Are you having fun with WP7? Does anybody know?

[Jazmac]

Its an uphill battle with MS right now but their fighting back. Just think about it this way ppl will think your phone is dope and unique it will make you stand out.

I'm not so much worried about the hill as I am about fresh ammo.

 

[scottcraft]

I don't know that I'm having fun with my phone but I'm using my phone to have fun. I enjoy using my phone and discovering new stuff about it.

 

[Pronk]

See that's where you're wrong. A land line is just a phone. "Dumb" phones are just a phone. When you connect people via social media with this handset it is no longer "just a phone" This is an ecosystem. Look it up. Now it has meaning and my friends make me happy and my phone is that link or using your word, lifeline to that. If yours doesn't, that's a personal problem.

My point is this. Much of how ecosystems work is a perpetual connection to something bigger and others that share in that experience with you. Too often I feel alone in the world on my Windows Phone. Not all the time but I do have moments. With the exception of those of you who are regulars here and on Facebook, where are the rest? What are we doing? In short, where is the Batman signal?? That is the way major platforms communicate to the world, what, where and how we do what we do. Rim did it, WebOS did it, Apple did it and Google did it. We got youtube. Where are the big splashy ads on billboards, TV and in the movies? Why don't we seem to matter more than we do?

I'm doing what I can to advocate for this platform but I guess I'm getting restless. I'm at a point today that I'm even considering abandoning the platform. I won't do that today but at this rate, who knows.

Point 1: The device is always secondary to whatever you do with it. Having a smartphone doesn't make an ecosystem of friends and social contacts, nor is it an ecosystem in itself. It just lets you get in touch with your own ecosystem on the go. The fact that it allows you to do so via more than one method, unlike a landline, is neither here nor there. If you have no friends or contacts, no phone on any format will change that in itself.

Point 2: Regardless, without meaning to be overly rude, you don't want an ecosystem or any of the other stuff you claim to want anyway. What you want is more or less to show off. Because all the other stuff you mention - social networks, contacting people, sharing experiences - you could do all that on a Palm Pixi. Indeed, people do - my wife has a Palm Pixi and uses Facebook, email, Twitter, phone, SMS, MMS and so on to keep in touch with all her friends. And the fact that only a tiny percentage of people own Palm phones, let alone Pixis, is utterly irrelevant.

Your issue seems to be not enough people have the same hardware/same platform as you so you can't talk to them about that, and can't talk to others who don't have it about it in any meaningful terms because they don't have enough awareness of what it is they don't have/don't particularly care. Consequently you're never going to be satisified with WP7 until WP7 has a much, much higher marketplace penetration and (with the biggest level of optimism in the world) that is still a good few years off. So cut your losses and switch now, because what you want is nothing to do with OS or WP7 and everything to do with being in a bigger pond.

 

[Jazmac]

Point 1: The device is always secondary to whatever you do with it. Having a smartphone doesn't make an ecosystem of friends and social contacts, nor is it an ecosystem in itself. It just lets you get in touch with your own ecosystem on the go. The fact that it allows you to do so via more than one method, unlike a landline, is neither here nor there. If you have no friends or contacts, no phone on any format will change that in itself.

The device is secondary to what YOU do with it. It is part of the Microsoft ecosystem and I would strongly suggest YOU look it up and acquaint yourself with what it means. To me you sound like a person that exists in an isolated world, and that in itself isn't a bad thing but for those of us who are more involved with groups, family, business associates etc, the ecosystem becomes more alive and relevant than whatever you're talking about. Beyond that, you mistakenly or foolishly assume I live in the world you do. I don't. So speak to the point and don't confuse my post with some weakness in my character. You don't know me like that. Trust me, you don't want to go there.

Point 2: Regardless, without meaning to be overly rude, you don't want an ecosystem or any of the other stuff you claim to want anyway. What you want is more or less to show off. Because all the other stuff you mention - social networks, contacting people, sharing experiences - you could do all that on a Palm Pixi. Indeed, people do - my wife has a Palm Pixi and uses Facebook, email, Twitter, phone, SMS, MMS and so on to keep in touch with all her friends. And the fact that only a tiny percentage of people own Palm phones, let alone Pixis, is utterly irrelevant.

Your issue seems to be not enough people have the same hardware/same platform as you so you can't talk to them about that, and can't talk to others who don't have it about it in any meaningful terms because they don't have enough awareness of what it is they don't have/don't particularly care. Consequently you're never going to be satisified with WP7 until WP7 has a much, much higher marketplace penetration and (with the biggest level of optimism in the world) that is still a good few years off. So cut your losses and switch now, because what you want is nothing to do with OS or WP7 and everything to do with being in a bigger pond.

