Will Impatience Break Windows Phone?

Jazmac

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Yes, its one out of many videos but I have a question

I thought this was going to be yet another silly and petty hate about the Lumia and the OS video but as I stuck with it, I found myself wondering why this guy isn't at Redmond where he should be. But even more so, if he did make the points he made in this video, will they be able to make it happen? I think this was the best video on the Lumia 950 and Windows 10 Mobile I've seen, probably ever. Where the phone shines, he was really great about pointing out where. Where there are clearly weaknesses, he did a masterful job describing in detail where those shortcomings were and how these should be improved. And he did it without malice, which was key for me. I wasn't even aware of the tinny sound in the speaker since I never use a phone for music without phones but it should sound better especially if were spending premium bucks for the device. Ok, having said all that...

...my biggest question is this, are we eager Windows Phone fans pushing too hard to get to where IOS and Android is too hard and ultimately responsible for the shear number of stumbles coming out of Redmond?

There was a time when all we would read about was how out of parity Windows Phone specs and innovation are when compared with Samsung was building into phones. So Microsoft built a phone with "specs and innovation" at the same time it is building a NEW operating system that would satisfy us as well as the development community. But for many, including the reviewer in the video, and I believe him to be a true fan, could not recommend Redmond's seemingly best efforts.

What say you?
Note: The mods circle like lions on the Serengeti so be mindful.

lions on the hunt.jpg
 

Guytronic

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I found this guy negative in a good way.
He seemed a bit unwilling yet extremely honest.

Very informative for me Jaz...
 

someone2639

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I think it's more of the people yelling "W10M is dead!" On the streets. It'll only die with that attitude. At least people could say "when I take a photograph, the shutter sound won't play" instead of "AAAAAAGH W10SUX CANT EVEN PLAY SOUNDS IM GOING TO IPHONE!!!1!". MS will take longer trying to find your intended message than to identify and fix the bug.

But yeah, pushing MS too far could also be a problem, because then "shutter sound won't play" is of lower priority than "fix the UI, better than iOS and android, no more hints" and they're stuck in this time paradox because you need to be willing to give some details.
EDIT1: literally first 10 results on Windows Feedback: Hard to close tabs on Edge.
How is it hard? What were you doing? How many tabs were open? How many ads? Not a single detail other than the fact that it's "hard".
 

uselessrobot

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literally first 10 results on Windows Feedback: Hard to close tabs on Edge.
How is it hard? What were you doing? How many tabs were open? How many ads? Not a single detail other than the fact that it's "hard".

It's unreasonable to expect that level of detail from consumers. You're expecting them to do QA for Microsoft when they don't have the knowledge, experience or time to offer that level of detail. All they know is that something isn't working properly and good on them for reporting it at all.

Microsoft has the responsibility of taking that feedback and examining the problem themselves. They have internal QA teams who are supposed to identify problems like these and describe them in detail. And the thing about those stupid little close tab buttons is that we shouldn't be seeing this issue. This isn't some esoteric bit of functionality. This is a very basic principle that buttons need to be big enough to be comfortably tapped. There are numerous studies and guidelines dictating minimum sizes. I've even read some from Microsoft themselves.

Personally, I'm tired of dealing with this crap. And after 3+ years, I'm not even sure there's a worthwhile payout given the pathetic situation with the app store. That said, your average person knows nothing about Windows phone which means they know less about the issues we're experiencing. If harm is being done, I'd say it's in Europe where they've had a bigger marketshare.

However, if a legitimately good Surface Phone comes to market it might generate meaningful attention. People counted Microsoft out of the tablet market and yet here we are. Unfortunately, my confidence in the platform has been decimated. I'm holding on for now, but I think a Nexus phone is in my future.
 

RobsBrutal1

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I really think Microsoft are about to release a surface phone that will be spec'd out and built well like the surface tablet. Hopefully in a 5 and 5.5 inch size. The apps will pick up and hopefully the porting of iOS and android does a little also. They know what they are doing they hear the criticism and I believe they have a plan. They are staying quiet and then they are gonna just unload a huge announcement and keep making windows 10 better. I'm loving my Lumia 640 on the latest insider build. I know alot of people are experiencing issues but I have none at this time aside from a random crash here or there.
 

RumoredNow

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It's unreasonable to expect that level of detail from consumers. You're expecting them to do QA for Microsoft when they don't have the knowledge, experience or time to offer that level of detail. All they know is that something isn't working properly and good on them for reporting it at all.

I have to disagree here. It's not unreasonable. Consumers and the general public should know better. Details are severely important.

I spend a lot of time in Ask a Question. We get many detailed posts from registered members and guests. But we also get the vague statements and they drive me a bit batty.

Here's my analogy, consider a consultation with your doctor.

