Is the 950/950XL still a good investment given Mr. Nadella's recent statements?

[BryceMD]

Nadella never said 'unsustainable'. He said people should focus less on market share and more on user experience. Windows Phone is a small part of a bigger picture, but it is still a part of it.

The knee jerk reactions here are as strong as ever.

 

[dpinside]

My wife and I both bought a 950. Worst waste of $1200 we ever made. There are so many issues with it AND with Windows 10 that I've gone back to my 1020. It's just better in ever respect that I care about.

That's a really descriptive narrative of your dislikes.

 

[Wes D]

I'm not sure why the hate for the 950. I bought one a week ago to replace my 1020, which was/is a great device, (but met its demise due to the lag of the latest build). Thus far I'm pleased with it, especially the screen and speed.

Unfortunately like all Windows Phone releases, there was minimal marketing, a device shortage, and the carrier/partners are less than helpful when a customer goes to buy a Windows phone, and gets steered into a Nexus/iPhone instead.

For Microsoft to get credibility in this market segment, the 950 needs to be $399 - make the phone a fanstastic value. I'd also like to see MSFT drop the Windows Phone moniker and call it solely W10Mobile.

There is no reason why MSFT cannot be a solid third alternative in the market.

 

[enthuz]

@poopyfinger - I think you just sealed my purchase of the 950XL with your comments. I wouldn't be buying the first release of the Surface Phone either and would wait for all of the kinks to be iron out. I love the familiarity of my all Windows ecosystem and wouldn't give it up for anyone.

 

[vincentwansink]

Onedrive/Office can auto sync on iOS and Android as well. I get it you're happy with your new WP and that's awesome, but the ecosystem of Windows is equally available on all mobile platforms aside for Cortana.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

Except trying to use your outlook contacts on the LG G3 is an exercise in futility. The default contacts app won't pull in your outlook contacts at all. You can view them in the Outlook app but you can't add new ones. Not sure if this is an LG problem or an Android problem, but you can be sure you won't have any of these kinds of problems with a Microsoft phone.

 

[Poirots Progeny]

Except trying to use your outlook contacts on the LG G3 is an exercise in futility. The default contacts app won't pull in your outlook contacts at all. You can view them in the Outlook app but you can't add new ones. Not sure if this is an LG problem or an Android problem, but you can be sure you won't have any of these kinds of problems with a Microsoft phone.

That's specific to that device because the lg g4, Sammy notes and galaxy devices and the nexus devices do not have that problem at all - we field all of those. No issue. Not an android issue.

 

[chuckdaly]

Buy a 950/XL because you want one, but its a poor investment. Nadella continues to state/imply that Microsoft isn't trying to gain marketshare for its mobile platform. Hoping mobile app developers will create desktop apps because of Windows 10's install base is a pipedream. If a mobile developer doesn't see the need for a desktop app, they won't develop a universal app for W10/M. We Windows 10 Mobile users are at best beta testers for Microsoft services, so they can put them on as manyDesktop, iOS, and Android devices as possible. Thats the "Windows Everywhere" plan.

 

[sevoman]

@x-topher. I was talking about the phone division.. Not pc market share or xbox.. Also your digits are incorrect.. 50% of the console market? Where did you gett that number from?

Don't you like how people change your point and then argue against you? lol

 

[wisedesi]

My brother got lumia 950XL and it is a beautiful phone and great camera(way better than my 1520). I am still going to hold of for surface phone.

 

[pickypg]

Nadella was saying that the current market share is unsustainable, not that WM was unsustainable.

As the others suggested, WM will be around for at least a few more years while Microsoft tries to break into the very lucrative smart phone market, which is where Apple makes the lion's share of their profits.

The OS is going to continue to work for past devices, even as new devices come out. With that said, I ended up returning my Lumia 950 because it was too buggy, had poor battery life, and it crashed frequently. This was days before the firmware update, which hopefully fixed a lot of my [reported] issues, but there were a lot of problems to fix. From my perspective as a huge fan of the ecosystem, the Lumia 950 must have been a last ditch effort from a hodgepodge of employees that were [likely] partially laid off in the last big round of layoffs, followed by Microsoft's desire to keep WM somewhat relevant by releasing a new phone.

