Microsoft Besting Apple?

[jdballard]

However, I see no reason for that to mean I have to be all in with everything Microsoft. I guess I have a hard time understanding why some people feel like they need to be either all in or nothing.

I don't feel the need to be all in myself, other than the fact I think that their mobile OS is better than either iOS or Android. The app gap doesn't affect me personally too much - at least nothing I can't live without but I do I understand that is not true for everyone. Perhaps I'm living ignorantly in my bubble as far as apps are concerned, but I don't feel that I'm missing out too much.

 

[libra89]

I don't feel the need to be all in myself, other than the fact I think that their mobile OS is better than either iOS or Android. The app gap doesn't affect me personally too much - at least nothing I can't live without but I do I understand that is not true for everyone. Perhaps I'm living ignorantly in my bubble as far as apps are concerned, but I don't feel that I'm missing out too much.

Nah, I don't think you are, you just know what you want and need, and that is very important. I actually believe that everyone should realize what is important to them, regarding apps.

Trying out iOS and Android for a month after using WP for a few years, has made me realize what apps are actually important to me. It's one thing to have all the apps and use them, and another to have few apps and use them all, and of course, there's the middle ground.

 

[GrandSpartan117]

It's one thing to have all the apps and use them, and another to have few apps and use them all, and of course, there's the middle ground.

I agree with this. Just last night I was looking at my wife's phone because she stated she keeps running out of space. She had well over 75 apps on the phone. We went through all of them and most of them she never even used. Comparing to myself only have a handful of apps and use most of them daily. I see my phone more as a tool for communication rather than social addiction toy. To each their own though.

 

[JPDVM2014]

As someone who recently switched from a Lumia 1520 to an iPhone 6S+, I still vastly prefer my Lumia. The only consideration I had for switching was the lack of apps. Yes, I don't use all that many apps, but it is nice to have them available when someone says, "Hey, you should check out this app!" Other than that, and the camera speed, my 1520 runs circles around my iPhone.

 

[extrikate]

I don't feel the need to be all in myself, other than the fact I think that their mobile OS is better than either iOS or Android. The app gap doesn't affect me personally too much - at least nothing I can't live without but I do I understand that is not true for everyone. Perhaps I'm living ignorantly in my bubble as far as apps are concerned, but I don't feel that I'm missing out too much.

I think your last sentence sums it up. Where you don't feel like you're, "missing out too much," the users of iOS and Android are unlikely to feel they are missing out at all.

I can use the Chase Bank mobile website, but wish I had the app. There are workarounds for most missing apps, but I would rather not have to use them. The hard part is when there isn't a workaround. My family enjoys the card game Exploding Kittens. They also released an iOS and Android app. This means that if we are out and want to pass some time, they can play against each other without having to remember to bring the cards. Does this happen often? No, but the few times it has it kind of sucks. It may sound insignificant, but it's little things like that where you realize this is an "outsider" mobile OS.

I'm happy being on Window Mobile as is evident by the fact I've used a Windows based phone since 2004. But we can't be blind to the fact that there IS an "app gap" and that the quality/support of OEM's can be questionable. If this OS is going to succeed, it needs more than just us.

 

[loribinca]

I've been using OSX El Cap for about two months now on a 2012 Mac Mini. I use scrivener on it for writing .

Honestly. I've found the experience to be rock solid and pleasant indeed. The only thing where the mac lags is gaming.

For creative people, it's the logical choice. because other creatives are making thier apps for it

 

[ROBBIE HALL]

I have a small Microsoft oriented store. Yesterday a young lady walked in to purchase an iPhone. She was adamant that was what she wanted. Being a salesman as well I queried to what she wanted to do with her phone. WhatsApp, Facebook, IG, Twitter, Snapchat, watch movies, email and music.
On hearing this I asked her which network she was on. Both she replied and pulled out another phone. At this point I had her stuck.
I introduced her to the 640dual xl. Upgraded to w10m, bookmarked a few movie websites and explained while there was no snapchat there was glide. Set that up for her and found her friends. And in a minute or two one of her friends sent her a video message. To add the polish, i had cortana sing for her. Lol. She was elated.
Her reasoning was that she didn't know WP "could do all of that"
What I'm trying to say is that alot of people (here?) have been "manipulated" into thinking that WP doesn't. So it never becomes an option for them.
Today (while writing this) she brought in another friend who purchased a 1020 as they do alot of camera work. Again she never knew of 41mp phone with access too raw images. I hope you guys understand my point.

