I'm losing patience with Windows Phone!

[DoctorSaline]

It's just mindless ranting. It's one thing to expect more from Microsoft, but it's another to want it so much that you're snapping at people you've never met.

I read it all. You were very civil and snapping was uncalled for.

I'm sorry if it seemed I was taking sides. I wasn't. I was just agreeing with his core points regardless of the manner or logic in which they were presented. *Peace*

 

[Brandon Tobias]

been a long-time supporter of the platform, started with a Samsung Focus, then had a Focus S, Lumia 900, Lumia 920, and upgraded this year to the 1020 and I love the hardware, I love the OS, but the apps and peripheral devices, or lack thereof is really killing this platform! lets start with the apps..

While all the major apps are on the platform (still waiting for minecraft & candy Crush, btw...), there are so many apps that I would use on a daily basis that just aren't there, and their 3rd party iterations are depressing. Map my Run & Map My Ride are horrible, don't work, have been abandoned by the developers. I am the parent of a competitive swimmer, and there is a great app called Meet Mobile on the other platforms, devs have NO plans on making a WP app. Other than Fitbit (which just got support for the platform) none of the other smartbands are compatible. I am holding out that the MS smartband is actually decent, BUT, if it uses Bing Health & Fitness as the core app, then I will throw my 1020 in the garbage. Bing health would be good, if it were user friendly. Adding an exercise to it, or got forbid tracking your daily eating is so cumbersome, its almost un-usable. MS needs to buy MyFitnessPal and call it Bing Health and Fitness, so much more user-friendly!

Xbox Music & Xbox Video, I have 2 words for you "Amazon Prime". Make your products walk and talk like Amazon prime or you will continue to lose marketshare, right now, these apps are barely usable. Imagine a flat rate for the "Xbox Marketplace" where you could stream music, watch the vast library of TV & movies, and here's a thought...add the B&N Nook account in for a reader/book store??? Why did they invest so much money with Barnes & Noble to turn around and do ZERO with the relationship??? How can you not expect to dump subscribers when you allow Amazon prime on the Xbox One? Imagine it, a single app that has music, video, books & magazines, and you pay a flat rate for all services? I would pay $100 a year for that, heck I pay $15 a month for a "barely decent" music service from MS. If Amazon Prime ever came to the Windows Phone, I would cancel my Xbox Music account immediately!

Like I said before, I like the OS, but what MS has done to make it better is ridiculous! The core services are so disconnected, and to be honest, the future looks so dismal with no flagship phone coming out for the holidays...its not looking very good for the platform anyway...I hope I am wrong.

I am looking at the Kindle Fire Phone as a serious replacement, and I don't even have a prime account with them...that's how disappointed I am in the platform. Cortana isn't enough to make me stay...im sick of not getting access to the services that Android & IOS get.

A note 4i can understand even a nexus but a fire phone .... Just wow coming from android I can understand how you feel the OS is okay but its poor app support and poor MS service infrstiobs is abysmal . Check the nexus 5 or even blackberry 10its surprisingly good.

 

[nicfromwales]

youre right, im sorry. I started this thread talking about the fire phone...my bad. But that doesn't change the fact that MS is losing this fight, and firming up its service offering to make the platform more attractive would be a nice gesture. And yes, its ranting, but if I don't rant, then no one will know how I feel about this platform. I hope someone from MS reads these forums, and see's how un-happy some of us are with the direction the platform is going.

Okay, apology accepted. I hope you find the right phone for you, Microsoft or otherwise.

 

[wpfan86]

that's easy, make the platform attractive to developers and hardware manufacturers!

You realize that's not actually a suggestion or an idea, right? That's like asking what a sports team should do to get to first place and someone responding, "Easy! Play better and win more games!" Or a person asking how to become wealthy and you responding, "Easy! Get more money!"

No $&%!, Sherlock. The question is HOW.

 

[broar94]

Micosoft cant' do anything about the app store. It's the market share of WP that causes developers not to develop anything; its really frustrating. We need to encourage people to try out WP first, and MS to market WP like how Samsung does. Im sure that will help.

As for the apps, You can be in the waiting game if you want. If you can't, its best to just move on . My 2 cents.

 

[DoctorSaline]

Micosoft cant' do anything about the app store.

While it is true MS can't do anything about 3rd party apps, what they can do is to improve their own apps and services and set a precedent for 3rd party developers to follow.

What sort of message do you think goes to developers when MS can't even get its own Music, Video, Skype, Calendar and other apps right on its own platform?

 

[broar94]

Unfortunately What MS does with its own apps has nothing to do with how 3rd party developers think about their own apps. .

