I'm tired of Nokia's monopoly. Where are the promised OEMs?

[Rodrigo Mendes]

Nokia is doing a hell of a job with Windows Phone! Every week we have Nokia apps or system apps updated by Nokia. Almost every month we receive new applications (good apps, not crap) and exclusive updates (Amber and Black). IMHO makes no sense ask for OEM.

Samsung make low quality smartphones and sell it for exorbitant prices. LG is crap. HTC is very good OEM, but huge problems with app support or even system support. Nokia is far superior in absolutely every aspect.

OEM? No, thanks, we have the best already.

 

[amrut_m]

Nokia is doing a hell of a job with Windows Phone! Every week we have Nokia apps or system apps updated by Nokia. Almost every month we receive new applications (good apps, not crap) and exclusive updates (Amber and Black). IMHO makes no sense ask for OEM.

Samsung make low quality smartphones and sell it for exorbitant prices. LG is crap. HTC is very good OEM, but huge problems with app support or even system support. Nokia is far superior in absolutely every aspect.

OEM? No, thanks, we have the best already.

Right said bro,but to gain good market share WP needs more OEMs.
Agree Nokia is doing a great job,but variety can flood the market.

 

[a5cent]

but to gain good market share WP needs more OEMs.

I'm not convinced that is true. I'd appreciate an explanation as to why people assume more OEMs = more WP sales.

More marketing dollars?

No... OEMs size their marketing budgets as a fraction of expected sales profits. With the very low profits OEMs make selling WP devices, most have so far looked to MS to fund their marketing campaigns, or even made that a prerequisite to even agree to release a WP device.

More hardware choices?

Doubtful... I have a hard time believing that a notable number of consumers would have switched away from Android or iOS, if only WP would have shipped on devices that looked like the iPhone or the HTC One, which are often sited as some of the best hardware designs currently available.

More recognizable brand names?

The only two brands that matter are Samsung and Apple. Since Apple will never release a WP device, that leaves only Samsung, who is already a WP OEM. Anyone secretly hoping for the Samsung brand to swoop in and save WP seriously needs to share a bit more of whatever it is they are smoking.

So what other reason is there?

Do people suspect that many consumers walk into their local electronics shop, with no clue of what they are looking for, then arbitrarily grasp at one of the devices on display and hope they made a good choice? If those types of consumers represent a notable amount of market share, then flooding the market is probably a viable strategy. I'm just sceptical that is the case.

Seriously, even if three dozen OEMs produced 8 WP models each, I don't see it making a difference. Most stores would simply refuse to stock the devices. If the product you have isn't something a lot of people want, then it doesn't matter how many OEMs you have producing unwanted variations of it. That is the problem.

Otherwise, I'd note that at no time was any promise ever made (implied or otherwise), that more OEMs would participate in the WP ecosystem. Just because the WP licensing model allows any OEM to become a WP device manufacturer, doesn't amount to a promise of that happening... the title is misleading.

P.S.
Note that while people here are calling for more OEMs, in the Surface threads people are calling for MS to abandon the 'good for nothing' OEMs and do everything themselves. That isn't necessarily a contradiction, but it sure feels like one...

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I also feel that if we get a whole lot of Manufacturers making their windows phones, we run the risk of having windows phone turn into the Android ecosystem. Yes, it is the most popular OS(unfortunately) but there are so many different Android devices that it can be confusing for a consumer to know what is the best to get and what manufacturer to avoid. Not to mention that these manufacturers half the time don't even update their Android handsets(especially if it is a low end or midrange phone). I'd hate to see Windows Phone turn into that cesspool simply because people want more choice just to have more choice, at the expense of crappy support.

More choice is good but having choice just for the sake of having it is not. As i said before, we don't NEED more manufacturers. We need manufacturers who are actually going to look out for their devices. There is absolutely no reason why Samsung couldn't have done what Nokia has done with their Ativ...they chose not to. I can understand HTC maybe not wanting to take too much risk as they are drowning as is but there is no excuse for Samsung, whatsoever, being as slack as they are. More manufacturers are not going to magically make the sales go up exponentially. Sony joining on is a good thing for VARIETY but I seriously doubt Sony is going to be able to do much to help gain success when they can't even differentiate in the android world.

 

[neo158]

I also feel that if we get a whole lot of Manufacturers making their windows phones, we run the risk of having windows phone turn into the Android ecosystem. Yes, it is the most popular OS(unfortunately) but there are so many different Android devices that it can be confusing for a consumer to know what is the best to get and what manufacturer to avoid. Not to mention that these manufacturers half the time don't even update their Android handsets(especially if it is a low end or midrange phone). I'd hate to see Windows Phone turn into that cesspool simply because people want more choice just to have more choice, at the expense of crappy support.

