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Microsoft Admits Windows Phone is Basically Dead
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Although I agree that we need competition, blame it on Microsoft who were not even slightly interested in pushing Windows Phone. (To Microsoft's credit, they did realize it's too late to fight iOS and Android, and opted to make their ecosystem work with both platforms instead).
Windows Phone was supposed to be the platform bringing the bests in iOS and Android. A more open app store compared to Apple's, updates from Microsoft, and variety of devices from many OEMs. What ended up happened were the worst of both worlds, walled garden app store with less apps, older devices were abandoned on OS updates (WP7 devices not getting WP8, only a few WP8 devices got updated to WP10), and all the OEMs other than Nokia were barely interested.
Big in the smartphone business, maybe. Smartphone makers at the time were never big in the phone-in-general business, though. Symbian ran a lot of "feature phones", but the overwhelming majority of of those ran effectively custom operating systems. Microsoft, Palm, and RIM were never more than bit-players in the overall phone market.
Apple's (and later, Google's) entrance dramatically expanded the smartphone market by consuming a lot of the feature phone market. Sales of phones running Microsoft's OS stayed relatively constant until just a few years ago. They "lost marketshare" simply because their earlier marketshare figures were for just the "smartphone market", not the broader "phone market".
Sure - same conversation that goes on at every household. Here's your new Android phone.
I doubt you are far from the truth. It is reflected in many big companies. When you put too much focus on sales as KPI, that's where your employees will be doing, not innovating. Worse with MS where their money maker were the enterprise market, and of course, Office, so they probably give even less resources to the other departments. And probably just like any big companies, when a department doesn't perform (due to lack of resources), it gets penalized even further, thus killing it.
Having said that, MS has a much better vision now with Satya, at least from the surface. Of course, there are plenty of middle managers sticking with their old ways, but MS is opening up more and more, realizing they are defeated in mobile and embracing the existing platforms by partnering with Apple and Samsung.
MS always sucked in Mobile. Why Nokia burnt their own platform and went all in ln Windows Phone I do not know.
Nokia had their faults under powered hardware but amazing design with the N9 and the high end Lumia's.
The polycarbonate units with the colour at the molecular level rather than being just painted was a great idea.
I wish they could have kept that design language for the 950's and offered their phones with Symbian, Android and Windows.
Nokia had their faults under powered hardware but amazing design with the N9 and the high end Lumia's.
The polycarbonate units with the colour at the molecular level rather than being just painted was a great idea.
I wish they could have kept that design language for the 950's and offered their phones with Symbian, Android and Windows.
Windows Phone actually had the one feature that both iOS and Andriod lack and will possibly never have - continuum. By making the mobile and desktop OS essentially the same but adapt to the hardware being run, they achieved the holy grail of mobile OS. Continuum allowed you to plug a phone into a dock and experience a full fledged desktop.
It is a shame that Ballmer creted a demented response to iOS in 2007 and failed to create a viable alternative. Just a shame.
It is a shame that Ballmer creted a demented response to iOS in 2007 and failed to create a viable alternative. Just a shame.
I'm thinking, maybe something like this?
https://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10...-windows-phone-7-rtm-with-funeral-parade-for/
That gets said a great deal but is it always true? I think not. Often cooperation between companies leads to better experiences for the consumer than purely competition.
And in Flow. I think this is probably what Microsoft is up to that could be a disruptive step if done right. If they don't have a horse in the race from a mobile hardware perspective, they could create a really compelling business oriented layer that works across Android and iOS. As much as smartphones have innovated, its mostly been on the consumer and entertainment side. I mean come on... all this technology in the X to have animated poop emojis? That kind of tells you where Apple's head is at for innovation (pun intended)... squarely targeting middle school girls. There is a lot of improvement than be done on the business side that Microsoft could make happen.
You will find that many of these institutions have also been burned by Apple in relation to their "professional" content creation areas, and would be sceptical about Tims commitment to macs.....pros are a done deal, too little too late.
[doublepost=1507564296][/doublepost]Smart move from windows, sadly lack of competition means android / iOS will just copy each other ....
And
Windows,
SQL Server
Office
Visio
Exchange
Skype
Visual Studio
One Note
Azure
BackOffice
etc, etc
Backoffice?! That's been dead for 16 years lol
At peak, Windows Phone had 15-20% market share in some countries.
It was extremely popular in Europe and some Latin American countries.
Sure, it’s dead now but 15-20% is certainly alive.
Yes, considering Apple has 12% of the smartphone market in 2Q2017. Granted its a bigger market by a lot, but the notion that Microsoft was never competitive in this market is just wrong. https://venturebeat.com/2017/08/02/...pple-huawei-oppo-and-xiaomi-all-gained-share/
Towards the end the licensing was only in place for tablets. It became free for devices smaller than 7 inches. Too little too late by then though.
I remember the iPod mini selling like hot cakes and if Apple had even behaved like Motorola, they’d have ridden that product for years. Instead they canned off the mini after a year and brought in the nano. As per SJs notion, Apple cannibalised itself before anyone else managed to compete with the previous generations product.
I also remember being one of the most vocal critics of the mini when it came out. 4GB? 4GB?! When I have 60 in my pocket already? Hahaha! Who on Earth is going to buy this?
Then I found out. One of the many reasons I’ve been reluctant to join in with the ‘Apple should do this! It’s obvious!’ threads over the years. And why I’m writing this on an iPad Pro and not something else.
[doublepost=1507569182][/doublepost]
Apple might only have 12% but that 12% is all gravy. From the device itself to App Store sales, iCloud subscriptions to Apple Music, that 12% share is very profitable for them. If Microsoft hadve made it to 12% share, it wouldn’t have been the insanely profitable 12% that Apple has. They’d be on the same margins as a Sony or similar. Cf Apple’s small but highly profitable share of the desktop/laptop market vs other hardware OEMs with Windows.
The “notion of the App Store” existed long before Apple was on the scene.
Blackberry had an App Store
Plam had multiple app stores, Handango being one beside the main Palm App Store
Windows CE, Pocket PC had several.
Etc.
You should clarify why Apple succeeded where others have failed as the “notion of the App Store” was not the reason.
Competition really isn't what makes this happen. I know that's sacrilegious to say to many, but this whole competition thing is ********. Take a look back at the best things you've ever used, in any product category including even food, how many of them were born out of actual competition? Competition can be good but it is a stronger force on other factors than "better products".
Whats going to really hurt the iphone is that smartphones have become a commodity and thus will have to compete on price. Android has gotten real good lately and the Chinese OEMs are coming out with great phones for $200 to $400. Apple and and the Koreans (Samsung/LG) can't compete on a price like that.
Remember Sony? Toshiba? Panasonic? RCA? Magnavox? They were big electronics companies too but the Chinese came in and ate their lunch. TCL, Huawei, Vizio, and other Chinese companies will take over in the next 5 years. Watch and see.