Why Microsoft just made a huge mistake.

[baileystein]

I am currently on, "MS is doing what they can" side, so ... just thought you should know that.

After watching the summit today, we all learned that all current Windows Phones can't be upgrded to Windows Phone 8. Microsoft just lost so much momentum, it's crazy.

I understand WHY we can not upgrade (new core/kernal). Most people just don't understand that.

Normally I answer some Windows Phone questions and act as a Mini-Support Team guy on Facebook. It's been crazy of how bad Microsoft upset their customers.

"Very disappointed, people buying a phone today will not be able to upgrade, what's the point of buying a WP today?"

"My two months old Lumia 800 just got smoked by Windows Phone 8. Thanks!"

"What else can you expect from the company who also has given the middle finger to CDMA based networks? Don't you guys realize Microsoft will never surpass Blackberry as an OS of preferences, now more with the decision of not giving WP 8 to devices less than a year old." Let's just say I gave the middle finger to HIM

"what a shame microsoft, is that the way you pay us all WP lovers?? you really forgot us, i have a nokia lumia and you stocked us on WP 7.8!!! i'm really dissapointed"

"Yeah the next mayor update a new Start screen I can't wait"

They just shoot down their own product. I go in, explain this, which is really hard, because as the situation is: IT SUCKS.

They insist to troll on WP Facebook Page and won't go away. You can't put WP8 on WP7 devices unless you REALLY change the code. Maybe if I buy a HD2, I can upgrade to WP8?

It does seem unfair for people who JUST signed a 2 year contract. I would be pissed. I just spent $400 for my Lumia last month. I'm not crying, I'm not freaking out here.

Besides, I'll buy a WP8 right away when they come out. I'm on AT&T and have several options.

I'm completly okay with this.
THE PROBLEM: 90% OF NORMAL USERS ARE VERY UPSET

Microsoft told them they'll be getting a start screen update, why not give a number of how many features? Most people think it will just be the start screen.

And the apps! WP8 won't be compatible with WP7, unless they are targeted for it.

Microsoft just lost 30% of its customers. If they keep doing this, I'm afraid I'm going to take a break from Windows Phone.

I love windows phones, but I'm open to other platforms. I own all 3: iphone 4s, htc evo 4g, and a Lumia 900.

Sound off in the comments!

 

[AngryNil]

Microsoft just lost 30% of its customers

99.9% of commenters on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are either narcissistic, self-entitled pricks or straight-up trolls / fanboys. There's no need to worry based on Facebook data.

The big hitter will be if big-brand apps don't come to Windows Phone 7.x, but that will remain to be seen. Myerson promised that Microsoft will still be working to grow the 7.x selection.

 

[Zumanity]

I think it's unfair to say normal users are upset. Normal users are not even likely to check tech-blogs/know there was an announcement. It's the people who are more tech inclined who comment on these types of things.

I was recently over at the Verge and saw many comments that presented wrong information on the 7.8 update. Granted that there aren't any more details on the software specs and feature updates, how can we assume that we're just getting a "start screen update". I'm confident that Microsoft will update the existing software and add on cool new features such as better speech, ui, interfaces, and integration. It might not be the whole Windows Phone 8, but I would be satisfied with it.

I have to agree with the Lumia 900 comments though. I feel like that was an ill-timed release. Consumers have the mind-set that when they buy the latest item on the shelf, it should be the latest and greatest. Seeing a new operating system (i.e new phones) in the Fall would be a bit upsetting. Granted again, the normal users wouldn't check on the tech/micro blogs about the update now, but would see new phones when they browse their carrier stores this fall.

I think we should wait and see what Windows Phone 7.8 gets us. (I know i'll be sticking to it for a while, still have 1 year for an upgrade)

 

[roffleswaffles]

Oops at all of us, looks like WE were the smartphone beta testers. Looking for a Smartphone Beta Test support group right now. :lol:

While I understand why they can't support "legacy devices" (rofl, considering they were just out some months ago), I have to say I'm quite disappointed by this move. It's not very well thought out. Like what, let's just release an OS that's never gonna be supported by future updates ever? It's been just a bit less than a year and our phones are going to be shut out cause they won't support apps for WP8. And let's be real, what developer is going to waste their time coding for Mango when they could just code for WP8?

