Don't understand why Windows phones aren't more popular

odin09

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I thought they had a chance with the 920. Between the awesome camera and the unique design and colors it was something different. Unfortunately as much as we try and negate the app gap it is an issue. Even I get frustrated sometimes when my friends can get discounts at Target on the cartwheel app and I can't. When I can't use the features of my amazon prime it is frustrating. I do like the direction of windows 10 and think a surface phone could draw attention. I agree with those that have said the name windows phone isn't exactly a draw.
 

Kevin Rush

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The ATT store in the downtown Minneapolis skyway doesn't have their 950 display phone connected to the internet! Also, they have just a few apps installed and because of no internet, most don't function. The phone does look great, but they have sabotaged the presentation of the phone. I'll buy unlocked from the Mall of America Microsoft Store in the suburbs.

It's too bad phones are so, so dependent on constant internet to "show what it can do." Just cutting off the service, multiplies the app gap to include even most of those we do have.
 
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venki m

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People go towards android and iPhone is that because these os have more customization, options(most of which is not used but still available in Droid and IOS)... Windows needs to have consistent os style across apps and within os, they need to include customization.. Soul of Windows OS is its metro and live tiles.. Windows is better than Droid and IOS . Only things windows should make more popular android and IOS apps run in windows... People say windows is complex to use.. I say they are dumb to say and i don't give a dam..
 

ostseeratte SN

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i have both system at home for nearly a year....at first i was interested in windows phone and the other way to use a phone......but in the time i love my android more and more
- a lot of good apps
- a better usability ( for instance: i can print fotos with my network printer...and i dont use a google drive acount for it, its in the phone sytem....
- i can make the system for me perfect with a lot of louncher
- i have all apps i will have....
- i have some good windows apps to, ...
- the most apps are realy better developt...also the windows apps
- 15 GB cloud for free ....canstantly over all the years
- easy cromecast possibilitys....i can also use amazon prime video and stream it on my tv....its fun and easy
- the best maps and navigation
- for germany the best search machine, much more better than bing
- have the possibility to develop some apps for me and load it per sideload on my phone.....there are some websites with a modular system where i can build my personal app
when i see the developement of windows phone in the moment i see only bugs and no horizont
the operation is not better on windows phone, some things are so nested....you can see it on skype an messagin app ore on the whatsapp app....if you use whatsapp on android its another (better) world
Android runs smoothly in the past two years.....google was making also some bugs in 5.0, but in a short time all the things was good with 5.1.
still be Microsoft has last trust completely my playful with the kind and wise as people are becoming more and more an update on windows 10. Everything runs secretly, files without asking transferred to the computer. There is no changelog more...and so on
 

X-topher

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For me Continuum blows anything else out the water... I miss a few apps against my android which I have found out are in development on the UWP so happy as Larry.... This is my first WP, I love the tiles and tile folders way easier than swiping. Sound quality is on another planet compared with my Samsung s5. Great office exchange support also. The bugs are all superficial glossy things that are not that important and don't really effect the day to day usage. The battery is very good and seems to last me the whole day no matter what I throw at it. The back feels like satin finish metal and does not feel cheap albeit I have a mozo leather back on it now which feels a million dollars... I was Android from it's conception but will never go back now. This is by far the best phone i have ever had...No more Samsung Kies rubbish hurrah
 

Aldrich Uyliong

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There are many answers to why Windows Phone never took off. N_LaRUE covered it best. However, I think there is one more reason: the Metro/Modern UI. I love the Metro/Modern UI. I love the Live Tiles. Speaking as someone who studied Industrial Design, I think of all the Mobile OSs, it is the most forward thinking and design/style-minded. It's brilliant. The problem was that most people didn't see it that way. When WP7 and 8 came out, all people saw a stark interface with a black background and colored boxes. That starkness gave people the impression (it still does, I think) that WP was primitive - especially when you compared it to Android or iOS which featured wallpapered backgrounds. It was a small thing but it made a big impact. It was especially bad when you remember that even dumb phone OSs allowed that simple feature. As a result of being too avant-garde unfortunately WP was seen by most people as esoteric and unapproachable.
 

sumanthsuresh

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Here's a simple one word explanation for why WP isn't more popular. IMAGE.

Before you reject my answer allow me to explain.

Microsoft lost a lot of credit when Windows Vista came out to many it was yet another bad OS from MS. So many people left to go to Apple. At the time Apple was in a better position with the iPod doing well and then the release of iPhone in 2007 making Windows look old, dated and not stylish.

