Frustrated with "No Flagship" complaints

[Laura Knotek]

This --- The One M8 is/was an HTC/Andoroid flagship ... rave reviews (in spite of the so-so camera) ... award winning design etc .... Put Windows OS in it and voila! -- run of the mill ho-hum - device that lots of people wouldn't be caught dead with lol :grin:

That's a separate Lumia-loving contingent who think the WP world begins and ends with Nokia. Same thing can be said with the Galaxy S4 and the Ativ SE. One was a stand-out and the other was an afterthought. BTW, the M8 did have a garbage camera whether WP or Android.

Sent from my LG G3 via Tapatalk

That's not all that different on our sister site Android Central. The HTC vs Samsung threads abound there too.

Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk

 

[theefman]

Sorry to burst anyone's bubble but there's no conspiracy - WP users prefer Lumia's because overall they're better. Doesn't mean HTC is bad but lets be honest, given their pedigree with Windows mobile devices they should have done much more with WP. They didn't and Nokia came in and showed how its done. No reason to be bitter about it.

 

[Luuthian]

Sorry to burst anyone's bubble but there's no conspiracy - WP users prefer Lumia's because overall they're better. Doesn't mean HTC is bad but lets be honest, given their pedigree with Windows mobile devices they should have done much more with WP. They didn't and Nokia came in and showed how its done. No reason to be bitter about it.

The M8 is a decent device. It just suffers from the lackluster "meh" quality that has plagued HTC for years. There's always a certain somewhere they've cut a corner on their phone design. The camera sucks, or the battery life sucks, or the bezels are huge, or the phone isn't thin, etc. Despite it being a metal flagship it can't match any of its competitors in quality. Their design philosophy is stuck in the early 2000's.

Lumia's, on the other hand, look and feel premium in every way. They're a little too chunky still but maybe they'll fix that this time around. At least holding a Lumia never made me feel like it would break the second I drop it, unlike my iPhone 6 which feels as fragile as a live grenade, case or no case.

EDIT: There's also the fact you're on the hook with HTC AND the carrier to get updates. Not a happy place to be.

 

[Ebuka Allison]

That's a separate Lumia-loving contingent who think the WP world begins and ends with Nokia. Same thing can be said with the Galaxy S4 and the Ativ SE. One was a stand-out and the other was an afterthought. BTW, the M8 did have a garbage camera whether WP or Android.

Sent from my LG G3 via Tapatalk

Ativ SE was treated like an afterthought. Just got WP 8.1.1 in March (almost a year after 8.1 was launched) + its Verizon only. Doesn't factor

 

[Ebuka Allison]

The M8 is a decent device. It just suffers from the lackluster "meh" quality that has plagued HTC for years. There's always a certain somewhere they've cut a corner on their phone design. The camera sucks, or the battery life sucks, or the bezels are huge, or the phone isn't thin, etc. Despite it being a metal flagship it can't match any of its competitors in quality. Their design philosophy is stuck in the early 2000's.

Lumia's, on the other hand, look and feel premium in every way. They're a little too chunky still but maybe they'll fix that this time around. At least holding a Lumia never made me feel like it would break the second I drop it, unlike my iPhone 6 which feels as fragile as a live grenade, case or no case.

EDIT: There's also the fact you're on the hook with HTC AND the carrier to get updates. Not a happy place to be.

Re- Edit, guess who has GDR2 via update and who doesn't? HTC for the former, all Lumias(640/540/640XL exempt) for the latter

 

[Luuthian]

Seriously? There must be a logical reason for that?

Releases for Windows Phone updates were always messy during my experience with the platform but it's not exactly a typical scenario to have a third party like HTC update their device before Microsoft updates theirs.

 

[Kevin Hill2]

Seriously? There must be a logical reason for that?

Releases for Windows Phone updates were always messy during my experience with the platform but it's not exactly a typical scenario to have a third party like HTC update their device before Microsoft updates theirs.

The update came from Microsoft, not HTC, the only updates the M8 does not receive are firmware updates that are phone specific. All Windows updates will now be from Microsoft and not the carriers.

 

[fatclue_98]

Ativ SE was treated like an afterthought. Just got WP 8.1.1 in March (almost a year after 8.1 was launched) + its Verizon only. Doesn't factor

Support and carrier placement does not make a flagship. On its own, the SE is better equipped than all but one or two Lumias. Like any Verizon LTE phone, it comes factory unlocked for GSM use anywhere. My AT&T 1520 doesn't have that luxury.

 

[Khensu]

HTC M8 for Windows owner here. I've only ever owned Windows Smart Phones, never had anything else. The fact that there isn't a flagship phone for windows is hurting the situation, bottom line. My new S6 arrives tomorrow.

The people who are gadget lovers, reading this site and other tech news sites on a daily basis, those are the people Microsoft needs in their corner. We're the ones who talk about our phones and sing their praises to others. We are the market that Microsoft is currently losing a little bit at a time for however much longer they decide to not have a competitive alternative to the S6, G4, IPhone 6, M9, etc....

 

[Ebuka Allison]

Support and carrier placement does not make a flagship. On its own, the SE is better equipped than all but one or two Lumias. Like any Verizon LTE phone, it comes factory unlocked for GSM use anywhere. My AT&T 1520 doesn't have that luxury.

Doesn't factor because of all the other countries that are not the US. As someone in the UK, I could care less about the Ativ SE, LG Lancet, Windows M8.

 

[fatclue_98]

Doesn't factor because of all the other countries that are not the US. As someone in the UK, I could care less about the Ativ SE, LG Lancet, Windows M8.

