Why can't WP take off?

[Joe920]

It is taking off, it's just that it's taking off like this. caution.. moderate foul language ahead)

 

[mj0]

MSFT has all the keys in this department. How they choose to use them will be the real determining factor.

Indeed. That actually took me by surprise. Somehow I expected Windows Phone to have full ActiveSync Exchange support but instead it's still Apple leading the way, by far! And the fact that there's no native CalDAV/CardDAV support and you have to setup an iCloud as CalDAV/CardDAV account instead is something I would have never expected. It is 2014, after all, and while most consumers may be happy with Gmail/iCloud/Outlook.com that simply doesn't cut it for enterprise use scenarios. Anyway, I'll be patient and wait for improved support even though I was already disappointed by this very problem once before. That's right, I'm looking at you, Google.

For the time being I don't see us switching to Windows Phone devices, we'll stick with the iPhone 5S for as long as it's still available. The iCloud trick might work now but you never know - Apple might update their servers and break this workaround for good. Imagine 500 smartphones losing access to all public and shared contacts over night. Personally, I'll try to stick with it for now and replace my iPhone since I really enjoy the fact that the Lumia has significantly better reception than my iPhone 5. I can finally make phone calls on the train without getting cut off every two minutes.

 

[tgp]

After reading all these replies, and then seeing the YouTube video above, it just occurred to me why WP can't take off: it does not have wings and jet engines!

 

[LumiaIcon]

Not only that, AT&T's representation of it - just based on local stores in my area - is poor. They don't know how to sell it at all, have very little store exposure for it, and really just don't put in any effort to offer it as an option. The majority of people here are all iphone, meh. I do have an HTC One, love it, love Android, but have to admit, I miss my 920. Camera amazing, loved live tiles, and now they have all the camera apps that I love.

When I purchased my 1520, it was not on display. I asked for the green and they twice brought me out a 1020, to which I replied..."no the big one...15...20.". Then the rep finally found it and said... "I don't think I have ever sold one of these, are you sure you want a WP?" - again - how does the average consumer get through that to buy it? And how do you WANT it when it is not on display and the one that is, has a little 720p screen and is slow as can be. Then walk into Best Buy and look at the Samsung Display...

 

[Laura Knotek]

When I purchased my 1520, it was not on display. I asked for the green and they twice brought me out a 1020, to which I replied..."no the big one...15...20.". Then the rep finally found it and said... "I don't think I have ever sold one of these, are you sure you want a WP?" - again - how does the average consumer get through that to buy it? And how do you WANT it when it is not on display and the one that is, has a little 720p screen and is slow as can be. Then walk into Best Buy and look at the Samsung Display...

Surprisingly, when I went to the AT&T store to have an employee install a screen protector for my 920 that I ordered online and had shipped to the store, two employees had red 1520s! The guy who put the screen protector on my 920 had one, and so did the woman who asked me what I was there to pick up.

 

[wplee]

What do you define as "taking off"? Please remember that the Market is not just the US of A. I'm 100% certain that picture of the youngsters with iPhones are Americans, not British, Australian, Italian or German. In the UK 10% of all mobile sales are now Windows Phone. I don't wish to be rude but American teenagers are hugely brand conscious and it's not something we should aspire to. As a Brit, I don't have US brand bias and wouldn't bring my child up to copy their peers without first identifying other options. Most of those youngsters don't have a Playstation 4, yet could have gotten a Lumia 635 and a console if they weren't so influenced by everyone else. If they say they can only use iPhone because its simple to use, then I seriously worry for that generations future. As for Store staff influencing buyers, well I have no sympathy or respect for any person signing up for a 2 year contract based on the advice of a minimum waged carrier employee often seeking a bonus.

The thing is WP will take off next year by default. Windows 10 install numbers will be combined across all devices with the One platform and One App store. So in the next 2 years MSFT still simply boast hundreds of millions of Windows 10 users and hopefully get developers back in the fold. For the time being, I'm happy to enjoy the industries best kept secret.

 

[fredd]

It's because of the way people think about Windows Phone.

Windows Phone used to has a big lack of apps at the time of WP7, though no longer, the Store is growing everyday, people still keep relating "Windows Phone" with "lack of apps" until now. It's like... habitual.

Windows Phone = lack of apps = low market share = no developer support = lack of apps... Then the cycle begins.

