Microsoft still releases their apps on other platforms but on WP

dalydose

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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?
The apps may not be as significant as how they become the MS contribution to the "app gap" conversation evidenced by their own unwillingness to prioritize their own OS. Why would any other developers take WP seriously if MS divisions don't.

I tthink the dramatics are 100% called for.
 

Mohamed Zaher1

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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.
I fail to see your business perception. Of course we know pretty well that all companies seek profits first and last, since we, WP users, pour money directly on MS. Then we are the main business of MS. hence, the whole thread. I will be surprised if these apps on other platforms get MS more than 1% of what MS gets from WP users on hardware,services and apps.
Actually, most of the apps on the app store and play store from MS are free making your argument pretty much invalid. This is not some Office or Skype software, this is a very low profile app. However, the point is not about the app itself. It's about the concept of how MS should treat those who buy its hardware, software and services and how we finally see the walls between MS teams come down for the benefit of us MS customers ( again) who pour money directly on MS . At the end, from a business point of view, this free app didn't get MS any rewards. On the contrary, it has lowered MS financial benefits (marginally of course) from both WP and non WP users.
Well, the picture is not all gloom. The WP team has been hard at work specially this year. Finally, WP is now literally neck and neck in terms of features with the other platforms. Nevertheless, there is supposed to be no place for such silly mistakes, as MS doesn't have the luxury of time.
 

pedmar007

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What dramatics are you talking about??? I've been a WP user for about less than a month and all I've read from any WP forum is how MS makes better versions of apps made by MS found on the other 2 rival OSes Android and IOS BETTER!!!! So what I said speaks to what YOU have been saying if you choose to see it or interpret it differently then that's YOUR right. In the end ANYONE reading those posts will have no choice but to believe that to be the case ESPECIALLY since those who write them DON'T live in the same country, state or use the SAME service provider. So YOU can interpret that any which way you want but in the end I will still hold it unbelievable that an OS maker would make apps BETTER functionally and visually for the COMPETITION than its OWN OS users.
 

N_LaRUE

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I fail to see your business perception. Of course we know pretty well that all companies seek profits first and last, since we, WP users, pour money directly on MS. Then we are the main business of MS. hence, the whole thread. I will be surprised if these apps on other platforms get MS more than 1% of what MS gets from WP users on hardware,services and apps.

I think you have a higher opinion of WP users then most other people do. You only have to look at the difference of PC vs WP sales to see what MS's main business and biggest business is. You also don't need to go too far to see that after Windows OS, Office is their second (it could be first even come to think of it). Your 'pouring' of money into MS is bit off. 5% of smartphones world wide are WP. That's not really a lot. They will continue to gain money from their first and foremost source, software. To suggest otherwise is not understanding MS.

Actually, most of the apps on the app store and play store from MS are free making your argument pretty much invalid. This is not some Office or Skype software, this is a very low profile app. However, the point is not about the app itself. It's about the concept of how MS should treat those who buy its hardware, software and services and how we finally see the walls between MS teams come down for the benefit of us MS customers ( again) who pour money directly on MS . At the end, from a business point of view, this free app didn't get MS any rewards. On the contrary, it has lowered MS financial benefits (marginally of course) from both WP and non WP users.
Well, the picture is not all gloom. The WP team has been hard at work specially this year. Finally, WP is now literally neck and neck in terms of features with the other platforms. Nevertheless, there is supposed to be no place for such silly mistakes, as MS doesn't have the luxury of time.

As for this point, I won't really argue with you here. However, if you go by what others say, whether you agree or not, it's about increasing the profile of MS. If people like their software they may look at the phones. In any case I believe that most of their free apps have advertising on them as well. So that's income as well.

