[arrowrand]

I think Apple and Google are paying these companies to ditch WP8/W8.

Why? Because they're afraid. That's why!

Seriously though....

Yeah, that must be it.

[onlineharvest]

I think it's a little of chicken vs egg

Right now, the market share is too low to justify app development from a cost scenario, much like it was in the beginning of Android.
However, as this increases, and it should, it will get more attention from developers.

It's dollars and cents, IMO, for the most part.

[tekhna]

Why? What's the advantage of Dropbox over SkyDrive?

It's not about specific advantages. The point is that 100 million people use Dropbox, and a pretty decent chunk of them have no interest in changing services. I use my GS3 much more than my 820 because I've been told:
If I use Gmail, switch to Outlook.
If I use Spotify, switch to Zune Music.
If I use Dropbox, switch to SkyDrive.
If I use Instagram, well, sorry, you're SOL.

Trying to win over customers by expecting them to switch their entire digital lives over to competing providers because your OS can't and doesn't provide the services they are used to, and have used for years, is a dead end. Period. End of story.
No one cares about your 10-step plan to switch over to Outlook because you think Google is evil. People care about using the same email address they've used for a decade.

[arrowrand]

Why? What's the advantage of Dropbox over SkyDrive?

on a WP device there wouldn't be much of an advantage. On Android and iOS Dropbox offers photo sync and automatic file sync, with expansion of your free storage as your photos use up space.

Dropbox offers 2-step authentication and larger file size uploads. I've also had issues with certain downloads being much slower on SkyDrive than Dropbox. Smaller falls aren't an issue, but a large PDF crawls down on Android.

Mostly, it would be about preference. Someone already using (or even paying Dropbox) might not want to change "just because".

[skaramanga]

Why? What's the advantage of Dropbox over SkyDrive?

Dropbox is available across practically any platform

[brmiller1976]

So is SkyDrive.

I don't let vendor lock-in determine which device I use. If a vendor won't support my device, I find one who does. Storage, email, etc. are COMMODITIES, and are thus easy to change.

The iOS brigade is curiously silent on this. There is no difference between switching from Dropbox to Skydrive and switching from Verizon to AT&T to get the iPhone back in the exclusive days... Yet they would suggest that the former is an impossible mess while the latter is easy.

[jmerrey]

I'm happy with the selection of apps we have. There's nothing that I'm really missing. So, for myself, I'm happy.

For the platform however, I am very concerned.

[jmerrey]

It's not about specific advantages. The point is that 100 million people use Dropbox, and a pretty decent chunk of them have no interest in changing services. I use my GS3 much more than my 820 because I've been told:
If I use Gmail, switch to Outlook.
If I use Spotify, switch to Zune Music.
If I use Dropbox, switch to SkyDrive.
If I use Instagram, well, sorry, you're SOL.

Trying to win over customers by expecting them to switch their entire digital lives over to competing providers because your OS can't and doesn't provide the services they are used to, and have used for years, is a dead end. Period. End of story.
No one cares about your 10-step plan to switch over to Outlook because you think Google is evil. People care about using the same email address they've used for a decade.

This is a great way to put it.

For example, if I wanted to switch to ios, my biggest compromise would be losing my zune pass. If I was an ios user and wanted to switch to wp8, the compromises are numerous and, for some, too much to ask. BTW this is real world; I got myself an ipad mini for christmas and haven't missed a beat.

It seems to me that the solution is for MS to start throwing money at these devs. Maybe they have already. Then make it more money...

[socialcarpet]

I don't know.... this is how I felt using Macintosh from '85 until the return of Steve Jobs.

And look at Apple now...

Right there with you.