Simple truth is what you own is reflected in the marketing and minds of the people you associate with. Own Apple, you're stylish, cool and creative. In London UK everyone who is trying to succeed is using Apple. It's sounds ridiculous but image to these people is very important and right now Apple has that image.

When it comes to Android. They're all about being rebellious. Being the same but different. Android has always been about being in control of things and having it the way you want it. You own an Android device you're one of those people who love things your way. So they have the cool rebellious image.

So now we get to Windows Phone. First off the name killed it immediately because all it brought back were images of Windows Vista or BSOD... Next you had the 'rectangular' interface making it different than what people were used to and the so called 'live tiles' never seemed to live up to their name. Then add in the fact the the OS appeared pretty locked down, unlike Windows OS people were trying to figure out what was good about it. Lack of apps, not being able to run x86 programs (yes I know) etc. People viewed WP as interesting but boring and lacking. Add in the image problems of Windows and you can see why it's been a hard sell. What image does Windows have in people's mind other than 'getting things done'? That's not cool. It's not stylish. It's not rebellious.

I hope I made my point but that is the issue. Also, even though WP is doing OK in the UK I work in a large UK company. There might be one or two other people here with WP, All others are mostly iPhone or Android. I also think WP is more popular outside the London area or other large cities.

Anyway that's my point of view. Maybe a 'Surface Phone' will change minds but I don't know.
very well covered. Can't agree more
 

X-topher

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I would have to disagree whole heartedly Microsoft are a very successful company dominating many markets. The surface brand has overcome them perceptions of old windows with win 10 also burying that perception. Microsoft are enterprise first and foremost the whole win 10 brand push is about 'productivity' ' Like a boss' etc Microsoft will only talk in 'win 10 users' not on specific hardware platforms. We know WP is their least successful market but you have to allow them to adjust the Nokia production map to suit theirs. My 950 is the last of the nokia hardware and first of the win 10 ecosystem. The surface phone no doubt will be the first true windows phone but this doesn't disparage me from buying the 950 as I just see it as next years 850 the win 10 universal ecosystem will change the way people use their phones especially with Continuum. With Win 10 dominating x86 already and the phones heading that way, one can only see Microsoft Win 10 ecosystem being a resounding success...
 

ROBBIE HALL

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Its funny. Here in my home country alot of people have the 640. The thing is not many people knew about it. People were educated on it and bang! I have joined the Microsoft partner network and its like pulling teeth. I would love to set up a legitimate MS store here. But its so complicated to do so. (There is an ishop and Samsung stores) you would figure MS would want as much partners as possible. Especially in "3rd world nations" where continuum is "mostly geared for". Yes my country is a tiny Caribbean nation. But combine us and you're sure to see an improvement. My small company is even willing to port over region specific apps to WP. (Read banking and building society) for a start. As we have NO support in the English speaking Caribbean. (Closest is Puerto Rico and that's Spanish) i think MS and windows has a chance at real growth here. But again we get neglected. Yet the devices sell well now here.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
 

N_LaRUE

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Its funny. Here in my home country alot of people have the 640. The thing is not many people knew about it. People were educated on it and bang! I have joined the Microsoft partner network and its like pulling teeth. I would love to set up a legitimate MS store here. But its so complicated to do so. (There is an ishop and Samsung stores) you would figure MS would want as much partners as possible. Especially in "3rd world nations" where continuum is "mostly geared for". Yes my country is a tiny Caribbean nation. But combine us and you're sure to see an improvement. My small company is even willing to port over region specific apps to WP. (Read banking and building society) for a start. As we have NO support in the English speaking Caribbean. (Closest is Puerto Rico and that's Spanish) i think MS and windows has a chance at real growth here. But again we get neglected. Yet the devices sell well now here.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

Though I agree Continuum is a perfect solution for emerging markets until it shows up on low end hardware (and usable) it will be a premium option only. It appears geared for sales people or those who do lots of travelling but don't need high end laptops at this moment.

To me MS is still too focused on the US IMO. In the UK we don't have a MS store yet and we're one of the bigger markets for them.
 

N_LaRUE

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I would have to disagree whole heartedly Microsoft are a very successful company dominating many markets. The surface brand has overcome them perceptions of old windows with win 10 also burying that perception. Microsoft are enterprise first and foremost the whole win 10 brand push is about 'productivity' ' Like a boss' etc Microsoft will only talk in 'win 10 users' not on specific hardware platforms. We know WP is their least successful market but you have to allow them to adjust the Nokia production map to suit theirs. My 950 is the last of the nokia hardware and first of the win 10 ecosystem. The surface phone no doubt will be the first true windows phone but this doesn't disparage me from buying the 950 as I just see it as next years 850 the win 10 universal ecosystem will change the way people use their phones especially with Continuum. With Win 10 dominating x86 already and the phones heading that way, one can only see Microsoft Win 10 ecosystem being a resounding success...

