Why go Windows phone?

[aneftp]

I've had windows phones (nokia lumias and HTC's).

Microsoft isn't gainining much ground on iOS or Android. Even with Blackberry's eventual demise, Microsoft doesn't stand to gain much in terms of Blackberries subscriber base.

What should Microsoft do next?

These are my two plans for Windows Phone OS

1. Just say screw the other OEMs. And make a hero Nokia next generation Windows Phone. Other OEMs are making half baked efforts anyways (HTC and Samsung). I haven't seen the numbers but I bet HTC and Samsung's Windows Phone sales are in the single digits as a percentage of their Android sells.

OR

2. Stop charging for Windows Phone OS license. Right now Microsoft I believe charges between $5-10 per phone for each windows phone sold. If they aren't selling many phones to began with, this extra $5-10 per phone doesn't represent much revenue.

Just make Windows Phone OS free to manufactuers.

That's the only way I see Microsoft gain traction in the current smartphone generation operating system wars.

 

[.macbookpro.]

For me, windows phone is really quite beautiful. The tiles, the minimalistic approach to design is wonderful.
Unfortunately the minimalistic approach was taken too far with the os.
Things like there not being a rotation lock, or a way to easily close backgrounded apps, or change from vibrate to silent.

I've experienced it for a year, but now its time to move on.

 

[Liquorpuki]

That's the only way I see Microsoft gain traction in the current smartphone generation operating system wars.

They're already gaining traction. Global share is rising, they've already hit double digit share in many countries. The US is one of the few countries where WP8 share is not gaining but that's looking more and more like the exception.

I would've loved to see what would've happened if MS didn't buy Nokia. Nokia was already seesawing from quarter to quarter between a small operating loss and profitability. That increased marketshare, plus the fact they pushed HTC and Samsung out of the WP8 market, would've inevitably led to consistent profitability and a great comeback story.

 

[b166er]

I loved my 920, but I couldn't stick around. My main reasons for bailing were the absolute zero Google presence, the terrible notifications (if you didn't have a tile for the app, you miss the notification), and the awful way the emails were threaded (every time I open the thread it had to re-download every message).

I got out before the amber update, what exactly did amber do for WP8?

I still really like the OS, and I am constantly considering going back if a few things were to change. Lack of apps was a major issue as well, it was frustrating not having my bank apps or school apps on the go.

 

[Vegastouch]

They don't even have instantgram to use with that 41 mp camera.


Or candy crush

Instagram sucks anyways.

The Windows phones are nice and work well but their app store is still just lacking. I have a Windows 8 laptop and thats what i find is their only issue.

 

[AppleRobert]

The 521 is now at BB and Microsoft stores for $99.

That is a pretty quick price drop. Hasn't it only been available a few months?

 

[Jessica Lares]

The 521 is now at BB and Microsoft stores for $99.

That is a pretty quick price drop. Hasn't it only been available a few months?

It's the same as the 520, except longer with an ugly T-Mobile logo to take up the space. So, basically people were paying like $30 more for an ugly logo when they could have the beautiful AT&T variant which doesn't show off that it's actually an AT&T device.

 

[watchthisspace]

I got to play with a Lumia 520 yesterday. For a "low spec" device. I admire how Windows Phone 8 flew on it.

If Microsoft can make Windows Phone work so well on mediocre/low spec phone hardware, I hope they cross over some of this to Windows itself and we might start seeing an O/S start has stella performance across the board.

 

[burgman]

It's the same as the 520, except longer with an ugly T-Mobile logo to take up the space. So, basically people were paying like $30 more for an ugly logo when they could have the beautiful AT&T variant which doesn't show off that it's actually an AT&T device.

I'll take the logo with WiFi calling that is an exclusive and nice addition.

 

[Savor]

Windows Phone is a beautiful OS. I used it for five months until my Samsung Focus got stolen. For a social media feeding OS, it probably has the best implementation with the live tiles and hubs. I love how it wasnt static and the sleek transition animations. I've admired that Metro UI look since the Zune HD came out in 2009. I use the UberMusic app as a default music app with a Metro UI skin. So a tiny piece of Microsoft's Metro UI influence is still there with me when I want to play music on my Android.

