Why Microsoft has a huge uphill battle with consumers..

[Reflexx]

Apple - Think Different Commercial - YouTube

 

[captaincalamity]

Everyone I've spoken to immediate reaction is. Windows Phone doesn't have the apps.

Most people just want to tweet, Facebook and play social zynga games on their iPhones.

Being slightly different without the right shoes you will end up at the back of the queue.



Sent from a Lumia far far away

 

[sagara0510]

it annoys me when people say WP is too different from iphone and they don't like it because its different.

quite honestly, if they don't want something different then yes, stick to the iphone and the boring age old stale looking OS that has been around forever.

the main reason I moved away from the iphone to android is because I was sick and tired of 'new' iphones being released that just looked the same (OS). I wanted a change. The reason I moved away from android to WP is because I was just tired of waiting for apps to load lol!

Anyway bottom line is, iphone users are often like that. Too afraid to change to something different and unfamiliar. I come from a family with 4 other iphone users and I've given up ages ago trying to get any of them to move away from what they are currently using.

 

[MJ217]

WP seems to be attractive to those who really haven't had much exposure to the smartphone.

That's pretty much true for me. The Icon I just got is my first smartphone. I've only had it for a few days, and I feel comfortable with it. I never had a data plan before so I made sure I understood Data Sense. I don't want to go over my limit due to messing around/learning the OS so the first thing I did was put a limit on it.

My dad recently upgraded from a basic phone to a basic phone and is severely jealous of my news and weather live tiles. He isn't up to date on anything remotely techy, so seeing him excited about my phone gives me some hope that he will embrace smartphones. So far he hasn't moved to one because he thinks it would be too much to learn and not worth the time and money.

 

[jomarr]

People tell me that Windows Phone is so cool because it's different. I applaud Microsoft on thinking outside the box. That's their initial impression with Windows Phone.. Then goes the app debacle where they go on and say how this app and that app is not there. Then I give them the alternatives and they really liked it especially the interface.

The teen group who indulges their life with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram wouldn't have a problem. I do tell them that Facebook still needs more work since it's unstable but they are sold.

Windows Phone is not really for someone who wants to fit in, it's for someone who dares to be different. But like every other thing, it boils down to preference.. Even if you like Windows Phone as an Operating System, if there are specific apps that you need not on WP (like bank apps etc.), it's better to stick to Android and iOS but if you can live without it, might as well give it a try.

Other than the horrible Xbox Music app, I see no other issues with my Windows Phone.

 

[RavenSword]

Microsoft is a interesting company I think. They do so many things that are key to having the world work like it does (windows, office, etc.) yet it goes unrecognized or taken for granted I think. It's only once those things stop working do people seem to care. I mean, business seems to practically run on Microsoft products and services. If something happened to windows or office, it would have massive reprocussions I think. There kind of like IBM in that regard.

But I do think MS still has a marketing problem and a image one . With windows 8 and the Xbox one debacle that happened, I think people may be perceiving them as a company that either puts out products that aren't good or that they can't ever commit to anything. I don't know how they fix that outside of just release great products continually for a certain number of years.

 

[trainplane]

I think the problem is beyond marketing. As others have mentioned, once people get used to something, they don't like change, even if the change is a little be better.

For Windows Phone to succeed, they have to be able to do things iPhone and Android cannot do. And things that are important to people. For me, WP's biggest selling point is offline maps and overall more offline capabilities (Nokia Mix Radio allowing offline playlists, etc) so as to not eat up my monthly allotment. But not everyone cares about that. So Windows Phone has to have revolutionary features that the other OSes don't have and that the mass market cares about to get people to change.

For instance, if Cortana can really evolve to be a useful personal assistant, that could change the game. But it is a long way from there right now. If WP can do some things revolutionary, the marketing will happen. That's the harder problem.

 

[MDMcAtee]

Will Microsoft succeed,hells yes.

Let's see,119% increase in phone sales,ya think

Now I'll relate to you what happened this very morning at work.

#1 coworker # 2 coworker watching me playing around with Blink..simple app right...both have GNote 3's..guess what,both immediately went to the store to download it..didn't happen...#1 coworker is going to get a 1520 like mine (he was on the fence after playing around with mine last week) this pushed him over it Coworker #2 really ticked off and said...I quote...I didn't think WP had any cool apps...end quotes...Coworker #1 said to him," you don't want to see everything his can do or you'll be really po'd.."

Both guys are/were diehard Droidheads

It's all a misconception of what good WP can actually do,while differences scare some away,most folks that are a little curious will look,and most will like what they see. The more they use it,the sooner they will get one.

Oh...coworker #2 asked me if mine showed a dot above the screen like his did.I said no and never had a issue where I didn't know where I was pointing

I agree Microsoft needs some good marketing people who can breathe new life into their strategy plans and have nothing to do with Xbox in any manner whatsoever. Many adults who aren't gamers' think that this is all these phones are good for,and they are capable of so much more.

They need a complete overhaul of their goals,and to do that they need to focus more showing that it's more than a extension of a game console.

