison an Apple iPhone 6s Plus starts at $849 for the 64GB version which has a 5.5" 1920 x 1080 screen, and 2GB of RAM with no SD expansion or Dual SIM support.
So from a technical specification standpoint and price point, the X3 blows away the current iPhone 6s Plus
Versus the Acer Liquid Jade Primo I discussed in a previous post, the X3 is a more enterprise focused device and higher end in materials, specs and capabilities.
On the all important Continuum support front, HP offers two options. The first is the desk dock which include 2 x USB-A, 1 x USB-C, 1 x DisplayPort and an Ethernet port. HP will initially offer an X3 bundle with the Dock for $799.
The second is the lap dock, which is a 12.5" FHD 1920 x 1080 laptop like form factor. The lap dock has no CPU or Storage and an X3 can connect either wired or wireless. Pricing and availability for this bundle was not yet announced.
While the primary focus on the Elite X3 is for Enterprise customers, I'm glad to see that HP is making it available for individuals as well. The device will come unlocked and supports nano-SIMs on LTE carriers. So here in the US that means AT&T & TMO. To date I have not seen support for Verizon or Sprint.
Additionally HP focuses on providing access to enterprise apps via it's virtual desktop solutions. You could use either Microsoft's Remote Desktop app or HP's Workspace.
But as with the Acer Liquid Jade Primo, the challenge with Windows 10 Mobile is the lack of a large portfolio of UWP apps and especially the lack of support for 3rd party apps like Chrome and no IE to support legacy sites.
This will make it somewhat challenging for potential enterprise customers. While the combination of the X3 and desk dock for example would potentially allow an enterprise to provide their employees with one device, the X3 as an alternative to a laptop and a phone, they will in most cases also have to have a VDI infrastructure to support access to corporate apps. This reduces the potential cost benefits.
And while the desk dock is relatively inexpensive at $100 a company would also have to buy a wireless keyboard/mouse and monitor - so depending on the monitor - figure $1,000 - $1,100 all in. Which about what many companies spend on the average corp laptop.
Bottom line is that HP announced pricing and available for the Elite X3 and it will be available for purchase by individuals. As with the other key partner in this new enterprise approach by MS, I am concerned that neither HP or Acer will sell enough of these devices to move the needle on Windows 10 Mobile sales or generate enough revenue to cover the development costs.
MS is making a huge bet on features like Continuum and Hello along with Mobile Device Management and Security to appeal to enterprise customers. And while these technologies are interesting and leading edge, the total cost to deliver these capabilities to corporate end users may be too high and only appeal to a small user set. Only time will tell.
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