I jumped ship from Android 2.3.6 and 4.3.2 to WP8 GDR2 about a month ago. Since I hate getting locked into a contract there were some limited choices. I was able to snag an awesome deal on a Lumia 521 on T-Mobile (my preferred carrier). Since then I have actually upgraded to a Lumia 810 - FFC, rear camera flash and compass and a slightly better camera, larger AMOLED screen being the reasons. I also found a buyer for my 521 this past weekend. Now I am intrigued by the Lumia 822 since it should work on T-Mo without any issues with the exception of MMS (which I don't use - I prefer Whatsapp and Viber) and internet tethering (again something that I don't use much).
So I was thinking all day today that for 1/5th the cost of an iPhone the 520 pretty much does 95% of the activities the more expensive device does. Outside the US and the Western European countries the cost of the device is is a big deal since most likely you have to pay upfront for the device - there is no such thing as a subsidy (and actually even in US it is an oxymoron since you pay through the nose to the big three to get the $199 device with the contract, but I digress). So if you were to do a cost x functionality comparison between the 520 and the iPhone 5c, I beleive the 520 would win by a landslide. I think WP has the potential to grow like crazy in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe with a competitive device like the 520. Of course the 1020, 1520 etc are needed to help WP grow in the developed nations and help keep the developers busy in making quality apps for the platform.
One other thought was that the WP flagship devices a year later sell for quite cheap on Ebay and even the WPCentral marketplace - case in point Lumia 810, Lumia 822, Lumia 820, HTC 8X are all available for about $85-$150. And a lot of buyers for these devices are in Asia and Latin America based on some of the threads in the Forums here. This is a good way of getting people in those countries to upgrade to a device with more bells and whistles than the Lumia 520 but at about the same entry point from a cost basis.
The whole argument about apps, apps and apps especially on site like TheVerge is a bit hollow outside the developed world. Farmers get weather forecasts and market prices for their crops using the old Nokia phones in Asia and Africa. Mobile banking using SMS is huge in developing countries. So I believe that the next revolution in apps will come from folks using the WP devices in these countries where they can figure out how to squeeze out some great functionality from a device like the Lumia 520. These folks will end up developing some really meaningful apps that will help the masses rather than just creating an entertainment consumption device which is what people do in the US for the most part with their smartphone.
Sorry for the long post. I believe WP has the right momentum coupled with the Lumia 520 and everyday new and better apps are arriving so it is only a matter of time to get a reasonable parity with the other two OS devices. Now we all need to cheer for the 525 to come out swinging and kick the Moto G's rear!
So I was thinking all day today that for 1/5th the cost of an iPhone the 520 pretty much does 95% of the activities the more expensive device does. Outside the US and the Western European countries the cost of the device is is a big deal since most likely you have to pay upfront for the device - there is no such thing as a subsidy (and actually even in US it is an oxymoron since you pay through the nose to the big three to get the $199 device with the contract, but I digress). So if you were to do a cost x functionality comparison between the 520 and the iPhone 5c, I beleive the 520 would win by a landslide. I think WP has the potential to grow like crazy in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe with a competitive device like the 520. Of course the 1020, 1520 etc are needed to help WP grow in the developed nations and help keep the developers busy in making quality apps for the platform.
One other thought was that the WP flagship devices a year later sell for quite cheap on Ebay and even the WPCentral marketplace - case in point Lumia 810, Lumia 822, Lumia 820, HTC 8X are all available for about $85-$150. And a lot of buyers for these devices are in Asia and Latin America based on some of the threads in the Forums here. This is a good way of getting people in those countries to upgrade to a device with more bells and whistles than the Lumia 520 but at about the same entry point from a cost basis.
The whole argument about apps, apps and apps especially on site like TheVerge is a bit hollow outside the developed world. Farmers get weather forecasts and market prices for their crops using the old Nokia phones in Asia and Africa. Mobile banking using SMS is huge in developing countries. So I believe that the next revolution in apps will come from folks using the WP devices in these countries where they can figure out how to squeeze out some great functionality from a device like the Lumia 520. These folks will end up developing some really meaningful apps that will help the masses rather than just creating an entertainment consumption device which is what people do in the US for the most part with their smartphone.
Sorry for the long post. I believe WP has the right momentum coupled with the Lumia 520 and everyday new and better apps are arriving so it is only a matter of time to get a reasonable parity with the other two OS devices. Now we all need to cheer for the 525 to come out swinging and kick the Moto G's rear!
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