 

[erasure25]

There are a couple of small niches in which Windows does well. However, the primary cause of the Windows high market share is that Apple's products are too expensive for most part of the world population.

As Nadella says, people don't choose Windows because they like it. Just read consumer reviews of Windows PCs and compare to Macs. Even Chromebooks are better evaluated than Windows laptops.

LOL! You can go on thinking that in your small world. But the rest of the business world uses PCs. If you're calling the business world small and niche... well ok ... LOL

And LOLchromebooks are just that... no one buys them... lol

 

[jdballard]

But we can't be blind to the fact that there IS an "app gap" and that the quality/support of OEM's can be questionable. If this OS is going to succeed, it needs more than just us.

I'm definitely not blind to the fact there is an app gap. I was very specific in pointing out it doesn't affect me too much. Sure, occasionally at a museum or somewhere they won't have an app for Windows mobile, which doesn't bother me. I have most of the apps I personally need, but I get that the app gap is a real thing for many people. And there are some apps I would love to have that I can't get, they're not enough to sway me to jump ship. (An example being Beyond the Whiteboard for tracking my CrossFit workouts. While using Android this past week it was nice to be able to enter it before I even leave the gym because sometimes if I wait until I get home, it never gets done.)

And I wholeheartedly agree it needs more than us. I think the universal app is a great starting point, and Microsoft's purchase of Xamarin and making it free in the community edition of Visual Studio is also a great step. If a developer can truly write it once and output a native Windows, iOS and Android app with minimal adjustments, it's a big win. They just have to convince the developers to use it. Time will tell if the strategy works, but it certainly has potential.

 

[Saqib Sabih]

I have been using WP since 2014 and I must say it's an excellent phone. Previously I was Android fan and was using Samsung Note 2. I switched to Nokia 1320 then because of Android short battery life, viruses and slow response. Now I'm using Nokia 1520 with latest fast ring W10. It's an excellent set. Although its 2013 model but it's still competing with iPhone6S plus. One thing I like about WP is live tiles. It enables you to interact with the phone as minimum as possible. Just by looking at the start screen one can get updated info instantly. Battery is excellent. No comparison with any Android or iPhone here. Most of the apps are available now. However Microsoft should introduce interactive live tiles soon to even ground with Androids and iPhones.

 

[jdballard]

Trying out iOS and Android for a month after using WP for a few years, has made me realize what apps are actually important to me. It's one thing to have all the apps and use them, and another to have few apps and use them all, and of course, there's the middle ground.

I've been using Android for the past week. Found a few apps that I like having - Waze (where the audio actually works whereas on my WP it doesn't) and Beyond the Whiteboard come to mind. My bank has an app for Windows mobile, so I'm set there. Don't use Snapchat, so not an issue. Loved a few things about Android over the past week, but not all app related. The fact it automatically remembers my parking location (although I usually do, too) is a nice touch.

Honestly, my phone is nothing more than an expensive Facebook checker, RSS reader, Twitter client, messaging app, and I even use it as a phone sometimes!

One other thing I noticed not related to apps: I've been using a 5" LG K7 instead of my 950XL, and I think actually prefer the smaller form factor.

 

[jdballard]

I have a small Microsoft oriented store. Yesterday a young lady walked in to purchase an iPhone. She was adamant that was what she wanted. Being a salesman as well I queried to what she wanted to do with her phone. WhatsApp, Facebook, IG, Twitter, Snapchat, watch movies, email and music.
On hearing this I asked her which network she was on. Both she replied and pulled out another phone. At this point I had her stuck.
I introduced her to the 640dual xl. Upgraded to w10m, bookmarked a few movie websites and explained while there was no snapchat there was glide. Set that up for her and found her friends. And in a minute or two one of her friends sent her a video message. To add the polish, i had cortana sing for her. Lol. She was elated.
Her reasoning was that she didn't know WP "could do all of that"
What I'm trying to say is that alot of people (here?) have been "manipulated" into thinking that WP doesn't. So it never becomes an option for them.
Today (while writing this) she brought in another friend who purchased a 1020 as they do alot of camera work. Again she never knew of 41mp phone with access too raw images. I hope you guys understand my point.

