colinkiama
New member
Make wpcentral part of windowsphone.com. Every user will be able to know any new apps that have come out, use tips and can get help in the forums. Basically it will be. A better community
(Official) What WP needs to succeed
- Thread starter Dave Blake
- Start date
snowwake8
New member
**NOTE** Before reading the following post I want you to know I posted this yesterday as it's own thread. I feel it has a lot of honest and valid points. I am a very big proponent for Microsoft and thus rather upset that someone felt the need to close my thread. I put a lot of time and effort into this post and I feel it deserves to be seen. A copy of the thread is posted below:
While I can't say I've been with Windows from the beginning. I can say I've been with Windows since the big changes started. I bought an HTC 8x right when they came out. Upgraded my laptop to windows 8 as soon as it was released, and a few months later bought my first tablet. A Surface RT. I got rid of anything Google and went all in with Microsoft. I changed my email from Gmail to Outlook. I started using Bing as my default search engine, and I started using OneDrive (Sky Drive at the time). Needless to say I put it all on the red and went all in.
Now, almost 2 years later here are my honest and true thoughts on where we've been, where we are headed, and what Microsoft missed a long the way. Before beginning I want you to know I have no plans to leave Microsoft and I am rooting for Microsoft to continue its rise in fame and support. With that, I'll begin.
First and foremost I'll get to the biggest negative of them all. Mobile app development. Maybe I'm missing something but you would think one of the richest companies in the world could woo developers a little better, and faster. Because in the mobile industry time is very relevant. As the sole employee at my work using windows devices I've done my share of promoting and recommending other employees switch. My biggest rebuttal is "I could never leave iPhone now. I've spent too much on apps and music.". So it really bothers me when I go into a Verizon store pretending to be dumb and shopping (yes I really do this on occasion) looking for a phone and they tell me the Windows platform is cool but they don't have any of the good apps. And a lot are 3rd party.
There's a new generation of kids getting first time phones and getting them on a Windows phone without previously owning a phone is much easier than convincing them to switch after they've spent $200 on apps and music. Microsoft needs to step up and do whatever it takes to get GOOD apps comparable to iPhone and android. Not just something that "works".
The Facebook app is clearly two or more years behind in development of iPhones app. Instagram Beta was huge when it came to Windows but how long has it been in beta without even an update. Probably a year. Vine, Snap Chat, YouTube, all 3rd party apps. And the people selling your phones at the retail level are telling potential customers this. These apps don't even touch the surface of what Microsoft is doing and building here. But people will never know because of something as stupid as a 3rd party Snap Chat app. Seriously fix it.
Social apps are and will continue to grow and be the number one driving force in the mobile field for years to come. Even more important than business functionality, which I might add Microsoft owns the market on. Now don't think because I brought these particular apps up that I am a 17 year old kid. I'm a 32 year old professional and I use office, OneDrive, etc. for business. But I like the social apps too. And there are many more like me out there. As long as Microsoft can't compare on this most basic level they will continue to be beaten by their two main competitors. It's just a fact.
With that said, why isn't Microsoft making an effort to fix this? As of this writing the Facebook app has a rating of 2.9 on the windows phone store. That's horrendous and unacceptable. If I were working at Microsoft I would not sleep until that was fixed.
Ok, enough about apps. I think you get my point. Onto Microsoft Office. Microsoft OWNS the software market. Nothing compares to the office suite and it is used everywhere. This is one of Microsoft's biggest selling feature when buying Microsoft phones and tablets. Microsoft 365 is absolutely genius. And I can use it on my phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop (yes I still have one of those). With OneDrive being built into their OS software it's becoming even better. I now do not even use a hard drive on my computers. All of my work documents are on the OneDrive. I primarily use the OneDrive on my laptop for work and I find it to be effortless and easy to save and pull up word and excel documents. I also use it personally on my tablet and Windows Phone for pictures and videos. And with the announcement that office 365 users will get 1tb of data I will be using it even more.
