Good job ringing the gong there buddy. I see you are still adding "value" to the forum with your immensely profound posts.
Why do you believe that every snot-nosed little troll deserves a full rebuttal to what is being said? When we know it's trolling, all we have to do is express our acknowledgement thereof.
It's the ecosystem. People are already invested in their apps, movies, music and photos. There are few people willing to start fresh with Microsofts ecosystem.
Apple knew what they were doing and it worked.
The thing is, MS does have decent ecosystem, and working hard to improve it further.
Outlook.com, SkyDrive, Xbox Music and games. Skype is already part of their ecosystem and integrates nicely with Win 8. I'm expecting that their dealing with B&N will provide them with good book store shortly. Movies and TV, not sure if XBox Live is already offering some (and how good the offer is), but looking at direction they are taking with new Xbox One (as in strong integration with cable TV), I'm expecting some steps forward there as well.
I don't think it is time yet to discuss of WP8 success or demise. WP8 is still less than a year old. Looking at first year or two of iPhone and Android sales figures, I don't think that WP8 in general, and Nokia in particular, are doing bad. I would expect them to go over 10 million devices per quarter by the end of the year, and while this is still a far cry from numbers Apple and Samsung are moving, it is not rounding error category any more.
In addition. WP8/Nokia seems to be good platform, both OS and hardware wise. WP8 won 2013 PC Mag readers' choice (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416521,00.asp) and one of Lumias was Endgadget readers choice for 2012 (http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/winners-2012-engadget-awards-readers-choice/). Granted you will find polls where iPhone (or even an odd Android) are voted best, but customers' satisfaction is in general very high across the board... I also think Nokia is doing good job staying in the spotlight - releasing new versions of phones frequently (even if some of them are repacks), releasing exotic options (new PureView) and also covering whole spectrum of prices with colourful, recognisable devices.
In short, I think they are here to stay. Momentum is there, focus is there. Nokia is doing good job on handsets side and I think MS will also not disappoint with WP8.1 update. We will see more features on consumer side, better integration in corporate environment, and continuing growth in apps offerings.
I don't have crystal ball handy and can't read future from foam formation on surface of Turkish coffee mug (like some other folks around here believe they can), but I do think Nokia/WP8 are out of troubled waters, and have period of good growth before them. Don't know if they will ever reach iOS and Android, but I expect they will be profitable and sustainable.
I really enjoy my 920. There are things with the 920 that I love that iOS did not have like the screen adapting to the outdoors, screen size, and the ability to change the home screen. I am pretty sure the 920 is going to get flip to silence and a few other updates soon.
I don't understand Why these companies don't get it.
I bought my wife the WP7 HTC Titan when it first came out, part of that reason was my own personal interest in a new OS.
Windows Phone 7 and 8 OS alone, to me, is excellent. It runs smooth, I like the people "hub" and many other aspects of the OS.
What Nokia, and maybe Microsoft as well, do not Get: it's ALL ABOUT THE APPS.
I went to Microsoft's market place and looked for all the apps I have on my current iPhone. Nearly None of the apps I use daily, are there.
My bank app, my local TV station new/weather app, and many others that I want, are not there.
I have sent emails to my local bank and TV station asking them to make apps for WP8. Both said: "At this time, we are not interested in developing for windows phone 8, have a good day"
I have people argue that "there are most likely apps that 'do the same thing' as the apps you use on your iPhone"
I want the apps I use, not some "app that almost does the same thing".
If I could get my bank and and local TV station and even 80% of the "other" apps I want, (not the 5% that is actually there), I would switch to WP8 right now.
Microsoft and Nokia need to wake up and smell the coffee. It's all about the apps for me and until they are supported even half as much as Apple and Android, I will not do without apps I want and use, just for the sake of having "something new".
You seriously use your bank app every day? Mkay. Let me make the suggestion that you're not the normal user. If you said Instagram or Dropbox I'd have bought it.
Nokia worked with Path to get it on board. Looks like by the end of the year MS and Nokia will have courted and gotten a lot of new major apps on board. Including Flipboard, Hipstamatic, Mint and others.
Nokia's Meego OS on the short-lived N9 was very good. In fact, the start-up Jolla is basically just a bunch of disgruntled ex-Nokia employees who continued with Meego, calling it Sailfish OS now.
Nokia's hardware is good, Symbian was good for it's time, Meego is good, they just made a terrible decision hiring Elop. They should have either continued with Meego or switched to Android, they could have done well. Instead they put their faith in Microsoft...
I don't understand Why these companies don't get it.
I bought my wife the WP7 HTC Titan when it first came out, part of that reason was my own personal interest in a new OS.
Windows Phone 7 and 8 OS alone, to me, is excellent. It runs smooth, I like the people "hub" and many other aspects of the OS.
What Nokia, and maybe Microsoft as well, do not Get: it's ALL ABOUT THE APPS.