But I never wanted to go back to WP. It was a closed platform. It lacked practical apps I needed like Talkatone. The games were charged higher than the iOS/Android counterparts. I'm just NOT into Microsoft's services or ecosystem. Dont care for Bing or Internet Explorer. The Zune program was prettier than iTunes but graphic intensive with very little options to label your files. Any YouTube app on it was pretty horrendous. The Google Voice app was mediocre.

It is good to try like some people going on vacation to escape and catch some fresh air and then you go back to reality and to an OS with more practical apps. Alot of flash with very little substance. Like someone said earlier, they went too far trying to be more minimalistic. I can understand the visual appeal to iOS users, but since I'm more integrated into Google's apps, I can't see myself going back to Apple or Microsoft's closed platform. Apple went feminine with iOS7 and Microsoft went to simple and more useless than WinMo and Symbian.

For me, Linux-related Android for mobile OS and Ubuntu for a desktop OS. I like Android because it is more universal. WP & iOS has a combined 20% mobile user marketshare. And I use cross-platform messaging apps and not closed ones like iMessages. I prefer having an OS that can communicate with other branded phones and OSes and not just the same OS to same OS communicating only like AirDrop.

 

[ceva321]

You do know Nokia is owned by Microsoft

I didn't know that. Great

 

[mattopotamus]

I have started to look at windows phones b.c of nokia. The hardware and camera's they put out are phenomenal for a phone. As weird as it may sound, apps are not crazy important to me. I seriously just want a good camera after using this barely passable nexus 4 camera for a year.

 

[AppleRobert]

It's the same as the 520, except longer with an ugly T-Mobile logo to take up the space. So, basically people were paying like $30 more for an ugly logo when they could have the beautiful AT&T variant which doesn't show off that it's actually an AT&T device.

Actually, the 521 is on Metro PCS at Best Buy for $99. Don't know about any logos.

The 520 is now at Radio Shack for $79. I am pretty sure it is for AT&T on their GO phone program.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Actually, the 521 is on Metro PCS at Best Buy for $99. Don't know about any logos.

The 520 is now at Radio Shack for $79. I am pretty sure it is for AT&T on their GO phone program.

MetroPCS version is just a debranded version of the T-Mobile one with their stuff.

That's nice, a complete bargain at that price.

 

[Savor]

There was a time I liked both Windows Phone and webOS over iOS and Android. WP was just very fresh at the time with live tiles over static icons. And webOS was awesome at multi-tasking and the way we can kill apps/cards by swiping up was just satisfying. I was even a fan of QNX on the BB PlayBook because it seemed as more refined as webOS on a tablet.

Reason I had to go back to iOS were the apps. Reason I preferred Android over all of them is because it is an open platform.

 

[JaySoul]

Windows is perfectly good, they just missed the boat by coming out so late.

Apple and Google had clear strategies, Windows didn't.

 

[kasakka]

As a web developer I loathe the WP browser. It does weird things and is definitely not the same as the desktop IE. Also has a terrible lack of even the most basic options.

Based on my limited use of the platform, it seems like it becomes a bit unwieldy as the number of installed apps grows. It suffers from poor user interface design the same way Windows does. Despite being very fast, it isn't always intuitive to use.

I was also not crazy about Nokia's efforts. While cheaper, they don't really have any kind of flagship product and part of that was due to the platform limitations. The cameras seem to be the only thing that's getting better, otherwise it's still big bezels etc.

 

[watchthisspace]

As a web developer I loathe the WP browser. It does weird things and is definitely not the same as the desktop IE. Also has a terrible lack of even the most basic options.
.

Being based of IE:10 which complies with a lot of HTML5 stuff, what is hard about developing for the Windows Phone browser? Just curious.

 

[kasakka]

Being based of IE:10 which complies with a lot of HTML5 stuff, what is hard about developing for the Windows Phone browser? Just curious.

It's been a while but I remember having issues with media queries, JS touch events and some CSS styling. Things that worked just fine in all other mobile browsers as well as desktop IE10. Also pretty much no debugging tools (though now apparently some 3rd party solutions exist).

But the most aggravating thing was testing on actual devices. Since there is only a "clear everything" button which includes login cookies etc and sometimes requires app restart to truly clear, it made development a lot more annoying than it should be. It certainly wouldn't kill MS to offer separate "clear cache", "clear cookies" etc. options.

