Is there anything unique left in windows phone ?

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Kram Sacul

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

LiveTiles and Glance are the truly unique aspects of WP/W10M. Continuum is unique, but not widely available so I won't include it.

As for those who are saying that Microsoft is giving away all of their uniqueness... Clearly the strategy was not working. You can complain all you want, but we're still only ~3% marketshare. Things need to change and what we're seeing now is the beginning of it. Microsoft lost the smartphone wars, but it has a pretty good shot at the 'smartphone plus' wars.

What strategy would that be? Continuously dropping the ball on actually supporting WP? Giving more attention to iOS and Android apps? So far nothing has changed other than no longer having nice Nokia hardware and a different bald CEO. It's the same tired "coming soon" promises and lower and lower market %.
 

odin09

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

What strategy would that be? Continuously dropping the ball on WP? Giving more attention to iOS and Android apps? So far nothing has changed other than no longer having nice Nokia hardware and a different bald CEO.

You are missing the point. The strategy under the old bald guy was to take on iPhone and Android. Windows phone aimed to jump in the arena with a unique product and take them on. Windows phone was in my opinion a superior os, with social integration and live tiles but it didn't work. The developers and the consumers never came on board. The new bald guy is accepting that they will not beat iPhone and Android at their own game, it's too late. He is trying to become something different than the other guys. Will it work, nobody knows.
 

Megatronus66

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Glance Screen,its an foremost unique feature of windows phone.Sadly they stopped innovating it like Nokia did with its Glance background beta app.
 

theefman

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

You are missing the point. The strategy under the old bald guy was to take on iPhone and Android. Windows phone aimed to jump in the arena with a unique product and take them on. Windows phone was in my opinion a superior os, with social integration and live tiles but it didn't work. The developers and the consumers never came on board. The new bald guy is accepting that they will not beat iPhone and Android at their own game, it's too late. He is trying to become something different than the other guys. Will it work, nobody knows.

And there is no one else to blame for developers and users not coming on board but Microsoft. How could developers come onboard when the OS lacked the tools for them to develop interesting and compelling apps, the same apps they were making on ios and android? They could make use of background tasks, BT LE and the latest multicore CPU's and mature API's on ios and android but those features were lacking on WP for so long. Who was responsible for that lack of support? Microsoft, due to their lack of interest in the platform. Devs were willing and calling on MS to get their act together but they didnt so no surprise they turned their backs on WP. And with no competitive or compelling apps being developed how would users come on board?

The problem then and now is Microsoft, the so called "biggest software company" that neglected its mobile OS for years then after years of that neglect now turned its attention to its competitors to make them even better while they took their apathy to their own platorm to new heights. Lets not forget, Myerson ande Belfiore were in top positions when WP launched, and the same two guys are still around and now calling the shots. Not sure how you are going to get success when the people responsible for your failure for years are still the ones making the decisions.
 

FXi2

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Live tiles, a truly awesome browser, the single most hack resistant mobile OS on the market, the ability to share anything from all over the OS, updates for years down the road direct from MS, stunning cameras, utterly customizable and smooth interface, individually pinnable anything (settings, each folder or email box, even files or websites) making the interface assist you the user in getting to what you need fast rather than conforming you to a motif, a real USB port for attaching removable storage if you want. How is that for a start.
 

soil2oil

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

"The single most hack resistant mobile OS on the market"

Is this proven?
Is this due to less users than any other OS on the market, So hackers don't really bother?
 

houkoholic

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

I find it funny that people automatically assumes people staying with WM is because they haven't used the competition and is drinking KoolAid - news flash, there are MANY out there whom has and is choosing to stay. In fact, I would say it's the opposition, the proportion who stays with WM are people whom have more experience with the competing platforms, whereas those who won't try WM are the ones whom are short-sighted. Personally I have used Android since Eclair and iPhone since the 3G, I even have a Meego device (N9), currently I have several Android devices and an iPad Air, but my main phone is the 950XL. I'm choosing to stay with WM because to me the experience is, in fact, better than Android an iOS to me.

