Is Lumia a business phone?

[Queen Kong1]

I'm surprised still at the amount of sales people who say buy android not a windows phone. Windows phones are business phones for people who need Word etc.. I've been put of twice now in stores, they prefer i buy an Android thoughts?.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Regardless of what classification you give the phone, right now, public perception of Windows phones is that they are dying a quick death...or that they are already dead. Plus, you can use a very well polished version of Word on any Android phone, so having Word isn't really a differentiator anymore. Honestly, I think people try to claim Windows phones to be the greatest business phones simply because all of the apps that you can find on Android phones that make them appeal to everyone just aren't found on Windows phones (yet?). In short, since the majority don't want them, we assume that that means professionals in the business world should love them. So, we're kind of left with this line of defense when talking to anyone about Windows phones: "we don't have a lot of apps to choose from, but our phones are great business phones....plus you can't get a virus on our phones....oh, and the apps are coming soon.". Ha ha ha
Don't get me wrong, though. I love my WP.

 

[EspHack]

that's just the usual excuse to desert from the front lines

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

that's just the usual excuse to desert from the front lines

I haven't deserted. I'm proudly using my 950XL every day in a sea of IOS and Android. I teach school, and I see every day what drives smartphone sales.....young people and a store full of polished apps. Having the business angle of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint don't hold a candle to that.

 

[anon(6078578)]

To be honest, I don't think having office on a phone was ever a differentiator, at least for the regular consumer. Most people have no need for it in that form factor and so would never consider it as a deciding factor in Smartphone purchase. It was a novelty for me at first but in the end One note was the only app that made sense on a phone.

For the times you do need it, a laptop or PC makes a much more comfortable way to use office especially for long periods of use such as for schoolwork etc.

Using it with Continuum might make more sense but I still don't think it will sway consumers without the app gap etc being fixed.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

I agree. Having the Office suite on my phone was really cool at first, but I've never sat down and typed out a Word document using it. OneNote does rock, however...but, it rocks just as hard on iOS and Android, unfortunately. The thing that continuously attracts me to Windows phones over and over is the UI. Regardless of any negatives that I have with Windows phone, the UI just looks really good to me.

 

[Kevin Rush]

I agree. Having the Office suite on my phone was really cool at first, but I've never sat down and typed out a Word document using it. OneNote does rock, however...but, it rocks just as hard on iOS and Android, unfortunately. The thing that continuously attracts me to Windows phones over and over is the UI. Regardless of any negatives that I have with Windows phone, the UI just looks really good to me.

The UI of Windows Phone 8.1 looks good to me too. Very modern and the right amount of customization available to me. You see the similar style in current advertising and recent publishing. I use the largest tiles for my lively live tiles. I like one handed use. The other mobile OSes just look old and boring at best and messy at worst.
Just my opinion.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

The UI of Windows Phone 8.1 looks good to me too. Very modern and the right amount of customization available to me. You see the similar style in current advertising and recent publishing. I use the largest tiles for my lively live tiles. I like one handed use. The other mobile OSes just look old and boring at best and messy at worst.
Just my opinion.

Totally agree.
I loved the UI of WP7/8/8.1 when they were each released, and I love the UI ofW10M, too. I've never been a fan of iOS's UI, and while Android is somewhat boring, I don't mind it too much. Neither one of them can match the Windows UI, though, in my opinion. I have to admit, though, that I was one of the ones who really liked Windows 8/8.1 for PC, so the Windows Mobile UI just made sense to me.

 

[speccy]

Same here, the interface is what keeps me faithful to Windows phones, had many Windows phones over the years, currently using a L950.

 

[Tom Westrick]

I'm surprised still at the amount of sales people who say buy android not a windows phone. Windows phones are business phones for people who need Word etc.. I've been put of twice now in stores, they prefer i buy an Android thoughts?.

You can already set up most (all?) of Microsoft services on Android and iOS, and I've used a few great email clients on Android that support Exchange. You don't need a Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile device to get to Microsoft's services.

 

[Queen Kong1]

I agree. Having the Office suite on my phone was really cool at first, but I've never sat down and typed out a Word document using it. OneNote does rock, however...but, it rocks just as hard on iOS and Android, unfortunately. The thing that continuously attracts me to Windows phones over and over is the UI. Regardless of any negatives that I have with Windows phone, the UI just looks really good to me.

Same here never used Word or office on it, i do like one drive and Maps

 

[TechFreak1]

Microsoft are pretty much platform agnostic at this point, if you want access to Microsoft services you're pretty well catered for on ios and android.

Of course some would rather they just focus solely on their own platform (as I windows phone user I do too but I get why they have done what they have done - but the methodology leaves a lot to be desired to be honest). However sadly a platform agnostic will always cannibalize window phone sales.

WM10 on the one side has a lot of things going for it however the UX is not so cohesive at present however that will change. As is evident with the redstone builds; I for one hope they continue on the path as seen in the phone dialer, photo app and people app - no hamburger menu to be seen.

Admittedly the use hamburger menu would be needed for certain apps like outlook, as swiping has user customisable functionality therefore cannot be used for navigation.