You talk like having some recognition and familiarity is a bad thing. All I am talking about buddy, is a need for Microsoft to advertize. Nothing more. Nothing less. No one disagrees with me on that and here you go, speaking as if you are lord of the manor. You pushed into some low grade, 10 grade psychoanalysis of what my intentions are for posting this. You sound mad stupid and its flatly insulting you Pronk.

 

[Pronk]

You talk like having some recognition and familiarity is a bad thing. All I am talking about buddy, is a need for Microsoft to advertize. Nothing more. Nothing less. No one disagrees with me on that and here you go, speaking as if you are lord of the manor. You pushed into some low grade, 10 grade psychoanalysis of what my intentions are for posting this. You sound mad stupid and its flatly insulting you Pronk.

Right. So what you actually wanted to say was "why don't microsoft advertise more?". So why all the stuff about saying you'll leave the platform because you don't hear enough about what other people are doing with it? If you post a load of extraneous stuff around what you actually mean, don't be surprised when people read it and wonder what you're on about!

Bottom line though hasn't changed: either you like WP7, or you don't. Leaving something you like because you don't think enough other people appreciate it is just shooting yourself in the foot for the sake of it. After all, you said:

"Too often I feel alone in the world on my Windows Phone. Not all the time but I do have moments. With the exception of those of you who are regulars here and on Facebook, where are the rest? What are we doing?"

And:

"I'm doing what I can to advocate for this platform but I guess I'm getting restless. I'm at a point today that I'm even considering abandoning the platform."

What's that, if not seeming like the big issue for you is actually just being in a big club? If you like WP7, and you have lots of friends and contacts you get hold of on your phone, what does it matter how many other people use it or whether it appears on TV and billboards or not? You could be the ONLY person using WP7, but as long as it lets you do what you want to do, it's job is done. Yes, it's a shame MS don't advertise more and the platform doesn't have bigger exposure, but unless there's some issue with e.g. apps you need not being developed because it's a smaller marketplace, simply not being in the biggest group and not seeing your phone in product placement every day is a pretty strange reason for thinking of jumping ship!

 

[Jazmac]

Right. So what you actually wanted to say was "why don't microsoft advertise more?". So why all the stuff about saying you'll leave the platform because you don't hear enough about what other people are doing with it? If you post a load of extraneous stuff around what you actually mean, don't be surprised when people read it and wonder what you're on about!

Bottom line though hasn't changed: either you like WP7, or you don't. Leaving something you like because you don't think enough other people appreciate it is just shooting yourself in the foot for the sake of it. After all, you said:

"Too often I feel alone in the world on my Windows Phone. Not all the time but I do have moments. With the exception of those of you who are regulars here and on Facebook, where are the rest? What are we doing?"

And:

"I'm doing what I can to advocate for this platform but I guess I'm getting restless. I'm at a point today that I'm even considering abandoning the platform."

What's that, if not seeming like the big issue for you is actually just being in a big club? If you like WP7, and you have lots of friends and contacts you get hold of on your phone, what does it matter how many other people use it or whether it appears on TV and billboards or not? You could be the ONLY person using WP7, but as long as it lets you do what you want to do, it's job is done. Yes, it's a shame MS don't advertise more and the platform doesn't have bigger exposure, but unless there's some issue with e.g. apps you need not being developed because it's a smaller marketplace, simply not being in the biggest group and not seeing your phone in product placement every day is a pretty strange reason for thinking of jumping ship!

You're one lonely fella. Get some help dude. You really need it.

 

[cckgz4]

I guess I'm just baffled as how something like relevance should matter to a consumer if they are happy with a device. Because no one has the same phone as you, you'll jump ship? Honestly, that looks like an excuse just to go to another Os and trust, no one will be upset if you go that route. But don't blame on something thats way beyond the consumer and shouldn't even matter. I can tweet, Facebook, search, play music, text, and call people from my lonely ecosystem as you put it

Oh and ROTF @ all of that backtracking. So now you act like you weren't dismissing Microsoft over something like advertising

 

[Pronk]

You're one lonely fella. Get some help dude. You really need it.

Riiiiiiiiiiiight.....

 

[baseballbert]

Next on Dr Phil:
People who hate people who love people who use iOS and WP users who hate them because they don't love people who hate people who mouth breath. Followed by Jake Ryan didn't ask me to the prom so my mom is now on the pole.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand cue music
Pan to crowd and man wearing "WP users do it with a mango" shirt while texting on an iPhone
Roll credits
Fade to black
Roll Cialis commercial...
"If your forum posts last longer than four hours to create, call your forum moderator immediately because it may be a sign of mental constipation."

