So, Oct. 6th event over. Best product launches by any company ever?

[trivishal]

Lack of all new variety of universal apps for windows 10 mobile is the thing that made me think that the part of the Microsoft event was underwhelming, and too much less time given to Lumia 950/950XL presentation , except the announcement of universal apps from Facebook, Facebook, Messenger and Instagram apps

 

[cxily]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

Hmm, I thought the event was great! Aside from no real surprises.

 

[libra89]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

If you browse a tech website prior to the MSFT devices event, 4 out of 5 articles would have been the umptieth recap of Lumia 950 and 950XL leaks. Hell, this website lived out of that leak for months, presenting it over and over and over and OVER again. WTF did you expect MSFT to do on stage? Say the same stuff AGAIN pretending is new?
If you watched the presentation and feel anyway but PUMPED, then I have two questions for you: what were you smoking at the time? and Are you willing to share?

Also Panay even made a "joke" about all of the leaks. I just wanted to know how much and when can I have it, really. LOL.

 

[Jason Ward]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

One thing to remember is that with the amount of devices that were being announced from references to Xbox gaming, Band, Hololens, Surface and phone the underlying current to the event was differentiation. How Microsoft's products differ from the competition.
High end specs in phones a pretty much parallel across the board.

If MS had spent too much time in stage talking about me too specs like high speed charging which Samsung also has, or great camera specs which both Apple and Samsung can boast about, the audiences attention would have been drawn into a mental comparison battle, the press in attendance who were positioned to bring the message MS was delivering to the masses could have had the main message of differentiation muddied by camera specs, speed and other "consumer unfriendly" numbers.
What MS wanted the world to take away from the event is that these phones are different and we can be productive like a boss with Lumias. Bryan and Continuum are seared in all of our minds!
And Continuum without a Universal platform is not something easily copied by rivals. An iris scanner, a high end camera and such are easily leapfrogged.
Finally if you notice the extensive coverage here at WC and around the web, comparisons and diving into other aspects of the phones is simply a natural outflow of the industry. MS time on stage was better spent focusing on the Lumias differentiation!

 

[Spicymikey]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I think they care but I sense the whole W10M end of this is in flux and still not done. No alliances except AT&T in the USA, and, I don't think the software is ready eventhough the hardware is done. The idea of releasing these phones in a few weeks seems unlikely. In fact, I worry they will even miss the holidays completely.

 

[Citizen X]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

What did they not talk about?

Read the thread.

No mention of availability of Qi in the US. They should have at least addressed the biggest complaints people had about the 1520. They f'ed up the 1520 launch in the US and then went two years without a replacement. The lack of built in Qi, the slashing of the memory and the lack of Verizon compatibility set this forum on fire two years ago.

They only had 90 minutes! they went past that time too!

Strange how apple can have the CEO speak about a phone for 80 minutes. But I guess that is why they are number one in the phone market. B-b-b-b-ut they only had 90 minutes!

Look guys they could have had a more robust presentation of the phones if they wanted to. It has been done before. And honestly they didn't need to give an 80 minute phone presentation. As I've said over and over again they could have cut out the fluff and just presented the products. The products look great. There is no need for some cheesy used car salesman cheerleading.

Let me show you guys how it is done...

When you show the video of the kids using MSFT Hello after the video ends and you do your spiel on Hello finish up by saying, by the way that entire video was shot using the 950. Boom. Done. That doesn't take 90 minutes fellas. A lot more powerful than just muttering it shoots 4k video.

No one is saying the products aren't good. No one is saying the Surface Book reveal wasn't good. There is just a narrow criticism about aspects of the phone presentation. Constructive criticism is good. A company has to always be striving to do better. No presentation is perfect. I can understand some people who felt the presentation was good. It is a subjective thing. But the people who are shouting down every single criticism need to get a grip. I've never seen nor presented a perfect presentation in my life. There is ALWAYS something that can be improved. There is no harm in saying, yeah you have a point about that aspect of the presentation but I thought overall it was good. People trying to claim it was perfect aren't helping MSFT nor Windows Phone adoption.

