Is Windows Phone Committing Suicide?

[fatclue_98]

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Well, Microsoft is withdrawing from the consumer market to focus more on enterprise, so technically yes.

Not quite. It's assisted suicide and the perpetual moaners and whiners are the Dr. Kevorkians of the mobile space. I'm a fan of the OS and I'll ride it to the end. It could be worse, we could all be on Nextels and the abomination that was iDEN. Not to mention the homicidal tendencies brought on with every chirp.

 

[TLRtheory]

No. Microsoft is just goddamned horrendous at public relations... to a point in which it's actually impressive.

I don't see how they can fail to market their assets this poorly when Apple and Samsung have made "How to do it right" so obvious. Most of the world is still stuck in October 2012 when the platform only had 120,000 apps to boast... Microsoft has a lot of game-changing content they aren't even letting the public know about. When Apple's not doing well, they talk about cumulative sales... which is sneaky, but smart. No matter how many analysts call them out on their BS, the mainstream isn't savvy enough to notice... and it builds the ever-important aspect of consumer confidence. No matter how small Apple's marketshare becomes compared to Android, and no matter how many analysts publish articles about how Apple is becoming the new BlackBerry, Apple users have been given enough raw consumer confidence to feel like they've got the cream of the crop - which breeds positive reception, new users, and of course apps.

Microsoft can make great hardware all day and continue floundering if they keep underestimating the importance of PR. If they would do as much as advertise how much the store has grown, and be publicly aggressive about advertising that hundreds more are added every day then I guarantee they would be in a better situation.

I had a situation where a lady approached me in public while I was shooting with my old Lumia 1020 (which my wife now uses), noted that I had a Windows Phone and immediately asked how I was able to go without having apps like Instagram and Vine in which I simply showed her that we did actually have those apps. I spent all the rest of that day thinking about how simply that'd translate into a commercial that would easily let people who don't keep up with the platform know that it's not 2012 anymore... and that the app situation is in a state of constant growth (which it absolutely is).

...and just last week, brought my 950XL and Continuum Dock to my C# programming class (with #Code as my IDE and a couple preconfigured devices so that all I needed was to plug in a monitor to my dock) and had the whole class turn their head when dude next to me said "You did not just freaking compile that on your phone."... another scenario that could translate into an awesome commercial.

Microsoft really needs to market those assets they're sleepin' on. Then consumer confidence improves, more units move, we can get more handsets on more carriers, a larger audience is reached, which will turn that hundreds of new apps per day into thousands and we'll have cyclic improvement... hell, dude... just talking about this makes me kind of want to apply for Microsoft's Mobile marketing division to see if I can slap some sense into them.

 

[tgp]

Not quite. It's assisted suicide and the perpetual moaners and whiners are the Dr. Kevorkians of the mobile space. I'm a fan of the OS and I'll ride it to the end. It could be worse, we could all be on Nextels and the abomination that was iDEN. Not to mention the homicidal tendencies brought on with every chirp.

Hey hey hey, Nextel wasn't that bad was it? rly: I was actually considering switching to Nextel back in the day, but (mercifully, I found out later) they ceased to exist before I got the chance.

 

[Raygreen3]

I am really satisfied with my 640. It's got a 5 inch screen, I can make clear calls and text, and listen to Pandora or my music in the car.

It is definitely lacking in apps, but I can use websites in the place of apps most of the time.

It has a decent camera and good battery life. The phone is fast and reliable.

The best part is it cost $40. The case for your iPhone will cost more.

Posted via the Windows Central App

 

[vEEP pEEP]

I don't think they are committing suicide.
When you have 3% of the market, and a lot of companies don't make apps for you, what is your choice.

Android has 80% of the world market. Apple will disappear too.

All MS can do is work the enterprise - the market where they do well.

I think the mobile division is not making them money, but it still strategically important - so they will make Windows Phone sort a secondary product. I was hoping windows 10 and windows mobile 10 UWP would help. Maybe it will take some time?

 

[Jcmg62]

^^^^ agreed. I can't see Microsoft getting rid of it 1) it forms a crucial part of the overall mobile first, cloud first strategy. Microsoft have had an awful time in the mobile market for the better part of 7 years but they know they need to be in the mobile space 2) why make W10M available to HP and other OEMs then yank it.