Mac

 

[A895]

Yeah it is perception and it is not entirely without cause. WP is different in looks and it does lack some apps that others on other platforms are used too. People like what is familiar and Android or iOS are familiar as it is what is most common. WP is vastly different and BB10 is even more so.

 

[docfreed]

A big problem that I see is the Music experience - many people purchase "smart phones" as their primary music player and WP (and the XBox garbage excuse for a music player) is a total turnoff. IMHO, the popularity of the Iphone is due in large part to the excellence of its music experience - the WP music player cannot even start playing where you left off.
Makes me wonder what MS is thinking (or more probably if they're thinking at all)

 

[radmanvr]

My sister says the same thing. She loves the features of my Nokia Icon but she refuses to learn a whole new platform she is more comfortable with her iPhone although she does say that she over paid for her iPhone when there are some features that WP8.1 has that she really wants.

 

[evanwaustin]

That's interesting to me as Microsoft's original Windows Phone campaign was focused around quickly doing what you needed to do and getting on with your life, and that's what originally appealed to me (back with WP 7). I like that WP is different, and as long as it has enough business to stay afloat I don't mind it lagging behind the other two platforms (just not too far!)

I feel like teens are a lost cause right now with WP, just because socially they need things the same time as their peers, and need the same apps as their peers. I think WP is much easier to learn and would be more appealing to people who require a little less app support. WP has a lot going for it: the camera is by far the most important phone feature and Nokia (now Microsoft Mobile) kills everyone in that area especially in non-ideal light situations. If everyone was honest with each other I think they would agree Live Tiles are way more functional than the static icons on both other platforms. WP is getting footing in emerging markets, and has held its ground against very long odds.

I know the iPhone has changed a lot since the original but overall I feel like the jumps, especially to the outsider, have been small, particularly aesthetically with the OS. But I don't think WP is going to take away many iPhone users, the fandom there is too great right now. But I think with a few very high end devices, some Android users would switch.

 

[AndyCalling]

I think this is a local issue in the US, which is known to have a particularly Maoist attitude to mobile phones. All MS need do is to make a WP that looks like an iPhone (since Apple have already made their OS look like Windows). Sort of like the way Nokia made an Android that looked like a WP. Then US customers could safely buy it without the fear of being ostracised by society.

 

[prasath1234]

I think this is a local issue in the US, which is known to have a particularly Maoist attitude to mobile phones. All MS need do is to make a WP that looks like an iPhone (since Apple have already made their OS look like Windows). Sort of like the way Nokia made an Android that looked like a WP. Then US customers could safely buy it without the fear of being ostracised by society.

If they do it that way they will land in patent trouble apple will sue them for copying thier designs lol

Sent from my C2305 using WPCentral Forums mobile app

 

[Jorge Holguin]

Although I'll respect their choice I don't agree with it. Changes are "always scary" for many and they don't like it. If I would have been in that situation I would have shown my daughter and wife that life isn't as easy as we wanted and life brings lots of changes to our lifes often every day and sometimes it takes awhile. Don't be afraid of change embrace it instead try it if you don't like it just go back. No trying to tell you how to manage your family but this would had been the perfect time to tell them specially your kid ��: Hey, you know when you change school �� that's new when you go to college that's new, so aren't you going because is different and you don't want to learn something different? And to your wife what are you going to do when the kids change school �� and go to college? That's different? Just to show them we can not be lazy to try new things specially in the way technology is moving. I had that issue with my wife as well. When the HTC radar came out I told my wife here is something new let's get this flip phones �� a kick she say and I quote "that looks to complicated" two years later she wanted a new phone ��. Guess what she wants? Yep, a WP. She tried Android and iPhone and she didn't like she told me that WP was easier to use. Plus the little apps she uses have been there. Btw blessings to your family.

 

[AndyCalling]

If they do it that way they will land in patent trouble apple will sue them for copying thier designs lol

Sent from my C2305 using WPCentral Forums mobile app

No more than the risk Apple took by making their mobile OS look like Windows, surely?

 

[Torcher Death]

Since my school days,I've always been known to be different & thats also probably why I chose WP over iOS & Droid, even though pretty much everyone around me has them.
In my opinion with the 8.1, WPs are much better than the other two as long as they can win in the app market .

 

[rodan01]

As the smartphone becomes more important in people's life, there is a bigger risk in trying new things. It's not a toy anymore, It can't fail.

Only geeks, a small fraction of the population, enjoy installing Linux and learning a new OS.

 

[Old_Cus]

I think everyone is missing an important fact. 35% of cell phone users are still using feature phones and this is where Microsoft needs to focus. They need to try to capture the new smartphone owners that have no history with I phone or android. In addition to increased marketing and advertising as mentioned above I would give mid level window phones to customers feature phones customers for free and give them high level phones at a 60-75% discount. These people need a reason to try something other than what their friends and family are using.

 

[RavenSword]

Yeah it is perception and it is not entirely without cause. WP is different in looks and it does lack some apps that others on other platforms are used too. People like what is familiar and Android or iOS are familiar as it is what is most common. WP is vastly different and BB10 is even more so.