Rant : What is your Plan B?

[Leonel Funes]

If for any reason Microsoft decides to completely shut off it's phone division, every single app disappears off the Store, and my phone breaks, I'd pick up a BlackBerry Priv. I've held the phone before, looks and feels top notch, and I've used Android before, so setup would be fairly quick. That keyboard works like a charm, kind of miss using it on a daily basis... Never an iPhone. Just no.

But I have a Lumia Icon. The chances of that breaking are fairly slim...

 

[chawed wedder]

i have a cheap android phone with an older android version. i do hope i wil not need it.
they only update expensive or flagship phones to a newer android version.
i think microsoft has to focus on porting the most popular apps, to me thats mostly important.
i can wait for the older ones.

 

[Mark F24]

My plan B is stick with windows 10 till they give up. Androids fragmentation sucks so I may go.... iOS or the one I want Ubuntu Phone.

I wanted the Ubuntu phone too, so I got a Nexus 4 and figured out how to flash it. I have 15.4 Touch running, it works and all, but I wasn't impressed, the apps are horrible in my opinion, and the "scopes" and layout I just didn't care for it.... would be plan "C", maybe.

 

[ScubaDog]

My plan B is to go back to a normal "feature phone" that supports a hotspot and just keep my Surface Pro 3 on Windows 8.1 (as I have all my other non-test machines). I take my tablet pretty much everywhere anyway, and I can text & call on a feature phone just as easily as I have my Windows Phones. The SP3 allows me to keep the INFINITELY BETTER metro environment.

I've also considered the possibility of simply buying up a number of Lumia 1020 phones and running each until they die.

 

[tgp]

and Ubuntu Phones never come to the US =/ - the reason is.... updates.

I would go Ubuntu phone.

But if it did, then here's hoping the Ubuntu Phone makes some headway eventually. I would love to have a Linux phone over iOS or Android. I use Kubuntu on my PC's at home, with Win10 dualboot setup for some games.

I wanted the Ubuntu phone too, so I got a Nexus 4 and figured out how to flash it. I have 15.4 Touch running, it works and all, but I wasn't impressed, the apps are horrible in my opinion, and the "scopes" and layout I just didn't care for it.... would be plan "C", maybe.

Have any of you seen this?

JD.com - Meizu PRO 5 ubuntu edition Golden 32G

A long time ago I had signed up to be notified when this phone was available. On April 27 I received an email saying that it was now available to order. It is now out of stock, but at the time I received the notification it was available to order. I ended up not ordering because it cost more than I am willing to spend for a 2nd device.

It seems decent, but I do not know how it would be in real life with its limited ecosystem. However, a Windows Phone user is already accustomed to that!

 

[etphoto]

My plan B is to get the next WP that is released after my M8 dies.

 

[EspHack]

for me, in general, plan B is making plan A succeed

worst case scenario I could just.. run? I mean you don't have to choose, you can just forget about the world and love your lumia or whats left of it lol probably in a year you can come back and find some improvement, it cant get worse in 2017, can it?

 

[ronnie dukes]

Unfortunately plan B is anything else. Sporadic lack of functionality after updates is not an issue with either of the other two companies. I've stayed loyal to a format that's not loyal enough to it's customers to work in basic function. We windows users obviously care far less about fun apps we want working windows. I've been with windows so long that I just realize that We are missing out on the actual smart phone experience.

 

[fatclue_98]

My Plan B would be the rumored Surface Phone. I have an iPhone SE for weekend duty (it's small) and I usually can't wait for Sunday night to leave my 950XL ready for the weekly grind. The only app I'm required to have for work is not available on any Windows platform (Timecard GPS). I have Bluestacks on my Surface just for that 1 app and it does the trick. Contrary to some other opinions here, I love native Outlook and OneDrive on Windows better than Android or iOS.

 

[midnightfrolic]

Plan b: Candybar type phone or gtfo. If my phone is out of commission right now.

 

[Gregory Newman]

Microsoft is pragmatic about Windows smart phones they know for now they wont sell many of them but will stay in the Mobile smart phones business. If I were Microsoft I would tell developers they would get special treatments if they made the kind of Universal apps that will work on a Windows 10 smart phone. some but not all developers and businesses would accept these offers and Windows 10 smart phones would get more Apps. I would also have Microsoft Programmers make Microsoft versions of the most popular apps Microsoft does not have.

 

[dorelse]

Plan B: Android.

I have a Galaxy S6 (128GB) and a Blu Win HD LTE...I had to retreat to the GS6 for the last 2 months as the WM10 upgrade really destabilized my Blu phone.

Just switched back to the Blu today after the latest insider build has fixed most of the performance & stability issues. Its usable again. I can pretty much bounce between both of them (Android & WM10) without missing a beat as OneDrive syncs all my photos, gmail is my main email & contacts...it all flows just fine.