That was my point. You could use any Verizon phone in the UK. More to the point, a device's carrier or region does not dictate whether it's a flagship or not. Until the iPhone 4, every previous version was an AT&T exclusive. Didn't change the fact that it was a superior device for its time. Same for the OG Droid and Droid X, they were Verizon CDMA exclusives and were touted as the forebears of the Android rise. This discussion has nothing to do with whether a phone is in Europe or the US or any other place on Earth. It's about what constitutes flagship status.

 

[deadonthefloor]

I think MS doesn't want to look like another 7.x -> 8.0 incompatibility.
With so many new features coming to Windows 10 Mobile, it wouldn't make sense to release a 'flagship' 8.x within a year of 10, and have it unable to take advantage of the Win10 features.

 

[Luuthian]

I think MS doesn't want to look like another 7.x -> 8.0 incompatibility.
With so many new features coming to Windows 10 Mobile, it wouldn't make sense to release a 'flagship' 8.x within a year of 10, and have it unable to take advantage of the Win10 features.

Nah, they could easily just build the phone with current tech and provide a firmware update later. Nothing is coming out within the next 3-4 months that would require MS to hold back until the tech is available.

The only reason that makes sense is they want to launch the phone with W10 on it, ready to go. It'll be a flagship for the OS. Releasing a phone today would diminish the marketing oomph they're looking for as they would have to advertise it as a Windows 8.1 phone, not a Windows 10 phone. They're looking to build off the excitement of Windows 10, not attach a current flagship to a largely loathed OS.

 

[theefman]

They're looking to build off the excitement of Windows 10, not attach a current flagship to a largely loathed OS.

WP was a lot of things but "largely loathed" was likely not one of them.

 

[Cthugha]

Re: Fustrated with "No Flagship" complaints

The frustration with a lack of a new flagship is understandable. But I would hope any adult that understands why there is not a new release yet would be reasonable and accept good sense. Not LIKE it, but accept it and not complain incessantly.

The complaining is GOOD and NECESSARY. I know several loyal WP fans that has switched platform just because the lack of proper updated flagship devices. I'm also due for a new phone now and getting a 930 today is out of the question (the Icon/930 is now 15 months old). One M8 has a crappy camera is also outdated. I'll likely get a Galaxy S6 and wave bye bye to WP. Not because I wanted to but because I was forced. My current 925 is two years old next month.
So keep complaining until MS listen. They could easily have released a new flagship during the previous half year or so (i.e. a "1030" or a slimmer slightly updated "935") and another one along with Windows 10 (940/1040/1540/...).

 

[bijak_riyandi]

Lets not read into this too deeply. A flagship is simply the best device offered in a particular category by the manufacturer as of today (which is usually easy to make out because it costs so freaking much). Almost all cellphone companies these days have a flagship phone and a flagship phablet.

As it stands right now Microsoft's current flagships would be the Lumia 930 (regular phone) and Lumia 1520 (phablet).

The 930 is only about 9 months old (if you don't count the Icon release date) so that's not terrible IMO. The 1520 is at least a year old. Not anything too crazy yet, in terms of a wait for a new phone, but I imagine part of what's killing everyone is the lack of consistency. You know Apple will release their phones generally the same time every year, as well as Google and Samsung. Microsoft has no regular release window and they're going to make most WP consumers wait... what? 3-5 months longer than a standard year long wait? Nothing major, but the lack of predictability is a little frustrating.

Well, you can't really expect a company that undergoes a transition to be predictable

 

[bijak_riyandi]

Re: Fustrated with "No Flagship" complaints

The complaining is GOOD and NECESSARY. I know several loyal WP fans that has switched platform just because the lack of proper updated flagship devices. I'm also due for a new phone now and getting a 930 today is out of the question (the Icon/930 is now 15 months old). One M8 has a crappy camera is also outdated. I'll likely get a Galaxy S6 and wave bye bye to WP. Not because I wanted to but because I was forced. My current 925 is two years old next month.
So keep complaining until MS listen. They could easily have released a new flagship during the previous half year or so (i.e. a "1030" or a slimmer slightly updated "935") and another one along with Windows 10 (940/1040/1540/...).

Sometimes I wonder if people know the difference between a Cyan 930 and Denim 930...

 

[Ryan Spooner]

Re: Fustrated with "No Flagship" complaints

The frustration with a lack of a new flagship is understandable. But I would hope any adult that understands why there is not a new release yet would be reasonable and accept good sense. Not LIKE it, but accept it and not complain incessantly.

Sorry, but at least these people have a reason to to be complaining. Namely Microsoft dropping the ball on their phone strategy somewhat over the past 12-18 months. Whereas you on the other hand seem to be complaining solely because you don't like other people complaining. Don't throw stones inside a glass house my friend.

 

[Jonny702]

Re: Fustrated with "No Flagship" complaints

Yeah, The lack of a flagship is why when my 920 bought the farm, I ran off to Android. I'm in Canada and we don't have an Icon OR a 930 so really there was nothing for me. Now I have a OnePlus one that I hate but the point is, someone who loved the product, left because there was nothing out for him and no other reason. I wasn't about to buy an 830 or less. I want a phone with all the great features

 

[bijak_riyandi]

Re: Fustrated with "No Flagship" complaints

Sorry, but at least these people have a reason to to be complaining. Namely Microsoft dropping the ball on their phone strategy somewhat over the past 12-18 months. Whereas you on the other hand seem to be complaining solely because you don't like other people complaining. Don't throw stones inside a glass house my friend.

They are on a transition.
They can't simply release a flagship knowing that they are building a kick-*** OS and they already got their flagship updated with a firmware that unlocked most of its potential.