Other than apps and Hardware what do you see as factors keeping users off of Windows 10 mobile?

[robert beadles]

Even with all the apps and Hardware, I still find it hard for some people to leave there current digital eco system. When I left iOS for Windows Phone 8, I had to leave my movies back in the iTunes store and the apps that I had paid cash for. What do you see as the largest obstacles to users switching to Windows Mobile and what can Microsoft do to overcome these obstacles?

 

[anon(50597)]

Even with all the apps and Hardware, I still find it hard for some people to leave there current digital eco system. When I left iOS for Windows Phone 8, I had to leave my movies back in the iTunes store and the apps that I had paid cash for. What do you see as the largest obstacles to users switching to Windows Mobile and what can Microsoft do to overcome these obstacles?

I think you hit the nail on the head. Apple and Google have designed ecosystems that lock their users in. Not many people are able to switch around because they don't know how.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[HeyCori]

Apps really are the key. All my music is DRM free because I know I'll transfer them between a multitude of devices. I buy my movies almost exclusively through Microsoft Movies & TV because they're guaranteed to play on my Xbox and tablet. Lock-in is a major issue because no one wants to lose access to their content. There's no good way around that other than companies making their apps available on other platforms. Google has done a good job porting their apps to iOS and Apple has done a terrible job of supporting anything other than iOS. Microsoft can't do much beyond port their apps to other devices. Along with that, they should market that their apps are available on other devices. Then you can present people with the option of buying movies/music through a service that's available on all their devices. That is a lot more tempting. And note, I'm talking about movies/music/office as the major apps that definitely need to be ported.

 

[Galway 77]

I often thought if they did something like Amazon, have groove, tv/ video and probably this new Xbox game pass ect, rolled into a similar price range, it would probably do well

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Apps, apps, apps...with quality on par with their Apple and Android counterparts. That's a huge issue that Windows is facing. Perhaps a bigger issue is merely human nature. Most people tend to resist change. People get comfortable. Apple and Android have had a longer time in which to make a huge number of people comfortable with their service. When Windows Phone rebooted with WP7, lots of comfortable people just didn't want or feel the need to change. Who could blame them though. Although I was one of those people who jumped into WP7 when I bought my Samsung Focus, it was like Microsoft was selling a half-baked cake compared to iOS and Android. It still falls way behind Apple and Android in functionality and app quantity/quality. I still love W10M, but it's just not where it needs to be. In order to succeed, MS must create something completely new, so that the millions of Android and Apple users will not feel like they are having to change. If the populace can be tricked into buying a "new" type of communication device, W10M will have a really good chance of changing the mobile landscape. Microsoft has a huge uphill battle on their hands.
There's also that little thing known as brand identification. I've read that MS is becoming "cool" again. If that's true, it could be a big boost for mobile. Still waiting to see.

 

[extrikate]

Lack of a time machine. Microsoft waited too long to reboot their mobile efforts and didn't enter until market share, and mindshare, was already captured. What traction was gained fell victim to lack of firm PUBLIC commitment to mobile. Now media outlets regularly release stories that Windows Phone/Mobile is dead. Even non-tech consumers will find these article while researching phones.

A firm commitment to marketing and support are the only ways to bring backs developers and customers. UWP is a great concept but is hampered by the fact that many developers don't want/need to create a desktop experience so there are few universal apps being rolled out.

 

[RumoredNow]

Let's see... Subtract Apps, subtract hardware... What's left? OS?

 

[tgp]

Let's see... Subtract Apps, subtract hardware... What's left? OS?

Ha ha yup! I think though that the company behind the OS and ecosystem is sometimes the draw. Microsoft fans tend to not like Apple and Google. The same can be said of the fans of those companies.

Not me though; I heavily use all three!

 

[RumoredNow]

I was being a bit facetious... It may only be the OS in some cases, because different strokes.

There are a whole host of other factors though: advertising, habit of users sticking with what is familiar, peer pressure, availability of product, perceived relative value, need for heavy reinvestment in ecosphere to regain parity, availability of accessories, compatibility with other tech already owned, etc.

Obviously, no oversimplified answer would be most correct for such a complex socioeconomic question.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Even with all the apps and Hardware, I still find it hard for some people to leave there current digital eco system. When I left iOS for Windows Phone 8, I had to leave my movies back in the iTunes store and the apps that I had paid cash for. What do you see as the largest obstacles to users switching to Windows Mobile and what can Microsoft do to overcome these obstacles?

