Give us 3 more years. WPM not dead yet

[badMojo69]

Interesting...
Microsoft CEO: Windows Phone in 3 years - Business Insider

Then again I've seen this show before.

 

[Wowack]

This is actually a valid point, Windows Phone never had a truly definitive feature that wasn't an aesthetic *Live Tiles* or just a variation *Cortana*, but Continuim is a genuinely unique and useful feature.

 

[EspHack]

wp had the best feature ever, being smooth reliable and polished to the last inch while not being a completely dumbed down OS like iOS, it was right in the middle maybe even beating both at once at their own game sometimes, better SD card support(android? not so good) or silky smooth & fast on old hardware(cant say the same for apple's older phones) remember "smoked by wp"? lol we really have gone backwards quite a bit

 

[Guytronic]

Funny (strange) how Microsoft absorbed Nokia then squashed the Lumia line with half-hearted attempts.

Presently Microsoft might be depending on companies who aren't near as good at manufacturing Windows Mobile hardware for a resurgence.
Seems to me writing in limits for Nokia to stay out of Microsoft's mobile hardware business was more than unwise.

I guess Nokia may have either seen a downfall or were sold a bill of worthless goods when the deal was forged.
Either way seems to me it would have been smarter to buy Nokia outright and let the company continue it's global following unmodified.

From what I see Microsoft doesn't spend it's investment capital very well.
If I were a multi-million share stockholder I would be all over their tail for the extreme poor moves the company has affected in mobile.

 

[EspHack]

^nokia was so desperate they actually managed to single handedly push wp to whatever market share it ever managed to reach, but that situation was unsustainable I think

point is that, lovely days of wp are gone, now all that's left is this thing that isn't iOS or android so I'm fine with that, its better than nothing, and I keep telling myself this is the best thing to go with my w10 pcs and other things

 

[Guytronic]

The Nokia monoblock/candybar type designs were my favorite very slick IMO.
I'm not into smartphones with a whole lot of intensity, yet the Nokia way of doing things hardware wise for me seemed a trendsetter.
Phones like the L720, L820, L920, L925 and L1020 L1520 are probably a lost art now.

Ah well C'est la vie

 

[Spectrum90]

I don't think Google is going to wait 3 years to release its converged OS. The continuum differentiator is going to evaporate before Microsoft decides to focus on mobile again.

Android N might be called "Android Nadella", in gratitude for his perplexity.

 

[Giddora]

And in three years the apps running on Android and Ios will be UWP-apps made for Windows.

 

[Krystianpants]

He didn't really say "give us 3 more years". He's simply referring to how popularity of devices can change over time because of how much more functional they can become and how much hardware savings are available when you don't purchase all separate devices. So these phones will be marketed by OEMs like HP and others as 2-in-1's. Windows users will already be familiar with the 2-in-1 term. They can even make 3-in-1's as phone power goes up. A system where the phone streams to a dumb laptop terminal that also comes out of a keyboard dock to become a tablet. The right wifi tech could make it latency free.

Likely they will be selling in PC sections of places like best buy. And obviously as time goes by new and better innovations to both the software and hardware side will come. And the share in the market will be low compared to phones, but it will be seen as a new growing segment if sales are consistently on the rise.

 

[donkiluminate]

I know people around here are tired of hearing this but it feels like another "just around the corner" comment.

I don't think Google is going to wait 3 years to release its converged OS. The continuum differentiator is going to evaporate before Microsoft decides to focus on mobile again.

Android N might be called "Android Nadella", in gratitude for his perplexity.

I agree. At the rate MS moves with their mobile platform, any differentiator they have with the platform gets quickly incorporated and enhanced by the competition.

 

[magicdesign]

Funny (strange) how Microsoft absorbed Nokia then squashed the Lumia line with half-hearted attempts.

Presently Microsoft might be depending on companies who aren't near as good at manufacturing Windows Mobile hardware for a resurgence.
Seems to me writing in limits for Nokia to stay out of Microsoft's mobile hardware business was more than unwise.

I guess Nokia may have either seen a downfall or were sold a bill of worthless goods when the deal was forged.
Either way seems to me it would have been smarter to buy Nokia outright and let the company continue it's global following unmodified.

From what I see Microsoft doesn't spend it's investment capital very well.
If I were a multi-million share stockholder I would be all over their tail for the extreme poor moves the company has affected in mobile.

They bought sidekick/ danger.com and killed that business too

 

[Keith Wallace]

I don't see the value in this. It's basically a line they keep repeating ("soon"), allowing them to push expectations away every time there's a question. I guess the benefit is Microsoft is using it as an excuse to keep the mobile platform going, but who REALLY thinks that Microsoft will have phones in even 10% of consumers' pockets by 2019? Honestly, I just don't see it, short of a miracle where Apple decides to NOT just copy an idea, slap a fruit on it, and rake in the dough. The iPad Pro is kind of a perfect example there. Microsoft innovated, other PC makers copied it, then Apple half-heartedly put out a less-capable device and sold it in even greater quantities. The Microsoft brand just can't move hardware like Apple, and so it's hard to see where Microsoft turns a corner to make phones from them cool.

