I'm a hardcore Windows fan. I make my living supporting Windows networks. I can't stand Android and I tolerate iOS. However, the Lumia 950/950 XL put me in a tough spot. My Verizon Lumia 928 was long in the tooth. On top of that I dropped it twice and cracked the screen. It was time for a new phone. My job pays for my mobile phone and it's a Verizon account so I had to hold my nose and get a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. At least the phone is beautiful as can be.
After coming to grips with the gaudy-as-hell interface and the 3 copies of apps that all do the same damn thing, I quickly realized something: I can do everything I could do on my Windows Phone and more. And no, I'm not talking about capabilities, I'm talking about using core Microsoft services and apps. Here's what I'm talking about:
I came to a realization that Microsoft is going to be responsible for killing its own product. A former Windows lifer was forced to go with a competitor and is not missing the experience at all. I must admit that I miss the clean, beautiful interface of WP, but with the app gap gone I can get away with things like not having to print insurance cards and I discovered the beauty of Samsung Pay which I can use at any store. The only big thing missing for me, and its on its way, is Cortana. Once I'm able to sync my reminders to my phone again, my experience will be complete. Right now, Android still has the old Bing widget. Once that's replaced by Cortana, I'll delete the Google widget and replace it with Cortana.
So Windows Phone is basically done from an OS level. However, Microsoft should not abandon the hardware. They should still have a platform that can act as a reference platform for their applications and services. They should still release the Surface Phone...but with one caveat.
Surface Phone should run Cyanogen. Microsoft should just purchase Cyanogen and tweak it to serve as a reference platform for its apps and services. If they want to skin it with the Modern UI that would be even better. The app gap will be instantly eliminated and MS can focus its efforts on supporting a platform neutral mobile payments platform. Because it's clear that no one needs Windows 10 Mobile, not even Windows 10 fans.
After coming to grips with the gaudy-as-hell interface and the 3 copies of apps that all do the same damn thing, I quickly realized something: I can do everything I could do on my Windows Phone and more. And no, I'm not talking about capabilities, I'm talking about using core Microsoft services and apps. Here's what I'm talking about:
- I can access my One Notes
- I can access my Office docs on One Drive
- I can Skype
- My pictures automatically sync to my One Drive with no extra configuration that I can remember except installing One Drive
- Apps as far as the eye can see
- Glance replaced by the Edge interface
I came to a realization that Microsoft is going to be responsible for killing its own product. A former Windows lifer was forced to go with a competitor and is not missing the experience at all. I must admit that I miss the clean, beautiful interface of WP, but with the app gap gone I can get away with things like not having to print insurance cards and I discovered the beauty of Samsung Pay which I can use at any store. The only big thing missing for me, and its on its way, is Cortana. Once I'm able to sync my reminders to my phone again, my experience will be complete. Right now, Android still has the old Bing widget. Once that's replaced by Cortana, I'll delete the Google widget and replace it with Cortana.
So Windows Phone is basically done from an OS level. However, Microsoft should not abandon the hardware. They should still have a platform that can act as a reference platform for their applications and services. They should still release the Surface Phone...but with one caveat.
Surface Phone should run Cyanogen. Microsoft should just purchase Cyanogen and tweak it to serve as a reference platform for its apps and services. If they want to skin it with the Modern UI that would be even better. The app gap will be instantly eliminated and MS can focus its efforts on supporting a platform neutral mobile payments platform. Because it's clear that no one needs Windows 10 Mobile, not even Windows 10 fans.
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