I hate to say this but there is a lack of apps still. You go to any bank, local news programs, Dish network and a lot of security systems just a few examples and there are either no apps for windows or terrible lack of updating. I bought a swann security system but the app is so out dated it will not work.

 

[waazzupppp]

I'm going with a much simpler reasoning... Have you seen the new AT&T iPhone ads? The one where the guy walks in to the store and the girls says, "Yes, we have the new iPhone." The guy replies with, "How do you know that I..." She replies to that with, "Everyone wants the new iPhone," cutting him off and not letting him tell her what he actually wanted. That's the reason why Windows Phone won't take off.

In real life, it's the same story. I can purchase a T-Mobile Lumia 635 for $100 and activate in on a non-contract T-Mo plan for $50 a month and be a very happy camper. Unfortunately, that sales person really wants me to get the higher paying iPhone 6 or Galaxy S 5 that is 'free' and only $30 a month instead. They won't show me the Lumia and will try to WOW me with the iPhone or GS5. That may also be a reason why we didn't see more carriers go after the M8 for Windows faster. They don't want 'good' competition in Windows Phones that won't make them extra cash from Samsung or Apple.

It's the same fate that BlackBerry struggled through - with the great devices only coming to AT&T because none of the other three wanted to pay for BIS or BES services. If Microsoft wants to make Windows Phone a winner, it starts with the carriers. Forget ad buys and posters... It's all about spiffs for the sales people. Maybe some contests at the store level - top Windows Phone Seller gets a FREE Xbox One? Or monthly sales spiffs that double what Apple and Samsung are paying in the short term? Something like for every WP you sell, Microsoft and Nokia will give you $100. That's the drastic action that is needed. Maybe some additional "Smoked By Windows Phone" contests.

Nothing spreads the word of a great device faster than those playing with it. By dumping a Samsung Focus S on me at the original smoked campaign, I converted about 50 people in the next month to Windows Phone. I've done the same with every device I've had since, but when 200 people I know get a GS3/4/5 and 250 get an iPhone 4/5/6, 50 doesn't dent the market very quickly...

 

[chezm]

Most recently the trend with peoples confidence in Microsoft has been what seems to be a lack of confidence on their side of things. Myself and some of my peers purchased Surface Pro 2's only 6 months later to be treated by a slap in the face Surface Pro 3, which if all of us knew the Pro 3 was right around the corner we would have waited and been content. I love my Pro 2, but some of my friends who took my input were really upset that a much better update was recently so soon (every 12 months is the expected timeframe, not half the time period).

From that point on my friends, whom were Android and Apple fans opening up to considering Microsoft saw a lack of confidence from the companies decisions. Then came the EoL news about the L1020 (which i think turned out to be false, but still the perception this left with techies wasnt good), no announcements of new high end flagship phones other than the 930 which received negative reception high number of hardware defects, Denim major updates not available for all 8.1 devices and finally WP10 potentially not available for all WP8 devices (not that this was confirmed, but in their opinion nothing MS says anymore is viable and can be taken truthful). Again, this is the perception of my peers and not a general statement from everyone...but you can see where even the potential consumers have slowly walked away. It seems its not because WP is BAD, but it's MS's decisions that have left many unsure of WP's existence, or lack there of.

This in addition to the popular App Gap is the clincher, and as many have said its mostly a Official App Quality (3rd party aside) just cant compare in the eyes of many. And considering im in Canada, most of the phones you guys in USA and Worldwide get, we get only 10% of the device. If you go to Rogers or Telus official site theres ONE windows phone, the 635...thats it! You have that against the iPhone 6, Samsung GS5, LG G3, HTC ONE M8 (And)...it just doesnt look good. Sure the 830 and 735 are coming, but at the exact same time so is the Note 4 and the rumored Nexus 6.

If Microsoft priced the 830 @ $300 outright, available at Microsoft store and BestBuy/Futureshop unlocked...it might actually do somewhat well. But they're pricing it at $400 carrier locked, no unlocked avaliable which isnt good considering the contract BYOP offers $10 off each month for services.

Im eagerly waiting for WP10, hoping a Surface Phone comes out and its stellar...but my hope has run dry as the last 3 years i spent a lot of time defending an OS which i cannot defend anymore. my fingers are crossed they will return and dominate in some way. Exclusive killer Apps (including Xbox mobile games, COME ON!) and expanding the photography are key for MS, i really do hope they make the right decisions and stop giving people the impression their always chasing their competitors tails. Be a leader for G sakes.

