My two cents on Windows Phone and the future

[thekonger]

WP8 was really Microsoft's chance to right the ship - unfortunately, I think they've blown it with this release and they may not get another chance...

WP8 has had some minor issues that all phones encounter at launch, but WP8 demand has been high since it was released and continues to be so. The 920 recently sold out in two hours in China. Is that partially due to supply? Possibly, but it still equates to high demand for WP8.

As for MS not getting another chance, that is not very realistic. MS is the the company that floated Xbox for two years when people said it would die, and now they make billions off of it annually. MS will always have another chance; it's their option to not take it. And considering WP8 is part of their future platform strategy it's safe to say it's not going anywhere.

Any belief that WP8 (which has been a big success so far) is MS's last chance at mobile OS development is misguided. But even if it were their last chance, from what I have seen from colleagues and the press it suggests that MS has gotten it right anyway.

 

[anon(1019781)]

Fifth, developers, developers, developers. Microsoft needs to pay high bounties to get developers to come over. They need to push hard and make sure its worthwhile. I'm not personally an Instagram fan, but when Instagram is talking BB10 and not WP8, there's a problem. I can tell Google is concerned about Microsoft and Windows Phone 8. Their latest moves make that clear. If Microsoft can secure premium developers, Google has a lot to be worried about. But that's just a pipedream if they can't get the developer support.

Microsoft doesn't need to pay for developers to come over. They need to make Windows Phone more feature-rich than (at least) iOS and then the USERS will come over and THEN the developers will come over once they see users on WP.

 

[brmiller1976]

Developers were on iOS long before there were many users.

For comparison's sake, when the App Store launched, Apple had about 1/3 as many users as Palm. That didn't stop a burst of development, because the App Store offered some fairly unique things to developers that allowed them to "push the envelope."

The key for Microsoft is to offer a bunch of WP-only stuff that results in the hottest new revolutionary apps being on WP first. An excessive focus on getting all the established stuff over from Android and iOS will result in WP always being a step behind.

Frankly, the opportunity is big -- look at how Microsoft won with Windows on the desktop. They didn't spend a bunch of time trying to convince WordStar, VisiCalc, Ashton-Tate dBASE and others to bring their stuff over to Windows... rather, they released Office, which was absolutely revolutionary in terms of core capabilities. People wanted Office so badly that they jumped over to Windows, and the rest is history.

Things would be very different if Microsoft's strategy for Windows had been begging Ashton-Tate to bring dBASE III over to Windows so Microsoft could have "the leading database on its platform."

 

[anon(1019781)]

Developers were on iOS long before there were many users."

Yeah, because there was nothing like iOS at the time and millions were excited about a phone that can be used as a computer in a non-crappy way like you would a Blackberry. When a company offers something that drastically different, useful, and exciting to the consumer, you'd have to be an idiot not to jump on that as a developer.

Now that iOS and Android exist and have matured, it's not enough to just start where iOS started and not offer basic things like separate volume controls. You have to offer more than the latest version of iOS and cherry pick some stuff from Android to truly differentiate yourself.

 

[brmiller1976]

There were plenty of apps on other phones.

Android also got a lot of developers before there were users, because of its appeal to the propellerhead crowd.

Windows Phone just needs to establish its developer crowd appeal (which it has largely done -- 120,000 apps later) and start touting cool apps that you can only get on WP.

 

[Laura Knotek]

There were plenty of apps on other phones.

Android also got a lot of developers before there were users, because of its appeal to the propellerhead crowd.

Windows Phone just needs to establish its developer crowd appeal (which it has largely done -- 120,000 apps later) and start touting cool apps that you can only get on WP.

Microsoft needs to run more events like this one and add Windows Phone to the mix, rather than just Windows 8.

 

[AngryNil]

Since WP8 has been out for less than two months and the first update has arrived over the air and installed itself. What part of your quote applies?

It applies for the entire world outside of America and Canada.

 

[thekonger]

It applies for the entire world outside of America and Canada.

Agree, hard to understand what the holdup is. Maybe the US and Canada are guinea pigs? If so it was a success, I was very impressed with how quickly Portico was released. Now quit pissing people off MS and release the update globally.

 

[Dave Blake]

I am going to try to offer an alternative perspective here. WP8 is a re launch of the OS essentially it has been out for a little over 2 months now. I believer Microsoft has done amazing things with the OS giving us a new and exciting way of doing things. Yes Windows Phone is still in its infancy. Barley a couple of months old and we already have our first OS update rolling out. If you think there is anything Microsoft can do to bypass carrier interference with OS updates you are living in a fantasy world. The carriers are the customer here if you have issues with that take it up with your service provider and get off your Microsoft soap box.