I expect that now that the phone development has been placed under the Surface team, the whole experience should be a lot better (perhaps minus display drivers ). Personally, I was really looking forward to the Lumia 950 and I was really disappointed with all of its issues; when it worked, I loved the device though, so I am looking forward to the next release.

 

[koffiejunk]

Still no STRAVA available on my lumia 735.. See what I did there. Without apps like this windows is a fail.. I love the rest of the OS by the way

 

[chasvs]

Don't bail now. The new Lumias are top notch and there is NO WAY MS is going to abandon WM any time soon. I only switched away for now since Verizon is not carrying the 950/950XL and I figured I take the next year to try out the iPhone 6sPlus. I miss WM10 but am impressed with the iPhone and can only hope the MS and VZW get together on the "Panos Phone" next year!

 

[Hasnz]

Its a good phone . The hardware should be able take take me through for another year . It is one of the best cameraphone in the market right now , along with lgv10 and Note5 .

The windows 10 mobile Os itself is pretty decent so far . The microsoft apps and other 3rd party apps can help transition easily from other ecosystem . Its still been less than a month I got 950xl and I am still learning about windows phone . The OS and the upgrade have been stable for me but darn that resuming screen . . . .

Though I am not an app guy , The app issue is still frustrating tbh . I have almost given up on using Facebook ( beta ) and Flipboard . Almost to a point where I decided to exchange it with LGv10 ( which I was actually getting ) . Luckily I have an ipad and I have all the apps and games installed on that which I use a lot . I keep on checking the windows store everyday If there will ever be a solid updates from these app atleast .

Cortana and Groove service is not available here so I end up using this phone more like a feature phone .

I will still give this phone 6 more months to see how things progress . Otherwise back to ios/android .

 

[AgentTheGreat]

Let's back up: were 950 and 950 XL sound investments even brfore Nadella's remarks? Would you pay that much for devices their manufacturers cared so little about, that they decided to release with a beta OS?

I honestly don't know who forks out seven hundred dollars - read that again - for such incomplete and buggy devices when there are so many devices out there with mature OS's and complete software ecosystems.

The lack of confidence in Windows Phone and Mobile was obvious from the moment Nadella took control of the company. This time he just came out and said it. I believe Nadella and his (admittedly overall decent) strategy were the last bullet in the head of Windows Phone.

Another great piece of design fades into history because of bad management and complacency.

 

[eortizr]

Windows Phone = BlackBerry

 

[AgentTheGreat]

I will still give this phone 6 more months to see how things progress . Otherwise back to ios/android .

And remember, he paid/is paying full price of a flagship for this device and is using it as a feature phone!

Let's imagine what would happen if Apple did that with 6S and 6S+. Seriously, can you imagine?

 

[RumoredNow]

Edited as a misperception has been corrected.

 

[cracgor]

Cortana and Groove service is not available here so I end up using this phone more like a feature phone .

oid .

Last word of the paragraph

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Stephen Townsley]

I am a reluctant Android user. I found my Lumia 930 to be a really good mobile device in comparison with bland android grids of icons, pre-installed menu systems, manufacturer installed crapware. However the app ecosystem isn't there. I use a Galaxy S something each day and it is a pretty good device overall but I would like to use my Lumia. It's just that it doesn't do my bank, the local taxi company, my daily transit ride to work, BBC weather app, a place to store loyalty cards, bitcoin .... and a load of other minor stuff.

The major apps are all covered.

 

[Tactik]

As many have stated MS is moving to a service based system. They already have integration on Android, onedrive, office 365, etc. I have also seen where they have experimental apps which will replace your lock screen and such. I see a future where android will be the base platform and if you want MS you will install their apps, which is pretty much what you do now, I think though they will create a solid home app and lock screen app, I think we will see this very soon. This will liberate them from having to produce hardware. BYOD, bring your own device.