Maybe the Surface brand does it, especially if they did something like ASUS put out, the Zenphone. Having a phone that was powerful, docked to a Surface tablet, ran Win32 stuff, then could become a laptop, that might interest people. That could be enhanced if the phone then supported a Continuum dock for a desktop experience, meaning you were carry the brains of a phone, laptop, tablet, and desktop everywhere. Being able to plug that phone in where and do whatever however you want, that could get them somewhere. However, as Microsoft transparently pushes its hardware forward, it's easy for better brands to copy the plan. HoloLens is cool, but I struggle to see how it becomes affordable and readily available before another company can react, copy it, and use brand recognition to overtake it.

That was a rather half-related rant, I know. It's just a warning that these "someday" promises are nearly 6 years old, and we're still waiting.

 

[Kram Sacul]

3 years? I wouldn't give MS 3 months to figure out what they're doing. There's only so much BS and fluff you can take in a relationship.

 

[Krystianpants]

I don't see the value in this. It's basically a line they keep repeating ("soon"), allowing them to push expectations away every time there's a question. I guess the benefit is Microsoft is using it as an excuse to keep the mobile platform going, but who REALLY thinks that Microsoft will have phones in even 10% of consumers' pockets by 2019? Honestly, I just don't see it, short of a miracle where Apple decides to NOT just copy an idea, slap a fruit on it, and rake in the dough. .

Funny you should say that. Apple may apparently have an iris scanner in the iphone 7. They will give it some cool name for marketing purpose and say it's the "first ever JarJar IRIS scanner in the world". People will go crazy and will think Apple started the trend. No one even knows about the lumia 950/xl. Friends had no idea my phone was being sold anywhere even though they loved it. That's the beauty of actually marketing your product. It doesn't matter who did it first, it matters how much of the world sees it.

 

[casab1anca]

Continuim is a genuinely unique and useful feature.

Maybe in the future, but not right now. I played with it for a while when it came out and it's certainly "cool" but it's not practical yet. Not until docks are commonplace so that, for example, you could walk into a meeting room and plug your phone into the dock there.

People will go crazy and will think Apple started the trend.

Thing is, Apple knows exactly when to jump in on a trend, add some polish and market it as the best thing since sliced bread. Many products fail because they're ahead of their time or they're not polished enough for general use. Apple knows this and uses it to their advantage.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Funny you should say that. Apple may apparently have an iris scanner in the iphone 7. They will give it some cool name for marketing purpose and say it's the "first ever JarJar IRIS scanner in the world". People will go crazy and will think Apple started the trend. No one even knows about the lumia 950/xl. Friends had no idea my phone was being sold anywhere even though they loved it. That's the beauty of actually marketing your product. It doesn't matter who did it first, it matters how much of the world sees it.

The Lumia 950/XL has been marketed so poorly I'd be surprised if anyone, except WM fans knew of it.

Before anyone makes that statement that the 950 was for the fans, I'll take that as meaning it's not meant for regular consumers, which begs the question, what was the point? You don't make a product you don't plan to sell.

That's just crazy and just plain stupid.

 

[Guytronic]

You don't make a product you don't plan to sell.

I would say this is an excellent point.
The only outlets I had heard of the latest Microsoft phones were here at WC or the e-mails I occasionally receive from the MS store.
In my location there was no promotion at all anywhere.

When you have no confidence in your own offerings it would make sense to not offer them to people who have no confidence in what you have to offer.

 

[a5cent]

Interesting...
Microsoft CEO: Windows Phone in 3 years - Business Insider

Then again I've seen this show before.

Anyone asking an MS executive the question "why not dump WP entirely" isn't qualified to be doing interviews of tech CEO's.

MS is betting that corporations and developers want a cheaper way of bringing one piece of software (line of business, infrastructure, consumer focused, etc) to any form factor, i.e from servers to IoT devices. That must (if it is to have any chance at all) include the most widespread computing form factor in existence... the smartphone.

These know-nothing journalists can't get past the simplistic view that the point must obviously be to sell smartphones. While MS certainly wouldn't object to that, it's not the main objective.

MS is selling a platform!

One of this platform's main selling points is "superior developer productivity" (which for large corporations means hundreds of millions of dollars saved annually) and the ability to run almost the same software on any form factor is a central part of that value proposition.

While it is possible to axe WM, MS can't do that without maintaining at least one option that provides UWP compatibility on the smartphone form factor. That could theoretically also be a heavily modified version of some other OS (Cyanogen, or Tizen), but that would definitely make things even costlier and more risk prone for MS. The only advantage that can have is the ability to sell more (increasingly commoditized) phones. It's become clear that MS has no interest in selling phones, so to MS, that theoretical possibility is without merit. They are therefore far better off just duking it out with WM.

