Re:Microsoft announces Surface Go
by WorldMaker on Tuesday July 10, 2018 @12:15PM
(#17499426)
> How do you answer your phone if it is powering your desktop?
How important are phone calls as an "app" anyway?
First of all, for as long as Skype and Google Hangouts have been around, at least some people have been answering voice and video calls on laptops/desktops/etc for many years now.
Beyond that though, it is weird how much we seem to privilege the traditional voice call to a hand-holdable accessory. It's just one communication method in a sea of them now.
(Also, if any other communication app on your phone interrupted you the way we allow phone calls too, you'd uninstall that app and write terrible reviews on that app. It's possibly past time to rethink the modal focus-stealing device takeover that is phone call UX, I feel.)
Even if you wanted to answer the phone call in the traditional manner, a good dock should allow you to undock pretty rapidly and seamlessly switch context into the phone call anyway. (You'd want that dock to flow that well/seamlessly even for non-phone call scenarios. For instance, maybe you are going to head to lunch and want to smoothly pick up and pocket the device on your way out the door.)
With wireless docks the device might not even leave your pocket in "desktop" mode, as you work from the screens and input devices on your desk. The phone call scenario is the take it out of your pocket and answer it dance you are used to, and leaving for lunch just sends the desk to auto-sleep as you leave range without you needing to do anything else. All of that seems quite practical and not that strange from today's technology.
How important are phone calls as an "app" anyway?
First of all, for as long as Skype and Google Hangouts have been around, at least some people have been answering voice and video calls on laptops/desktops/etc for many years now.
Beyond that though, it is weird how much we seem to privilege the traditional voice call to a hand-holdable accessory. It's just one communication method in a sea of them now.
(Also, if any other communication app on your phone interrupted you the way we allow phone calls too, you'd uninstall that app and write terrible reviews on that app. It's possibly past time to rethink the modal focus-stealing device takeover that is phone call UX, I feel.)
Even if you wanted to answer the phone call in the traditional manner, a good dock should allow you to undock pretty rapidly and seamlessly switch context into the phone call anyway. (You'd want that dock to flow that well/seamlessly even for non-phone call scenarios. For instance, maybe you are going to head to lunch and want to smoothly pick up and pocket the device on your way out the door.)
With wireless docks the device might not even leave your pocket in "desktop" mode, as you work from the screens and input devices on your desk. The phone call scenario is the take it out of your pocket and answer it dance you are used to, and leaving for lunch just sends the desk to auto-sleep as you leave range without you needing to do anything else. All of that seems quite practical and not that strange from today's technology.