Since I first switched to Microsoft only I have upgraded from my HTC 8X to the Lumia 928 and also purchased a Surface Pro 2 (unfortunately 2 months before the 3 came out) which I'm still kicking myself in the pants for. So, back to the OneDrive. My one gripe is this. I save a video I made on my Lumia 928 and then when I go back to play it, it buffers horribly. I have a 55mbps internet speed at home and should have no problem pulling up a video saved to my OneDrive and watch it. I have found the OneDrive apps to be useless for this whether it be on my Windows Phone or my Surface Pro 2. The only way I have found it to work and buffer correctly is by going to OneDrive.live.com and watching it from there. This needs to be fixed. Especially if you plan on giving 365 users 1tb of data as that will become a huge selling point to people who like taking videos. Other than that. OneDrive is amazing.
Let's talk about Bing.com. It's fantastic. I haven't gone back to Google at all nor have I had any desire to. With the bing rewards program it should be bringing new people in all the time. I remember seeing the bing it on challenge being advertised directly against Google. But why did this stop? Microsoft should be advertising about Bing Rewards. Who doesn't like free stuff? Especially for doing something they are already doing. Who doesn't want a free months subscription to Xbox Live gold. Who doesn't want a gift certificate for coffee? Advertise the crap out of that feature and put together some good commercials and get more people on Bing. I don't see Microsoft's effort.
When Windows 8 came out for the laptop and desktop it was received with very mixed reviews. Eventually everyone will be forced to use Windows 8 as older computers die off and people upgrade. They will eventually love it and with touch screens becoming more and more popular it will help a lot. Which is what Windows 8 is obviously tailored for. The upgrade to 8.1 brought some relief to people as they now find the desktop mode a little bit easier. All is fine on the computer OS and eventually people will grow to love it and get through the frustration period. Not a big deal here.
Right now Microsoft is pushing the Surface Pro 3 and telling people it will replace your laptop, which it most definitely will. I agree with the effort they are making to push the device but I think they need to be pushing other products just as more, if not more. Like I said earlier, keep advertising the benefits of Bing. Make it well known 1tb of data is coming to the new office 365 for free with your subscription. You have deep pockets, use them as a tool to advertise better to the masses.
Xbox One and Xbox 360. No gripes. Simply stunning and amazing. Being able to connect with Xbox glass is awesome as well. That's all I need to say on this subject.
Now, back to the elephant in the room. The Windows Phone. I've been on 8.1 via the developer program for 2 months now. It saved me from any small thought hidden in the back of my head bout leaving windows. This summer, as it rolls out, is going to save, let me repeat, SAVE massive amounts of people from leaving Windows when their phone contracts are up. The Windows phone 8.1 brought in all of the features it was missing to keep on pace with iPhone and Google.
Now, I am not a professional in this field and I don't know how the cell phone companies and OS companies relationships work. But when I went into a Verizon store last week not one employee even knew about 8.1. That is sad. Why are there not commercials advertising the 8.1 windows phone? People should be so excited about it they should be lining up to buy it when it comes out because of its awesomeness. If people can line up for an iPhone update which basically is the same thing just "newer" then there should be no problem for Microsoft to put an advertising campaign together to get people excited about this. Sell people on Cortana. It's an easy sell! Right now, when I bring up Cortana to friends they laugh and say "oh Microsoft is copying Siri.". Which is entirely untrue.
Cortana does so much more then Siri. It is as close to a personal assistant you can get right now. Google has something like Cortana but still, Cortana in all of her beauty is going to become the Queen bee. That is, if people can find out what she is. Why aren't there advertising campaigns showing people about her? Pumping people up for their very own real personal assistant. No one who isn't following Windows has no Idea about her. This should be a no brainer and I think it's going to make Microsoft's growth so much slower because they aren't telling people about the awesome things that are happening.
From what I've seen people are going to be hearing about it from current users who are going to be getting the upgrades and the people at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. The people who are selling your phones. Your Microsoft Stores are amazing but they will never be able to compete with the cell phone carriers stores regarding mobile phone sales. I think it is so important for the employees of these stores to be educated on what is happening with Windows Phones. Now, again, I don't know how it works. But I know in retail companies have reps that go to the stores and educate the salesman on their product. I would assume something similar would be happening at cell phone stores as well. But I don't know for certain. But literally weeks before the 8.1 rolls out to all the Windows 8 phones and not one employee knows about it and its awesome features. That is just sad! I ended up spending a half hour in the store showing off Cortana and Windows 8 and by the end of it they were all excited for the update. And I am just a guy off the street with a passion for Windows success.
