Want a flagship!...Get ready to have your hopes dashed!

[anon(5383410)]

Microsoft Demotes Lumia Smartphones As iOS Takes Priority - Forbes

Interesting perspective on the impact of the recent staffing decisions in Redmond. Obviously one man's opinion and I'm being entirely tongue-in-cheek, but certainly not impossible. The most noteworthy quote from the article:

"With the changes above, I’m expecting the Lumia hardware teams to focus on low- and mid-range handsets, but the goal will be on bringing consumers into Microsoft’s cloud-services rather than trying to fight Android and iOS on marketshare."

...and he tosses a few other daggers into the souls of all of the noble Windows Phone supporters, stomping on a few ponies along the way. Give it a quick read (it's not long) and feel free to offer up your interpretation of the reorganization and whether it could mean the end of high end wp devices. Or you can just hurl some random insults my way. Or both. Or neither.

 

[mathsisbest]

Microsoft is preparing windows 10. When the software is perfect, we will get perfect Lumia hardware.

Also, focusing on low/mid end handsets is a good way to fight android market share.

 

[ncbartschi]

I think Microsoft found a sweet spot with low-mid range phones, especially in emerging markets like India. However, Windows Phone has always been a "niche" market with respect to iOS and Android, so while I fully expect them to devote most of the energy into providing mid-range phones (as they clearly have done now since purchasing Nokia), I wouldn't go so far as to think they won't be devoted to providing flagship devices.

Just my quick take on it, but nevertheless an interesting article, and something that I've been thinking myself.

 

[heickelrrx]

Affrodable devies always great. 640 is an example. Not too extraordinary but really affrodable and capable.

 

[dkediger]

Certainly a popular opinion with the departures of Elop and cohorts and the apparent subsuming of "devices" under OS.

You could counter that, however, with how that strategy has worked for Apple.

And also an old sports analogy: If you return all your starters from a team that went 2-14, is that a good thing?

 

[Troyseph]

The 640 is a great example of the best bang for your buck, low end market and yet great. Can't compare to flagships that are 6 times more expensive, yet its not supposed to.

 

[bo_woods]

OMG. Microsoft CONFIRMED they were going to continue to make flagship devices

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...ws-10-smartphone-for-later-this-year--1281674

Why do people keep discussing what has already been confirmed

You only need two flagships a year... A regular model and its XL version

Budget phones on the other hand need to come in many levels to hit different price points, so of course they are going to make many of those

 

[realwarder]

I think the changes mean we're going to see many new high end devices.

There, now we all know what the future holds.

As OP says, one person's commentary is a guess. Only Microsoft know what is true. In the meantime more devices sell and get better and more capable.

I'm sure they have looked at the numbers in way more detail and accuracy than we have and know the long term return from Windows phones or just supporting apps on other platforms. That will drive their business decisions.

 

[PepperdotNet]

Somebody is going to make all that Continuum hardware.

 

[manicottiK]

Things written in Forbes by "contributor" are basically worthless as it's relatively easy for anyone to become a "contributor". I also generally ignore things written in Seeking Alpha and in The Motley Fool for similar reasons.

 

[DancingDave]

German newspaper "Welt" is reporting today that Microsoft is going to change their smartphone strategy completely with Windows 10:

There won't be heaps of Lumias anymore. Instead Microsoft will develop a "showcase device", similar to the Surface tablet. It won't be designed for the mass market but to show what's possible with the Windows 10 Mobile platform. That way other OEMs "will be able to develop and market their own devices". "Welt" says that this new strategy makes sense as Microsoft wasn't successful with cheap Lumias but lost lots of money without improving the market share - especially in the important Asian market.

Also on Friday Reuters was reporting that Microsoft will write off the whole 7.5 billion $ from the Nokia smartphone division purchase.

