Is this the worst product roll-out you have ever seen?

[AngryNil]

But when other manufacturers can flood the hype of one device out by releasing and announcing multiple devices that are on par with your own device, you aren't doing it totally right.

Wasn't directing it at you, since you didn't claim it to be the worst. I'm sure we all wished there was better timing, but didn't the Lumia get to feature on many comparison articles as the Windows Phone flagship? I think with what Nokia got, they played the timing very well.

 

[mmacleodbrown]

The start of November is a good time to release (even though I want mine now!)

announce devices in Sept - keep the buzz going and let the blogosphere do its work.
announce availability in Oct - carriers, pricing, pre-orders etc
Get the device first week in Nov

When I look back, I actually think this has been done quite well. No-one was going to compete against the new iphone, so get in there first with device specs, let the iphone launch, and carry on feeding the machine with further product articles to counter the nexus buzz before releasing at the same time as the Nexus launch..

Im not sure about the rest of you, but I knew I needed a new phone in the summer, but there was no way Id even consider buying any phone until Oct/Nov as it would have been crazy to do that before the next nexus devices were known about.
With the iphone launch being such a fail, the 2 alternatives are android or WP8 which will both be available at the same time so I can make a choice and buy.

It is quite a clever strategy, there was a WP8 buzz before the iphone, there is still a buzz now and if the devices are available first week of Novemeber, then people aren't going to be tempted away by google as they will be able to get a WP8 at the same time.

The apple fanbois will just buy apple regardless, so at least MS are focussing their efforts where they can do the most good

 

[johnmcd348]

The entire WP introduction has chapped my butt for the past few years now. It's really enough to make one walk away from it forever in my opinion. I like the OS and think it has great potential but, the way it's been handled by Microsoft is beyond incompetence. They release the OS and only half heartedly market it. Device developers see this and barely offer anything that runs it. They change it again after only 2-3 years on the market. Even with the newer WP8, I doubt many people other than us realize it's not just another upgrade from WinMo. Just like now, they show a few devices months in advance, generate a little bit of hype and then wait until people have all but forgotten about it before hey release it to market. Then, as with the 920, we find out at nearly the last minute that it will only be offered by 1 retailer. Not good for a platform that wants to regain it's dominance it once had.

If I were a shareholder in Microsoft or any of the particular device makers and was dependent on WP's success, I would be beyond p!$$ed.

 

[independentvolume]

They need to plaster 8x and Ativ s posters on every street corner. Also, start churning out commercials. ****, make a wp8 cereal with little ativ and 8x bits. GET THE PRODUCT OUT THERE.

 

[Heron_Kusanagi]

Wasn't directing it at you, since you didn't claim it to be the worst. I'm sure we all wished there was better timing, but didn't the Lumia get to feature on many comparison articles as the Windows Phone flagship? I think with what Nokia got, they played the timing very well.

It may be so, and the L920 came out pretty nice against the iOS and Android flagships, but in order for the WP to get it on with W8, we have to wait.

And this industry is too fast moving, and Nokia needs its products out there to gain mindshare instead of feeding us vaporware. If Google and LG crashes MS, HTC and Nokia's party by doing a Nexus reveal on the 28th (could happen), it's gonna be a heck of a uphill battle against the Android juggernaut.

 

[mmacleodbrown]

The entire WP introduction has chapped my butt for the past few years now. It's really enough to make one walk away from it forever in my opinion. I like the OS and think it has great potential but, the way it's been handled by Microsoft is beyond incompetence. They release the OS and only half heartedly market it. Device developers see this and barely offer anything that runs it. They change it again after only 2-3 years on the market. Even with the newer WP8, I doubt many people other than us realize it's not just another upgrade from WinMo. Just like now, they show a few devices months in advance, generate a little bit of hype and then wait until people have all but forgotten about it before hey release it to market. Then, as with the 920, we find out at nearly the last minute that it will only be offered by 1 retailer. Not good for a platform that wants to regain it's dominance it once had.

If I were a shareholder in Microsoft or any of the particular device makers and was dependent on WP's success, I would be beyond p!$$ed.

Fair point, but it is different this time around - the launch of WP8 and hardware can't be compared to any other other previous launch, they have nothing in common.

This time

You will be getting a unified integrated experience between multiple devices - laptop/PC/Tablet/Phone - that has never happened before.
Now Microsoft will be pushing WP8 as part of the overall W8 experience, it will take a while for the message to get out there, but the more tablets/laptops/PC's that are sold with W8 on them in turn will strengthen the message for WP8.