Microsoft. I am calling you out. You need to make all of these beautiful things you are doing known. You should have people going into Verizon stores asking about Windows 8.1. You can control that. You can make that happen. And I challenge you to do so. Not just challenge. I think you have to do it. Do it for the kid who's been waiting anxiously to turn 16 because that was when his parents agreed he could get his/her own cell phone. Do it for the older individual who is still holding onto a flip phone and reluctant to change. Do it for the trendy tech guru who is always looking for something new but continues to buy an iPhone because the coolest new feature is a thumb scanning unlock on the phone. And most importantly, do it for us. Your loyal customers and advocates who want Microsoft Windows Phones to succeed. We deserve it.
And now for my personal want list. The future. Obviously better apps on Windows phones. You claim you have what 48 or 49 of the top 50 apps in the world available on the windows store. That's all fine and dandy but they are not as good as iPhones. Fork up the cash. Either build your own GOOD Facebook app or pay Facebook to do so. Just get it done. People notice these things. Fix the app issue. It will drive sales!
Second, I would LOVE for Cortana to be on the surface and the Windows 8 OS in general. This might and probably is already in the works but what good is a personal assistant if she is stuck in one place?
Third. The swipe feature on Windows Phone 8.1 is fantastic. Please bring it to the surface. I know you want people to buy the keyboards. Which I own and will continue to use. But for the times when it's not convenient to use the keyboard the swipe functionality would be great.
Fourth. Here maps are good. But not nearly as good as Google. Which I understand may be practically impossible to beat. They do own the map market. But you can do better then what you are currently doing. If I ever cheat on Windows it is when I am at my laptop and I find myself going to maps.Google.com instead of maps.bing.com. I know Nokia invested a lot of money into building their (now your) map system. It needs to be fine tuned. Take some employees. Have them play with maps.Google.com and maps.bing.com and its easy to see in just the general functionality that Google is more user friendly. I'm not saying you need to go out and take a picture of every street or highway in the world like Google. But put some effort into making it more user friendly. This isn't a hard fix. Just some common sense features in the functionality.
Fifth. Keep up the good work and keep bringing us awesome stuff. I am more excited about Microsoft's future today than I ever have been. Truly bringing together phone, tablet, laptop, gaming console, into one is remarkable. I love searching the web on my phone, then jumping to my laptop at work and being able to pull up my browser from my phone on my laptop. These things are great! The hundreds upon hundreds of little thing like this are what is going to make people fall in love with Windows all over again. You guys are on your way. But seriously, I hope someone at Microsoft reads this. I am an average person who uses a little bit of everything and I know there are many more out there like me. Thanks for reading. I'd love and welcome any feedback in the comments and would love to start a discussion about my thoughts, and what you think as well.
Thanks
While I can't say I've been with Windows from the beginning. I can say I've been with Windows since the big changes started. I bought an HTC 8x right when they came out. Upgraded my laptop to windows 8 as soon as it was released, and a few months later bought my first tablet. A Surface RT. I got rid of anything Google and went all in with Microsoft. I changed my email from Gmail to Outlook. I started using Bing as my default search engine, and I started using OneDrive (Sky Drive at the time). Needless to say I put it all on the red and went all in.
Now, almost 2 years later here are my honest and true thoughts on where we've been, where we are headed, and what Microsoft missed a long the way. Before beginning I want you to know I have no plans to leave Microsoft and I am rooting for Microsoft to continue its rise in fame and support. With that, I'll begin.