 

[spaulagain]

Most recently the trend with peoples confidence in Microsoft has been what seems to be a lack of confidence on their side of things. Myself and some of my peers purchased Surface Pro 2's only 6 months later to be treated by a slap in the face Surface Pro 3, which if all of us knew the Pro 3 was right around the corner we would have waited and been content. I love my Pro 2, but some of my friends who took my input were really upset that a much better update was recently so soon (every 12 months is the expected timeframe, not half the time period).

From that point on my friends, whom were Android and Apple fans opening up to considering Microsoft saw a lack of confidence from the companies decisions. Then came the EoL news about the L1020 (which i think turned out to be false, but still the perception this left with techies wasnt good), no announcements of new high end flagship phones other than the 930 which received negative reception high number of hardware defects, Denim major updates not available for all 8.1 devices and finally WP10 potentially not available for all WP8 devices (not that this was confirmed, but in their opinion nothing MS says anymore is viable and can be taken truthful). Again, this is the perception of my peers and not a general statement trim everyone...but you can see where even the potential consumers have slowly walked away. It seems its not because WP is BAD, but it's MS's decisions that have left many unsure of WP's existence, or lack there of.

Getting upset over a new product release is just silly. This happens all the time in every industry. Ya, the SP3 came out a few months earlier than normal, but they appear to be moving towards Spring releases anyways. So they had to do it at some point.

There has been 0 evidence that WP8 device will not update to W10. Anyone claiming as such is just spreading FUD. In fact, MS has publicly state that W10 will be on everything, including IoT devices. So if it can work on something smaller, with probably less hardware specs like a watch, then it can probably work just fine on a Lumia 520.

It's sounds to me like your friends are just fear mongers. Or they got burned by MS in the past and can't get their **** unhurt.

 

[Hotvak123]

Verizon sells 36 smart phones 5 are apple, 4 are windows, 2 by HTC, 1 by nokia, 1 by samsung , and 27 androids. att is not much better.
If I owned that store I would personally own a windows phone, love the simplicity of it, but my inventory investment in the phone would dictate I sell the android first regardless on how I felt about it. on the other hand when I have a line of customers standing outside the door looking to buy the IPhone on release day, then apple goes to the top of the list. the windows phone would have to sit on the side lines. I mean how much money can I make off the 4 window phone inventory compared to the 32 other system I have. My other fear would be that the windows phone would take off , and I be stuck with the other phones. so If you want wp to take off then demand has to come up , and the only way I see it happening is by all of us window phone users show everybody how grate windows phone is, and sell them on it. Then maybe when they look for upgrade they think of the windows phone.

 

[LumiaIcon]

What do you define as "taking off"? Please remember that the Market is not just the US of A.

#1 Consumer market in the world... Not really the one you want to go into the dirt on. Pretty sure they could survive bad sales in Ghana but the U.S... Not so much.

 

[jlzimmerman]

Ok, spill. What sort of hardware is needed throughout your fleet?

To give you one high-level example, there is a dedicated workstation which does heavy monitoring of reactor head, analyzing isotopes and chemical elements for the chemistry department. It also monitors the health of the full bundles and status of the control rods for reactor engineering.

The way it processes the data and how it feeds our PI system and the requirements set upon all sites by the NRC, make Apple a non-player. Yes, OSX could handle the requirements if A) Apple loosened the grip on customizing the OS B) Apple allowed installation of OSX on non-Apple configured hardware such as the $7000 workstation I mentioned above C) the software required to do the items above existed for OSX (currently only for Windows and SUSE Linux for back end work).

 

[neo158]

I apologise if I hurt any die hard Windows Phone fans here, but I have a list of reasons why I believe Windows Phone doesn't take off and some suggestions to go along with them as we'll.

Windows Phone is a bit odd of an OS. Android is often described as a complicated but highly customisable and functional software whereas iOS is described as a much simpler phone that just works.

Windows Phone is nor as easy to use as iOS, nor as functional as some other OSes out there it has nothing going for it.

But...this could be used for marketing to show what Windows Phone is truly good at - providing a balance between simplicity, beauty and customisation but I have yet to see this sort of thing advertised(they have mentioned it in a few YouTube videos though).

Moving onwards and elaborating on the same point, Windows Phone or at least part of it has revolved around photography and I'll admit that it did a much better job than Android for as long as I can remember. But sadly they've fallen short there as well, with iOS taking the lead again with arguably the best camera API out there that is used to create amazing apps like Instagram Hyperlapse.

And then once you overcome those shortcomings you'll be faced with a massive shortage of applications, primarily quality gaming titles. And that's not all...even if you find your necessary apps they'll usually be months behind their iOS and Android counterparts.

Once you've come ahead of the apps and games, then there is the social aspect, the likely scenario is that most of your friends own either an Android or iOS device and you'll feel left out or even ridiculed for having a Windows Phone.

Plus Microsoft's services aren't offered in many countries, case in point Cortana and HERE Maps(I'm sure there are others) and you can't use Google services either.

Linus Sebastian, arguably one of the funniest and most well educated reviewers also conveys his thoughts about Windows Phone in this video: HTC One M8 with Windows Phone 8.1 - YouTube

And lastly Windows Phone is still somewhat playing catch up with Android and iOS, lacking quite a lot of features that the competition has.
I'm sure there are aspects Windows Phone does better, the cameras is one things, but to make a phone or OS sell well you need to excel in most things not just a few.

This is what I believe, I have more reasons but I'm sure no one would want to read a much longer post. Again, I can be wrong but this is what I think having used Windows Phone for some time.

That review wasn't the worst I've seen and he does bring up a few interesting points, but some of the points he makes show a lack of knowledge. For example he states that he had signed in using the same account that's on his 8x and had to reinstall his apps manually, this begs the question of why didn't he restore from a backup? or why didn't he use the my apps section of the store to reinstall them?

One of the points he made was about email and how after looking at it from the notification there is no way back to the inbox, that's fine because there isn't, but Android has the same behaviour and the back and forward arrows on the app bar are for navigating between email anyway. The other point was about drafts, I wonder if he realised that you need to sync the folder using the button on the app bar initially?

He also makes a point about how slow he perceives dialling a contact is on WP, has he even used the Speed Dial section in the phone, that would have made it Tap on Phone > Swipe to speed dial > tap contact. No need for T9 input and much faster than Android.

 

[iamtim]

To give you one high-level example, there is a dedicated workstation which does heavy monitoring of reactor head, analyzing isotopes and chemical elements for the chemistry department. It also monitors the health of the full bundles and status of the control rods for reactor engineering.

That doesn't answer my question. I'm curious as to what actual hardware is needed by your fleet which cannot connect to Mac hardware, which is essentially the same hardware as PC hardware.

the software required to do the items above existed for OSX

Yeah, I'm not talking about the software; everyone knows that if a proprietary, industry-specific application isn't developed for a given platform, well, it isn't developed for that given platform. I'm asking about the hardware only, which you said the Mac just can't handle.

 

[jdpg2]

I just recently returned from a business trip to India, and I have never seen so many Windows phones in my life! They were everywhere, all shapes all sizes. I even observed several large billboards touting them. There were iPhones and androids as well, but I feel there were more Windows phones at least in the places where I was paying attention.

Several people I work with from that region had them as well. I asked them why they choose the WP and they all replied because of the synergy of the phones with their desktop environments and how nicely the OS flows. This is the reason why I am on the platform.

What I am finding is people:

• that want to bandwagon and be trendy go for the iPhone
• that want to be all things google and not part of the evil MS empire go for the Android
• that want a great phone for what it does for them go Windows Phone.

 

[eigr1]

For me it is just because they are too slow.
Compering the 930 with my iphone 5, the 5 is much faster and therefore nicer to work with.

E:angry:

 

[neo158]

For me it is just because they are too slow.
Compering the 930 with my iphone 5, the 5 is much faster and therefore nicer to work with.

E:angry:

Which OS are you running on your iPhone 5 though?

Lets not forget that Apple use a method of "planned obsolescence" to force you to upgrade by slowing your devices down with new OS updates.

 

[tgp]

Lets not forget that Apple use a method of "planned obsolescence" to force you to upgrade by slowing your devices down with new OS updates.

They do?

 

[neo158]

They do?

Why do their older devices have performance problems with newer OS versions? To make people upgrade to their latest products.