Samsung SGH-E700… now with Android?

Imagine my sudden, unexpected excitement when I...

My iPhone 15 Pro Max SLi Ultra Ghia Plus strategy

So there's a new iPhone about to...

Microsoft Surface Duo: Insert lament post here

I was reading Ron Amaedo’s post on ArsTechnica earlier today about the ending of software upgrade support for the first edition of the Microsoft Duo…

And once again, I felt depressed for the mobile industry.

This is one of the reasons I haven’t been writing much about the marketplace at all. There has, apart from the odd update, been nothing material to write about.

Witness, for example, the thousands of news stories and blogs about the new iPhone with USB-C support. Next.

What went wrong with the Duo?

Well Ron does a good job of covering the basics. I wonder what the team at Microsoft were actually thinking, though.

They had the opportunity to bring a completely new device context to the market that really changed things.

I was ready to call it my “Teams” device. Anyone who works in a Microsoft world at the office will identify. Many spend their days locked in Teams – and a companion device that executed that brilliantly aaaaaand had the best Office app experience bar none? Compelling.

I was prepared to carry two devices. The iPhone and the Duo. I was prepared to move to a Duo first world at work. That’s what I was envisioning – at least, that’s what I thought the team at Microsoft were aiming for with the device.

I also was prepared to look beyond the $1,400 retail price on the basis that the technology would be phenomenal and that the ROI calculation would be a no-brainer (e.g. 8 hours per day on the Duo plugged in and walk-about for collaboration would easily have the CFO nodding in approval – because the sums made sense on a per hour basis across the year and because they wanted one too).

It would be so powerful that I would just stick in a keyboard and screen when I got to the office. That was my thinking.

And it would be absolutely fantastic as I walked around the office, in meetings and whatever during the business day. It would be a compelling tool and absolutely integrated into my Microsoft world.

That’s what I was thinking.

I never expected (or wanted) and iPhone replacement. This was the workhorse work device.

Gahhhhh.

How frustrating.

Come on Microsoft – is there a reboot of the Duo coming or are we doomed to an iPhone/Samsung world?

Recently Published

Samsung SGH-E700… now with Android?

Imagine my sudden, unexpected excitement when I saw this email and subject in my inbox this morning: "OMG," I thought. "Have they actually done...

Why you need GadgetsOman (or similar) in your life

About four days ago I got a familiar WhatsApp message from the team at GadgetsOman. It was just a day or so after the...

My iPhone 15 Pro Max SLi Ultra Ghia Plus strategy

So there's a new iPhone about to launch. It's not that different from the one I've already got (iPhone 14 Pro Max). The camera is slightly...

“Apple will only sell 100,000 of their headsets in the first year” Really?

BGR reports a TrendForce estimate that Apple will sell 100k units of their new headset when released and says “but that’s still a big...

The BlackBerry Movie: Worth a look, but it’s heavy on fiction

I went to see the BlackBerry movie last night here in Dubai. I was astonished to find the movie theatre almost full, apart from...

Question: When is the only time a traffic jam is good news in the UK?

Answer: When you're sitting in the back of an Uber and you need reliable mobile signal. Boom! Sad, isn't it, dear reader? Travel all around...