From a technical aspect we have a new kernel which offers more for the future than any other OS. This new OS can grow and adapt with future hardware in ways that no other OS is capable of. Microsoft is building a secure OS free from patent issues. What this means for you is your experience with WP OS will be different from that of any other OS. You wont get the exact same features the exact same way. An example of this would be WP8 uses sandboxing to protect your data it keeps one app from steeling information from another. This might mean that some of the options we want are not possible. What it means for sure is that we wont get these options until it can be done in a secure manner. We also wont see any options in the WP OS that are in direct violation of any patent. This could also limit options. Microsoft and WP will excel at what it does now and features will be add as we move forwarded. I know some in this thread are hypercritical with an agenda I don't know why its so important to some to do this.

expect it "soon" or "in the coming months

I would rather wait on a secure solution than to have something rushed to the OS that leaves security holes. I would also rather Microsoft pass on features that are covered under patents by other OS's. Look at the mess Samsung is in. Microsoft wont expose itself to this litigation no matter how much wining people do about missing features. In conclusion get off your soap box naysayers Windows Phone is here to stay and will continue to improve.

 

[etphoto]

I love these treads that start out about WP and end up with debates over a completing OS.

 

[Dave Blake]

I love these treads that start out about WP and end up with debates over a completing OS.

It seams to way heavy on the minds of a few select in this community so we will try to cater to the conversation as long at it is conducted in a civil manner. We do seam to be forming a patter of this verses that in a lot of threads. When the select few start to realize that this is a different OS and will be handled in a very different way maybe they will accept what is. Other wise we are just waiting time trying to get them to understand. In a few months when we have solid sales numbers and more OS improvements things should quiet a little. Those that protest too much will not change no matter what happens. When an point of contention is removed from existence they will find another.

 

[AngryNil]

Barley a couple of months old and we already have our first OS update rolling out. If you think there is anything Microsoft can do to bypass carrier interference with OS updates you are living in a fantasy world.

Portico has a promised roll-out date in February 2013, and that's not because every single carrier in the world outside of Canada & the USA gave the finger to Microsoft. You very well know that the US carriers have proven time and time again that they will stall updates longer than almost every other carrier in the world. Microsoft clearly put specific focus on North America, and in doing so, gave the finger to the rest of the world.

Why is bypassing of carrier interference considered fantasy? Did Microsoft not promise at the WP Summit that enthusiasts would have the option to have updates delivered early, circumventing that exact problem? (Also, I'm sick and tired of "carrier testing" at this stage. Have we ever found out what they are testing, and why it would take 3-4 months to do so? With Android, carriers may want to work with manufacturers and apply customisations. No such excuse with Windows Phone.)

 

[Dave Blake]

Portico has a promised roll-out date in February 2013, and that's not because every single carrier in the world outside of Canada & the USA gave the finger to Microsoft. You very well know that the US carriers have proven time and time again that they will stall updates longer than almost every other carrier in the world. Microsoft clearly put specific focus on North America, and in doing so, gave the finger to the rest of the world.

Why is bypassing of carrier interference considered fantasy? Did Microsoft not promise at the WP Summit that enthusiasts would have the option to have updates delivered early, circumventing that exact problem? (Also, I'm sick and tired of "carrier testing" at this stage. Have we ever found out what they are testing, and why it would take 3-4 months to do so? With Android, carriers may want to work with manufacturers and apply customisations. No such excuse with Windows Phone.)

I like and agree with every word of this I hope it can be done. I just have serious doubt that short of sighing some type of agreement or becoming a developer that we will ever be allowed to bypass the carriers.

 

[anon(1019781)]

I love these treads that start out about WP and end up with debates over a completing OS.

Think about that statement for a second. Does a consumer not compare all of the platforms they can before spending their money on a pricey item? Do they not do the same with computers, televisions, appliances cars, etc? It's inevitable that people will ask themselves "which will give me the most for my money?" and look at their options.

I'm on iMore and Android Central and people there compare their OS to the competition. This discussion of the competition isn't exclusive to WP. We can't expect every community to not in some way discuss the competition because that's how any consumer finds out what's best for them, and WIndows Phone right now, being the youngest platform, is the biggest compromise for a consumer because it is not yet mature as other platforms so naturally people will say Windows Phone needs to catch up.

 

[Dave Blake]

Think about that statement for a second. Does a consumer not compare all of the platforms they can before spending their money on a pricey item? Do they not do the same with computers, televisions, appliances cars, etc? It's inevitable that people will ask themselves "which will give me the most for my money?" and look at their options.

I'm on iMore and Android Central and people there compare their OS to the competition. This discussion of the competition isn't exclusive to WP. We can't expect every community to not in some way discuss the competition because that's how any consumer finds out what's best for them, and WIndows Phone right now, being the youngest platform, is the biggest compromise for a consumer because it is not yet mature as other platforms so naturally people will say Windows Phone needs to catch up.

That's not what he is saying at all he is pointing out how there are a select few in these forums that like to intentionally derail every thread that is complementary to WP by starting an OS war. This has become a trend it will change in these forums.