Joe Belfiore uses an iPhone

[deepak12345]

What if he uses an iphone , i love windows mobile/phone and yet i have an android with me ti just see what the rival platform has right now which we lack.

 

[jlzimmerman]

Here is Belfiore's comment to that Verge article:

Joe here ? I wanted to comment because I think it?s useful for anyone working in tech.. or ASPIRING to work in tech.. to think about the trade-offs involved in what somehow appears as a "dramatic" decision! I suspect the significant majority of you will land on the same side of the issue that I have?

My job for the last couple of years has been (1) to curate the PC experience for Windows PCs (including tablet devices) and (2) to curate the experience for Windows Phones. In both capacities, it?s very important for me to understand products like the iPhone and Android phones, which are heavily used by PC users around the world, and which represent the competition for Windows Phone. Consumers and business users expect their PCs and phones to work in concert? so to satisfy our customers we need to consider the devices they use AS WELL AS the devices we?d like them to use.

On a 9-month leave-of-absence, I have a HUGE AND UNUSUAL opportunity to get to know these products deeply. To understand the benefits and drawbacks of a full ecosystem like Windows, Android, iOS ? you have to LIVE IN IT. You have to feel its strengths and weaknesses, be let down, be delighted. And you can?t do that just "playing around" with a device for a couple of days. You have to learn the UI, upload your photos, use cross-device apps and tools? all of it.

When we are developing a release of Windows, we MUST use it all the time, on all devices, in order to find the bugs, iterate the design. There?s really no choice or we can?t build Windows as well as we should. On a leave-of-absence, there are tons of talented people doing that every day, which gives me the possibility of spending depth time on other devices, and using Windows very much like you Insiders do, without full knowledge of what?s happening "behind the curtain".

Furthermore, there?s a lot of work happening at MS which integrates Windows PCs with iOS and Android devices? like bringing Cortana to these phones so your intelligent assistant can help you whereever you are. I want to experience and understand all that work deeply too.

So ? I think Vlad has it right when he says "it?s OK". (Thank you, Vlad.) But, I?d go farther and say "it?d be CRAZY not to"! In fact, when I posted on FB that I was taking a leave, I did mention explicitly that I would do this? and (horror of horrors) I?ve followed through, spending a bunch of time using Google Maps, Spotify, Periscope, a MacBook, a Nexus phone, etc. And.. in today?s Microsoft, this practical, customer-focused attitude is well celebrated and supported. (and.. btw? I love my Surface Book!)

That?s all from me. Back to quality time with my family, well, and thinking about the (still-obviously-so-entertaining) question of what I could do next with my hair?

I don't care that he's using an iPhone. It makes sense. William Ford, former Ford Motor Company executive, was known to drive GM products for the same reason. For anyone making business decisions and not continuously looking at what the competition has to offer, I feel for your employer. I would not hire you.

 

[mariusmuntean]

lol he can use whatever he wants, it's his private time but this demonstrates that he does not trust a windows phone anymore. some here were asking why isn't he using a 950? for what? to get headaches with the unreliable and totally buggy windows 10? when will you learn that mobile is no longer a priority for them and they do not invest anymore in it? they failed with the mobile part in the most disgusting way possible. congrats Ballmer and Nadella, especially Nadella for the layoffs and obsession of cost cutting

 

[emjey]

lol he can use whatever he wants, it's his private time but this demonstrates that he does not trust a windows phone anymore. some here were asking why isn't he using a 950? for what? to get headaches with the unreliable and totally buggy windows 10? when will you learn that mobile is no longer a priority for them and they do not invest anymore in it? they failed with the mobile part in the most disgusting way possible. congrats Ballmer and Nadella, especially Nadella for the layoffs and obsession of cost cutting

Perfect and windowsfan boys be like "go for lagdroid(though not anymore) and expensive iphone" totally ignoring the pathetic situation dead 8.1 and unusable 10 is with zero,productivity

 

[sevoman]

Because it's better. Period.
Come on guys, remember those Blackberry addicts that would not switch to iOS or Android?
They would solemnly swear that BB was better. The Windows Phone people are starting to sound like that.
Remember when BlackBerry's appointed Alicia Keys as BlackBerry's Chief creative director?
Then a week later she was posting photos and tweeting from .... you got it: Twitter for iPhone.

Honestly, most Windows consumers are more loyal to Windows Phone than are the executives at Microsoft.

Go with the best CURRENTLY available and don't wait and wait and wait fro updates and upgrades and news and for that ever elusive day that Windows Phone will be equal or better in all regards to iPhone. Enjoy the best NOW and when the day comes that Windows Phone blows away all other phones... go out and buy a Windows phone. Before anyone says it, no, early adopters do not make or break a company's future. A company in this day and age needs to put out a polished product to compete and not depend on a mass of chronic "ill wait' types to succeed. Yes the early androids and iphones also sucked but there were not good alternatives so in reality they didn't suck. Today's windows phones/mobile DO suck when it comes to the competition. That is the difference. The past is seductive, thinking there was a time when iPhone was also an infant without many apps and features... true, BUT there was nothing else that was better and so it was worth it!