I find the flow of WM10 to match my preferences more than the others, so I do hope it continues. The apps I need exist on WM10 and the integration with Exchange for work emails is head & shoulders above anything Mobile Iron is delivering to iOS & Android.

 

[Kram Sacul]

I'm already on plan B which is stick with WP8/8.1 until MS pulls the plug. W10M is kind of a sad joke at this point, won't go back to Android/Google and iOS is on a different planet.

 

[David Carrera]

Maybe they are spinning such negative news because, by perception of value, they are trying to keep the stock value low so as to buy up as much as possible before 2017, which is when Microsoft will supposedly focus more on Windows mobile and perhaps will start to see a gain in market share (fingers crosses)

I really don't think Microsoft can afford to kill Windows mobile for the very fact that technology, as it gets more powerful and capable, it also gets smaller which has been the trend since the beginning of computers. For Microsoft to kill windows mobile would be the same as saying no to their own future. I think for the most part, we can consider the constant statements of Microsoft abandoning ship on windows mobile is tantamount to enemy propaganda. No body wants to jump onto a ship that's sinking and if you can't really sink the ship then the next best thing to do is tell everyone that the ship is sinking. This is simply a platform war, and if people think a ship is sinking they're likely to jump ship to one that appears to be floating just fine. The other factor in this is, the naysayers could also have stock in the competitor and as such, risk also falls onto them to protect their investment, risk is no longer with just the competition, it's spread out.

 

[torsampo]

My Plan B goes into effect tomorrow. I have a 950 on the Insider track, which causes a lot of phone instability but I am fine with that as I like Win 10 Mobile. It is the most modern and adult looking mobile OS and the integration with MS services is important to me. The reason I am going to Plan B is my employer is switching to from a MS focused set of services to an all Google For Work one. I could limp along with my 950 and with Gmail and a web browser but I would prefer to be fully connected to G+, Hangouts, Docs, and Drive. While I trust Apple more as a company I am going with Android for a couple reasons. First obviously is tight integration with Google services. Second is that on Android if I want to swap out a default service for a MS service I can do that, while on iOS i am stuck in wack-a-mole app land. I know support of my personal MS services will be second-rate but there is at least the opportunity to expand that integration. Paul Thurrott has even written up the expanded linking between Android and Win10 notification centers, which I would like. So tomorrow my Nexus 6p arrives and Plan B goes into effect. I am not super happy about it, but Android will at least give me customization options iOS never will.

 

[Keith Wallace]

I don't trust Google, and I will NEVER choose to own an Apple device. I'd probably just stop getting new phones, instead keeping the last WM device released. Gun to my head between the alternatives, I'd take Android, but I'd be a minimalist with the device because I wouldn't throw personal information into Google's coffers.

But seriously, I'd sooner stop carrying ANY phone whatsoever before I got something of Apple's. They are probably #1 on my list of companies I'd like to see fall into a volcano.

 

[Jazmac]

If for any reason Microsoft decides to completely shut off it's phone division, every single app disappears off the Store, and my phone breaks, I'd pick up a BlackBerry Priv. I've held the phone before, looks and feels top notch, and I've used Android before, so setup would be fairly quick. That keyboard works like a charm, kind of miss using it on a daily basis... Never an iPhone. Just no.

But I have a Lumia Icon. The chances of that breaking are fairly slim...

I do not yet believe Microsoft is getting out of the mobile phone game. I think they know they are going to have to do something bold and radical with their mobile game. I look at the current OS and it is really developing into something extraordinary and at some point, we will get word that Surface or whatever this will be called is coming. Those using plan B haven't left. Plan B means just that. We'll get leaks and sneak peeks and all those of us that are using "plan B" will flock back to plan A like we never left.
Its my belief anyway.

 

[sumton]

Plan B: im already in plan B switched to android but i do NOT like this plan
Plan C: switch back to WM IF surface phones impressive enough to make me jump back
Plan D: switch to IOS

we will see next year

 

[497362]

Plan A - stay with my old WP8.1 which just works and does what i need. accept absence of future updates.
Plan B - budget WM10.
Plan C - keep an eye on Tizen
Plan D - due to dementia, forget how awful android is and switch to android.

 

[travis_valkyrie]

Plan B is to buy a BlackBerry Nexus (if it ever happens, or Priv equivalent) and just fork android. I wouldn't mind building the updates myself if I have to, at least I'll know what goes in and what goes out. The original plan B is to go all-out iPhone, but since it's so expensive and it puts my 200GB microSD card to waste, thought I go a different route and make it work the way I want it to. But if WM10 is still a thing then I have no plans switching until then.