Correct way: Interact with the doctor, explain exactly what ails you and answer questions to help him form a diagnosis. The more descriptive you are, the better enabled the doctor is to cure you.

Incorrect way (and this is how many tech users report in): Call the doctor on the phone and say simply, "My side hurts." Then expect the doctor to make a diagnosis and give you the cure. The doctor can't see what you see and not mentioning details may very well mean the difference between life and death. The doctor on the phone might start hemming and hawing about kidney stones or appendicitis, muscle strain or back problems. Meanwhile the patient is bleeding to death because they fail to mention they have a butcher knife impaled in their abdomen. They somehow expect the doctor to mystically visualize the knife wound.

In the "Hard to close tabs on Edge" example even the simple detail of portrait vs landscape makes a huge difference. Getting details from users who want a fix should not be as hard as some users make it. It's not doing QA. It's asking for help to rectify a problem.
 

seldzar

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Man! it's so hard to close these tabs

6c8d61508321ac444175370124200350-640x360.jpg

I love how poor feedback and inability to articulate yourself is OK! and that Microsoft should just KNOW how to interpret the "feedback" and magically know EVERYTHING should be and make everything perfect for everyone.

uselessrobot:

Excuse for poor feedback (You don't understand me)
Expected omnipotence from MS (you should know how I feel even though I don't clearly tell you)
Rant about how bad things are and they're leaving (This isn't going to work out)
Potential promise of a return (Giving hope that they might come back if you change)

This is like a bad relationship breakup but it's about an inanimate tool which makes it even more sad. Every time I see this type of post I just imagine petulant whining children demanding their instant gratification. Make your choices and get on with it. If you're not going to try and be positive drive for change and just make excuses, you aren't helping.

For the record, I have NO problems closing tabs. Do I think they could make the button bigger? Sure, other people have different hand sizes.

Btw, can you help me? My side hurts....:grincry:
 
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uselessrobot

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I love how poor feedback and inability to articulate yourself is OK! and that Microsoft should just KNOW how to interpret the "feedback" and magically know EVERYTHING should be and make everything perfect for everyone.

Clearly you guys don't work in software software development. I do and vague feedback from clients is routine. We're lucky if we get specific, clear feedback. Sometimes we don't even get a response as specific as, "hard to close tabs".

Regardless, once we get that feedback two things happen. One is that my QA lead then tries to replicate the problem and offer her assessment. More critically, it is my job to interpret that information and then look for what may be causing the problem.

There are problems that don't affect every user equally. Some people might not see a problem. For others, they're able to muddle through without complaint; they internalize the issue and find a way to work around it. With the last group, it's a big source of frustration. The entire goal of UX design is to mitigate pressure points, to eliminate sources of frustration. The moment a team starts dismissing usability issues they've failed. Just because YOU don't have the problem doesn't mean there isn't a problem.

In the case of those close buttons, it isn't just size that's a concern. It's how close their hit area resides to other hit areas. Those buttons don't have the padding they need for such small elements.

Of course, in the scheme of things it's minor. But it's a symptom of larger problems with Windows 10. Sometimes people fixate on the element that embodies those problems.

If Windows phone had 20%+ market share, I'd agree that it's a relative non-issue. But we're talking barely 1% in the US. That makes mistakes, even small ones costly. However, given the problems people are experiencing with build .71 I think Microsoft has more important things to worry about.
 

seldzar

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While I agree with a lot of what you say, this post isn't so much about what people are saying but how they're saying it and how often.

It's more about the attitude around W10M "fans" and image and impression they create about the platform. When in reality, they are doing more harm than good and they think the opposite.

I cannot fault MS; they have been putting out update after update since win10 was released. More so than any other vendor that I've seen when you also consider the amount of back end changes being done to their platform, it's impressive.

If I look at my 950XL, I've had it since Jan 15th; so almost a month now and in that time frame I've had an official firmware and OS update as well as 2 more OS updates on insider. They're now pushing out another firmware update and we're likely to see another OS update this week or so.

So inside of 1 month of my purchase thats 2x firmware and 3x OS updates. This doesn't even include the countless app updates. My experience with co-workers who use W10M is the polar opposite of the constant negative feedback I see here. The difference is these are professionals who understand development processes and have patience and don't have an entitled instant gratification attitude.

As for working with software development. It's quite the opposite for me, I work with developers and QA every day so I'm quite aware of the challenges. I do find it odd that your customers provide bug information directly to QA and Dev rather than through the support process (which helps narrow the scope and clarify the issue) but then again, I don't know your product or service.
 

RumoredNow

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Clearly you guys don't work in software software development. I do and vague feedback from clients is routine.

True, I may not be compensated. But I've also problem solved for a lot of folks. It may be "routine" to not give info, but it isn't ideal and it certainly isn't conducive. And it does require follow up. If it is just a dropped complaint, then it should (and I'm sure it does in case of Microsoft staff) get looked at internally. But only a back and forth dialog will facilitate a solution for a specific end user.

