HP Elite X3 Announced at MWC 2016 – HP’s First Windows Phone in Years

Hewlett Packard has not released any major handheld device in recent years. There were news of HP Smartphones or Phablets before but I doubt that they’ve pushed through with it. Last Sunday though, they announced the HP Elite X3 which may bring the brand back to the smartphone race.

HP Elite X3 03

The HP Elite X3’s operating system is Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile. Okay, that might turn off some people but there are reasons why HP chose this platform over Android. HP intends to sell this phone to the enterprise market and that is one of their strengths. The Elite X3 supports Continuum and they are aiming users who are into Sales, Marketing and even Executives. For those who don’t know, Continuum lets a Windows 10 Mobile powered smartphone be used as a Desktop PC. Users can simply connect their smartphones to the connection dock which is also connected to the monitor or LED TV, mouse and keyboard. This feature may appeal to the enterprise sector so I guess HP is hoping that their smartphone will give them more sales.

HP Mobile Extender

Having said that, the problem with Continuum is for those users who need to work in places like a coffee shop or an airpot. There are no coffee shops that offer LED TVs or monitors for their customers to use with their smartphones, at least not here in the Philippines. I mentioned this to a representative of Microsoft last December. The Motorola Atrix has a solution years ago by supplying a dockable laptop for the smartphone but it was never a hit because most consumers think Android is not at par with a Windows laptop. The good thing is, HP did something great. They probably realized this problem so they also made a companion device called the HP Mobile Extender. It’s a 12.5-inch display notebook which I presume doesn’t have any OS. It’s a dummy laptop and possibly only the HP Elite X3 can power it on so the user can type his documents easily with a full sized keyboard. That’s what Microsoft should also do for their Lumia line!

We all know that the main problem of Windows 10 Mobile is the lack of apps. According to HP, they have that covered by offering exclusive apps for the HP Elite X3. I am not sure about this but we’ll have to wait and see.

HP Elite X3 02

The design of the HP Elite X3 looks pretty good and I think the consumer market may like its aesthetics too. The speakers are by Bang & Olufsen and the camera is a 16 Megapixel shooter.

Here are the HP Elite X3 Specs:

OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Mobile
Processor: 2.15 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Quad-Core processor
Display: 1440 x 2560 5.96-inch Quad-HD AMOLED Display
Memory: 64GB Internal Storage expandable with a MicroSD card up to 2TB, 4GB RAM
Connectors: USB Type-C
Camera: 16 Megapixels (Main Camera), 8 Megapixels (Front)
SIM Card Slot: 2x SIM Cards Required
Battery: 4,150 mAh
SRP: TBA

I hope to see the HP Elite X3 Philippines in our market later this year.

(Images from HP)

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