As a Mac user all the way through the darkest times, I'm used to being the underdog. This is nothing. I have no problem with this. I'd like to see things improve, but I really don't care about having every trendy app the minute it comes out. My phone does everything I want it to already. I'm not really sure what forum the OP is on, but I don't see announcements on here "almost every day" that third parties are going to drop support or not offer it. Not even close. Not sure where he's getting that from. I will tell you what I see almost every day though, is negative posts like this and people complaining about Windows Phone. Honestly, if you don't like it, leave. Don't rain on my parade. Go buy an iPhone or Android and be happy with your Instagram or whatever. Seriously. Please stop sh**ing all over this forum.

[socialcarpet]

Dropbox is available across practically any platform

So is Skydrive. I have it on my Mac laptop and on my Android tablet.

Next.

[socialcarpet]

I'm starting the believe it's just the architecture of the operating system, it's just way too limited to build apps to the quality users expect from other platforms.

I'm fine with my Lumia920 but I doubt I will stick with windows phone beyond this product

Nonsense. Windows Phone is probably the easiest platform to develop for, if anything. You also get more bang for your buck because it is easy to develop a Windows 8 or Windows RT app and then port it to Windows Phone 8.

Compare that to developing for Android where you have 4 or 5 different versions of the OS out at the same time with 4 or 5 different OEM variations on each and 4-5 different screen resolutions (at least) to contend with.

My God, look at what it took to get Netflix on Android. Go look at the market. There are literally like 20 different versions of Netflix for different devices and there are STILL Android devices that can't run it!

This has nothing to do with the difficulty to develop for the platform. It has to do with the small market share, devs think they won't make enough money, and I believe it also has a little to do with lingering anti-Microsoft sentiment I think. Some of these Google sackriders and Apple fanboys are relishing watching Microsoft struggle as the underdog for a change. Lets be honest. If Windows Phone was called Panda Phone or something and it was some Linux variant, they'd be showing it more love.

[bawboh86]

The OS version just released a couple of months ago, and everyone is already freaking out thinking that it's going to fail? I do remember seeing these types of threads for Android when it was out on the OG Droid, even. I think it's a bit early to start reciting the last rites for the OS. Let's see how it does over the next few months to a year. There are a lot of major advancements that MS made behind the scenes to make app development easier and we just need to give some devs time to see these benefits and for the platform to grow a bit. I still have faith in the platform and look forward to seeing how it fares in the near future.

[tekhna]

So is SkyDrive.

I don't let vendor lock-in determine which device I use. If a vendor won't support my device, I find one who does. Storage, email, etc. are COMMODITIES, and are thus easy to change.

The iOS brigade is curiously silent on this. There is no difference between switching from Dropbox to Skydrive and switching from Verizon to AT&T to get the iPhone back in the exclusive days... Yet they would suggest that the former is an impossible mess while the latter is easy.

You're an aficionado. You're used to treating services as commodities. Most people aren't. They just want to be able to do what their friends are doing, or what they're used to. Often that's the flavor of the month (Words with Friends, which came to WP after it had fizzled out) or Instagram, or whatever, and often it's well established services that aren't going anywhere.
My dad is really tech savvy, and I cannot for the life of me get him to change his email address. His email address he's had through his dial-up provided since 1994, or whatever. He hasn't had an account with that provider since probably 2000, but the thought of setting up email forwarding to something else is just too much for him. If he, a relatively tech savvy guy, is unwilling to mess with his email, do you think you're going to get the unwashed masses to just give up their gmail accounts? Not likely.

[gravage]

Why? What's the advantage of Dropbox over SkyDrive?

Some people have a lot of time/content invested in Dropbox. Some people also have more space available with Dropbox vs Skydrive.

At the end of the day, though, a good modern smartphone shouldn't force you to find workarounds to everything (Gmail, Dropbox, etc). That's kind of the point. Even the board express app doesn't allow picture uploads.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

[FinancialP]

I never understood the people who thinks Windows 8 success will translate to Windows Phone 8 success.

I really don't understand the people who talk about the original Androids and their app selection BACK THEN.

[gravage]

Seriously. Please stop sh**ing all over this forum.