First and foremost I'll get to the biggest negative of them all. Mobile app development. Maybe I'm missing something but you would think one of the richest companies in the world could woo developers a little better, and faster. Because in the mobile industry time is very relevant. As the sole employee at my work using windows devices I've done my share of promoting and recommending other employees switch. My biggest rebuttal is "I could never leave iPhone now. I've spent too much on apps and music.". So it really bothers me when I go into a Verizon store pretending to be dumb and shopping (yes I really do this on occasion) looking for a phone and they tell me the Windows platform is cool but they don't have any of the good apps. And a lot are 3rd party.
There's a new generation of kids getting first time phones and getting them on a Windows phone without previously owning a phone is much easier than convincing them to switch after they've spent $200 on apps and music. Microsoft needs to step up and do whatever it takes to get GOOD apps comparable to iPhone and android. Not just something that "works".
The Facebook app is clearly two or more years behind in development of iPhones app. Instagram Beta was huge when it came to Windows but how long has it been in beta without even an update. Probably a year. Vine, Snap Chat, YouTube, all 3rd party apps. And the people selling your phones at the retail level are telling potential customers this. These apps don't even touch the surface of what Microsoft is doing and building here. But people will never know because of something as stupid as a 3rd party Snap Chat app. Seriously fix it.
Social apps are and will continue to grow and be the number one driving force in the mobile field for years to come. Even more important than business functionality, which I might add Microsoft owns the market on. Now don't think because I brought these particular apps up that I am a 17 year old kid. I'm a 32 year old professional and I use office, OneDrive, etc. for business. But I like the social apps too. And there are many more like me out there. As long as Microsoft can't compare on this most basic level they will continue to be beaten by their two main competitors. It's just a fact.
With that said, why isn't Microsoft making an effort to fix this? As of this writing the Facebook app has a rating of 2.9 on the windows phone store. That's horrendous and unacceptable. If I were working at Microsoft I would not sleep until that was fixed.
Ok, enough about apps. I think you get my point. Onto Microsoft Office. Microsoft OWNS the software market. Nothing compares to the office suite and it is used everywhere. This is one of Microsoft's biggest selling feature when buying Microsoft phones and tablets. Microsoft 365 is absolutely genius. And I can use it on my phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop (yes I still have one of those). With OneDrive being built into their OS software it's becoming even better. I now do not even use a hard drive on my computers. All of my work documents are on the OneDrive. I primarily use the OneDrive on my laptop for work and I find it to be effortless and easy to save and pull up word and excel documents. I also use it personally on my tablet and Windows Phone for pictures and videos. And with the announcement that office 365 users will get 1tb of data I will be using it even more.
Since I first switched to Microsoft only I have upgraded from my HTC 8X to the Lumia 928 and also purchased a Surface Pro 2 (unfortunately 2 months before the 3 came out) which I'm still kicking myself in the pants for. So, back to the OneDrive. My one gripe is this. I save a video I made on my Lumia 928 and then when I go back to play it, it buffers horribly. I have a 55mbps internet speed at home and should have no problem pulling up a video saved to my OneDrive and watch it. I have found the OneDrive apps to be useless for this whether it be on my Windows Phone or my Surface Pro 2. The only way I have found it to work and buffer correctly is by going to OneDrive.live.com and watching it from there. This needs to be fixed. Especially if you plan on giving 365 users 1tb of data as that will become a huge selling point to people who like taking videos. Other than that. OneDrive is amazing.
Let's talk about Bing.com. It's fantastic. I haven't gone back to Google at all nor have I had any desire to. With the bing rewards program it should be bringing new people in all the time. I remember seeing the bing it on challenge being advertised directly against Google. But why did this stop? Microsoft should be advertising about Bing Rewards. Who doesn't like free stuff? Especially for doing something they are already doing. Who doesn't want a free months subscription to Xbox Live gold. Who doesn't want a gift certificate for coffee? Advertise the crap out of that feature and put together some good commercials and get more people on Bing. I don't see Microsoft's effort.
When Windows 8 came out for the laptop and desktop it was received with very mixed reviews. Eventually everyone will be forced to use Windows 8 as older computers die off and people upgrade. They will eventually love it and with touch screens becoming more and more popular it will help a lot. Which is what Windows 8 is obviously tailored for. The upgrade to 8.1 brought some relief to people as they now find the desktop mode a little bit easier. All is fine on the computer OS and eventually people will grow to love it and get through the frustration period. Not a big deal here.
