I've been a loyal WP user since my UTStarcom 6700 running Windows Mobile. I moved onto the HTC Diamond, HTC Titan 1 & 2, HTC HD7, Lumia 900, 920 and now the 1520. During these years I did for a short time own an Android device and an iPhone 4S (never a Blackberry). They just weren't for me. I've enjoyed watching the progression over the years and seeing all the strides WP has made. I've always enjoyed my experiences for the most part. I've also experienced some serious bugs in my time with WP and extremely frustrating moments too. One that sticks in my mind forever is when my HTC Titan 2 would crash once internal storage reached near its 16GB limit and would force me to hard reset. Which I ended up having to do... about 8-9 times over a 12 month period. However, for the most part I will say I've greatly enjoyed other things from integration of Xbox, PC and tablets, to the build quality of hardware from Nokia and the quality of their cameras. I love the ease and simplicity of my phone. I hated waiting years for some of the important apps and games to arrive. And I still do encounter bugs and system glitches on occasion that make me scratch my head. I get nothing is perfect but WP seems to be the furthest from perfect despite how hard it's been trying to get it right.
And no matter what, after all ll these years a few things just haven't changed. Market Share and always being behind in features. I'm the first one to defend WP to people I know. I'm always the only one at social events with a WP. I'm the only one I've seen in my company of about 600 employees with a WP. I get mocked by friends and colleagues for having what they consider to be an "obsolete" phone. I disregard the comments and show them how great the pictures are my 1520 takes in comparison to their Androids or Blackberries. In my building I've seen maybe 2 people with WP's. And then about 30 in the wild over the years. I've gotten my mom, dad, and at least 3-4 other friends to try the move to WP. Some liked it and stuck with it, some moved on as Canadian carriers stopped distributing high end WP devices. And while for the most part I brush off the eye rolling when I take out my phablet (whether it's for the size, or the OS) but I'm now starting to really wonder.. Will MS and WP ever get it right? Hardware specs are always months behind Android (except camera specs), the OS is always catching up with crucial features other OS' have. The interface while modern is starting to feel a little bland after all these years of use. I'd love to really seeing WP catch on to the general public rather than the niche techies like myself. And while there's so many reasons we can blame MS, it's lack of marketing, or carriers I have to wonder will this EVER change?
Every year I used to see predictions on WP marketshare taking leaps and bounds. And every year it's still the same or barely moved. I'd love to see WP really start delivering on features and hardware but I feel like I'm just convincing myself every year that it will come eventually. Or maybe I just like being the only one on the block with a phone that's not what everyone else has. I look around at my friends with their GS5's, Notes, iPhone 6's... even Blackberries. And while I prefer the modern look of WP over the sea of icons and 7 homescreens of widgets I can see so many "little" touches on these devices that make it clear to me why people love them. I've owned this 1520 for over a year now. It's actually the longest I've kept a single device in over 4 yrs without upgrading to something better. I'm very disappointed that MS hasn't released a new flagship in over 12 months. Apple and Samsung would never allow such a thing. I'm even forced to buy most of my phones unlocked and from online retailers because Canada doesn't have faith in carrying most WP devices.
I consider from time to time what my life would be like if I did decide to give up on WP and make the change. I think I could do it but I keep saying hold on, something BIG has to be around the corner. I just feel that MS makes it really hard to be a fan when there's so much more they can offer us.
(I guess once your a sales guy, your always a sales guy - even if a leopard changes it's spots, it's still a leopard regardless). 
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