I went to Microsoft's market place and looked for all the apps I have on my current iPhone. Nearly None of the apps I use daily, are there.
My bank app, my local TV station new/weather app, and many others that I want, are not there.
I have sent emails to my local bank and TV station asking them to make apps for WP8. Both said: "At this time, we are not interested in developing for windows phone 8, have a good day"
I have people argue that "there are most likely apps that 'do the same thing' as the apps you use on your iPhone"
I want the apps I use, not some "app that almost does the same thing".
If I could get my bank and and local TV station and even 80% of the "other" apps I want, (not the 5% that is actually there), I would switch to WP8 right now.
Microsoft and Nokia need to wake up and smell the coffee. It's all about the apps for me and until they are supported even half as much as Apple and Android, I will not do without apps I want and use, just for the sake of having "something new".
Which apps are not there? I usually do not have a problem finding the apps that I want to download.
We are an app developer based in India, and recently, were contacted by MS to find out why we were not interested in developing apps for Windows Phone, what it would take for us to build apps for Windows, etc.
The reasons we told them - the insignificant number of phones in the market, and therefore the insignificant monetization potential, the cost of development tools for Windows, the fact that these tools require Windows 8 Pro and cannot run on regular Windows 8, etc.
Out of these, MS can easily give away Windows 8 Pro and Visual Studio development licenses, or even MSDN licenses. This is anyway money they would never have made, and it really doesnt cost them anything - just the cost of the DVDs it is sold on.
MS made an effort at doing something like this early on, but did so half heartedly. Developers had to apply, had to agree to lots of stringent terms and conditions, and many developers were rejected. We were also rejected because we applied "too late"!
At this point, even a small giveaway by MS will not mean much to developers. It still takes time to build, and development time costs lot of money.
I would suggest a simple strategy for MS - they should realize that their fight is with Android, and not with iOS. So anything that helps iOS against Android, is useful for MS. MS has some powerful tools to help iOS against Android - they can launch Office for iOS, and hold it back from Android. They have started thinking like this, and it will start making a difference. In exact same way, Apple can also partner with MS for some things - making Bing as default search engine, etc. Again, Apple has already started operating this way. Also, in patents and legal issues, Apple and MS are much more friendly with each other than they are with Android. This will start impacting Android in massive ways over time, as the "free" OS will no longer be free.
I think we are still in the infant days of the pally relationship between Apple and MS - and over time, the impact of this will become very evident.
But MS by itself can also do a lot more. They have the money to push the platform for years, even if it is unprofitable.
Comments
Why do you believe that every snot-nosed little troll deserves a full rebuttal to what is being said? When we know it's trolling, all we have to do is express our acknowledgement thereof.
The thing is, MS does have decent ecosystem, and working hard to improve it further.
Outlook.com, SkyDrive, Xbox Music and games. Skype is already part of their ecosystem and integrates nicely with Win 8. I'm expecting that their dealing with B&N will provide them with good book store shortly. Movies and TV, not sure if XBox Live is already offering some (and how good the offer is), but looking at direction they are taking with new Xbox One (as in strong integration with cable TV), I'm expecting some steps forward there as well.
I don't think it is time yet to discuss of WP8 success or demise. WP8 is still less than a year old. Looking at first year or two of iPhone and Android sales figures, I don't think that WP8 in general, and Nokia in particular, are doing bad. I would expect them to go over 10 million devices per quarter by the end of the year, and while this is still a far cry from numbers Apple and Samsung are moving, it is not rounding error category any more.
In addition. WP8/Nokia seems to be good platform, both OS and hardware wise. WP8 won 2013 PC Mag readers' choice (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416521,00.asp) and one of Lumias was Endgadget readers choice for 2012 (http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/winners-2012-engadget-awards-readers-choice/). Granted you will find polls where iPhone (or even an odd Android) are voted best, but customers' satisfaction is in general very high across the board... I also think Nokia is doing good job staying in the spotlight - releasing new versions of phones frequently (even if some of them are repacks), releasing exotic options (new PureView) and also covering whole spectrum of prices with colourful, recognisable devices.
In short, I think they are here to stay. Momentum is there, focus is there. Nokia is doing good job on handsets side and I think MS will also not disappoint with WP8.1 update. We will see more features on consumer side, better integration in corporate environment, and continuing growth in apps offerings.
I don't have crystal ball handy and can't read future from foam formation on surface of Turkish coffee mug (like some other folks around here believe they can), but I do think Nokia/WP8 are out of troubled waters, and have period of good growth before them. Don't know if they will ever reach iOS and Android, but I expect they will be profitable and sustainable.
I really enjoy my 920. There are things with the 920 that I love that iOS did not have like the screen adapting to the outdoors, screen size, and the ability to change the home screen. I am pretty sure the 920 is going to get flip to silence and a few other updates soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by r4d4
I don't understand Why these companies don't get it.
