Why It's An Uphill Battle For WP7

[Witness]

Hi - new member here, and I just need to vent.

I have an HTC Arrive, it's my first WP7 phone. I've been using Windows Mobile since it was Windows CE 1.0. Although I wouldn't recommend WM 6x to many people (casual users), I strongly recommend WP7, because it's ****ing awesome. This OS is amazing, and hardly anyone will ever know that it is. I think I know why.

First, I have a friend that works at T-Mobile. He's always talking about Android this and that. He recommends Androids to all his customers. Why? He is getting paid bonuses for every Android device he sells - particularly the Samsungs if I recall.

Second, I have this cousin that works for AT&T. At a family gathering last weekend, I overheard him talking to another cousin about phones. Naturally, I suggested checking out the WP7s. He immediately said the MS phones suck. Then, his brother goes on about how MS copies from everyone like Apple (he has an iPhone), and continues this diatribe. I interject and say that the Metro UI is completely different, and that even iOS developers have started adopting this scheme. Add to that, iOS 5 has copied some features from WP7 - he asked for specific examples, but I didn't have one on the spot and suggested he look at the Mango feature list. Back to the first cousin that works at AT&T. I asked him what he didn't like about WP7, and he couldn't come up with anything specific other than everyone else said it sucks. I conceded that WM 6x would not work for most consumers, but WP7 was completely different. I pressed harder about what he didn't like about it, and his reply was...

"I haven't played with those phones."

SMH. My moron cousin, and others like him working in these stores are the reason why it's an uphill battle for WP7. I stopped talking at that point, because a debate about the merits of the OS is pointless. What amazes me is that he had a pretty passionate opinion about WP7, when he knows absolutely nothing about it firsthand.

Anyways, that's what I wanted to share. Come to think of it, I really don't know if I'd prefer WP7s to become as popular as Android, or iOS. Maybe I like that it's a bit of a geek niche, coming from the difficult to use WM6x. In either case, I just hope that WP7 finds enough support that will sustain it in this saturated market.

 

[thed]

It's kind of amazing that people are willing to start a holy war over their choice of smartphone OS. I like WP but I'm willing to acknowledge its shortcomings. It seems like most people aren't willing to admit that every phone has its own strengths and weaknesses.

I used to think that talking about religion and politics was a recipe for disaster, but phone choice is rapidly approaching that level...

 

[jimski]

Thanks for that insightful info. I believe Microsoft needs to take matters into their own hands, and out of the hands of retailers/carriers and their biased opinions. It is critical to get people to touch and feel WP devices, so I suggest they setup kiosks in hundreds of malls, each with dozens of devices from every OEM and carrier. Let people play with the devices and then give them a discount coupon for stopping by, good for the carrier of their choice. Maybe even suggest, with printed literature, ordering online (now that they got to touch and feel) to avoid the in-store pressure. Take it a step further and add a fleet of traveling kiosks that can park outside sporting events, concerts, etc., again to let users touch and feel. It will employ a bunch of people, although temporarily, but I believe money better spent than the 30 second commercials, that inevitably get knocked down by the in-store sales force.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[Witness]

I used to think that talking about religion and politics was a recipe for disaster, but phone choice is rapidly approaching that level...

I do have to agree with you on this. It can be a seriously hot button issue for some folks who can't discuss things rationally, and respect each other's views. That can be said for a number of things. I did strongly consider the Android (talked about this) before the release of WP7 on Sprint. I held out for it, and glad I did. Thing is, I use iOS (Touch, iPod), and Android (tech support for my wife's phone) in addition to WM/WP7, so when I talk about these things, I don't talk out of my ***. He apparently did, and so just like anyone else, I just had to end the conversation... well, after I made my point in the form of a suprised expression, and silence that followed.

Thanks for that insightful info. I believe Microsoft needs to take matters into their own hands, and out of the hands of retailers/carriers and their biased opinions. It is critical to get people to touch and feel WP devices, so I suggest they setup kiosks in hundreds of malls, each ..... by the in-store sales force.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

That's a game plan they need to make. When I recommend WP7 to friends, I tell them to play around with it for at least 10 minutes. The UI is so different, that they need adjust to it first, before they can see how slick it is.

BTW, I see you're using Board Express. I'm now downloading the Lite Version to give it a go.

 

[davidt77]

The guy that helped me at the AT&T store actually pulled a Samsung Focus out of his pocket and talked about how much he liked it.

Seems like I see a lot of ads online for Windows Mobile lately. Yahoo always has one or two.