 

[vistadude]

If windows phone had an official google maps and google voice app, I would switch instantly. I don't care for instagram. I use facebook or twitter, but really only rarely. Windows phone has an awesome looking OS and it's very fast. Also it has good skype integration. It really only the lack of google presence.

 

[chagla]

i bought a Lumia 521 at a great price. less than $95. new unit. those with ATt can get Lumia 520 for around $90, new unit. makes a great backup/test phone.

plus points - generally windows phones are fast, extremely easy to use.

the main issues i have with wp - lack of apps, ios-like limitations.

so for the time being, i'm sticking with Android.

 

[watchthisspace]

It's been a while but I remember having issues with media queries, JS touch events and some CSS styling. Things that worked just fine in all other mobile browsers as well as desktop IE10. Also pretty much no debugging tools (though now apparently some 3rd party solutions exist).

But the most aggravating thing was testing on actual devices. Since there is only a "clear everything" button which includes login cookies etc and sometimes requires app restart to truly clear, it made development a lot more annoying than it should be. It certainly wouldn't kill MS to offer separate "clear cache", "clear cookies" etc. options.

That sounds like relatively basic things Microsoft is missing. A bit tardy when they're trying to boast how their IE client on Windows Phone is essentially IE:10 from the desktop.. No wonder Webkit so popular.

If windows phone had an official google maps and google voice app, I would switch instantly. I don't care for instagram. I use facebook or twitter, but really only rarely. Windows phone has an awesome looking OS and it's very fast. Also it has good skype integration. It really only the lack of google presence.

I hear Nokia HERE maps are on-par with Google Maps, but I've not used both to really compare the two. For Google Voice, there is MetroTalk that supports Google Voice ( http://www.wpcentral.com/metrotalk-multiple-account-google-voice-windowsphone ) It is a bummer Google won't be putting any effort into Windows Phone for the forceable future.

 

[Vetvito]

No such thing as a low end chip for windows phone. They all have the exact same chip, some just clocked faster than others. You put that same dual core snap dragon chip in a cheap android device and get the same speedy results.

Microsoft requirements for the chip is actually smart.

 

[vistadude]

Nokia here might be good for driving but not good for points of interest, street view, or public transport. It really doesn't compare with google. And all the google voice apps require you to forward your text messages to your gmail account, they're basically glorified email accounts. With google pulling out of exchange, I wonder if these apps and services are even fast considering how sms and google voice is supposed to be.

That sounds like relatively basic things Microsoft is missing. A bit tardy when they're trying to boast how their IE client on Windows Phone is essentially IE:10 from the desktop.. No wonder Webkit so popular.




I hear Nokia HERE maps are on-par with Google Maps, but I've not used both to really compare the two. For Google Voice, there is MetroTalk that supports Google Voice ( http://www.wpcentral.com/metrotalk-multiple-account-google-voice-windowsphone ) It is a bummer Google won't be putting any effort into Windows Phone for the forceable future.

 

[yjchua95]

They don't even have instantgram to use with that 41 mp camera.


Or candy crush

Have you heard of Hipstamatic OGGL for Windows Phone? It supports posting to Instagram.

Do you use a phone to play games or what? There's a reason it's called a phone

----------

Given the current OS wars, Microsoft would do better by paying developers to actually develop apps for Windows Phone.

Windows Phone's got an amazing UI and ease of usage, but the lack of apps is what turns most people off.

For me, it doesn't matter. I have a Lumia 1020 and an iPhone 5s. I use the Lumia 1020 primarily for Office 365 and several enterprise Microsoft services that my company uses. And the camera too.

Nokia HERE is great for driving. Very detailed maps. But when it comes to POIs…different story altogether.

Now, about the 1020's camera. It's amazing, sure, but I still carry a Canon 5D Mk3 whenever I'm traveling or on an assignment.

Microsoft also did a great job with the WP Connector app for OS X. It's about the only non-iOS operating system to be able to sync so smoothly with my Mac.

I have my iPhone 5s because I need it for using mainstream apps like Instagram that aren't on WP8 yet.

Oh, and about open platforms. Personally, I'm against open platforms, because they're open to all sorts of security risks and vulnerabilities. I prefer closed platforms, because they work in a unified way.