Yes, wp is great. Now that i said it, let's stop being blind for a moment and open our eyes.
1. Marketing. This is key to success. MS and Nokia have made little to no effort in marketing. No ads, no visibility... and when they do it, they spent more time advertising the competition than their own devices. Pathetic and made them needy. Wrong approach.
2. Lack of apps and/or completely outdated apps. Yes, the number of apps is growing everyday but what kind of apps are we getting? Have you at least used an android or iphone to say the gap doesn't exist anymore? The gap is still as big as before. Having the name of an app in the store is great, having a working and up to date app is better. Here are a few examples of apps that are half-baked: fitbit, facebook, youtube, twitter, xbox music, spotify, instagram and so on. Yes, we have third party apps... who cares? People want the genuine apps, they don't care about third party apps. And when people jump from android or iphone to WP, they want the same experience than before, which is NOT the case. Just to be clear, i'm okay with third party apps, i'm making a general statement on behalf of the average users.
3. Confusing line-up of phones. The phone names are confusing and most of the time are irrelevant. For a time being the 6xx series were better then the 7xx series. There is no real flagship either. Not everyone wants the 1520. You'll tell me: get the 930! Well, no sd card (found on the 830), no glance (one of the most distinctive features of the lumia brand), bulky and heavy, still prone to overheating and other defects, very generic design (the icon has been discontinued for a reason). Most people want a flagship with the real pureview technology. Where is it?
4. One step forward, 2 steps backwards. The updates are supeeeer slow to be deployed. Updates are supposed to add features, not removing them. People who bought wp7 waited for 2 years and wp8.1 still isn't on par with the competition. It's catching up a little but it's not evolving fast enough. You'll tell me: "it's still a young platform". No, it's not anymore. It's time for wp to get out and kick ***. When i got my first wp7, i was told: wait for wp8. Got wp8 (still half baked). I was told: wait for wp8.1. we are still behind. What's next? Wait for windows 10 and so on... the problem? Windows 10 on phone will be shown "sometime next year". Even joe belfiore has no idea what it will be. Therefore, at best, windows 10 mobile will be shown a year from now. Released in approximately 2 years from now. So is that it for WP8.1? Not sure people will wait for windows 10. In the meantime, the new android will be released and ios8 will get more updates while we are still waiting for a decent version of a music player...
5. Lack of accessories. Android and ios have tons of compatible accessories. WP just got support for fitbit... yeah! Really catching up! People who have some devices paired with their phones will never make the jump until their devices are supported which will not happen anytime soon. Still no sign of a smartwatch. No, a smartwatch is not useful, i know. But it catches attention and shows your os and ecosystem is evolving towards something new. Once again, wp is way behind the competition.
6. Slow releases. The iphone 6 is shown on stage, released 2 weeks later almost worldwide. How long did the 930 take to be released? What about in-house accessories? You want a wireless charger, case, treasure tag or anything else, they are usually inexistent, even at Microsoft stores.
Yes, wp is great, but over time, i switched from "i love my 920" to "meh, it's ok". After 2 years, i still haven't changed the way i use my phone because there is almost nothing new.
My ride with wp has been fine but it's time for us to part. When my 920 dies, will i get another wp? Probably not, unless they finally release a flagship with a 41mpx camera. Tired of waiting for updates, improvements, accessories and new features to come. And maybe that's why people are not buying wp.