Anyone else sick of AT&T WP exclusives?

[mtmjr90]

I'm on T-Mo. I love T-Mo. I also love WP. Apparently that means I'm ignored by Nokia/MSFT every time there's a new high end device. It's not new, but it's just as frustrating now as ever.

900, 920, 1020, now 1520. It wouldn't bother me as much if AT&T would unlock them if you buy full retail (on release day or soon after). It wouldn't bother as much if Nokia or MSFT would sell unlocked direct to consumer (ala Apple stores, Google Play, even BlackBerry now). But no. Neither one. I have to wait for Negri to obtain unlocked devices, then go through the hassle of importing the device. I won't have the ability to take it to a carrier store for support or warranty issues.

I honestly thought we'd see this sort of situation become less prevalent given how most Android, Apple, & BB flagships are available on every carrier and many have direct to consumer options. But not WP, not Nokia. It's unfortunate.

 

[TMavC5]

AT&T is not available in your area?

 

[Kevin Harvell]

It takes two companies to sign an agreement.

You would think that Nokia would try to get their devices out to as many people as possible, so I think the blame should be pointed towards Nokia more than AT&T on this one.

 

[mtmjr90]

AT&T is not available in your area?

Not the point. I have my reasons for choosing T-Mo and I don't intend this thread to be an AT&T vs. T-Mo debate. It's about Nokia's distribution decisions (and to a lesser extent AT&T's).

It takes two companies to sign an agreement.

You would think that Nokia would try to get their devices out to as many people as possible, so I think the blame should be pointed towards Nokia more than AT&T on this one.

You would think that. Also AT&T is definitely not blameless. They're policy of refusing to unlock "carrier exclusives" in the first 6 months of availability, even if you buy full retail and are not under contract is consumer hostile (and fwiw, one of the reasons why I choose not to give my money to AT&T).

 

[theefman]

FYI, carriers rule in the US. Nokia can't take a phone and put it on a network if the carrier doesn't want it. And judging by the amount of androids on Tmo I'd say they don't really want a flagship WP device and there's nothing Nokia can do about it.

 

[Jas00555]

Well, I have AT&T and they're fine in my area, so I'm fine with it. I don't think you seem to realize the crazy low markershare Nokia has in the US. If they didn't make these exclusives, then what little support AT&T apparently (its fine where I live) gives Nokia would be gone.

 

[mtmjr90]

FYI, carriers rule in the US. Nokia can't take a phone and put it on a network if the carrier doesn't want it. And judging by the amount of androids on Tmo I'd say they don't really want a flagship WP device and there's nothing Nokia can do about it.

What Nokia can do is offer it unlocked, full retail price via their online store. That's what Nokia can do about it.

Well, I have AT&T and they're fine in my area, so I'm fine with it. I don't think you seem to realize the crazy low markershare Nokia has in the US. If they didn't make these exclusives, then what little support AT&T apparently (its fine where I live) gives Nokia would be gone.

Counter point: They've been doing AT&T exclusives for 2 years and US marketshare is still "crazy low."

 

[thatotherdude24]

All that works in my area is literally Verizon. I was very impressed with what Nokia announced but very disappointed in the exclusives.

WP won't get much growth with exclusives.

Sent from my M470BSA using Tapatalk 4

 

[RN50]

From an outsider looking in. If at&t were so into wp why did they wait until October to release gdr2? I personally don't think they give a ****.

 

[baseballbert]

Nope, I've got AT&T!

 

[Smyrna5]

I think its a money thing. I am a T-mo customer mainly because I pay a lot less per month for essentially the same service as my friends and neighbors on AT&T. I can deduce from that the T-Mo customers may be more frugal. Perhaps they are not a great market for the high end phones. T-Mo now sells their phones for an upfront price and AT&T still hides it in the monthly service fee. If I wanted a 1020, 1520 etc. badly enough I would just buy one and jump through the hoops to get it unlocked and on T-Mo. Obviously Nokia/MSFT is getting enough of a payback that they feel its worth giving ATT an exclusive.

 

[mtmjr90]

I think its a money thing. I am a T-mo customer mainly because I pay a lot less per month for essentially the same service as my friends and neighbors on AT&T. I can deduce from that the T-Mo customers may be more frugal. Perhaps they are not a great market for the high end phones. T-Mo now sells their phones for an upfront price and AT&T still hides it in the monthly service fee. If I wanted a 1020, 1520 etc. badly enough I would just buy one and jump through the hoops to get it unlocked and on T-Mo. Obviously Nokia/MSFT is getting enough of a payback that they feel its worth giving ATT an exclusive.

There is no hoop you can jump through to get an AT&T exclusive WP unlocked within the first 6 months of release, especially without already being an AT&T customer. Believe me, I've tried (had a 920 nightmare). Your point about T-Mo is probably valid...however, just selling an unlocked device direct through Nokia sidesteps that. It may be that they're getting enough money through AT&T to make it worth it, but as I said before, the AT&T exclusives don't seem to have led to an explosion in US marketshare...