Right now Microsoft is pushing the Surface Pro 3 and telling people it will replace your laptop, which it most definitely will. I agree with the effort they are making to push the device but I think they need to be pushing other products just as more, if not more. Like I said earlier, keep advertising the benefits of Bing. Make it well known 1tb of data is coming to the new office 365 for free with your subscription. You have deep pockets, use them as a tool to advertise better to the masses.
Xbox One and Xbox 360. No gripes. Simply stunning and amazing. Being able to connect with Xbox glass is awesome as well. That's all I need to say on this subject.
Now, back to the elephant in the room. The Windows Phone. I've been on 8.1 via the developer program for 2 months now. It saved me from any small thought hidden in the back of my head bout leaving windows. This summer, as it rolls out, is going to save, let me repeat, SAVE massive amounts of people from leaving Windows when their phone contracts are up. The Windows phone 8.1 brought in all of the features it was missing to keep on pace with iPhone and Google.
Now, I am not a professional in this field and I don't know how the cell phone companies and OS companies relationships work. But when I went into a Verizon store last week not one employee even knew about 8.1. That is sad. Why are there not commercials advertising the 8.1 windows phone? People should be so excited about it they should be lining up to buy it when it comes out because of its awesomeness. If people can line up for an iPhone update which basically is the same thing just "newer" then there should be no problem for Microsoft to put an advertising campaign together to get people excited about this. Sell people on Cortana. It's an easy sell! Right now, when I bring up Cortana to friends they laugh and say "oh Microsoft is copying Siri.". Which is entirely untrue.
Cortana does so much more then Siri. It is as close to a personal assistant you can get right now. Google has something like Cortana but still, Cortana in all of her beauty is going to become the Queen bee. That is, if people can find out what she is. Why aren't there advertising campaigns showing people about her? Pumping people up for their very own real personal assistant. No one who isn't following Windows has no Idea about her. This should be a no brainer and I think it's going to make Microsoft's growth so much slower because they aren't telling people about the awesome things that are happening.
From what I've seen people are going to be hearing about it from current users who are going to be getting the upgrades and the people at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. The people who are selling your phones. Your Microsoft Stores are amazing but they will never be able to compete with the cell phone carriers stores regarding mobile phone sales. I think it is so important for the employees of these stores to be educated on what is happening with Windows Phones. Now, again, I don't know how it works. But I know in retail companies have reps that go to the stores and educate the salesman on their product. I would assume something similar would be happening at cell phone stores as well. But I don't know for certain. But literally weeks before the 8.1 rolls out to all the Windows 8 phones and not one employee knows about it and its awesome features. That is just sad! I ended up spending a half hour in the store showing off Cortana and Windows 8 and by the end of it they were all excited for the update. And I am just a guy off the street with a passion for Windows success.
Microsoft. I am calling you out. You need to make all of these beautiful things you are doing known. You should have people going into Verizon stores asking about Windows 8.1. You can control that. You can make that happen. And I challenge you to do so. Not just challenge. I think you have to do it. Do it for the kid who's been waiting anxiously to turn 16 because that was when his parents agreed he could get his/her own cell phone. Do it for the older individual who is still holding onto a flip phone and reluctant to change. Do it for the trendy tech guru who is always looking for something new but continues to buy an iPhone because the coolest new feature is a thumb scanning unlock on the phone. And most importantly, do it for us. Your loyal customers and advocates who want Microsoft Windows Phones to succeed. We deserve it.
And now for my personal want list. The future. Obviously better apps on Windows phones. You claim you have what 48 or 49 of the top 50 apps in the world available on the windows store. That's all fine and dandy but they are not as good as iPhones. Fork up the cash. Either build your own GOOD Facebook app or pay Facebook to do so. Just get it done. People notice these things. Fix the app issue. It will drive sales!
Second, I would LOVE for Cortana to be on the surface and the Windows 8 OS in general. This might and probably is already in the works but what good is a personal assistant if she is stuck in one place?
