Thing is, no reviewer can afford to give Microsoft Phones an unbiased review. It seems trite, but its not fashionable. Nobody wants to be seen as a '******', so there is no impetuous to temper the language, or do real research. You can **** out anything you want, as long as everyone agrees with you.
Of course our local host here was quite honest, yet positive, but that is expected with a site name like windowscentral so Dan gets a pass.
Its amazing how nobody puts the WM interface under scrutiny against the Apple and Android offerings. The touchy, microscopic icons of iOS just makes me feel like I'm using a windows 9x version these days. Android is such a mess of half baked UI, but nobody seems to care either. Anything but Microsoft. Is the entire world like that? So infused with the marketing BS that true validity doesn't matter? Of course in the rest of the post you'll see i'm of two minds about where we are at with the OS and the Hardware, but at least it is an authentic assessment.
This version of WM10 is certainly a duct-taped version tailored to run on the 950's. The criticism is valid that the OS isn't complete, Shame on microsoft for releasing this and ruining any chance at positive initial perception. It reminds me a bit of what happened with the KIN and WP7, nobody had the vision to say hang on, what will the impact of this be and put a stop to a bad decision.
Knowing how things work there, the sales end of the management are the ones who pressed and held to the release dates. The message was, "make it work, and we'll fix it in the following builds". A few years ago the internal buzz phrase was "Software as a Service". The underlying message is, a constantly evolving offering. We're seeing the transposition of this philosophy onto the OS. Devices as a Service, meaning its never finished, or doesn't need to be complete when initially released. That is fine, if you're made of Stainless Steel like Apple and no matter what -Gate happens corrosion just slides right off, but Microsoft never recovered from the 90's in the eyes of the public at large. I met a woman at a bar the other night who was convinced i was an ***** for using a phone that would blue screen all the time. It took me a minute to realize she was hearing "My phone has windows Vista on it", and couldn't hear anything else. I'm sure she thought I had to go hunt for drivers or something too. Granted she was a cult member and she couldn't help herself, but it just underlined the above point I made about nobody can afford to look bad by even entertaining the thought of a Microsoft device being useful.
I remember back in the WP7 launch days seeing a blog, or press release or some internal presentation or something about how the WP team did exhaustive testing down to the Millisecond of tweaking and tuning and optimizing every aspect of how the OS responds. I was impressed with the level of craftsmanship and care that went into the OS. Where is that now? I know they can do better.
In all, I think the 950s are fantastic pieces of hardware that have a team of very capable but probably discouraged, disappointed and disheartened devs behind them. I think even the folks who write the software punching the clock at this point, hitting milestones and sprints but without the passion. The bullies in the press have won, in essence. Its too easy to just write WM10 off for them.
In the end, I don't know what i'll do. Go back to a feature phone? I can't stand what the rest of the market is putting out. Of course I own a 950 and am absolutely pleased with it. But its not a finished piece, its quite obviously a work in progress, and that is the only real valid complaint i'm hearing from anyone.
sorry to **** that out, but those are my thoughts 2 weeks into this new phone.
Of course our local host here was quite honest, yet positive, but that is expected with a site name like windowscentral so Dan gets a pass.
Its amazing how nobody puts the WM interface under scrutiny against the Apple and Android offerings. The touchy, microscopic icons of iOS just makes me feel like I'm using a windows 9x version these days. Android is such a mess of half baked UI, but nobody seems to care either. Anything but Microsoft. Is the entire world like that? So infused with the marketing BS that true validity doesn't matter? Of course in the rest of the post you'll see i'm of two minds about where we are at with the OS and the Hardware, but at least it is an authentic assessment.
This version of WM10 is certainly a duct-taped version tailored to run on the 950's. The criticism is valid that the OS isn't complete, Shame on microsoft for releasing this and ruining any chance at positive initial perception. It reminds me a bit of what happened with the KIN and WP7, nobody had the vision to say hang on, what will the impact of this be and put a stop to a bad decision.
Knowing how things work there, the sales end of the management are the ones who pressed and held to the release dates. The message was, "make it work, and we'll fix it in the following builds". A few years ago the internal buzz phrase was "Software as a Service". The underlying message is, a constantly evolving offering. We're seeing the transposition of this philosophy onto the OS. Devices as a Service, meaning its never finished, or doesn't need to be complete when initially released. That is fine, if you're made of Stainless Steel like Apple and no matter what -Gate happens corrosion just slides right off, but Microsoft never recovered from the 90's in the eyes of the public at large. I met a woman at a bar the other night who was convinced i was an ***** for using a phone that would blue screen all the time. It took me a minute to realize she was hearing "My phone has windows Vista on it", and couldn't hear anything else. I'm sure she thought I had to go hunt for drivers or something too. Granted she was a cult member and she couldn't help herself, but it just underlined the above point I made about nobody can afford to look bad by even entertaining the thought of a Microsoft device being useful.
I remember back in the WP7 launch days seeing a blog, or press release or some internal presentation or something about how the WP team did exhaustive testing down to the Millisecond of tweaking and tuning and optimizing every aspect of how the OS responds. I was impressed with the level of craftsmanship and care that went into the OS. Where is that now? I know they can do better.
In all, I think the 950s are fantastic pieces of hardware that have a team of very capable but probably discouraged, disappointed and disheartened devs behind them. I think even the folks who write the software punching the clock at this point, hitting milestones and sprints but without the passion. The bullies in the press have won, in essence. Its too easy to just write WM10 off for them.
In the end, I don't know what i'll do. Go back to a feature phone? I can't stand what the rest of the market is putting out. Of course I own a 950 and am absolutely pleased with it. But its not a finished piece, its quite obviously a work in progress, and that is the only real valid complaint i'm hearing from anyone.
sorry to **** that out, but those are my thoughts 2 weeks into this new phone.
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