Canadian Windows Phone Users! I need your help!

[bilzkh]

We need to make some noise on the lack of eco-system support, it's getting ridiculous.

Firstly, we lack apps for all of our leading banks: RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, and Scotiabank.

Secondly, we lack apps for our leading vendors: Tim Hortons, Cineplex, Good Life Fitness, Air Canada, WestJet, etc.

Thirdly, we even lack apps for public services, e.g. transit in some areas, Canada Post, and so on.

I get it, Canada doesn't have many Windows Phone users, sure. But here's the thing. How will we ever get 'enough' Windows Phone users if the platform doesn't have a retention strategy? Let's say someone from a feature phone buys a Lumia 520 for cheap. Given the lack of local support, it's more than likely (IMO) that the person will upgrade to an iPhone or Android device the moment they have the opportunity to do so. Windows Phone was a nice side trip, but it isn't offering enough to make it the real deal for most normal people.

What's compelling for most normal people, I think, is the ability to use Windows Phone at the places they visit daily (Tim Hortons/GoodLife/RBC) and regularly (Cineplex). Not only that, but to win people over we need Windows Phone's latent capabilities (i.e. Wallet and NFC) to be utilized in an appropriate fashion. But we're being left behind.

For example, Rogers has suretap Wallet (allowing for NFC payments via phone), not a single word about Windows Phone. We're also missing out on opportunities, such as Metrolinx and PRESTO. Think about Torontonians, imagine a commercial where a Lumia 1020 is used to buy you a coffee; then it starts up Transit and tells you to take the GO, and while you're at Union Station you use your phone at the PRESTO scanner; when you catch up on friends on Facebook/Instagram, but a you get a work email and open up a Word document... Man, a lot of people will be intrigued, that's a lot happening *relevant* to them (especially if phones come in at $250-300 off-contract).

Disappointing. So we should raise awareness. Get in touch with Microsoft, Nokia, Rogers/Bell/Telus, Tim Hortons, etc, and ask them to make an app. Not just one or two, but rather, as many of us as possible on any given day.

 

[vinscg]

i sent an email to rbc , they responded it was coming soon, months ago! maybe they mistaken windowsphone8 and windows8

 

[Dave Bhullar]

I've sent emails to Cineplex and Scene, also contacted them on their Facebook page. They said its on their roadmap but we won't see it anytime soon, they haven't started development for WP. What we should do is gather people who will email these companies until they acknowledge the demand and actually do something about it.

 

[bilzkh]

I've sent emails to Cineplex and Scene, also contacted them on their Facebook page. They said its on their roadmap but we won't see it anytime soon, they haven't started development for WP. What we should do is gather people who will email these companies until they acknowledge the demand and actually do something about it.

Well for what we know demand could be very low, we need to flip it towards Microsoft/Nokia. I remember Nokia saying that 'wherever our employees do business, that place needs an app.' It's a chicken-egg cycle, but the weight IMO is on the supply side of apps and services, so as to retain those who do jump on WP as well as attract interested people. Maybe we should write to Microsoft/Nokia handsets? Doesn't Elop take in emails from the public?

 

[killakiloz]

I work at a bell store, and I cosign this 100%, we need to do something. I lose WP sales all the time due to the lack of banking apps alone. Ppl don't want to use the mobile sites, they want an easy to use app right in front of them, and android and iOS provide that. Sadly, and I can only speak for bell, but carrier support for WP in Canada is lacking as well. Bell does not have ONE wp8 device in their current line up.

 

[Dave Bhullar]

I work at a bell store, and I cosign this 100%, we need to do something. I lose WP sales all the time due to the lack of banking apps alone. Ppl don't want to use the mobile sites, they want an easy to use app right in front of them, and android and iOS provide that. Sadly, and I can only speak for bell, but carrier support for WP in Canada is lacking as well. Bell does not have ONE wp8 device in their current line up.

At least you know about windows phones. Last time I went to Rogers to get one, some of the people working there had no idea about it lol.

 

[gwinegarden]

I know many do but the last thing I want, on my phone, is a banking app. The rest, maybe.

