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Microsoft's Panos Panay Says Company is Exploring Several New Form Factors in Surface Category, But a Phone Isn't One of Them (bleepingcomputer.com)

Posted by msmash on from the no-surface-phone-for-you dept.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Surface Go launch, Microsoft's Panos Panay, who heads the Surface division, once again very much reiterated that the company has moved past its smartphone ambitions. From a report: In an interview with Wired, Microsoft's Surface head Panos Panay confirmed that the company is working on new form factors. When questioned about whether this would include a new Surface Phone, Panay stated that the Surface Phone was not one that they are thinking about at this time. "I wouldn't say that it includes a Surface Phone," Panos answered in the interview. "I think you have to think about where is that unmet need when you're thinking about your product road-map," he replied. "Of course, we're always inventing, of course, we're thinking about new form factors," Panos added. "The way people will communicate in the future will change. The form factors will wrap around that. And so when you say the phone form factor changes, I would flip it a little bit and say that communication changes."

20 of 36 comments (clear)

  1. consumers ask, wtf is surface? by gl4ss · · Score: 1, Insightful

    is it a tablet?
    is it a phone?
    is it a tv slapped on it's back and used as a table?

    make something and fucking stick to it for a few years at least come on.. especially if you're making something actually newish like that table was.

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    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    1. Re:consumers ask, wtf is surface? by zlives · · Score: 3, Funny

      umm its actually just a table that you put your iDevice on.

    2. Re:consumers ask, wtf is surface? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      It's a brand. Jessh why does everything need it's own specific name these days.

    3. Re:consumers ask, wtf is surface? by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      It's all of these And Less

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      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    4. Re:consumers ask, wtf is surface? by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      It's a brand. Jessh why does everything need it's own specific name these days.

      So people can figure out what it isn't compatible with.

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    5. Re:consumers ask, wtf is surface? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      Microsoft is the brand. it started out as a MODEL. a specific name for a specific thing, namely just the table. then they released the tablets and started pretending the table never existed.

      never mind that surface and surface pro weren't software compatible. surface go and surface pro are. that's the first surface pro, not the 2017 surface pro by the way. but they're sw compatible. surface 3 isn't. surface 3 pro is sw compatible with the pro.

      I've seen supposed professionals get bitten by buying the windows rt versions...

      and you think surface connect is the same as surface connect(the connector) ? of course not.

      and which ones you can use the surface dial with? with surface pro or with surface pro? yes, with the surface pro. not with the another.

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      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    6. Re:consumers ask, wtf is surface? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I don't understand. Are you complaining that every accessory isn't compatible with every device, or are you complaining that you don't know the difference between the branding of a model line and a specific model of a device? Your complaint will fall on dead ears and applies to every company in the technology world. Apple with their connectors and cables constantly changing, accessories suddenly depreciated, Google with it's Nest components not being compatible with the primary thermostat (better still they put up an entire webpage dedicated to instructing people how to find out which Nest they actually own, at least the Surface devices have the model number written on them).

      You've seen professionals get bitten? Cool story. There are idiots in every profession. Including those that never read news or reviews, or those that buy a product without actually looking up what the model number means. Muy own father knew the Surface RT wasn't compatible with normal software, and this is a guy who calls me up from the other side of the world because his removable drive changes letters. Zero sympathy for your so called professionals.

      Surface is a brand that covers a whole line of product models. It is not a model, just like iPhone is not a model or Nest isn't a mode, or Galaxy isn't a model. Microsoft is not a brand, it is a vendor. You would do well to understand the terms to avoid confusion in the future.

  2. It isn't a phone... by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

    It isn't a phone.... it's a really small tablet, with the capacity for making phone calls.

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    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    1. Re:It isn't a phone... by religionofpeas · · Score: 2

      You misspelled 'table'.

    2. Re:It isn't a phone... by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 1

      My wife always complains when she wants to use my smartphone that the dialing app isn't easy to find. I use it so infrequently that it's on like the third page.

      I think that's pretty typical. How often do people even use the "phone" app on the typical phone? Probably a tiny fraction of the time they use their phone like a small tablet.

      I would love a pocketable device that recognizes and embraces this fact and focuses on the phablet experience.

  3. That's a shame by DogDude · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That really is a shame. That leaves only two types of smart phones, both of which are shit for privacy. At least the Windows Phone didn't require any kind of log in to use it.

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    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:That's a shame by Dracos · · Score: 1

      He knows no one wants a Windows Phone, but his statements didn't exclude the possibility of 4G/5G Surface products.

      Now if MS could only come to grips with the fact that they have no idea how to connect with consumers and that consumers don't actually like Windows, it's just the only OS they're familiar with.

    2. Re: That's a shame by kurkosdr · · Score: 1

      And yet in Android you can have an alternative to every Google app. Even the Play Store. You will still need Play Services (if you want stuff like location to work for most apps) but it's not as bad as iOS...

    3. Re:That's a shame by jezwel · · Score: 1
      They've got tablets and laptops and huge collaborative displays. Maybe they're going to do a Surface Watch. How about a Surface Headset? Or maybe a Surface Fridge? A Surface bedside clock-radio? Surface (Cortana) speaker A Surface bath pillow? A Surface car audio system?

      I think they should still be making a Surface Phone to be honest - someone's gotta be in single digit market share.

  4. Re: I'm looking forward to this! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    'member when MS Surface was supposed to be a coffee table that would wirelessly interface with devices set on it so pictures would spill out of your phone onto the table and you could touch them up literally with your fingers and slide them back to the phone?

    Kinda sounds much cooler than what it eventually became.

  5. The question must be asked... by hyades1 · · Score: 1

    So is a "form factor" like...hmm, what's the word...like a "shape"?

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    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    1. Re:The question must be asked... by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      LOL

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  6. Good marketing move by sit1963nz · · Score: 1

    You are better off not having a product in the market than have one that is a failure.

    You can imagine all the jokes "Microsofts phone will zune be gone" etc etc

    That image of failure is not one that Microsoft wants to encourage, it implies their other products may also not be the best, or that alternatives may be better.

    This is a simple marketing strategy

  7. Re: First post by kurkosdr · · Score: 1

    Every time I hear someone say that Desktop Linux or BSD will relegate Windows to the dustbin of history I remember that the latest VLC cannot be easily installed on Ubuntu 16.04 but can in a 10-year old Windows 7 PC and think "nope". Chrome OS might, but Google won't let go of it's supposed "cloudiness" (supposed because every semi-functional Chrome OS app is a local app.

  8. New form factor : Surface 2 axle trailer... by Your+Average+Joe · · Score: 1

    yep, 2,000 lb surface computer that you have to pull behind a car. This will help Microsoft some day know how people drive so they can make Surface Car 1.0 connect to the Surface 2 Axle trailer... And no it will not make phone calls and will only run Metro 128 apps from the app store. Old school lead acid batteries as Elon Musk wants too much for his batteries. No it will not charge when pulling that is an add-on for the Pro Surface 2 Axle trailer. Surface Enterprise 2 Axle trailer will come with break lights and electro mechanical wheel brakes!

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    Your Average Joe