Continuum-enabled HP Elite x3 tries to breathe life into the Windows 10 Mobile enterprise market

HP is aiming to ignite the enterprise market for Windows 10 Mobile phones with the newly announced HP Elite x3. The 5.96-inch phone is verging on phablet territory and includes support for Windows 10's Continuum, allowing for conversion into -- essentially -- a fully-fledged computer.

A nippy Snapdragon 820 lies under the hood, and the 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM is joined by 64GB of storage, expandable through the use of a microSD card. Other stand-out features include not only a fingerprint scanner, but an iris scanner, as well as wireless charging and a USB Type-C port. Windows 10 Mobile may yet begin to gain traction, but HP is hoping that by catering to the business and enterprise markets, it will be able to carve itself a niche.

HP has been out of the smartphone game for a while now, so it is perhaps little surprise that its comeback device is something of a feature-packed powerhouse. There are dual, front-mounted stereo speakers, and the quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 runs at 2.15GHz.

The rear of the handset features a 16MP camera, complementing the 8MP front-facer, while the so-close-to-6-inches-it-hurts screen offers a resolution of 2560 × 1440 and is of the AMOLED Gorilla Glass 4 variety. The HP Elite x3 supports dual SIM, and other IP 67 water resistance. The 4150mAh battery supports both Qi and PMA wireless charging.

Catering to the security needs of businesses, the handset supports FIPS 140-2 cryptography and 256-bit key full disk encryption. But for the mobile worker, it is Continuum support that is likely to be the key selling point here. Plug the HP Elite x3 into the optional Desk Dock and you have a desktop computer. Alternatively, connect to the Mobile Extender and you have a 12.5-inch laptop complete with extra battery and full keyboard.

The handset is set to launch this summer, but there are no pricing details available just yet.