Windows Phone Going Wrong Direction

[Great deal]

wait for Q3. That will show us if 8.1 helped the platform or not.

The answer to that will be no as well. 8.1 is a transition to close the gap, Threshold will be the real yardstick from which to measure market share (IF MS don't screw it up) so If Threshold comes out in Q2 of 2015 the user adoption will be low as no doubt there will be bugs to Iron out and enterprise will not jump immediately without having tested everything so realistically Q4 of 2015 or Q1 of 2016 will reveal the true numbers.

 

[rodan01]

The answer to that will be no as well. 8.1 is a transition to close the gap, Threshold will be the real yardstick from which to measure market share (IF MS don't screw it up) so If Threshold comes out in Q2 of 2015 the user adoption will be low as no doubt there will be bugs to Iron out and enterprise will not jump immediately without having tested everything so realistically Q4 of 2015 or Q1 of 2016 will reveal the true numbers.

I'm not so sure about that. There are changes that could improve sales.




The new strategy for Lumias is cheaper phones with lower specs.



8.1 added many features. Cortana helps with free marketing.



The new OEMs. For example, Micromax has 20% of market share in India.



If Microsoft reach 4% market share (12 million units) with 8.1, I'd call that a success. A 5% (15 million) would be a major success.



It's a shame that the L530, the more important device, will have only one month of sales in Q3. Anyways the impact should be reflected in the numbers.

 

[Great deal]

I'm not so sure about that. There are changes that could improve sales.

The new strategy for Lumias is cheaper phones with lower specs.

8.1 added many features. Cortana helps with free marketing.

The new OEMs. For example, Micromax has 20% of market share in India.

If Microsoft reach 4% market share (12 million units) with 8.1, I'd call that a success. A 5% (15 million) would be a major success.

It's a shame that the L530, the more important device, will have only one month of sales in Q3. Anyways the impact should be reflected in the numbers.

If MS trying to convince iPhone and Android users to switch to WP (which is of course the goal) then you cant expect them to switch to a system that offers them considerably less functionality which was the issue of WP8. With 8.1 it has caught up, not entirely and MS are working hard to close the gap. The real fight starts when the gap is closed and innovation shines through, just like Cortana is starting to shine from reviews ive read. The possibilities of cross functionality of phone, tablet and desktop with Windows will be the ace up their sleeve and its only up to them to screw it up. 4%, 5%, 6% are all possible between now and Threshold but its not a priority for them, MS resources are bearing down on the next OS, 8.1 is to get things ready for that big change. Its similar to motor sports, a team knows when the season is dead and not worth fighting for and they divert resources to making the next years car better and using the current one as a test bed, that's how I see 8.1...just wish I could get my hands on it in the UK grrrrrrr come on O2 and Vodafone!!! 8.1 update 1 will be out before 8.1 in UK :/

 

[rodan01]

If MS trying to convince iPhone and Android users to switch to WP (which is of course the goal)...

Maybe the target is first time smartphone users.

 

[Great deal]

Maybe the target is first time smartphone users.

The low end devices are aimed (mainly) at countries where the cost makes sense however in the western world MS wants to compete with Apple and Android (as well as the low end market). How many iPhone + Android users are there vs new smartphone users in western world.

 

[rodan01]

The low end devices are aimed (mainly) at countries where the cost makes sense however in the western world MS wants to compete with Apple and Android (as well as the low end market). How many iPhone + Android users are there vs new smartphone users in western world.

Penetration of smartphones in the developed economies must be higher than 70%, but there are still first time users to take. Although, the focus probably is in the growth markets where WP phones are easier to sell.

 

[smoledman]

Microsoft should ditch the pointless sale of no-profit Lumia 630s and focus on making a super-premium device that will give people gadget lust. Or else, just get out of the market. MS is the only smartphone vendor focusing solely on low-end.

 

[pedmar007]

Show me that same chart next year this same date 06/08/2014 when WP8.1 has been updated to the point that every feature is avl on all three major OSes. Do that, show the same result and I'll actually read anything anyone has to say about the disparity in ANDROID & IOS vs WP8.1.

 

[bilzkh]

Microsoft should ditch the pointless sale of no-profit Lumia 630s and focus on making a super-premium device that will give people gadget lust. Or else, just get out of the market. MS is the only smartphone vendor focusing solely on low-end.

That was Microsoft's approach in the early days of Windows Phone 7.

The problem with this approach is that it does little to build an actual user base for developers and vendors to tap into for their apps, games and services. For one reason or another Microsoft just cannot secure enough high-end users, it needs lower-end phones to build up its user base.

Although Microsoft may not make a profit on low-cost hardware, it might be able to recoup by winning those users over to Bing, Skype, Office 365, Xbox Music and OneDrive, all of which feature front and center on Windows Phone.

I do agree on the idea that Windows Phone needs a couple of trailblazing devices, especially for those with gadget lust. But the low and mid-end phones are integral to the growth of the wider WP user base. More users = more reason to develop for WP.

 

[smoledman]

That was Microsoft's approach in the early days of Windows Phone 7.

The problem with this approach is that it does little to build an actual user base for developers and vendors to tap into for their apps, games and services. For one reason or another Microsoft just cannot secure enough high-end users, it needs lower-end phones to build up its user base.

Although Microsoft may not make a profit on low-cost hardware, it might be able to recoup by winning those users over to Bing, Skype, Office 365, Xbox Music and OneDrive, all of which feature front and center on Windows Phone.

I do agree on the idea that Windows Phone needs a couple of trailblazing devices, especially for those with gadget lust. But the low and mid-end phones are integral to the growth of the wider WP user base. More users = more reason to develop for WP.

The kind of people who buy the cheapest smartphone do not buy those expensive cloud subscription services like OneDrive, XBox Music. Show me any proof that MS is converting millions of new users to those paid services.