Screen resolution on WP devices

[Surmisation]

Why is majority of the Windows Phone market being relegated to crappy resolution screens?

While 768p laptops irk my ire, there is a reason behind it. That reason, built-in obsolescence, can be markedly justified for laptops. The justification is that notebooks tend to have a sturdier construction, are more easily repairable, and have longer life cycles. People would never buy new ones if they came with 1080p screens, the sweet spot. That said, slab phones are tougher to repair, more prone to break, and generally have shorter life cycles. Broken screens, cycled batteries, OS support, substantial leaps in ARM processor technology, and abhorrently generous mounds of adhesive ensure shorter life cycles on these devices.

There are enough obsoleting factors with slab devices that the building in of additional failures seems counter-productive.

Seriously, how much more can a 720p screen cost over a 480p? Wholesale prices on 1 million units, $5 per screen? QC marks probably result in a few additional piles of B stock. Kind of sickening at this point that we're even speculating that a supposed mid-range phone (NL 730) having qHD resolution.

Can somebody please offer some additional insight on this?

 

[Zachary Boddy]

It's not just the decision to purchase these screens it's the support for the resolution in general. Of course, the new updates makes this obsolete, Windows Phones can support most resolutions but I'm talking about previous phones.
Also, it takes a lot to optimize a screen for HD and make it have nice colors, contrast, and blacks. It's more than five dollars and adds up, especially to the cost of the phone.
Microsoft's apparent goal right now is to reveal a selection of highly affordable budget phones. You'll get great value but have to sacrifice nice extra features like a 1080p screen.
Of course, this doesn't excuse the low resolution of phones like the 630, for example. Even though it's a budget phone, most phones in the same class are now reaching into HD screens as a standard.
It's the same problem as every time...Microsoft is a generation behind.

 

[Surmisation]

It's the same problem as every time...Microsoft is a generation behind.

Exactly. With laptops, there exists the reason of built-in obsolescence. But with phones, due to the reasons mentioned in my original post, the logic is unsound. I was hoping somebody might be able to infer as to what's going on.

Is there incentive for them to use surplus stock on phones produced from 2010? Are they trying to squeeze a few more years out the manufacturing equipment that makes the 480 screens? Can the same manufacturing equipment be upgraded to start producing 720p screens?

Seriously. Am I missing something? Who in the flying 'expletive' is making decisions? Have they damaged their relationships with OEMs beyond repair? Seriously, any ideas as to what's going on?

 

[Surmisation]

I switched to WP mainly out of frustration w/Sprint and its terrible reception in my area. The cheapest way to a Tmo sim was thru the 521. I had always wanted to give WP for a whirl so I got a twofer: a better carrier and a new OS to explore.

When the 635 became available I immediately sold the 521 and scooped that up; for 2 mos now and on 2 different devices I can say I've had ample time to form an opinion concerning WP.

With WP as my daily driver I am less efficient, less capable and more hindered than using Android. The much ballyhooed 8.1 update brought only minor fixes. For example the notification shade is pitiful when compared to the notification capabilities of even one of Samsung's lower end devices.

I am NOT bashing WP, I am telling it how it is for me; your mileage will vary.

Not even counting the awful app situation the native apps are just not functional in the way we expect smartphones to be. Attachments in Messaging, adding contacts in People, Playlists in music, folders in camera (both Nokia and phone versions), Sharing in the Bing news and financial apps--all those are broken. Let's not even get into IE and it's myriad of issues.

Again, I am not bashing, but when I can't share a simple link from the news app to any of my social networks, there's a problem!

I have to carry around my de-commissioned S3 just to have access to basic but very important apps (WP doesn't have my banking app but contrast that to Android that has not only it but also my two prepaid credit card apps too!).

With both the 521 and 635 I actually used the phones less because the terrible screens made outdoor visibility nearly impossible. When I had to use the phones they gave me headaches because of the severe reflectiveness of the screens. It was a horror to answer an email.

As I've stated, my previous phone was an S3 bought this February, I am hardly some gadget hound, always needing the absolute newest and best; so my complaints are not that of a person accustomed to high end devices.

WP as an OS needs tons of work and the devices that it runs on need some serious upgrades. Look at the newest low end Samsung phone available at Tmo, the $216 Samsung Galaxy Avant, that runs rings around even WP's high end devices.

I really wanted to like WP but its functionality is too limited to be considered a modern smartphone.

Effect: lowering of brand image