Laura Knotek
Retired Moderator
If it's a modern thermostat it could be set with a timer to change automatically at specific times. No smartphones or apps are needed.Maybe to prepare it before they get home? :-/
If it's a modern thermostat it could be set with a timer to change automatically at specific times. No smartphones or apps are needed.Maybe to prepare it before they get home? :-/
Sure, it seems to weigh the good and the bad, but the snarky comments like "But wait, there's less" are all designed to create negative spin.
And I say that your numbers are ridiculous. To say, arbitrarily, without any reasonable data at all, that 95% of smartphone users will not be inconvenienced so, is unacceptable. The Uber app has significant advantages over the mobile site, which include Wallet integration such that I don't even have to take out my credit card. This is easily extensible to apps which are "niche" in your perception, but which may be of significant value for many people.
Why should these people choose a platform which is objectively less capable than others? What benefit accrues by this to ME, the User?
A lot of new construction will have the Nest and other similar devices. For instance, in Texas, the utility companies will give you a Nest for free with every new electricity connection because it saves energy in the long run. Here in CA, I get Rush Hour Rewards, discounts on my electricity bills because my Nest pre-cools the house before an expected hot period. Anyone who wishes to take advantage of these features will be handicapped by the lack of availability on WP.
*steps up on soapbox, puts WP down, clears throat*
The point is: We GET the point. Honest. But to continue to rail on the fact that WP is behind on apps in a piece that is -ahem- supposed to be "professional" is anything but. I truly expect ANY review of a WP device to pint out that WP is well less then half the apps in it's store as Android or iOS. But AFTER it is pointed out, MOVE ON!! Give your opinions of the the fact that since WP 8 was introduced, it has nearly doubled in apps. Point out where third party apps have helped ease the transition, even if they are not official. Point out that major developers are writing for WP at nearly the same pace as the big two, it is some of the smaller developers and speciality apps that WP needs to improve on.
Then, be level headed enough to point out the unique workings and tools of WP. The growth it has seen in the last year.
We know WP is not for the app warriors. I would never recommend it to someone who loads apps by the dozens just to try them out. But, there are literally thousands of Android/iOS users that DO NOT drool like St. Bernards at a water bowl over apps, and these users may find WP useful and enjoyable. But because bias like this, all they hear is life has no meaning in WP.
Moronic, unprofessional, and honestly a bit sad.
*steps off soapbox, pulls out WP, checks live tiles, chuckles*
Just out -
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/t...bbled-by-its-windows-phone-framework.html?_r=
The author calls WP a "...second-class digital existence." Poor guy can't find his favorite trivia game.
Who pays these people to be shmucks? I hope Nadella and the phone team respond with great stuff in the months ahead. I have a 920, am excited about the Icon, and I really want these kinds of articles to go away.
I just checked Phone Fusion's site, and I wouldn't be surprised if that service is completely discontinued eventually. They haven't updated their site since 2009. It still mentions Windows Mobile 5 and 6. It also still shows Alltel as a supported carrier (Alltel has long since been bought out by Verizon).Quite frankly, there's nothing wrong with what he said, and he was very complimentary to both Nokia and Microsoft.
I feel that am his case in point. After visiting a Microsoft store on Monday (but they didn't have the Icon on display yet), I finally held one in in my hand today at the Verizon store. After speaking with the Verizon rep and confirming that Microsoft could indeed renew my contract (I am on a corporate account - in the past Best Buy could not do so), I have concluded that I should instead head to the Microsoft store to get my Icon. I may yet do so this evening.
That said, it's clear that you have to want a WP to get one. I really do want one. I am heavily integrated with Microsoft's ecosystem. I have a Surface Pro, and I use Microsoft's One Note, Outlook.com and Xbox Music apps on my android device now. For Microsoft, I am the low-hanging fruit of US smartphone marketplace, and I am used to running flagship equipment.
And yet I have reservations.
I intend to overlook them, but I cannot ignore them. If everything goes well, I hope to get a great piece of smartphone hardware and an integrated ecosystem of services. And a mostly good selection of apps. However, I KNOW I can buy a Galaxy Note 3 and get a great piece of smartphone hardware and an integrated ecosystem of services. So I am substituting hope for a sure thing.
Don't get me wrong here. I am not bashing WP, but built into my purchase decision is already that 8.1 will solve most of the shortcomings and I will get over the rest of it and learn to love my new device. I am losing my favorite Visual Voicemail service, Phone Fusion VisualVoicemail+, which has served me faithfully since 2009 and still continues to impress my friends. I contacted Phone Fusion, only to learn that they have no plans to support WP. That's just a small thing, maybe, but I am feeling some pain over it. And if some guy's trivia game is what he wants, and he can't get it, he is absolutely valid in sharing his personal experiences in an opinion piece.
It's shortsighted not to understand that such small things figure into consumer behavior, and I am sure Microsoft is smart enough to recognize that these things do matter. Blackberry, on the other hand, did not, and never really understood why people wanted iPhones, and only grudgingly admitted that they did want them.