In a nutshell, MS can't give up on UWP compatibility on smartphones without giving up on Windows as a platform. That's not happening... not as long as Windows maintains its relevancy overall.

If Windows as a whole becomes irrelevant, that's when this question starts to make sense... not before.

 

[blackburberry]

Maybe in the future, but not right now. I played with it for a while when it came out and it's certainly "cool" but it's not practical yet. Not until docks are commonplace so that, for example, you could walk into a meeting room and plug your phone into the dock there.


Thing is, Apple knows exactly when to jump in on a trend, add some polish and market it as the best thing since sliced bread. Many products fail because they're ahead of their time or they're not polished enough for general use. Apple knows this and uses it to their advantage.

This to me anyway, is a fundamental truth in mobile technology today. Everyone should keep this in mind before spending one's valuable time, money, and energy on a developing platform.

 

[Krystianpants]

The Lumia 950/XL has been marketed so poorly I'd be surprised if anyone, except WM fans knew of it.

Before anyone makes that statement that the 950 was for the fans, I'll take that as meaning it's not meant for regular consumers, which begs the question, what was the point? You don't make a product you don't plan to sell.

That's just crazy and just plain stupid.

It was developed for the fans because Lumia will no longer be a part of their release cadence. I have been saying that forever and people refused to believe that. And it was the perfect opportunity for microsoft to get testers on continuum to make it better for when they truly want to offer it.

They never intended for others not to buy it, if they buy it that's just more beneficial to them to raise their windows 10 numbers. Their focus has always been on creating the ecosystem using their strongest position which is the PC market, their development suite and business partnerships. Based off this they are creating this ecosystem while working on a device line up for when their vision is reached. So really Redstone 2 is being pushed back not because of the software side but because of the hardware side. They need to do something different, something that changes the playing field. The phone sector does not do that, nor do they wish to be a part of it. They have always said they don't want to sell just phones.

The phones were really the first iteration of what users may expect in the future.

But believe me that spring 2017 event will be big. And i'm not just talking about phones. I KNOW for a fact that it will include hololens consumer version as well as a new xbox. As well as their tablets, pocket pc's, some interesting accessories(pen, e-ink phone covers), etc... It will be a massive launch and they need time for it. They want to create a storm that will shatter all throughout media. They also want to get it right so that there aren't big limitations. This includes having Cortana available in all countries, stable software/firmware and availability. They want to do it like Apple. Release it right after announcing. Don't just hype it and have the hype die down.

The release will be all about windows 10 and any hardware that encompasses it.

The 950 on At&t is really about creating a strong partnership with them. They also want to get into payment models where people get data sims and MS piggy backs off carriers networks. And really partnerships are about trust and Verizon has never really been trustworthy and they are a very demanding company that is extremely ego centric. Companies like google are building their own networks. MS and At&T could be working together on expanding their reach and improving tech. The 950 is not a bad phone, it's just that it is plagued by windows 10 bugs. MS doesn't want people to think that this is windows 10, because it's not. Releasing it early is really about gaining telemetry data as well as keeping the enthusiasts happy. I mean you get these builds constantly that show you where MS is heading with the software. There should also be a new PC/mobile build hitting soon that will contain some of the stuff they showed off at build. It will be the first redstone build that introduces actual features so I may jump on it.

I'm absolutely happy with my 950xl. I didn't buy it because of what the future may provide. Having even just all the office applications run in continuum is enough. It's also allowed me to change my office around and increase space by removing my desktop. If I require a desktop I rdp into it. It's actually my primary PC right now. And best part is while using it, my phone charges. So If I leave my desk and unhook the cable I know I have full charge.

I'm not a typical consumer. I do use some apps here and there. But snapchat is not really my thing. Facebook ill check once in a while to see what is happening, but it's just a clutter of people posting pics, sharing stuff and making little comments. And there's so much of it I can't really spend all day looking at it, it's just not something I enjoy. I actually prefer twitter because I just follow tech people and am more informed than on facebook. And I find the twitter app was always decent for me and this new one has delivered an even better experience. And yes new apps have come out that support continuum and it's definitely made my phone feel more worthy, but even if it didn't happen I bought it for what it was. I use mostly chat apps like Line or do texting. And i'll play some games here and there and read news. The phone lets me do what I need. And that's basically what you do when you buy a phone, you ask yourself, does it have what I need? And I think MS feels that a typical consumer will also make that choice if they are not an enthusiast. So having it available to everyone makes sense.

And I love being able to test out all the new features as builds come out, but I will always roll back to production if I find the bugs are not worth the extra features. So I have this extra choice to add more functionality to my phone as builds come out.

Wow that's a lot. I guess being a fast typer has its advantages.