Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy?

[earthman007]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

...As I see MSFT's quarterly numbers basically saying their phone business is dead....

Their sales figures reflect what they didn't do, in the past - which was largely work behind the scenes on their OS, I assume. We know that one phone from Nokia, that could potentially have been great, was killed off.

It's a different landscape now. Redstone upgrades pending, we've got an OS that's going to be vastly different to what we had when the 950s were launched. (We've got a massive shift from that point, already). We also know that MS is pursuing enterprise customers. Standalone consumer customers aren't being addressed, unless we're matched with needs to those enterprise customers: it may mean that we need larger budgets, paying unit prices that are without the bulk order discounts that larger companies could achieve.

A lot is out there in the hands of the OEMs for me. How do they respond to the MS proposition, from the improved OS and a diminished focus from MS into the consumer market. I'm someone who is really happy to keep a phone for a few years, buying it outright and then shifting my network as I see fit. In that timeframe it's feasible to see a lot of change. MS could alter its position (I'm not expecting much difference) the OS could evolve, to enable hugely interesting functionality that some hardware developer can jump onto, that would really keep me and others happy - even if we're secondary to the business users.

I'm here for the medium term and, I hope, the long-term.

 

[Narathan]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Buy a leather back for it. It'll give your phone a premium look. http://www.mobilefun.com/55706-mozo-...ver-cognac.htm

I've already used two MOZO covers, the leather black one and the cognac one. Black one cracked and the leather one holds up so far, but the silver sides are starting to fade from wear sadly.

 

[Narathan]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Their sales figures reflect what they didn't do, in the past - which was largely work behind the scenes on their OS, I assume.

What I'm wondering is, this is purely based on MS crafted phones, right? Ergo, the 950/XL and 650/550. I can understand that their numbers are crashing down, but thats the whole point of retrenching. When Ms bought Nokia, basically every other oem said "fine, enjoy riding solo". This was a pretty harmful move (but needed) and now they are righting their wrong by letting their partners push their software again.

One can hope oems pick up W10M again. At least a few of them are trying again, especially in Japan (curious)

 

[peter leung 10586]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I have a 950xl and an iPhone se. I like the operating system of 950xl but I don't like the appearance / design of 950xl. 950xl doesn't look like a premium product. i am looking forward to the surface phone. i hope it would have a premium design.

 

[PGrey]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I have a 950xl and an iPhone se. I like the operating system of 950xl but I don't like the appearance / design of 950xl. 950xl doesn't look like a premium product. i am looking forward to the surface phone. i hope it would have a premium design.

What about the 950XL looks "less premium" than the iPhone, at first-glance? I ask, because I find the iPhone to be very plain looking, and less premium at the outset, which makes me think that this is a pretty subjective concept, hard to "put a finger on" ;-]
I get that if it creaks or the buttons feel cheap, or screen edge isn't nicely beveled or similar, how that detracts, but I don't see any of that in the 950 family?

 

[peter leung 10586]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

What about the 950XL looks "less premium" than the iPhone, at first-glance? I ask, because I find the iPhone to be very plain looking, and less premium at the outset, which makes me think that this is a pretty subjective concept, hard to "put a finger on" ;-]
I get that if it creaks or the buttons feel cheap, or screen edge isn't nicely beveled or similar, how that detracts, but I don't see any of that in the 950 family?

I am using iPhone SE, not the 6 series (6/6+/6s/6s+). the 6 series are ugly. SE is the same as 5/5s. it looks more premium than 950xl not only at first glance but also after some time of use.

one more think: iOS is a good os too. it is smooth and responsive. it handles memory in different way than that of windows mobile. for example 950xl can have at most 15 apps running in background while iOS can have more than 40. 950xl flushes all memory content after a restart (power off and then power on) while iOS preserves them. even after a system update of iOS, you can still see the previously opened apps in the app switcher. iOS only hibernates, never shutdowns.

 

[Kevin Rush]

They each said "first glance". "Glance" is a Windows Phone / Mobile feature. Maybe their subconscious telling them something?

Best Wishes

 

[PGrey]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I am using iPhone SE, not the 6 series (6/6+/6s/6s+). the 6 series are ugly. SE is the same as 5/5s. it looks more premium than 950xl not only at first glance but also after some time of use.

one more think: iOS is a good os too. it is smooth and responsive. it handles memory in different way than that of windows mobile. for example 950xl can have at most 15 apps running in background while iOS can have more than 40. 950xl flushes all memory content after a restart (power off and then power on) while iOS preserves them. even after a system update of iOS, you can still see the previously opened apps in the app switcher. iOS only hibernates, never shutdowns.

Yeah, process resume is slick. It's not really "hibernate" or not in the true sense anyway, the way a system memory and state "snapshot" is saved, when you go to an S4 state.
I wish Windows would implement this, I know from some of my previous driver work that the kernel already supports most of the necessary modules, they just don't seem to want to pull it all together.
I think part of it is the trickiness involved with the desktop side of things, and the hardware breadth (this is more or less what I used to work on, h/w and driver-level test dev. and similar). With a constantly evolving and not 100% stable h/w and driver base, you run risks with certain state transitions, which is easily seen by the fact that some machines struggle to hibernate, with a new piece of h/w or driver. I worked on LOTS of combination tests that would do things like abruptly force driver and system state changes, along with I/O, IOCTls, and other, but we did still manage to kill some components.

