I think Windows Phone is Done!

[TonyDedrick]

People need to be patient. 2020, when Windows 3DSXP700 is released, will be the year WP takes off.........

 

[Kenneth Fossum]

I think each his own.
I am also debating whether or not to stay on. I guess I was expecting more from MS by now. Sure, I am one of those impatient ones, but that is just what it is for many of us. Since I work in the tech industry, I guess I am more interested in this stuff compared to average Joe and his wife. Which is fair enough. My Lumia 925 is showing its age (Dev preview with Cyan) and I would like to replace it. It's simply too slow for me after various updates and so on. The only option for me would be the 930, but I am looking at Android devices that are more tempting in terms of pure HW. Even the iPhone. But HW alone is not enough of course. I have invested deeply in the MS ecosystem, but since their services are actually better on Android and iOS (how sad is that - I used to be all Android, and I have an iPad, so I know..) I wouldn't actually lose much by going to a different platform.

I am no app buff, but it's sad to see the inactivity in the WP app store. It's sad to see how the WP apps are lacking compared to the iOS and Android siblings. It's sad to see that MS apparently fired their marketing people and forgot to hire new ones. If you're late to the party, at least make some fuss when you arrive. Don't sneak in the backdoor. It's sad to read about the carrier problem their facing in the US. No easy fix there I guess. But, even so, I guess I was expecting more activity from MS. A bit more of everything. More phones, more marketing, more fuss .... It's almost to the point where I would like to ring the doorbell at Redmond, open the door and shout 'Hello, anybody working here...?"

But then again. I like the WP OS. I like how the platform works and I like the HW too. It's just that WP currently seems dormant. At least when you look at it from the HW side of things and especially from a flagship point of view. I want to throw my cash in their direction, but I don't 'see anything I really like - apart from the 930 that is. The 1520 is just too big for my small hands.

Sure, they spent a ton of money at Nokia, but a good idea (if it ever was a good idea) in the past isn't necessarily a good idea in the future, so who's to say what they are debating at Redmond these days. Also, remember that the whole Nokia ordeal was Ballmer for the most part. He couldn't have pulled that off without support from the board of course, but it wasn't a unanimous decision and not everyone applauded it (Mr. Gates was one of them that didn't like it). I think Nadella is still cleaning up that mess...
Maybe the winds have shifted. Maybe they are thinking about doing things differently moving forward. Services as opposed to phone devices. Maybe they'd like to target the low-mid markets instead. Sure makes sense. They still get a ton of money from their patents, so it's not like they're losing money. Who knows. That's just pure speculation of course. I guess we'll find out eventually.

 

[AllanQuatermain]

Hi have been with Windows phone since 7 still using Lumia 800 as back up
and bought a 820 to try 8.0 ( now on 8.1 with Cyan ) and both have been
excellent phones, the app situation has improved and i have most i need,
the operating system just works no crashing/freezing and apps just work every time,
and will soon buy a 830 to replace 820, so is Windows phone done?
no not yet Microsoft will continue with phones, and the same doom gloom posting
on surface forums Microsoft will abandon tablets, ( i have Surface pro 2 ),
Windows phones/Surface tablets and laptops will soon be one operating system,
and Windows phones will be here for many years to come.

 

[Karthik Naik]

little know fact apparently is that Nadella actually worked on MS's cloud and enterprise divisions before coming at the helm so its not like he didnt do anything for Windows Phone...

 

[twint7787]

Seriously guys I know everyone wants a new flagship, but did you ever think it doesn't make any sense to produce one right now. I've said this many times in other threads but MS won't release a 'true' flagship phone until Windows 10 is released. Why would they? Flagship Windows phones aren't selling. You know what are selling? Low end windows phones, like hot cakes. So Microsoft is just biding their time producing what many of you feel are lack luster phones until Windows 10. It just makes sense not to build a flagship phone right now. In the US their market share is around 3%. A new flagship right now won't change that number, but these excellent low end phones will. If you like the ecosystem then hang around because I think it actually will get much better, but not until after Windows 10. And yes, I have heard this all before. It will be better once Windows 8 comes out etc etc. Seriously tho, they just bought an entire hardware division, they are not jumping ship just yet.

