Whats it going to take to convert IPhone/Android users to Windows Phone

[bergeronjc#WN]

They are going to want to make the switch. No matter what MS say or do. No matter what the marketing campaign is. If people are happy with Android, they are not going to leave it. Why would they?

Exactly. I'm happy with Android right now, so why leave it? Now if in the future it just gets bloated with pointless stuff and starts to run like a Windows PC, I'll switch. There really is no amount of marketing that could make me switch.

I have a Focus and love it, but the camera sucks (sever shutter lag) and I can't view a picture in the background.

 

[homegeek]

After just switching from IOS and Android to Mango there are a couple of issues that I have a problem with Windows.

1. I really hate the purchase system in Zune. I do not want to have to buy points! This way I have to pay upfront for things and probably get stuck for points I wont use in the end. I prefer to pay for things as I want them.

2. Developers! They still need more mainstream development for the OS. A lot of apps I see are still for only IOS and Android. You can't even find a decent instant messaging client. According to the marketplace there are only 2 and they both are poorly rated.

3. I don't know if this is phone specific but I really hate that there is only a single volume control for all options on the phone (Phone Calls, Media, Bluetooth).

4. There is not very much customization when it comes to the UI. Just some basic changes in color but no real customization of backgrounds.

 

[Speebs]

The app catalog isn't the issue at all. Like any other smartphone, you can go into a market and download apps. But being a smartphone, there should be alot more room to customize and organize the user interface. Also there are very limited settings for general phone use. Wp7 almost feels like a demo version.. You get to use the metro UI and you have a list of apps, but when you delve deeper into settings, you can't do much else.
I am not knocking this phone, just trying to state why people may not wanna convert to it.

I had to quote this because I think it's really important. The UI doesn't feel super polished. Even things like rounded corners on the boxes, gradients, etc. can go a really long way in making a UI feel nicer. WP7 feels.... clinical and antiseptic.

 

[jleebiker]

I feel the OS is much more polished than anything Droid had. It is simple and clean. Just what I want. I don't need a TON of configuration options.

 

[KingCrimson]

Look iPhone and Android have 100% mindshare right now. Microsoft is at rock bottom so they can only go up from here. The key is staying patient and having faith in their overall vision of tying PC + Tablet + Phone together in one ecosystem.

 

[kevm14]

Chrome is not polish; it's just superfluous.

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[KingCrimson]

Chrome is not polish; it's just superfluous.

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I like that Microsoft is going chrome-less with Windows 8 and WP7.5.

 

[Matthew Mazzenga]

You can't even find a decent instant messaging client. According to the marketplace there are only 2 and they both are poorly rated.

Kik Messenger and IM+ both get very good ratings. IM+ is considedered one of the top IM apps across all platforms.

 

[homegeek]

Kik Messenger and IM+ both get very good ratings. IM+ is considedered one of the top IM apps across all platforms.

I will have to look into it. When I did a search on the Marketplace for instant messenger they did not show.

 

[N8ter]

Chrome is not polish; it's just superfluous.

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It's polish when it's done well, like in iOS. It's superfluous when done poorly, like in Android pre-ICS (the UI elements look like GTK, which I deplore). ICS largely fixes that. See the Google Currents app on Android for a really good Android GUI. Apps like BeejiveIM on Android also have really good GUI.

WP7's UI metaphor really holds developers back a lot.

It should not be a matter of whether you should or shouldn't have chrome. It should be a matter of using it in the most effective way possible, and Microsoft does not do that in Metro. There are a lot of areas where the UI fails, from poor feedback when selecting i.e. links in applications to the lack of chrome on some elements to let you know they can be selected at all. It only serves to confuse and gives off a very unpolished and rushed feeling.

 

[kevm14]

I think chrome made things eye grabbing at a time when they weren't eye grabbing, but pretty graphics on a portable LCD screen isn't really novel anymore. We've pushed forward and there are new things to focus on that are cool, in my opinion.

 

[KingCrimson]

Sure the chrome in iOS grabbed my attention at first but now I couldn't care less. I hate how slow & laggy iOS 5 has become on my iPod Touch. I've seen video after video demonstrating how super fluid Windows Phone UI is and I want it!

 

[mYth]

Just coming from a 4S I'll list some things I've noticed.
Gaming would be first. Its limited, even with xbox live. Besides racing, nothing really seems to be pushing the boundaries. All of the games seem like the short addicting games like angry birds and plants vs zombies. Its really lacking in other genres.
Two is the limited storage. Only one phone has expandable memory. Music and videos don't go far on these phones. I need at least 32gb just to fit all my music. Adding videos is a whole other story.
Three app development seems slow. I see a lot of the apps on the marketplace are always asking for a update.
Last is the UI, I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels like something is missing.

