How can Microsoft get phones so wrong?
Discussion
I love Microsoft’s product range, their surface range is superb. I loved the idea of their Surface Duo, I tip I found out it was on Android. Why can’t they come up with an ecosystem to rival Apple? Even though it was specifically designed for Duo, Android software in general doesn’t feel great (at least to me). Still it seemed laggy and I didn’t like it. With Windows able to run across all types of devices, why can’t they intergrate and have video calling / messages on custom software on a premium product like Duo?
They did, it was called Windows Phone. I had several of them but they struggled with adoption and nobody wants a phone without apps. So it was discontinued with iOS and Android being the two remaining alternatives. Shame as the Nokia phones they used were pretty decent and pretty much indestructible.
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 1st May 19:59
Windows Phone was pretty slick imo. I had two WP phones and ended up having to bail out because there was no app support left. But the software was cool, making full use of AMOLED screen tech, live tiles offered an interesting and functional home layout, and apps built with the Metro interface were intuitive and ran way more smoothly than Android phones of the time.
It was 10 years ago and was a novelty at the time so not surprising people don’t know anything about them. A shame though as it offered something different without being completely hopeless imo.
It was 10 years ago and was a novelty at the time so not surprising people don’t know anything about them. A shame though as it offered something different without being completely hopeless imo.
The UI Was very good, Sensibly designed and excellent UX, I had one for quite a few years.
https://www.xda-developers.com/windows-phone-faile...
Most of the problem was in application support though, As mentioned above.
https://www.xda-developers.com/windows-phone-faile...
Most of the problem was in application support though, As mentioned above.
I liked the Nokia windows phones and we had a few.
Batteries lasted well and the UI was really good, compared to comtemporary Apple/ Android stuff. I think third party support (or lack of) killed it. But, at the time I was not a big App user.....
We still use a Nokia 920 as a music player for my son at night.
Batteries lasted well and the UI was really good, compared to comtemporary Apple/ Android stuff. I think third party support (or lack of) killed it. But, at the time I was not a big App user.....
We still use a Nokia 920 as a music player for my son at night.
Windows Phone was brilliant, my wife still laments that she had to move to Android after the apps fell off a cliff. I've still got a Lumia 800 on the shelf, I'm not sure it powers on anymore though.
They needed to take a step back and spend some time reengineering things so that Windows App Apps would run on the phone, but then they started raking in a huge pile of cash with Office 365 for businesses and it seems to have been deprioritised. I think under Satya Nadella they've developed the confidence that they don't need to compete in that space as no one can touch them anywhere else.
I sometimes wonder whether they could make a Metro/Office 365 phone somehow where your phone is heavily integrated into your business, but then they could make that as an Android App too. I guess I still really miss Windows Phone too.
They needed to take a step back and spend some time reengineering things so that Windows App Apps would run on the phone, but then they started raking in a huge pile of cash with Office 365 for businesses and it seems to have been deprioritised. I think under Satya Nadella they've developed the confidence that they don't need to compete in that space as no one can touch them anywhere else.
I sometimes wonder whether they could make a Metro/Office 365 phone somehow where your phone is heavily integrated into your business, but then they could make that as an Android App too. I guess I still really miss Windows Phone too.
But isn’t all of this fairly easy to sort out?
Forgetting the complexities of coding for a moment…
MS would need a mobile version of Windows
MS App Store (already exists, needs mobile app adoption)
Decent cross-device intergration, decent video calling app like Apple has with FaceTime, don’t rely on WhatsApp.
Easier said then done, I suppose 😀😀
And if MS had a push l, I’m sure they could convince developers to adapt windows mobile versions, it’s in the app developers interest to have as many users as possible.
And not many people know this, but it’s also possible to receive FaceTime calls on windows devices- the caller needs to just send a link. As I said, it’s unfathomable Microsoft can’t get this right, I’d absolutely love what Apple has on a Windows device; but as long as they don’t I’ll use my iPhone. Fortunately the new Intel Connect makes intergration a bit easier.
Forgetting the complexities of coding for a moment…
MS would need a mobile version of Windows
MS App Store (already exists, needs mobile app adoption)
Decent cross-device intergration, decent video calling app like Apple has with FaceTime, don’t rely on WhatsApp.
Easier said then done, I suppose 😀😀
And if MS had a push l, I’m sure they could convince developers to adapt windows mobile versions, it’s in the app developers interest to have as many users as possible.
And not many people know this, but it’s also possible to receive FaceTime calls on windows devices- the caller needs to just send a link. As I said, it’s unfathomable Microsoft can’t get this right, I’d absolutely love what Apple has on a Windows device; but as long as they don’t I’ll use my iPhone. Fortunately the new Intel Connect makes intergration a bit easier.
extraT said:
And if MS had a push l, I’m sure they could convince developers to adapt windows mobile versions, it’s in the app developers interest to have as many users as possible.
They already failed with the Silverlight / WPF / Xamarin / WinRT debacle, making developers lives a misery for an ecosystem with no users. They walked.Very few of these apps make money. Making it annoying and difficult to do as well as terminal.
snuffy said:
extraT said:
They were great phones!
