Is Microsoft unwise to ignore their own platform?

[colinkiama]

Agreed. People are all upset over slight differences in an app that few people would actually use on their phone besides basic viewing. How many people actually make critical changes to a Word, PPT, or Excel doc on their damn phone?

Tablet yes, but phone no. And Office for Windows on tablet is way better than Office for iOS or Android.

That's our excuse as Windows phone users but people are but word was number 1 in the app store. Obviously people do want to make major changes on their phones. It's just that they never had a choice till last week

 

[spaulagain]

That's our excuse as Windows phone users but people are but word was number 1 in the app store. Obviously people do want to make major changes on their phones. It's just that they never had a choice till last week

Number one in the app store A) does not imply iPhones, could include all iPads as well since MS made one app and B) does not mean people downloaded to make changes in Word, etc. Just means they thought it would be useful. Whether that's viewing or editing, who knows.

 

[EspHack]

I was going to post something but I noticed im tired of being mad at skype's crappy app, who cares? I spend most of my time on my pc anyway

 

[Fleon]

Lawyers. A lot of us. I use Word and Onenote every single day on my phone. And unfortunately, our office just met to decide what technology to use for next year and we went with iPhones (we previously all had Windows Phones) for two reasons and two reasons only: 1) There's no real flagship Windows Phone out there on AT&T right now, and more importantly 2) Office is now better on iOS than WP and we use mobile office all the time.

 

[API_Rock]

MS why do you really want to destroy your own OS ?

 

[spaulagain]

MS why do you really want to destroy your own OS ?

How are they destroying their own OS? Windows 10 is pretty strong evidence that they are fully invested in their OS and will be making really significant changes and improvements.

But ya, lets ignore all that because iOS gas a slightly better version of Office, for now... /s

 

[iamtim]

You editing this with PowerPoint on your phone?

No, this is a web-based forum. PowerPoint would be all sorts of the wrong tool for the job. And speaking of tools...

I honestly wanna know who on this earth is editing documents on their phone in heavy enough fashion to warrant such an outcry over this "iOS/Android version is better" crap...

Obviously you're not one of the people who does, so why do you care? You should go post in some thread in which actually affects you, and leave this thread to those who have a stake in it. And it really doesn't matter how heavy the usage is: if you have a Windows Phone and you need to do a quick edit using a feature that's only - as of right now - available on the iOS/Android Office, that's all that matters.

 

[iamtim]

How many people actually make critical changes to a Word, PPT, or Excel doc on their damn phone?

Me. My boss. Our CEO. Our head of European sales. Our head of US sales. Our customer care team. Shall I go on? It's not as unique of a situation as you might imagine.

EDIT: As a matter of fact, our CEO just had us pay off the ETF on his line just so he could get a 6+ on contract because of the amount of Office work he does on his phone. And I can tell you that it was not a "have to have the cool new thing because I'm CEO" schtick; he hates to spend company money on stuff like that and usually uses technology until it breaks before he gets replacements.

 

[neo158]

Me. My boss. Our CEO. Our head of European sales. Our head of US sales. Our customer care team. Shall I go on? It's not as unique of a situation as you might imagine.

EDIT: As a matter of fact, our CEO just had us pay off the ETF on his line just so he could get a 6+ on contract because of the amount of Office work he does on his phone. And I can tell you that it was not a "have to have the cool new thing because I'm CEO" schtick; he hates to spend company money on stuff like that and usually uses technology until it breaks before he gets replacements.

This is exactly why Microsoft prioritising iOS and Android over their own platform is the wrong strategy to have. Business users in particular will move to devices that allow them to get work done, your CEO moving to an iPhone 6+ is the perfect example.

I'll say what I've said before, I have no problem with MS getting their apps and services on other platforms but when that is at the expense of their own platform then that's just the wrong thing to do.

