Microsoft still releases their apps on other platforms but on WP

[Arka1412]

The transitions has just started. Give it a time. The stuff you are seeing today probably came from the pipelines of Ballmer's era. The way they implemented GDR1 with such speed and 2 weekly updates of XBox music and video might be an indicator of their commitment to OS. I'm sure once they cover their base in OS front, they will improve their own apps.

Hope and patience..this we can do..

 

[iamakii]

You guys need to see the bigger picture. If you're scratching on the surface only, it appears that Microsoft prioritizes other platforms over their very own. If you look behind the obvious you'll see that what Microsoft does is actually draw people away from Apple and Google. into their services. They try and get more users on board, who may eventually make the transition over to WP in the end.
It's okay with me if they bring their services to other platforms. The only thing I'm really worried about is the fact that the apps for competing platforms are very often superior to their offerings for WP. That's definitely something they need to change. "Use our services, no matter the platform. But if you want the best and full experience, jump on the WP bandwagon." That's how it should be.

How can MS lure other users into its own platform when these apps are not even present in its own platform? Isn't it ironic? E.g. Office on iPad. Office 13 and WP Office don't count.

 

[Brandon Tobias]

All of you are right ... Honestly coming from Android Windows Phone to me is cool but annoying I use alot of apps and most of the stock MS apps are horrid at best I mean windows phone does not have built in voice recorder app ?. MS needed to have an excellent experience on WP first before making apps for other platforms.... I like windows phone but I feel neglected So once the next nexus device comes out im back on android. Maybe Windows Phone 9 will fix that and ill wait to see what this new Microsoft will do ... As windows phone is a nice platform ..... Just let down by laziness, and Ms a market share mentality.

Google services may look nicer on ios and have more features but it is seamless on android. BBM on blackberry is seamless with more features where ios,android and windows phone versions are good but not the best. IOS keeps all their software to themselves so MS is going about it wrong.... Sorry to say

 

[dalydose]

MS dumbs it again. Time for some Twitter shaming. These need to be seen as PR mistakes. Thankfully, the app isn't one of mass appeal, this time.

How do they approach other developers with a straight face when asking them to develop for the Windows Phone platform?

 

[TechFreak1]

You guys need to see the bigger picture. If you're scratching on the surface only, it appears that Microsoft prioritizes other platforms over their very own. If you look behind the obvious you'll see that what Microsoft does is actually draw people away from Apple and Google. into their services. They try and get more users on board, who may eventually make the transition over to WP in the end.
It's okay with me if they bring their services to other platforms.

Actually most of us do see the bigger picture, sure you pull users away from competing services however any marketing or sales person worth his / her salt will tell you - to sell any product it must have unique selling points. A product without any is just as useful as a boulder being used for buoyancy, just like you said

The only thing I'm really worried about is the fact that the apps for competing platforms are very often superior to their offerings for WP. That's definitely something they need to change. "Use our services, no matter the platform. But if you want the best and full experience, jump on the WP bandwagon." That's how it should be.

That is the problem they are is so superior compared to on window phone and users are not switching since there is no compelling reason. As they have the best of both worlds, the comfort of their ecosystem + plus the benefit of Microsoft apps. The final nail in that coffin would be if they made Cortana available on IOS / Android.

As other than the UX windows phone will no longer have any unique selling points (software wise) to entice consumers to buy windows phone.

What does bug me is that MS has done countless u-turns i.e worked so hard making hubs into what it was and only to tear it up and go down the app centric route. It is like come on, you should have known updating hubs tied into the O/S would need an O/S level upgrade. So that is another selling point down the drain, just like xbox games on WP - (another brand not being utilized to it's full potential).

Another big one was Windows phone 7 & Windows CE, the development time spent must have been insane given the wealth of features that were in Mango. The decision to go with Windows CE was the biggest mistake they could have possibly made as it offered no upgrade path what so ever, (I understand why they did it) however if WP7 ran on the Windows NT Kernal, things would be dramatically different now.

Edit:
Sorry of the long rant, looks like I got abit carried away here :winktongue:

 

[colinkiama]

They have to do that, otherwise they should stop developing and selling WP. The only one to be blamed for this and the market share of WP is MS. All I am asking is for them to prioritize their OS. I don't care about MS being " software company first". What's the point of having their mobile OS if it's not the first on their list.

I understand your pain. I hate that Microsoft has made such a brilliant OS but doesn't know how to advertise it or prioritize it.

 

[colinkiama]

To answer the OP. Microsoft doesn't know how to rectify these issues. They don't know how to play dirty like Google by only releasing subpar apps for the other platforms and making your platform look superior. They don't know how to use their brands like Xbox live. Who doesn't love xbox on a phone? They don't know how to advertise well consistently. I don't know why Microsoft are acting so passive. Be aggressive.

Maybe you should try complaining to them on twitter or email them. They actually listen to the consumer now.

 

[dark_raven132]

It's because MS is a software and service company that represents itself to all platform. That part is understandable, the issue that bothers me is the fact that some apps, for instance Skype is better (in term of performance and feature) in Android / iOS, rather than their own platform.

In other words, it's really understandable that MS will release most of their apps and services to other platform, but they need to revise on how they do it. Their own OS have to be their top priority, make it superior in comparison of other platform. Like, "We'll release this app / service to your OS, but it's inferior to the WP version, if you want to get a much better experience you have to switch to our OS".

