Is MS Plan Working?

[Byrese]

Below is an article about the Microsoft Band being a good alternative to Apple watch by... of all people IPhone Life Magazine. The content of the article is actually what the title states. So no biggie there.

For all the complaining many of us did about MS strategy in the Nadella era his plan seems to be working. By "unlocking" MS services and devices they have increased their appeal, market share, mobility, and accessibility. This is huge as it all again,.. increases market share. Here is a quote from the article,

"Unlike Android Wear devices, the Microsoft Band was designed to be compatible with iOS as well as Android and Windows devices. It has a speaker and microphone, but the voice control feature required Cortland, their version of Sri. That means you can't use Sri with the Microsoft Ban. Now we are learning that Microsoft may release Fortuna for iOS as well as Android. This will help make the Microsoft Band more popular in the iOS world, and could give Apple a run for its money.".

Is this evidence that Nadella' s plan is working? It seems like that to me. I'm finally seeing the method behind the madness. Thoughts?

Microsoft Windows Band Could be a Good Alternative to Apple Watch | Todd Bernhard | iPhone Life

 

[MoshMast]

The Microsoft Band does not have a speaker.

And I do believe that the cross-platform approach Microsoft is taking will be beneficial in some way over the next coming years. Look at Google: they hardly make any hardware of their own but rule the software and services world over multiple platforms.

 

[Grimlock]

It is an interesting plan I must admit. The only thing I'm skeptical of is that they are sort of taking the Apple approach (hardware and services) and the Google approach (cross platform services) and making a hybrid. I sure as hell hope it works, I don't want to use iOS or Android, but it's hard to tell at this point.

Google effectively established themselves as a cross platform software/services company. Google maps, youtube, and search were dominant and other servies like Gmail were very well received and widespread. They got their way onto iPhone OS (isn't that what they called it back in the day) and were really integral in the early days. They rolled out android after they were well established on the iPhone which really pulled the rug out from under Apple. Apple users were already sold on Google apps and some were indispensable (youtube).

Unfortunately MS has an uphill battle on trying to get iOS AND Android users to get on board with MS services. They already have similar services on their platforms that users are comfortable with (even if they may be inferior). Also MS doesn't have an indispensable app like youtube to serve as a catalyst for bringing people over to their services. MS office in certain ways is crucial software, but in the mobile space it isn't at the level of youtube.

I'm not saying it can't happen, but it's going to be a slow process.

On the hardware side MS has shown they can produce quality hardware, like the Surface Pro 3, that is the same level of build quality as Apple. I really think that it did work, as it forced Windows partners to step up their game and push the envelope and quality of their designs (Lenovo, Asus, Dell, etc). The engineering on the high end Lumias was as good as anyone's, but unfortunately the future is unclear as to how many flagships there will be on WP. Will MS continue to put resources towards budget and mid range phones only to release one flagship, or are they going to release several (L1030, L940, L1530)? Are HTC and Samsung going to release WP versions of their latest flagships?

The reason I mention laptops and phones is that I don't think that the Band is at the level of the surface or lumia lines as far as fit, finish, and overall backing by MS. It seems like they are going into it as a hobby project (like Apple TV), not really fully committing to the future of wearables. I don't think the MS Band will be successful, but then again that shouldn't have a huge impact on MS as they don't seem all that invested in it.

 

[RavenSword]

The problem as I see it is that ios users and android users may have already made up their mind on which companies services to use (or wether to mix and match as they see fit) Honestly, I think this plan only really works if you get them using more than one MS service, perferably all of them. The issue is that they are never going to be as integrated on the other platforms as the OS makers are. For example, you are not going to get cortana to be as fully feartured on ios as Siri is, and vice versa with google now on android. There is such a thing as the tyranny of the default. Thats because it usualy works the most seamlessly. and it isnt like MS is making all their services at feature parity with non windows devices. For a recent example, you cannot access your one drive music locker songs on the xbox music app on either ios or android. but on windows phone you can. thats a issue when your harping on being on all platforms.

 

[tangledW]

What is Cortland & Fortuna?

 

[eusty]

What is Cortland & Fortuna?

It's the Chinese knock-off versions of Cortana.....

Actually that's what the Firefox spell check suggests for Cortana.

 

[Byrese]

What is Cortland & Fortuna?

Typos....Cortana