What if Windows Phone 8 Had Flagships Across All Major Carriers At Launch?

[coip]

What if, for it's U.S. launch last fall, Microsoft and it's OEMs had ensured that there were flagship devices from each OEM on all major carriers? This means the Nokia Lumia 920, HTC 8X, and Samsung Ativ S (by the way, I still don't comprehend why this phone hasn't been released yet in the U.S.) would've hit Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular at the same time. I understand that exclusivity agreements arise to entice carriers to advertise, but I think it would've been more effective to just blanket the market instead of limiting the market so much. I think, had they done this, that Windows Phone market share would be significantly higher than it is now. Think of all the 2-year contracts they missed out on from then till now. What a pity.

 

[bear_lx]

impossible... some carriers want exclusivity in order to carry, some wont come to terms, some dont see value, ect... however " if " it were possible, im sure marketshare would be considerably higher, of course.

 

[coip]

impossible... some carriers want exclusivity in order to carry, some wont come to terms, some dont see value, ect... however " if " it were possible, im sure marketshare would be considerably higher, of course.

Interesting. How come HTC was able to put the HTC 8X on so many carriers, though?

 

[Agent-P]

Interesting. How come HTC was able to put the HTC 8X on so many carriers, though?

HTC has a better relationship with US carriers than Nokia does. I'm sure they were able to work out some sort of agreement with T-Mobile/Verizon/AT&T.

 

[a5cent]

Interesting. How come HTC was able to put the HTC 8X on so many carriers, though?

Simple. Did you not notice that the 8x was $100 more expensive than the L920 at launch, despite the L920 being slightly more expensive to manufacture? If you don't ask the carriers for anything, it is more likely that they will sell your smartphone. That is what HTC did.

However, if you do want something from the carriers, like a better subsidy ($100 cheaper for customers) or promotional support, you need to offer something in return... exclusivity is all Nokia has to offer.

 

[a5cent]

HTC has a better relationship with US carriers than Nokia does. I'm sure they were able to work out some sort of agreement with T-Mobile/Verizon/AT&T.

The business world doesn't turn, based on how well companies 'like' each other.

 

[Agent-P]

The business world doesn't turn, based on how well companies 'like' each other.

I didn't mean relationship in terms of how much they like each other, but rather a business relationship. Historically HTC almost always releases their flagship on all the major carriers (well, most of them. Sprint doesn't like playing along).

Basically my point is HTC must've made some deals to have this possible since they seem to do this quite a bit. As for the details of these deals, I can only speculate.

 

[a5cent]

I didn't mean relationship in terms of how much they like each other, but rather a business relationship. Historically HTC almost always releases their flagship on all the major carriers (well, most of them. Sprint doesn't like playing along).

Basically my point is HTC must've made some deals to have this possible since they seem to do this quite a bit. As for the details of these deals, I can only speculate.

Yes. HTC sells their devices to carriers at lower prices than Apple and Samsung do, while not demanding the same level of subsidization. This results in lower costs to the carrier. That is HTC's deal.

My point is that HTC is able to distribute their devices on most carriers by taking a financial hit, at least when compared to Apple and Samsung. The fact that a business relationship already exists isn't as important to carrier's as the monetary benefits. That would be different if carriers considered HTC a strategic partner, but that is not the case.

Nokia could do the same thing. However, their strategy calls for more participation from carriers and them also having at least some "skin in the game". Since Nokia isn't strategically any more important to carriers than HTC, Nokia must offer something in return... exclusivity.

 

[Huime]

with their half *** effort pushing the 8X, I doubt hTC will enjoy the same welcome when the next flagship launched.

 

[a5cent]

with their half *** effort pushing the 8X, I doubt hTC will enjoy the same welcome when the next flagship launched.

Yeah, HTC has set things up so they themselves are the only company interested in investing marketing $ into their WP8 devices. Carriers have almost zero incentive to do so, and since HTC lacks the financial strenght to market efffectivly, their smartphones end up unadvertised. Microsoft is the only potential marketing power behind HTC's WP8 devices. I'm not sure what MS has done in the U.S., but in Europe it was literally nothing.

Just like every other OEM, HTC must successfully pitch their devices to carriers for each and every device. Making a successfull sales pitch becomes increasingly difficult when your previous offerings didn't do well.

 

[Agent-P]

Yeah, HTC has set things up so they themselves are the only company interested in investing marketing $ into their WP8 devices. Carriers have almost zero incentive to do so, and since HTC lacks the financial strenght to market efffectivly, their smartphones end up unadvertised. Microsoft is the only potential marketing power behind HTC's WP8 devices. I'm not sure what MS has done in the U.S., but in Europe it was literally nothing.

Just like every other OEM, HTC must successfully pitch their devices to carriers for each and every device. Making a successfull sales pitch becomes increasingly difficult when your previous offerings didn't do well.

And it doesn't help HTC's situation that they keep cutting their advertising budget in an attempt to cut costs. All that does is prevent them from being able to advertise their own devices as effectively.

 

[a5cent]

And it doesn't help HTC's situation that they keep cutting their advertising budget in an attempt to cut costs. All that does is prevent them from being able to advertise their own devices as effectively.

Yeah. I don't know a whole lot about HTC's financial situation, but I'm guessing they don't have much choice. What I do know is that advertising in North America costs hundreds of millions of dollars and that ultimately, it is us, the consumers, that end up paying for it, as HTC must recoup those costs through product sales. Unfortunately, that isn't really possible if HTC can't sell more than a few hundred thousand WP8 devices.

Sadly, it's somewhat of a vicious circle. Success breeds success, but failure breeds failure...