People often complain about the lack of synergy or unique features of WM. But here's one which is not available to the other platforms that is quite critical for me. Did you know that if you use another language IME in Windows 10 desktop (such as Japanese), the dictionary and machine learning from the desktop Windows is automatically synced to Mobile? This means every time I type something on the desktop using Windows 10's JIME such as very specific technical terms in Japanese, my 950XL automatically has it without me having to teach it again, and the word suggestion/my typing pattern is also synced, the reverse is also true. That kind of synchronization is not available on the other platforms and is getting me much more excited about staying, instead of many who dreads the "lack of unique-ness". Perhaps iOS with OSX can achieve this, but as there is no way I'm leaving Windows for desktop it's just a non-starter. And I can forget about Android for the same reason Android/Google has no desktop equivalence.
 

editguy

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

"The single most hack resistant mobile OS on the market"

Is this proven?
Is this due to less users than any other OS on the market, So hackers don't really bother?
It was the selling point for Macs and they never had a significant market share.
 

Kram Sacul

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

You are missing the point. The strategy under the old bald guy was to take on iPhone and Android. Windows phone aimed to jump in the arena with a unique product and take them on. Windows phone was in my opinion a superior os, with social integration and live tiles but it didn't work. The developers and the consumers never came on board. The new bald guy is accepting that they will not beat iPhone and Android at their own game, it's too late. He is trying to become something different than the other guys. Will it work, nobody knows.

I thought trying to become different didn't work already? If anything MS is trying to be similar to Android and iOS now with the watered down design language. So now we have the same kind of bland unoriginal UI as the others, same lack of app support as before and with the same half-hearted marketing. Yeah, good luck with that.
 

heickelrrx

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Windows 10 Mobile share the same core with it's PC version, Making it has great potential from others.
 

RumoredNow

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

...the single most hack resistant mobile OS on the market...

"The single most hack resistant mobile OS on the market"

Is this proven?
Is this due to less users than any other OS on the market, So hackers don't really bother?

In the sanctioned Hack events, Windows Phone consistently proves the toughest nut to exploit. Even more so than the fabled Walled Garden of iOS and Android... The thing technophiles love about Android is the "hackability" that allows them do so much in terms of manipulating the OS.

iPhone, Galaxy S5, Nexus 5, and Fire Phone fall like dominoes at Pwn2Own | Ars Technica
Kaspersky Says Windows Phone Is the Most Secure Mobile OS


It was the selling point for Macs and they never had a significant market share.

The user was stating his preferences, not making a claim about what drives market share, IMHO.
 

Pierre Blackwell

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

think for the first time MSFT is forward thinking, and not trying to play catch up to the competition. Is Windows Phone unique...that's a very loaded question that depending on your perspective, will result with multiple answers. My personal opinion is that WP10 by itself is unique with regards to user interface and live tiles display, but that's not were it's true uniqueness is or shines. It's when you combine it with Windows 10, that is really showcases it's potential. MSFT recently updated it's mobile and desktop variants at the same time. Can Apple or Google do that? No, they can't. They're OSes aren't set up to do that...not yet anyway. MSFT can't be short sighted when it comes to accommodating consumers because they are still the biggest software company out there. What's interesting is that it's only WP that people are really getting on MSFT about. Where is all the rhetoric and banter about iPads? or Macbooks? Oh, wait, the Surface series has pretty much overtaken that arena of conversation. MSFT has shown it has the resources and capabilities to put out amazing products, so what makes anyone think that with the same team that produced the Surface, they can't replicate the same results with a phone?? My money is on MSFT. I'll agree they've made some moves that makes you scratch your head, however while Apple and Google have decided to go full mobile with a phone, MSFT is looking at full mobile with anything you use. It's more than just WP10, it's Azure, it's Xbox One, it's Surface, and the Office suite. The reality is that the mobile phone space is the only space MSFT isn't dominating and it really doesn't need to. The initial stages of an art project hardly resembles anything special, but when completed, you see the masterpiece it was intended to be. MSFT is just building their masterpiece so you're not going to see what it will become. The Xbox One store for Windows 10 won't be online until 2016. Holo Lens is just getting more acclimated to Windows 10. WP10 is still in beta, and the Surface phone won't be out until at least the summer of 2016. We'll see how things are shaping up then.
 

