PC Magazine : 950 & 950XL Beautiful But Doomed

[GMC262]

Particularly since T-Mobile seems to be indicating they won't carry Lumia phones going forward. No indication whether they will carry Windows 10 hardware from other OEMs. If not, staying with them will mean bringing your own phone or going with Android or iOS.

 

[Mad Cabbie]

What the author of the original article, and his Microsoft source, probably mean is that: Microsoft realizes that broad consumer take up of Windows phones is moot at this point (it peaked at 5%, drifted lower, and seems stuck at 2.5-3% global share) so they've re-positioned their smartphones as something that they can sell as one part of a complete package to IT enterprise buyers, hence the focus on Continuum and being 'productive like a boss'.

That last line isn't something you throw out there, when you're trying to appeal to the Instagram/Periscope/Uber/Snapchat generation.

Hey, at least it's a niche of some sort (shrug).

I think you are spot on. IMHO the new Win 10 mobile ( NOT windows phones ) devices are a curve ball for Apple. They have their Macs, but are they really integrated?? Don't get me wrong, when I was DJing, macs won hands down on reliability, but the minute they went wrong, you pretty much had to throw them out, particularly the iMac G series. They are expensive to buy, and expensive to run!!

I ported android to a netbook once. Never again!! Doesn't work! Google would have a hell of a job to offer Integration on their platform!

Which brings us back to MSFT. I think, and hope, that the integration of Win 10 into surface, mobile device, PC etc will pay dividends. I appreciate the views of those who have a downer on things, BUT, with only 3% of the consumer market on mobile, the enterprise sector is being targeted. MSFT is a business. It's OS has worldwide recognition. It's brand is known worldwide, they gave win 10 away ensuring that whatever win 10 device you use, it will all be familiar. In the enterprise sector, if the whole company is singing from the same hymn sheet, productivity increases.

In my little taxi firm, our drivers have windows phones, with the start screen all setup the same. They have individual folders in one drive for jobs etc. The simplicity of it means they aren't parked up on the phone all the time, phone numbers and addresses don't end up being misinterpreted. Yes, I know other devices could probably do the same, but for price of an iPhone I got several 640's!!! So integration in a business setting works for me!

 

[dkediger]

In the US, without Verizon support, the 950/XL, or any other WP cellular device, will be DOA. It doesn't matter what Microsoft's enterprise or consumer intentions are - not having them available on Vzw assures their failure.

Particularly in the enterprise. We operate under contracts and can't turn those on a dime to switch carriers.

No Verizon support will be fatal. You can argue GSM/world phone all you want, but I'm not sure these devices can thrive, let alone survive, without a major portion of the US market. That's the nut that needed to be cracked, and if it doesn't happen, well, what we have now with WP is what it will be in a year - still stuck at 2.5%.

 

[realwarder]

Latest Kandar numbers shows good growth in China and the EU. Other sites have this, not seen an article here. In EU almost beating iOS overall now.

China also went from 0.3 to 2.3 or something like that. Sure, still small but a massive growth for a market once closed.

Despite all the doom and gloom and negative posts you read here, more phones are being sold now than ever so it's not all bad...

 

[mraiii]

I'm curious as to how a 1520 is better. If you don't like the plastic body on the 950, well, you lose that argument with a 1520. Outside of on screen navigation keys, the specs are better in every way on the 950, and in some cases, by a wide margin.

Don't get me wrong - I hope lots of people feel like you right now, because I have a couple of 1520's to sell. But, I'm not seeing it.

Edit: I'm not sure if maybe the guy had one too many rum and cokes (which says a lot, but that's another story), but what exactly does "designed for enterprise" so they don't care about consumers mean? What would be in a consumer phone that is not in an enterprise phone?

Hey, I might be interested in those 1520s. I tried to PM you, but it doesn't look like it went through. All my messages seem to have to be approved. Never had that problem with any other site. Anyways, if you can, please PM me.

Thank You.

 

[gordonfink]

Hey, I might be interested in those 1520s. I tried to PM you, but it doesn't look like it went through. All my messages seem to have to be approved. Never had that problem with any other site. Anyways, if you can, please PM me.

Thank You.

