Any chance of Lumia flagship being announced on 1/21?

[coip]

I know 1/21 is a Windows 10 event, but is there any chance of a new Lumia flagship being announced then (or anytime soon)? My entire family is on Windows Phone on Verizon but two of them have contracts coming up in the next few weeks and with the Icon being discontinued and all other Lumia phones pulled from their stores as well, my kin may have no choice but to bail on Windows Phone. If Microsoft would only just announce something, I could probably convince them to wait a few months, but with nothing on the horizon and nothing in the past year, they're not going to wait for ever.

 

[stephen_az]

No offense but the line about "all Lumias being pulled from VZW stores" is simply not true. If you want one call your local stores. In fact, I can still walk into the West El Paso store and the Lumia 928 is still on display. They are simply selling down the remaining stock of old phones - that is all and it is not unreasonable given the age of the 928. Even the Icon is available through stores that still have them in stock.

As to whether a high end unit is announced will be known in a couple days. On one front I hope they announce one just to get people here to stop whining. Unfortunately, it will almost certainly not be available for months (not until after Windows 10 is released) and will equally certainly be a carrier exclusive in the US. There is no incentive for carriers to pick up expensive phones that sell in low volume - the non-secret no one wants to face regarding why the US carriers do not jump at the phones. Carrier exclusives are a means of getting the phones on any carrier, not a foolish move that limits some non-existent crowd of willing carriers. As the last high end phones in the US were VZW exclusives (the Icon and HTC One), I wouldn't bet on the next being on VZW.

 

[Luisraul924]

^ ha shout out to probably the only other person from El Paso on these forums lol and yes what was stated about Verizon is correct they're selling their stock down. I'm not sure they care too much about supporting Windows Phone. They'll never admit it publicly though as that would only give them a negative image.

 

[hotphil]

I reckon you've got two hopes of seeing any decent phone announcement from MS tomorrow. If there's any phone hardware to reveal it'll be a) a long way from production b) low-end (as that's all MS seems bothered about) c) not slated for release to anywhere other than US for 12+ months

 

[gMaesterUK]

I doubt it, but I wouldn't rule out a new phone mid-top range coming sooner then people think, especially with the new 532 being labelled as "Windows 10 Ready"...

G.

 

[coip]

No offense but the line about "all Lumias being pulled from VZW stores" is simply not true. If you want one call your local stores.

If you can't get them online, they're pulled. I've called my local stores. None of them have any Lumias and none of them are getting any. And they said they couldn't locate them in other stores and ship them over, either. I do not have the option to purchase Lumias. The Verizon reps don't care. They told me Nokia doesn't make phones anymore, just tablets. I told them that Microsoft bought Nokia's phone business and still makes Lumias.

 

[Noahma]

If you can't get them online, they're pulled. I've called my local stores. None of them have any Lumias and none of them are getting any. And they said they couldn't locate them in other stores and ship them over, either. I do not have the option to purchase Lumias. The Verizon reps don't care. They told me Nokia doesn't make phones anymore, just tablets. I told them that Microsoft bought Nokia's phone business and still makes Lumias.

There was an update to the article posted here. The Verizon corporate spokesperson stated that they are out of stock, but are wafting for fulfillment. take that as you will.

 

[coip]

There was an update to the article posted here. The Verizon corporate spokesperson stated that they are out of stock, but are wafting for fulfillment. take that as you will.

For every other Verizon product that it is out of stock, the listing remains on the site and says "out of stock" and allows you to still order it or to locate it in a store. In contrast, all Lumia phones have been completely removed from Verizon's site. They're not out of stock and they are not restocking it.

 

[Noahma]

For every other Verizon product that it is out of stock, the listing remains on the site and says "out of stock" and allows you to still order it or to locate it in a store. In contrast, all Lumia phones have been completely removed from Verizon's site. They're not out of stock and they are not restocking it.

I am just going by what has been reported by Daniel, Mary Jo Foley and Paul Thurrot. They are just as confused as to why they ware not listed on the site, but Verizon told them that they were out of stock and were awaiting fulfillment. I would rather go by info that is KNOWN, instead of going with some baseless unsubstantiated ideas that may be floating around.