 

[bear_lx]

i couldnt agree more with this topic... and for me it is frustrating because microsoft doesnt advertise... AT ALL. think about the zune hd, it came out shortly after the ipod touch and can anyone tell em if they ever saw a zune hd commercial? or everytime you watch a movie, what phone are they using? its always an iphone. apple spends big bucks to advertise their products and it pays off. plus they have a really strong marketing team, and they control all the hardware in their devices. microsoft doesnt need to take this lightly, thisa is their last chance at breaking through into the smartphone world and need to be aggressive with its approach... kiosks, commericals, bonuses for retail sales, coupons, demo events... ect....

its a shame because its such a sweet device... lets keep our fingers crossed

 

[wolf1891]

It's kind of amazing that people are willing to start a holy war over their choice of smartphone OS. I like WP but I'm willing to acknowledge its shortcomings. It seems like most people aren't willing to admit that every phone has its own strengths and weaknesses.

I used to think that talking about religion and politics was a recipe for disaster, but phone choice is rapidly approaching that level...

ditto this... I personally am very happy with WP7 but I acknowledge that is my personal preference. try them all, see what works best for you (which is what i did), and then make an informed choice. it's not that hard but, i guess people just want to be told what to do rather than actually take a few minutes to make up their own minds.

 

[gerrymad]

This type of response to WP7 is unfrotunately all quite typical. The person at TMobile said she didn't like windows phones because she had used them in the past and hated them and that they ares nowhere near any current smart phone. I asked if she had tried the current versions and she said no. My son gave me a similar response. Made me want to disinherit him, but I didn't think the threat of cutting him off from $2.75 would scare him much.

Sometimes I think they should have called it anything but Windows. There is asuch a negative association with that name when it comes to phones. Perhaps they could have called it Joe's Operating System. At least that would have had a neutral impact.

 

[anon(26204)]

When I went to the Sprint Store a couple of days ago to exchange my Evo 3D for an Arrive, the sales Rep there was shocked that I was exchanging the Evo 3D for an Arrive. He was like, "You do know that you're exchanging a very more powerful phone for a much less powerful phone?" I was like Yup...but WP7 is a much better all around device and the battery is better also.

And i said so that other customers could hear me as well. He didn't say anything after that....lol

 

[Rhody#WP]

i couldnt agree more with this topic... and for me it is frustrating because microsoft doesnt advertise... AT ALL. think about the zune hd, it came out shortly after the ipod touch and can anyone tell em if they ever saw a zune hd commercial? or everytime you watch a movie, what phone are they using? its always an iphone. apple spends big bucks to advertise their products and it pays off. plus they have a really strong marketing team, and they control all the hardware in their devices. microsoft doesnt need to take this lightly, thisa is their last chance at breaking through into the smartphone world and need to be aggressive with its approach... kiosks, commericals, bonuses for retail sales, coupons, demo events... ect....

its a shame because its such a sweet device... lets keep our fingers crossed

While I agree with this topic and really like Jimski's suggestion, I do see MS advertising. They have those "the phone that saves you from your phone" commercials. I saw an episode of Bones where Dr. Brennan very obviously mentioned uploading images from her phone to Skydrive. They have many Windows 7 commercials.

I agree about Zune though. They could have made some inroads with that service. It would make selling the phones easier if people already used Zune and Xbox Live. If they had a commercial about how the Live services, Zune pass, Xbox Live, and WP7 worked together, that would be awesome!

 

[Rhody#WP]

I think the uphill battle is largely because of this time of pervasive media. There are so many blogs and youtube videos and TV stations and podcasts that to advertise is to fight a word-of-mouth steamroller. Somehow Apple tapped into that power and has the word-of-mouth steamroller working in its favor. The way people talk about it, you'd think 80% of people have an iPhone. There are a lot of ignorant people out there who think they're the informed majority.

 

[Winterfang]

Here's something interesting that happened to me the other day. I think it might be had to do with this topic at hand.

The other day I was paying my Phone bill and I heard some guy giving a training about some bonus for some phones. I hear the specs and they sounded nice, then he mentioned it was the LG Optimus one, ( I was like alright, it's a cheap phone they should push it ) but then he started talking about great battery life and ease of use etc... and mention the Windows 7 phone ( He kept calling it Windows 7 which was annoying but it's Microsoft fault on this one ).

He said that he want to moves this phone and you will get incentive for at least one you sell, they also thinking about a heavy price drop and a cheaper data plan. But I don't remember if that's for the 7 or the one. I would be beyond pissed if it was for me phone, because I wouldn't mind paying less for it.

