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With Cortana as a HERO FEATURE Does Windows Phone Really NEED a Flagship Device to Create Mind-Share and a "Halo Effect?"
This is a long post PLEASE read on to get the whole picture but here's a snapshot:
Windows Phone has a BIG problem, VERY little mindshare in the market. That means when most people go to buy a smartphone iOS and Android, not Windows Phone are the options on their mind. The success of the 520/521 is more a testimony of people looking for a CHEAP phone rather than a Windows Phone. This is bad.
Daniel Rubino said:
"High-end Windows Phones so far have not earned their due in terms of market share for Microsoft. Although devices like the Lumia 1520, Lumia 1020 and the newer Lumia 930 are elegant, impressive and competitive, shoppers instead opt for entry-level Lumias. Microsoft desperately needs to turn that around, especially in the United States, and it looks like Microsoft is going to pick up the torch from Nokia and aggressively brave that path. "
With this is in mind Microsoft has something the other platforms don't have; a digital assistant that is tied to their HIGHLY successful Xbox Brand and the WILDLY SUCCESSFUL Halo franchise - both of which have IMMENSE MINDSHARE. :smile:
So here's the question. With Cortana as a hero feature, if Microsoft were to leverage the success and popularity of the Halo brand and deliberately associate it's Windows Phone Cortana with that brand, especially in light of the re-release of the original four (4) games, the release of the live action digital production Halo: Nightfall starring Mike Colter as Agent Locke, the upcoming Halo 5 and the Stephen Spielberg produced ShowTime Halo TV Show, which will present Cortana and her world to millions of non-gaming smartphone consumers; AND introduce the Cortana Windows Phone Digital Assistant to a market that is unique to Microsoft - millions of enamored Halo fans - does Microsoft NEED a hero device to create the much needed "halo effect" and Mindshare especially considering all attempts to do so in the past have failed?
This is NOT to say that MS should forego building a head turning, top notch, frills filled device. But it is more of a question of what approach can Microsoft use to get that elusive yet MUCH NEEDED mindshare that continues to slip through their fingers.
rly:Ok, just wanted to clarify! Thanks for hanging in there. READ on for my FULL view. Don't forget to take the POLL and share this. Let's see what the community thinks!:smile:
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The McLaren is DEAD!
Our hopes for a Game Changing Device with a vastly differentiated feature set died with it! Windows Phone Fans grieved with the news.
Daniel Rubino said:
"Windows Phone Central has confirmed with multiple sources familiar with the matter that Microsoft is completely canceling McLaren. In effect, this leaves Microsoft in a potentially vulnerable position this fall as the hardware and services company does not have any flagship Windows Phones, to our knowledge, in the pipeline."
Why did we mourn? Well we love our platform and ecosystem! And we are certain that if others simply saw what we see in the platform they would love it too. And what better way to pry the attention of the masses from their iPhones and Android devices than with a feature packed, magical flagship Windows device like the McLaren. Certainly now that the McLaren has gone the way of the DoDo Microsoft's current line up of high-end devices, the Lumia 1520, Icon, 930 and whatever non-3D touch, "not-the-McLaren" device that hit's this Fall won't pack the "Halo Effect" inducing punch to get folks crying, "Hey, I Want a Windows Phone. Because EVERYBODY know's in order to produce a halo effect, that shine's an "I need that device" light on a companies product line, you ABSOLUTLEY NEED a flagship hero device like an S5 or G3 or 5S or do you? Windows Phone's Cortana may have changed the game, Evolved the Smartphone War Combat if you will.
Think about it. No really. Ever since Cortana became part of the Windows Phone feature set things are a little bit, no let's be honest A LOT, different!
See, Google Now is a great, yet bland and witless digital assistant. Siri is a voice assistant that has a personality, but functionally is not on par with Google Now or Cortana lacking predictive tech, context awareness and neural network foundations. Cortana, well she is not only entering the fray touting the best of both her rivals world's but she brings a WHOLE lot more to the table. Halo.
