My theory on why the 950 family is exclusive to ATT for now.

[anon(8141431)]

So, Microsoft said that they will handle the updates on their own.
But they had some hiccups in the past like the denim update taking wayy too long to reach the ICON etc. Especially with vzw and T-mo.

According to Thurrot, Microsoft is shipping the 950s without iris scanning. And Some reports stated that Wireless continuum will come as an OTA in December. Microsoft needs to update their phones. And given their "less than stellar" relationship with vzw and T-mo, they might be waiting for the iris scanning and wireless continuum updates to drop so that the phones will ship with both these features on T-mo and vzw.

So... They not letting T-mo and others carry it now might turn out to be a good thing in the long run.....

Just a theory. No sources.

 

[o4komodo]

So, Microsoft said that they will handle the updates on their own.
But they had some hiccups in the past like the denim update taking wayy too long to reach the ICON etc. Especially with vzw and T-mo.

According to Thurrot, Microsoft is shipping the 950s without iris scanning. And Some reports stated that Wireless continuum will come as an OTA in December. Microsoft needs to update their phones. And given their "less than stellar" relationship with vzw and T-mo, they might be waiting for the iris scanning and wireless continuum updates to drop so that the phones will ship with both these features on T-mo and vzw.

So... They not letting T-mo and others carry it now might turn out to be a good thing in the long run.....

Just a theory. No sources.

Haven't checked where to find Windows Hello with my brief moment with the phones but Continuum was on both devices when I looked at them at my MSFT store.

 

[wiederman]

I think its more that the 950 and 950XL are stop gaps for the dedicated fans and that a surface phone will be announced next year on the large carriers...

 

[laffnpanda]

My working theory is that since Tmo has less commonly supported bandwidths, MS doesn't want to go through the trouble with Adding or modifying the parts purchased to support the phone, so MS will sell the ATT (GSM) variant of the phone, unbranded and unlocked at their stores, so it will work on T-Mo's network, but it won't be as efficient if it was made/adjusted for T-Mo. And you're correct on why MS has held their relationship with Verizon and Tmobile at arms distance.

 

[DesaiDeas]

You are getting close, by suggesting internal requirements for release are holding back Microsoft from pushing this into the carriers but it all has a lot to do with strategy.

Three main facts about carrier avail.
-John Leger tmobile...said they never talked to them
-uncarrier initiatives across all us carriers have unbundled the subsidies for phones.
-Carriers require inventory, marketing spend, training and hope that repa won't drive customers away to other r products.


By reducing carrier availability Microsoft has direct control and analytics on purchasing behavior and inventory needed. They only need to order 250k handsets at a time rather than 1.50 million to get it in every storefront.
On initial sales Microsoft retains 100% of profit margin.
Diehard customer base that has been holding on to old hardware immediately makes a decision to continue or switch to Android and iPhone, and they'll know it if the Microsoft accounts are accessed from new mobile platforms.
Additional grooming of early adopter enthusiast segment sill allow them to learn and evangelize key differentiators.
Third party accessories also do not have unpredictable and inventory carrying cost.

W10 mobile has time to go gold for December and be as polished as possible for review/judgment.

Microsoft could get financing setup for monthly payments, if it is a successful program for Apple and its worth it to carry the risk/interest.

All in all this makes WinPhone division extremely efficient in its use of capital and assumes tight controls over the finances of the business venture.

Last, but most importantly, it gives much needed time for islandwood/Astoria to come to fruition and nab deployments for the top 500 apps that aren't on the marketplace yet, diminishing the app gap debate.

 

[ksj1]

So, Microsoft said that they will handle the updates on their own.
But they had some hiccups in the past like the denim update taking wayy too long to reach the ICON etc. Especially with vzw and T-mo.

According to Thurrot, Microsoft is shipping the 950s without iris scanning. And Some reports stated that Wireless continuum will come as an OTA in December. Microsoft needs to update their phones. And given their "less than stellar" relationship with vzw and T-mo, they might be waiting for the iris scanning and wireless continuum updates to drop so that the phones will ship with both these features on T-mo and vzw.

So... They not letting T-mo and others carry it now might turn out to be a good thing in the long run.....

Just a theory. No sources.

Nope. The phones support all of TMO's LTE bands out of the box. They support VoLTE and Wifi calling out of the box as well. Msft has also stated that the phones will work on TMO's network.

 

[anon(8141431)]

Haven't checked where to find Windows Hello with my brief moment with the phones but Continuum was on both devices when I looked at them at my MSFT store.

not continuum. Wireless continuum via Miracast and Bluetooth.

 

[o4komodo]

not continuum. Wireless continuum via Miracast and Bluetooth.

When you open Continuum you get a choice for wired or wireless connection

 

[MiloTheOne]

I believe they are making their move like apple did when the iPhone was strictly at&t. Very smart move because the lack of not having that option made people jump ship. Financially and strategically it's the move to make to not have money go down the toilet.

 

[jlangner]

My working theory is that since Tmo has less commonly supported bandwidths, MS doesn't want to go through the trouble with Adding or modifying the parts purchased to support the phone, so MS will sell the ATT (GSM) variant of the phone, unbranded and unlocked at their stores, so it will work on T-Mo's network, but it won't be as efficient if it was made/adjusted for T-Mo. And you're correct on why MS has held their relationship with Verizon and Tmobile at arms distance.

Not true on T-Mobile. Been stated many times unlocked will work on T-Mobile. Also doesn't explain why it appears microsoftstore.com will not initially have 950 unlocked.

 

[manicottiK]

...doesn't explain why it appears microsoftstore.com will not initially have 950 unlocked.

Could it be that 1) AT&T wants to carry just one Microsoft handset, 2) that they think that the 5.2" model is likely to be the more popular one, and 3) they'd like a little bit of non-compete from Microsoft to try to get some traffic in to their own stores? Sure -- but I don't know if that's what's going on.

Microsoft stores will carry the XL model at launch. Maybe, after some non-compete time, Microsoft will start carrying the 950. I won't even speculate about whether that'll be an AT&T-branded version or a "country variant." Also, if the XL is a big seller, maybe AT&T will ask for a version of that, too.

None of us know what's in the contracts or what's been discussed by Microsoft and AT&T.

 

[dakken]

I think Microsoft is waiting to see how much interest there actually is in these new phones before committing to producing large numbers and having to take another huge write off.

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