We all know that the Lumia 900 was a good phone, the bloggers said so, the tech reviews said so. but it still didn't sell well - because there was no point buying a W7.xx phone, no unique selling point, crippled OS - forget it

Now, there is good hardware, unified OS and we are finally at the beginning of a major technological shift in the way we use computing.
2 months ago I was an Android user with no interest in WP8, now I see the possibilities and Im switching to WP8
Im even going to get a surface tablet as I can see the point of having one now as well as a WP8 device. Computing is catching up on the way I want to use it, so I will buy into that future.
In the meantime we have had the iphone launch, and guess what, people are still talking about WP8 devices - that in itself is a massive achievement - the 2 biggest launches this year will be the Nexus devices and the W8/WP8 - the buzz on the web is for those two, not apple this time around..

people have to stop looking at it as a device/phone launch - it isn't, it is the launch of a whole new ecosystem which is a much bigger event that will have MS pushing alot harder to make sure it succeeds

Rant over, and I promise you Im not a MS salesman :-0

 

[stephen_az]

Between the horrid lack of pricing/release dates/carrier information and these Nokia "exclusivity" announcements, this whole thing is beginning to feel like a slow motion train wreck.

Is it too early to call this a fiasco? New Coke, anyone???

Actually, I think the Microsoft end of the equation would be fine if you took Nokia PR efforts and the exclusivity garbage out of the picture as well as VZW's absolute silence. It is not a RIM issue where release date actually might mean March of next year, and then get delayed again. The release of most of the phones will be on at least one carrier by early next month. As for pricing, how much lead time did Apple offer between iPhone 5 announcement and release of the product. Microsoft is attempting to generate advance buzz about the phones and there is nothing wrong with that effort. The problem, from my perspective though, is Nokia is not on the same page and is trying to act like they have a prominent position in the US market, when they might as well be a startup company when it comes to real brand visibility. The exclusivity angle and the fun tweets are just really stupid business. BTW, in case anyone has not noticed, HTC now has the 8X and 8S up on their web site, with the 8S having no details and the 8X being an AT&T phone.

 

[x I'm tc]

I used a Pre on Sprint

Between the horrid lack of pricing/release dates/carrier information and these Nokia "exclusivity" announcements, this whole thing is beginning to feel like a slow motion train wreck.

Is it too early to call this a fiasco? New Coke, anyone???

It was the best phone ever released. No, seriously. And when it came time to upgrade HP announced the Pre 2 and Veer and said, "It'll be ready in six months and not on your carrier."

And then pulled the plug on them.

That takes the cake.

 

[Reflexx]

Most people aren't heavily into this stuff.

Talk about this being a failed product launch are silly.

Wait until after we see the actual product launch and are able to analyze the actual results.

 

[aniym]

I would be happy if there was at least some news coverage, or press releases by Microsoft regarding developer interest. I'm talking about brand-name developers with big budget projects and how they think WP8 fits into their app portfolio plans going forward. That is what will drive consumer adoption.

I'm not at all surprised that the OEMs are blowing the launch. This has been happening in the PC market for years. When was the last time you heard of a single Windows laptop that sold in the millions and new iterations that consumers looked forward to? There's no brand visibility because OEMs churn out hundreds of almost identical models for little profit.

HTC at least has carriers lined up, but of course will leave advertising to them, which is always a bad idea). Nokia is acting surprisingly arrogant even after the OIS ad fiasco and the uncertainty around carrier availability. Nokia's pricing is what will kill it in the market. You simply cannot price it higher than the Galaxy S3 and expect it to sell. No amount of camera tech will change that.

Ironically, Samsung is the OEM that cares least about WP8 and is putting out one of the only phones that actually has a microSD AND a removable battery, the former being something WP7 followers have wanted since day 1.

 

[Old_Cus]

The start of November is a good time to release (even though I want mine now!)

announce devices in Sept - keep the buzz going and let the blogosphere do its work.
announce availability in Oct - carriers, pricing, pre-orders etc
Get the device first week in Nov

When I look back, I actually think this has been done quite well. No-one was going to compete against the new iphone, so get in there first with device specs, let the iphone launch, and carry on feeding the machine with further product articles to counter the nexus buzz before releasing at the same time as the Nexus launch..

Im not sure about the rest of you, but I knew I needed a new phone in the summer, but there was no way Id even consider buying any phone until Oct/Nov as it would have been crazy to do that before the next nexus devices were known about.
With the iphone launch being such a fail, the 2 alternatives are android or WP8 which will both be available at the same time so I can make a choice and buy.

It is quite a clever strategy, there was a WP8 buzz before the iphone, there is still a buzz now and if the devices are available first week of Novemeber, then people aren't going to be tempted away by google as they will be able to get a WP8 at the same time.