 

[dalydose]

Get used to it.. its software company , there are multiple divisions and teams which does different type of development work.
Eg Office software team = 5000 employees doing developments on office only. Now if IOS or android teams can get their products ready and are more quicker then WP teams , why should they wait they have worked hard and made their product available to market.

"Get used to it"?? We as consumers and users of products are just supposed to accept it and say "oh, they're a software company"? Nah, they have a HOME TEAM operating system that should always, always be the first one to get any new goodies and they should have the best quality and most features of all the operating system variants of said goodies.

They work for Microsoft is why they should wait. Maybe they need to go help out the WP developers if they are so speedy. HOW does Microsoft go to developers and ask them to develop for Windows Phone? They can't do it with a straight face when they allow their OWN divisions to put WP on the backburner. This doesn't bode well...not at all. Do I really have to have an iPhone to get the best of Microsoft?? Nope...I won't ever get used to that.

 

[Geddeeee]

MS are a software company first as has been mentioned. WP is just a division of that corporation, and still a relative newcomer.
So what if they have apps or software for other platforms that are not available for WP.

They are a 'business' and if they feel that they can make money doing that, then great. More money to sink into development of WP. No money coming in means more cuts, and that can only be bad for WP.

WP users needs to grow a thicker skin about these sorts of things, It's relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of WP. As long as other companies are developing for WP, that's really all that matters. More devs can only be a good thing!!! Plus MS can always bring these to WP in the future if they feel it is warranted...

 

[Mohamed Zaher1]

Many sites actually have reported about the app and in every article, there's always that exclamation mark about Microsoft not releasing it on WP first, let alone not releasing it on WP at all.
This has generated nothing but a very bad image about Microsoft. WP users, who come across this, would definitely feel annoyed, if not enraged. Non-WP users probably have gained more assurance to stay with the platform they use. why would they switch if they get MS apps on their platform first??

 

[Mohamed Zaher1]

yup, no reply. I have also tweeted belfiore. if u have a more effective way to reach them, it would be nice if u share it
Edit : this is a reply to Laura Knotek

 

[DoctorSaline]

Maybe, they are just using iPhone people as beta testers and then publish the polished version for WP. *there there*

 

[N_LaRUE]

You know, when I read threads like this, and there's been a few, I have to contain myself from laughing.

All of us have drank a bit of the Kool-Aid, some more than others. We believe these companies have our own interests at heart but they don't. They care about one thing and one thing only, the bottom line.

It's nice to think about companies caring for us and thinking they care that their customers are happy, but at the end of the day their own interests are first and foremost and those customers who give them the most money (i.e. other companies) are the ones they'll bow to first.

Make no mistake, MS is a company with company interests. To think otherwise is to be foolish.

With a platform that has barely gained any ground in 2 years and with a poor showing of hardware this year it's no surprise that Nadella has said himself that software will be MS's focus. Don't be overly surprised as more and more software hits other devices first over WP because that's where the market and money is.

 

[smoledman]

They can't do that, Microsoft are a software company FIRST. Blame our low market share to why it still hasn't been released to the WP store yet. They don't care about prioritzation, they just want to make money.

Climatology is a free app. What money? There is no way to make money in mobile except in 1 way:

high-margin hardware that fuels an app store that generates billions in revenue due to 10 billion app purchases/year. I'm talking about how Apple does it and Samsung to a lesser extent.

Do you realize that Apple + Samsung account for 105% of mobile industry profits? Yes that means everyone else is actually losing money.

 

[CSJr1]

I saw this, but I wanted to wait a few days to reserve judgement before I voiced my displeasure. It may be the case where the app for WP is still undergoing certification. Time will tell.

 

[dalydose]

Some of you are missing the business point of all of this. MS should want their software products on the highest selling devices as soon as humanly possible because dragging their feet allows eyes to start wandering towards alternatives. But you're absolutely right, those of you who pointed out that the WP versions should be just as good once they arrive.

Actually, some of us just see the business side of it differently than you do. At the status quo, one can get the best of Microsoft by buying hardware and operating system software from the competition. For the company as a whole, this isn't what I think to be a good, long term move. Climatology makes no revenue. Snipp3t will generate some Bing traffic, but I'm doubting that it will be a must-download for the masses. Those aren't great gains, but what are the losses? Windows Phone loses from Microsoft itself contributing to the "app gap" on its own platform. Windows Phone has little natural competitive advantage as Microsoft refuses to leverage any Microsoft assets for the benefit of Windows Phone. The PR and credibility perception losses will contribute more to losses than those apps will add revenue.

 

[dalydose]

Office is 1st introduced on MS platforms and usually best on MS platforms, except for the latest "Touch" versions.

 

[pedmar007]

To put it better who gives proper food away to strangers but forgets to cook the one given to family???

 

[Jas00555]

To put it better who gives proper food away to strangers but forgets to cook the one given to family???

That's a pretty huge exaggeration. The app that they released is pretty dumb and will gain a few thousand downloads at most. It's more like giving a stranger a Snickers bar instead of to your family because strangers would be a better audience for a Snickers bar than your family would. Can we calm down the dramatics for a second?