back to article Return of the Pocket PC: Acer shows off Jade Primo PC Phone

Acer will release the "Jade Primo" PC Phone later this year, running Windows and taking advantage of Microsoft's Continuum feature to behave like a PC when connected to an external display, keyboard and mouse. "The goal is to extend the Windows experience from mobility to desktop. It is an important step towards the vision of …

  1. Simon Harris
    Terminator

    Not a real pocket PC...

    Unless you can hack ATMs or unlock Cyberdyne doors with it.

    1. BinkyTheMagicPaperclip Silver badge

      Re: Not a real pocket PC...

      I was about to say that was the Atari Portfolio, but upon checking I find it was originally called the 'DIP Pocket PC', and it was fairly DOS like. So, fair enough!

  2. dogged

    Interesting but with Acer's legendary build quality, I'll definitely pass.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      #LOLAcer

      Pretty much guaranteed Acer will be a footnote in the history of computing with the transition from PCs to mobile.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Acer's legendary build quality

      You, Sir, have a fine command of sarcasm. I salute you :)

    3. imaginarynumber

      Indeed.

      I will hold off for the Intel based Surface Phone

  3. g00se
    FAIL

    The Acer Revo Build modular PC

    Good concept - bad presentation (looks messy). Though i guess that photo might not have originated from the Acer stable...

  4. W Donelson

    I see one flaw here....

    ... who wants it to behave like a Windows PC? Ugh.

  5. JP19

    Behave like a PC

    Arm processor so it will only run modern app crap. Like Windows RT and we know how popular that was.

    So no it doesn't behave like a PC it behaves like a phone with a big screen and keyboard.

    1. Warm Braw

      Re: Behave like a PC

      Yep. Up to the point it became clear this was a Snapdragon processor, I was thinking that finally Microsoft might have come up with a way of selling Windows phones.

      Though, actually, when you think about it, unless you could conveniently answer the phone and continue to use it in PC mode at the same time, you'd want to have the functions separate anyway.

    2. Teiwaz
      Meh

      Re: Behave like a PC

      "Arm processor so it will only run modern app crap. Like Windows RT and we know how popular that was."

      Knowing how quickly Microsoft dropped the Surface RT, why would Acer attempt this? Might not a total loss, if Ubuntu Next works on it, or even some current or future Plasma implementation.

      At least they're trying to innovate though.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Behave like a PC

        >At least they're trying to innovate though.

        At least they started thinking about bailing water after it was past their waist.

    3. Filippo Silver badge

      Re: Behave like a PC

      This. Frankly, these attempts to confuse "Windows RT" with Windows are annoying to say the least. Windows RT is not a PC OS, dammit.

      1. fung0

        Re: Behave like a PC

        Frankly, these attempts to confuse "Windows RT" with Windows are annoying to say the least. Windows RT is not a PC OS, dammit.

        How do you make a phone that can run PC software? Easy: redefine "PC software" to mean "smartphone apps," then downgrade every PC in the world to that level.

    4. GitMeMyShootinIrons

      Re: Behave like a PC

      I agree. I was rather hoping for a low power Intel Atom, a chunk of space with Windows 10 in a phone.

      Still, I shouldn't expect much, it is an Acer.

  6. stucs201

    "Some Pocket PC devices featured a clamshell design with a keyboard"

    Exactly what I was hoping for from the headline. Ah well, maybe one day.

    1. Teiwaz
      Facepalm

      Re: "Some Pocket PC devices featured a clamshell design with a keyboard"

      "Some Pocket PC devices featured a clamshell design with a keyboard"

      Looking at available phones these days, seems there is less innovation in form that there used to be ten years ago. From bricks, clamshells and slide-outs to slabs,slabs,slabs.

      1. Captain DaFt

        Re: "Some Pocket PC devices featured a clamshell design with a keyboard"

        Yeah, phone design went from, "pushing the envelope", to, "put it in an envelope with a screen on it".

  7. Mage Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    I want this concept

    But running Debian. Not evil Win10 (win XP or Win7 would have been OK) paywalled iOS or Goggle spyware Android/Chrome.

    If it's Windows on ARM, it's nearly pointless. Edit: It's Snapdragon, so fine for Debian, Android etc and POINTLESS for Windows as it can't replace an x86 laptop

    I can hook my Sony Z1 Android phone to a USB hub and then USB mouse + keyboard, and plug it into HDMI monitor. But it's a kludge. A Win10 ARM with nice dock won't run x86-64 code etc, so is just a gimmick if you need a real x86-64 Windows workstation.