 

[Gregory Newman]

I would not call this man a liar. remember he said he is coming back to Microsoft. he has to be well aware of what the competition has to offer and you cannot KNOW THAT UNLESS YOU USE the COMPETITIONS Devices. He will know what Apps Microsoft needs to get on Windows smart phones that Android and Apple smart have Windows smart phones do not have. He will know what quality has to be in the Physical case designs of Windows smart phones. MS CEO Nadella may even know what he's up to. One thing Microsoft has to do is change the shape of it's interface's Tiles because some People do not like the way they look. this can be done by simply rounding off the 4 corners of the tiles and increasing the size of the icons inside the tiles and spacing them further apart to give a less cluttered look to the screen. Microsoft has resisted doing this but should to give a refreshed look to their User interface. It would show MS is flexible and creative

 

[Mike Bourbon]

Wasn't it announced that iOS and Android devs could port over their apps to Windows? If so, is it possible he is porting over an iOS app for Twitter because it's better and running it on his Windows Phone? I would think these guys are running all kinds of ported apps on their phones, no?

 

[v535]

I bet everyone in MS has an iphone or the best devices in the market. Even if I'm in their shoes I'd probably go with the best device out there 'cause I don't want my work to be pending or rather anyone who got top priority goals or objectives to complete within a given deadline will do the same.
The reason why I bought an WP was: It was close to an iphone in performance w/o any lags and no problems with low ram and high cpu usage etc. I completely agree there's a lot less apps whilst comparing to droids and apple i's, overall I'm happy with few apps that I normally use everyday. So, for me, it doesn't matter since the apps I use the most are available on wp with more or less features. I just hope MS finishes w10m atleast for L950 otherwise there are letting down people who bought it.

 

[Schnuffi]

Benedict Arnold. That's all I can say. How are they to sell this phone to others businesses to use.

 

[Schnuffi]

If it wasn't an issue, we wouldn't be talking about it.

 

[mariusmuntean]

already ditched my 950. too bad, nice phone but a total failure OS

 

[HeyCori]

Jo Belfiore has a problem with truth.....


From 2014:
Head of Windows Phone Joe Belfiore tweets from an iPhone? then realizes | 9to5Mac

From 2013:
Joe Belfiore Clarifies On His Personal Usage Of Other Platform Devices - WMPoweruser

So what now? MUST use all the time a Windows device, but in 2013 it wasn't like this or what? How could he have used an Android device for a month if true??

Sorry, is this his honesty? Not good for a leader.

I think you highlight an important difference between Joe Belfiore and Panos Panay.

Panay is a company man. He's committed to making the best product he can. Panay took the Surface line from a 900 million dollar write down to a billion dollar revenue source. Now the Surface line is one of the most praised tech products on the market.

Belfiore released Xbox Music...

Xbox Music may be the worst piece of software ever released by Microsoft. Joe is the guy who looked at that app and thought, "Good enough." And while Xbox Music is the highlight, it's not the only bad piece of software that Belfiore allowed. That seems to be Joe's approach to Windows right now - release software that's good enough and then run off to play with his i-devices.

Does anyone expect Joe to have a job when he gets off sabbatical? More importantly, do we want Joe back? His tenure is marked with bad software and failure. He's basically the opposite of Panos. Like Elop, maybe it's time for Belfiore to move on. There's a chance that Belfiore might return from sabbatical with renewed fire and some great ideas, I'm not expecting it though.

 

[DavidinCT]

I guess it shows Windows Phone is a complete failure if the leader of Windows Phone is using a iPhone and has used a Android device in the past....Thanks Joe..

Time for a new phone everyone.....

 

[Ian_Superfly]

Btw; Looks like Apple is having a ?Joe Belfiore effect? (stock is down 5% today) :angel:

 

[xandros9]

Yup. It's like U.S. presidential candidates having to wear a lapel pin (U.S. flag), or risk being called unpatriotic. It's stupid and superficial BS, but as a candidate, you make sure you're wearing that pin regardless. Doing so is just simpler than being forced to waste time discussing fake scandals, when that same time could be used pushing your real message/agenda.

Anybody who represents anything should know this, incl. Joe Belfiore. Yes, this too is a stupid and fake scandal, and in a completely rational world it wouldn't be an issue, but Joe is the highly paid professional here, meaning he shouldn't be repeatedly stepping into these situations.

If Joe ever publicly uses a competitor's device, it should be to complain about it. For everything else, the public expects to see: "whatevered from my windows phone". Just like people expect to see presidential candidates wearing lapel pins.

My name is xandros9 and this is my favorite post in the thread.

 

[Squachy]

The "learn from competition" excuse is BS. Just because of how long they've been in this game. MS should mandate that their staff use windows phones as a daily driver NOT because its MS or MS product but as a way to identify flaws and drawbacks as a consumer and find solutions. Immediately they'll find the facebook, Skype, music, and twitter experiences to be sub par. What they can control they should be able to identify and fix right away because they're not satisfied with the experience instead of just showing up to work for 8hrs and then go home to their idroids and not care about it to the next day.

 

[hlabadi]

I hope you don't want to fire Hanselman for the same reason.

 

[Folfoodle]

Spit ...

 

[Kevin Rush]

I don't care what anyone uses in the privacy of their home or office, but in public, Microsoft Phone employees should be promoting Microsoft Phone non-stop, exclusively. Support the hand that feeds you. That's what I think.

 

[Johnny Tremaine]

"I see many years of WM being 3% if stuff like this continues"

3% is being quite optimistic.

Yeah, that 3% figure was during the days of the Lumia 920/520/1520.
If memory serves, current share numbers, globally, are in the 1.5-2% range. And that was before the Lumia 950 and Windows 10, which likely didn't move that many units worldwide at all. The financial quarter numbers that Microsoft will release this week should be revealing.
I predict it will be overall positive in terms of the business at large (Office and desktop Windows in the enterprise are hugely popular), but the mobile side (software and hardware) is very likely circling the drain of irrelevance.