More choice is good but having choice just for the sake of having it is not. As i said before, we don't NEED more manufacturers. We need manufacturers who are actually going to look out for their devices. There is absolutely no reason why Samsung couldn't have done what Nokia has done with their Ativ...they chose not to. I can understand HTC maybe not wanting to take too much risk as they are drowning as is but there is no excuse for Samsung, whatsoever, being as slack as they are. More manufacturers are not going to magically make the sales go up exponentially. Sony joining on is a good thing for VARIETY but I seriously doubt Sony is going to be able to do much to help gain success when they can't even differentiate in the android world.

I agree with what you're saying and on the subject of Samsung I think they are being cautious, especially after Windows Phone 7 was killed off after they released all those devices running it.

 

[5150 Joker]

At most WP needs two high quality manufacturers that are willing to put resources and support into the effort. If Sony is serious, they'd be a good partner because they could potentially have PlayStation Now and Xbox live on their phone which many consumers would find appealing.

Samsung on the other hand are masters of plastic junk with a history of stealing others ideas. Just look at how they shamelessly ripped off modern UI and don't even care if it sours their relationship with MS. Personally I want to see Samsung banned from the Windows ecosystem which includes tablets and laptops.

Sent from my RM-937_apac_hong_kong_222 using Tapatalk

 

[MSFTisMIA]

At most WP needs two high quality manufacturers that are willing to put resources and support into the effort. If Sony is serious, they'd be a good partner because they could potentially have PlayStation Now and Xbox live on their phone which many consumers would find appealing.

Samsung on the other hand are masters of plastic junk with a history of stealing others ideas. Just look at how they shamelessly ripped off modern UI and don't even care if it sours their relationship with MS. Personally I want to see Samsung banned from the Windows ecosystem which includes tablets and laptops.

Sent from my RM-937_apac_hong_kong_222 using Tapatalk

I'm cautiously optimistic about what Sony has to offer. They need something unique. If they follow the HTC track (design only, not fully executing well on the camera tech), they're wasting time.

I give Nokia credit. They are clearly hanging their hat on imaging and navigation, which have distinct appeal within the WP space as well as in comparison to iOS and Android. No other WP OEM has done this. HTC does have something they can use - audio, but may not use it.

 

[Dadstar0410]

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Sony brings to the table. I think their focus will be gaming, bringing Playstation and Xbox together on the phone. I doubt that will happen; if it doesn't, I hope they bring out a phone that has both great camera and great sound quality. Guess you can't get both these days. 8X camera, while underrated, still doesn't beat the 920.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I'm cautiously optimistic about what Sony has to offer. They need something unique. If they follow the HTC track (design only, not fully executing well on the camera tech), they're wasting time.

I give Nokia credit. They are clearly hanging their hat on imaging and navigation, which have distinct appeal within the WP space as well as in comparison to iOS and Android. No other WP OEM has done this. HTC does have something they can use - audio, but may not use it.

Didn't HTC sell their stake in beats audio back to beats? So they don't have the audio anymore do they?

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Didn't HTC sell their stake in beats audio back to beats? So they don't have the audio anymore do they?

Not nnecessarily. Yes, they did sell their stakes in Beats. However, the One Max was the first non Beats phone and last I checked, the audio was still good. So they may have picked up some stuff from Beats to still offer a nice audio experience going forward.

 

[Dadstar0410]

Not nnecessarily. Yes, they did sell their stakes in Beats. However, the One Max was the first non Beats phone and last I checked, the audio was still good. So they may have picked up some stuff from Beats to still offer a nice audio experience going forward.

Especially with BoomSound being introduced into WP8 with the 8XT, the future for HTC's phones is still bright.

 

[minus365]

I am on HTC too, but next WP8 phone I am going to buy will be deffinitely Lumia.

 

[Muessig]

Okay, this is why I love WPCentral. After over a hundred posts of discussion there's been no flame baiting, no arguments - just reasoned discussion about our platform of choice. Great stuff guys!

As far as I can see with the platform growing as it is right now we're on the verge. We're on the verge of becoming the every-man's third platform of choice. Everytime I go into my local shopping centre I see Lumia phones being advertised alongside iPhones and Androids. They're in every store, the sales people are becoming slowly more familiar with the platform and its strengths -- sure you still get people who actively try to steer you away from WP devices, but that's to be expected.

I think that Huawei is going to grow much stronger as a WP device supplier this year. They're pretty much the only OEM releasing new devices for the WP platform outside of Nokia, and when Nokia's WP devices becomes MS Lumia I'm hoping MS leaves the Nokia division alone and just gives the current Nokia staff the freedom to do what they've been doing best. Should they not, and limit our choices or the quality of our devices we're all going to go to the next-best, which at the moment is Huawei. Sure, Sony may come along and become the next big thing, but realistically they're going to support the platform about as well as HTC and Samsung have been.

 

[hopmedic]

Everytime I go into my local shopping centre I see Lumia phones being advertised alongside iPhones and Androids. They're in every store, the sales people are becoming slowly more familiar with the platform and its strengths -- sure you still get people who actively try to steer you away from WP devices, but that's to be expected.

We were in the mall today, and while walking I saw a kid (about 12) with a white Lumia - I think a 520 - and I told my wife, "That kid's got a Lumia." She snickered as we walked... :wink: