As a developer, the McLaren news is even more chilling.

[Noahma]

When they've stopped preproduction on the only high end WP we know they were producing, its not a good sign that flourish is planned.

There are 7 other code names out there, some have ideas of which models they are, but most are completely open to what they actually are. They could be high end phones.

BTW, my local AT&T sales person that is a WP fan, talked to him several times said that they were looking at two flagship phones for Christmas this year, one was probably the McLaren, the other is unknown.

Some of these "leakers" also claimed we would see android Lumia's, look how that turned out. Until something is actually announced it is nothing more than an unconfirmed rumor, no matter who the leaker is.

They were partially right, the news articles are stating that the X team was being rolled into Lumia, so the rumors were partially right.

 

[IceCrush]

After reading most of people' posts around here and in my humble opinion i can say this:
- The news about that particular phone doesn't mean anything at all.
- Not having a flagship device with new specs in two months time will put windows phone down, because lets face it the ip6 and the new galaxy is coming and the buyer won't have any wp options beside an outdated phone - even if its not -
- Microsoft needs to act real quick, even I am losing my faith in the platform - I am looking at you music app -

 

[chezm]

There are 7 other code names out there, some have ideas of which models they are, but most are completely open to what they actually are. They could be high end phones.

BTW, my local AT&T sales person that is a WP fan, talked to him several times said that they were looking at two flagship phones for Christmas this year, one was probably the McLaren, the other is unknown.



They were partially right, the news articles are stating that the X team was being rolled into Lumia, so the rumors were partially right.

If true and we get at least 2 options for high end phones ill have some faith renewed...hopefully

 

[psudotechzealot]

- The news about that particular phone doesn't mean anything at all.
- Not having a flagship device with new specs in two months time will put windows phone down, because lets face it the ip6 and the new galaxy is coming and the buyer won't have any wp options beside an outdated phone - even if its not -
- Microsoft needs to act real quick,

Thank you, A lot of people here cannot grasp this.

 

[portalfocus]

As I've said before many times. People are over reacting easy to much based just in a rumor.

 

[Jcmg62]

Aaaah.....everybody needs to chill out and calm down a bit....so MS laid off a load of workers.....so what?? Major corporates do that all the time. So they've decided to streamline and kill off some new product ideas.....again, nothing new here, big businesses change direction and product development plans all the time....

Right now here's what we currently have; awesome phones with an awesome OS and loads more to come....we have Cortana to look forward to, we have a load of new handsets to look forward to, we have new system upgrades and updates to look forward to, we have the CEO of MS saying that mobile and windows phone is at the heart of the business..MS are in WP for the long haul

 

[bilzkh]

1-2 leading flagships would be nice, but Microsoft needs to give the mid-end a serious shot in the arm. We still have yet to see a genuine Windows Phone competitor against the Moto G and now the other Androids pushing similar pricing and specs.

A solid mid-end phone could have been used as a mass driver for sales in Europe and North America, a good but fully capable phone at a very competitive price-point. A $299 device with a S400 quad-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 720p screen, micro-SD card slot, 8-9MP PureView camera, wide-angle FFC, replaceable shell with multiple colour options and LTE could have been a solid contender.

Carriers could push it cheaply on contract, the off-contract price would have been OK, a "wow factor" could be made via the PureView camera and colour shells, etc.

Generally one could build a strategy around competing with the iPhone 5C and Nexus devices, offer the finesse of the iPhone with the pricing flexibility of Nexus, the 'balance' giving the user what he or she needs to make a night out memorable, or to easily run favourite apps and games, or to look fashionable and stylish, etc.

My point is, simply put, not everyone looking for a budget phone has a cap of $100. My uncle could go up to $300 (off-contract) or $99 (on-contract) for each of his tween kids, or wife, etc. I get the need for low-end, but the fact that nothing is being done to address the mid-end, i.e. the "sweet spot" in terms of decent specs and decent pricing, is concerning.

 

[RN50]

I'm very disappointed that there isn't another Flagship coming out atm. The 930 is very nice but its last years specs. I don't want to buy a phone that's already outdated before its already been released.

 

[cjono]

Personally its not even the specs that matter..

As a new 930 owner, having previously owned the iPhone 5s and tried the S5 and HTC One M8 this year, the Lumia is behind all 3 IMO.

The phone simply is too thick and heavy for a flagship in 2014. Im sorry, some people here like heft in a phone for whatever reason, but this is a phone! Something you hold in your hand all day, you can make this slim, lightweight and still gorgeous (eg iPhone 5s and HTC One M8)

I held my friends HTC M8 on the weekend and i was blown away by how light it was considering the stunning design and materials..When i held both the 930 and M8 in my hand it made me regret getting the 930, and with the iPhone 6 coming in a bigger display i am 100% it will be lighter and slimmer than the 930 yet still perform exceptionally well.

Nokia has had over 12 months to bring out a great device, there were a lot of complaints about size/weight with the 920 - but they didnt even address this issue.

The display on the 930 is stunning, despite the purple hue issue which i have!
The performance is perfectly fine, i have no issues at all it is iPhone esque in performance

The app situation is unfortunately a sticking point for me as i rely on good quality apps that iOS only has (Androids apps still suck imo). In saying that, im not missing too much in my transition, what i have missed however are a quality email/calendar application (Mailbox and Fantastical on iOS) and good quality apps that WP just does not have

 

[fonix232]

First of all - sorry, but did not take the time to read all the 5 pages of posts. Again, sorry (no, I'm not Canadian ). Way too hot here in Hungary to deal with it

OP, I can partially agree with you. But I wouldn't say that the userbase of WP is declining - by latest reports, Microsoft is holding the WP8/8.1 userbase at the same percentage, meaning in numbers, they're growing, at a matching speed compared to Android or iOS (to keep market share percentage, they have to). So, while it's not gaining more of the market, sales are stable, and people don't really go back to any of these platforms. I could be the perfect example - been an Android fan since the first emulators came out, bought the very first Android device, the G1, then had only Android phones until this April, when I bought the 520 - and even though I was switching a not-so-old Android flagship (Galaxy S3), to the LOWEST END WP8 phone, I never looked back. I love the platform, since I got a 920 too, and I do not want to switch back.