As for the final part of your comment. I think personally WP has a long way to go in many respects. In general it's a good OS now that it's loosened up a bit and the features in my opinion are ok. I don't use majority of features that were released with WP8.1 as I found most of them pointless. I don't even use Cortana. As for the WP team being hard at work this year, maybe they should have pushed harder and released WP8.1 last year. Then maybe I would have been more impressed. Two years waiting for the first major update was rather sad, I should also point out I don't have it yet. I won't go into the fact that some of the newer features won't work on my phone either but such is life.

To me WP will either succeed or fail based on MS and their ability to enter the market with something that people want. At this stage I think the approach wasn't well executed and with buying Nokia I'm unsure if it's going to get any better any time soon. I'm rather unimpressed with any of the new hardware that's come out. I think their initial WP8 OS was rather beta and hurried released and it was Nokia that pushed the boundaries of it. It was also Nokia who directed the sales to lower end hardware. Does MS feel they can do better. That's the question.

Does it matter that apps appear on other OSs before WP? I think to a point it does but what it really shows is MS's fragmented company structure. Until that's all fixed, this is what's going to happen but keep in mind, MS is a software company. Their priority is software and making money from it. It's up to you if you can deal with that or not.
 

tgp

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The PR and credibility perception losses will contribute more to losses than those apps will add revenue.

Don't you think Microsoft would've taken this effect into consideration? I think they looked at all factors, and made an educated guess. All things being considered, they evidently decided that overall it was financially advantageous to do what they did.
 

Mohamed Zaher1

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I think you have a higher opinion of WP users then most other people do. You only have to look at the difference of PC vs WP sales to see what MS's main business and biggest business is. You also don't need to go too far to see that after Windows OS, Office is their second (it could be first even come to think of it). Your 'pouring' of money into MS is bit off. 5% of smartphones world wide are WP. That's not really a lot. They will continue to gain money from their first and foremost source, software. To suggest otherwise is not understanding MS.
I was saying that we are the main business of MS in the context of the mobile space. Windows and Office are not relevant here. My point is that WP users are more valuable to MS than other mobile platforms users. We are paying alot more money on apps and services than them, not to mention , we are more highly to upgrade to WP hardware than them switching to WP.


As for this point, I won't really argue with you here. However, if you go by what others say, whether you agree or not, it's about increasing the profile of MS. If people like their software they may look at the phones. In any case I believe that most of their free apps have advertising on them as well. So that's income as well.
I fail to see how such app would make someone switch to WP, specially when they know this app ( and other apps) is not on WP. This will actually backfire.

The rest of your comment is subjective, so no point of arguing. Anyway, someone on reddit has clarified things for SNIPP3T and it's pretty much alarming.
 

smoledman

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dalydose

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Don't you think Microsoft would've taken this effect into consideration? I think they looked at all factors, and made an educated guess. All things being considered, they evidently decided that overall it was financially advantageous to do what they did.
I think you give them too much credit. I think the engineer in charge assumes that long term, he will woo iOS users to all of the apps developed under his regime. That is a risky assumption. One of the Microsoft employees who developed thus celeb stalking app, has been quoted as saying the Nadella era is moving away from being Windows centric. You know, that cash cow set of operating systems isn't worthy of his prioritizations now. I think he has a crazy vision and dismisses any negative input about it.
 

tgp

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I think you give them too much credit. I think the engineer in charge assumes that long term, he will woo iOS users to all of the apps developed under his regime. That is a risky assumption. One of the Microsoft employees who developed thus celeb stalking app, has been quoted as saying the Nadella era is moving away from being Windows centric. You know, that cash cow set of operating systems isn't worthy of his prioritizations now. I think he has a crazy vision and dismisses any negative input about it.

I certainly understand your side. I think maybe we here on WPCentral have a one-sided view though, thinking that Microsoft apps should remain exclusive to give us an advantage over non-WP users. For the record, I use WP and Android side-by-side, so I'm more in the middle. The ones that call the shots at Microsoft are professionals, and they hold their positions for a reason. I'm sure they don't take any of these decisions lightly, and that they do what they feel is best overall for the company. We need to leave our passion for the WP platform out of it. It's easy for us to say that they should continue to subsidize WP and it'll eventually take off, but we don't have to answer to shareholders and upper management. We also are overwhelmed by the billions in profit, thinking that a small portion of that being used to keep WP afloat should be no problem.