 

[cndspec]

I agree wholeheartedly that we need more of the Canadian businesses getting on board with Windows Phone 8 apps. Having said that I know that a lot of the higher profile businesses don't even make an android app - only iPhone. It appears that there are many Canadian businesses that are not taking this mobile revolution all that seriously. In the meantime I have found that for some things there are work arounds although not great. I use Microsoft's wallet app to keep my Cineplex Scene card so that I don't have to carry it with me and can still use it at the theatres. Yes while some people might not like having to use the mobile version of the website, you can create a tile for those sites and still have one touch access to them. I can say that until all businesses get onto the mobile bandwagon we are going to have to work a little harder.

It always amazes me that some places are still pushing out an iPhone version and Blackberry version of their apps and leaving android out of the loop given its huge marketshare. Having said that though I guess not all people are like those of us on these forums - forum surfers tend to be better informed and are more interested in this type of thing.

 

[bilzkh]

I agree wholeheartedly that we need more of the Canadian businesses getting on board with Windows Phone 8 apps. Having said that I know that a lot of the higher profile businesses don't even make an android app - only iPhone. It appears that there are many Canadian businesses that are not taking this mobile revolution all that seriously. In the meantime I have found that for some things there are work arounds although not great. I use Microsoft's wallet app to keep my Cineplex Scene card so that I don't have to carry it with me and can still use it at the theatres. Yes while some people might not like having to use the mobile version of the website, you can create a tile for those sites and still have one touch access to them. I can say that until all businesses get onto the mobile bandwagon we are going to have to work a little harder.

It always amazes me that some places are still pushing out an iPhone version and Blackberry version of their apps and leaving android out of the loop given its huge marketshare. Having said that though I guess not all people are like those of us on these forums - forum surfers tend to be better informed and are more interested in this type of thing.

Yep. My experience with vendors in Canada is that they're generally ambivalent, but you can push them and get them interested. There are some random instances of Canadian apps, e.g. GO Transit.

 

[killakiloz]

At least you know about windows phones. Last time I went to Rogers to get one, some of the people working there had no idea about it lol.

Which is even worse considering that Rogers was Canada's "Windows Phone Launch Partner".

 

[Dave Bhullar]

Which is even worse considering that Rogers was Canada's "Windows Phone Launch Partner".

I know man, the guy from Rogers constantly kept asking me if I wanted to get a Samsung or iPhone instead lol. Then he said something like Nokia used to be good 4-5 years back and now they are just ok. It was pretty annoying and I just couldn't believe this. This happened last year so I hope things have changed now.

 

[morbility]

I've asked about timeplay from cineplex and they said they had plans currently for WP support...

 

[Dave Bhullar]

I've asked about timeplay from cineplex and they said they had plans currently for WP support...

Did they give you ETA? Last time I asked they just said its on their road map.

 

[morbility]

No plans* ugh, silly typos

 

[nokia6300]

Part of the problem is carriers are NOT promoting windows phone! Example, walk into a telus store and i see dummy nokia lumia 620 and 520. They should have a working phone on display. They only have the higher end models of nokia on display. Same with futureshop and bestbuy. I dont know why they are not promoting windows phone.

 

[dlalonde]

Part of the problem is carriers are NOT promoting windows phone! Example, walk into a telus store and i see dummy nokia lumia 620 and 520. They should have a working phone on display. They only have the higher end models of nokia on display. Same with futureshop and bestbuy. I dont know why they are not promoting windows phone.

Very true! Here in Quebec I've seen very little if any Windows Phone on display. Virgin Mobile stopped selling them and so did Koodo. Videotron is selling the HTC 8s for a ridiculous price (it's only 30$ but you have to have a 50$ minimum monthly fee).

We're stuck with the eternal offer and demand loop. They're not promoting them because they don't sell well and they don't sell well because they're not promoting them...

As for apps, here in Quebec, it's absurd. Cogeco made their radio app available on Blackberry but not Windows Phone. La Presse has a mobile app only on iOS and Android and their website is not responsive and there's no mobile version (and their RSS does not include the content). It's a ridiculous problem

 

[morbility]

I think part of the problem is Canada is a much smaller market compared to the US, carriers here are inclined to stock popular phones like iPhone and Samsung because they know they can sell them. So its a catch 22 because Windows Phone market share isn't high enough to warrant increased exposure, but without increased exposure its market share is limited. I finally gave up with Bell, I told them point blank to stock Nokia devices by the end of my contract, they didn't, I'm with WIND now, best decision I ever made, bought a Lumia 810 and unlocked it.