Microsoft's foldable PC is set to create a new market – digital journaling – later this year, but many can't see its value. Here is why we have such a hard time adjusting to new technology.

Microsoft is rumored to be releasing a foldable PC under its Surface brand later this year. Currently codenamed 'Andromeda' the Windows 10 device is set to usher in a new form factor to the market, but some are already saying say it can't succeed. Here is why new technology always seems unnecessary when it's first released and why that does not matter.

Is it a phone, a tablet, a PC? Which one is it supposed to replace? But what about apps? None of these questions are answerable as they are not relevant.

Andromeda is a new device category and for a lot of people that causes some minor cognitive dissonance when they try to imagine using it every day. The focus is digital inking, notetaking, creativity on the go, 3D creations and manipulation of images, reading books, jotting down ideas, and more. It is the vision of the original Microsoft Courier but made with today's technology instead of eight years ago. New tech? Don't need it. I've told the story many times of when I first got a Treo 650 smartphone and how it blew me away. Being familiar with Pocket PCs like the Dell Axim for a few years the marriage of cellular abilities with an operating system, apps, and a full keyboard was mind-blowing. The same was true with the PPC-6800 (the sequel to the groundbreaking PPC-6700). The thing is none of my friends or family agreed. Sure, by this time cell phones were becoming standard, but why check email, or have a keyboard on your phone? Just wait until you get home, problem solved. I was just being Dan – geeking-out over my new tech toys. I can repeat these stories for pagers, laptops, PDAs, and just about every piece of cutting edge technology I have bought over the years. Regular people never see the value in them (or they're too expensive). Therefore, when I hear people talk about Microsoft's Andromeda device – a foldable PC that fits in your pocket – and immediately dismissing it, I get déjà vu.

That's not to say Microsoft has a slam dunk on its hands with Andromeda. Very far from it. User experience, price, reliability, performance, feature set, all matter more than being different or new. One reason why the Apple iPhone is the standard bearer of smartphones and not Treos, BlackBerrys, or Pocket PCs, is due to one company figuring out the winning formula. Back in 2006, you were the oddball if you have a Treo mounted on your belt – the nerd, the info geek. In 2018, you are the weirdo if you don't have a smartphone. Times change and people learn to adjust. Look how ordinary it is now to know how many footsteps you take a day. Think outside of the box