 

[jmthomas1987]

I have a simple idea to put forward. What if MS is considering changing the cell phone world in the idea of instead of buying a new phone every year or two to get the newest OS, what it they want to try their desktop business model. Every year or so, you pay for the OS upgrade and keep the same hardware if you want.

That means having an OS that would be longer lived and it would prove a threat to the carriers since they loose the new phone sales.

Maybe MS will release their own line of WP phones, sans the carriers. They could be unlocked, multi-freq capable, and you could go with whatever carrier you wanted, be it CDMA or a GSM carrier.

Just a thought.

 

[savagelizards]

Windows Phone is a global product. Microsoft is focusing on the next 1 billion users who don't yet have a smartphone. And rightly so. That's where the next wave of growth will come from in the smartphone market.

The fact is, their best chance to becoming more relevant in the US market is to build economies of scale globally, and then leveraging that user base to muscle back in on the lower price points in the mature markets. That's the way that they will be able to force themselves on the US carriers, who already have a mature, installed smartphone base and don't want or need another low-volume OS to have to manage.

All carriers in the US care about is connectivity so they can sell their data and (to a lesser extent) voice and text services to their subscribers. They don't care if you are using an iPhone and probably prefer it because everyone knows how to use one and they really don't benefit from people customizing their experience as they do about having a giant unified app market for development of the next data-consuming killer app.

That's more important in the US, where the high end of the market is mature and there's no growth left. If Verizon has retired the Icon, that's why. Everyone is already being served. But Windows Phone exists in a global market. The growth areas are all those that cannot afford a flagship product, which is why the Lumia phones you are seeing run on more modest specs and the growth is coming in markets such as India.

That way, folks whose annual income is about the same as the cash price of a flagship product are suddenly able to interact with the world. In all honestly, not getting the cyan update on your Icon is really a first-world problem.

 

[savagelizards]

I have a simple idea to put forward. What if MS is considering changing the cell phone world in the idea of instead of buying a new phone every year or two to get the newest OS, what it they want to try their desktop business model. Every year or so, you pay for the OS upgrade and keep the same hardware if you want.

That means having an OS that would be longer lived and it would prove a threat to the carriers since they loose the new phone sales.

Maybe MS will release their own line of WP phones, sans the carriers. They could be unlocked, multi-freq capable, and you could go with whatever carrier you wanted, be it CDMA or a GSM carrier.

Just a thought.

I don't think that carriers really care about new phone sales at all except as it relates to keeping subscribers or increasing your use of data. Take those considerations away and they really don't make much. It's more of a razor and blades business.

 

[rudranil]

The only issue that is holding Windows Phone back now is the App situation. And this is something that is out of Microsoft's control for the most part. The only way the app situation will get better when there is a sizable user base compared to other platforms. And that can be achieved by selling low cost phones to the first time smart phone buyers who do not care about the apps (yet). They can be won over by the low cost option. Microsoft is rightly focusing on this market at this point as that is the only way to save this platform. The buyers of the flagship model can not save this platform unless it is adopted by the mass population. So, as much as I want to replace my aging 920 with a flagship, I understand Microsoft's strategy and why they need to do what they are doing now. If I am not satisfied with the current phone options, I will try other platforms for now and come back when Microsoft has solved this hard problem (if that happens ever) and they can afford to focus on high end market again. At this point, no flagship phone and buyers like me can save Windows Phone.
Sent from my Lumia 920 using Tapatalk

 

[fatclue_98]

How on Earth this thread survived 150 posts is beyond me. WP does not begin and end with Nokia/MS.

 

[tgp]

Windows Phone is a global product. Microsoft is focusing on the next 1 billion users who don't yet have a smartphone. And rightly so. That's where the next wave of growth will come from in the smartphone market.

Google is also focusing on the next 1 billion users. And with their momentum and Microsoft's lethargy, I guarantee you that most of those billion users will buy Androids.

Sent from whatever device I happen to be using today using Tapatalk

 

[HoosierDaddy]

How on Earth this thread survived 150 posts is beyond me. WP does not begin and end with Nokia/MS.

Exactly, The Windows OS for phones and phones manufactured by Microsoft are two entirely different topics. I think Microsoft would prefer to not manufacture much hardware. They are in the tablet and phone business because 3rd parties couldn't be counted on to make the quantity and quality of devices to run MS software. Being in the hardware business lets them take up as much slack as they need.