I just can't help but feel so burned by them. I took a gamble on a platform that's not going to be supported in a couple months, so now I'm wondering whether I should be gambling on a WP8 phone. When better hardware come out, and it will, how do I know that Microsoft is going to be all ~NOPE WE DON'T SUPPORT LEGACY DEVICES (EVEN THOUGH WE JUST RELEASED THEM A MONTH AGO)~ :dry

 

[cckgz4]

Oops at all of us, looks like WE were the smartphone beta testers. Looking for a Smartphone Beta Test support group right now. :lol:

While I understand why they can't support "legacy devices" (rofl, considering they were just out some months ago), I have to say I'm quite disappointed by this move. It's not very well thought out. Like what, let's just release an OS that's never gonna be supported by future updates ever? It's been just a bit less than a year and our phones are going to be shut out cause they won't support apps for WP8. And let's be real, what developer is going to waste their time coding for Mango when they could just code for WP8?

I just can't help but feel so burned by them. I took a gamble on a platform that's not going to be supported in a couple months, so now I'm wondering whether I should be gambling on a WP8 phone. When better hardware come out, and it will, how do I know that Microsoft is going to be all ~NOPE WE DON'T SUPPORT LEGACY DEVICES (EVEN THOUGH WE JUST RELEASED THEM A MONTH AGO)~ :dry

You'll be alright

 

[roffleswaffles]

You'll be alright

Excuse you? You don't know me. Get out of my face.

 

[Dormage]

We'll just flash our gen 1 with a Wp8 rom...don't make such a fuzz about it.
The only reason why M$ didn't provide the upgrade is because in order to upgrade the kernel you'd need to have the OS iso.
If they relese that then the OS will probably be exploited to the bone.
We'll just do that on our own.

 

[Reflexx]

Won't support legacy devices? Wrong.

I swear, people are just spouting whatever comes to mind without really knowing.

 

[Reflexx]

Excuse you? You don't know me. Get out of my face.

Whoa there Captain Drama.

 

[massifheed]

And let's be real, what developer is going to waste their time coding for Mango when they could just code for WP8?

That's the biggest issue for me. People are trying to put a positive spin on this, and are going nuts over the new start screen (which I don't particularly care for). But the real problem facing WP7.x users - and especially those of us who have just got a new WP7.5 - is that developers are going to code apps for W8/WP8 because that's the easisest option available to them. Developer app support for WP7 will drop through the floor, regardless of what anyone at MS says about being commited to expanding the WP7.x marketplace. It just won't happen. I would even go as far as saying that those companies that may have started WP7 apps will bin them and just work to W8/WP8 now. It'd be interesting to see some data in the coming months regarding new WP7.x app releases and updates. I bet it tails off pretty quick.


Personally, I think MS have a moral obligation to make sure that WP7.8 has everything in it that WP8 has that isn't reliant on hardware specs. I can see no reason why they shouldn't be able to make that happen. They owe that much to folks who have just signed two-year contracts after Nokia & MS heavily pushing the Lumia line for the last few months (and they would have known about there being no WP8 upgrade for current gen devices months before that).

From my own point of view, I had a pretty good suspicion that this was gonna happen, and I've said before that I am happy with my Lumia 900 for two years (although part of that may be down to the free Monster headphones and Nokia Play 360 speaker that came with it!). But I think of those who have just bought their phones and who may have either misunderstood or been misled about the MS update path for WP (let's not forget about 'no fragmentation' being one of the WP original selling points). They deserve more than a new start screen and a couple of features. I think MS can either benefit from this - in terms of the publicity and reputation gained from going all-out to look after their WP7.x customers - or they can let this thing generate a bad reputation for themselves by doing nothing of worth.

 

[gwydionjhr]

I don't know what people are so upset about. Anybody that had done any research at all knew this was a possibility. I hoped against hope that it wasn't, but I still kept my head.

I've been using the last of the WM6.5 devices for 2.5 years now. It's still perfectly serviceable, although the battery isn't quite as strong as it once was. For a variety of reasons I'm ready for a new phone, but I held off making my final decision until today knowing the final answer would most likely be revealed.

Now the 900 is out of the equation, and I'll be angling on an unlocked 710, Radar or 800. I'll use the next 6months to get the wife trained on how to use it, and then get some high end device in the fall.

That is of course unless someone with a 900 is so disgusted with current affairs that they'd want to sell me their unlocked 900. I'm open to offers!

Hey Rafael! You Listening?

 

[dannejanne]

"Microsoft just lost 30% of its customers"

The 30% that we really don't need.

