This is what really annoys me with the media

[Nukey Pearce]

...people's assumption that Windows Phone is dead.

I was reading up on the Amazon Fire Phone earlier on, and I came across this video on BloombergTV:
Amazon Fire Phone Will Be a Disaster: Wired's Brown: Video - Bloomberg

From the video (4:40 onward):

"I mean Amazon's ecosystem is not the only eco system to continue, to consider here when you're trying to sell a phone. Like, this phone does not have Google Maps. It does not have Instagram.

It's gonna be really hard. Yeah, No Instagram - basically killed Microsoft Windows Phone. Right, like, Windows Phone had a sub-optimal app ecosystem from launch - it never got great - it got better and better and better, but it always missed those marquee apps."

This is one of the main reasons why Windows Phone growth is slow. People see stuff like that which instantly puts people off, hindering it's growth. This guy probably doesn't even know now that Instagram was ever released, and personally, based on many people's experiences and opinions, the ecosystem is becoming great, right now. But to use words like "never" and "basically killed" it a bit... unfair in my own opinion.

I'm not denying that we are still missing a lot of apps at this time, but the alternatives always work just as well, and it's definitely something that is being worked on.

They assume that if it doesn't have Google Maps then it's a failure, despite the alternatives available. They base their opinions on statistics that only relate to their country (the USA) and never see the bigger picture. And for this to come from a guy who works for Wired, well, that really doesn't give me much confidence in the technology press.

What's your opinion?

 

[N_LaRUE]

My opinion is that MS has done a horrible job advertising WP and where it's at currently. It seems to think 'making it cool' by putting it in TV shows and movies is better marketing than telling people that it has all the apps that everyone else has and that it does the basics well.

Until they realise that people just want what everyone else has and that they want quality apps at that. WP will stay at 3%.

WP has to be considered a worthy platform for people to use it. We may all like it but statistically we're a minority. We may be happy 'waiting' but most people are not, especially when they can get what they want elsewhere.

What kills WP in most people's eyes is image. 3rd party apps are a nice to have, they shouldn't be shoring up the ecosystem. We are missing so many mainstream apps that people will continue to avoid WP until we get them. Being last on the the list means that's how people will perceive WP.

That's why these types of statements keep popping up. People think WP is a waste of time because waiting to most people is a waste of time.

Need I say more?

 

[Chregu]

Windows Phone is far away from being dead. As long as Microsoft pushes it and releases low cost devices it will have its niche.

However, it's also far away from being healthy. There is no real high-end device in sight, the devices we have now (the 1520 and the 930) are great phones, but offer nothing special or unique. If other companies release Windows Phone devices they are only low-end. There's just nothing exciting happening, nothing that would bring Windows Phone to people's mind.

At least the Android competition gets attention for putting the highest end high end specs in their phones, even though they don't innovate. But they don't have to at the moment with this big market share.

The app ecosystem is far away from great, it's acceptable. Also, not having Google Maps is a big deal in countries like mine, as Bing maps is really, really terrible.

Windows Phone is certainly not dead, but just as certain it's not a big player. And I see no potential that it becomes one within the next year.