Nobody is doubting that MS isn't successful at what they do best (hint: software) They haven't got the best record with hardware though.

You're also missing the point of the OP. WP still sits at around 3% global market share. The OS by those who use it think it's great. Some have come from other OS and find it's fantastic. They question is why isn't it doing better?

I put forward an explanation. There are of course many other parts to it but the main one I believe is image. Windows and MS do have an image problem. Regardless how good the OS is, regardless how nice MS is being, they still to this day have a communication issue, a 'big company attitude' issue. People still refer to MS as the 'lumbering software giant' indicating slowness. Need I go on?

If you take that view and then add in the lack of apps (though a bit better now), the issue with carriers and then the carrier exclusives. You start to form a picture of the problems. Sure some regions are doing better than others but to put it bluntly WP is still seen at this moment when it comes to apps and uptake from consumers as 'maybe'.
 

X-topher

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In the UK Microsoft have near 13% which in turn is a lower % than the rest of Europe countries like Italy it is 20-25% before the win 10 announcement lets see what the numbers are for this month. I assume you are from the USA with the telecom references but early indicators are that the 950 is doing very well in the UK. Then there is the start of the massive Enterprise port from Win 7 which in turn brings the adoption of the WP so I can only see steady gains in the market thru 2016. Then Panos will take the reigns...
 

N_LaRUE

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In the UK Microsoft have near 13% which in turn is a lower % than the rest of Europe countries like Italy it is 20-25% before the win 10 announcement lets see what the numbers are for this month. I assume you are from the USA with the telecom references but early indicators are that the 950 is doing very well in the UK. Then there is the start of the massive Enterprise port from Win 7 which in turn brings the adoption of the WP so I can only see steady gains in the market thru 2016. Then Panos will take the reigns...

No I live in the UK. I just know about the issues and I don't see things from a single country position.

The recent data I've seen states WP is below 9% in the UK now and most of the EU is down as well. None are at 20% any more. That was end of Oct 2015.

I'd like to see your data that indicates the 950 is doing well. I'm not one to take someone's word for it.

Not entirely sure what you mean about the massive enterprise port from Win 7. My company, which is fairly large, has not indicated in any way that they have plans to upgrade to W10. Nor do I think most other large enterprises will either any time soon. That's a large cost to take up since most just upgraded to Win 7 and the conservative mindset of enterprise IT managers will mean a long time from now. Also in no way does upgrading to W10 support a move to WP for any company as that is a major decision which takes time. Usually waiting for contracts to end and so on. Since MS missed the boat with Blackberry slowly dying many companies (including mine) went iOS. Others went to Android.

I'm glad you're optimistic but I don't see where you're getting your data or your ideas from. Also this thread was about why it is where it is. Not where it might be which is a question that no one can answer. Not even MS.
 

X-topher

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You cannot seriously take a poll just before a major release as fair indicator of the current market, in January we will find out if I,m correct... You can predict that all win 7 companies will become 'w10 users' how long is not an argument because there will be 100% win 10 adoption... Your company should try the phone with Continuum they could take the battery power packs out their pockets and replace them with a display port at less than half the size which adds another level of productivity to their portable device. Until you use Continuum you don't quite see what the Microsoft plan is... Try it and comment
 

N_LaRUE

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You cannot seriously take a poll just before a major release as fair indicator of the current market, in January we will find out if I,m correct... You can predict that all win 7 companies will become 'w10 users' how long is not an argument because there will be 100% win 10 adoption... Your company should try the phone with Continuum they could take the battery power packs out their pockets and replace them with a display port at less than half the size which adds another level of productivity to their portable device. Until you use Continuum you don't quite see what the Microsoft plan is... Try it and comment
I didn't say a poll ( I used statistics btw) meant that things wouldn't get better or indicate anything then what they say, I'm just telling you what they are now. You seem to have issues with that idea of now.

So your statements are all personal assertion with no basis in fact. I'll happily ignore them then. I'm a fact person. Give me facts and I'm happy.

I have absolutely no say in what my company does IT wise. I'm speaking from experience, many years of it. Yes all companies will be on W10 eventually, but that's when support ends for W7. Which is 2020.