Honestly though. Does anyone really believe "we" lost 30%? Not a chance. Not even 30% is whining.

Look at this poll: http://www.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-78-nice-touch-or-not-enough

It clearly shows that it's the whining that takes over the internet while in fact most people are happy with the update or at least not raging like a spoiled child about it.

And on the internet we "geeks" are over-representated. So those voting figures are far from "reality" as the "normal" user don't even know about this announcement at all or gives a damn. So the negative votes will be more here on the internet than in the real life.

"THE PROBLEM: 90% OF NORMAL USERS ARE VERY UPSET"

Where the **** do you get your figures from? A crackheads brain?

 

[roffleswaffles]

Whoa there Captain Drama.

Obviously I was joking around... :straight:

I don't know what people are so upset about. Anybody that had done any research at all knew this was a possibility. I hoped against hope that it wasn't, but I still kept my head.

What do you mean, "done any research at all"? Microsoft kept us all in the dark until just yesterday on the future of our phones. Honestly, I was hoping that in some sense Microsoft would pull out what J4rrod had predicted (i.e., different versions of Apollo for all devices) but it's not even that.

And what about people who are just getting into Windows Phones? What exactly are you going to tell them when they find out their phones (pretty much) won't be supported after this fall? ~Oh you should have done your research~? There's even an Engadget article around a user who just bought a Lumia 900 a week or two ago and of course, is now furious at the recent news.

 

[AngryNil]

Look, it's not a good outcome for us "early adopters" that we will not get the apps utilising native code and new Windows Phone 8.0 APIs. There's no point trying to cover it up, we are left behind and if we want to keep up to speed, we're going to have to make the jump. It's pretty bad for new Lumia owners, as the Lumia range was the premier Windows Phone line up. Comparatively, the flagship Androids don't lose this much compatibility.

My contract ends in two months and I'll definitely be looking at WP8 devices. I just hope this is a once-off jump and they've adequately planned for the future this time round. All indications point towards NT being a good bet for this.

 

[dannejanne]

Comparatively, the flagship Androids don't lose this much compatibility.

Because the upgrade to ICS from Gingerbread was not as big as an upgrade like from wp7.5 to wp8. Not nearly as big. We got a new core. Our hardware can't handle it. Not much to do about that. This was expected and I'm not mad even the slightest.

 

[Satchef1]

Microsoft are notoriously bad at handling the press - always have been. They're great at talking to hardware partners or developers, but they just don't seem to get how journalists work. This is a classic example. They broke the bad news, handed over a token bit of good news, tried to appease people by announcing new Nokia WP7 apps and... it hasn't worked. Quelle suprise. The backlash is immense. In the face of no WP8 upgrade, nobody gives a rats *** about some new Nokia apps.

I hope that's the bad news over with and the unannounced features are ones that people really want to see. That might go some way to cheering people up. We could potentially get any feature yet, it just won't involve new apps (anything affecting development would have been revealed yesterday) or new hardware. Skype integration could still be on if it's baked in t the OS directly.

 

[jabtano]

I'm not upset really. I'm due for an update in November on my HD7. I can understand what they did here In order to grow the OS into something much better they had to make this move. Yes we will not get the full update just part of it. Even that part is so much better than what we have now. I'm going to be happy with the Lumia 710 until the device is due for upgrade.

 

[baileystein]

The thing is, this is sucha controversial topic.

The problem: The 30% thats "leaving" are all tech saavy people. That means their family/friends will get a Windows Phone thumbs down.

People on here are more reasonable (....a little...) and understand why MS can't do this.

The apps is the killer.

 

[AngryNil]

Because the upgrade to ICS from Gingerbread was not as big as an upgrade like from wp7.5 to wp8. Not nearly as big. We got a new core. Our hardware can't handle it. Not much to do about that. This was expected and I'm not mad even the slightest.

Our hardware will definitely be able to handle an app that is incompatible due to utilisation of WP8-specific APIs. Not everything will be intense gaming - I expect you'll see some run-of-the-mill apps without WP7 support simply because the developer isn't bothering.

 

[massifheed]

I expect you'll see some run-of-the-mill apps without WP7 support simply because the developer isn't bothering.

Yup, that's how I see this panning out. In fact, I'm not bothered at all about a fancy start screen compared with app availability. I'd rather have everything on my Lumia stay the same, just be able to run WP8 apps, than have the ability to mess around with my start screen tiles.