2014 could be the year of MS finally.

[smoledman]

Imagine all the following happen by Dec 2014:

* Windows Phone 8.1 brings near feature parity with iOS 7/Android KitKat. Quick Toggles, Notification Center, sound profiles, interactive tiles and a lot more.
* Cortana debuts as digital assistant. Hopefully includes something like Google Now cards.
* Surface Phone, thin/light, super camera that can shoot 120fps slow-motion like the iPhone 5S.
* Surface Book, a thin & light laptop that comes in 13.3 and 15" size, clamshell with all-day battery life.
* Surface Band, a smartwatch.
* Surface Vision, a competitor to Google Glass.
* Unification of Phone & RT app stores.

I will be dancing in the streets.

 

[hacer619]

I expect cortana to be a digital assistant with artificial intelligence (just like the demonstration of Microsoft AI).

 

[mase123987]

Imagine all the following happen by Dec 2014:

* Windows Phone 8.1 brings near feature parity with iOS 7/Android KitKat. Quick Toggles, Notification Center, sound profiles, interactive tiles and a lot more.
* Cortana debuts as digital assistant. Hopefully includes something like Google Now cards.
* Surface Phone, thin/light, super camera that can shoot 120fps slow-motion like the iPhone 5S.
* Surface Book, a thin & light laptop that comes in 13.3 and 15" size, clamshell with all-day battery life.
* Surface Band, a smartwatch.
* Surface Vision, a competitor to Google Glass.
* Unification of Phone & RT app stores.

I will be dancing in the streets.

I would be willing to best that at least half of that won't happen. Single thing MS has to work on the most is compatibility between their platforms.

That said, check out this thread: http://forums.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-8/210477-official-what-wp-needs-succeed.html

 

[Reflexx]

I think that may be a little much by 12/2014, but I'd be happy if you were right.

I mainly expect mostly feature parity with some differences that people will still complain about. But they'll mainly be design choices instead of the lack of a feature. Maybe this happens by an 8.2 update.

I expect 2014 to be a huge app year, because I think WP is finally getting to the point where it's starting to make financial sense to support it. By the end of the year we'll start seeing more small businesses including WP support for their apps. Especially small banks and such.

 

[Premium1]

It would be nice if all of that happened, but I think it will still be a little soon, especially with the restructuring of CEO and everything. I think the main thing WP needs is to lessen the app gap. The features are there (room for improvement yes), but what really is a non starter for many is the lack of apps they have come accustomed to using.

 

[jmshub]

Microsoft has a bad public image. If they could bring in a big name CEO that isn't a microsoftie, it could go a long way. People not irrationally hating "M$".

 

[rakesh1995]

People still see Microsoft as a bunch of old and retired persons. They are not Cooool. I at leased hope that Ms should have bought nokia in 2014. Nokia had planed for a win8 tablet as well a watch

Sent from my Uuusumm Lumia 520 using Tapatalk

 

[Speedygi]

Even the most tarnished of public images still can't compete with Blackberry's. That said, I don't think Microsoft is entirely out of the woods yet. They are nowhere near iPhones and Android phones in terms of market share. With the added fact that Blackberry has a new CEO that could make the company competitive again, things aren't going to be easy.

 

[smoledman]

Even the most tarnished of public images still can't compete with Blackberry's. That said, I don't think Microsoft is entirely out of the woods yet. They are nowhere near iPhones and Android phones in terms of market share. With the added fact that Blackberry has a new CEO that could make the company competitive again, things aren't going to be easy.

Blackberry can't compete with what Microsoft is doing with XBox and OS integration(Threshold). Microsoft is bringing out the big guns in 2014. I bet we see an entire line of smartphones, tablets and laptops. They are going right after Apple & Google.

 

[snowmutt]

Excellent cloud support.

2 major upgrades to Windows and WP in 2 years, and several updates with improvements on top of those.

XBOX enteratainment branding.

Serious Tablet offerings from premium to cheap 7" devices.

Hardware on par with Android.

The best App support there has ever been.

Increased sales in nearly every market they are in.

2014 NEEDS to be a huge year for WP if MS wants to see it as anything else then a niche OS. Get over 10% in most of your markets and get somewhere in that 12% area for sales worldwide.

I believe they can get close to that.

Surface watches? Surface vision? No chance, and who cares. Wearable tech is cool to talk about, but won't be replacing smartphones any time soon.

And soon, there will be hundreds of different models of Surface Phones. They will just be branded as "Lumia"s.

 

[Speedygi]

Good point, Windows Phone has that going for it, a full featured, matured ecosystem.