I bought my wife the WP7 HTC Titan when it first came out, part of that reason was my own personal interest in a new OS.
Windows Phone 7 and 8 OS alone, to me, is excellent. It runs smooth, I like the people "hub" and many other aspects of the OS.
What Nokia, and maybe Microsoft as well, do not Get: it's ALL ABOUT THE APPS.
I went to Microsoft's market place and looked for all the apps I have on my current iPhone. Nearly None of the apps I use daily, are there.
My bank app, my local TV station new/weather app, and many others that I want, are not there.
I have sent emails to my local bank and TV station asking them to make apps for WP8. Both said: "At this time, we are not interested in developing for windows phone 8, have a good day"
I have people argue that "there are most likely apps that 'do the same thing' as the apps you use on your iPhone"
I want the apps I use, not some "app that almost does the same thing".
If I could get my bank and and local TV station and even 80% of the "other" apps I want, (not the 5% that is actually there), I would switch to WP8 right now.
Microsoft and Nokia need to wake up and smell the coffee. It's all about the apps for me and until they are supported even half as much as Apple and Android, I will not do without apps I want and use, just for the sake of having "something new".
You seriously use your bank app every day? Mkay. Let me make the suggestion that you're not the normal user. If you said Instagram or Dropbox I'd have bought it.
Nokia worked with Path to get it on board. Looks like by the end of the year MS and Nokia will have courted and gotten a lot of new major apps on board. Including Flipboard, Hipstamatic, Mint and others.
/shrug
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Amhran
Who'd want Nokia's, BB's etc's garbage?
Nokia's Meego OS on the short-lived N9 was very good. In fact, the start-up Jolla is basically just a bunch of disgruntled ex-Nokia employees who continued with Meego, calling it Sailfish OS now.
Nokia's hardware is good, Symbian was good for it's time, Meego is good, they just made a terrible decision hiring Elop. They should have either continued with Meego or switched to Android, they could have done well. Instead they put their faith in Microsoft...
Quote:
Originally Posted by r4d4
I don't understand Why these companies don't get it.
I bought my wife the WP7 HTC Titan when it first came out, part of that reason was my own personal interest in a new OS.
Windows Phone 7 and 8 OS alone, to me, is excellent. It runs smooth, I like the people "hub" and many other aspects of the OS.
What Nokia, and maybe Microsoft as well, do not Get: it's ALL ABOUT THE APPS.
I went to Microsoft's market place and looked for all the apps I have on my current iPhone. Nearly None of the apps I use daily, are there.
My bank app, my local TV station new/weather app, and many others that I want, are not there.
I have sent emails to my local bank and TV station asking them to make apps for WP8. Both said: "At this time, we are not interested in developing for windows phone 8, have a good day"
I have people argue that "there are most likely apps that 'do the same thing' as the apps you use on your iPhone"
I want the apps I use, not some "app that almost does the same thing".
If I could get my bank and and local TV station and even 80% of the "other" apps I want, (not the 5% that is actually there), I would switch to WP8 right now.
Microsoft and Nokia need to wake up and smell the coffee. It's all about the apps for me and until they are supported even half as much as Apple and Android, I will not do without apps I want and use, just for the sake of having "something new".
Which apps are not there? I usually do not have a problem finding the apps that I want to download.
We are an app developer based in India, and recently, were contacted by MS to find out why we were not interested in developing apps for Windows Phone, what it would take for us to build apps for Windows, etc.
The reasons we told them - the insignificant number of phones in the market, and therefore the insignificant monetization potential, the cost of development tools for Windows, the fact that these tools require Windows 8 Pro and cannot run on regular Windows 8, etc.
Out of these, MS can easily give away Windows 8 Pro and Visual Studio development licenses, or even MSDN licenses. This is anyway money they would never have made, and it really doesnt cost them anything - just the cost of the DVDs it is sold on.
MS made an effort at doing something like this early on, but did so half heartedly. Developers had to apply, had to agree to lots of stringent terms and conditions, and many developers were rejected. We were also rejected because we applied "too late"!
At this point, even a small giveaway by MS will not mean much to developers. It still takes time to build, and development time costs lot of money.
I would suggest a simple strategy for MS - they should realize that their fight is with Android, and not with iOS. So anything that helps iOS against Android, is useful for MS. MS has some powerful tools to help iOS against Android - they can launch Office for iOS, and hold it back from Android. They have started thinking like this, and it will start making a difference. In exact same way, Apple can also partner with MS for some things - making Bing as default search engine, etc. Again, Apple has already started operating this way. Also, in patents and legal issues, Apple and MS are much more friendly with each other than they are with Android. This will start impacting Android in massive ways over time, as the "free" OS will no longer be free.
I think we are still in the infant days of the pally relationship between Apple and MS - and over time, the impact of this will become very evident.
But MS by itself can also do a lot more. They have the money to push the platform for years, even if it is unprofitable.