Are we overlooking the real problem why people aren't using WP? Serious discussion please

[Mike Waechter]

The answers are all over this forum but apologist will never see any issue.

 

[colinkiama]

Oh there is nothing wrong with the UI, but there is with the UX. There are no hints on how to do things, you kind of have to explore to do a basic task like getting the dialer for the first time. There should be a tutorial when you start the OS, not links to YouTube videos.

 

[osallent]

A few things made me go back to Android from WP:

1) My banks abandoned their WP apps (and I refuse to all of the sudden have to change banks just so that I can use banking apps...which is not easy if you have a mortgage and investment accounts that can't be transferred).

2) Using WP as a business phone didn't work out too well. WP 8.1 did't have some of the more mature multitasking and convenience features of Android.

3) Lack of first party apps for some of the major apps. Some 3rd Party apps come very close, but often major features are missing.

4) If you know how to work Android (ie. use different launchers, customize features, etc) you can make your Android phone's UI look, act, and feel, any way you please. The sky is the limit as far as customization. There is no reason to be stuck with whatever look or layout you get when you buy your phone from a carrier. Also, customization has gotten so easy to do with many of the new launchers, and there is no need to root your phone anymore with many of them.

However that being said, I want WP10 to succeed brilliantly in addressing these issues (particularly the first 3). If it does, I'll switch back to WP for my business cell phone, though I'll probably still hang on to Android for my personal cell phone , as I genuinely like what Android has to offer too. There is no need for an either/or mentality. One can genuinely appreciate the merits of each platform and enjoy what each has to offer.

 

[vlad0]

It doesn't really offer anything more than Android/iOS .. there might be room for a 3rd OS that basically does the same thing as the other two, but its looking unlikely.

Microsoft need to look beyond the OS .. they need "the next big thing" , not "me too"

 

[Arsynic]

The familiarity argument doesn't hold water. People were familiar with Blackberry, MySpace, AOL, etc but they moved on when more compelling alternatives came along. The app gap is a chicken and egg situation. No one knew they needed apps before iPhone.

Microsoft needs a more compelling offering. Maybe the hype surrounding Windows 10 will help that.

 

[akthelonelyman]

Let Microsoft make a case by at least making their own apps on par with that of other platforms. When u are not really bothering about your own platform why should others...
The delayed denim update... No flagships for more than a year.. While others are racing ahead... Still people are asking why wp is not getting market share???
Don't misunderstand,I like my 1520 for what it is and is not jumping ship anytime soon... It does what I need... But no point in asking why market share same with the current situation...

 

[gentry33]

At one time it just worked

It doesn't really offer anything more than Android/iOS .. there might be room for a 3rd OS that basically does the same thing as the other two, but its looking unlikely.

Microsoft need to look beyond the OS .. they need "the next big thing" , not "me too"

They were going down this road with WP7 but they dropped the ball. I remember the early advertisements showing the ease of the os, particularly the dedicated camera button which is unique to WP but no longer a requirement to OEMs (sadly enough). They had an opportunity at that point but (at least in the U.S. where advertising saturation equals sales) they did not put enough resources into the campaign which I think would have been key given the dominance of iOS an the up and coming Andriod (which was crap at the time but apps were easily ported and developers jumped on because of fast climbing user numbers).

Early adopters are also to blame for some of the failure, instead of wanting to build upon what the os had to offer they clamored for Android like customizations. I will admit that colors and background on the start screen are welcome additions but notifications should have been added in a way that was more in line with UI.

The Hubs are now almost completely broken. The disintegration of gaming apps from the Games tile and the near uselessness of the Me tile. Music hub is gone. Photo hub is gone. It was convenient to have related apps in one place in one tile. As it is now you have to make your own using folders but this does not allow the apps to share the data on the device which will lead to greater hardware requirements and poore battery performance which we are already experiencing with each os update.

When MS says "mobile first" they should be damn well talking about their own ecosystem. I don't believe that giving a better feature set to their apps on other platforms will do anything to encourage use of Windows on a phone in any iteration. Why switch when you can have your cake and eat it too?