 

[DoctorSaline]

The thing is MDM and IT companies and enterprise all love to work with iOS and Android right now because that is what is popular with people. MS not having their services on those platforms meant that MS services were getting replaced by alternate service like Google's or others.

Also, it is not like MS is ignoring their own platform. It is being developed and as with every development project, it has an expected timeframe and that coincides with Windows 10 release. Obviously, windows phone is neither gonna take off dramatically nor its share will fall dramatically because of lack(or lack of quality) of MS core apps and MS knows this fact. So I think if people want to jump ship, it will make sense if MS continues to ignore its Mobile platform AFTER windows 10 releases. Until then, have some patience.

 

[iamtim]

your CEO moving to an iPhone 6+ is the perfect example.

Please don't think he moved from a Windows Phone; we've long been standardized on iPhone as our "corporate phone", pretty much since the release of the iPhone 4. We were 50/50 with BlackBerry when the iPhone 3GS was out. When Windows Phone 7 was released we considered it - because other than the iPhones and one Linux server I've managed to sneak in we're a Microsoft shop - but at that time WP didn't have any internationally-capable phones.

I'll say what I've said before, I have no problem with MS getting their apps and services on other platforms but when that is at the expense of their own platform then that's just the wrong thing to do.

For my part? It might be the wrong thing to do for YOU, but I think it's the right thing to do for Microsoft.

 

[DoctorSaline]

For those who fear MS might abandon Windows in favor of Services, here is my speculation on why IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

You know why? Because WINDOWS PLATFORM IS ESSENTIAL FOR MICROSOFT'S CORE SERVICES I.E. OFFICE, EXCHANGE, LYNC(SKYPE FOR BUSINESS), OUTLOOK, ONE NOTE, SKYPE, BING, MSN.

Do you wonder why IE still has more than 50% (use) share on PCs even though there are alternatives like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera Mini and other available? Or why Google is pushing its services more and more with each new iteration of Android? Both Microsoft and Google know the power of owning a dominant platform in helping push forward your own services. Because most users don't bother with searching alternatives and just stick with what is available to them out of the box.

So, if Microsoft is even, at least, committed to its services, then it is also committed to Windows Platform(including one on mobiles and tablets) to stay relevant in that space.

 

[theefman]

For my part? It might be the wrong thing to do for YOU, but I think it's the right thing to do for Microsoft.

I wonder why you think so, aren't Microsoft's platforms part of Microsoft as well? How is less adoption of their platforms a good thing? The impression I have gotten over the course of all the discussions here is that you and others feel its okay to sacrifice parts of Microsoft like WP and Windows for the sake of spreading their services on ios and android. I'm curious how this is a good thing.

 

[iamtim]

How is less adoption of their platforms a good thing?

Because what they stand to gain on iOS and Android - which is collectively somewhere around 95% of the US market - far outweighs what they will lose on Windows Phone. And they'll probably gain back most of what they lost on iOS/Android anyway.

Think about it from Microsoft's perspective, not the perspective of an upset Windows Phone user... your average Windows Phone user probably uses Windows on the desktop (either at home, at work, or both). Probably uses some form of Office as well. If that user gets upset at Microsoft for releasing better Office apps on iOS and Android and bails on Windows Phone, they'll probably get an iOS or Android device. And then what are they going to do? Well, since they're using OneDrive on the desktop, they get OneDrive on the new phone. And then they get the Office apps, because they're still using Office on the desktop.

So tell me... when they're looking at capturing all those iOS and Android users with their services, what is Microsoft actually losing should a Windows Phone user bail to another platform if they just keep using the same Microsoft services?

you ... feel its okay to sacrifice parts of Microsoft like ... Windows for the sake of spreading their services on ios and android.

For what it's worth? I've never said anything about Windows. My comments have only been about Windows Phone, iOS, and Android.