 

[janecosham]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I disagree with the comment that they should have just presented the phones without the "fluff". A list of features is easy to publish (and has been all over this site and others already anyway) but to be successful Microsoft needs more marketing and "wow". In this presentation that was all about the Surface Book which was right since that was about the only thing that hadn't already leaked.

 

[a5cent]

[INFO]Many posts up until this point were previously part of another thread:

Title: Really underwhelmed with the event
Forum: Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

Despite that thread being in the Lumia 950 XL forum, it was never particularly focused on the 950 XL, but rather a discussion of the event in general. As such it didn't make sense to keep these two threads seperated, as they are discussing the same topic.

The earlier thread (this one) assimilated the contents of the later one.[/INFO]

 

[Citizen X]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I disagree with the comment that they should have just presented the phones without the "fluff". A list of features is easy to publish (and has been all over this site and others already anyway) but to be successful Microsoft needs more marketing and "wow".

Read the thread. A list is exactly what MSFT did. Multiple people have posted multiple times that they wanted MSFT to show photos and videos from the camera. Not just mumble it shoots 4k.

 

[Krystianpants]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

Read the thread.

No mention of availability of Qi in the US. They should have at least addressed the biggest complaints people had about the 1520. They f'ed up the 1520 launch in the US and then went two years without a replacement. The lack of built in Qi, the slashing of the memory and the lack of Verizon compatibility set this forum on fire two years ago.



Strange how apple can have the CEO speak about a phone for 80 minutes. But I guess that is why they are number one in the phone market. B-b-b-b-ut they only had 90 minutes!

Look guys they could have had a more robust presentation of the phones if they wanted to. It has been done before. And honestly they didn't need to give an 80 minute phone presentation. As I've said over and over again they could have cut out the fluff and just presented the products. The products look great. There is no need for some cheesy used car salesman cheerleading.

Let me show you guys how it is done...

When you show the video of the kids using MSFT Hello after the video ends and you do your spiel on Hello finish up by saying, by the way that entire video was shot using the 950. Boom. Done. That doesn't take 90 minutes fellas. A lot more powerful than just muttering it shoots 4k video.

No one is saying the products aren't good. No one is saying the Surface Book reveal wasn't good. There is just a narrow criticism about aspects of the phone presentation. Constructive criticism is good. A company has to always be striving to do better. No presentation is perfect. I can understand some people who felt the presentation was good. It is a subjective thing. But the people who are shouting down every single criticism need to get a grip. I've never seen nor presented a perfect presentation in my life. There is ALWAYS something that can be improved. There is no harm in saying, yeah you have a point about that aspect of the presentation but I thought overall it was good. People trying to claim it was perfect aren't helping MSFT nor Windows Phone adoption.

I understand your concern but this was about devices. And yes no presentation is perfect. Sure they could have said this video was filmed with the lumia 950xl etc.. But if you have seen their previous events this is a huge step up and they are likely going to get better. They will likely have another event in December for the Windows 10 mobile and Desktop TH2 launch. This is where they will be showing off the OS and on their flagship devices.

This is where I would like them to showcase any PAY service, Iris additional uses for apps as well as pay, interactive tiles, any upcoming apps and services. Discuss the update process as well. So we will see what happens.

 

[Lenin17301]

No, it was nice, but no on the same league as the Windows 95 announcement o the original iPhone first unveiling, so no, not the best ever, but still, the best from Microsoft since the Bill Gates years.

 

[worldspy99]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I had the 950 XL and 950 in my hands in New York and I am planning to buy the 950 XL. Clearly they plan on invading spaces where people cannot afford both a high end phone and laptop with a single high end phone.

Seeing the phone in action working as a fully functional PC was pretty damn impressive considering the market space it fills. I am invested heavily in Microsoft and I see these new devices penetrating the business market spaces with bleed over into others.

I can see it now in lower incomes houses, Dad can I use your phone to do my homework and surf the web?