I hope that W10 does something to change this but I doubt it. I see W10 on phones as a way for them to put fewer resources toward the platform. I have been using WP since WP 7.0 and I have no plans on changing until they kill it, and they may have to if they can't generate the numbers. If this makes me a ******, so be it.

 

[rdubmu]

Just be on par with the App Store, but most importantly, I am still waiting for a successor to my Lumia 920 which was released in 2012 :-/

 

[Ben Bristow]

The only real reason people aren't using WP is the app-gap.
Nobody gives a crap about live-tiles and the beautiful design language if they can't get Snapchat or a good Instagram app etc.

We might love the platform for those reasons, and that's why we choose to use it, but Joe Average would prefer to be able to snap their friends instead.

 

[sketchy9]

The only real reason people aren't using WP is the app-gap.
Nobody gives a crap about live-tiles and the beautiful design language if they can't get Snapchat or a good Instagram app etc.

We might love the platform for those reasons, and that's why we choose to use it, but Joe Average would prefer to be able to snap their friends instead.

Agree entirely. I've been on the "Metro" bandwagon since the days of Zune and was so excited when WP7 came out. I foolishly thought that MS would throw some weight behind it and that it would become a viable 3rd ecosystem. Boy was I wrong. Then the rug got pulled out from under me with WP8 and screwing over all the legacy devices, and since then it's apparent that each new iteration of the OS is just making it converge to Android/iOS UX/UI. So now we have a poor clone of those OSes but the apps still aren't there.

So the question now is, what reason is there to actually buy WP over its competitors? 3rd party apps aren't there. 1st party apps, e.g. Office and Outlook, are worse on WP than its competitors (which is just shameful). WP10 offers nothing unique or interesting, and still fails to solve the app problem. Sadly, I see the writing on the wall for me. My phone is only a couple of months old but when it's dead I don't see myself buying another Windows Phone. Really too bad, had such potential.

 

[Alain_A]

it need to reflect whatever you do on computer/tablet into WP...also WP need better specs...internal storage=8GB..BS

 

[btgusto]

Using live tiles is not the issue because they are basically widgets on android. The problem is the number of tiles on the screen can become cluttered. How many live tiles does any one have running at a time. Email, texts, phone... Most of the tiles I have are not live or don't provide me with information so I don't need them on the start screen. They just add to the clutter. Yes, I know I can remove them and only have a few. The problem with that is I that there is not a "taskbar" to pin most used apps. Windows10 for phones needs a taskbar and multiple start screens. I know that sounds like android but this is one thing android got right. Our start screen is cluttered and can be cumbersome. It needs to be clean and elegant like the desktop

 

[vEEP pEEP]

what apps are you missing?

i'd also like to see existing apps updated more frequently.

I think the number one problem is the app gap, I know I was taken back by the lack of apps, and I came from a BlackBerry! Also, some people are seriously biased against Microsoft, and Windows 8 in particular, I was ready to bail on Windows after my Vista experience, the only thing that got me to buy a Windows 7 powered desktop computer is the Apple equivalent was like 2 1/2 times the cost! I think the low cost Lumia phones are a great idea as people looking to get their first smartphone will be looking at them, and once they realize it's a great OS, they're likely to stay.

 

[vEEP pEEP]

maybe Window10 familiarity will increase along with adoption of WP?

The UK has the highest WP usage of any country I think. Ask them they want MS!

The only thing preventing further adoption of Lumia/Windows Phone, at least in Great Britain, is lack of familiarity with the platform. The tech-illiterate public are used to iPhone and Samsung handsets. But the situation is beginning to change as people are seduced by incredibly cheap Lumia models being sold, and an abundance of Lumia ads on TV. Of course once this adoption happens the next problem becomes the app gap, but that'll improve as more people come onboard. The platform has every chance of succeeding in Britain.