  8. bollos
    WTF?

    net books dammit!

    i want an 8" netbook with a genuine quad core cpu (not virtualised), a 500gb ssd (i can fit one myself) and 4gb of ram please!

    e.g. just as the dell mini-9 was getting decent cpus the damn tablets killed the netbook!

    bah!

    1. Will Godfrey Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: net books dammit!

      Well, my EeePC901 is still going strong - with the original battery too.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: net books dammit!

      So something like this then?

      (Although no idea how easy it is to swap out SSD)

      http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-8-9-Inch-Laptop-Windows/dp/B00UBM6SNA

    3. Paul

      Re: net books dammit!

      My Toshiba Click Mini is a pretty nice device.

      If I was picky I'd say it needs an extra gig of RAM and a bit faster CPU

  9. LeeH
    WTF?

    Lost me at windows

    What's the point of installing Windows on it?

    1. dogged
      FAIL

      Re: Lost me at windows

      Nobody else's phones support simultaneous USB3 (or C) and HDMI connections.

      So presumably Windows because then it'll work.

  10. rainjay

    Why not Atom?

    They could have put an Atom x86 chip on this thing to make it into a true PC in a pocket that can run universal and desktop apps. After all, Asus Zenfones have shown that Atom on mobile is a viable choice. My cheap Windows 10 tablet does a decent job running old Win32 programs and can even run Linux virtual machines, imagine having the same capability in a phone.

    1. dogged

      Re: Why not Atom?

      Because (and this is a guess), W10 doesn't have the capacity to make phone calls and WM10 won't run W32 applications.

      If the Universal Platform thing takes off, however, you won't need W32 applications. And this thing (and others like it) is the best possible reason for the Universal Platform to become popular because MDM can lock down a smartphone like nothing on earth with basically zero administration (cost saving), phones are comparatively dirt cheap (cost saving) and there are a gazillion office drones out there who only use MS Office every day (which is already a Universal app) so... big fat cost saving.

      Short version - it isn't aimed at us. It's aimed at the kind of corporate that orders 500 shitty HP desktop boxes at a time.

      1. rainjay

        Re: Why not Atom?

        It's funny that Android runs perfectly fine on Atom x86 but WinPhone doesn't. Windows 10 Mobile should technically have no issues running on either ARM or x86 architectures because the underlying kernel and system libs are from Windows 10.

        Anyway, Ubuntu tried making a desktop-capable superphone but couldn't get the funding. Maybe Microsoft are doing it from another angle - those Universal apps don't care about the underlying architecture and if most office drone types don't use desktop programs, then Mobile Office is all they'll need.

  11. Phil Dalbeck

    When does the patent on the Psion Series 5 sliding keyboard expire? Can't be long now right?

    1. imaginarynumber

      that'll be £55 please

      ?

      Many of the HTCs had 5 row sliding keyboards. The last was the HTC 7 Pro.

      1. Phil Dalbeck

        Re: that'll be £55 please

        Yeh, but slide out chicklet pads are pish compared the glory that was the Psion5 keyboard with its self supporting back and touch typeable size.

        Googled the patent - apparently it was filed in September 1995... meaning it expires this month right?

  12. RockBurner

    sooo it's another stab at the Asus PadPhoneTransformer?

  13. fung0

    In Praise of Pocket PC

    Some Pocket PC devices featured a clamshell design with a keyboard. Despite these attractions, the limited capabilities and general usability failings of these devices means they are remembered with little affection.

    I get really tired of this retroactive dissing of Pocket PC (a.k.a. Windows Mobile). I owned several Pocket PCs, including the early HP Jornada and the later iPAQ. For their time, these were absolutely fantastic devices. Yes, the UI was a little clunky, but the open Windows-like OS was perfectly amenable to add-ons akin to today's Classic Desktop.

    The point is, you could do anything with a Pocket PC, just as you could with a desktop. It multitasked nicely when nothing else did, and had a great ecosystem of applications - not 'apps,' real applications. Including both excellent free stuff and high-quality commercial products.

    Pocket PC was a brilliant attempt at putting a PC in your pocket. Win10 is a half-assed attempt at turning every desktop PC into a smartphone.

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