The fact is, these critics are the very people that Microsoft must cater to. You won't make your product better by talking to your fans, but you will learn quite a bit by having a frank discussion with your critics. Should Microsoft listen - and I am in my own small way betting that they will - these are the folks that will be advancing the state of the art of my new WP. As with all networked devices, the more that are sold the more value each one produces. The biggest ecosystem produces the widest benefits.
So I will be taking the plunge with WP. Overlooking all the barriers of entry and hoping it can replace my android experience. Maybe I will find a few hidden gems too. The driver for me is to escape Google, if I can. But be good to me, WP, or I won't be around for long.
Quite frankly, there's nothing wrong with what he said, and he was very complimentary to both Nokia and Microsoft.
I feel that am his case in point. After visiting a Microsoft store on Monday (but they didn't have the Icon on display yet), I finally held one in in my hand today at the Verizon store. After speaking with the Verizon rep and confirming that Microsoft could indeed renew my contract (I am on a corporate account - in the past Best Buy could not do so), I have concluded that I should instead head to the Microsoft store to get my Icon. I may yet do so this evening.
That said, it's clear that you have to want a WP to get one. I really do want one. I am heavily integrated with Microsoft's ecosystem. I have a Surface Pro, and I use Microsoft's One Note, Outlook.com and Xbox Music apps on my android device now. For Microsoft, I am the low-hanging fruit of US smartphone marketplace, and I am used to running flagship equipment.
And yet I have reservations.
I intend to overlook them, but I cannot ignore them. If everything goes well, I hope to get a great piece of smartphone hardware and an integrated ecosystem of services. And a mostly good selection of apps. However, I KNOW I can buy a Galaxy Note 3 and get a great piece of smartphone hardware and an integrated ecosystem of services. So I am substituting hope for a sure thing.
Don't get me wrong here. I am not bashing WP, but built into my purchase decision is already that 8.1 will solve most of the shortcomings and I will get over the rest of it and learn to love my new device. I am losing my favorite Visual Voicemail service, Phone Fusion VisualVoicemail+, which has served me faithfully since 2009 and still continues to impress my friends. I contacted Phone Fusion, only to learn that they have no plans to support WP. That's just a small thing, maybe, but I am feeling some pain over it. And if some guy's trivia game is what he wants, and he can't get it, he is absolutely valid in sharing his personal experiences in an opinion piece.
It's shortsighted not to understand that such small things figure into consumer behavior, and I am sure Microsoft is smart enough to recognize that these things do matter. Blackberry, on the other hand, did not, and never really understood why people wanted iPhones, and only grudgingly admitted that they did want them.
The fact is, these critics are the very people that Microsoft must cater to. You won't make your product better by talking to your fans, but you will learn quite a bit by having a frank discussion with your critics. Should Microsoft listen - and I am in my own small way betting that they will - these are the folks that will be advancing the state of the art of my new WP. As with all networked devices, the more that are sold the more value each one produces. The biggest ecosystem produces the widest benefits.
So I will be taking the plunge with WP. Overlooking all the barriers of entry and hoping it can replace my android experience. Maybe I will find a few hidden gems too. The driver for me is to escape Google, if I can. But be good to me, WP, or I won't be around for long.
One does not need special gadgets to exercise (or even gym memberships or gym equipment for that matter). Running outdoors with no special gadgets or equipment will produce the same results.
..... I would never recommend it to someone who loads apps by the dozens just to try them out. But, there are literally thousands of Android/iOS users that DO NOT drool like St. Bernards at a water bowl over apps, and these users may find WP useful and enjoyable. But because bias like this, all they hear is life has no meaning in WP
There was nothing absolutely positive about that article. Wtf.
It barely mentions the icon. It is more trashing the os while praising android and ios. That was ridiculous
The tragedy is that the technology industry is not a meritocracy. Making great products is often not sufficient for success, and sometimes it?s not even required. In tech, marketing, branding, partnerships and timing can be as important as how well your product works.
Just out -
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/t...bbled-by-its-windows-phone-framework.html?_r=
The author calls WP a "...second-class digital existence." Poor guy can't find his favorite trivia game.
Who pays these people to be shmucks? I hope Nadella and the phone team respond with great stuff in the months ahead. I have a 920, am excited about the Icon, and I really want these kinds of articles to go away.
Don't worry about it fellas. It's the NY Times. Biased journalism and opinion based writing is the norm there.
For a good review, see engadget's review.
Don't worry about it fellas. It's the NY Times. Biased journalism and opinion based writing is the norm there.
For a good review, see engadget's review.
As I posted yesterday, I am the audience to whom he was writing. After 12 hours with my Icon, I understand even more acutely the point he was trying to make.
I am determined to stick with this phone, but even as I am typing this message my phone buzzed and chimed. I glanced to the too of my screen and found... Nothing. Was it a text? An email? A reminder? Should I stop writing this post and ho back to the home screen?
I don't know, of course. In 2014 I am left with questions that should have been solved years ago.
And I know twenty people will want to post me back that.all my problems will be solved with WP 8.1, but I am talking about now. I feel like I got in a time machine and went back to 2011.
Not how I should feel with a flagship device. This should be the best phone ever on day one, not just the best WP ever.
So I ignored the advice and made the two year commitment. I am interested to see how I feel a month or two from now. Until then I will assume I have a lot to learn.