Satya actually talked about the exact same thing with Nilay Patel in his interview that is over on The Verge..
Why does Microsoft exist? An interview with CEO Satya Nadella | The Verge

 

[Eric Immerman]

I loved it but wished they announced like Google apps and snap chat. Oh well.

I couldn't agree more about the Google Apps. There are so many missing apps it is frustrating.

 

[NOLATechy]

Thank you! I've been trying to get people to understand this point for a long time! Windows 10 apps are coming. I've even contacted my bank and they said they are looking into it. Wow! A US Bank considering an app for Windows 10!? Shocking! lol

 

[tgp]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I can see it now in lower incomes houses, Dad can I use your phone to do my homework and surf the web?

What happens when Dad has to go somewhere but the homework still needs to be done? :winktongue:

 

[Jeddic]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

I was considering this too, at the speech at the end of the presentation. It makes a somewhat compelling argument there, though I did have to wonder if in such countries, would the 950 even be affordable? I mean... it's not bad here. But in other regions, $550 is a lot to spend. Still though, I thought of this too. It makes me hopeful.

I think most people are missing the point of Continuum. Right now, Continuum is not much for phones. In 98% of cases where you'd use a Lumia 950/XL in place of another computer with continuum, it would be easier to just carry your phone and other computer. However, this tech will be improved for the future, and may eventually be useful on phones. But right now, Continuum is a necessary feature for Tablets.

Tablet PCs have 8-12 inch screens, mostly. Sometimes they're used like phones, held in the hand, touch interface. Sometimes they're used like laptops, with a touchpad and keyboard. Sometimes, they're plugged into an external monitor and used with keyboard and mouse. This is Continuum's use case right now. Can it be used with phones? Yes, but it's necessary right now for PCs like tablets and 2-in-1s. When you plug your Surface into a monitor or keyboard, Continuum is the feature that makes sure it behaves with the new peripheral. This is something that competitors don't really have.

I'm not trying to say that phones with Continuum won't be a great 1-device-fits-all for travel or business sometime. But right now, it's not that device. It can't run X86 apps, doesn't have the power of a pc, and carrying a phone, keyboard and mouse will probably be less easy than a notebook or 2-in-1. But Continuum is what makes that notebook or 2-in-1 really work.

 

[jdballard]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

Hmm, I thought the event was great! Aside from no real surprises.

Well, other than the Surface Book. I think that counts as a fairly big surprise. There were rumors of a larger Surface, but no one had any idea it would be something as cool as the Surface book.

 

[Citizen X]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

But if you have seen their previous events this is a huge step up and they are likely going to get better.

I hadn't seen any of the previous product launches. I never felt compelled to get information ASAP. Of course I never expected getting a phone without Qi charging and waiting months to get the 32 GB variant. That experience has made me a lot more paranoid. Well I'm glad things are going in the right direction and I do hope they get better.

They will likely have another event in December for the Windows 10 mobile and Desktop TH2 launch. This is where they will be showing off the OS and on their flagship devices.

Well that's cool if they do another event. Would have made more sense to do it before launch though. The other thing is if you get the faithful talking about Continuum, 4k video, details on availability, etc. We can actually talk to friends and family about it during Thanksgiving and during the holiday season. As it I have to say, I don't know a lot.

Not sure why they merged these threads. I thought the overall presentation was good. The Surface Book was a great reveal. I was just let down by the one section I tuned in to see.

 

[Citizen X]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

Well, other than the Surface Book. I think that counts as a fairly big surprise.

Two very different threads were merged so some of the responses aren't going to make sense.

 

[Citizen X]

Re: Really underwhelmed with the event

What happens when Dad has to go somewhere but the homework still needs to be done? :winktongue:

Kids in third world countries don't screw around. They get something like Dad's phone they shut up and do their homework. When I go to third world countries the people are always astonished that the majority of Americans don't have a four year college degree. Also in a lot of those countries Dad is treated like a god. If he hands you his phone you get your sh-t done. If you don't MOM will beat the crap out of you. Dad just sits in the chair reading the paper while all this is going on. Very different world.