As a developer, the McLaren news is even more chilling.

[iHeartBretski]

I am brand new to windows phone. I was an Android enthusiast for 5 years and have done everything there is to do with it. I even wrote for an Android based site similar to Wpc. In the three weeks that I have been using windows phone I have loved it and find it a breath of fresh air. I started on 8.1. So I don't know what life was like before that. But it is a more than solid platform.

I actually was not at all looking forward to 3D touch. I couldn't care less about that. Maybe someone at MS knew that this wasn't the best place to put all efforts. Maybe they should be focusing on proper marketing and doing EVERYTHING they can to get in good with all the services it might be missing. Such as Google. (they don't even need Google) they need more solid relationships and better marketing to build the ecosystem. You know what most android users say when they use a Windows Phone for. While. THEY like it. What's not to like? I think getting rid of the 3d is good. But they def need a flagship to come out last quarter. I will use my jump upgrade at TMobile to get it I promise. (Lumia 925 user)

PS: Do not stop developing for windows phone. It is fantastic to see a developer that is in the community. Android has a lot of this too. Just give it some time and im downloading Atmosphere JUST because.

 

[theefman]

And that is why i really am serious about leading. they literally dont make me feel confident enough in the platform simply because of how secretive and then backtracking they are and when they could instill confidence by at least letting us know something.

Secretive and backtracking? So do you know exactly what the new iphone will be like, has apple made an announcement? Or is it super secret as always? I wonder why Microsoft is expected to announce their devices well in advance but apple and others aren't?

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Secretive and backtracking? So do you know exactly what the new iphone will be like, has apple made an announcement? Or is it super secret as always? I wonder why Microsoft is expected to announce their devices well in advance but apple and others aren't?

Nope . But I damn sure know a lot more about apples plans for ios than I do for windows phone and the fact that despite its many shortcomings, when a phone is announced it doesn't take months to get it released.

I may not know what the iPhone 6 looks like or is spec wise but I do know that os wise the platform is not just floundering around like windows phone. Why? Because unlike Microsoft, apple uses ALL their strengths to create a consistent product that works perfectly across all ios and mac products.

 

[AngryNil]

So, things would be better if Microsoft launched McLaren with no good use for its hardware?

Windows Phone needs to advance in core areas across all devices. That includes more expansive APIs, robust multitasking, better app performance and refined design (say what you want, it's been four years and things have changed). Having a gimmicky feature on one device is the last thing on my list.

 

[psudotechzealot]

Go get that money O/P.

 

[rockstarzzz]

This post looks like nothing but FUD. I have followed your posts on WPCentral for a long time and I know you can post better. I am taking this just as an emotional outburst but in all reality, McLaren, layoffs and where WP is going are totally unrelated events.

Just because there is heavy rain in African rain forest and cloudy in London, doesn't mean it is outbreak of plague in Australia.

No one is flocking WP "en masse" and no one is jumping ship. Not the sensible ones. It isn't the case of loyal followers or not. If you are talking about a regular customer, he doesn't even know what the heck McLaren is! So he ain't leaving WP just yet. If you are talking about our community here, they are clever enough to know a non-launch of unannounced and rumoured device does not kill a platform.

 

[Kevin N Smith]

This post looks like nothing but FUD. I have followed your posts on WPCentral for a long time and I know you can post better. I am taking this just as an emotional outburst but in all reality, McLaren, layoffs and where WP is going are totally unrelated events.

Just because there is heavy rain in African rain forest and cloudy in London, doesn't mean it is outbreak of plague in Australia.

No one is flocking WP "en masse" and no one is jumping ship. Not the sensible ones. It isn't the case of loyal followers or not. If you are talking about a regular customer, he doesn't even know what the heck McLaren is! So he ain't leaving WP just yet. If you are talking about our community here, they are clever enough to know a non-launch of unannounced and rumoured device does not kill a platform.

Obviously it is an "emotional outburst" in some respects, but there is also no shortage of reality in this thread, and I am actually porting to Android. This isn't a joke or trick thread - it's a thread where I decide if WP is worthwhile anymore as a developer. MClaren is related to WP in that while the average consumer may not know what the device is, when they read a news site (Sites such as Forbes run these articles too, as do sites such as the New York Times) and hear about MS's many broken promises (Where was that "great thing" that was coming to WP? Oh right, the guy that said that got laid off too.), cancelled phones, and overall just plain stupid moves that MS has made, all this does is continue to degrade at MS's credibility as a well-run company that produces great products.

I am also not saying that the killing of this unannounced device will kill the platform, bit what will is the holiday season's iPhone 6 and Galaxy launch. WP needs something as great as, if not better then the iPhone that will be available everywhere and marketed to death. The MClaren was exactly that.

