"Run Office apps on a regular computer-sized monitor!" I can already do that, using the computer-sized computer connected to my computer-sized monitor.
"Setup is simple using Continuum-compatible accessories" So I have to buy a new keyboard/mouse/monitor/something else? (No, but it sounds like I might have to)
The pitch was "You can use your phone kind of like a PC, assuming every app you need runs on Windows phone" (which, for almost everyone, is absolutely not the case). If there's one thing Windows phone was famous for, it was not having apps.
Essentially, Microsoft was trying to pitch you a feature that let you use a phone + monitor and keyboard as a replacement for some of the apps on your PC. Not a compelling pitch, except for presentations.
Why did they not use it? Was it that the idea was inherently flawed or that the implementation didn’t live up to the promise? Remember how people said the iPod was just another music player, the iPhone wasn’t much different than earlier touchscreen devices or PDAs, etc.?
Circa 1998-1999 I was using a mobile device with a touchscreen and wireless broadband to surf the web and send email while sitting outside. Clearly the idea was good even if Handspring and Ricochet never managed to deliver it with few enough compromises to see mainstream success.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/continuum