 

[gMaesterUK]

It's a possibility that the rumour of new devices coming to the market made them halt their purchasing. Sadly with Verizon not using the GSM standard I'm guessing there is going to be a lead-time for delivery of new handsets.
Hopefully with what MS said yesterday (about new flagships coming later in year), they got on the phone and place an order!

G.

 

[coip]

I am just going by what has been reported by Daniel, Mary Jo Foley and Paul Thurrot. They are just as confused as to why they ware not listed on the site, but Verizon told them that they were out of stock and were awaiting fulfillment. I would rather go by info that is KNOWN, instead of going with some baseless unsubstantiated ideas that may be floating around.

What is known is that Verizon stopped selling all Lumias, removed them from their website (unprecedented), and is not restocking them. Not even the Microsoft Store has stock of them, and it's been that way for well over a month. Verizon killed them. Why? We don't know. Probably because they don't want to deal with providing tech support for them. But all that matters is that my family members' contracts are up in a week and there is not a single Lumia they can buy. That's not good.

 

[rhapdog]

First, let me answer the OP question, so I don't appear rude: Yes, there is a very good chance that a flagship will be announced on 1/21. (Hindsight being what it is and all, I can be rather confident with that statement.) LOL

No, on to more serious things discussed in the thread.

Folks, Verizon isn't the only one that has been selling down the stock of Lumias. So has AT&T, if you read around the forums you'll see it.

I've been stating that for quite some time, and that the reason is that MS knows they are getting ready to release new flagships soon. I knew that the way they were handling the stocks, and the way that businesses are run, that the new flagships were going to be so awesome that no one would want to buy what they have in stock now, so the only choice was to stop production and sell out the stock so they aren't left with any when the new ones come out.

It was hinted that you may want to wait on the new flagship for WIndows 10 to be able to take advantage of all the new features of Windows 10. That means hardware that doesn't currently exist on any Windows Phone 8.1 device, period. Possibly fingerprint scanner? Possibly hardware USB hub that will allow OTG? I really don't know, but I get the feeling it will be more than one hardware feature to make it worth your wait. I don't know what it will be exactly, but I feel quite certain that people are going to be impressed with it for a change.

 

[gMaesterUK]

What is known is that Verizon stopped selling all Lumias, removed them from their website (unprecedented), and is not restocking them. Not even the Microsoft Store has stock of them, and it's been that way for well over a month. Verizon killed them. Why? We don't know. Probably because they don't want to deal with providing tech support for them. But all that matters is that my family members' contracts are up in a week and there is not a single Lumia they can buy. That's not good.

I'll admit I don't know the US market that well. Can't you keep the phones you've got and transfer to a SIM-only contract until the Win10 generation phones get released?? I know my partner's contract is up next month and will be holding on to present phone (920) until September when the choice will be between the new flagship WinPhone (my preference) and the new iThingy.

G.

 

[rhapdog]

I'll admit I don't know the US market that well. Can't you keep the phones you've got and transfer to a SIM-only contract until the Win10 generation phones get released?? I know my partner's contract is up next month and will be holding on to present phone (920) until September when the choice will be between the new flagship WinPhone (my preference) and the new iThingy.

G.

Exactly! My contract with AT&T was up several years ago. I still haven't bought an "upgrade" phone. So what? I've bought a couple of phones, but I get what I want on my terms, and guess what? It's cheaper per month with AT&T if you're not on a stinking contract! You're actually making payments on that phone, and in most cases for more than what the phone is worth. Buy your phone yourself off contract and save some money. Wait until the W10 flagships arrive, get what you want then.

 

[coip]

I'll admit I don't know the US market that well. Can't you keep the phones you've got and transfer to a SIM-only contract until the Win10 generation phones get released??

Yes, you can do that. I will be doing that with my Lumia 928 because it's in excellent condition and it's still a good phone (which is also why it doesn't make sense to me that they're not selling it anymore: now is the perfect time to sell it because they could make it and sell it for very cheap). But many of my family members, at this point, they've got Lumia 822s and they have dropped them many times so they have broken screens, which are a nuisance, and they just want to upgrade to something new as soon as they can. It makes no sense that the Lumia 928 and Lumia Icon aren't still for sale on Verizon. A new flagship likely not coming until a half a year later (at best) isn't a good reason and most people won't wait that long.