I'll expand this a some more when I get home.

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[KingCrimson]

Three app development seems slow. I see a lot of the apps on the marketplace are always asking for a update.
Last is the UI, I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels like something is missing.

I'll expand this a some more when I get home.

Sent from my SGH-i677 using Board Express

#1 the app count is bogus. It's gone from 10-45K in just 12 months that is amazing growth. Can't you just say that it's not enough apps and leave it that instead of lying?

#2 - the UI. Take it or leave it. It's fundamentally different from the iOS/Android rows of icons and chrome UI and UX. Maybe that's what you miss, the gloss.

 

[Speebs]

The WP interface is plain and boring. It doesn't need to be bubbly and over-styled, but seriously, every part of the interface is comprised of 2 different font sizes, one font color, and one background color. Sometimes there's a rectangle or 2 on the screen. It's like a website from 1994.

 

[InfectedPhreak]

The WP interface is plain and boring. It doesn't need to be bubbly and over-styled, but seriously, every part of the interface is comprised of 2 different font sizes, one font color, and one background color. Sometimes there's a rectangle or 2 on the screen. It's like a website from 1994.

I think the Live Tiles, make it a lot better looking then a grid of icons. Not many apps do take advantage of it, so I hear... but even then... You still have the same ideology. It's still a row of icons/squares/information.. just a different way to view them. A lot of people say it, Metro UI is either love it or hate it.

 

[KingCrimson]

The WP interface is plain and boring. It doesn't need to be bubbly and over-styled, but seriously, every part of the interface is comprised of 2 different font sizes, one font color, and one background color. Sometimes there's a rectangle or 2 on the screen. It's like a website from 1994.

I don't agree.

Photos: Windows Phone 7.5 ‘Mango’ screenshots | The Microsoft Blog - seattlepi.com

I like the minimalism and lack of chrome/gloss. It looks like a grown-up interface to me.

Also check out this video to see how the Metro UI will point to future interfaces that go beyond mobile devices:

Productivity Future Vision (2011) - YouTube

What Microsoft is pointing towards is UX-centric rather then app-centric. Maybe that's over your head.

 

[jdd77]

#1 the app count is bogus. It's gone from 10-45K in just 12 months that is amazing growth. Can't you just say that it's not enough apps and leave it that instead of lying?

#2 - the UI. Take it or leave it. It's fundamentally different from the iOS/Android rows of icons and chrome UI and UX. Maybe that's what you miss, the gloss.

Android only has a row of icons if you want it. You can put all your icons on another screen to avoid clutter and just have a wallpaper and important phone-related things (like phone dialer and contacts) on the home screen. This is what wp7 needs- another home screen. Im not saying 7 like in android, but something to differentiate the 'phone' from all the other stuff. I've had my trophy for 4 months now, and instead of getting used to this..Im increasingly getting aggravated.

 

[koolkid09]

The WP interface is plain and boring. It doesn't need to be bubbly and over-styled, but seriously, every part of the interface is comprised of 2 different font sizes, one font color, and one background color. Sometimes there's a rectangle or 2 on the screen. It's like a website from 1994.

This is my main problem with WP7. I realize this is the direction Microsoft is going. So I could probably never switch. I'm not calling it a bad OS btw.

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[InfectedPhreak]

Android only has a row of icons if you want it. You can put all your icons on another screen to avoid clutter and just have a wallpaper and important phone-related things (like phone dialer and contacts) on the home screen. This is what wp7 needs- another home screen. Im not saying 7 like in android, but something to differentiate the 'phone' from all the other stuff. I've had my trophy for 4 months now, and instead of getting used to this..Im increasingly getting aggravated.

On my DInc I use the WP7 launcher, and only use the tiles necessary. Even when I used a normal launcher, I still only had useful icons. The entire point of an app drawer is for the clutter, home screens are used for the most important of icons or information. I only use 1 home screen already, filled with icons because I don't see a point in cluttering 7 screens with all different things when you can clutter 1 screen with everything. I'm not a widget user, they annoy me. So the tiles IMO are better use of information especially the live ones.

It all depends on the person, we all want what we want. That's why there are different devices and different operating systems. At the end of the day we want a device that meets our needs and wants out of a smart phone. Just got to find one that really suites you best.