You don't seem to understand large enterprise. I'm using a 6 year old desktop, 7 year old Office and I just recently upgraded to W7 earlier this year. Only because Xp support ended. I won't go on about all the other software I use which is also years old. I can pretty much guarantee that other large corporations are similar. I worked for a few. They do the minimum because it's a disruption for their business to upgrade. It's costs a lot of money. Something you don't quite understand.

Continuum for my company would be pointless at this stage. I don't see large scale adoption for years if at all in large enterprise.

Lastly, many large companies are becoming hyper security conscious. When we do get W10 I'm guaranteeing that they'll disable a lot of the things that make W10 interesting. It will just be like W7 but with a different start menu and that's it.

This is reality of working in a large corporation. If you want the latest and use the fancy stuff don't work for someone else. Chances are you won't use it.

I'm speaking from decades of working. I'm not out to depress the young ones on here just telling you like it is. Work and personal computing is different.
 

mj0

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You don't seem to understand large enterprise. I'm using a 6 year old desktop, 7 year old Office and I just recently upgraded to W7 earlier this year. Only because Xp support ended. I won't go on about all the other software I use which is also years old. I can pretty much guarantee that other large corporations are similar. I worked for a few. They do the minimum because it's a disruption for their business to upgrade. It's costs a lot of money. Something you don't quite understand.

Continuum for my company would be pointless at this stage. I don't see large scale adoption for years if at all in large enterprise..

Well said sir, I couldn't agree more. Enterprise, large and small, works very different than the rest of the world. Especially when compared to consumer markets. Yet your average consumer doesn't understand this and will happily extrapolate their own experience and assume that everyone must obviously be in the same boat, want the same things, have the same needs and requirements, etc. While it costs next to nothing to update ones personal computer from Windows 7 to Windows 10 it's quite different for corporations. I'll take your Windows 7 upgrade example because I happen to work in IT and know the headaches the upgrade from XP to 7 caused. What most people don't understand is how much work an upgrade like this results in. First, you have to determine which computers will even work with the new operating system and take into account how many new computers will have to be purchased. Second, each system needs to get inspected thoroughly for software and each application has to be verified to support the new OS. Many applications will have to be updated as well, in some cases inducing additional licensing and therefore additional costs. In many other cases the software used on the old system is not even supported anymore and needs to be repurchased, which won't cost a few bucks spent on the app store, $100, or $500 but in most cases thousands of dollars. After all it's enterprise software, and enterprise software is very expensive. Third, the entire infrastructure has to be replaced beforehand, which means servers (in order to fully support all Windows 10 features necessary one needs a Windows Server 2016 operating system, which happens not to be even available yet), which in turn means back to step one for each server. Once all this preparation is finished one has to design the rollout for not only dozens but in many cases hundreds or thousands of systems and run test after test after test, because on D-Day everyhing has to run smooth as silk. Which is obvios because the update has to be as non-disruptive as humanly possible since people need to get their job done. Updating 100 laptops from Windows 7 to Windows 10 has, at this point already caused a massive five- to six-figure dent in the budget, and I haven't even talked about end user training or the necessity for additional IT support resources for all the small and big ailments that magically appear after every major update. Because for us in IT it's humanly impossible to test every single scenario, every single use case, and every single way in which our customers (aka the users) will use their systems in a very very wrong way (Programming is a race between software engineers who strive to produce *****-proof programs and the universe which strives to produce bigger idiots. So far the universe is winning.)

Long story short: a major OS update, be that XP -> 7 or 7 -> 10 is a massive project for corporations. Consumers don't understand that because for them, updating two or four or even ten systems for themselves, their friends, family, etc. is a no-brainer. If it doesn't work no big loss. If, on the other hand, a corporation proceeds with rolling out a system that doesn't fully work all hell would break loose and there would be serious monetary consequences.