And for the record, where has being Windows, or WP, centric gotten Microsoft so far? WP sales are falling. Maybe Microsoft is focusing on other platforms with the goal of eventually having a must-use ecosystem on iOS & Android. If down the road they decide the drop WP, the effects would be minimal. It's hard to think about, but it's in the realm of possibility.
 

dalydose

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I certainly understand your side. I think maybe we here on WPCentral have a one-sided view though, thinking that Microsoft apps should remain exclusive to give us an advantage over non-WP users. For the record, I use WP and Android side-by-side, so I'm more in the middle. The ones that call the shots at Microsoft are professionals, and they hold their positions for a reason. I'm sure they don't take any of these decisions lightly, and that they do what they feel is best overall for the company. We need to leave our passion for the WP platform out of it. It's easy for us to say that they should continue to subsidize WP and it'll eventually take off, but we don't have to answer to shareholders and upper management. We also are overwhelmed by the billions in profit, thinking that a small portion of that being used to keep WP afloat should be no problem.

And for the record, where has being Windows, or WP, centric gotten Microsoft so far? WP sales are falling. Maybe Microsoft is focusing on other platforms with the goal of eventually having a must-use ecosystem on iOS & Android. If down the road they decide the drop WP, the effects would be minimal. It's hard to think about, but it's in the realm of possibility.

I would take the position that WP hasn't been a central focus for Microsoft's other divisions. It's not at all shocking that they release new things to iOS first. They did that with Photosynth. It's also not uncommon for other platforms to get new features first. They're doing that with Skype. Microsoft has never put their own mobile OS first, so I would ask how THAT is working for them.

Look at Apple. They don't make Siri available on competing platforms and they are winning. We can't boil down success to whether or not the owner of the OS shares any competitive advantage. The leaders don't do it as routine and when they do, the home OS still has the best version.

At this point, my beef isn't even with exclusivity, it's with a division of Microsoft treating the WP division as an outsider. I don't care how small the market share is, the home team should get the best goods and they should get them first. Otherwise Microsoft is itself lending the loudest "app gap" voice to the conversation.

I also think it would be extremely risky for Microsoft to assume that they can say "we're a software company, duh!" and everyone on iOS and Android will say "Oh yeah, you're right...we should use your stuff." That's not happening. Those users are still using the Office alternatives before Microsoft made Office available for them...AGAIN, the touch version being given to competitors before Windows.

I don't think that people in their jobs are always right just because they get a lofty title and salary. There are incompetent CEOs that get fired all the time. In this case, I think it's an engineer in a business position who has a vision on how he wishes things worked. He probably thinks he can force that view on the market because of the sheer size of Microsoft. That's not working anymore and I predict that if he shutters Windows Phone because of internal neglect he will not be CEO for very long.

For the record, I might join you in Android world. It seems that Satya has given up on WP, so why stick around while he purposefully sinks the ship?
 
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Mohamed Zaher1

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Apparently, there's indeed a bigger picture. It has nothing to do with WP or its small marketshare. Also, it has nothing to do MS treating its customers as 2nd class citizens. It has nothing to do with "MS is a software company first". It has nothing to do with anything but iOS. Take a look at this link. Sony to offer discounted "Album of the day" to iOS users.