 

[uberlaff]

Biggest issue I've seen from norms not wanting to use the platform are the capacitive buttons. This might only be a US thing because everyone here uses iPhones and galaxy phones. Both have hard buttons.

It goes like this:
I take a picture and they want to see it.

I hand them my phone, they immediately grab the bottom and hit the capacitive buttons and they are looking at the home screen or Cortana.

They say "I don't know how to use this, I hate your phone."

This happens every single time with everyone who uses the phone. Wife, parents, friends, doesn't matter.

I'll surprised they enforce the capacitive keys so much. It sounds like on screen keys help but they should figure out something.

 

[vEEP pEEP]

disagee, respectably.
apps are only one facet. what apps are you missing?
which are essential? well mobiles are not essential...

MS needs to market better and cater to their strengths, Business. Office, Skype, Xbox, Sharepoint etc. Make dual sim phones, for business and personal uses. one os.

low end phones for emerging markets keep on that.

win10 might attract people and fix the app gap?

partner with a content service like AMC or Disney? or any company!

MS has a lot to do ....

Agree entirely. I've been on the "Metro" bandwagon since the days of Zune and was so excited when WP7 came out. I foolishly thought that MS would throw some weight behind it and that it would become a viable 3rd ecosystem. Boy was I wrong. Then the rug got pulled out from under me with WP8 and screwing over all the legacy devices, and since then it's apparent that each new iteration of the OS is just making it converge to Android/iOS UX/UI. So now we have a poor clone of those OSes but the apps still aren't there.

So the question now is, what reason is there to actually buy WP over its competitors? 3rd party apps aren't there. 1st party apps, e.g. Office and Outlook, are worse on WP than its competitors (which is just shameful). WP10 offers nothing unique or interesting, and still fails to solve the app problem. Sadly, I see the writing on the wall for me. My phone is only a couple of months old but when it's dead I don't see myself buying another Windows Phone. Really too bad, had such potential.

 

[gordonfink]

Biggest issue I've seen from norms not wanting to use the platform are the capacitive buttons. This might only be a US thing because everyone here uses iPhones and galaxy phones. Both have hard buttons.

It goes like this:
I take a picture and they want to see it.

I hand them my phone, they immediately grab the bottom and hit the capacitive buttons and they are looking at the home screen or Cortana.

They say "I don't know how to use this, I hate your phone."

This happens every single time with everyone who uses the phone. Wife, parents, friends, doesn't matter.

I'll surprised they enforce the capacitive keys so much. It sounds like on screen keys help but they should figure out something.

S3 and S4 have almost the same buttons. Home, menu, and back on the bottom, power on the side. Don't know how someone with one of those would have any trouble.

 

[SteveNoza]

what apps are you missing?
i'd also like to see existing apps updated more frequently.

The only one now is ViewRanger. I don't use a lot of apps, but when I see a "get the app" for whatever product and no Windows version, it's disheartening.

 

[Grimlock]

I think a HUGE marketing angle that WP has overlooked has to do with battery life.

According to HTC's own data the M8 on WP gets 21 hours of usage time vs 12 hours on android. I think in real world usage the advantage is something like 20%... which is still huge!

Why does this matter? An IDC study found that battery life was the most important factor in their smartphone purchase. I don't think this alone will cause people to come over in droves, but MS needs to market the best they can on all angles and fronts.

IDC survey shows battery life is most important when buying smartphone - GSMArena Blog

 

[srikanth reddy4]

I think a HUGE marketing angle that WP has overlooked has to do with battery life.

According to HTC's own data the M8 on WP gets 21 hours of usage time vs 12 hours on android. I think in real world usage the advantage is something like 20%... which is still huge!

Why does this matter? An IDC study found that battery life was the most important factor in their smartphone purchase. I don't think this alone will cause people to come over in droves, but MS needs to market the best they can on all angles and fronts.

IDC survey shows battery life is most important when buying smartphone - GSMArena Blog

MY cousin who is normal user(only for calls and few hours of whatsapp) is getting more than a day backup.she is using at&t m8 for windows.....i felt sad because its not available in india