IDC revises 2015 smartphone estimates, predicts iPhone will drop to 16.9% - Page 3

lol, its impossible to get a perm iOS dev in London because contract is so lucrative. Note: not cross platform devs, nor Android devs. App development is moving out of the basement. Cross platform tools are not being used any where - if you want a native experience you use native code.

Why post nonsense?

Contract eh? How much of that is for in-house development for Financials? I can't remember the last time I heard of a proper dev startup using contractors.

You think WP7 is supposed to fill the gap between dumbphone and smartphone? Really? I've heard the term "feature phone" used to describe such things, the perfect example of which is the Danger Hiptop (Sidekick). Oh, and the Kin

I was always under the impression that WP7 was Microsoft's full-on competitor to the Android, webOS, and other post-iPhone smartphones. Is what way is it not? Metro?


I'm going to say that Office integration is overrated. I recall "pocket editions" of Office applications being shipped with old Windows Mobile 6 and earlier Windows CE phones, not to mention generations of Windows Mobile-based PDAs and Palmtops (remember those? Google it for great lulz). I even used them back in the day. I don't miss it. It was kind of like, "oh, that's nice," and then you go back to using Office on your laptop, because you need to actually get work done.

Skype... really? You know that Skype has been available for Android and iOS, but not WP7. How is that an advantage that "WP7 is starting off with that Android never had"?

I dunno. Everytime, I look at a WinPho7 device, it just strikes me as something so easy to use and understand.

I know it's gospel here but iOS is not that easy to learn and understand if you have never, ever, used a smartphone before. Especially for older folks.

WinPho7 on the other hand is dead easy becuase it turns everything you want to access into a giant tile on the homesecreen.

Not changing the tiles and all that is not fun. That's why I said, it's not as flexible as iOS or Android. However, I could easily a non-techie user essentially treating this like a dumbphone. They won't be using all the smartphone goodies per se. They'll just be happy that when they click on the people hub they can see facebook updates. Or that when they get a message they can click on the messages tile and find the message and so forth.

I used to think that Nokia made a mistake going WP7 instead of Android, simply because Symbian was so much like Android. As somebody who made that transition, I think Android has more in common with Symbian than iOS. So I was surprised they went Win Pho 7. But now I look at how WP7 devices would be used and it makes sense to me. Given Nokia's dominance in the developing world, such a dead easy-to-use OS could do quite well over there. Of note too, some big Android advantages are blunted abroad. Navigation isn't available in a lot of developing countries but Ovi Maps are. Google Voice isn't available anywhere outside the US. But Skype is even more popular elsewhere, so having Skype baked in will be a big selling point.

There's no guarantee of course and WP7 could flop. But out of many an MS product in recent memory, this one certainly stands out as having a lot of potential.

It's meant to compete with other smartphone platforms to be sure. But that's not what I was getting at. I am suggesting that they are making the phone simpler to use (while perhaps sacrificing some flexibility and/or functionality) and that this will make it less of a wall for dumbphone users to scale. Apple did the same thing when the iPhone first launched.



Go have a look at Office on WP7. Nothing like pocket/mobile editions of the past. It's like the iWork suite on the iPhone. It's that good. And with Sharepoint thrown in too, this could do well in the corporate world.


So why is FaceTime so popular on iOS? Because it's baked in. I know WP7 didn't have Skype at launch, but you can bet they'll do better than just having an app. They'll integrate it, the same way they have Facebook and Xbox Live.

And Android didn't have Skype at launch. I got it on my N1 about 6-7 months ago.

Ok, there's something that you're not getting here. Consumers don't buy phones from handset makers, consumers buy phones from carriers, who buy the phones from the handset makers in big bulk deals. Now suppose you're a big carrier with 50%+ of your income still coming from lovely voice calling. Do you go and buy a ton of handsets that come with an integrated VOIP application or do you prefer to buy the one that doesn't?

Skype integration isn't a selling point for WP7.

In the developed world, most users buy phones from their carriers. And you're right that these carriers won't want to push forward phones with Skype integrated (it'll be interesting to see their take on iMessage). But that won't mean they'll not support Windows Phones at all. Android and iOS have been capable of using Skype for a long time now. Hasn't stopped carriers from supporting these platforms.

And in a large part of the developing world (where Nokia does a lot of business), a good portion of their customer base buys phones from electronics retailers or OEM outlets. They pay full price for their phones and don't sign contracts. You can bet a WP7 Nokia will hold its own against significantly more expensive iPhones and Androids (the cheaper ones are crap that probably won't be able to compete with WP7 Nokias) in these markets.

deleted

Sure but there's a big difference between 'can support' and 'out-of-the-box'. Particularly if skype support is seamless, so that your calls are routed over IP whenever you're in a WiFi zone. iMessage is pretty much the same as Blackberry messaging, which the carriers have already come to terms with. It's less of an issue for as long as the different message systems are incompatible. Skype scares carriers because it has the greatest potential to destroy their income.


MS definitely have higher aspirations than being the phone maker of choice for the developing world. If that's where they end up being stuck then they'll eventually end up pulling development resources out of the phone world - leaving Nokia stranded. Frankly that's likely even if they don't.

Lol. I am an iOS and mac dev working in London. I am not sure what proof you want. Ask me a hard question. Go on.

What are rates like? I'm seriously considering retooling myself for this, but I'm not sure it's worth it from a rate perspective.

deleted

Read the article and it makes it pretty clear that Roxio is making more from the free android version than for the paid android version. Not more than it's making from iOS. Apple have announced that they've paid $2.5B to developers - if you can provide a link to Google announcing that they've paid more then that would be interesting data.

deleted