But that was before I tried it. I'm not here to proclaim from the rooftops that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, the savior of Microsoft's mobile efforts or other such extremes.
But I am seeing it in a different light now having actually used it for myself at a local launch event for the Lumia 950 in London.
I've been telling myself that no matter how great Continuum is technically, it's not for me. In no way could I see it fitting into my work flow or daily life in a broader view. When I'm working I have a desk, I have my desktop PC. When I'm on the road I have my laptop.
But seeing the display dock for myself and how Universal Apps just scale up and down, how you can plug in your peripherals and have a mini-PC in your pocket has changed that a bit.
I could absolutely see having a couple of Display Docks around the house. One in the front room plugged into the TV so I can catch up on some email, daily tasks, even some light work with my feet up on the sofa when I don't need to be in front of my PC. For the right sort of work it would be more comfortable than sitting with a laptop on my lap looking at a small screen when there's 40-inches of TV to use.
That's just one use case and one way that I could now see myself using Continuum. But when you stick an enterprise hat on there's an even bigger use case.
The hotdesk.
I can relate using my own past life as an oft-traveling project manager as a good example. I used to have a company BlackBerry and a company laptop. And not a sleek little Ultrabook. No. The BlackBerry was my on the go Email tool and the laptop was what I used when I needed to get onto Microsoft Office.
Replace that laptop bag and antiquated smartphone (there's little other way to describe a years old BlackBerry OS 7 device) with a Continuum toting Lumia and suddenly you've got everything in your pocket wherever you go. Instead of hundreds of expensive Lenovo or Dell laptops for the employees as well as a phone, give them a phone and a Display Dock to use in the remote locations hooked up to one of the already present monitors.
For consumers right now, the cost of entry is high. In the UK you're looking at £500 plus for the phone for starters. And you need to have a screen and a keyboard at least to get anything done. If you have those, great. If not, add to the bill.
For the enterprise the cost is potentially much more reasonable. Using my own example, there's a strong case to make. I didn't ever need the full power of desktop Office for my work. It was mainly word processing, viewing pdf files and some basic spreadsheet work. All easily doable with Continuum.
So, to close. I'm more upbeat about Continuum now than I have been thus far. There's a long way to go and it won't 'save' the platform on its own. But for the right kind of user it could be one of the best things you ever spend your money on.
