Continuum is one of Microsoft's signature features in Windows 10 where the user interface can adapt automatically depending on the situation. For example, on a Surface Pro 3, Windows 10 will default to desktop mode with the keyboard attached and will then switch to tablet mode when you remove it.
Continuum will also be present in Windows 10 Mobile allowing your smartphone to attach to a monitor, mouse and keyboard, wired through the use of accessories or wireless through Bluetooth and Miracast. It will then project a desktop like app experience to the monitor using the apps on your phone.
Here's how Microsoft describes Continuum:
"Windows 10 adjusts your experience for your activity, device and display, so you can do your thing in any mode anytime you want. Onscreen features, like menus and task bars, adapt for easy navigation. Apps are built to scale smoothly from screen to screen so they look good from the smallest app window up to the largest 8k displays. You can even change from desktop to tablet mode anytime you want – your screen will give you a smooth transition and a beautiful display. Available exclusively on Windows, Continuum is designed to ensure that the best screen is always the one you're on."
Continuum for Windows 10 is available to use now and will come to market with Windows 10 Mobile later in 2015. On phones, however, it will require new hardware, so existing phones won't support it. It requires the power to drive dual displays, something not present in current Windows Phones.
Microsoft turning phones into PCs feels like the future
One of Microsoft’s big announcements at its Build developers conference last week was the ability to turn a smartphone running Windows 10 into a PC. Dubbed Continuum for Phones, it’s designed to take advantage of new universal apps that run across Windows 10 on phones, PCs, tablets, and the Xbox One. If you’re running a mobile version of Excel on your phone it will magically resize and transform into a keyboard- and mouse-friendly version for use on a bigger screen. It feels like the future.
While Microsoft simply showed a mocked-up simulation on stage at Build, in a separate session the company provided a full demonstration of Continuum for Phones, along with more information about the feature. It works by connecting up to a wired dock or using Miracast wirelessly. Microsoft is even supporting wireless dongles where you use the phone as a controller with a software touchpad and keyboard.
The phone interface scales up to a large display or TV, and the Start Menu takes the same Tiles found on the phone to provide access to apps. While it looks like the Windows 10 desktop, there are some subtle differences, and traditional desktop apps won’t run here. In a way, it feels like the natural successor to Windows RT, but one that’s actually useful if developers create the universal apps required to really take advantage of it.
Continuum phones inline
Microsoft’s demo seemed solid, even with a few glitches here and there, thanks to the early nature of the software. The company’s own apps all reflowed as you’d expect to take advantage of the big screen. There are also ways for developers and apps to take advantage of the additional screen as a second one, allowing you to stream a movie to a display while you continue to read email from the phone.
Microsoft is really aiming this at emerging markets where a phone is the primary computing device, and that’s one area where this type of feature could become popular. But it’s not the only company to attempt turning a phone into a PC. Canonical is doing similar things with USB-connected keyboards for its Ubuntu phone OS, and Motorola tried to sell an expensive docking to turn its Atrix phone into an Android PC. Other solutions, including the REDFLY, haven’t really taken off because of a lack of apps and wider support. Microsoft’s implementation could be equally limited thanks to the small market of Windows phones, but the other solutions didn't have the backing of a giant software company or a thoughtful natural interface. Microsoft's solution feels like the best so far.
There’s clearly hurdles to over come, but Microsoft has broad ambitions for Continuum. "We actually envision a world where the phone powers many more screens and experiences, where every screen can become a PC," says Keri Moran, a Windows program manager at Microsoft. That could involve laptops that have a keyboard and screen, but no storage or processors inside, as an external phone will do all the legwork. The same applies to tablets, where you have a super-thin device with just a display and battery, all powered by a phone. If Microsoft can convince developers to build universal Windows apps, and consumers to buy Windows-powered phones, then this definitely feels like the future.
Source : theverge.com , windowscentral.com
Continuum will also be present in Windows 10 Mobile allowing your smartphone to attach to a monitor, mouse and keyboard, wired through the use of accessories or wireless through Bluetooth and Miracast. It will then project a desktop like app experience to the monitor using the apps on your phone.
Here's how Microsoft describes Continuum:
"Windows 10 adjusts your experience for your activity, device and display, so you can do your thing in any mode anytime you want. Onscreen features, like menus and task bars, adapt for easy navigation. Apps are built to scale smoothly from screen to screen so they look good from the smallest app window up to the largest 8k displays. You can even change from desktop to tablet mode anytime you want – your screen will give you a smooth transition and a beautiful display. Available exclusively on Windows, Continuum is designed to ensure that the best screen is always the one you're on."
Continuum for Windows 10 is available to use now and will come to market with Windows 10 Mobile later in 2015. On phones, however, it will require new hardware, so existing phones won't support it. It requires the power to drive dual displays, something not present in current Windows Phones.
One of Microsoft’s big announcements at its Build developers conference last week was the ability to turn a smartphone running Windows 10 into a PC. Dubbed Continuum for Phones, it’s designed to take advantage of new universal apps that run across Windows 10 on phones, PCs, tablets, and the Xbox One. If you’re running a mobile version of Excel on your phone it will magically resize and transform into a keyboard- and mouse-friendly version for use on a bigger screen. It feels like the future.
While Microsoft simply showed a mocked-up simulation on stage at Build, in a separate session the company provided a full demonstration of Continuum for Phones, along with more information about the feature. It works by connecting up to a wired dock or using Miracast wirelessly. Microsoft is even supporting wireless dongles where you use the phone as a controller with a software touchpad and keyboard.
The phone interface scales up to a large display or TV, and the Start Menu takes the same Tiles found on the phone to provide access to apps. While it looks like the Windows 10 desktop, there are some subtle differences, and traditional desktop apps won’t run here. In a way, it feels like the natural successor to Windows RT, but one that’s actually useful if developers create the universal apps required to really take advantage of it.
Continuum phones inline
Microsoft’s demo seemed solid, even with a few glitches here and there, thanks to the early nature of the software. The company’s own apps all reflowed as you’d expect to take advantage of the big screen. There are also ways for developers and apps to take advantage of the additional screen as a second one, allowing you to stream a movie to a display while you continue to read email from the phone.
Microsoft is really aiming this at emerging markets where a phone is the primary computing device, and that’s one area where this type of feature could become popular. But it’s not the only company to attempt turning a phone into a PC. Canonical is doing similar things with USB-connected keyboards for its Ubuntu phone OS, and Motorola tried to sell an expensive docking to turn its Atrix phone into an Android PC. Other solutions, including the REDFLY, haven’t really taken off because of a lack of apps and wider support. Microsoft’s implementation could be equally limited thanks to the small market of Windows phones, but the other solutions didn't have the backing of a giant software company or a thoughtful natural interface. Microsoft's solution feels like the best so far.
There’s clearly hurdles to over come, but Microsoft has broad ambitions for Continuum. "We actually envision a world where the phone powers many more screens and experiences, where every screen can become a PC," says Keri Moran, a Windows program manager at Microsoft. That could involve laptops that have a keyboard and screen, but no storage or processors inside, as an external phone will do all the legwork. The same applies to tablets, where you have a super-thin device with just a display and battery, all powered by a phone. If Microsoft can convince developers to build universal Windows apps, and consumers to buy Windows-powered phones, then this definitely feels like the future.
Source : theverge.com , windowscentral.com
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