I swear hanging around Microsoft forums is like a diet of Dostoyevsky and Leonard Cohen: sure to drive you to suicide. The chicken little reference is well observed.
Come on folks, Windows phone is growing steadily, especially among people new to smart phones. The updates may come too slow for us geeks, but are on time and the system works.
We share the most innovative platform since the original iPhone, which will integrate through the cloud more closely with our Xboxes and PCs, and thanks to Nokia, our phones are SEXY! My rocket red 920 turns heads and even the 520 is a neat little device.
Meanwhile Apple have stagnated and Samsung are throwing money at their devices. They may be ahead, but they don't have a coherent plan. They are reacting while Microsoft and Nokia have the initiative.
Contrary to some opinions, I have become convinced that Android's success has very little to do with Android itself. Android users I know tend to follow a trend lead by OEMs and network providers, who have been seduced by Android being free and customisable. However, Microsoft has been leveraging their patent portfolio to ramp up the cost of Android and the customisation in Android comes with a heavy price: Android wastes memory so much it only runs adequately on high-end devices. This means that users are very dissatisfied with their droids, effectively putting new users off while building a reservoir of future Windows phone customers. Now network providers like Verison and Vodaphone are embracing WP, because the market is turning.
This is why both Acer and Huawei are complaining about the license fee for using Windows Phone. They want to follow Nokia but don't want commit the resources, but continued growth will bring them on board. Meanwhile, Google are bad-mouthing Microsoft for the simple reason they have no answer. All that money and no vision. I'm almost sorry for them.
The Microsoft/Nokia plan is working. Yes, its slow, but it was always going to be - the market has a lot of inertia.
So please, brighten up and be a little more positive. They're kicking up a Sh*tstorm, because we're winning.