It's too late.....

[mb-dape]

Metro is revolutionary. It's not just a pretty skin. It's a completely different philosophy on how to present and handle mobile ecosystems.

We now have an OS that is task centric as opposed to app centric.

It will take time for people to grasp that I guess. They've been trained to measure everything by Apple's standards and don't really think outside of the box.

What is the big difference, really?

People want to DO things, I dont think HOW really matters. And compared to iOS and Android there is still so much you can do on those platforms that you can not on WP.

But I hope WP8 will change that a bit.

 

[poiman]

It's not just a pretty skin. It's a completely different philosophy on how to present and handle mobile ecosystems.

Yes it's a different philosophy to reach the same end. It's not like Metro lets you do completely new things that other OSs can't do on its own way.
So I don't think it is a revolution, not even an evolution. It's a new approach, that's it. And it's always good to have new options available. iOS and Android are app centric unlike WP. This fresh air brought by Microsoft is good for those (us) who want to try something different, but it's not like we are going to be years ahead of those who use other OSs. What we do with our WP devices is the same that they do with their iOSs and Androids.

 

[grasshoper]

What is the big difference, really?

People want to DO things, I dont think HOW really matters. And compared to iOS and Android there is still so much you can do on those platforms that you can not on WP.

But I hope WP8 will change that a bit.

I don't think "HOW" doesn't matter. It's a matter of taste, but I think that having the OS handle important stuffs out of the box like WP does is really important.

I see it like this: WP "as is" has a lot more in its shelves than iOS and Android. The first has Siri (what else ??) and the latter has google apps. WP has (or will have) all the Bing goodies, plus Nokia services and sort of webOS like synergy ecosystem (integrated connection with Windows Live, Google Talk etc... and other services that you can setup without third party apps).

Those are services that other OS's can only handle with third parties, and I know for sure that most of non-geek smartphone owners *never* buy/dl apps ! Whenever I ask around me to smartphone people who doesn't care much about new techs, they always say that 1) they don't what apps are good for or/and 2) apps does not interest them.

Most people use only what the OS can do by itself. They don't spend hours trying to find an app that *might* interest them.

Sure, for those people Siri is a good service to play with, but remember that WP8 will bring a *lot* of features that can compete in better ways I think. Not as ludic as Siri, but really usefull and easy to use.

 

[AngryNil]

Initially, I would have agreed with you. On deeper thought, I think Microsoft's shot will indeed not come from a radical change that will upturn the mobile industry - it's far more likely we'll see adoption pushed by Microsoft leveraging its other popular products to increase awareness about Windows Phone and Metro. If Microsoft pulls off its transition to become an integrated, consumer-friendly company, you might see people adopting Windows Phone for the same reason Mac users will often choose iOS devices - it works best with the ecosystem they are entrenched in.

 

[textomatic]

The only hope I see is if Microsoft spends a gazillion dollars to advertise WP8. I lost track of how many times I've been asked what phone I have and when I tell them they say they've never heard of it. That needs to stop! Microsoft, dip into your deep pockets and advertise WP8 all year long. I want people to get sick of seeing your ads. Stop depending on the mobile operators and phone manufactures to do the advertising for you. People will not buy your product if they don't know it exist. Same thing that happened with Zune.

 

[selfcreation]

The only hope I see is if Microsoft spends a gazillion dollars to advertise WP8. I lost track of how many times I've been asked what phone I have and when I tell them they say they've never heard of it. That needs to stop! Microsoft, dip into your deep pockets and advertise WP8 all year long. I want people to get sick of seeing your ads. Stop depending on the mobile operators and phone manufactures to do the advertising for you. People will not buy your product if they don't know it exist. Same thing that happened with Zune.

Keep in mind that some people are just ignorant.... you could slap them in the face with a WP8 Advertising and still wouldn't know what they just saw...

most people I know recognized my WP right away, they mostly have stupid things to say about it but at lease they know, haha

specially compared to what people knew about WP 2 years ago.... New products always take time to develop and create awareness

 

[vp710]

You know why WP8 is going to be a winner?

1. Integration with W8, Xbox and Smart Glass
2. 2nd gen handsets
3. Nokia Pureview and RichRecording
4. The LONG list of new features coming to WP8
5. Support by carriers (as far as VZM willing to push WP as much as they did the "Droid" brand)
6. Killer business features and dying BB brand
7. Unexciting iOS features and ugly iPhone 5 design
8. WP8 using 90% of the same code as W8, supporting native code. This means more and better apps, more powerful games
9. Microsoft stores
10. the list goes on...

It is NOT too late.

 

[CommonBlob]

 

[socialcarpet]

This sounds like the loads on anti-MS articles on the verge,ZDNet and Cnet. I certainly don't want to come to WPCentral and have to read this.

