Why 'Cortana Gate' is very bad for business

[Sir William Wiener]

I don't understand the uproar over this. Isn't Microsoft first and foremost a software company? And isn't exclusivity Apple's gimmick?

Except now Apple owns Beats. And Beats has licensed their products to multiple platforms and OEMs. Heck, they even have an Android and Windows Phone app!

But really, if people are going to choose a platform, they're not going to make that decision based on a single app. As amazing as Cortana may be, people aren't going to be flocking to Windows Phone over it.

I think this is all just a tempest in a teapot.
Sent from my Lumia 822 using Tapatalk

We can't call Apple's strategy a "gimmick" if it's working for them. You realize if Apple made Siri & iMessage available on Android and Windows Phone/Windows 8 it would lose them customers right? Apple keeps so many people by offering them services and features that people grow to love and coincidentally can't find outside of Apple.

 

[Editguy1900]

Microsoft is being foolish because they're following the model set by Blackberry (a company now in a tail spin) when they should be following and emulating the successful models set by Apple. When taking cues from competitors you're supposed to emulate the successful ones not the failing ones. Do we see Apple porting Siri or iMessage to Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8?

That's not what got Blackberry into trouble. It was their slow response to a changing OS and smartphone market. Otherwise, that business model was very successful for them for many years.

 

[JJohnson1701]

What galls me is the gutting of social networking and Hubs. Those two things right there are what defines Windows Phone as better than the other platforms, together with live tiles. Take away the first two, and the third dies. Without social networking integration, what's the point of live tiles? Me Tile, People, group tiles, all that is now dead. My notifications disappear into the ether now. People has no recent pivot. Hubs were there to make everything integrated. Zune hub - gone, replaced with 4 different apps. Photo Hub - gone, now replaced with a gray, Soviet-style photo picker and two-app launcher.

Windows Phone, in my opinion, as a huge enthusiast who tries to convert everyone to WP, is dying. Without social integration, Hubs, and live tiles, there's no point in having a Windows Phone. It becomes and incredibly frustrating and limited OS that you get just so you don't have Google or iOS, not because it's better, because it truly isn't anymore. There's no differentiating factor now.

Take a look at my Zune Hub concept, then at the separate x-Box Music, x-Box video, podcasts, radio, and synch apps. Which would you rather have?

 

[anon(8555314)]

MS collects data on usage patterns and not many were using the hubs.Why keep a feature that few get?

 

[Guytronic]

Since this discussion is starting to waver and all who have participated have inserted some valid points it's time to put this thread to bed.
Thanx everyone!