Third. The swipe feature on Windows Phone 8.1 is fantastic. Please bring it to the surface. I know you want people to buy the keyboards. Which I own and will continue to use. But for the times when it's not convenient to use the keyboard the swipe functionality would be great.
Fourth. Here maps are good. But not nearly as good as Google. Which I understand may be practically impossible to beat. They do own the map market. But you can do better then what you are currently doing. If I ever cheat on Windows it is when I am at my laptop and I find myself going to maps.Google.com instead of maps.bing.com. I know Nokia invested a lot of money into building their (now your) map system. It needs to be fine tuned. Take some employees. Have them play with maps.Google.com and maps.bing.com and its easy to see in just the general functionality that Google is more user friendly. I'm not saying you need to go out and take a picture of every street or highway in the world like Google. But put some effort into making it more user friendly. This isn't a hard fix. Just some common sense features in the functionality.
Fifth. Keep up the good work and keep bringing us awesome stuff. I am more excited about Microsoft's future today than I ever have been. Truly bringing together phone, tablet, laptop, gaming console, into one is remarkable. I love searching the web on my phone, then jumping to my laptop at work and being able to pull up my browser from my phone on my laptop. These things are great! The hundreds upon hundreds of little thing like this are what is going to make people fall in love with Windows all over again. You guys are on your way. But seriously, I hope someone at Microsoft reads this. I am an average person who uses a little bit of everything and I know there are many more out there like me. Thanks for reading. I'd love and welcome any feedback in the comments and would love to start a discussion about my thoughts, and what you think as well.
Thanks
badr0b0t
New member
The basic ability to upload photos directly to forums or other sites using just the IE or ither 3rd party browsers. Even the Facebook app can't upload photos or videos which defeats the purpose of being a SOCIAL MEDIA application. You need to go first to your photo album and hit share but there's no option which album to place it on or who to share it with.
ininjam
New member
I almost got emotional reading your post
You should make it into an email and send it to Joe Belfiore or Elop or some other WP bigwigs in Microsoft. Let them feel your passion directly and all that. I can see this posted and framed everywhere inside Microsoft as a reminder for them of their responsibility with their loyal customers.
Ebuka Allison
New member
You can do this with all social media apps, even fb allows you to upload pictures and videos
badr0b0t
New member
Ebuka Allison
New member
Carl Erics
New member
they need apps
lots of them, the big ones as well as local ones
I don't use that many apps myself, but people uses a lot of various apps for all sorts of purposes
without a wide development of apps the WP will fail
I think its sad. because its a great phone, but android is closing the gap in fluidity and it had the lead in flexibility for a long time
I don't mind the lack of customization options of the phone, for me its great the way it is, but i miss the option to share to whatever cloudservice i want from the share option. This is MY only gripe, but unfortunately the varied options of the droid makes it hard for people to switch.
just my opinion, and i truly like my 925, but i was also fond of my S2, it just got a bit long in the tooth and none of the newer samsungs appealed to me.
lots of them, the big ones as well as local ones
I don't use that many apps myself, but people uses a lot of various apps for all sorts of purposes
without a wide development of apps the WP will fail
I think its sad. because its a great phone, but android is closing the gap in fluidity and it had the lead in flexibility for a long time
I don't mind the lack of customization options of the phone, for me its great the way it is, but i miss the option to share to whatever cloudservice i want from the share option. This is MY only gripe, but unfortunately the varied options of the droid makes it hard for people to switch.
just my opinion, and i truly like my 925, but i was also fond of my S2, it just got a bit long in the tooth and none of the newer samsungs appealed to me.
prasath1234
New member
MS/Nokia needs to reduce its product line to 3-4 phones globally. 1 yr refresh cycle. 1 low, 1 mid, 1 high-end model and brand them accordingly so that ppl know what phone youre talking about. No exclusives, make each phone available on every carrier globally.
On software side, everyone agrees. Fix Xbox Music - make it at least as good as Zune was. Fix all the other obvious stuff we've been complaining about for yrs.