 

[spaulagain]

I wonder why you think so, aren't Microsoft's platforms part of Microsoft as well? How is less adoption of their platforms a good thing? The impression I have gotten over the course of all the discussions here is that you and others feel its okay to sacrifice parts of Microsoft like WP and Windows for the sake of spreading their services on ios and android. I'm curious how this is a good thing.

We've made it pretty clear why it's a good thing about a million times. Office is one of Microsoft's key revenue sources. And Windows is on it's way to being completely free. It's more important to them that Office continue to succeed and grow, then for Windows to grow.

Office could suffer greatly if users begin to switch over to Google Docs, etc. if Office wasn't available on their iPad, or Android phone.

Windows on the other hand is just fine. Their only product that would "suffer" would be WP. WP is already in the ****ter, and will be replaced with Windows 10 in less than a year. Making all this ******** and complaining completely pointless and futile.

The fact that you guys continue to not understand basic business concepts and economics absolutely befuddles me. It's like you're so angst about this, you can't see what's right in front of you.

Microsoft is being the most open, agnostic, and customer friendly company out of the big three. They are doing things that people begged and bitched for over a decade. They are reversing practices that earned them their bad reputation, and yet you guys are still finding a way to ***** about them. Even though the issues you are bringing up are negligible and won't exist in less than a year.

 

[haikallp]

Just get an Android/iOS device if you're unhappy with WP. I was a faithful WP users for years and owned three WPs. Left for Android in May 2014 and never looked back.

Why should I, when Android has more features, and Microsoft apps and services are better on Android than on WP.

I understand that Microsoft is a business, not a charity. They need to create their apps on other OS because thats where the majority of smartphone users are. But to leave your own OS with an inferior version of the product is plain disgusting.

By doing this, you are abandoning your loyal users and at the same time, not doing much to attract new users too.

As a consumer who is in the market for a new smartphone, I would definitely be more interested in either iOS or Android, just because I don't see any compelling reason to choose WP.

We keep telling ourselves that things will get better in the next version of WP but this has been going on for years. We said things will improve in WP8, then WP8.1 but look at where WP is now. Its disappointing tbh.

For now, I'll stick with Android since things are greener there. Make no mistake, I'm still interested in WP but until MS actually pays more attention to their platform, I'll just stay in the sidelines.

 

[neo158]

Just get an Android/iOS device if you're unhappy with WP. I was a faithful WP users for years and owned three WPs. Left for Android in May 2014 and never looked back.

Why should I, when Android has more features, and Microsoft apps and services are better on Android than on WP.

I understand that Microsoft is a business, not a charity. They need to create their apps on other OS because thats where the majority of smartphone users are. But to leave your own OS with an inferior version of the product is plain disgusting.

By doing this, you are abandoning your loyal users and at the same time, not doing much to attract new users too.

As a consumer who is in the market for a new smartphone, I would definitely be more interested in either iOS or Android, just because I don't see any compelling reason to choose WP.

We keep telling ourselves that things will get better in the next version of WP but this has been going on for years. We said things will improve in WP8, then WP8.1 but look at where WP is now. Its disappointing tbh.

For now, I'll stick with Android since things are greener there. Make no mistake, I'm still interested in WP but until MS actually pays more attention to their platform, I'll just stay in the sidelines.

Agreed, I'm sticking with Windows Phone though, simply because I'm interested to see where it's headed as a long term WP user and I use a fair amount of Microsoft products anyway so it fits nicely into the ecosystem of devices. I still have an Android device that I use occasionally but I'm not switching back to it full time.

 

[osallent]

I just switched back to Android, and guess what? The Play Store is full or Microsoft apps for just about everything Microsoft offers, and it's all higher quality and has more features than the freaking WP version of it. I heard about this, but seeing it for myself was something else. Come on Microsoft, what the heck is going on? Definitely not an incentive to switching back to WP in the future.

 

[paulxxwall]

At the end of the day It is pretty crappy that ms apps are better on IOS and android than here on WP....... Pretty sad actually

 

[Squachy]

Don't worry win10 will fix it.....