 

[psudotechzealot]

Amazon fire phone though?

 

[colinkiama]

been a long-time supporter of the platform, started with a Samsung Focus, then had a Focus S, Lumia 900, Lumia 920, and upgraded this year to the 1020 and I love the hardware, I love the OS, but the apps and peripheral devices, or lack thereof is really killing this platform! lets start with the apps..

While all the major apps are on the platform (still waiting for minecraft & candy Crush, btw...), there are so many apps that I would use on a daily basis that just aren't there, and their 3rd party iterations are depressing. Map my Run & Map My Ride are horrible, don't work, have been abandoned by the developers. I am the parent of a competitive swimmer, and there is a great app called Meet Mobile on the other platforms, devs have NO plans on making a WP app. Other than Fitbit (which just got support for the platform) none of the other smartbands are compatible. I am holding out that the MS smartband is actually decent, BUT, if it uses Bing Health & Fitness as the core app, then I will throw my 1020 in the garbage. Bing health would be good, if it were user friendly. Adding an exercise to it, or got forbid tracking your daily eating is so cumbersome, its almost un-usable. MS needs to buy MyFitnessPal and call it Bing Health and Fitness, so much more user-friendly!

Xbox Music & Xbox Video, I have 2 words for you "Amazon Prime". Make your products walk and talk like Amazon prime or you will continue to lose marketshare, right now, these apps are barely usable. Imagine a flat rate for the "Xbox Marketplace" where you could stream music, watch the vast library of TV & movies, and here's a thought...add the B&N Nook account in for a reader/book store??? Why did they invest so much money with Barnes & Noble to turn around and do ZERO with the relationship??? How can you not expect to dump subscribers when you allow Amazon prime on the Xbox One? Imagine it, a single app that has music, video, books & magazines, and you pay a flat rate for all services? I would pay $100 a year for that, heck I pay $15 a month for a "barely decent" music service from MS. If Amazon Prime ever came to the Windows Phone, I would cancel my Xbox Music account immediately!

Like I said before, I like the OS, but what MS has done to make it better is ridiculous! The core services are so disconnected, and to be honest, the future looks so dismal with no flagship phone coming out for the holidays...its not looking very good for the platform anyway...I hope I am wrong.

I am looking at the Kindle Fire Phone as a serious replacement, and I don't even have a prime account with them...that's how disappointed I am in the platform. Cortana isn't enough to make me stay...im sick of not getting access to the services that Android & IOS get.

Go get an iPhone or Android then. Enjoy your services and apps there. Go. No one is stopping you. You can't handle windows phone so leave.

 

[badr0b0t]

When android platform was released, there was a ratio of like 10K apps vs 100K apps for android and iOS respectively. Then android apps started to grow after that. Give it some more time. It's maybe too early to judge WP platform due to app gap.


Fire Phone? Did you know that a fire phone does not even have the option to organize icons on start screen? When you pin a program, it's randomly placed and there's no way to change it.

 

[Rogarh]

I suppose your decision is based on what you really need your smartphone. My case is typical of a business user (I?m into HR): lots of Office, email, browser, WhatsApp, Skype, LinkedIn, a great camera, etc. I'm not that into games and other entertaining stuff (for which I prefer to use devices with larger screens anyway). BTW, I love the integration WP has with OneDrive. I concede that if you are into getting whatever app is raving on iTunes or GooglePlay you will probably be disappointed. However this has been improving and will surely get better in 2015 as more WPs debut; and as a result, its global user base grows noticeably. Overall, though, WP is an excellent platform.

 

[BobLobIaw]

If I felt like I were waiting for something from Windows Phone I would certainly choose another mobile OS. Windows Phone works well for me right now. I know it can improve in many areas, but that will only make a satisfactory situation better.

If Windows Phone isn't working for you, try something else. You only live once.

 

[badr0b0t]

I've never had an iPhone, because having an iPad and iPod made me not like getting an iPhone.
My last phone was an android. Still have it till now but not using it since I got my 1520.
From the beginning I hated WP too for lacking the apps I used to have with android. But it's just a matter of being creative. Android became too boring for me.

 

[stephen_az]

Is it too much to ask for to have an ecosystem that works???? And don't give me your crap about moving on, I demand that MS fix this platform. As a consumer, I have that right!

Actually, you have the right to whine and moan to your heart's content but beyond that you have no rights. You bought a product with an OS that fulfills its claimed functions even if you do not like some of the ways it does so. They are under no obligation to ever release any updates, nor are they compelled to go convince the developers of the apps you want to develop them, so demanding anyone do anything is just silly. You bought a device lacking things apparently important to you but not present in the platform. How is that anyone's fault but your own?