 

[vp710]

 

[Nataku4ca]

I'm gonna take issue with the guys that say how doesn't matter, because if that were the case Windows Mobile and Palm would still be ruling the smartphone world, which is no longer the case (heck even feature phones)

 

[cckgz4]

What is the big difference, really?

People want to DO things, I dont think HOW really matters. And compared to iOS and Android there is still so much you can do on those platforms that you can not on WP.

But I hope WP8 will change that a bit.

I think the lot of you assume that the users on the internet represent the bulk of the buyers. No. The bulk of android buyers aren't rearranging their screen everyday or rooting their devices with custom roms. The average day to day customer is using apps. That's what they buy android and iPhones for.

 

[eastbayrae]

The OP is basing his opinion on rumors about an unreleased product that will go through changes prior to release?

 

[poiman]

I think the lot of you assume that the users on the internet represent the bulk of the buyers. No. The bulk of android buyers aren't rearranging their screen everyday or rooting their devices with custom roms. The average day to day customer is using apps. That's what they buy android and iPhones for.

True. I've got a friend who has had a Galaxy SII for some months and I had to be the one showing him that he could put widgets on the homescreens... And I had never touched an Android in my life before that. Ridiculous!

 

[Budule]

Oh and btw, the Xbox 360 has outsold the ps3

One of the reasons for that may be that people had to keep buying Xboxs over and over as they kept failing......kid up the street from me is on his 5th one and i still have the Fat PS3 from launch....just sayn'....i have an xbox also....my 3rd one i believe....

 

[freestaterocker]

Right, but they really didn't care that much about it, as in, they didn't do much to promote HD-DVD at all. (Not trying to bring up an old debate)

With WP's, it appears they do care.

Blu Ray won for the same reason VHS beat Betamax. Porn went Blu Ray. That is all.

 

[eric12341]

One of the reasons for that may be that people had to keep buying Xboxs over and over as they kept failing......kid up the street from me is on his 5th one and i still have the Fat PS3 from launch....just sayn'....i have an xbox also....my 3rd one i believe....

People didn't have to keep buying them, they were free replacements. Also the new Xbox 360 model has no issues, the original PS3 model has issues as well, especially with the A/V port failing.

 

[smoledman]

Windows Phone brings at least 2 things NEW to the table:

* standardized live tiles instead of custom widgets in Android
* the fact that you can pin just about any type of content to the start screen as a tile

that 2nd one means that you can customize your start screen to a level unheard of.

 

[mb-dape]

I don't think "HOW" doesn't matter. It's a matter of taste, but I think that having the OS handle important stuffs out of the box like WP does is really important.

I see it like this: WP "as is" has a lot more in its shelves than iOS and Android. The first has Siri (what else ??) and the latter has google apps. WP has (or will have) all the Bing goodies, plus Nokia services and sort of webOS like synergy ecosystem (integrated connection with Windows Live, Google Talk etc... and other services that you can setup without third party apps).

Those are services that other OS's can only handle with third parties, and I know for sure that most of non-geek smartphone owners *never* buy/dl apps ! Whenever I ask around me to smartphone people who doesn't care much about new techs, they always say that 1) they don't what apps are good for or/and 2) apps does not interest them.

Most people use only what the OS can do by itself. They don't spend hours trying to find an app that *might* interest them.

Sure, for those people Siri is a good service to play with, but remember that WP8 will bring a *lot* of features that can compete in better ways I think. Not as ludic as Siri, but really usefull and easy to use.

So what is so unique with WP? Sure, the social media integration is a good idea, but if you use Facebook or Twitter you still have to use the "third party"-apps for most tasks. Two interfaces for the same service is IMHO not innovative.

And Facebook comes preinstalled on almost every Android-phone, and most OEMs have some sort of integration of social medias in the UI.

You can setup Windows Live sync, Google Talk etc. without apps on Android too, just to take your examples. Google Maps is superior to Nokia Maps, Google search instead of Bing. WP has Office and Android has by far the best YouTube integration.

No, WP is not unique when it comes to features out of the box, however I don't think of that as a problem. It sounds like you have missed the whole "app revolution". 10 year old kids know how to download the latest games. People who don't even know what OS their phone has are using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc.

"Most people use only what the OS can do by itself". If you were right WP would be as poor as the others, fortunately you are so wrong.

 

[mb-dape]

I think the lot of you assume that the users on the internet represent the bulk of the buyers. No. The bulk of android buyers aren't rearranging their screen everyday or rooting their devices with custom roms. The average day to day customer is using apps. That's what they buy android and iPhones for.

That was kind of my point, the average customer have no problem with downloading apps that suits his/her needs. That's is why a few unique integrated features in WP don't seem to impress people.