Incentivize developers to code for Win8/WP8. Success of each OS kinda goes hand in hand. MS should offer to make the apps itself if needed. Hire better developers. If Xbox Music is any indication, the ones at MS are clueless.
On software side, everyone agrees. Fix Xbox Music - make it at least as good as Zune was. Fix all the other obvious stuff we've been complaining about for yrs.
Incentivize developers to code for Win8/WP8. Success of each OS kinda goes hand in hand. MS should offer to make the apps itself if needed. Hire better developers. If Xbox Music is any indication, the ones at MS are clueless.
Kenneth Fossum
New member
I replaced my S4 with Lumia 925 when the S4 died on me. I replaced Google Drive and Dropbox with Onedrive. I made outlook.com my primary email address. Went all in. Yet, I feel like a 2nd class citizen. I dont care so much about apps, but a lot of people do. This, I believe, is the numero uno problem. Although I don't use a lot of apps, the ones I use are not even close to being as good as the Android/iOS versions. Not even close.
When I talk about WP at work, people smile and laugh. It's like they feel sorry for me. The outcast. MS need to put a lot of effort into some clever marketing strategies, and fast. I don't see anything like that going on. At least not here in Scandinavia, and, from what I can tell, not anywhere else either.
Then - Music. This is a huge one for me. The 'music eco system' with Xbox Music is light-years away from being on par with the Android alternative (haven't tried iOS). Why can't I use OneDrive as a source? Why can't I access music I have stored in the Ms cloud (OneDrive) and access it through Xbox Music even though it is not in their catalogue? Things like that. Make things easier for people. Not more difficult. I know they are working on this, but it seems to take a long time. Too long.
Granted, they're not getting a lot of help. I have invested heavily in the SONOS product. But, yep - nothing available but a 3rd party app that doesn't work very well. Sonos just integrated with Google music..no Xbox Music. My TV provider here in Denmark....no app available. I am not even invited to the party. It is getting more and more frustrating actually. Been looking at a new Android phone in fact. A lot of people are I believe. I just want things to work and will select the platform that facilitates that. I get by using my Nexus 7, so I can wait, but it just illustrates that often you need to supplement the MS platform with either iOS or Android to make things work - YMMV. I can't blame MS that other companies won't make apps for their platform, but still....it's like they're not trying very hard either.
I am happy with the 925. WP 8.1 can do a lot out of the box, and for the most part it just works. I don't need to, nor do I wan't to, customize everything from here to eternity, so I am content with what WP 8.1 delivers out of the box, but, I think it is quite obvious that this platform is missing a couple of years worth of serious development. Give it some more love MS. And step on it please.
When I talk about WP at work, people smile and laugh. It's like they feel sorry for me. The outcast. MS need to put a lot of effort into some clever marketing strategies, and fast. I don't see anything like that going on. At least not here in Scandinavia, and, from what I can tell, not anywhere else either.
Then - Music. This is a huge one for me. The 'music eco system' with Xbox Music is light-years away from being on par with the Android alternative (haven't tried iOS). Why can't I use OneDrive as a source? Why can't I access music I have stored in the Ms cloud (OneDrive) and access it through Xbox Music even though it is not in their catalogue? Things like that. Make things easier for people. Not more difficult. I know they are working on this, but it seems to take a long time. Too long.
Granted, they're not getting a lot of help. I have invested heavily in the SONOS product. But, yep - nothing available but a 3rd party app that doesn't work very well. Sonos just integrated with Google music..no Xbox Music. My TV provider here in Denmark....no app available. I am not even invited to the party. It is getting more and more frustrating actually. Been looking at a new Android phone in fact. A lot of people are I believe. I just want things to work and will select the platform that facilitates that. I get by using my Nexus 7, so I can wait, but it just illustrates that often you need to supplement the MS platform with either iOS or Android to make things work - YMMV. I can't blame MS that other companies won't make apps for their platform, but still....it's like they're not trying very hard either.