At present time it's scaricity of mobile phones that run on windows 10 mobile and where they are available the cost is quite high. The lumia 650 for example is supposed to be 100USD but locally they sell for about 150USD. Even the Lumia 640 is still selling at 160USD when I know it's real cost was about 80USD

Another smaller part would be scarcity of accessories like compatible headphones, earphones, screen covers, flip covers etc

 

[aximtreo]

Lack of a time machine. Microsoft waited too long to reboot their mobile efforts and didn't enter until market share, and mindshare, was already captured. What traction was gained fell victim to lack of firm PUBLIC commitment to mobile. Now media outlets regularly release stories that Windows Phone/Mobile is dead. Even non-tech consumers will find these article while researching phones.

A firm commitment to marketing and support are the only ways to bring backs developers and customers. UWP is a great concept but is hampered by the fact that many developers don't want/need to create a desktop experience so there are few universal apps being rolled out.

Very well stated. I'm an optimist; when my glass is half full, I fill it back up. Go WM!!!!!

 

[sd4f]

I think that given the lack of market share, and constantly bad PR, it's everything forming this contagion, with apps and hardware being the two cornerstones that are polluting anything else from being done or invested in.

No one who pays attention to smartphones is going to recommend a windows phone. The advantages of the platform are so few, and so subtle, and so insignificant compared to the disadvantages, that it's quite seriously a non starter.

I think what ultimately killed it was the schizophrenic reboots, throwing early adopters and app developers under a bus, so to speak. From an investment point of view, everything MS did encouraged developers to do nothing.

Bottom line is, the platform needs more users, it needs a compelling case for investment from developers. If it can be shown that developing for the platform makes them money, they'll do it.

 

[astondg]

I've just switch to Android after a few years with a Lumia 920 & 950. Apps were not a big deal for me, I had everything I wanted on Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile and I actually like many of Microsoft's Windows 10 apps over what's available on Android (e.g. Calendar & Maps).

I loved my Lumia 920 but what made me switch away from the 950 was day-to-day convenience, which was hampered by random lock ups & restarts and Microsoft's extreme regional restrictions on features. I'm in Australia and my new phone has Google Now, which is a long way ahead of Cortana and actually useful for me, and it has Android Pay. It also has a camera, bluetooth and biometrics that work 99% of the time (my Lumia 950 would often restart when I tried to take a photo, bluetooth was very hit & miss, and the iris scanner was slow and inaccurate).

 

[authentic_twist]

Microsoft need to come up with the next big thing that everybody is going to want, the OS is comparable (arguably much better) than others. I only recently got a 950xl after having spent my last phone life with a 6S, my pattern is back and forth and I learned early on not to become a prisoner, and to choose apps and purchases with being transferable in mind. I have little trouble with the 950 because I aren't on insider builds I suppose, even seems to be a bit more dependable than the 6S which would hang every so often. I suspect MS think that having your phone as your personal computer and work computer that you can plug in anywhere is that next 'big thing' maybe it is, maybe it isn't. We have portable entertainment, portable information and now portable computing. Is this the next big thing... or will it be something else???

 

[PerfectReign]

. Is this the next big thing... or will it be something else???

I'm thinking you are right - http://www.perfectreign.com/2017/03/personal-computing/


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[hacer619]

Apps are the biggest problem. It's now the windows mobile platform nightmare. Not even devs would jump in easily, unless you guarantee them their app success. Like I would suggest Microsoft to implement an app request (or wishlist if you want to call it) category in the store. where we window 10 users would open the store and create unavailable app categories with request counter. so devs would take a look and if interested and they find that the demand from users suits their needs they would just sign up for this app and start working on it. I'm sure this will fill some of the app gap.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Apps are the biggest problem. It's now the windows mobile platform nightmare. Not even devs would jump in easily, unless you guarantee them their app success. Like I would suggest Microsoft to implement an app request (or wishlist if you want to call it) category in the store. where we window 10 users would open the store and create unavailable app categories with request counter. so devs would take a look and if interested and they find that the demand from users suits their needs they would just sign up for this app and start working on it. I'm sure this will fill some of the app gap.

The problem there is lots of folks will say they want apps, but few will pay for those apps if the apps are indeed developed.

 

[meattray]

The problem there is lots of folks will say they want apps, but few will pay for those apps if the apps are indeed developed.

Absolutely agree. I'm not sure why or how we got to a point where everyone expects all apps to be free. They want people to spend countless hours to develop and then complain when the app costs less than a cup of coffee.

 

[anon(50597)]

Absolutely agree. I'm not sure why or how we got to a point where everyone expects all apps to be free. They want people to spend countless hours to develop and then complain when the app costs less than a cup of coffee.

They've almost become expected as part of the phone.

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S

 

[meattray]

Which is strange to me. We'll buy and waste money on so many things but aren't willing to support developers for platforms we are passionate about