As far at the Amazon model goes, I don't know whether you have noticed but Amazon is hardly the most willing of partners, and is as likely to use its services as a wedge to draw customers away, as play nice. The only mobile device platforms they actively support are its own and ios. Throw in the fact that Amazon is greatly threatened on the business cloud front by Microsoft's efforts and take a guess as to how likely they will be to license their entertainment services to Microsoft for its competing platform.

Then again, this is all a matter of perspective anyway. I use Amazon for many things and am a prime member but I find their music service to be second rate and video service to be no better than Xbox video (with an inferior web interface for those of use who will not buy an Amazon tablet, etc.). For that matter, have you ever seen the Amazon video interface for Roku? To say it is clumsy and primitive, and that the video quality is frequently substandard, would be too much of a compliment.

Seriously, if you are not happy with the platform and are enamored with how Amazon does things then you have the right to switch. Indeed that is a right you always retain, much like the ability to complain. Demanding a billion dollar company do things your way, and meet your needs which you should have known it did not meet at time of purchase, takes the idea of tilting at windmills to extremes. Gave up on the Don Quixote approach to life a long time ago....

 

[big dooze]

wow, I must be the only person who thinks there are flaws with the platform! Everyone that has been ganging up on me must not have ANY app resentment toward IOS & Android, AND all of their peripheral devices are 100% supported and the Windows ecosystem lives up to ALL of their wishes. To me, the Microsoft ecosystem is broken. They broke it when they stripped Zune app (functionality) away and forced us to use Xbox Music which it took 2 years to get a video App, a music app that is half-baked and can someone please explain to me....why on gods green earth do podcasts "require" their own app?

The Billion dollar company you speak of had better start listening to its customers, since they have made mistake after mistake in the consumer space since the Xbox 360, de-coupling Zune from the Phone OS, discontinuing Windows Media Center, Windows RT, Windows 8 Modern interface, Xbox One release marketing....do I need to continue? At 2.5% of the market share, I don't foresee Microsoft supporting this OS much longer, I REALLY hope I am wrong because despite what you think , I do enjoy it. I love the fact it doesn't look like an iPhone or Android, but I hate the fact it gets little more attention than blackberry...but ESXCUSE THE HELL OUT OF ME for voicing my opinion on this forum.

 

[jleebiker]

I just want all the same "experiences" the other platforms get, I feel like Windows Phones entertainment services are crap! It's not the phone or the OS, but the Xbox services as a whole. They need to get with the program or perhaps Nadella is correct in considering dumping Xbox and Windows phone....I hope not, we have a decent platform, lots of room for improvement.

You're not the only one frustrated over app parity. Unless there is some compelling reason, hardware or OS simply doesn't support a feature, the app should work the same way on all platforms. The user should have the same experience no matter what platform they are running it on.

As for the flagship phone, it's the classic chicken-and-the-egg situation. Sales need to come up before manuf will look at pushing the envelope, but people won't buy unless there is something "wiz-bang" TO buy.

 

[ScruffyT]

I do care, I want it to succeed, just tired of the lack of "real" support its getting from its own company. They took 2 years to get Xbox Video app on the phone....2 YEARS!!!! Why cant we get a real You Tube app? How come I can go to the Microsoft Store and buy a Polar Loop smartband that wont sync to my phone??

Plus, I am paying a premium price for a "less than premium" with xbox music. What is $14.99 getting me? Unlimited music??? I can get that, plus tv shows and movies from Amazon for almost half the price!!!! Where is the 'value-add' to Xbox Music at this point?

Granted, the Fire phone is a gimmick, and android dispose of gimmick phones as quickly as they release them (facebook phone ring any bells??). All I want is the same level of service that IOS and Android get. Its up to MS to deliver that. If they continue to deny me of those services, then I will leave, and I will cancel my subscriptions.

1. Hasn't the youtube problem been because of google's lack of support? Why not just use a 3rd party? I don't know about uploading, but the viewing experience for WP 3rd party apps have always been better, to me, than the official apps on iOS and Android.

2. Well, I have Prime--mainly use it for free shipping--and as far as I can tell, the music selection is severely lacking compared to xbox music. The video selection is also not that amazing either. I assume the xbox music premium is for the catalog like other subscription services. Now, I do agree that WP 8.1 services sound horrible (I'm still stuck on 8.0 on my 920). With all that being said I would like to see Microsoft bundle everything.

wow, I must be the only person who thinks there are flaws with the platform! Everyone that has been ganging up on me must not have ANY app resentment toward IOS & Android, AND all of their peripheral devices are 100% supported and the Windows ecosystem lives up to ALL of their wishes. To me, the Microsoft ecosystem is broken. They broke it when they stripped Zune app (functionality) away and forced us to use Xbox Music which it took 2 years to get a video App, a music app that is half-baked and can someone please explain to me....why on gods green earth do podcasts "require" their own app?