Pete

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Why is this so great?

Because developers can almost forget about creating apps just for desktop, just for tablets, just for phones. The same code will work on all of them, there only needs to be a small amount of potential work in making sure that the user interface works on all screen sizes.
 

omerfbingol

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

  • Live tiles
  • Glance
  • Dark theme
  • Action center
  • Cortana
  • Customization
  • Security (hacking/collection of private data)

These are all the things that makes me stick to Windows (PC and mobile)

But the things ARE changing.

Using a Windows Phone is like what it was like to use a Samsung instead of Nokia before the smartphone era. You couldn't borrow a charger from your friend, or send/receive a contact via SMS because your phone doesn't recognize Nokia format, you couldn't buy yourself a headset in a local shop...

Also, I think Microsoft is making their core apps better on other platforms simply because there are more users on the other platforms. Just like your regular app developer, Microsoft focuses more on other platforms because it makes more sense. If they were to overlook the people on the other platforms, they would lose their potential customers to other service providers and that's not good for them if they want people to eventually choose their platform. For example, I was a hardcore Gmail user and a Google fan until I started using a Windows Phone. I went back to my old Hotmail account and started using Microsoft's services because Google didn't offer their services to my OS. I now use Bing, Outlook and all the services I can use on my phone and my PC effortlessly.
 

Ian_Superfly

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Because developers can almost forget about creating apps just for desktop, just for tablets, just for phones. The same code will work on all of them, there only needs to be a small amount of potential work in making sure that the user interface works on all screen sizes.

What developers?
Not even MS cares a bit about W10M.
 
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damonator98

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If ms is (was) seeing some potential in windows phone, why is it so slow with system updates ? Maybe more resources would be alocated to develop wp if ms treated mobile as the real deal. In that way, jus imagine how much could've been done in those 5 years... In my opinion ms should go in two possible directions: Either turn completely different way and create unique, distinctive os without visual elements stolen from other oses. Or become "copy of a copy I copied" system which could run android and ios apps without trouble and just work (thats the way I wouldn't like them to go, although I'd like to see support for apps from other platforms).
 

elitewolverine21

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

For me the biggest thing...it simply works.

The backup has always worked, for me google backup always seems to be hit or miss. The fact that I can grab my phone, hit reset and know that when I power on with my login im good to go, including homescreen layout and picture.

Security. Dealing with android daily as my job, I get to see all the porn locks, the fake crap etc, I am lucky that I don't have to worry about it. I don't have to worry about stagefright.

Tiles...love them over icons, each time I pick up android, unless I download a launcher or icon pack, which can screw with phones a lot, its just meh.

Smooth. There is not a single android that I have, that can have as much info coming into 'widgets' as I do on my live tiles on my 1520 and still be 'smooth'. At one point to prove proof of concept I had over 55 updating live tiles of weather, news, sports etc...try that with the competition.

Now things I don't like.

Devs...lol. It totally irks the crap out of me that they cant even bother to web wrap an app. With C# and C++ being the most widely known languages, it should be nothing for a team to keep up a proper windows app, I blame lazy java code and sht code for androids success in this area.

There needs to be a support for Android core code so that we can use android apps. Preferably not playstore, I am certain that MS could ink a deal to put Amazon market on their pcs and phones, and make it so that they could package the android code needed to run the damn app. We saw it in preview and while it was quirky it needs to happen. Imagine Amazon having 1 billion devices at their disposal by having the amazon store on pcs with a simple 1% cut...
 

sheldon cohn

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Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

The hardware is different, so the same code won't work on each device, it needs to be altered,
however I noticed for example the November update that they pushed out wouldn't install on
all phones. A friend and myself never seen the update when checking for updates.
My thought the developers are being pushed by upper management to get the software
out and when being pushed to hard, code is left out, because there isn't time for someone
to double check it before pushed. That's why several builds wouldn't install with out users
doing a hard reset on their phones.
Hopefully after management is happy, the developers will start getting apps out that are
available to the competitors devices. I noticed the NBC app is being pulled recently, and
there are a few bank apps that were pulled. No reason was given why the apps were pulled,
but they hurt Window phone users.
 
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