The apple fanbois will just buy apple regardless, so at least MS are focussing their efforts where they can do the most good

The earlier product announcements put Nokia and HTC in the conversation with the iphone5. The iphone5 hype is slowing so when WP8 is released they will be center stage. I think the timing is right were it should be. Microsoft, Nokia and HTC will have the spotlight the first of November.

 

[jmshub]

By all reasonable measures, the iphone 5 should be a failure. They introduce LTE, a full year after many other phones and market demands. 4" screen comes around, TWO years after many other phones and market demands. Oh, and that dock you bought that you never planned on needing to upgrade? That doesn't work anymore. Unless you buy a shady looking dongle that will raise your phone way outside of the contour that protects your phone and keeps it from falling out of the dock.

But instead, it was the most successful iphone launch yet. Proving yet again that logic is far separated from a smart phone launch. Windows Phone 8 may be a shining success or a stunning failure, but neither option will arise, ultimately, from how MS or Nokia for that matter, treated this launch cycle since June.

 

[snowmutt]

doesn't really mean much honestly... I own an LG Optimus Quantum, Samsung Focus, Bold 9900, Torch 9800, Iphone 4, Iphone 3G, Acer Liquid E, Galaxy SII, Bold 9700 and a bunch of BB Curves... Right now I'm using a bold 9900 and I'm still an pro WP user.

Sweet Mother... I hope you are on your cell phone manufacturers Christmas Card list.

 

[snowmutt]

No worries. No problems. There will be only one measure of the Nokia, and for that matter entire WP8 launch. What happens after they are released. Nothing up to that point matters.

 

[rookoo]

I can not see any success indication in Lumia series phone, that is what I only can say.

 

[0kami]

Yea it's been terrible, not even getting phone prices. In the end if nothing new is introduced all the this secrecy is gonna be pretty dumb.

 

[Villain]

Sweet Mother... I hope you are on your cell phone manufacturers Christmas Card list.

worked for Rogers on tech support and worked for RIM overseeing a Rogers Blackberry Tech support center... but I'm with bell and always have been lol

 

[ImmortalWarrior]

worked for Rogers on tech support and worked for RIM overseeing a Rogers Blackberry Tech support center... but I'm with bell and always have been lol

I used to work for RIM. Had a drawer filled to the top with curves and bolds. Used to use them as paperweights. Practically all they are good for now (*I kid I kid*)

 

[brmiller1976]

But instead, it was the most successful iphone launch yet. Proving yet again that logic is far separated from a smart phone launch. Windows Phone 8 may be a shining success or a stunning failure, but neither option will arise, ultimately, from how MS or Nokia for that matter, treated this launch cycle since June.

Sorry, but the "Apple did it this way, so we can also do it that way" argument doesn't apply.

Apple is a different company, and iOS is a dominant market leader. In mobile, Microsoft and its OEMs are third-tier challengers, a teeny-weeny rounding error. What works for Apple won't work for a third-tier challenger.

The third-tier challenger has to do EVERYTHING right. EVERYTHING must be perfect. EVERYTHING must be flawless. He must release an absolutely stunningly perfect device, at unbelievably compelling pricing, on every carrier, to the point where people used to the status quo options say "that's a no-brainer" and buy in droves. Otherwise, he will remain a minor, third-tier player.

Doing everything half-assed and then saying "but Apple does stuff half-assed" ain't gonna cut it. Apple dominates the market and has that luxury of being able to be make dumb moves and be slow, because of that dominance. Microsoft and its OEMs are insignificant players in contrast, and thus must execute much better to even be competitive.

'Tis the facts of life.

 

[Coreldan]

Sorry, but the "Apple did it this way, so we can also do it that way" argument doesn't apply.

Apple is a different company, and iOS is a dominant market leader. In mobile, Microsoft and its OEMs are third-tier challengers, a teeny-weeny rounding error. What works for Apple won't work for a third-tier challenger.

The third-tier challenger has to do EVERYTHING right. EVERYTHING must be perfect. EVERYTHING must be flawless. He must release an absolutely stunningly perfect device, at unbelievably compelling pricing, on every carrier, to the point where people used to the status quo options say "that's a no-brainer" and buy in droves. Otherwise, he will remain a minor, third-tier player.

Doing everything half-assed and then saying "but Apple does stuff half-assed" ain't gonna cut it. Apple dominates the market and has that luxury of being able to be make dumb moves and be slow, because of that dominance. Microsoft and its OEMs are insignificant players in contrast, and thus must execute much better to even be competitive.

'Tis the facts of life.

Funny thing is, that the situation starts to remind me a lot about Nokia like.. 5-6 years ago. On top of the world, too arrogrant, too slow, too stuck in what worked years ago. iPhone 5 still sells like hotcakes, no denying that, but I feel they are gonna be hitting the peak soon and start coming down just like Nokia did unless they change their agenda.