Cortana is the only digital assistant with a pop culture identity that exists beyond the parameters of the devices or platform of which she is a part. She has been part of the BLOCKBUSTER Halo franchise for 15 years. This franchise as you know has spanned across a series of games, novels by best-selling authors, collectibles, movies, fan-created machinima, an upcoming reintroduction of the original 4 game titles via Halo: The Master Chief Collection, a live action production Halo: Nightfall, a fifth iteration of the blockbuster game, Halo 5 and a Stephen Spielberg produced Show Time TV series. Yes, this is the world of Cortana. This is the marketing and pop culture weight behind this highly capable and differentiated Windows Phone Personal assistant.
With the reintroduction of the original 4 games, old school gamers will be "re-AMPED" going down memories lane reliving their universe saving adventures with Cortana by their side. Those new to the game will join them falling headlong into the tale, the story, embracing Cortana as their faithful companion. Marketing!
Please allow me:
I grew up in 80's. I was in elementary school when He-Man and The Transformers were first introduced to the world. WOW! What amazing series those were! As little kid's we'd rush home from school to watch our favorite, "half hour commercials" eerrrrr, cartoons. Ok, commercials. After entering adulthood and you know, learning how the world worked just a tad, I came into the knowledge that toy companies worked hard to get these cartoons in front of us excited little tikes. Why? So that after watching He-Man save GraySkull from Skelator for about 24 minutes, or the GI Joe Team defeat Cobra in yet another battle or Optimus Prime sock it to Megatron we little wannabe heros would now want to "live out" what we just watched. And it worked. Marketing! We'd bug our parents incessantly for the latest Joe, He-Man character or Transformer.(You have no idea how bad I wanted Zartan, "Changes color right before your eyes - ZARTAN" )sorry I digress.
rly: But you get it.Microsoft has the Halo franchise and the Cortana character and the vast story and necessary resources to make the Halo Franchise- games, productions, etc", "commercials" for Cortana on Windows Phone. They need but tie the franchise, all that has come before, all that is current and that which is coming down the pipe into this very appealing Windows Phone digital assistant that even now people all over the world are clamoring for! Tens of millions of Halo fans are already eager to "live out" via Cortana on their Windows Phones, that companionship forged with Cortana over the years they played Halo, millions more who are introduced to the series via the Master Chief Collection will join them. Even more can be added as the Halo universe further enters the collective mainstream via Halo: Night Fall this Fall and the 2015 debut of the Stephen Spielberg produced Show Time Halo TV Show.
Microsoft need only intentionally use the success and mind-share of of the Halo franchise to highlight the iconic Cortana characters presence on Windows Phone. Her ubiquitous presence on devices as low as the Lumia 520(when updated) to the high end Lumia 1520/Icon/930 make her a hero feature, if marketed as such (in my humble opinion), that EVERY Windows Phone user can have! A flagship device produces a halo effect but it's flagship features are only had by those who can get that device. Cortana as a hero feature can produce a "halo" effect (pun intended) that will shine on ALL Windows Phone devices and that ALL users can have.
And just looking ahead a bit, she is a feature that will transcend the phone, and make it to other Microsoft devices. Who knows what magic will happen when Cortana on Windows Phone connects with our other Windows devices. Yeah. I know we mourn the demise of the McLaren, but maybe, just maybe with Cortana we don't need to fight this smartphone war like we used to - device vs device. Halo's Cortana, may have introduced smartphone combat - evolved. And she's the next evolutionary step.
So in summation: Yes we all want a high end flagship device. I'm currently carrying a 1020 and the international version of the 1520. I love both devices! They are arguably currently at the top of what our beloved platform has to offer. Yet aside from the tablet teasing size of the 1520 and awesome display(oh sooo convenient I LOVE this thing!) and the incredible photography prowess of the 1020(this thing is a beast!), neither device offers much differentiation hardware-wise from what the best of iOS or Android brings to the table. Most devices on the market posses relatively equal specs in regards to speed, memory, resolution etc, you know, the basics. Some OEMS throw in some unique features in order to differentiate, like the Fire Phones 3D display and object identifying Fire Fly. Or Apples iPhone's 5S's fingerprint scanner (and the broader implications it brings to that ecosystem).
