Will Windows Central survive the death of Windows Mobile?

[hamphlet]

I only ask because a quick look at the comments statistics on articles reveals that they go through the roof on most Windows Mobile subjects but sometimes barely raise an eyebrow on other more general Microsoft matters. It shouldn't be forgotten that up until a couple of years ago this website was essentially devoted to Windows Phone and only started diversifying when they saw the writing on the wall. I suspect that most readers are still only here because they had a Windows Phone/Mobile phone at one time or another.

 

[Drael646464]

I came because Microsoft is hot right now, and Windows 10 is dope. Why are you here?

 

[Drael646464]

Comments about win10 mobile go through the roof because win10 mobile users don't know how good they have it next to blackberry 10 users. And because people like to whine. See imbd, rotten tomatoes and any internet review system. Guess people figure someone's listening

 

[Drael646464]

Shall we have a funeral, or should we wait for the updates to stop? Should I wear black? Who's going to do the ecology? I reckon bill gates should be invited. XD

 

[hamphlet]

It's a legitimate question. How many Windows Central readers will there be once there's no Windows Mobile news to report on. I envisage a time quite soon where Windows Mobile will have totally stiffed and Windows on Arm will have failed to produce any interest. There were plenty of other websites reporting on general Windows and Microsoft matters before Windows Phone Central realised that mobile was heading nowhere. If you remove the Phone/Mobile readers will there be enough people left to keep the website viable?

 

[Starboy21]

Well u can already see windows central reporting more about the S8 and apps that MS releases for iOS or android n most of the forum posts are about win phones n surface..

 

[Drael646464]

It's a legitimate question. How many Windows Central readers will there be once there's no Windows Mobile news to report on. I envisage a time quite soon where Windows Mobile will have totally stiffed and Windows on Arm will have failed to produce any interest. There were plenty of other websites reporting on general Windows and Microsoft matters before Windows Phone Central realised that mobile was heading nowhere. If you remove the Phone/Mobile readers will there be enough people left to keep the website viable?

I've never owned a windows 10 mobile in my life, and I'm here for the windows 10 discussion, and microsofts exciting vision of the future.

But I can't really extrapolate the number of people who are here specifically for that reason, versus those who are obvious here for desktop/tablet, other than that their appear to be both. I am not sure anyone can.

BTW Windows on arm, is not initially pitched as a smartphone OS. Its for cellular connected PCs foremost. Ie tablets, hybrids, laptops, desktops and servers with arm chips, LTE, low power consumption, calling, texting and hotspot facility. It will probably make its way to pocket devices at some point, but that's really not what MS is aiming for with the move.

I think some smartphone users get quite confused there. The point of the release is for things like

*capturing the tablet market, by positioning devices in the only two areas of growth a) windows devices b) budget devices. There are real business moats here with things like ink and stylus support, win32 apps

*capturing the cheap laptop market back from chromeOS, and getting windows into education. Likewise real moats- ink and stylus, touch support, upgradeability, win32 apps (and the fact that windows is the workhorse OS of the world)

*cellular connected server platforms, that utilise cellular technology in windows enterprise networks. There are probably a few really interesting applications of this, and I know MS has plans here.

Probably the closest thing anyone will see like a smartphone close to release is an eight inch tablet with a Bluetooth earpiece!

This is why they keep saying things like "mobile devices" "cellular pc" "mobile pc". They have no intention of rushing headlong into the smartphone marker space until they have a competitive business moat.

If smartphone users expect some immediate reboot of the mobile OS this year, I think they are dead wrong. That would be really poor business practice. That sort of move would only follow all the other moves MS has in place, when MS can be certain its phone platform has a truly competitive moat.

 

[RumoredNow]

There is a pretty big Xbox culture here and I see gaming gets a lot of attention in Blog comments for Xbox and PC gaming. That's not my thing, but I do scan it sometimes.

VR and AR do interest me and we are seeing more of that. PC by itself may not excite the kind of fan fervor that phones generate, but aspects of it can and AR looks poised to take off as the Holo APIs proliferate.

And I see a lot of users with questions about Office, Outlook, Cortana, Hello, etc...

Plenty to do here outside of phones.

I think you do have a point that some users come here only for WP/W10M. Hopefully they find other areas that draw them in. Our Blog Staff, Community Manager and volunteer staff have spent considerable time and effort trying to spruce the place up and keep it current.

I don't see a problem moving forward and there are plenty of indications that new stuff is just over the horizon.

 

[Drael646464]

And so we should expect plenty of gamers here.

