Microsoft will charge $99 for an upcoming Display Dock device to connect next-generation Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL smartphones with full-sized keyboards and large desktop displays, a company spokeswoman told Computerworld late Thursday.


The device, roughly the size of a cigarette carton and with seven different ports, appears like your typical, lowly dock. However, Microsoft marketers have pointed out that the dock can turn a powerful Lumia smartphone into a near-fully functioning PC.


The new Lumia phones, expected to ship sometime in November, will run Windows 10, which is a cross-platform OS that runs on tablets, laptops and desktops as well. With the new OS, Microsoft has promoted the concept of unified apps that can work across various platforms under what it terms the Continuum concept.