I can't see Apple disappearing, but they're definitely shrinking. The iPhone 7 is going to disappoint. Tech writers, bloggers and even Apple fan boys aren't expecting great things with the phone, and removing the headphone jack to boost sales of bespoke wireless beats headphones and adaptors to make your old headphones work with your new phone is a seriously disingenuous move by Apple. It stinks of a company desperate to generate sales.

 

[Guytronic]

Not quite. It's assisted suicide and the perpetual moaners and whiners are the Dr. Kevorkians of the mobile space. I'm a fan of the OS and I'll ride it to the end. It could be worse, we could all be on Nextels and the abomination that was iDEN. Not to mention the homicidal tendencies brought on with every chirp.

LolL
Hey I liked Nextel a lot when working and depending on it.

 

[RumoredNow]

not having a phone on Verizon signals that Microsoft has no intent to be a major player for US consumers.

Verizon users say things like this all the time about how Verizon is some sort of indispensable condition.

With all due respect, I think this is not correct. The view that one carrier in the US can make or break an entire platform or dictate the success or failure of a model is a fallacy. Look at iPhone. Verizon tried for years to ignore it and it didn't die. Quite the contrary. And no, I'm not comparing W10M to the iPhone so there is no need to try and use that to puncture my argument and deflate it. I am simply talking about the fact that Verizon can NOT crush an OS or device by refusing to carry it. It is known.

I've never had Verizon. If I could be said to have a plan involving Verizon it would be a plan to never be involved with Verizon...

Verizon matters to Verizon and those who subscribe to Verizon. To me, when I read such statements about about how not being on Verizon = Death it just sounds like a kid on the playground saying, "My dad can beat up your dad."

:winktongue:

 

[fatclue_98]

I don't think they are committing suicide.
When you have 3% of the market, and a lot of companies don't make apps for you, what is your choice.

Android has 80% of the world market. Apple will disappear too.

All MS can do is work the enterprise - the market where they do well.

I think the mobile division is not making them money, but it still strategically important - so they will make Windows Phone sort a secondary product. I was hoping windows 10 and windows mobile 10 UWP would help. Maybe it will take some time?

BlackBerry is making a fortune on Enterprise software. But remember, this is a consumer-based site so most of our members don't care about that. They want their Pokemons and Snapchat.

 

[pc2k16]

Verizon users say things like this all the time about how Verizon is some sort of indispensable condition.

With all due respect, I think this is not correct. The view that one carrier in the US can make or break an entire platform or dictate the success or failure of a model is a fallacy. Look at iPhone. Verizon tried for years to ignore it and it didn't die. Quite the contrary. And no, I'm not comparing W10M to the iPhone so there is no need to try and use that to puncture my argument and deflate it. I am simply talking about the fact that Verizon can NOT crush an OS or device by refusing to carry it. It is known.

I've never had Verizon. If I could be said to have a plan involving Verizon it would be a plan to never be involved with Verizon...

Verizon matters to Verizon and those who subscribe to Verizon. To me, when I read such statements about about how not being on Verizon = Death it just sounds like a kid on the playground saying, "My dad can beat up your dad."

:winktongue:

Just a small correction in your post........ Verizon did want the original iPhone, they didn't ignore it. Apple refused to do business with them because Verizons cdma network was "too dated and limited in scope for Apple's interests". (quote from Jobs). Apple signed a 3 year exclusive deal with ATT because they wanted a GSM network for their device. Once Verizon started it 4G upgrade and the three years were up Verizon got the iPhone.

I don't know the particulars of why the newest windows phone aren't on Verizon, it could be a similar reason, maybe Microsoft didn't want to make a phone for them. That would be inline with what Apple did at first and it worked out great in the end, but........ if it's the other way around and Verizon said pass we don't want your phone, while that won't kill a OS or windows phone in general, it certainly doesn't help. (btw - I'm on ATT too).

 

[Chintan Gohel]

As a matter of debate and general info, is there any other network in the world which the lumia 950 cannot work with at all? There are over 600 operators in the world, and besides Verizon, are there any other networks that don't work with Lumia 950 or elite x3?

 

[libra89]

As a matter of debate and general info, is there any other network in the world which the lumia 950 cannot work with at all? There are over 600 operators in the world, and besides Verizon, are there any other networks that don't work with Lumia 950 or elite x3?

Verizon's subnetworks, U.S. Cellular (not 100% sure), Sprint, possibly Ting.

I think it does matter depending on the person's lifestyle, kind of what @tgp said. Is it really easy to dismiss a high number of possible customers? At the same time, I think it would be interesting to see recent numbers of the number of Windows Mobile users broken down by carrier. I recall cricket and AT&T dominating the pie, but it makes me wonder if this is still the case.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Verizon's subnetworks, U.S. Cellular (not 100% sure), Sprint, possibly Ting.

