Microsoft wants to re-launch the PDA, a personal digital assistant in the form of a handheld computer, rather than a virtual assistant driven by artificial intelligence like Cortana or Siri.
Specifically, the company is said to be developing a dual-screen collapsible device codenamed Andromeda that will be part of its Surface series. Everyone is asking: Why would anyone want to
PDA re-launched the market? The answer is: Have you tried to work with the iPhone?
At the end of June, the technology blog The Verge got leaked internal files. According to the documentation, Andromeda is a new Surface handheld that combines innovative hardware and software experiences to create a true personal computing. And the general computing experience', 'will blur the line between mobile computing and static computing', its 2018 launch date is unknown.
In February 2017, WalkingCat first discovered that the Andromeda name appeared in the Windows Composable Shell code. Support for Andromeda OS and Factory OS Andromeda devices also appeared elsewhere: Windows 10 code and software.
Based on speculation that pictures from Microsoft's Surface director Panos Panay are said to be underway, Microsoft may work with LG Display to develop screens for the potential handheld.
It is widely believed that Surface Andromeda will use ARM processors. Sources close to Microsoft also said that the company is testing Qualcomm's upcoming ARM Cortex-A76 CPU-based Snapdragon 1000 chip, Andromeda will be equipped with up to 16GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space.
Through Microsoft's patent documents, you can get an idea of the physical design that Andromeda is most likely to adopt. The document describes a flexible hinge that allows two screens to be set up to form a laptop, tablet or a erected triangular structure. Assisted by a mechanism that allows this hinge to rotate.
Microsoft seems to want to use the second screen as a keyboard. If you want to do a lot of input work, this may not be a particularly comfortable choice. It reminds people of Lenovo's use of a similar system, the Yoga Book, which has no physical buttons, accurate and fast. Typing is very difficult.
Early PDAs, such as Psion Series 3 and Apple Apple Newton, wanted to bring PC data storage and communication capabilities in a portable way. But with smartphones (somehow evolved from PDAs) and high speed The development of mobile broadband networks, such devices have been abandoned.
Now, the key issue is that when you are in the office, the screen of the smartphone is very inconvenient, especially when you need a lot of typing input. The tablet, when used with the bracket and the Bluetooth keyboard, is actually no more portable. How convenient is the laptop?
The first handhelds help business people track contact and overhead in mobile scenarios, and smartphones are well suited to these functional requirements. The audience for modern PDAs is likely to include software developers, communications experts and journalists – or whatever Like mobile office, people who need more features than tablet phones.
Many companies are studying the future of PDAs and PDA-like devices. Samsung is developing folding smartphone technology, and professional manufacturer Planet Computers has launched a modern PDA on the market. This flip device called Gemini has a full physical keyboard, Android. Dual operating system with Linux, 10 ARM CPU cores, and 5.7-inch touch screen.
Janko Mrsic-Flogel, CEO of Planet Computers, believes that the needs of PDA users are not the same as they were twenty or thirty years ago. 'Society has changed. We live in a 24/ 7, always on the online world, we need to reply to emails and work on the go.' He explained, 'Now more and more people want to create content - not just consumer content - modern PDA It's a tool that allows them to do this; it's faster and more efficient than a regular smartphone. Mucker-Froger also points out that virtual keyboards that are widely used in small devices account for half of the device's screen, people It's hard to get the job done. 'On the contrary, consumers have to rely on other devices such as tablets or laptops.'
From a design point of view, Coroyer emphasizes that modern PDAs are both small enough to be portable and large enough to bring office utility. But he also said that to achieve this, developers need to re- Consider the design of the application. 'We need someone who dares to take risks and dare to risk the failure to bring the changed products to market.' Coroy said, 'To get new innovation, we need companies to dare to build on the market. Prototype. '
The success or failure of Planet Computers' Gemini may bring just that kind of real-world proof of concept. The company initially adopted a crowdfunding model and has shipped about 6,000 products to its supporters since February this year. Accepting new orders. This is impressive, but for companies like Microsoft, such figures are trivial.
According to Mucker-Frojer, feedback from users is quite positive. The most popular features are the keyboard of the device, long battery life and 'portability' - unlike the iPad, the Gemini is small enough to be imported. The equipment of the bag. He said, 'People want to be able to use the device when going out to eat or working on the train, and you can use it whenever you want.” For future iterations, the most common feature requests for users include Backlit keyboard, second external display and added fingerprint reader and NFC (Near Field Communication) function.
Although there are many clues about devices like Andromeda from patent application files to source code, Microsoft has been ignorant of any actual launch plans. Recently, there is news that Andromeda OS support will not appear in the upcoming Windows 10 Fall. Updated.
ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley quoted sources as saying that after the departure of Terry Myerson, the head of Windows and equipment, laptops may have fallen victim to internal restructuring; 'Microsoft There is still no compelling reason to bring the current iterative version of the compact dual-screen mobile device to market.
At the same time, Microsoft just released a cheap tablet. The 10-inch device called Surface Go costs $399, and the optional keyboard and Surface Pen are sold separately.
Andromeda is not the first dual-screen device that Microsoft has developed in recent years. Courier, which was cut off in 2010, is a dual-screen tablet for creative people. The 7-inch Surface Mini has also been developed and tested in-house, and ultimately Was abandoned in 2014.
In Corroe's opinion, if the Andromeda project can be avoided as it was before, and eventually it can be formed, it can be said to be Microsoft's bold move. 'It may never be like a current smartphone. The mass market category. 'He said, 'but it doesn't need to be done, but only needs to be a good product to meet the specific needs of some users. The market is too big, even the market segment can bring very much Big business. '