Wow. Well done. You sound like a great salesperson (and business owner). You took the time to understand the needs of the customer, found a solution that worked and went the extra mile to get her set up. Too bad AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon don't have more people like you working for them!

 

[Joseph Avena]

Android has 85% of the mobile market Apple 15% so you are wrong in your statement "Apple contains the largest percentage of the mobile market while Android and Windows Phone follow behind it."

 

[dontforgetyourkale]

Apple is still riding high on the quality of their apps and iOS compared to the early days of Android. I owned a Zune HD (best music player ever). The music and UI experience was fantastic, but the apps for it and early WP7 and WP8 devices weren't anything special. The iPod Touch was a vastly superior device for doing everything but listen to music. Android is still having this problem of their apps being 2nd fiddle to iOS development. WP is plagued with the same lack of app support and quality that earlier Android devices did. It wasn't until the Samsung Galaxy series was that first break out quality experience. Android 4.0 and 5.0 really helped to set the stage for the current successes that Google is enjoying. Android 2.3 was a good stepping stone, but fragmentation and general lack of quality control of updates (mainly b/c of the carriers) was absolutely horrendous. That led me to try Windows Phone and even consider going to an iPhone.

Apple has always had a great marketing and advertising strategy. You are kidding yourself if you believe that Microsoft will ever beat them. They are trying to copy and compare to Apple and Google. Windows is not the same experience. I don't want a knock off experience. I want something new and different.

Steve Ballmer lasted 5 years longer than he should have. As a Microsoft fan, I will always hold him responsible for not forcing Microsoft for being a true leader in mobile. Remember when the Palm Treo got Windows Mobile and many were excited? Yeah, I know that was almost 10 years ago. The new strategy is for Microsoft to drive devices and get their unified (responsive design) app platform to fix the app store woes of a modern version of Windows. They must have get major apps on their platform, then they will have a chance to move hardware. I need mobile banking, NFC payment, games, productivity, etc. Android has always been behind the iPad when it comes to tablets, but the pricing and tablet specific apps helped to narrow the gap. Nobody is creating as unique of an experience as Microsoft Continuum and live tiles.

I switched back to Android because I was tired of dealing with the same problems on my Lumia 1020 that I had Droid Bionic (pre-bricking update). My ****ty experience with the Bionic is why I will never own another Motorola or Verizon device. Lack of decent notification tracking (tiles are great, but what if I don't have an app setup as a tile); carrier limited models (are you F'ing kidding me MS?); and lack of Google app support. Don't tell me Nokia Here Maps is anywhere near as good as Google Maps. I put up with it for 2 months and it still sucks. End user/business support is why Google Maps is better than Bing.

I kept coming back to my 1020 because of the quick and responsive UI, insanely bad *** camera, and great build (metal is great, but the Nokia polymers were just as good). The top leadership team and organization structure is what has always plagued Microsoft. Say what you want about Steve Jobs, but he was far better at ensuring products and marketing were designed for the consumer. They got lazy with the iPhone 4S - 5S. The iPhone 6 feels like Samsung Clone, but the 6S was a glimpse of the post Jobs era. Sorry, I digress. Microsoft's lack of leadership and sheer clueless view of mobile has finally caught up with them. I want to go back to a Microsoft mobile device, but I'm not willing to make sacrifices anymore. I'm not going to change banks or my workflow to get the best app experience on WP. 3rd party Google Maps apps will never have the integration of Google published apps.

The sheer power and reliability of Windows 7 set the standard of their flagship products to an unprecedented high. Windows 8 was an interesting and fresh change of pace, but developers and users were underwhelmed. RT's "desktop" interface was just plain laziness (familiar, but lazy). Microsoft's lack of market penetration in phones didn't help to sell the unified user experience. There were glimpses, but after Sinofsky left they lost the main driving force and concise vision of the future. They need a dictator that doesn't settle for the lesser experience that is being presented. Consumers expect finished products, not "we are still working on it". Microsoft will never be able to lean on developers flocking to their platform because they are #1 and you have no choice.