I've even convinced about two dozen people since, to go with Lumias - and most of them weren't even that hard, go-for-it convinces! Pretty much everyone wanted to compare phones, to show off how theirs is better, and failed. My 920 beat multiple Androids, including back-then flagships (G2, Xperia Z1, etc.), and some of my iFan friends even considered getting a 1020 or 930. My whole family runs on WP now - my mother and father, and my two brothers (11 and 14, respectively), and they're happy. No more lag, crashing devices, but quality phones at a quite cheap price.


Based on this, I would have no fear - as a fellow developer, I understand it, but I try to think positive. Besides, your number of downloads does not suggest you should be worried

 

[Craigtrain]

Do you develop WP apps?

 

[trekgraham]

I'd like to see the lower end phones get a flash and ff camera. Maybe a better mp on the camera. The difference between the Lumia 521 and 635 is the processor,lte, and storage card capacity.

 

[theefman]

After reading most of people' posts around here and in my humble opinion i can say this:
- The news about that particular phone doesn't mean anything at all.
- Not having a flagship device with new specs in two months time will put windows phone down, because lets face it the ip6 and the new galaxy is coming and the buyer won't have any wp options beside an outdated phone - even if its not -
- Microsoft needs to act real quick, even I am losing my faith in the platform - I am looking at you music app -

So what was the flagship WP phone at the same time last year, was there actually one with the latest specs? I assume there was because based on this logic without one WP would have been dead yet its still here today so there must have been one released, right?

 

[MDMcAtee]

This is disturbing when a good developer raises concerns like he has, and the fan boys take issue with his concerns and say he is overreacting and to chill out.

To those here that continually say " wait and see" how long does he need to do this, before formulating a plan to develop for other platforms.

Do what is in your best interest Op...... and don't worry about it. If and when Microsoft gets their act together, nothing is stopping you from developing for them again if it still appeals to you, and developing on other platforms just expands your base. There is nothing wrong with hedging your portfolio ��

 

[anon(5383410)]

Did someone just say "an outdated phone even though it's not"? Jesus...

 

[RN50]

Did someone just say "an outdated phone even though it's not"? Jesus...

The 930 is outdated. Its been out for almost 6 months under the Nokia Icon name in the US.

6 months is a long time for tech to get outdated in this age of new hardware. They should have beefed up the specs and then release the 930.

 

[anon(5383410)]

Now that the mobile market has matured some, the definition of flagship isn't just "phone with high specs" anymore. It's got to be a phone people really want and can whip out and say "check out what my phone can do!" The 930 is a well-rounded, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses upgrade from the 920 but that's about it. It's not really a phone people will jump carriers just to own. The 1020 and 1520 on the other hand had killer features, the camera and the size respecticely that made them special in the market. Both are still sought after, almost a year later.

People are so ticked off about McLaren not shipping because the 930/Icon is so lackluster as a flagship. They don't want WP to feel like its stagnating.

You're not talking about substance, you're talking pure marketing. In fact your comment sounds like something a 20 year old marketing intern would say.

You're literally asking for things you can't clearly define, and complaining about perfectly good phones being lackluster with no explanation to WHY (just as the poster above you). What exactly are the 920, 1020, Icon, and 930 lacking besides good marketing?

You should apply for a job in the marketing department at Apple.

 

[vitor.rf]

The 930 is outdated. Its been out for almost 6 months under the Nokia Icon name in the US.

6 months is a long time for tech to get outdated in this age of new hardware. They should have beefed up the specs and then release the 930.

You clearly forgot both the Icon and 930 has features never seen on a phone, even though they are out "long enough" to be """""""outdated""""""".

Like Living Image and 1080p 5.1 DTS video recording.

My Lumia 925 is almost 1 year old, and if there's ANYTHING it's not, it's outdated.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Wow this thread makes WP users look just as bad as android users and IOS users. Why so much fighting when we all us the same os...we do enough of that with Lumia vs Samsung haha.

I do think the developer was being a bit melodramatic but I can see why. My question is...you are about to jump into a big ocean where there is already well established competion....what's to say you will have better success on android?

 

[theefman]

This is disturbing when a good developer raises concerns like he has, and the fan boys take issue with his concerns and say he is overreacting and to chill out.

To those here that continually say " wait and see" how long does he need to do this, before formulating a plan to develop for other platforms.

Do what is in your best interest Op...... and don't worry about it. If and when Microsoft gets their act together, nothing is stopping you from developing for them again if it still appeals to you, and developing on other platforms just expands your base. There is nothing wrong with hedging your portfolio ��

I fail to see what is so concerning. One rumored phone bets cancelled and all, of a sudden the sky is falling? Unless someone from Microsoft publicly announces that there will be no flagship phones this fall there is absolutely no basis for any concern. And someone in this very thread already quoted Jo Harlow's statement that there WILL be other flagship phones later this year so this whole hysteria about one cancelled phone is extremely unwarranted.

Here's one quote from one of the "trusted" leakers
http://wmpoweruser.com/nokia-mclaren-runs-into-obstacles-ends-up-ditched/

And here's the full, story here
http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/17/5912289/microsoft-kills-feature-phones-in-favor-of-windows-phone

So why are people concentrating on ONE cancelled phone and ignoring the evidence from Microsoft execs themselves that there will be high end phones still to come this year?