This is pretty interesting. Sony didn't release this app for its Xperia devices nor to all android devices. It has released it on iOS only. What's more interesting is that Android has increased its lead over iOS in marketshare making this move abit more controversial. Also, the app is much much more important than that silly SNIPP3T app. It's like MS releasing discounted Xbox music content on iOS but not on its platforms. It seems that iOS ( even though it has become distant 2nd) will always have the best and exclusive apps and services first from all companies ( even before their own devices). I guess every one should get an iOS device ( certainly not an iPhone for me) to get the best apps first and sometimes exclusively along devices running their favourite OS.
Also, after reading the above article, I think I can forgive Ms for such a silly app to be released on iOS only, as it seems that every company does that with much more important contents, not to mention the recently released WP exclusive WindUP (it's really good) has erased the bitterness SNIPP3T being iOS only has left.
 

bilzkh

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The idea that Microsoft should prioritize iOS and Android over Windows is BS in my opinion. No matter what, Microsoft's services will always be aliens on those platforms. iOS will naturally push Beats over Xbox Music, Google will naturally push Docs and Hangouts over Office and Skype. If it's an uphill battle pushing one's OS in a world dominated by competitors, then it's an even bigger leap of faith to push one's services on the very home worlds of your rivals when they have competing services. Whereas Microsoft got hit for bundling its stuff on its own OS, Google has practically been let go (as has Apple), the world just has an irrational fixation on screwing out Microsoft.
 

dalydose

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Apparently, there's indeed a bigger picture. It has nothing to do with WP or its small marketshare. Also, it has nothing to do MS treating its customers as 2nd class citizens. It has nothing to do with "MS is a software company first". It has nothing to do with anything but iOS. Take a look at this link. Sony to offer discounted "Album of the day" to iOS users.

This is pretty interesting. Sony didn't release this app for its Xperia devices nor to all android devices. It has released it on iOS only. What's more interesting is that Android has increased its lead over iOS in marketshare making this move abit more controversial. Also, the app is much much more important than that silly SNIPP3T app. It's like MS releasing discounted Xbox music content on iOS but not on its platforms. It seems that iOS ( even though it has become distant 2nd) will always have the best and exclusive apps and services first from all companies ( even before their own devices). I guess every one should get an iOS device ( certainly not an iPhone for me) to get the best apps first and sometimes exclusively along devices running their favourite OS.
Also, after reading the above article, I think I can forgive Ms for such a silly app to be released on iOS only, as it seems that every company does that with much more important contents, not to mention the recently released WP exclusive WindUP (it's really good) has erased the bitterness SNIPP3T being iOS only has left.

There are some differences in what Sony is doing. 1st of all, Sony doesn't run any OS. Sure, they have hardware on Android, but they don't have any stake in Android. 2nd, they, as a record label, are trying to take sales away from iTunes which has very Apple favorable terms. Finally, Android isn't under the pressure to differentiate and come out swinging like the underdog that Windows Phone is. When you read about "Album of the day", do the writers write about any Android "app gap" or even question that Sony didn't make the app available to Android? No. They have that benefit of the doubt, whereas Windows Phone does not. The quality of the app isn't important. What IS important is that this move increases the "app gap" chatter when Microsoft neglects it's own operating system. It seems as though Microsoft has given away every chance to differentiate Windows Phone, except for a slick UI.

The big picture is this. Microsoft has the leverage and the cash to make a real go at this, but they only half-a$$ it, meaning they are wasting their resources.
 

colinkiama

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Once upon a time there was a nice feature on windows phone called Xbox Live Games... Still there. But people don't know about it. I remember when I showed my friend my avatar, he thought it was so cool that he wanted one too. There are still many hidden gems about windows phone but microsoft doesn't seem to be showing people these unique, 'exclusive' features, instead they are focusing on cameras and Office which is available on every other platform and better in the others too. Microsoft has no idea how good having apps exclusive to your own platform can be.
 

colinkiama

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There are some differences in what Sony is doing. 1st of all, Sony doesn't run any OS. Sure, they have hardware on Android, but they don't have any stake in Android. 2nd, they, as a record label, are trying to take sales away from iTunes which has very Apple favorable terms. Finally, Android isn't under the pressure to differentiate and come out swinging like the underdog that Windows Phone is. When you read about "Album of the day", do the writers write about any Android "app gap" or even question that Sony didn't make the app available to Android? No. They have that benefit of the doubt, whereas Windows Phone does not. The quality of the app isn't important. What IS important is that this move increases the "app gap" chatter when Microsoft neglects it's own operating system. It seems as though Microsoft has given away every chance to differentiate Windows Phone, except for a slick UI.