They were utter s
te.te with a dog turd interface, work gave me one, after a week i shoved it in a draw, hateful thingit was like they had a meeting worked out was good about the iphone and then did the exact opposite, they were so crap MS dumped it
Dave Hedgehog said:
utter ste with a dog turd interface, work gave me one, after a week i shoved it in a draw, hateful thing
it was like they had a meeting worked out was good about the iphone and then did the exact opposite, they were so crap MS dumped it
That's the only time I had to use one, when some imbecile at a very large UK company made the cretinous decision to make all their employees use a Windows phone. No one could have been that stupid, it made me wonder if someone wasn't on a back-hander.te with a dog turd interface, work gave me one, after a week i shoved it in a draw, hateful thingit was like they had a meeting worked out was good about the iphone and then did the exact opposite, they were so crap MS dumped it
I briefly had a Lumia device and it was hateful compared to the iPhone I ran concurrently with it.
They probably could crack the market if they offered developers really good commercial deals and minimal off-takes from paid apps unlike what Apple and Google do with their respective stores.
They would need some exceptional handsets though with bleeding edge features but at bargain basement pricing to get the market foothold.
They probably could crack the market if they offered developers really good commercial deals and minimal off-takes from paid apps unlike what Apple and Google do with their respective stores.
They would need some exceptional handsets though with bleeding edge features but at bargain basement pricing to get the market foothold.
In a different life I used to work for BlackBerry (I have to say the best company I ever worked for BTW), I worked within the enterprise side of BlackBerry, BES servers, corporate secured devices, not the retail/consumer side.
At the time it was easy pickings to get corporates to move wholesale from their Windows phones to BlackBerry as they were frankly light years ahead.
However, that being said BlackBerry wasn't the shiny new iPhone (remember the first iPhone?), and even though it was lacking on so many fronts it, plus BYOD emerged, BlackBerry as a corporate (expensive device = servers, licensing, CAL's, support) the rot started to set in.
When MS tried again, the ship had sailed, Apple and Google (who were already quite mature with their Android OS at that time) had captured the market and unless you were an MS die hard the market share was always going to be severely limited.
At the time it was easy pickings to get corporates to move wholesale from their Windows phones to BlackBerry as they were frankly light years ahead.
However, that being said BlackBerry wasn't the shiny new iPhone (remember the first iPhone?), and even though it was lacking on so many fronts it, plus BYOD emerged, BlackBerry as a corporate (expensive device = servers, licensing, CAL's, support) the rot started to set in.
When MS tried again, the ship had sailed, Apple and Google (who were already quite mature with their Android OS at that time) had captured the market and unless you were an MS die hard the market share was always going to be severely limited.
I had a Lumia 1020 (I think it was that one) with a fantastic camera on it from work, better than anything else around at the time and better than some dedicated cameras. Unfortunately it had a phone version of Windows on it when Microsoft thought Windows could be adapted to run anything. They had obviously not seen an iPhone !
I remember MS decided to make WP8 not backwards compatible with WP7, it pretty much sunk it. First they were late, then they released something and changed their minds, making developers start from scratch from an already low base. What WP apps there were, were usually a version or two behind Android and iOS and lacking in features as well.
I switched to iOS, couldn’t get on with it, and then Android and have never looked back.
I switched to iOS, couldn’t get on with it, and then Android and have never looked back.
I loved my WP Lumias! While I understand there were some technical issues that made developing for them unattractive the actual end-user experience was (for me) great - still infinitely preferable to Android which has as it's greatest plus point to me that it's better than iOS. (Calm down Apple fans - I'm not syaing it's crap - I just can't get on with it personally).
But not enough apps meant no-one wanted the WP phones, which meant no-one was going to invest the time and resources to develop for them so the vicious cycle continued.
I've currently got a Surface Duo 2 - it looks like MS are doing their best to flub it again though, inconsistent support, taking far too long to sort some of the common complaints, spotty quality control (my unit has been nearly flawless - others have not been so lucky), their own apps being either broken or lesser functionality on it and now grumblings that they might abandon the form factor entirely. Which is a shame, because it's great. It's probably not for everyone but I love it. 2 screens beats out the current foldables and the slightly wider aspect ratio of the individual screens (compared to the tall and thin slabs everyone else is doing) is so much easier to use.
But not enough apps meant no-one wanted the WP phones, which meant no-one was going to invest the time and resources to develop for them so the vicious cycle continued.
I've currently got a Surface Duo 2 - it looks like MS are doing their best to flub it again though, inconsistent support, taking far too long to sort some of the common complaints, spotty quality control (my unit has been nearly flawless - others have not been so lucky), their own apps being either broken or lesser functionality on it and now grumblings that they might abandon the form factor entirely. Which is a shame, because it's great. It's probably not for everyone but I love it. 2 screens beats out the current foldables and the slightly wider aspect ratio of the individual screens (compared to the tall and thin slabs everyone else is doing) is so much easier to use.
Alorotom said:
They probably could crack the market if they offered developers really good commercial deals and minimal off-takes from paid apps unlike what Apple and Google do with their respective stores.
They did - they paid a hefty bonus for every new MS Phone app in their store when it first launchedNet result - the same simple baseball results app was released including the name of every MLB team, netting the developer tens of thousands of dollars
Sadly the MS developer tools were utterly sh!te, so as soon as the bonuses stopped we all stopped developing for the platform
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