No one is sh**ing on the forum. We are having an intelligent discussion. Deal with it.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

[bawboh86]

I really don't understand the people who talk about the original Androids and their app selection BACK THEN.

Because some of us were on Android "Back Then" with all the same problems we see now. It's the most recent mobile OS released where we saw almost all of the exact same things lining up as we do with WP. It's easiest to draw similarities between the two in terms of growing pains..

[FinancialP]

Because some of us were on Android "Back Then" with all the same problems we see now. It's the most recent mobile OS released where we saw almost all of the exact same things lining up as we do with WP. It's easiest to draw similarities between the two in terms of growing pains..

Do you realize what year that was? I was around back then too. I remember my G1 didn't even have a software keyboard. I remember Google made all apps free in the market when the market was introduced.

This is a different time, and people have different standards. The phone market is at a completely different level NOW!

Google was new to this.
Apple was new to this.
Microsoft is not.


I guess you guys just sweep all of Microsofts previous performances under the rug.

And I'm not complaining at all, just stating reality.

[ttsoldier]

[bawboh86]

I'm not sweeping it under the rug, just making some comparisons. I see your point, mind you, that they aren't exactly new to the game (I mean, how long has WinMo been around?), but this is a whole new angle they're trying. I'm merely being optimistic that we get to keep a 3rd option outside of Android and iOS in the mobile space.

[aggie]

Right there with you.

As a Mac user all the way through the darkest times, I'm used to being the underdog. This is nothing. I have no problem with this. I'd like to see things improve, but I really don't care about having every trendy app the minute it comes out. My phone does everything I want it to already. I'm not really sure what forum the OP is on, but I don't see announcements on here "almost every day" that third parties are going to drop support or not offer it. Not even close. Not sure where he's getting that from. I will tell you what I see almost every day though, is negative posts like this and people complaining about Windows Phone. Honestly, if you don't like it, leave. Don't rain on my parade. Go buy an iPhone or Android and be happy with your Instagram or whatever. Seriously. Please stop sh**ing all over this forum.

I appreciate the dialogue in this thread. I have a Note 2 and Nexus 4 but am really wanting to try a L920 as I've long loved Nokia hardware and I am very intrigued by the capabilities of the camera. As a person who is not loyal to any one single platform I jump across the various forums to educate myself as much as I can about the pros and cons of each operating system. Threads like this one provide valuable information for people who are trying to make an informed decision about a device they are considering for purchase. Not that I didn't already know that there is limited support for apps in the WP8 ecosystem at this point but I also saw some alternatives as well in the thread that I may not have already known about. What is considered sh**ing all over the forum to you may not be perceived as such my most other users. You can usually tell by the title of the thread what the nature of the post is. You are the one that clicked on it.

[windoh]

All this would be much less of a problem if the OS was more open. As it is, it's locked down and the app market is paltry; furthr, I'm failing to understand why Microsoft doesn't solve much of this by throwing money around, either to name devs or smaller devs that can give them quality apps to make up for what is missing.

[AdalLS]

Maybe they are busy coding... it takes time.
I can't believe that Drobox, for instance, is not developing a WP8 app. They just did one for W8, it wouldn't make sense to assume that they are not going to do one.

[krystea]

I voted "a little", but that doesn't mean I'm losing hope in WP8. It just bums me out that a lot of devs aren't giving the platform a chance right off the bat.

[Steve Ridges]

Doesn't the fact that the Windows Store is smaller than Googles or Apples present an advantage to a developer? I don't know how many total WP devices are out there but I'm sure it's in the millions. That's a pretty large set of potential customers. If you produce an app for WP, your not having to compete with hundreds or maybe thousands of similar apps on other platforms. Also, the prospect of developing for the desktop, tablet, and phone using the same SDK and relatively minor differences between devices seems like a MAJOR advantage to me. I'm surprised that any developer would count MS out at this point.