I think in the Windows Phone world, this would be more feasible, with far less "'moving targets", they could test/lock in a few devices, and refine things. It could still go awry though, say if your Bluetooth device didn't respond well to a sleep request, then all kinds of weird stuff would happen at resume, that would potentially make it look like your phone was "unstable".

Apple has it pretty easy in this regard, really tightly controlled hardware and the like, and I think they can brush it off easier, if someone's Bluetooth device fails, people are more likely to attribute it to the device/driver, than the phone, their fan base is a bit nuts like that ;-]

 

[Lumious]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I have owned three HTC Trophys, two Lumia 822s, a Lumia 929, two Lumia 640s, and a 950 XL. I have to say i am very impressed with the 950 XL and it is the best phone i have ever owned. I like it way better than the Icon.

It's not the first Windows Phone i have ever owned and it won't be the last. I will probably not be able to resist myself with the pending Surface Phone and get the HP Elite X3, then the Surface Phone. Will it be the last Lumia i ever own? Probably. Simply due to the fact that the Lumia line is dead and there wont be any more Lumias. The only way i can see getting another Lumia is if the 650 drops to $100 or less in the near future which i dont see happening.

 

[jerreldulay]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

What about the 950XL looks "less premium" than the iPhone, at first-glance? I ask, because I find the iPhone to be very plain looking, and less premium at the outset, which makes me think that this is a pretty subjective concept, hard to "put a finger on" ;-]
I get that if it creaks or the buttons feel cheap, or screen edge isn't nicely beveled or similar, how that detracts, but I don't see any of that in the 950 family?

The iPhone stopped looking like (and being) a premium and innovative device a very long time ago for me; sometime around when Steve Jobbs died and Apple just started copying what other devices were doing 2 and a half years before, except with more restrictions and a higher price tag.

 

[EliteMikes]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Certainly depends on what is in redstone 2, although as we found even features we hoped for and were advertised get stripped out. I bought my 950xls off contract so I can't bring myself to ditch them yet. There are some things I like and many that I don't. It really will be a tough decision when I decide it's time to get a new phone.

 

[shawnmos]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Not unless MS gives up entirely. I went from a 928 -> Icon ->1520 -> 950 XL.

I have loved all of them though the 1520 was my favorite for a while. However, I have been slowly liking the 950 XL more and more. Between the W10 improvements and the new DTTW firmware release it basically has all the things I liked about my old phones now, but a lot of improvements overall. Took me a while to get used to the smaller size vs the 1520 but I actually think the 950 XL is more manageable.

If they release a surface phone like is rumored I will likely upgrade eventually. If not, and the 950 XL is the last windows phone flagship then I would probably switch to Android. Never will I buy an iphone.

 

[mister greed]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Nope. The hp elite is my next.

 

[Mad Cabbie]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Originally posted by JRDEMASKUS

Originally Posted by Kevin Rush
Buy a leather back for it. It'll give your phone a premium look. Mozo Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Wireless Charging Back Cover - Cognac :: MobileFun.com

Lipstick on a pig. Cosmetics are not the only problem here.
Otherwise, That might help, but I am more of an Oterbox type and the "leather" case would be lost.
Yes, I know there is no OB for us, but I am still using "rugged" cases and boxes to keep my phone "safe" when mobile.

My Android battery life is equal to my WP.
Myself and everybody else who visit these sites are looking for facts.
Please drop the "******" generalizations. WP, at this moment, is no better than any other OS.

I have to disagree. Android flagships are just putting lipstick on the pig of an OS. After many moons of playing under the hood of Android, it hasn't really progressed or matured into something greater than the sum of it's parts. It's clunky, quite ugly and full of bugs, which can only be expected when you are releasing code under the mantra of one size fits all, and yet most OEM's have to tinker and make things worse! Security has always been an issue due to its open source nature. They biggest change for Android was the switch from Dalvik to ART, which left many devices in no mans land, with no ability to upgrade. Mmm MSFT left some devices behind and got absolutely hammered and ridiculed by those with 'legacy' devices. It's seen as a progress on Android, and suck it up. OEM's are just as bad. You tie in to a 2 yr contract for your shiny new Sonysunglg and after a short honeymoon period, the OEM's drop support. We've all seen it, and yet the gullible still fall for it.