There is a difference between Customer Service inquiries (I didn't like my pizza... OK we'll make you a new one free of charge on your next visit.) and a request for technical assistance (My pizza was burnt around the edges and the pepperoni was all dried out... I'm sorry: we'll check the oven temperatures and remake your pizza right now. I'll personally make sure it does not overcook). Let's not confuse the two and believe that they both are the same thing.

I'm certainly not suggesting Microsoft has a right to ignore complaints. I'm sure the tech support and customer service arms work side by side on many "reports" and that seems to be what you are outlining in your work experience above, but in the end they have to fall to the appropriate area for handling. It's unreasonable to believe every customer service level complaint is a tech support problem in need of a solution or that a solution be found by tech support for every vague complaint.

"The color is off on my phone." Tech support can investigate this and push firmware to recalibrate hue and saturation on every device display in the model range... That doesn't help the complainant who wants his battery cover to match the exact shade he saw on an advert photograph done under professional photography studio lighting.
 

someone2639

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It's unreasonable to expect that level of detail from consumers. You're expecting them to do QA for Microsoft when they don't have the knowledge, experience or time to offer that level of detail. All they know is that something isn't working properly and good on them for reporting it at all.

Still, even with the "reproduce problem" button, there could be 500 votes for "hard to close tabs" with 500 different reasons, and just 1 month or so to find all of them.
They could at least put what they did to make it easy to vote the right replication.
 

CraigCole

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Pushing too hard? Are you kidding? Microsoft shipped an OS that's CLEARLY not ready for public consumption. I've had every imaginable problem with my 950 and yet I still wait for new firmware from AT&T that might, but probably won't, fix anything. I despise nearly everything about this utterly unreliable phone; just feeling it in my pocket makes me angry because the next time I unlock it I know something else is not going to work correctly.

In my not-so-humble opinion W10M is horrible in nearly every way, especially after the hard reset they did on Saturday at the AT&T warranty replacement center. For instance, today I find out I've used 90 percent of my 2 GB data plan AND I WORK FROM HOME where I'm always on WiFi. This has NEVER HAPPENED before. It chewed through nearly 500 MBs of data in just four hours this morning (while losing more than 10 percent battery each hour BTW) and I have no clue why; it was in my pocket 95 percent of the time. Add this to the mountain of other failures my 950 has had and I NEVER want to own another Microsoft product of any kind ever again. If this is the best phone OS they can do spare everyone the hassle and just quit now.
 
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seldzar

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Pushing too hard? Are you kidding? Microsoft shipped an OS that's CLEARLY not ready for public consumption. I've had every imaginable problem with my 950 and yet I still wait for new firmware from AT&T that might, but probably won't, fix anything. I despise nearly everything about this utterly unreliable phone; just feeling it in my pocket makes me angry because the next time I unlock it I know something else is not going to work correctly.

In my not-so-humble opinion W10M is horrible in nearly every way, especially after the hard reset they did on Saturday at the AT&T warranty replacement center. For instance, today I find out I've used 90 percent of my 2 GB data plan AND I WORK FROM HOME where I'm always on WiFi. This has NEVER HAPPENED before. It chewed through nearly 500 MBs of data in just four hours this morning (while losing more than 10 percent battery each hour BTW) and I have no clue why; it was in my pocket 95 percent of the time. Add this to the mountain of other failures my 950 has had and I NEVER want to own another Microsoft product of any kind ever again. If this is the best phone OS they can do spare everyone the hassle and just quit now.

And this is an example of what is being discussed here: How you said it. I am not going to investigate your history to see how often you've said it but was what you said really helpful? Did you contribute to the discussion topic? Well, you did inadvertantly...
 

Jazmac

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Pushing too hard? Are you kidding? Microsoft shipped an OS that's CLEARLY not ready for public consumption. I've had every imaginable problem with my 950 and yet I still wait for new firmware from AT&T that might, but probably won't, fix anything. I despise nearly everything about this utterly unreliable phone; just feeling it in my pocket makes me angry because the next time I unlock it I know something else is not going to work correctly.

In my not-so-humble opinion W10M is horrible in nearly every way, especially after the hard reset they did on Saturday at the AT&T warranty replacement center. For instance, today I find out I've used 90 percent of my 2 GB data plan AND I WORK FROM HOME where I'm always on WiFi. This has NEVER HAPPENED before. It chewed through nearly 500 MBs of data in just four hours this morning (while losing more than 10 percent battery each hour BTW) and I have no clue why; it was in my pocket 95 percent of the time. Add this to the mountain of other failures my 950 has had and I NEVER want to own another Microsoft product of any kind ever again. If this is the best phone OS they can do spare everyone the hassle and just quit now.