I got your PM, and pinged you back. Hopefully you got it.

 

[Jazmac]

PC magazine is already out with a hands-on calling both phone doomed . He said while sipping on o rum & coke a rep told him that phones are basically designed for enterprise customers so apparently MS does not care about consumers .

That tells me MS does not have clear vision not that it had any vision before .
First the company took a write off of $7 billion and CEO said they will not promote the phone .
Later in an interview he clarified and said company will have 3 phones , one low budget, one high end , and one for enterprise . Apparently he did not know what he was talking about as high end and enterprise is the same phone .

I was hoping we get something so I could upgrade to but my 1520 is actually better

Too sad this company has never been able to find the right CEO with futuristic vision like Jeff Bezos

This reads like so many troll blogs that hate windows phone just because they like android better. Buzz words like no clear vision, what Microsoft wrote off and including some out of context comment. Even calling out Jeff Bezos is laughable. Of Amazon Fire Phone fame. I guarantee you the 1520 doesn't even get close to the 950, let alone the 950XL I've seen and held the 950XL today. Not 2 hours ago.
NOTHING my friend, you have ever seen running this OS could hold a candle to the 950XL. PC Magazine should stick to PC's. They know next to nothing about Windows Phone.

 

[PepperdotNet]

Specification points of view, 950 XL can make Note 5 run for its money except for 3 areas.
1) Cheap plastic compared to premium aluminium finish covered by ceramic glass
2) SD 810 instead of 820.
3) No Uni body features. replaceable batteries, Micro SD slots and inserting SIM and Micro SD card by opening back cover are good for mid-end and low end devices, not flagship. Even 930 has much better premium finish than 950 XL.

If MS would have covered these 3 aspects, it would have made every Note 5 owner feel ENVY. The camera is superior in each and every aspect, the UI is smooth. The Screen is superior. The weight is almost the same. But where is the premium touch?

1. Polycarbonate is not "cheap plastic." Ceramic glass on a toilet maybe, no chance accidentally dropping a toilet out of my pocket onto the pavement.
2. It's like arguing that i7 is better than i5, when in reality i3 is enough for 99% of computing tasks.
3. Unibody makes the phone less capable. Ability to change the battery, and insert SD card is a desirable feature. And since the back is replaceable, bet somebody comes out with a ceramic one for you. "Rich Corinthian Leather" is already available.

 

[tgp]

If MS would have covered these 3 aspects, it would have made every Note 5 owner feel ENVY.

You're talking strictly hardware. But hardware is only part of a smartphone. And hardware is not the reason WP is at 2.7% market share after 5 years on the market. It doesn't matter what the hardware is; Note 5 owners will feel no envy.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Every smartphone has an OS. The OS has been WP's problem, not hardware.

Sent from whatever device I happen to be using today using Tapatalk

 

[ejlee072006]

The more I look at the hardware the more I'm staring to love it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dkediger]

Specification points of view, 950 XL can make Note 5 run for its money except for 3 areas.
.....
2) SD 810 instead of 820.
.....
If MS would have covered these 3 aspects, it would have made every Note 5 owner feel ENVY. The camera is superior in each and every aspect, the UI is smooth. The Screen is superior. The weight is almost the same. But where is the premium touch?

This would be a real trick as the 820 has yet to be "officially" released by Qualcomm and any hardware rumored to use it is also estimated to not be available until spring 2016. We already had to wait for over a year, why make it nearly 2 by holding out for the 820?

 

[920Walker]

THE INTERNALS DIDNT MATCH THE EXTERNAL
TYPICAL MICROSOFT
I ALWAYS WONDER IF APPLE OWNS 50% of msft! If they can make a Xbox one,surface etc how come they can't come out with a stunning eye catching phone!!!!
After 5 years of wp, recently jumped to iPhone band wagon, I'm gonna be the one of those fans that will wait, for now I will probably get my mom a 640 xl!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The XBox One is eye catching? Really. It looks like a Cablevision box from 1989.

Edit: IMO the designers of the phones made a more aesthetically pleasing device. But pixels and retro have been back for a while.

 

[ejlee072006]

The XBox One is eye catching? Really. It looks like a Cablevision box from 1989.