It's not that corporations are slow, conservative, or unwilling to upgrade. We've had the first few IT laptops running Windows 10 as early as September 2015 and held our kick-off meeting for our Windows 10 laptop upgrade project last week. But from my experience it will take at least six months before we even roll out the first wave of updates and at least two full years until we've updated every single laptop, at which point we won't have even touched the desktops or terminal servers yet.
 

tgp

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I work for a small tech company. We are also a Microsoft partner. We have rights to, and do not pay for, Microsoft licenses such as Windows, SQL, and Office. We are relatively small and nimble, and yet we do not upgrade quickly. We are still a version back on our (Microsoft Dynamics) ERP software. We do not plan on upgrading our workstations to Windows 10 for awhile yet, probably at least not until Redstone is out. We tried upgrading Office to 2016, but one component didn't work and we had to revert. And again, this is not even taking licensing costs into account since we get it for free. There is a valid reason for the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

In short, it is not just the huge businesses that delay upgrades. I can sit at home and spend several hours in the evening or on Saturday afternoon upgrading my PC to Windows 10, with no cost to me. If something doesn't work right, I can either deal with it or revert, no harm done. But at the workplace, that is not an option.
 

anon(6078578)

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Here's a simple one word explanation for why WP isn't more popular. IMAGE.

Before you reject my answer allow me to explain.

Microsoft lost a lot of credit when Windows Vista came out to many it was yet another bad OS from MS. So many people left to go to Apple. At the time Apple was in a better position with the iPod doing well and then the release of iPhone in 2007 making Windows look old, dated and not stylish.

Simple truth is what you own is reflected in the marketing and minds of the people you associate with. Own Apple, you're stylish, cool and creative. In London UK everyone who is trying to succeed is using Apple. It's sounds ridiculous but image to these people is very important and right now Apple has that image.

When it comes to Android. They're all about being rebellious. Being the same but different. Android has always been about being in control of things and having it the way you want it. You own an Android device you're one of those people who love things your way. So they have the cool rebellious image.

So now we get to Windows Phone. First off the name killed it immediately because all it brought back were images of Windows Vista or BSOD... Next you had the 'rectangular' interface making it different than what people were used to and the so called 'live tiles' never seemed to live up to their name. Then add in the fact the the OS appeared pretty locked down, unlike Windows OS people were trying to figure out what was good about it. Lack of apps, not being able to run x86 programs (yes I know) etc. People viewed WP as interesting but boring and lacking. Add in the image problems of Windows and you can see why it's been a hard sell. What image does Windows have in people's mind other than 'getting things done'? That's not cool. It's not stylish. It's not rebellious.

I hope I made my point but that is the issue. Also, even though WP is doing OK in the UK I work in a large UK company. There might be one or two other people here with WP, All others are mostly iPhone or Android. I also think WP is more popular outside the London area or other large cities.

Anyway that's my point of view. Maybe a 'Surface Phone' will change minds but I don't know.
I really do think Microsoft's image and ineptness at times is a major part of the problem because it did seem like things were looking up at one point (ie when I had my Nokia 521) but for some reason they always manage to fumble the ball. This creates uncertainty which drives away users. Combine that with Developers who seem to have a problem with Microsoft for various reasons and it becomes self perpetuating. This is why I am not optimistic that Windows 10 Mobile will change all that, since we've heard it all before. Of course I really hope I end up eating my own words, but lets revisit this in a years time and see shall we?

When I got the Lumia 640 I thought this is *the* Windows phone to have, only to find T-Mobile dropping it within a couple of months already! Add to this the Nokia write down and the uncertainty never seems to end.

The problem I have with the rumored surface phone is there is yet more uncertainty in that they may end up *only* producing high end premium phones and thus shutting users like myself out because I refuse to buy high dollar phones when a $1-200 one is perfectly adequate for my use. Yes, I know the idea is to get third parties to fill in that gap but in reality I don't see that happening to any great extent, and just like apps they may produce an initial device but end up losing interest further down the line.
 

Kevin Hill2

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Most of you people are way off base, People want a good looking phone that has all the app's that their friends are using, they want to be like oooh look what I have, and you know it. I love the Windows phone OS and I'm not app crazy, it has all the ones I use, now I do wish it had more Local app's but I can pin the website and be fine with it. But oh my hell they make some of the most boring looking phones on the market, there has been a few like the 920, Icon, even the 640 that are ok but in general, wow, plain jane, yawn. I am the biggest Windows fan you will ever find and I would never buy the 950 or the 950 XL. I am really hoping HTC or LG comes out with a new Windows phone. Loving my M8.
 

odin09

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Unfortunately I have to agree that most people just want a good looking phone with apps. A friend of mine just the other day was excited about her new iPhone because it was pink. My Android friends and iPhone friends are happy with their phones. They aren't clamoring for change. Hopefully at some point Microsoft will come up with that one feature that people just have to have. I had hoped that they could do exclusive Xbox features to lure in gamers and that never materialized. Now my hope is that they get everybody using their services on other platforms and then offer exclusives on windows. This has never and doesn't appear to be their strategy so I don't have my hopes up.
 

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