950/950XL are underestimated

[ksj1]

The point is that MS put significant effort into a phone that is at the top of the market right now. The phone (XL) will sell for $100 less than the base i6s with only 16GB of ram vs. 32GB for the 950XL.

Not to be negative, but let's not forget that W10M is going to take up a significant portion of that 32Gb. Regardless, you'll still end up with more than 16Gb and with the SD slot you can get a 64Gb SDXC (UHS-II/U3) card for $60 or less. I can't wait for mine to arrive.

 

[PepperdotNet]

Every OS, iOS included, also takes up a significant portion of storage, I don't see an issue.

 

[ALpHa.Q.RoUgH]

The only thing I wondered since it wasn't really shown at the Oct. 6th event and is disabled at the stores. Will the Iris scanner be faster or just as fast as fingerprint scanners? I kind of like how on the iPhone and on the LG phone that if you have your finger in the right spot,which most people do anyways, your phone could already be unlocked and ready to go by the time you look at it.

 

[MikeSo]

On average, it takes an OEM around 12 to 18 months to bring a smartphone to market from scratch. You do the math.

Given those lead times, the folks in Redmond will not have had much (if any) say, at the time the most important decisions for these devices were being made. Once design objectives are set and work has commenced, you can't change things around without throwing the schedule overboard. If MS had, we'd now still be months away from a high end WM device.

My point: That idea that Redmond had little to no input on these hardware designs is not as ridiculous as you think it is. It's very likely 100% accurate.

On the other hand, calling these devices "leftovers" is probably a poor choice of words, as that implies they were unused designs that are only now being "served". That's not a good way of expressing that these products were just the latest additions to Nokia's development pipeline at the time MS took over.

Implying that the ex-Nokia team requires help from Redmond to develop good hardware also seems a bit galling to me. Hardware is the one area where almost everyone agrees (including WP critics) that WP devices were very good (read the Verge's original review of the L900). IMHO the Nokia hardware guys always made the most out of the software and ecosystem capabilities that were given to them... it's the OS and the ecosystem which has been tripping WP up. Not the hardware. If anybody needs help, it's the mobile OS group in Redmond.

Anyway, I agree. The 950/XL are underestimated. They are great successors to the 1520 and 930.

Exactly. The stumbling block for these new phones isn't the hardware. Sure, could the phone have had a more cutting edge design? Probably. But these phones have solid hardware features, in a great package. Very few people have had anything bad to say about the PHONES themselves so far. The only question mark is Windows 10 Mobile. And that's all on Microsoft.

 

[Krystianpants]

Panos is a designer. Designers are really proud about their work and they want to be associated with their work. I know a designer, trust me. All Panos wants to make clear is that it's not his work, he probably had a lot of work on the internals and possibly modified them to look better but it's not his work. And he does not want people to associate that as his work. It's really simple. Why would he? It's not his full work. The surface book and surface 4 are his work and he's proud of it. It has nothing to do with whether he thinks the phones are great or not. If you go to a job interview as a designer you show off your own work, what you do as a designer not what others did. What makes you unique. So he's not going to say "hey this is my design". And that's completely understandable. It's really the wording of the article that is coming out wrong. Just like Johnny Ive designed the iphone 6. That is his work and he's proud of it.

 

[a5cent]

Panos is a designer. Designers are really proud about their work and they want to be associated with their work. I know a designer, trust me. All Panos wants to make clear is that it's not his work.

I don't think that's it. Panos Panay is not really a designer. He is a high level executive with the job of a program manager. That means he's responsible for laying out the vision and the overall direction of Microsoft's hardware division, which includes MS' mice, keyboards, and the Surface and Lumia product lines. He has a bachelor of science and an MBA.

He'll have multiple group managers reporting to him. Those are the people who oversee the actual engineering and design processes in each of the hardware groups. The people below them are the actual designers. Mr. Panay is more of a strategy guy. The people who actually design this stuff don't get up on stage.

He could still very well feel that these Lumia devices are not his products, but if so, it will be because they don't jive with his strategic vision.

 

[Justin Engel]

No, because we wanted a metal phone with Qi, 64gb of storage, Micro SD slot, 41MP camera, fingerprint scanner & Iris, replaceable back, 12MP FFC, notification light, snapdragon 820 and the ability to be able to use it with a selfie stick.

Hey now, we windows phone users wanted a lot more than just that. We also wanted it $100 cheaper, sold at a loss. We wanted more apps ... snapchat seems to be mentioned a lot. Wanted the ability to run x86 programs on a full desktop screen. Continuum Dock connector to be miracast.

We also get full office for free, but that was assumed.

 

[anon(5383410)]

I love the way people here talk about the Surface Phone like it's a real thing. Some of you are actually waiting for them to announce a release date for something you're not even sure is being developed.

 

[christenmartin]

I love the way people here talk about the Surface Phone like it's a real thing. Some of you are actually waiting for them to announce a release date for something you're not even sure is being developed.

I've heard this since I started with smart phones. There something always coming out as soon as the revel is over. I figure out a long time ago with computers buy what you like now. If you don't like anything wait until you do but don't hold out for the next best thing, it always "coming soon".

 

[ayejay0601]

Thats true and that will be helpful...but you cant change the curvature of the screen. That Samsung Galaxy Edge 6 is really a work of art. I mean its too bad the OS sucks, but if get a chance to look at it in the store, do it, That screen really did impress in these days when very little impresses me.

 

[StevoPhilo]

I'm fine with the hardware. I don't think that's the problem for me. My issue is the future of W10M.

We have the TP that gives us an idea, but it's still buggy as hell and it honestly doesn't seem like it does anything much better than Win 8.1. It's more of a different interface with new email clients and office. The enterprise users will probably love it, but from a regular consumer stand point it doesn't do much. As soon as app porting takes off it'll be the dream device for me and for all other phone users. As of right now it does seem like a bone to throw until they decide to release the ideas of a "Surface" phone.

 

[alanjg86]

I was Wondering weather this New lineup of Lumia Phones support GIF in app and in browser.

 

[robertre]

I am in the camp that the 950XL has every feature I dreamed up and more. I could care less about what the cover is made up, When you put a protective case on them, as almost all smartphone uses do, they only look as good as the protective cover. Metal can scratch, glass can breath, and on the 950's, you can replace the back cover if it gets damaged or you want a different look. I for one will be buying a 950XL because of what is inside, and not what on the outside, and because of the great specs and features. And to me, in person it actually looks pretty nice.

 

[FXi2]

For this being a weaker design than the surface pro 4, I find it amusing that the 950 has USB-C. A surface phone would probably not have a removable battery so be careful what you wish for. Given that these flagship phones only come every 2 years or so, this is what you have. I only laugh because it means Verizon will be waiting another two years to figure out how to be a part of the team. ��