 

[gwinegarden]

Secretive and backtracking? So do you know exactly what the new iphone will be like, has apple made an announcement? Or is it super secret as always? I wonder why Microsoft is expected to announce their devices well in advance but apple and others aren't?

People love to speculate about the new iPhone for months. Then, when it comes out, it has half of what was rumoured and everyone is thrilled. The next day, they begin speculating about the next iPhone.

Apple users get one new phone a year and are happy. Android and WP users expect dozens and many think it's still not enough.

 

[Kevin N Smith]

People love to speculate about the new iPhone for months. Then, when it comes out, it has half of what was rumoured and everyone is thrilled. The next day, they begin speculating about the next iPhone.

Apple users get one new phone a year and are happy. Android and WP users expect dozens and many think it's still not enough.

We don't expect dozens, at least I don't. Nokia, for some idiotic reason, felt it was a great idea to fragment the market by releasing multiple variants of a device. The WP product line always needed just three MS produced devices.

Cheap device such as 520, on ALL CARRIERS
Mid range WP Device such as 925, again on ALL CARRIERS.
High end WP device such as McLaren, on all carriers once again.

WP has none of this right now and has a product line that does nothing but confuse the average user, who expects a clear upgrade path. There is no clear upgrade path for Nokia devices, which was, again, something I hoped Mclaren would initiate.

 

[hoovermac]

I think what everyone is forgetting is that on April 15th there was 8 code names leaked..... 6!!! McLaren was the one that had more information leaked than the other ones.

So... all is not lost, there are at least 7 devices being developed, and a couple may be high end devices.
the current ones are
MoneyPenny = 635
Martini = 930
Rock = supposed 530

We have not seen a release with the april 15th code names.

the Codenames are:
?Ara,
?Leo,
?Moonraker,
?Onyx,
?Peridot,
?Superman, = reported to be the "selfie phone" by Tom Warren
?Tesla = possible 730
?Vantage

I am disappointed at the cancellation of the McLaren device, although if the tech was not working right, its probably a good thing it was not released.

Now to sit and wait for leaks on the other devices before my contract is up in Dec. and I find a replacement for my 920

Agreed - we have two WP devices that are due for an upgrade soon (a Lumia 800 and 920). I have to admit that I am a bit disappointed about the McLaren concept being shelved for the time being - I was quite intrigued by that device. I hope we see some indications soon about what is coming down the pipeline for the other leaked codenames; they need something to continue to generate buzz about WP! To paraphrase Samsung, I hope the next big thing isn't already here!

 

[AngryNil]

MClaren is related to WP in that while the average consumer may not know what the device is, when they read a news site (Sites such as Forbes run these articles too, as do sites such as the New York Times) and hear about MS's many broken promises (Where was that "great thing" that was coming to WP? Oh right, the guy that said that got laid off too.), cancelled phones, and overall just plain stupid moves that MS has made

• 3D Touch isn't launching because it didn't have a purpose. You would prefer the average consumer to know about this device through scathing reviews in mainstream sites? The memos state that they are aiming to align major hardware innovation with Threshold. That is the right move, the 930 is no slouch in hardware and they need to flesh out the low to mid-range over the rest of the year.
• The average consumer did not hear about a random Microsoft employee who said something on a YouTube video. Nor does that count as a broken promise, it was not an official statement and you don't even know what he was talking about.
• The moves Microsoft just announced were quite the opposite of plain stupid. They unfortunately did need to slim down their workforce, and they reaffirmed their focus on Windows Phone by killing Nokia X.

 

[btgusto]

I think we'll still get the McLaren phone but the touchless feature will not be enabled

 

[Bahamen]

@IN5TIGATOR: As a developer, do you think that 3D gestures are promising and should have been kept? Did you have any particular ideas that you were going to develop based on that technology? I think someone was pointing out that the developer community was not particularly excited about it, and I personally think it is gimmicky the same way that Samsung's Air gestures are. I have always respected Nokia's phone for being no-nonsense and focused on what is important to customers (just like Apple), and the opposite of Samsung or HTC's approach (eg Air gestures, dual camera)

 

[rockstarzzz]

The MClaren was exactly that.

We DON'T know what McLaren was. It was a "rumoured device". If iPhone 6 doesn't come with Sapphire glass - it won't be end of Apple or its commitment to iOS.

 

[Jas00555]

And that is why i really am serious about leading. they literally dont make me feel confident enough in the platform simply because of how secretive and then backtracking they are and when they could instill confidence by at least letting us know something.