Combined xbox and pc make for market dominance in games. High end gaming PCs are still in consistent growth, unlike regular desktops which are still around, but being upgraded less regularly due to phones, tablets, and laptops also draining the budget (fortunately in an upgrade cycle, and this also having a little spurt of growth).

Games, unlike a lot of power software that MS does well, are a 100% mainstream consumer market. And nobody does it better. And it's only going to get better with project scorpio, and the push for UWA, and UWP across platforms.

Myself, I've always been a big fan of games. I'm quietly hoping the touch platforms like tablets and phones slowly over time, get a little of the love. Just adding a virtual xbox controller would be a game changer. And that windows pocket gaming laptop GPD WIN - it kind of excites me.

 

[libra89]

I think it would be just fine for what goes on next. At least Windows 10 Mobile does get monthly updates. I originally joined because of my Windows phone at the time. I'll admit that I only really listen to the podcasts, watch Ask Dan!, read app articles that interest me and of course Windows mobile related articles. The community here is nice though and I really like volunteering here.

I don't game, and I'm intentionally not on Windows 10 but I plan to stick around if the community does.

 

[Guytronic]

It's taking time for the conversion to Windows as a main subject to gel.

I actually think more folks come to "Windows Central" for desktop/notebook or other help than mobile stuff these days.
Phones were at the top when I kicked the door in here and plopped down on the cyber couch.

From what Ive noted over the years the discussions are circular with every influx of newcomers we see old as new again.
It's one of the reasons I think many of the old timers here don't join in many of the excellent yet re-initialized threads.

Seems as though every 14 months the "wayback machine" gets plugged in again.
Time travel makes me sleepy.

Everybody keep posting though!
We love it...

 

[xandros9]

Eh, even if Mobile fades into the sunset, Windows Central is still somewhat general purpose at this point. Worst case we slowly go the way of TreoCentral, PreCentral/webOS Nation but even if that happens, that's the way the news goes!

 

[kaktus1389]

Well you keep forgetting that even if W10M eventually dies, there are still going to be people who use W10M and will possibly have questions about it.

There are also going to be Android and iOS users (ex W10M users) who will find themselves sneaking into their drawers and putting out their Lumias and feel nostalgic about those times and stop by to share their experience like they do now.

Ironically, even if I am an active W10M user, after I've read the article about MS's listing of the S8, I feel like W10M is the past for me. I plan to use my 950 until late 2018 even if the MS drops support for W10M (which I don't expect), but I might want to get a second hand device for my trip to the US in this Fall as my emotions are and will be lost until I see a statement from MS regarding W10M and I mean any kind of it.

This also means I will stick with Windows Central as long as I will be able to because I am interested about everything regarding Microsoft excluding articles about Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft edition. I can read about the S8 on Android central and pretty much every other tech site, no need for WC to make articles about that. Maybe they spammed those articles just to count how many comments are going to say "I need one more article on the S8 please".

 

[Drael646464]

Well hey - the s8 - its still good for MS, and bad for google. Every bing search on Cortana, or person not using google docs makes a google fairy lose its wings

 

[Ian_Superfly]

The World is changing and that option is of course also in the hands of this site...
IF they would have stayed with a 100% focus on Windows mobile they would of course die, IF they continue to report "Microsoft stuff" in a way that people find interesting, they will survive.

Simple as that.

 

[ScubaDog]

I freely admit, I pretty much only come here for Windows phone content. Sometimes I engage the other MS content, but that's not my primary draw. In fact, there are only five sites I have regularly followed, and I'm about to drop two of them: WindowsCentral, MSPowerUser, NeoWin, Thurrott and OnMSFT. I'm just about done with OnMSFT and Thurrott, sad to say.

 

[beachedwhale42]

I'll still read the site. I started reading it just for Windows phones, but have enjoyed their non-WP coverage as well. I just left my 640 for a G5 Plus this past weekend, but I still try and use as much Microsoft stuff as makes sense, so this site is still relevant (to me, at least) in the mobile arena, as well as my Windows 10 PCs and other Microsoft news.

 

[anguilla1980]

This convo isn't a thing. WC re-branded from it's mobile centric domain name years ago to be broader in scope. Carry on.

 

[pedmar007]

Honestly I'm here mainly due to using windows 10 mobile device and I wanted to be in the know when new updates or information regarding my device's OS came out.

 

[sweatshopking]

There are plenty of websites that cover windows and do a vastly better job, due to longer and deeper coverage. Without literally decades of learning there is no way to catch up to some of the other sites.

if windows mobile dies there will be literally no reason to come here.