 

[Dratwister]

LoL, the funny thing is that OP has only 2 posts, which is less than 75 times number of comments in his thread.
And people keep arguing )

 

[hallam555]

I think the main issue that's happening now is that a lot of us have set the one thing we need aside, "Patience". Yes most other manufacturers release a new flagship every year and we seem to want Microsoft to keep that pace. Now it would be nice to have that pace but is it really necessary, NO. Microsoft is and will always be primarily a software company; now they will have the opportunity of releasing both software and hardware but they will always focus on software. They have confirmed their support for WP with the announcement of Windows 10 and the hardware side of the equation will require patience from everyone. WP won't die until Microsoft says so, Verizon's eol of the icon, a setback but not the end of WP.
My advice is this, Patience is free, take and use as much of it as you can. If you've had your fill of patience, do your research for the next best thing to fulfill what you want.

I did and ordered an iPhone 6 because my patience cup was over spilling!!

I don't believe Windows Phone is dead but Microsoft would be doing a good thing by giving some info on what is happening and when they plan on bringing out their next flagship.

Top end phones arnt made overnight and with their very recent takeover of Nokia I'm bot sure if they have had a chance to get to the drawing board, but saying that I believe they would have at least some drawings on what they would like. Its so difficult to design a phone these days, is there a design form that hasn't been made?

This is a transitional period and it will test the loyalty of the most loyal WP customers. Unfortunately for Microsoft I keep reading more and more of these threads, begs the question, are they reading them???

 

[psoham777]

Google is also focusing on the next 1 billion users. And with their momentum and Microsoft's lethargy, I guarantee you that most of those billion users will buy Androids.

Sent from whatever device I happen to be using today using Tapatalk

Android is already saturated, 1-2% growth doesn't matter as it already has more than 75% market share. But due to very low market share, that 1-2% matters a lot for WP. Billions are already using Android, & many android users have turned to others OSes. As Android has saturated the smartphone market share, big companies like Samsung are going into loses now, I don't see how billions would still buy Android.

 

[iamtim]

1-2% growth doesn't matter

Do you have any idea how many individual users that 1-2% growth represents? Of course it matters.

 

[Korlon]

I am relatively new to WP, got a 1520 about 4 months ago. Personally this debate has been interesting at times but it always seems, as it does with blackberry, that the only real differentiated issue between WP/BB and iOS/android is apps. Well I'm not a software engineer nor a computer scientist, but it seems to me that the one, easy to say and I'm sure difficult to implement, solution would be to make WP capable of running iOS/android apps. I mean the phones out there now have some ridiculous processing power, is it that hard to make an ios emulator run along side windows? Probably not an original idea, but hell it would prove to be a disruptive technology.... making the one powerful distinction between brands irrelevant to the decision making process.

 

[MikeX74]

I see a lot of comments suggesting that people should just sit back and wait until next year, when Windows 10 arrives, assuming that somehow, it fixes the issues that ail the platform. What's the incentive for anyone to wait? So far, no one has an answer.

 

[Stefan Holder]

I see a lot of comments suggesting that people should just sit back and wait until next year, when Windows 10 arrives, assuming that somehow, it fixes the issues that ail the platform. What's the incentive for anyone to wait? So far, no one has an answer.

So you'd prefer we do the alternative? Lets ***** and moan and act like we are the only relevant users; predicting the end of an entire platform because it doesn't exist the way we want it to exist in our own naive paradigm? Cause that's all it is. Our own selfish agenda as to what and how the platform should be or not. Ask yourselves this question? When was Windows Phone 8.1 officially launched? A couple months ago.. When was the new flagship for WP launched? A few months ago... Additionally, yall are expecting a platform to,move as quickly as other well established platforms that had ample time to streamline their refresh cycles? One of them with a literal army of third party OEM support? Like I said.. Have some patience. Stop expecting WP to operate like Android and or iOS. I think that has a lot to do with some of the doom and gloom posts. Yall are eating oranges but expecting it to taste like apples.

 

[Karthik Naik]

i like how stupid rants and doomsayers who love other platforms will come here and make silly statements such as app situation etc which is no longer true and how they think US is the largest market for phones etc
people need to get over such things,theres the rest of the world in which US ranks 7th and theres no app situation for most of us,especially since most Indian apps are available on windows phone and other platforms