Yes the McLaren was to be our high end magical device with the AWESOME touchless interaction with all the high end specs to boot! But alas. It's dead. Windows Phone needs a halo effect to bring mass market attention to it's devices and ecosystem. The 1020 was the device that came closest to achieving this. The McLaren, if the tech was ready, with it's launch on multiple carriers would have likely faired much better. But there is no McLaren.
Yet I am certain that the flagships that launch this fall and/or this holiday season will have all of the necessary bells and whistles to qualify it as a high-end device worthy of current Windows Phone users and enthusiasts to upgrade to. Self included! What I am not certain of is if the new Windows Phones just bring in tow basic high-end features that all smartphone users simply come to expect on their devices (iOS and Android) is if that will be enough to generate the much needed halo effect and mass market mindshare.
That's what's at the core here. With the death of the McLaren and the attention such advanced touchless interaction that tech would likely have brought to Windows Phone, and now to expect what will likely amount to awesome, yet probably not attention grabbing features this Fall with Cortana and the huge franchise that backs her do we need a hero device to create that halo effect and mindshare or is Cortana up to the task?
There are millions of Halo fans out there who just might be a ripe market to draw upon. The excitement of Halo: Nightfall and Mike Colter's casting as Agent Locke is also bringing attention to that franchise. Speilberg's ShowTime Halo TV show will further bring the Halo franchise mainstream in 2015. Cortana is part of this world. We need mind-share here.
Like me, you may have NEVER owned an Xbox, and like me you may have NEVER played Halo. Yet the franchise has its appeal. :angel:
Oh don't get me wrong we're DEFINITELY getting high-end hero devices! That's pretty much confirmed by reports here at WPCentral as well.
"Finally, Jo Harlow, who heads up the phone business under Microsoft devices, notes in the memo that they will shift "...flagship engineering efforts towards new flagship products timed with the next release of Windows and Windows Phone," referring to the Spring 2015 'Threshold' update. In the meantime, the company is focusing on the Lumia 930, Lumia 1520 and "and other high-end products that we will be announcing very soon."
That's great news for all of us WP users and enthusiasts. We'll have an upgrade path!
The challenge is we've ALWAYS had hero devices and flagships and upgrade paths but sadly very little mass market MINDSHARE.(the 1020 almost got us there
)People generally don't talk about or even worse THINK about Windows Phone as a option!
The question here is given the popularity, the Mindshare and the fame of HALO, with past and coming games, productions and The Stephen Spielberg produced ShowTime TV Show, all of which will bring Halo, Cortana's world, before the general smartphone buying public, I posit, could that massive franchise be used to leverage Cortana as a hero feature to create mindshare for Windows Phone?
We need MINDSHARE. We need something that fundamentally establishes Windows Phone in the mind of a buyer as an option alongside iPhones and Android devices. Does that something necessarily HAVE to be a High-end device?
Daniel Rubino:
"High-end Windows Phones so far have not earned their due in terms of market share for Microsoft. Although devices like the Lumia 1520, Lumia 1020 and the newer Lumia 930 are elegant, impressive and competitive, shoppers instead opt for entry-level Lumias. Microsoft desperately needs to turn that around, especially in the United States, and it looks like Microsoft is going to pick up the torch from Nokia and aggressively brave that path. "
What are your thoughts? do you think we ABSOLUTELY need a feature rich "McLaren like"(granted one would be nice) hero device to generate the halo effect and mindshare Windows Phone needs or can the weight of the Halo franchise be leveraged behind Cortana (along with her unique features and work of the Bing and Cortana teams) to make her the hero feature that makes people say, "Hey I Want a Windows Phone!" Hey, I Want a Windows Phone! Cortana?s ?Halo? Effect | Tech Word - Ward's Word on Tech
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