HP's Elite X3 is a Windows Phone that can be a laptop and a computer

10:32:00 AM dickwyn 0 Comments

The trend these days is to make smartphones and HP is bucking up to that trend with it's first smartphone in years (remember the Palm Pre?). But unlike everyone else, HP's smartphone is not powered by Android but rather the PC maker has chosen Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile operating system as their comeback to the smartphone race.

HP chose Windows 10 Mobile mainly because of the unique continuum feature that Microsoft has built into their mobile operating system that enables a smartphone to effectively transform into a desktop like experience.

HP Elite X3 Key Specifications

5.96-inch AMOLED QHD display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC
4GB LPDDR4 RAM
64GB expandable memory (upto 2TB)
16MP f2.0 rear camera
8MP front camera with iris scanner
4,150mAh battery with qi wireless charging
161.8 x 83.5 x 7.8mm (195g)
IP67 and MIL-STD-810G
Windows 10 Mobile

As you see from the spec sheet above, the HP Elite X3 is the first Windows Phone to run on Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 820 SoC which is also powering Android flagships like the LG G5 and Galaxy S7. The reason why HP is decking out the Elite X3 with the best mobile processor available and 4GB of RAM is because HP is expecting the people who buy this phone to take advantage of continuum.

To enable continuum, HP is readying two accessories, one of them is called the Desk Dock which is a a dock that gives the phone a couple of USB ports, a display out and a wired ethernet port. Another Continuum accessory that the HP Elite X3 will work with is called the Mobile Extender. Despite the name, HP's Mobile Extender is basically a laptop without the internal hardware.

Why no internal hardware you ask? Well, the Mobile Extender takes Microsoft's continuum off to a next level as the Mobile Extender will wirelessly connect with the HP Elite X3 (and maybe even other Continuum compatible devices) and provide you with a laptop experience all from the smartphone.

At the moment, HP says they are targeting to launch the HP Elite X3 later in the Summer but we'll most likely hear more of the HP Elite X3 during Build 2016 in April.