I think it does matter depending on the person's lifestyle, kind of what @tgp said. Is it really easy to dismiss a high number of possible customers? At the same time, I think it would be interesting to see recent numbers of the number of Windows Mobile users broken down by carrier. I recall cricket and AT&T dominating the pie, but it makes me wonder if this is still the case.

why just limit the problem to a US problem? Almost all over the world the telecoms are okay with windows phones but it's just the US ones that have issues? This is not a high number of users but a small one.

As I have checked before, the number of Verizon users is 140 million approximate, out of 4.5 billion phone users worldwide. So does this really affect a high number of users? VZ is not a special network except for the fact it uses a different standard/technology from the rest of the world

 

[libra89]

why just limit the problem to a US problem? Almost all over the world the telecoms are okay with windows phones but it's just the US ones that have issues? This is not a high number of users but a small one.

As I have checked before, the number of Verizon users is 140 million approximate, out of 4.5 billion phone users worldwide. So does this really affect a high number of users? VZ is not a special network except for the fact it uses a different standard/technology from the rest of the world

You're correct in a general, overall sense. Microsoft also wants some kind of success in the US as well. Ideally, they would probably want the success in Europe to be mirrored stateside.

I think you do raise a great point here though. OnePlus is probably pretty niche, but they seem to be doing just fine without Verizon support. When it comes to having an answer, it's kind of difficult. Even Nextbit, the creators of the Nextbit Robin wanted to make a version that would work for Verizon but that fell through. It's hard to guess if having CDMA work on these devices, would make a big impact on Windows Phone.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

You're correct in a general, overall sense. Microsoft also wants some kind of success in the US as well. Ideally, they would probably want the success in Europe to be mirrored stateside.

I think you do raise a great point here though. OnePlus is probably pretty niche, but they seem to be doing just fine without Verizon support. When it comes to having an answer, it's kind of difficult. Even Nextbit, the creators of the Nextbit Robin wanted to make a version that would work for Verizon but that fell through.

And I realised I'm a bit cranky on this issue -it pops up too many times and I just get irritated with that. Sorry :grincry:

I would understand it if they were in the process of migrating their network to the world GSM standard but are there any signs of that?

Looking at the larger picture, US and a couple of other countries still use 120V while most of the world uses 240V. Does that cause issues? Yes, it does, can the system be changed? It would take a long time but it will have to be done eventually. Same thing with units - US still likes using units like fahrenheit or miles or pounds when the world has adopted a world standard of metric units - it does confuse things up in international meetings :winktongue:

 

[fatclue_98]

Same thing with units - US still likes using units like fahrenheit or miles or pounds when the world has adopted a world standard of metric units

Oh, we tried going metric back in the 70s. That was a complete failure akin to the Edsel. It was a smallish movement that gained traction when the price of gas rose over $1/gallon. Sorry, $1/3.79L. Anyhoo, the gas pumps were not capable of anything over 99 cents so they thought it was easier to charge roughly 23 cents per liter and not have to retrofit every gas pump across the country. I don't need to tell you how that worked out.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'm familiar with metric, since I have a science background, and we used SI units at work.

 

[dkediger]

Yeah, there is a difference in coverage. According to their respective maps, both Verizon and ATT have their highest level coverage at my location.

Verizon - I can get 4g in the sub-basements at home and work. We rely on Verizon fixed cellular 4g for backup data center connections.

ATT - If you're indoors, you're not getting much. Voice is spotty, SMS non-existent. Don't even think about data. Expecting an email or SMS, better go outside with the smokers. I regularly get requests to allow ATT wifi cell extenders at our work locations.

Sure, on a worldwide scale, Verizon isn't much. But we are talking Microsoft's home market - the US. An affluent market where the right product is purchased with little thought. Additionally, sometimes to gain respect, you have to do the extra stuff or the hard stuff. Until you do, you're just some average Joe.

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[dkediger]

I remember Thermo problems that would take less than a page in SI compared to 2 or 3 in Imperial - and you would need to triple check unit conversions for errors.

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[dkediger]

I always tell people to zoom in on the central US (Iowa,Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska,Missouri, Oklahoma, etc) in a map app until you can see all the little square grids. Those are roads. Nicely evenly spaced at 1mile, not 1.6 kilometers.

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