HP Innovation Journal Issue 05: Winter 2016 | Page 20

travel light without sacrificing power; and
with technologists’ visions of a world with
only one device.
To realize this dream requires an enor-
mous leap in how a phone interfaces
with other screens. On the software side,
Continuum makes this possible.
Continuum is a scalable interface and
computing experience which transforms a
Windows mobile device into a full-desktop
PC when docked and attached to a larger
display, keyboard and mouse. Very early in
the design process, the HP team recognized
a unique opportunity to leverage Continuum
and established it as a cornerstone in the
Elite x3 experience.
As we thought about the
hardware...
Applying design thinking to the “One Life”
user led HP to create the Elite x3 ecosys-
tem with the Lap Dock; this innovative pe-
ripheral resembles a notebook computer
but is actually a client device for the Elite
x3, enabling mobile professionals to stay
productive while on the move.
Enterprise, consumers,
and the future
The underlying premise of the “One Life”
trend is that the end-users we serve in
the commercial segment are consumers
too. In other words, while
the engineering teams
enabled the functional
needs of the professional,
we were also aware of the
engagement of the user
at an emotional level.
Color and finish serves
as a good example of this
effort with months of de-
velopment investment on
key chassis components
consisting of metal alloys,
soft touch coating, and
non-conductive vacuum
metallization finishes. No
efforts were spared to en-
sure CMF “color, material,
HP Elite x3 puts the power of a PC in the palm of your hand.
20 Innovation Journal · Issue 5 · Winter 2016
finishes” looked and felt just right on the
product.
The same level of attention for design
and materials was also applied to secondary
accessories such as the wireless Desk Dock
and Lap Dock. The design team was also
involved in the design of secondary periph-
eral and accessories such as the wireless
charging dock and a series of cases—one
of which sourced fine Italian leather from
the fashion industry.
There is a generally held misconception
that Industrial Design is a narrow disci-
pline that addresses the aesthetics more
than creative problem solving. A solution
such as the Elite x3 could not have been
possible without the orthogonal thinking
and collaborative efforts of the multi-dis-
ciplinary design team consisting of human
factor specialists, mechanical engineers,
researchers, color and trend designers, and
material scientists. Even as this article is
being written, this very team is working on
the next generation of x3, building on the
philosophy of “One Life”, Microsoft WM10
Continuum, and HP’s innovative mobility
ecosystem. We are confident and optimistic
of what the future will bring. 

1 Ernst and Young Global Generations Survey, 2015
2 PWC Millennials at Work Study, 2011
3 Ernst and Young Global Generations Survey, 2015
4 IDC Consumerscape360 Survey, 2015; Ipsos/
Huddle survey, 2015
5 HP Ecosystem Pain Points Research, 2014, 2016
6 IDC Consumerscape360 Survey, 2016
7 HP Elite x3 foundational customer research,
2015/6
Eric Chen as Global Design Director,
Business Personal Systems, HP has been
involved in leading HP’s award winning
commercial industrial design organiza-
tion—infusing consumer aspirational
qualities into commercial products.
Todd Horvitz is responsible for customer
insights for commercial mobility.
He has held various research positions
in the US and Asia, most recently at the
Walt Disney Company.