The big picture is this. Microsoft has the leverage and the cash to make a real go at this, but they only half-a$$ it, meaning they are wasting their resources.

I agree there aren't that many features which makes WP stand out anymore however I'm surprised that microsoft isn't showcasing xbox live on windows phones. You can't get that on iOS or Android. Golden Opportunity right there.
 

Mohamed Zaher1

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There are some differences in what Sony is doing. 1st of all, Sony doesn't run any OS. Sure, they have hardware on Android, but they don't have any stake in Android. 2nd, they, as a record label, are trying to take sales away from iTunes which has very Apple favorable terms. Finally, Android isn't under the pressure to differentiate and come out swinging like the underdog that Windows Phone is. When you read about "Album of the day", do the writers write about any Android "app gap" or even question that Sony didn't make the app available to Android? No. They have that benefit of the doubt, whereas Windows Phone does not. The quality of the app isn't important. What IS important is that this move increases the "app gap" chatter when Microsoft neglects it's own operating system. It seems as though Microsoft has given away every chance to differentiate Windows Phone, except for a slick UI.

The big picture is this. Microsoft has the leverage and the cash to make a real go at this, but they only half-a$$ it, meaning they are wasting their resources.

The difference is that Sony now has nothing but digital content and mobile hardware to sell. In other words, it's abit stupid to give leverage to iOS and releasing to neither its (only) hardware, nor the OS Sony is using, specially when Sony is in the red. They need everything to stay afloat and xperias aren't really flying off the shelves, selling at the around the same number of lumias, even though they are running android and there's a flagship every 6 month. They need every motive for customers to buy their hardware. That app could have been a motive. Ms, on the other hand, has much more than mobile hardware business. They have to keep it running though for the long term.
Even though, writers drew a worse picture for MS, it's not what really counts. At the end of the day, I as a WP user didn't get SNIPP3T, and Xperia users didn't get "Album of the day", the difference in loss is pretty huge. Sony also hasn't released any words about android availability, just like SNIPP3T for MS. They probably come out with "targeting the right audience". At least Ms is still beta testing. The beta tesing for Sony in Germany was very successful, so it's weird that android has not been in the beta testing later or in this launch.
 

Mohamed Zaher1

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I agree there aren't that many features which makes WP stand out anymore however I'm surprised that microsoft isn't showcasing xbox live on windows phones. You can't get that on iOS or Android. Golden Opportunity right there.

There a nice set of standing out features. Some official in MS and gsmarena said that WP sits in the middle between iOS and android. It's simple yet functional, however it doesn't beat iOS simplicity or android functionality making it the most versatile OS among the three. I find this the most outstanding feature and very true as well.
Also, another amazing feature is updates. The S3 has stopped being updated while Lumia 520 and 620 are still being updates. You can see the difference in price category. If MS makes all lumias to threshold, MS will beat Apple in the updates thingy. The best cameras are found on WP. On the OS side, there's lenses (one of my most used features), live folders (alot better than folders on other platforms), date sense ( android does have apps imitating it but they do get wrong records, also they have much less options making data sense really stands out),lock screen ( I tried many lockscreens on android, they never reach the awesomeness of WP lock screen), live tiles (android has widgets, ironically most apps like Viber and Line don't come with one, unlike on WP, most apps come with live tiles) The OS is till relatively snappy and stable, my year and half old Lumia 920 is much more snappier and stable than my 6 month old Galaxy note 10.1. This is what I can think of right now, others will probably have their own favorite features.
 

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