A little unrealism about the matter is just fine. So if you were able to make any 5 changes to the platform, what would they be?
1) Xbox Live Mobile: A massive shift in the way XBL is handled would occur. The restrictions and criteria would be drastically reduced so that most anyone can get into it regardless of whether they're a big name or a struggling indie. Also I'd make it such that mobile XBL games have the ability to be worth 1000GS instead of capping out at 200 (IIRC, Halo's the only one that's even 250). People gotta love the platform before development booms... but people gotta have fun before they love the platform.
2) Carrier Power Reduction: I understand the need for carriers to get their crapware on a machine so that their partners are happy... but they have too much power; and the end result is extraordinarily disadvantageous to users. While the world would be a better place without AT&T, TMO and VZW carrier crap it could all be offered through a portal that doesn't leave users waiting months/a year for an update that other users already have. These firmware updates come with drivers to accommodate each subset of specific hardware anyway, so it's not like some special piece of hardware means other users should wait longer. Everyone could globally get an update (lets say a hypothetical 10.1) on the same day... but there'd be a ~56MB package of appx installers pushed dedicated to making sure the carrier can get their stuff on your system... then (like we have it now) users could delete it as they please.
3) Improved MOGA Hero Support: Anyone who's got extensive experience with the NVIDIA Shield has already experienced how awesome it is to be able to universally map screen press areas and gestures to a button, joystick or trigger. There's public APIs that allow a user to manually integrate the MOGA into their game, but the mainstreaming of that is a slow-moving process that users shouldn't have to wait for. I picture an era where someone can install a brand new FPS on their phone (like the newly released Evolution Online) and be able to map controls the way they like if they just so happen to dislike how the onscreen controls feel.
4) Native NFC Payment: Softcard is nice... and even though I whined and moaned about being forced into American Express Serve, the instant discounts and cash back on purchases with AMEX Serve has definitely been sweet enough to justify the $1/mo charge. But it's limited to only a couple devices... and further limited by who can use it (globally speaking). I decided to go back from my Lumia 830 to my Lumia 820 and despite having both NFC and Cyan... I can no longer use Softcard. That's a bit insane seeing as those are the only two proposed criteria. Google Wallet has nailed this some time ago... even Apple Pay's catching up. Why aren't we able to just tap-to-pay with a first-party option yet?
5) Hardware Control: We don't need ten 512MB phones to cater to the low end. ONE well-planned 512MB low-range for the people who only have a fifty to their name, ONE midrange phone, ONE high-end 5-incher and ONE powerhouse phablet would be enough. That's just more hardware you have to roll out new firmware to. More parts that your OEM has to manage and replace. Regional barriers could be easily conquered if the phone were loaded with enough antennas to make it a world phone in the first place. Then no "international edition" needs to be made, nor any incremental number change for different carriers. Simplicity is something the entire Windows Phone platform is horribly lacking in... and I don't see anything about this entire experience becoming polished when there's so much the OEM has to focus on.
That's mine, what are yours. Also feel free to comment on people's recommendations.
1) Xbox Live Mobile: A massive shift in the way XBL is handled would occur. The restrictions and criteria would be drastically reduced so that most anyone can get into it regardless of whether they're a big name or a struggling indie. Also I'd make it such that mobile XBL games have the ability to be worth 1000GS instead of capping out at 200 (IIRC, Halo's the only one that's even 250). People gotta love the platform before development booms... but people gotta have fun before they love the platform.
2) Carrier Power Reduction: I understand the need for carriers to get their crapware on a machine so that their partners are happy... but they have too much power; and the end result is extraordinarily disadvantageous to users. While the world would be a better place without AT&T, TMO and VZW carrier crap it could all be offered through a portal that doesn't leave users waiting months/a year for an update that other users already have. These firmware updates come with drivers to accommodate each subset of specific hardware anyway, so it's not like some special piece of hardware means other users should wait longer. Everyone could globally get an update (lets say a hypothetical 10.1) on the same day... but there'd be a ~56MB package of appx installers pushed dedicated to making sure the carrier can get their stuff on your system... then (like we have it now) users could delete it as they please.
3) Improved MOGA Hero Support: Anyone who's got extensive experience with the NVIDIA Shield has already experienced how awesome it is to be able to universally map screen press areas and gestures to a button, joystick or trigger. There's public APIs that allow a user to manually integrate the MOGA into their game, but the mainstreaming of that is a slow-moving process that users shouldn't have to wait for. I picture an era where someone can install a brand new FPS on their phone (like the newly released Evolution Online) and be able to map controls the way they like if they just so happen to dislike how the onscreen controls feel.
4) Native NFC Payment: Softcard is nice... and even though I whined and moaned about being forced into American Express Serve, the instant discounts and cash back on purchases with AMEX Serve has definitely been sweet enough to justify the $1/mo charge. But it's limited to only a couple devices... and further limited by who can use it (globally speaking). I decided to go back from my Lumia 830 to my Lumia 820 and despite having both NFC and Cyan... I can no longer use Softcard. That's a bit insane seeing as those are the only two proposed criteria. Google Wallet has nailed this some time ago... even Apple Pay's catching up. Why aren't we able to just tap-to-pay with a first-party option yet?
5) Hardware Control: We don't need ten 512MB phones to cater to the low end. ONE well-planned 512MB low-range for the people who only have a fifty to their name, ONE midrange phone, ONE high-end 5-incher and ONE powerhouse phablet would be enough. That's just more hardware you have to roll out new firmware to. More parts that your OEM has to manage and replace. Regional barriers could be easily conquered if the phone were loaded with enough antennas to make it a world phone in the first place. Then no "international edition" needs to be made, nor any incremental number change for different carriers. Simplicity is something the entire Windows Phone platform is horribly lacking in... and I don't see anything about this entire experience becoming polished when there's so much the OEM has to focus on.
That's mine, what are yours. Also feel free to comment on people's recommendations.
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