by TimStone » Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:01 pm
Antonio,
Continuum is already a part of Windows 10. It is working on tablets and desktops in current builds, and continues to be enhanced.
Continuum for Windows Phone will require new Qualcomm hardware in the devices, but already phones that will be released with Win 10 have it. Several have been announced.
This is all part of the universal app strategy. Anything you buy, you pay for once, and it works across all devices. With phones, they become your PC in your hand and go with you anywhere. Paired with the right I/O, they become a desktop. For example, use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and a wireless monitor connection, and you have no wiring, but instant desktop. The display switches on the large monitor to be keyboard/mouse driven. Walk away with your phone and it becomes a touch device once again.
I have an HP Stream 7 hand held tablet. It was only $99 through the Microsoft Store. I just installed 10130 on it. I should be able to pair it with a keyboard ( haven't tried yet, but I will soon ) and a monitor, in which case it should work as a desktop computer. I will let you know my test results.
There is no reason to overwrite any Android devices. Microsoft Lumia phones, and many other manufacturers, are releasing many very inexpensive new Windows phones throughout the world. There is no benefit to modify an Android device. What they did was to create a package that allows developers to take existing iOS and Android apps, and to create Windows Phone apps from them with essentially no code changes. However, they could decide to enhance them to take advantage of services in Windows Phones not found in either of the other two devices. For example, Cortana is amazing, as people will realize when they start using it. I've used it since it's release, and it is constantly improving. The best thing is that it can be used with your apps. In time we may have the IO necessary in FWH to use the Cortana SDK. Then our apps could use voice control. Right now I have it on my 3 test devices with Win 10, all using Hey Cortana voice activation. So I can walk into my office and say "Hey Cortana" and give it in instruction, ie. "Hey Cortana, remind me to email Antonio Linares at 8:30 this morning". It tells me OK, and at 8:30, my computer speaks up and reminds me to email you. That is all working now. Can you imagine using that technology in our apps ? Also, I should be able to do that at my desk, then take off to water the yard, and have my phone remind me at 8:30.
The beauty of all of this is that it will constantly update. No longer will we wait a year for a new release. Now we shall have this continually evolving in our systems, and we will be able to elect to accept only fully tested and stable releases, or be on the fast track to get everything new as it comes out. This is all done automatically. In the Preview program it is called Fast or Slow updating, and I understand that will continue, as will the Insider program to allow users to provide feedback to the development teams.