Priced at $99, Is Continuum Display Dock a Luxury Accessory?
The magical demo of the Display Dock, by Bryan Roper, which makes Continuum possible for Lumia 950 and 950 XL will cost you $99. Microsoft has confirmed the pricing of the accessory to Computerworld. So what else the display dock comes along with it? Actually nothing. The cables to connect the dock will cost you extra or you can use one you already. The dock includes three USB ports, input USB-C , a display port and an HDMI.You need to put in at least another $25 for cables.
That brings us to one question. Is this a Luxury Accessory? Why? I along with few would argue that why invest 99$ in it, and why not go for a PC on Stick like iBall Splendo which comes with full keyboard and mouse. Both connect to the monitor anyways, and with Splendo you don’t even need extra cables, everything comes along with it. It will cost about the same.
While with PC on stick, you get a full-blown PC which can get the more or at least the amount of job done, Display Dock delivers seamless experience. If you manage your phone, you don’t need to manage anything else. What’s on your phone is available through the display dock, and with Windows 10 adaptive UI, the display looks crisp and right in the place.
While the discussion has no end, IMO, Microsoft has built this for a particular set of audience. As of now it only works with 950 and 950 XL which houses Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 MSM8992 or MSM8994 chipset which support dual display, and this is why it will not work with old generation devices.
As the next generation of devices start rolling out with processor power enough to support dual display, the demand may increase and only then the price of the accessory will drop. As of now if you can spend money on 950 or 950 XL, picking this for presentation and casual work, can be a great choice.
