It's that time cycle for an upgrade again, and sadly to say I won't be picking up another Windows Phone again. Don't get me wrong, if there are any bigger supporter of Microsoft's products through out the decade, I would like to hear from you. I've been using Microsoft mobile offerings since the days of Pocket PCs and PDAs. I'm sure most of people here can't claim that.
My first smart device was the HP iPaq h4150 running on Pocket PC 2003 edition. Back then, if you don't charge your PDA in time (within 30 mins of reserve backup battery), your whole PDA would reset to factory condition and wiping out all your data. Simply because flash memory wasn't prevalent back in those days and so the user profile was stored entirely on RAM! How far smart devices have come since then.
I followed through with Microsoft fumbled re-branding of Windows Mobile with an HTC Wizard and Samsung BlackJack, et etc. When I watched Belfiore's introduction of Windows Phone Series 7 in early 2010, I though it was going to change the entire smartphone paradigm. Too bad things didn't played out that way. I bough a Samsung Omnia 7 at launch in late 2010, which I still have and think it's one of Samsung best built smartphone ever. I later upgraded to the Nokia 820.
So after a decade long of cheering Microsoft, why jumping ship now? Well partly because I see there are better fish out there in the ocean so-to-speak. But mainly, it's because of Microsoft's becoming totally incompetent at their job. They've been fumbling around like an giant goofball and totally misusing all their assets to make a compelling case for the consumers. This reason, I think, is mainly why Windows Phone is where it is today, at 3.7%.
Maybe I have a things for imagination, but I always come up with cool things Microsoft could do to uniquely define WIndows Phone and create a must have mentality in the consumers.
Imagine in a perfect Microsoft ecosystem where your Xbox Live is wholly integrated between your Xbox console and your WP8 devices. Imagine that you can play for example Mass Effect on the console in epic battles and story. Then, when you're away on a train ride or whatever and bust out your Lumia to play a Mass Effect mini-game that could mine for material for upgrading your weapons, or just doing various mini-games that could level up your characters level etc. When you get home and turn on Mass Effect again, all your characters' level and weapon upgrades would be transferred over and you're ready to do epic battles again without having to hassle leveling up.
Imagine you would have a web player for your Xbox Music account and play music anywhere wanted to? Microsoft did invented the all-you-can-eat music model with Zune Pass after all, why is Spotify stealing the spotlight? Imagine you have all the apps and the niche ones too with all that evangelize resources at Microsoft's disposal?
Wouldn't all those be awesome? It could have happened beginning in 2011, but sadly it did not because Microsoft is at war with themselves in their various departments.
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That graphic perfectly depicts what is going on and still is despite re-org at Microsoft.
In fall 2011 when when Mango was about to ship, I though that too was going to put Microsoft on equal footing with Apple and Google. Around late 2011, I contacted some people working at the Windows Phone department pitching my idea for the Mass Effect mini game. Mass Effect 3 was of course a popular franchise and scheduled to release in early 2012. It could've been a perfect promotion for Windows Phone as a gaming platform I think. But Microsoft was not going to have any of it. I got a message back saying I should contact the Xbox department instead, which I did, but I never heard back from them. So there goes my pipe dream.
Anyone paying close attention to Microsoft would've become frustrated with Microsoft a long time ago. I stick around for that slimmer of hope, but I too learn to accept the fact that Microsoft never disappoint to disappoint. I'm sure GDR3 will probably be a nice upgrade, but don't expect anything to lift up Windows Phone to double digit anytime soon. Nokia is probably as frustrated with Microsoft as I am. The 1020 is still luring me, but people can live without it.
As for my next phone, I've already narrowed to 2 phones, and none of it is Window Phones. I think in a couple of years, 2015-ish, Windows Phone will probably be in good footing, but two years in technology is a long time. Who know what new technologies will come along and render smartphone obsolete.
Wearable computing is where it's going to be I think. Good thing Microsoft Research is hard at work with its speech AI and synthesizer.
. And then there's Android, which has issues too. One of the biggest complaints with Android is that you can buy a device today and in the next 4 months it could stop being supported. Sure you can root it or whatnot, but that gets old and sometimes something ends up not working correctly and then you have to troubleshoot and find the issue. With iOS, its the lack of customization. Heck, it's been looking the same since day one..lol
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