Re: WC 150K Post Challenge - You Ready?!
Lumia was not dead the minute MS brought Nokia's device division. Had they left Lumia with Nokia, we would have seen what likely happens now...an Android OEM splitting time/attention between two OS. Where Microsoft went wrong was simply by taking forever to do anything with the division and when they did it was half-hearted.
As an OEM, I would be wise to do what I needed to do for my business...However, I'd also realize that I am struggling with Android. Given attention and time and marketing to my phones I've created for another OS may help diversify my portfolio. Putting all their eggs in one basket with no plan B, is precisely why HTC is in the state it is in. It had a lead in Windows mobile, Windows Phone 7 and early WP 8...it quickly was overshadowed by Nokia. On the Android side of things, HTC basically pulled a Microsoft and rested on their laurels and were quickly replaced by Samsung, LG and Motorola.
It's why Samsung tried to go with their OWN os because they realize while Android may be profitable they also are being controlled by google. Why do you think Cyanogen is trying to take Android away from Google. These OEMs need a Plan B, especially when they cant compete against Samsung as it is.
A smart OEM would realize that all eggs in one basket can spell trouble when you don't have a fallback plan to fall on.
The nokia Model is precisely what the Android model is. flooding the market with a ton of hardware which causes the marketshare to skyrocket and more devices sold. It's precisely how android got popular. It's also why Windows Phone's highest marketshare and devices sold happened because there were more options for people to choose. We are down to four models and they are scattered around and far less embraced than before by carriers/retailers thus marketshare has fallen.
Was it sustainable? No. But the key difference is, it did at least give the product some momentum vs what Microsoft has done since buying Nokia. Marketshare would not have dropped as bad as it had, had there been something released between the Icon/930 and the 950s....a simple refresh of the 930/1520 could have helped. Pushing the 640 even harder...Pricing the 830 better out the gate.
Instead little choice between then caused the marketshare to drop...and if it is true we don't get anything except a 650 this year, marketshare will drop because there is nothing for anyone to buy as many people are not going to want to buy last year's flagship.
OEMs don't care because Marketshare is so low? I got that.
But releasing a phone and abandoning your customers is exactly THEIR FAULT. That has nothing to do with a Nokia deal/MS deal. It has nothing to do with Lumias being the dominant force. It has to do with the fact these OEMs abandon their user and that is why users are sticking with/too Lumia.
The only phone I have moderately heard any excitement over is the HP phone. Even the Jade Primo was hot for all of a day and it became irrelevant. Most people will likely continue buying Lumias until OEMs manage to gain their trust...and someone is going to have to take the risk first.
As far as OEM customization, the Smartest thing Microsoft ever did was to disallow that from happening. I would rather they had more control over the hardware still as I hate the fact we get these regurgitated Android redesigns but THANK GOD they do not allow OEMs to customize anything on the OS software.
We do not need a bunch of launchers and home screens like android. Especially since many OEMs are moving away from heavy UI.
What Microsoft is encouraging and I support is allowing them to differentiate on hardware.
The day Microsoft allows OEMs to customize the platform, might be the day I strongly consider an iPhone.
Microsoft needs to stop trying to chase the Android methodology and take after apple...Android on its own sucks outside of Galaxy and the only reason Galaxy is popular is not because of Android, is because Samsung literally copies whatever apple does.
The day Microsoft finds its inner apple is the day Windows 10 mobile truly will actually have true success, I do believe.
I just don't have the time to reply to all that. Sigh.
Look, Lumia was dead when MS bought Nokia because MS was not going to keep the Lumia name. It's really that simple. They were going to kill the Lumia name off rather quickly. I estimated about 2 years. I wasn't far off.
Market share is the biggest problem MS has. Add that to lack of supported apps and you can see why any OEM would hesitate. I have little doubt when MS approached OEMs they told them 'things would get better' but they haven't. Why spend money on supporting an dead product? Also, Samsung as we know is one of the worst for killing off any product, including Android phones, which is why I don't buy them. People buy Samsung for the name, nothing more.
You're also correct any smart business would have a plan B but I sure as hell would put any money into W10M at this stage if I was an OEM. There's simply nothing there for any OEM to work with. All the articles saying W10M is dead doesn't help either and MS using very loose language at their BUILD conference didn't help either.
You cannot build a mobile market share based on PC users. No OEM is going to believe your point until it's proven.
MS's first approach was to take after Apple. WP8 was direct competition to Apple, not Android. That didn't work. Which is why they're trying to be more flexible now. When most people think of a 'Windows Phone or Mobile' they want 'Windows' openness, not a locked down phone which you can barely do anything with. That was the big mistake by MS that Nokia pushed to change. It was Nokia who too WP to different levels NOT MS. If it wasn't for Nokia, MS would only release high end phones and try to be Apple because that's what they want. That's not going to happen because nobody who wants Windows wants to be anything like Apple. People choose Windows for a reason.
If Nokia would have approached things differently they'd still be in business. Unfortunately flooding a market with different variants doesn't work and it stopped working for Android now too. Even Samsung has stopped that.
As for people going after Google, that's no surprise really. You hear a lot about Samsung's OS, not that it's popular anywhere... as for Cyrogen, it's still more or less Android so what's your point? MS bought that, I wonder how long it will last...
OEMs want to provide a user experience, even though you might not like it, obviously, it's what OEMs want. They want some type of ownership to their products aside from the phone. It's not that illogical really when you think of it.
Lastly, in what way is a Samsung S7 Edge anything like an Apple product? Who's copying who? The biggest copier as we all know is Apple.