When HP announced the Elite x3 back in February, it also announced Workspace, an app that would finally allow its users to run x86 apps using Continuum. It uses virtualization in the company"s cloud to stream the app to the device, as those applications wouldn"t be able to run on the phone"s ARM hardware.
By many, this is seen as the biggest limitation to Continuum. Until now, you could only run UWP apps, limiting your browser choice to Edge, your Office choices to Office Mobile, and more.
Like the Elite x3, Workspace is designed for business customers, so when the company released details about the service, we shouldn"t be surprised that it"s a bit pricey for the average consumer.
| Essential | Premium | Add-on service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly usage (per user) | 40 hours | 80 hours | 1 year VPN integration |
| Cloud processing power (per user) | Dedicated vCPU | Dedicated vCPU | Licensing is per VPN gateway – not per user |
| Virtual machine RAM (per user) | 4GB RAM | 8GB RAM | |
| Virtualized Apps | ≤10 | Unlimited | |
| Application analytics | - | Detailed usage reports | |
| Support | Mon-Fri deployment and incident support | Mon-Fri deployment and incident support | |
| Pricing | $579 per user per year | $939 per user per year | $2,995 per year |
Interestingly, Workspace isn"t exclusive to the Elite x3; you can download and use the app on any Continuum-enabled Windows 10 Mobile device, such as the Lumia 950 or 950 XL. The 60-day free trial, however, is exclusive to anyone that purchased "any HP Elite x3 bundle" before the end of January, 2017.
It"s worth noting that 40 hours isn"t a lot of time to get work done in a month; in fact, that"s a normal workweek for many people. HP says that when customers reach their limit on usage, they will not be immediately cut off. Instead, the company will reach out to the customer in attempt to get them to change their service plan.
HP recommends a connection of at least 1 megabit-per-second to use the service, but when we spoke to representatives from the company, they said that you"d probably prefer to have significantly more than that.
Interested in the Elite x3? Check out our unboxing and first impressions right here.