Later that day, one guy from my carrier was asking for a cover for his Galaxy S II and he saw my phone. He inmediatly started bombarding me with questions about it. I show him everything I could about the core and he like what he saw ( He though you could play actually Xbox live games on it but then again, so did everybody else. )

He tell me that those phones aren't moving well and he do want to sell them because now that the Galaxy S II came out, they are having a huge problem because everyone wants only this one and are holding back starting new contracts.

 

[condemned]

Well one thing Microsoft has to do is market WP7 better. Just take a look at the Android and iPhone commercials vs the WP7 ones.

 

[Umm Yeah]

I think MS is starting to take a more active hand in WP7 marketing on a retail level. When I bought my HTC Trophy at the local Verizon store outside of DC, I had a very positive experience. MS appeared to have a person in the store specifically to make sure the Trophy was properly displayed. I also liked that they had a demo routine running on the Trophy there that was prepopulated with contacts and accounts so you could really see how it worked. I posted my experience below in another thread.

I picked my Trophy up a week ago at the Verizon Store in Bethesda on Wisconsin Ave. When I told them I was interested in the Trophy, the sales associate showed me the phone and walked through all the features, which I already knew about from my research online. When I told them I wanted to buy it, a man from Microsoft (I assume) came up from behind a stand I hadn't noticed and gave me a goody bag with discounts of on apps, a free X-Box game and even a T-shirt. He then gave the sales associate the coupon for a free X-Box game and a T-shirt as well, as she was the first person in the store to sell a Trophy. Then, to top it all off, when they rang up the bill, the price was reduced from the $149 price listed to $129. Talk about stellar service and knowledgeable staff. Next time, try the Bethesda store if it's convenient.

 

[Winterfang]

I think MS is starting to take a more active hand in WP7 marketing on a retail level. When I bought my HTC Trophy at the local Verizon store outside of DC, I had a very positive experience. MS appeared to have a person in the store specifically to make sure the Trophy was properly displayed. I also liked that they had a demo routine running on the Trophy there that was prepopulated with contacts and accounts so you could really see how it worked. I posted my experience below in another thread.

I wish my experience was like that =(

 

[condemned]

Microsoft should have commercials review their exclusive WP7 features in commercials, like the GUI with live tiles and Xbox live integration. I'm sure a lot of people who are into Xbox would look into WP7. For people like myself that no longer own an Xbox or have never owned one, that won't matter. But Mango is coming out with a bunch of new features but then again, so is iOS5 and Android 3.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich?) for phones. I think BB is also coming out with a new OS. Should be an interesting year for all these platforms.

 

[nyc_rock]

If WP fails its not going to be becuase ignorant sales reps dont push the OS. It will be becuase Microsoft stops innovating and stops pushing the envelope. I am seriously considering a WP for my next device. But I need video chat and expandable memory. Or at least 32gb built in. I have mentioned this before, but I'll say it again, WP hardware is now officially behind. The HTC leak from yesterday was promising although a 4.7 inch screen is too big. But if we get a wave of new hardware, and Mango brings video chat then I will be on board.

Microsoft has done an excellent job of positioning themselves between Apple and Google. Google has let the ecosystem get out of control. Too many hardware variants and too many outlets for apps. Apple is still too locked down. Microsoft comes in and gives a great UI which is consistent. This is key. If the continue to pump the resources into the OS I really believe they can be as big, or bigger than Android and IOS.

 

[VernonEL]

Come to think of it, I really don't know if I'd prefer WP7s to become as popular as Android, or iOS. Maybe I like that it's a bit of a geek niche, coming from the difficult to use WM6x. In either case, I just hope that WP7 finds enough support that will sustain it in this saturated market.

I don't mind one bit that Windows Phone the underdog right now. I will just continue to share my love for it, and will feel rather justified being an early adopter as others begin to come on board.

 

[Deflord]

I have tried them all - iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, and WP7, and out of them all I truly do prefer the WP7! But granted the original author is correct - the reason why WP7 is not faring well is because the phone companies are not promoting them. You walk in and the 1st two they promote are Android and Apple products. WP7 is like in the backburner. Microsoft needs to find a way to convince these sales people that WP7 is a truly excellent phone that can function just as well if not better than others.

 

[Deflord]

And I also got ridiculed from my Apple Friends for switching to the WP7 phone, then I asked them have you even EVER EVER tried them out? Have you even played with them? Have you even used them in a daily life. And all their responses were no. So I told them they have no judgement there - because all they are doing is reading and copying what other fanboys are saying. I said don't rag unless you have tried it - I have tried all five OS - so I can say what I think is good about some and what not. Only reason why I had an iPhone before was because of the video chat capability. Otherwise - I didnt care!