I could go on about everything they and everybody else did wrong, but I doubt most have made it this far down the post. The unified strategy is a long game for Microsoft and I hope it pays off. BUT in the mean time, I am not willing to leave my current ecosystems on the hopes and dreams that they will be able to deliver the experience I see at the end of the tunnel. The Lumia 950 and 950XL are overpriced. They should have been launch at $399 and $499 respectively. They need to stop charging what they want and charge what the market demands. They need their mobile devices to be slight loss leaders now in order to make up the gap later. Let us not forget that the end user in a corporate setting is still a consumer at the end of the day. It is time for them to stop treating them as mutually exclusive entities.

Congrats on making it through my tirade built on years of frustration. I just want to come "home" again without feeling like I made concessions to do so.

 

[sekellogg]

I am not an Apple guy, never owned one, but several family members swear by Apple. I think one of the biggest keys is in many ways they have very aesthetically pleasing products. There is no doubt the clarity on an iPad pops. It is clear, bright and looks good. Having said that, my SP3 pops every bit as much and can do far more... Now it is about the hip factor. Apple is hip, MS is not. In the last 6 months or so it seems some of the luster has worn off of Apple with users. The last few phones haven't wow'd. I'll stick with my 950, SP3 and be very happy with both.

 

[v535]

Not once I've seen MS/Nokia's advertisement(s) on Living Images or superior camera, lag-free experience even when phone storage is near zero etc, Only one ad, I watched was during L920 timeline when Shahrukh Khan was endorsing Lumias with CityLens feature of Here maps.

 

[vincentwansink]

If Microsoft had placed its product in the hands of every Kardashian and sports star, for free like Apple did, the mushed brained market that buys based on whos who having things would have come MS's way.

The Kardashians, though they do now use iPhones, also still use Blackberries. That hasn't helped Blackberry much. Besides, Microsoft does a lot of product placement in non-reality tv shows.

 

[tgp]

The Kardashians, though they do now use iPhones, also still use Blackberries. That hasn't helped Blackberry much. Besides, Microsoft does a lot of product placement in non-reality tv shows.

Microsoft put the Surface in the sidelines at NFL games, and they were called iPads. :straight:

 

[robert beadles]

What about apples philosophy vs. MS.

Apple = A device for every user and a device for every purpose.

MS = multiple users per device and each device with multiply uses.

In addition MS and Apple have a difference in A Families, thought as well.

Apple you can add devices, have to control security at the devices level. Parental controls/employee controls.

MS you add users to you Family/Business. And Control is at the user account level not device level.

MS I feel has a more budget friendly model for devices, and easer to manage controls as a parent. Manage once at account level update all devices.

Apple I feel looks to get the most money for Apple, and the markets it as being better for the consumer ($100 more for increase in 16 GB on the budget phone, never allow and SD card on any phones)

 

[midnightfrolic]

This debate again? Simple answer is use one single ecosystem and product line only (MS, Apple, or Google). They're all pretty good.

I've gone all Windows 10 recently. With OneDrive, it pretty seamless mobility speaking. I find it easier to use and more feature rich. For productivity, Windows ecosystem is still top IMO. For security, I only use the built-in Windows security solutions. Adblockers and custom HOSTS file stops 99% of malware these days. I get the same amount of work done regardless.

If you're looking for the latest apps, then Apple ecosystem is for you. Snapchat anyone? Apple ecosystem is very solid and proven it's worth. Very good graphics and video editing platform. Easy to use relatively speaking. Security is better than Windows on any given day, but your mileage may vary. Apple's iCloud mobility solution is very solid, but more costly IMO compared to Office 365 with free 1TB OneDrive storage, but yes you can get Office 365 for Apple. But then again, you're using a Microsoft product, not an Apple exclusive product. On the other hand, you buy Apple products to be hip and keep up with the Jones, to one-up one another. Been there done that. No fun at all.

What really chaps my bums is when peeps use Windows computer, MacBook, and Android smartphone and expects everything to work and sync everything seamlessly. Ain't gonna happen. If it does, it's a ***** to manage and work with. MS is making great strides with OneDrive though. DropBox, Box, Mega...all great solutions also.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel Apple products and the whole social generation is a "HEY LOOK AT ME" generation. ME ME ME!! I'd rather buy a no-name brand for a fraction of the cost and do more. If one argues that XXX platform doesn't have YYYY apps or stuff, then it's probably not for you anyways. If one is finding reasons to justify leaving a platform, then it's not for you anyways.