I am happy with the 925. WP 8.1 can do a lot out of the box, and for the most part it just works. I don't need to, nor do I wan't to, customize everything from here to eternity, so I am content with what WP 8.1 delivers out of the box, but, I think it is quite obvious that this platform is missing a couple of years worth of serious development. Give it some more love MS. And step on it please.
carlos12001
New member
You feel like a second class citizen because of a damn phone? Seems to me you have other issues my friend.
fatclue_98
Retired Moderator
Get a grip. There isn't a single OS that can please everyone. If one phone and one OS could, there would be no choice, no reason for a tablet, etc.
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carlos12001
New member
Believe it or not, I walked in to my local vzw store here in southern Maryland. The rep asked me what he could help me with, and I said I wanted to 'edge up' to the Lumia icon....and guess what he said? "oh yeah, that new Lumia is HOT", I was pretty surprised at that one.
IlkkaV
New member
I know exactly how you feel. I was first an iOS user, but then I began using also a Windows Phone along with my iPhone (thanks to my employer's all-WP policy). It was smooth sailing up to the point where I thought I could manage just fine with my Lumia 925 as my main device and gave my iPhone 5 to my wife to replace her slow iPhone 4. Well, things went a little bit south at that point. I quickly realized that I had been reaching for my iPhone quite often when my Lumia couldn't just handle some task that well (granted, some other tasks it performed better than my iPhone) and now that the backup was gone, my mobile experience became rather crippled.
As I had gotten rather accustomed to the larger screen, getting a new iPhone 5s this close to the release of allegedly larger-screened iPhone 6 was not an option for the price alone. I got myself a Nexus 5 instead, and while I had my reservations about Android despite having some earlier experience with it, the Nexus quickly became my daily driver while the 925 was relegated to being a backup device.
I'd still like to see WP to succeed, but for that to happen Microsoft really needs to pick up the pace. While Windows Phone 8.1 removed some shortcomings, others are still there and the competition isn't standing still (quite the contrary, Android L and iOS 8 are looking good). As I have two cellular subscriptions (one work and one personal SIM), I'll still be carrying the 925 with me in addition to my Nexus 5, but for now the Nexus 5 is now the main device. The Lumia hardware is nice, but unfortunately the current software offering is still a bit too limited for my use.
We need to develop innovative apps for the platform. I am a developer and dedicated about developing for the platform. I am open for suggestions as well. My developer name is appeveli, I just published three apps for the windows phone.
mohit9206
New member
Re: Why WP will succeed
I have my doubts whether WP will succeed.Market share are obtained at the low end and looking at L530/630 it seems MS isnt too bothered about market share.Seems they are happy with their current position so in my opinion while WP was a good try,it will never be as popular as Android or ios because MS is not serious about it.
I have my doubts whether WP will succeed.Market share are obtained at the low end and looking at L530/630 it seems MS isnt too bothered about market share.Seems they are happy with their current position so in my opinion while WP was a good try,it will never be as popular as Android or ios because MS is not serious about it.
fatclue_98
Retired Moderator
Re: Why WP will succeed
It's a marathon, not a sprint. There at least 4 OEMs releasing new models. Be patient Grasshopper.
Sent from my iPhone using WPCentral Forums
It's a marathon, not a sprint. There at least 4 OEMs releasing new models. Be patient Grasshopper.
Sent from my iPhone using WPCentral Forums
hasasimo
New member
Re: Why WP will succeed
The lack of new WP flagships on the market is a bit alarming, I have to admit. The 1520 has been out for around 10 months now and the Lumia 930 isn't coming to the U.S., and is no better than the 1520 spec-wise. Basically your only options in the U.S. if you want the best Windows Phone experience are a 6" phablet or being on Verizon and getting the Icon.
Hard to think anything other than Windows Phone is in a bit of trouble, concentrating on the only place they've had any real success.. the low-end market.
The lack of new WP flagships on the market is a bit alarming, I have to admit. The 1520 has been out for around 10 months now and the Lumia 930 isn't coming to the U.S., and is no better than the 1520 spec-wise. Basically your only options in the U.S. if you want the best Windows Phone experience are a 6" phablet or being on Verizon and getting the Icon.
Hard to think anything other than Windows Phone is in a bit of trouble, concentrating on the only place they've had any real success.. the low-end market.
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