 

[bo_woods]

German newspaper "Welt" is reporting today that Microsoft is going to change their smartphone strategy completely with Windows 10:

There won't be heaps of Lumias anymore. Instead Microsoft will develop a "showcase device", similar to the Surface tablet. It won't be designed for the mass market but to show what's possible with the Windows 10 Mobile platform. That way other OEMs "will be able to develop and market their own devices". "Welt" says that this new strategy makes sense as Microsoft wasn't successful with cheap Lumias but lost lots of money without improving the market share - especially in the important Asian market.

Also on Friday Reuters was reporting that Microsoft will write off the whole 7.5 billion $ from the Nokia smartphone division purchase.

Surface Phone >

They just need to sell off Lumia to someone who will still dedicate heir time to making a good lineup of budget devices for windows and then my vision will be true... a clean Microsoft ecosystem

Surface
Surface Phone
Xbox
Hololens
Microsoft band

All running windows 10

All connected by and using MS services (Office,Onedrive, etc.)

 

[fatclue_98]

The Surface Phone idea is great and all. But unless carriers pick it up, who's going to shell out the big bucks for a high-end Windows Phone?

 

[bo_woods]

The Surface Phone idea is great and all. But unless carriers pick it up, who's going to shell out the big bucks for a high-end Windows Phone?

Nobody knows, we just have to hope that MS gets it into the hands of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile at least... Because regardless of what their flagship is called or what features it has, it will fail if it isn't in the hands of at least two of the four major carriers... That exclusive ish just is not going to work

 

[Musicman247]

The Surface Phone idea is great and all. But unless carriers pick it up, who's going to shell out the big bucks for a high-end Windows Phone?

The same kind of people who still buy Google Nexus devices. MS really should sell a high-end flagship, unlocked with every band imaginable, so people can take it to any network they want.

 

[vEEP pEEP]

Nokia will build phones again:
Get ready for new Nokia phones in 2016

Since that Android market is pretty competitive and Iphones is closed, WP might have a chance. A chance of a high end phone....

Maybe the low end market in Asia that is having WP growth will lead to the demand of more high end phones ...


Mr. V

 

[ttsoldier]

Omg. This again.

 

[bo_woods]

What was the point of selling Lumia off to MS if Nokia was just going to start fresh with phones all over again
.. They could've just started a new phone brand and ditched Lumia themselves

 

[chmun77]

When it comes, it comes. No point debating over the same old topic whether will we see a new flagship this year. Furthermore, it is more than just better hardware and flagships. Windows Phone need more app choices - just like on iOS and Android. More importantly, are developers buying the iOS / Android port ideas from Microsoft?? MS tends to align its directions every 2 years. From WP7 -> WP 8, drastic changes. From WP8 -> W10 phones, things changed again with Universal apps. If not, it is useless holding onto the latest highest end of Windows Phone when it has no app to run on.

?For now, Microsoft is the third player in the game. Every year and half Microsoft does a complete reset on its environment. First they had Pocket PC and then Windows Mobile. But Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 have been OS releases on mobile as well as the desktop. Windows Phone 8 had Windows RT. It was running their encapsulated runtime for desktop and they had about 60% API coverage of desktop on mobile. It was a complete start-over."

?They?ve gone from Windows Mobile to Windows 8/8.1, and now they?re jumping to Windows 10. From a carrier?s perspective, each is a complete rewrite and a brand new framework. It?s like switching operating systems every single time. A few months back they announced a Universal Windows Platform (the UWP framework) that?s supposed to fix things so you?ll write it once and it?ll work everywhere. But we?ve heard the ?write it once? claim before. With Windows 10 they officially have one operating system on Xbox, on tablets, on desktops and now phones. We?ll see.?

Mobile OSes and fragmentation: the insider's point of view

 

[Laura Knotek]

The same kind of people who still buy Google Nexus devices. MS really should sell a high-end flagship, unlocked with every band imaginable, so people can take it to any network they want.

There is a difference, though. If I want a Nexus 6, I can buy it from a carrier store. I don't have to buy it from Google.