I think it goes without saying but the question isn't to vent your disappointment with what you have. The video makes that point but the question you want to contribute to is if we as owners, supporters, enthusiasts, fanboys have become our own worse enemy. Please help push this topic along. Thank you.
 

CraigCole

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And this is an example of what is being discussed here: How you said it. I am not going to investigate your history to see how often you've said it but was what you said really helpful? Did you contribute to the discussion topic? Well, you did inadvertantly...

Sure it's helpful. If I can prevent someone else from making the same mistake I did, if I can save them the anguish of having to deal with a product that doesn't work as advertised then I'll feel like I've contributed. If I can prevent them from wasting $550 or more, all the better.

I think it goes without saying but the question isn't to vent your disappointment with what you have. The video makes that point but the question you want to contribute to is if we as owners, supporters, enthusiasts, fanboys have become our own worse enemy. Please help push this topic along. Thank you.

Thus far I've had four Windows Phones starting with a Samsung Focus. I've been a satisfied customer all this time, but the 950 with WM10 is completely unreliable in my experience. I simply cannot trust this device to perform the most basic tasks; I have my doubts that the alarm will sound on time or if I can even make a phone call.

It's 2015, why does this device chew through data? Why does it randomly restart? Why does it get hot for no reason? Why does the speaker hiss and pop? As a customer I shouldn't have to put up with this crap. Everyone seems to forget, this device is available to REAL CUSTOMERS, not just enthusiasts. Regular people won't -- nor should they -- have to deal with basic functionality issues. As an average Joe I don't give a dang whether the operating system is new or not; that's no excuse. Does it work properly, easily, smoothly? That's what I care about.

To the OP's question, why shouldn't we -- the Windows Phone fans -- expect a product that competes favorably with iOS and Android? Microsoft has been building Windows Phones for FIVE YEARS; they've had ample time to get it right, yet, for some reason, can't.
 

RobsBrutal1

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Sure it's helpful. If I can prevent someone else from making the same mistake I did, if I can save them the anguish of having to deal with a product that doesn't work as advertised then I'll feel like I've contributed. If I can prevent them from wasting $550 or more, all the better.



Thus far I've had four Windows Phones starting with a Samsung Focus. I've been a satisfied customer all this time, but the 950 with WM10 is completely unreliable in my experience. I simply cannot trust this device to perform the most basic tasks; I have my doubts that the alarm will sound on time or if I can even make a phone call.

It's 2015, why does this device chew through data? Why does it randomly restart? Why does it get hot for no reason? Why does the speaker hiss and pop? As a customer I shouldn't have to put up with this crap. Everyone seems to forget, this device is available to REAL CUSTOMERS, not just enthusiasts. Regular people won't -- nor should they -- have to deal with basic functionality issues. As an average Joe I don't give a dang whether the operating system is new or not; that's no excuse. Does it work properly, easily, smoothly? That's what I care about.

To the OP's question, why shouldn't we -- the Windows Phone fans -- expect a product that competes favorably with iOS and Android? Microsoft has been building Windows Phones for FIVE YEARS; they've had ample time to get it right, yet, for some reason, can't.
that's your experience on a 950. Windows 10 mobile has been great the last month for me on my 640. I'm really digging it and put my iPhone I'm a drawer and that's where it'll stay. Sorry you had a bad experience. If you're abandoning windows I'd suggest am iPhone. It's very nice a d from reading your comments I think it would suit your needs
 

Jazmac

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To the OP's question, why shouldn't we -- the Windows Phone fans -- expect a product that competes favorably with iOS and Android? Microsoft has been building Windows Phones for FIVE YEARS; they've had ample time to get it right, yet, for some reason, can't.
Noted.
 

Kram Sacul

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MS' incompetence is what will break Windows Phone/W10M. Impatience is the reaction from users that bought into this platform and expected things to just work. Remember when WP used to do that?
 

Giddora

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Yes, absolutely yes and without any hesitation. There is a small competing site with mods and authors that spew out negative and biased articles because they get more clicks and more income. They even ban people who do not wholeheartedly agree with the negativity that they spread, and this influence the community as a whole.

The community is what decides wether or not the OS will succeed, and I have felt for months now that there hardly isn't any community support at all. People whine to the left and right about their phones not working correctly while running a preview-version that Microsoft has given us to help make the system better by providing feedback. Three out of four of the "bugs" that people say is because of the OS isn't even registered once in the feedback system and the fourth of the four bugs have so few upvotes it can't affect more than a few hundred users out of the 4-5 million that actively use the system.

And the continous smirks about "Soon tm" and saying how Windows 10 Mobile is developed by two developers and the favorite: "Adding features to Ios/Android first, they should move these developers to Windows 10 Mobile instead"... Of course the OS is bleeding when this is the best we as supporters can give them.
 

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