 

[Dave Blake]

I know I am having fun trying to read through this thread.

 

[baseballbert]

BD5, big post FAIL. There was neither anger, nonsense or lack of rational thought in that post. Please remove it and try again.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

 

[1jaxstate1]

Lol, this is funny.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums

 

[baseballbert]

1jaxstate1 you are an individual of tremendous taste.

Sent from my non mindless sheep iphone Samsung Focus using Board Express

 

[sm07]

Don't have that many games on my Optimus but seriously, WP7 is more fun to use than any other OS for even the most menial tasks. Smooth scrolling's everywhere, everything's incredibly fluid and the sound effects are just perfect (especially the "translating speech" one). You can swipe through everything so fast and it just feels awesome.

8 people have told me they want my Optimus (not even new by today's standards!) simply cause of the smoothness of the OS. 3 of those people'll have a Windows Phone by the end of 2011. There's not one person I've shown WP7 to that hasn't liked it - even those who'll never give up their iPhones appreciate it.

 

[Mike-Mike]

I showed my Arrive to a die hard Android fan, and he was like, "I have to admit, that's pretty cool" which is a huge compliment from him for a Windows device...

I dont necessarily care if WP7 is the most popular, but i do want it to be popular enough I dont have to worry about them phasing it out

 

[Forgewizard]

I am happy that I'm not one of the mindless sheepified imasses! Being a Palm user for years allowed my device to keep me happy by offering me the tools that I need to do my job, to communicate with my people. I kind of got used to the ability to make my device MINE. WEB OS enhanced that - HP annihilated it. WP7 is letting me be me again without having to stand in line or be corralled! I don't consider quantities of apps on Apple or Android as being reflective of a great device - I want connections, clarity, responsiveness, ability to interact with my business documents and personal entertainment or quiet time as well as scheduling all wrapped up in a device that I don't have to baby. The HTC Arrive with WP7 is just the device I've been looking for! WP7 is an awesome platform and while I'm new to it, I'm getrting up to speed rather quickly without being frustrated! Am I happy wo have WP7? YES! Do I want an APPLE? Absolutely NOT! Do I Want an Android? Tried it - and guess where I went? - To WP7! Yes they need to toot their horn LOUDER and MORE OFTEN - there are tons of unhappy isheep and droid drones out there looking for this personable device and easy platform!

 

[infenit101]

It's only a phone. It's not a life line to happiness.

Gone are the days phones are just phones. Mobile devices are part of the very fabric of peoples lives. I hate to admit it but Apple got it from the get go. There almost like pets.

 

[Judge_Daniel]

This might just be the most unique thread I've ever read, lol. I think that's all I have to say about all of the off-topic posts.

Let me start off by saying that my Focus is off-network, so I can't use the wonderful features like threads and group texting. However, I have found plenty of "fun" ways to use this phone.

One way is that I usually use it as a music remote for my laptop. This may sound kind of stupid, but I bluetooth sync it to my laptop and then use Zune on my phone to change tracks while I'm doing things around my room. My laptop is usually plugged into legitimate speakers, so it is like I can control the music in my room from anywhere.

I also really like being able to earn gamerpoints on the go. PvZ and geoDefense are the only two games I've paid for, but I have tons and tons of games and trials.

I also like the Kindle app with free classical books. I have already downloaded 17 books and I have the intention to read them all.

I also like the DC Comics app. I just recently starting reading comics (since the New 52 launched) and this app really knows how to display the frames in the most interesting ways.

I don't think any of these (other than gamerpoints, but they aren't important to many people) are unique to WP7, though. Even my old WM6.5 could stream music in the same way. Nevertheless, I really enjoy it!

 

[wpb211]

I know what you mean

I only know two other people who own a WP7. One is a somewhat famous person and that is really cool. The other is a coworker whom I convinced to go with WP7. But she is a little pathetic about it and hasn't upgraded to Mango yet.

Believe me, I show off my phone all the time to my iPhone and Android friends. But I do worry about the long term success of WP if I never see anyone else using it. Any time I see some stranger using a smart phone I peripheral-glance at them to see what phone they have - always iphone and Android. I'm quite alone at work, really.

You raise a good point. Windows Phone 7.5 - Party of One!

I'm with Mike.Mike. Make sure it stays in business.
I actually enjoy being in a small ecosystem.

 

[Mike-Mike]

Any time I see some stranger using a smart phone I peripheral-glance at them to see what phone they have - always iphone and Android.

i do this at work, with similar results, except of course plenty of blackberry's for the corporate workers