So right now you have four options,
1) Get a low end budget phone to see if WM10 is for you
2) Get a second hand phone on the cheap that is officially eligible for WM10 - suchas the 930 {?80 min in the UK at present} which in my opinion represents the best value for your money right now - as you get a stellar camera, SD800 (which is no slouch), Hey Cortana and will be upgraded to newer builds until such time that it is deemed too old to run the latest updates - that I don't see happening for awhile.
3) Go in full throttle and get a 950, 950 XL or the upcoming OEM high end models
4) Get an iphone or android phone

 

[cracgor]

I don't think Windows Phone is really more business centric. A lot of business or work related activities still require apps. Apple still has the most apps in this regard and Android is second. I forced myself to use only a Windows Phone at my work for years, but slowly our company would add more use of apps on phones. Mine never had it. I was even for a long time having to use the mobile browser for email because our IT department didn't want to figure out how to manage 3 different types of phone on a Microsoft Exchange server.

If Windows Phone is a business first phone, it is only because employees wouldn't be wasting as much personal time on their phones with personal apps. While I can think of two things I can do on an iphone I can't do on an android phone at work. I can think of those two things and 4 other things I can't do on Windows Phone.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Maybe the one thing about windows 10 mobile is that the UI is similar to the one windows 10 in general? I mean, I know where to find settings in pc and phone because they are generally in the same place for example.

 

[N_LaRUE]

The OP's question is a bit vague.

What is meant by 'business phone' exactly?

For example, the company I work for doesn't support W8/W10M in anyway whatsoever so I cannot use it at all at work. I can connect my Android phone to the WiFi and those with iOS can as well. If I wanted to use my personal phone for work I would have to subject it to the terms and conditions set by my IT group which means their ability to wipe it clean if they so choose to. Not something I want personally.

So I don't use my personal phone at work, if I needed one they would supply it anyway.

If however we're talking your own business then that's subjective and down to what apps you plan to use and who you plan to connect with. If some people you do business with use apps not available on W10M then you need to consider if it's a good idea to use it. If it's your own personal business and it's not an issue than W10M is fine so long as it works for you.

Everyone's use requirement are different.

I don't see Continuum as a differentiator at this stage of things. Some see it that way but it's only useful if you can use it while out. I'd rather take a laptop or Surface personally.

 

[Pete]

In the vast majority of cases, a "business phone" needs to be able to handle email and calendar items, and view documents/PDF files as well as being able to connect to the corporate network. Ideally they should be able to be administered through group policy/MDM. Personally, I don't mind my 950XL being subject to my company's IT policy. Having it wiped doesn't bother me as all my stuff gets synced to the cloud. My firm's policy doesn't allow for tethering (even though I pay for my own internet use), but I hardly ever user that so it doesn't bother me that much.

In reality, business users are just as fickle and prejudiced as ordinary users and would prefer to use Android or Apple devices (i.e., they have to be seen to be using something that's commercially relevant).

 

[N_LaRUE]

In the vast majority of cases, a "business phone" needs to be able to handle email and calendar items, and view documents/PDF files as well as being able to connect to the corporate network. Ideally they should be able to be administered through group policy/MDM. Personally, I don't mind my 950XL being subject to my company's IT policy. Having it wiped doesn't bother me as all my stuff gets synced to the cloud. My firm's policy doesn't allow for tethering (even though I pay for my own internet use), but I hardly ever user that so it doesn't bother me that much.

In reality, business users are just as fickle and prejudiced as ordinary users and would prefer to use Android or Apple devices (i.e., they have to be seen to be using something that's commercially relevant).

Oh business users are definitely fickle. LOL! Most being Apple users because they've been told it's the 'best'.

Does W10M still have issues with some compatibility? I recall a few threads on here where it still lacked some network policy capabilities so that's why some companies don't support W10M or WP8.

As for what is needed for a business phone is dependant on what you do I think. Some people use their phones rather thoroughly for business so I don't think it's too black and white.

 

[Pete]

Yep, I know, that's why I said "majority". In my experience, most business users only use email/calendar to run their lives and turn to laptops for anything meaty.

Talk of compatibility is a two-edged argument to some extent. Some years ago, my Windows Phone simply would not get email from my firm's Exchange account where my co-workers iPhones and Androids had no problem at all. The issue turned out to be a server side certificate error on the Exchange end - my phone was correctly rejecting the authentication, the Apple/Android devices were blindly ignoring the error and connecting anyway. I had to fight a fair bit to get it corrected.

So which is wrong - enforcing security, or ignoring it?

Admittedly, things are somewhat different these days - Exchange administration is easier, and Apple/Android are more secure than they used to be.

 

[speccy]

I hear you with regard to the certificate issues, it's convenient that Android and IOS ignore the errors and just work, but at what expense! People shouldn't really use a situation like this to bash the OS, "oh look, Windows phones won't connect to the improperly configured insecure server, how crappy is that?" It does make me smile that people bash Microsoft for when things don't work, but they also bash them when things work exactly how they should. Rock and a hard place springs to mind.