 

[distilledoreo]

I'm not sick of it because I recently switched from AT&T to T-Mobile with a Lumia 521, but I definitely do not like it. I got the 521 a) because it was cheap and on T-Mobile, and b) to try out Windows Phone. Of course I fall in love with WP, and find out I switched from a carrier which had all of the exclusives. I think I would be okay if I didn't need Wi-Fi calling and could buy the phones unlocked, but I need Wi-Fi calling, and it is only on T-Mobile devices. I personally have seen more T-Mobile Lumia 925 commercials, than AT&T Windows Phone commercials. I think T-Mobile likes Windows Phone, but doesn't have as much money as AT&T to sign a deal with Nokia. I really want to upgrade from the 521, but the 925 is old enough to be outdated in a few months (compared to another Nokia device that hopefully will be released on T-Mobile by then) , and I really want that 6" screen.

 

[mtmjr90]

I'm not sick of it because I recently switched from AT&T to T-Mobile with a Lumia 521, but I definitely do not like it. I got the 521 a) because it was cheap and on T-Mobile, and b) to try out Windows Phone. Of course I fall in love with WP, and find out I switched from a carrier which had all of the exclusives. I think I would be okay if I didn't need Wi-Fi calling and could buy the phones unlocked, but I need Wi-Fi calling, and it is only on T-Mobile devices. I personally have seen more T-Mobile Lumia 925 commercials, than AT&T Windows Phone commercials. I think T-Mobile likes Windows Phone, but doesn't have as much money as AT&T to sign a deal with Nokia. I really want to upgrade from the 521, but the 925 is old enough to be outdated in a few months (compared to another Nokia device that hopefully will be released on T-Mobile by then) , and I really want that 6" screen.

You'll probably be able to get it unlocked from sites like Negri, but since it's not a T-Mo official device, it wouldn't have Wi-Fi calling unfortunately. You could still do it by setting up call forwarding to a Skype number...but probably not ideal and certainly not as straightforward as T-Mo's app.

 

[Jas00555]

What Nokia can do is offer it unlocked, full retail price via their online store. That's what Nokia can do about it.



Counter point: They've been doing AT&T exclusives for 2 years and US marketshare is still "crazy low."

counter-counter point. With the Apple-loving, MS hating US, Windows Phone could be DOA and AT&T is the highest paying one willing to help them.

 

[gsquared]

OP:

You really should be discussing this with your carrier instead of dissing MSFT / Nokia. I'm sure MSFT and Nokia would stock every phone / device available if T-Mo would play ball.

 

[metalchick719]

I'm on T-Mo. I love T-Mo. I also love WP. Apparently that means I'm ignored by Nokia/MSFT every time there's a new high end device. It's not new, but it's just as frustrating now as ever.

900, 920, 1020, now 1520. It wouldn't bother me as much if AT&T would unlock them if you buy full retail (on release day or soon after). It wouldn't bother as much if Nokia or MSFT would sell unlocked direct to consumer (ala Apple stores, Google Play, even BlackBerry now). But no. Neither one. I have to wait for Negri to obtain unlocked devices, then go through the hassle of importing the device. I won't have the ability to take it to a carrier store for support or warranty issues.

I honestly thought we'd see this sort of situation become less prevalent given how most Android, Apple, & BB flagships are available on every carrier and many have direct to consumer options. But not WP, not Nokia. It's unfortunate.

Like you, I'm also on T-Mobile. I'm also sick of AT&T exclusives, even though I honestly have no interest in the 1520. I see you have a 925. I was quite pissed when I first read that AT&T was getting that phone as well, since that was supposed to be a US exclusive to OUR carrier. Ridiculous! Well, at least we get the best looking one in the white version.

 

[erzhik]

What Nokia can do is offer it unlocked, full retail price via their online store. That's what Nokia can do about it.

They can't. AT&T are not stupid, they know that they are the only ones who will pour cash into WP marketing and Nokia knows it too. If they were to release unlocked phones via their own website, AT&T would say: "Remove them or we are jumping off the ship". Nokia has good marketshare in all markets except for US and US is their main target and if AT&T is the only one willing to play ball, so be it.

T-Mob doesn't care about WP, they sell enough Androids to stay afloat, forget about Verizon. Carriers will be calling all shots until WP gains significant marketshare in US.

 

[Memristor]

Yes, I'm so sick of that exclusive B.S. And now it turns out that the AT&T Lumia 1520 is a different device all together. Different Screen, different SoC, 16GB only, no wireless charging. What the heck are they thinking. Call it 1522 so we know right away that this is a different device than the rest of the world is getting.

Nokia Lumia 1520 | Windows Phone (United States)

 

[Memristor]

Verizon's WP market share is 30.7% and AT&T's is 31.8%. So basically the same. If you add T-Mobile's of 20.7 to Verizon than they control more than half of the WP market in the U.S. So your theory about AT&T spending all the marketing money on WP seems to do very little for AT&T and Nokia.