Is Microsoft still interested in its own Mobile?

[Jazmac]

Sitting on it's collective hands when mobile was taking off is how we were left behind in the first place. What is doing the same until 2017 to accomplish? Has it been proven that waiting is better and I missed it? Its August 2016. 2017 is just 5 months away and nothing. No leaks. No hints. Nada. Its' my contention that If MS is still interested in Mobile, its not necessarily this platform. And I won't be surprised if MS does bring a phone to the platform, it will be some sort of hybrid that will run a ton of android apps, written by Microsoft partners and developers.

Us:


Them:

 

[abhishek singh21]

very good depiction , . I my views microsoft isn't going to let off mobile so easily, with the introduction of windows 10 and the marketing of one pc -one mobile, they are bound to keep the mobile section alive. Not through lumia , maybe a new series(SURFACE O.O) but i believe microsoft has a few tricks left in its backpocket ;D

 

[EspHack]

they say they are /s

no really, what nadella means by "mobile" is not phones or hardware, its the computing experience, of having your virtual pc follow you through the cloud wherever you go, to make terminals irrelevant, or just as useful as their cpu or camera output can be

so yes you could probably be waiting for nothing since you didnt get the idea at all

 

[Jazmac]

very good depiction , . I my views microsoft isn't going to let off mobile so easily, with the introduction of windows 10 and the marketing of one pc -one mobile, they are bound to keep the mobile section alive. Not through lumia , maybe a new series(SURFACE O.O) but i believe microsoft has a few tricks left in its backpocket ;D

I used to depend on MS having tricks up its sleeve when it comes to everything they do. I'm looking at the same thing you are when it comes to mobile. Yes they are building W10M but the hardware is no where to be found. And when you factor in the phone buying market and unlocked "flagship" level phones from ZTE, OnePlus, Huiwei, Alcatel and others with price points between 350 and 400, it will make it even tougher for smart phone buyers to spend twice as much with no access to the software they want, snapchat, pokemon go etc. Now, I'm just asking. I'll keep updating my phone as long as updates exist but its more a hobby doing so these days.

 

[rdubmu]

I am really hoping within the next year they release an update to the 950 XL, even if it is the same phone with a spec refresh

 

[Jinal_JCS]

The only way W10M gains some tracktion is if they support Android apps in some way. Right now things are not exactly rosy.

 

[xandros9]

The only way W10M gains some tracktion is if they support Android apps in some way. Right now things are not exactly rosy.

The problem with doing that is that it will completely doom the platform in the long-run while only making it more palatable to a fraction of their already small userbase.

Unfortunately, I believe its beyond the point of no-easy-return and will remain there until Microsoft decides phones are less unimportant again. It also needs a streak of not-screwing-up but if its possible...

 

[JohnStrk]

It never gets old! :grincry:
Microsoft Employee recounts Windows 10 for Phones Technical Preview Release Day

 

[Guytronic]

Actually I think if Microsoft could shuffle off it's mobile effort on to another company they would find peace at this point in time.

It's gotta be pretty tough for Mr. Nadella to find some kind of balance between salivating fans and board members who frown at instability.
Microsoft could create a whole new corporate division separate from the parent company, base it in another place away from Seattle with new blood and perhaps find success.
Do or die as we say...

Heck #whadduIknow.com

 

[Migi2015]

Remember when MS held a 'funeral' for iPhone 4? Well karma is a beyotch.

 

[Bufalo]

Microsoft still needs to develop their phones much better than others

 

[fury2g]

Microsoft still needs to develop their phones much better than others

Captain obvious.

 

[Ryan Groom]

Good blog from an MS guy from a dev point of view. Some good nuggets inside.
Jerry Nixon on Windows: Is Windows Phone still a good option?

Enjoy,

Ryan

 

[BrunoMG]

Report: Microsoft to ?end sales? of Lumia handsets this year - MSPoweruser

 

[khaled22]

They still wait for other oems to make some phones. We haven't seen much and from all those partners 95% are Asian so as a European citizen how I'm supposed to get one if there are not supposed to sell in Europe or are limited to 2-3 countries in Europe and still can't get it. In my country they sold some lumias but no one supported it on apps. No bank no shops not even the mobile operator has an app.ms needs to make some big moves to create some waves

 

[Queen Kong1]

I don't know anyone that uses one anyhow now..mostly android

WinBeta is reporting that a Microsoft insider has whispered to them that Lumia sales will end by the end of 2016. Hopefully this paves the way for the Surface phone in early 2017.

http://www.winbeta.org/news/microso...ones-december-director-mentions-surface-phone

 

[xandros9]

Report: Microsoft to ?end sales? of Lumia handsets this year - MSPoweruser

Almost makes me want to compliment HP on its speed and efficiency in killing webOS and dumping inventory. Well we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

 

[aximtreo]

Another disturbing thing I found out yesterday. Went to the MS Store at Chandler Fashion Square, Chandler, AZ to buy the extended warranty for the 950xl I just purchased. I was told that Microsoft discontinued the extended service for the MS Windows phone at the end of July, 2016.

Does that sound to you like another nail in the proverbial coffin for MS and their phone line. I did not see any kind of announcement anywhere making this public. Just to confirm, I went online and tried to find out where to buy the service agreement and was told by the MS chat rep that it was no longer available.

Crappy thing to do for a phone less than 1.5 years and one still being sold by MS itself.

 

[920Walker]

Originally posted by aximtreo
Another disturbing thing I found out yesterday. Went to the MS Store at Chandler Fashion Square, Chandler, AZ to buy the extended warranty for the 950xl I just purchased. I was told that Microsoft discontinued the extended service for the MS Windows phone at the end of July, 2016.

That is deeply disturbing. Even BestBuy can provide an extended warranty and offer a different manufacturers device if replacement is necessary but no same models are available. The store is essentially saying they can't offer a flagship phone in 6 months.

 

[a5cent]

I'm not sure what the question "Is Microsoft still interested in its own Mobile?" means.

If you're asking about hardware, then the answer is no. Not being overly interested in selling hardware doesn't mean MS won't ever produce a new device running W10M however. Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. If they do it might not look anything like a phone though. Wait and see I guess..

If you're asking about software, then the answer is yes. That is simply down to the fact that W10M has a lot in common with W10. W10M may not perform as well as WP8, nor is it as stable, but the cost of developing it is considerably lower. Although that's irrelevant to consumers, it's very relevant to MS, particularly in their current situation. This is why I'm doubtful that the heated board room arguments are as common as some of us may think. I suspect development costs for W10M are now in the low hundreds of millions annually, which is nothing for a mainstream OS. Depending on how much the books are fudged (there is always fudge), even a lot of that may remain invisible to the bean counters.

If you're asking about the platform, the UWP, then the answer is most definitely yes. No matter what happens, the UWP will live on. Even if MS decides to kill W10M and starts using Android as their mobile OS, they will at the very least find a way for their MS branded Android devices to run UWP apps.

All of those things are part of mobile equation, and the answer is different for each part.