The Billion dollar company you speak of had better start listening to its customers, since they have made mistake after mistake in the consumer space since the Xbox 360, de-coupling Zune from the Phone OS, discontinuing Windows Media Center, Windows RT, Windows 8 Modern interface, Xbox One release marketing....do I need to continue? At 2.5% of the market share, I don't foresee Microsoft supporting this OS much longer, I REALLY hope I am wrong because despite what you think , I do enjoy it. I love the fact it doesn't look like an iPhone or Android, but I hate the fact it gets little more attention than blackberry...but ESXCUSE THE HELL OUT OF ME for voicing my opinion on this forum.

Well, to be fair, a huge part of why I don't have any app envy is because I still have my iTouch 4. And I really don't use it that much. So yes, I'm able to get by pretty well with what's offered on WP currently. Thankfully, I also don't use xbox video either. But, I also don't have buyer's remorse because, as a former android user and still iOS user, there are quite a few things I dislike about the two platforms.

Also, like others have said, a huge part of why WP is lacking in apps is because of marketshare. Plenty of devs simply have no desire to bring an app over, and if they do they may have no desire to support it.It really is a waiting game unfortunately. And, seeing how marketing appears to be handled, I can see your frustration.

As for the doom and gloom, it just doesn't make sense that Microsoft wouldn't try to at least ride it out for a little while longer. Windows 8 devices appear to only be getting cheaper and atom is more powerful as well. If wintel and OEMs can make a big push for W9 and tablets/hybrids, especially on the lower end, I'd think that WP's market share would rise a bit. Plus, the most of the "mistakes" are because of microsoft's bid for the future. Personally, I agree with the vision. I'm also not a corporate exec and try not to let hindsight bias influence me too much. But sure, yeah, it does seem as if microsoft is a bit disorganized. I guess it's the price of being a sleeping giant. I'm also sure that a list can be made of things that microsoft has done well over the past few years as well

But yeah, if apps are a huge problem, you should probably switch platforms and come back later of Microsoft's low-end strategy finally pays off or W9 gives WP a push or maybe even xbox one.

Also, it may be worth pointing that android and apple (<-wording is intentional) have received their fair share of flack over the years and here recently as well. Mindshare is just one son of a B.

 

[lordsnow]

With Windows Phone is a step forward, two steps back. Always been this way.
They give us new old features and chop off the good ones from the OS (the hubs, THE HUBS...).
Windows Phone nowadays is like a Android system with much less than half apps available.
I actually think about changing OS. Not Android, most likely iOS.

 

[TechFreak1]

I'm losing my eye sight reading these posts! :winktongue:

On a serious note, the OP does raise some valid points and since I have not been able to install GDR1 one yet, I have not been able to check the "improvements" in the updated xbox music app.

Since I rarely watch movies on my phone, I have virtually no feedback in regards to the xbox video app and I have a xbox one / laptop / ps3 (currently only used for BBC iplayer, after the x1 app it would it would become pretty much redundant) for watching movies.

The thing is MS is at still at it's heart software company and will always cater to the mass audience, just like any other company. I wouldn't be surprised if they announced the Touch version of Office for Android before the Windows 8+ version (Gemini). Now that amazon has released their "fire phone" it will be interesting to see if they do update their apps on windows phone.

I don't think we will see an amazon prime app as a consolidated app, as they have separated their services in different apps i.e instant video, mp3 store, amazon app (for shopping).

 

[Blu3V3nom07]

I like to buy my phones because I like the OS, and not because what apps it has. I recently bought a Android tablet, and wow I still don't care about apps. I watch more video, listen to Xbox Music Subscription and podcasts. I've only bought one game on Android, and I've played it like once. I would love to have way more apps on WP, I sort of just get over it. I came from Blackberry, and I'm over that now. I badly want to wanna upgrade from this HTC Radar, and I'm absolutely not considering any other platform, and I love that I'm looking forward to WP9 preview at the end of September.

Its whatever I guess, but damn I sure wouldn't buy a Fire phone over Android/iOS. I remember this one girl that gave me advice once, and she simply said "Its all about the party, man." Relax and wait, or buy something and probably not be happy with Fire phone. Whatever. You also remind me of my friend, where he's happier with Android not because he likes the apps nor OS, but F Windows Phone that's why.

And YouTube can cblock WP all day for the next 10 years, and WP can't do anything about that.