Edit: IMO the designers of the phones made a more aesthetically pleasing device. But pixels and retro have been back for a while.

That's exactly my point, it's design to replace a cable box!! IMO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[the1]

This would be a real trick as the 820 has yet to be "officially" released by Qualcomm and any hardware rumored to use it is also estimated to not be available until spring 2016. We already had to wait for over a year, why make it nearly 2 by holding out for the 820?

You took the words right out of my mouth. If the 950 got the SD820, we would be seeing a 2016 release and more people complaining about the wait time.

 

[the1]

You're talking strictly hardware. But hardware is only part of a smartphone. And hardware is not the reason WP is at 2.7% market share after 5 years on the market. It doesn't matter what the hardware is; Note 5 owners will feel no envy.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Every smartphone has an OS. The OS has been WP's problem, not hardware.

Sent from whatever device I happen to be using today using Tapatalk

Actually, it's not really the OS. It's the apps that available for the OS. As far as the capability of the OS, I will still rank WebOS above almost everything that is out now, but people are dependent on apps and that's the name of the game.

 

[donebrasko]

That wouldn't be a good idea. The Amazon Fire Phone was probably the biggest failure in the history of smartphones.

Kin lol

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Ti P]

i like the idea. Thanks

 

[TechFreak1]

PC magazine is already out with a hands-on calling both phone doomed . He said while sipping on o rum & coke a rep told him that phones are basically designed for enterprise customers so apparently MS does not care about consumers .

That tells me MS does not have clear vision not that it had any vision before .
First the company took a write off of $7 billion and CEO said they will not promote the phone .
Later in an interview he clarified and said company will have 3 phones , one low budget, one high end , and one for enterprise . Apparently he did not know what he was talking about as high end and enterprise is the same phone .

I was hoping we get something so I could upgrade to but my 1520 is actually better

Too sad this company has never been able to find the right CEO with futuristic vision like Jeff Bezos

Really?

Are the phones solely in the enterprise channel?

The answer to that is a resounding No, they are not.

You can still buy them in consumer retail outlets.

This reads like so many troll blogs that hate windows phone just because they like android better. Buzz words like no clear vision, what Microsoft wrote off and including some out of context comment. Even calling out Jeff Bezos is laughable. Of Amazon Fire Phone fame. I guarantee you the 1520 doesn't even get close to the 950, let alone the 950XL I've seen and held the 950XL today. Not 2 hours ago.
NOTHING my friend, you have ever seen running this OS could hold a candle to the 950XL. PC Magazine should stick to PC's. They know next to nothing about Windows Phone.

How did the button placement feel like on the XL given it doesn't follow the standard form we've been used to on Wp8.x Lumia's?

That's exactly my point, it's design to replace a cable box!! IMO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The xbox one is not in the same basket as the Surface arguing over aesthetics of the phones. You either need to chill out or quit talking out of your behind lol. The xbox one and Surface are a universe apart in terms of aesthetics. The primary reason the xbox one is as big as VCR is due to that massive fan, they sure went out of their way to ensure no RROD issues (similar) with the xbox one.

If that is your idea of design, to be frank and don't mean to be rude.. you're decades too late.

 

[CygnusOrion]

PC magazine is already out with a hands-on calling both phone doomed . He said while sipping on o rum & coke a rep told him that phones are basically designed for enterprise customers so apparently MS does not care about consumers .

That tells me MS does not have clear vision not that it had any vision before .
First the company took a write off of $7 billion and CEO said they will not promote the phone .
Later in an interview he clarified and said company will have 3 phones , one low budget, one high end , and one for enterprise . Apparently he did not know what he was talking about as high end and enterprise is the same phone .

I was hoping we get something so I could upgrade to but my 1520 is actually better

Too sad this company has never been able to find the right CEO with futuristic vision like Jeff Bezos

Sorry but Bezos while once was good, has totally lost the plot and I would NOT want him as MS CEO right now. Nadella is the right man for the job.

 

[CygnusOrion]

That wouldn't be a good idea. The Amazon Fire Phone was probably the biggest failure in the history of smartphones.

The Microsoft Kin is tied for the biggest bust in smartphone history. Ballmer ended up getting fired over that. Why is Bezos still safe?