Recent rumors have come up that the iPhone 6 battery will be way smaller than other phones and that the battery life will be terrible. Thus far Apple has refused to comment on the issue. It looks like they're being too secretive. Better find another OEM.

 

[Jas00555]

To anyone criticizing my understanding of the market: I know that low end devices drive sales volume. However, high end devices attract high profile people - press, celebrities, and developers which make more money then I would have made if my launch day profit repeated itself on a daily basis (Candy crush, for example, pulls in 1mil per day). What WP needs is press, which attract users, more press, devs, and keep the platform relevant.

Did you just read the headline yesterday or did you actually read the article?? It was cancelled because the 3D technology wasn't ready. If they had launched it, it would be been half-baked and everyone would've made fun of them for releasing a terrible phone and the amount of celebrities and high profile people (because there are currently tons who use WP now, right?) would've remained the same as it would have if they hadn't released it at all.

Port your app to Android, I don't care either way, but don't whine and complain that the McLaren would've helped your app grow anymore than it is now.

 

[rodan01]

Obviously it is an "emotional outburst" in some respects, but there is also no shortage of reality in this thread, and I am actually porting to Android. This isn't a joke or trick thread - it's a thread where I decide if WP is worthwhile anymore as a developer. MClaren is related to WP in that while the average consumer may not know what the device is, when they read a news site (Sites such as Forbes run these articles too, as do sites such as the New York Times) and hear about MS's many broken promises (Where was that "great thing" that was coming to WP? Oh right, the guy that said that got laid off too.), cancelled phones, and overall just plain stupid moves that MS has made, all this does is continue to degrade at MS's credibility as a well-run company that produces great products.

I am also not saying that the killing of this unannounced device will kill the platform, bit what will is the holiday season's iPhone 6 and Galaxy launch. WP needs something as great as, if not better then the iPhone that will be available everywhere and marketed to death. The MClaren was exactly that.

You're making a big deal out of this. If you think you can make more money with Android then develop for Android. You don't have any good app for WP, so probably the platform will survive if you leave.

I think the platform has enough, or maybe too many, mediocre independent developers trying to take advantage of a less crowded app store. WP needs more support from big companies. The work of developers like you don't move the needle.

 

[Tonchi91]

The problem lays in the fact that Windows phone is not that spread in the world and you are pointing to small amount of people. If you want to develop big apps, you will have to develop cross platform apps in order to succeed. Even if I am windows phone fanatic, my company which will soon be established will develop cross platform apps in order to succeed. I have great ideas, but what is the point of I point those ideas to only 4 percent of smartphone industry.

 

[Kevin N Smith]

@IN5TIGATOR: As a developer, do you think that 3D gestures are promising and should have been kept? Did you have any particular ideas that you were going to develop based on that technology? I think someone was pointing out that the developer community was not particularly excited about it, and I personally think it is gimmicky the same way that Samsung's Air gestures are. I have always respected Nokia's phone for being no-nonsense and focused on what is important to customers (just like Apple), and the opposite of Samsung or HTC's approach (eg Air gestures, dual camera)

It's mostly a gimmick, with the exception of the interactive live tiles. The tiles were supposed to "explode" when touched, similarly to how the old Microsoft surface table's interface was. In the case of, say, Atmosphere, I could have the tiles explode and display more weather data. That would be amazing.

However, the rest of the technology - the part that takes place within the app, is mostly a gimmick, more so with apps like atmosphere or, say, a newsreader where the ability to, say, scroll in the air would annoy the user more then assist the user. This is the very definition of gimmick.

 

[Mike Gibson]

You're making a big deal out of this. If you think you can make more money with Android then develop for Android. You don't have any good app for WP, so probably the platform will survive if you leave.

I think the platform has enough, or maybe too many, mediocre independent developers trying to take advantage of a less crowded app store. WP needs more support from big companies. The work of developers like you don't move the needle.

Besides being insulting this post is also wrong. Large numbers of small mediocre independent developers are just as important as large company developers to a platform like WP. For example, I wrote a Win32 program for my own usage then made it public (it is a scientific program, not a game). It became a hit in its domain and I formed a one-man company out of my home office. Governments, companies, and individuals from all over the world use it (mostly USA). You can see it on TV during breaking news events. Many of my users run Windows specifically to use my programs.

So, one mediocre independent developer helps keep tens of thousands of users on the Windows platform. With a thousand more "mediocre independent developers" you could have millions more users on a platform.

Note: MSFT made it as difficult as possible for me to port my Win32 program to WinRT/PRT by changing the app model, changing the threading model, and changing the UI model without making that same system available on Win7. Win32/Win7 pays the bills while WP8 is a charity case that I work on as time permits.