Apple is more of a fashion statement perpetrated using peer pressure. They are like Harley. They are selling you a lifestyle, which is OK providing you can put up with the stupid icons, that look like a two year old drew them. They don't look 'grown up / mature', in fact they have changed very little since the 3GS. That's progress for you. Apple have also been subject to investigations into the sourcing of materials ( tin for soldering ) and staff treatment at the Chinese factories. The India. Ocean has a flotilla of solder dredges, dynamiting the corals and sea floor to obtain solder to provide to the Apple factory in China. Employee's have been subjected to brutal treatment and 18 hour days, whereby they fall asleep and get 'unfairly' treated. These employees have little choice to put up with it as the factory provides accommodation, which the staff have to pay for, or return to the villages with nothing.
There was a documentary last year, Panorama, on the BBC where this was highlighted. They followed a device from materials to finish, with undercover reporters. Strangely enough, no one from apple was available to comment. This is not my opinion, but what was seen on the BBC documentary.

Windows 10 just feels more grown up. It integrates seamlessly with my surface, PC and laptop. My office staff don't even have to pick up a phone to send job info to drivers. Cortana works great for that, and we aren't broadcasting peoples address / phone number over the air. My company has 14 mobile devices ranging from 950xl's down to a couple of 550's. It just works for me, or is that because I use it in a business setting? Apple and Android just didn't push the button in a working environment. So there you are. I'm not a ******. I want stuff to just work. W10 does just that.

 

[Mad Cabbie]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Originally posted by peter leung 10586

Originally Posted by PGrey
What about the 950XL looks "less premium" than the iPhone, at first-glance? I ask, because I find the iPhone to be very plain looking, and less premium at the outset, which makes me think that this is a pretty subjective concept, hard to "put a finger on" ;-]
I get that if it creaks or the buttons feel cheap, or screen edge isn't nicely beveled or similar, how that detracts, but I don't see any of that in the 950 family?

I am using iPhone SE, not the 6 series (6/6+/6s/6s+). the 6 series are ugly. SE is the same as 5/5s. it looks more premium than 950xl not only at first glance but also after some time of use.

one more think: iOS is a good os too. it is smooth and responsive. it handles memory in different way than that of windows mobile. for example 950xl can have at most 15 apps running in background while iOS can have more than 40. 950xl flushes all memory content after a restart (power off and then power on) while iOS preserves them. even after a system update of iOS, you can still see the previously opened apps in the app switcher. iOS only hibernates, never shutdowns.

Mmm iPhone SE, same old in a different size. I thought Samsung were the kings of selling the same thing over and over again??

 

[peter leung 10586]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Mmm iPhone SE, same old in a different size. I thought Samsung were the kings of selling the same thing over and over again??

new iphones (the 6/s/+) are ugly. I prefer the old one.....

 

[PGrey]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

Awesome "write up", Mad Cabbie, you bring out the "essence" of the integration piece, which is by far the best thing about Windows phones for me. The integration isn't comparable to any other phone platform, yet very few people know about this, and reviewers don't seem to do a great job of highlighting it, how easy it is to move between devices, work items, work-spaces, the whole deal, it's just so seamless, compared to anything else out there.

I like the fact they're moving forward too, adding features and the performance has really picked up now, I sure wish we could "roll back the clock" and have this release be November; I bet we wouldn't be at 1%-ish now, we'd be far better, reviews wouldn't have been so negative, etc.
I wonder, if it can recover. Windows has done it before, back in the early 90's, when they were chasing Netware and such, as the underdog, so maybe it can happen again...

On top of that, I got my mom a 640 a few months back, amidst MANY protests (she needs texting for two-factor for several things), saying she'd never text, probably never turn the phone on, etc. She's almost 80, and is pretty tech-wary, although she's still very "sharp".
After I showed her a couple of texts (remotely via phone, my folks like 1200mi by plane, very expensive flight in the summer because of tourism), she went from there to texting myself, daughter, wife, my brother's family, my aunt, etc.
Then she figured out she could send pics from the same, and from email, and read her email on the phone, and is even using Cortana now. She swore up and down the most she would do is a couple of calls, and the necessary texts for two-factor authentication, that was it. Look how it changed an older, tech-averse person; I'm almost positive an Android phone would NOT have had this effect, maybe an iOS device, maybe...

 

[melhiore]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

For me Lumia will be the last only because as previously been said Lumia line is dead. My 950XL will not be my last Windows phone. I think I will be upgrading again in 2018 - plenty of time for OEMs to release something cool... It is also plenty of time for Microsoft to make Windows 10 great mobile OS in every way imaginable...

 

[JRDEMASKUS]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I have to disagree.

That is OK.
You, Me, and the next guy, all have completely different needs and experiences with our devices.
Delusional ****** comments are just worthless drivel. I am more interested in factual comments. As noted by another poster, this is ****** "heaven" here. Too bad, as many of the other sites go away, we are left with worthless repeated comments that do nothing to educate.
I use multiple OS, as no single one fulfills ALL of my "needs" at once.
And I want to try IOS too. Just because I have never used it as a daily driver, and I am secure enough that I am not afraid I will be swayed from my other "beloved" OSs.

 

[PGrey]

Re: Is the 950XL the last Windows Phone you buy

I tend to think there are excellent educational discussions here; sometimes you just have to "read between the posts", but that's just a part of "forum life", IME.

-pete