A particularly dangerous and infrequent activity has been occuring in my brain recently….
…I’ve been thinking.
Yes, both brain cells have worked overtime these last few weeks as I’ve read the scare stories surrounding Microsoft products.
You’ve probably seen the news. PC sales are down and Windows 8 is apparently getting a re-launch as “failures have been admitted” with the existing version. Meanwhile, Windows Phone continues to be at the back of the pack despite there being nothing really wrong with it.
So what’s the problem? After all this time why isn’t Windows Phone massive? The Nokia hardware is good, the OS is decent and the Marketplace has a lot of the apps you’re going to need.
Is it the simple fact that it’s a Microsoft OS? Or has Nokia lost the brand appeal?
It’s an interesting one, so to those of you who DON’T have a Windows Phone, what made you choose that path? Why didn’t you go for it? We’d love to know, and it only takes seconds to tell us. There’s just one question below and it’ll allow multiple responses. Dive in, or add your comments if you’ve more to tell us..
[poll id=”5″]
Other
I don’t want anything with a walled garden
dont buy Apple products then
since Microsoft is a disgrace to anyone that has been using a computer in the last 20 years what is so difficult to understand ?
Like many of you guys, I had many an SPV with the original Windows Mobile and at the time i was quite happy with it….I would have probably stayed with it, if it had simply moved on with the times, quite why MS didn’t spot Apple’s IOs’ potential, beggers belief.. I’m now entranched in Android ( as are my Wife and kids) and have no intention of moving OS.
Similar opinion here, started with SPV’s and a big advocate of Windows Phones and smartphones (pre apple/google etc..). But when MS essentially hibernated and faffing around for far too long that left many of us with no option but to look at alternatives, with my final phones being the HD and HD2 (best phone ever made) they helpfully got me to try android and it was decent enough. Now however I’ve no doubt Windows phones are decent too, and I’m not a heavy app buyer/user (qty isn’t the issue as most are trash), but there are sometimes necessary apps I use from vendors that I need that only make them for android/ios. I guess its become catch 22 for Windows phones being too late to be a priority for many apps. And so stuck with android as its my best bet for specific app support.
Back in the days of the SPV, we all used Windows mobile because there was no other mobile OS of note at the time – the SPV was a revelation. It was ok – I too had many iterations of it, but I think we all knew it was flawed.
When Apple’s iOS came along, people started to realise what could be done with a mobile OS. It was smooth, internet browsing was actually a pleasure (just as long as you were on WiFi – 2.5G was pants), and it sparked a whole new movement.
If Microsoft were a progressive company, they would have come up with a smooth, non-fiddly, easy-to-use OS first. All they’ve done (and all they have ever done really) is react to stronger market forces, which is why they are several years late to the party. I for one had been using smartphones and PDAs for years before Apple decided to get in on the party – imagine what MS could have achieved in that time if they were in any way innovative or forward-thinking? Glad they didn’t though, they are sh*t and deserve to fail.
I looked at Windows in December but there were only a couple of phones around on Nokia and HTC neither of which were right for me. I will consider it again in 18 mths tho.
They wrote off all Windows Mobile customers and then all Windows Phone 7 customers. That shows a disappointing attitude to customers. Also, a merely decent OS does not inspire one to switch.
Tru dat!
I voted other, I’ve got nothing against windows phone, but preferred the HTC one to anything that was available with windows phone on it.
I have windows on my pc .
don’t want it on my phone .
just like having something different and new.
been using windows for over 20 years .
Like bob i loved my tytn ii and vario before. It they hadn’t dumped windows phone and gone straight to wp8, maybe would have stuck with them. Discovered android and it’s flexibility and nothing comes close now.
Home = Linux, Mobile = Android, Work = Solaris & Windows. I only use Windows at work because I have to.
I am exactly the same (aside from the Solaris… For work I’m mac, windows and some unix), but I am one of a growing number of people who have shunned Windows generally as a desktop and a server OS. I do not believe Windows to be a progressive OS, as I do not believe Microsoft to be a progressive company. I believe most of the advancements that have been made in the last 10 years have been on the back of the open software movement. Android is a prime example of this, as are the vast majority of modern web technologies.
Regardless of how good anything is that MS release, it will always be several steps behind if they stick to being proprietary. The fact that they use their market position and bank balance to bully their way to success makes the fact anyone buys anything they produce all the more frustrating.
Regarding Windows Phone in particular, it’s not like they have anything like backwards compatibility in their favour. It’s a new OS, with very little indeed to persuade anyone to move to it.
I am lucky enough to have both Android and Windows Phone 8 handsets (and had an iphone a while ago) and I would personally choose iOS or Android, probably Android for my next phone. WP8 is a nice smooth OS and the screen and camera on the 920 especially are great but the apps aren’t up to the same level as the other operating systems (even the Facebook beta still lags behind iOS and Android) and the customisation just isn’t there IMO. Maybe I’m just too used to Android as I’ve had it longer.
I took a punt on an Ativ S recently when Expansys had them on sale. A very nice piece of kit, but for me certain weird things mean I won’t switch from Android I fear.
Tiles to toggle things like data, wifi etc. don’t toggle, they’re just shortcuts to take you into the settings menu where you switch them off! Then when you come out you MUST use the back button so the tile reports the correct status, if you just press ‘home’, the tile still shows the ‘old’ setting. Not very “live”.
It seems no battery meter can show 100% when the phone is charged…all the battery meters I’ve found say its a limitation of the operating system so they go up to 99.
Its just the general usability of things like that. The contacts part is very nice and the view of all facebook etc. updates is nice as well, but for me the fact that the live tiles aren’t always quite as live as you’d think means you’re diving in and out of menus a lot. If that can be overcome so that they behave more like android widgets I’d be more willing to give it a proper go.
I voted for the App options. It is not a clear dealbreaker as I have an Android Tablet as well as phone, so I could go Windows and tether to my tablet to ensure I can use the apps. Just a pain in the bum.
I like the look of the Ativ and the top Nokias, I think I’ll stick with Android though, far more customisable.
why are 93% of android apps wanting access to my contacts etc when they dont need it ????
the only reason i see some friends use android is for cracked apps
I AM switching to WP tho, so bored with iOS and android isnt for me. 🙂
Like most people here, my smartphone life started with the various SPV models which I loved, then HTC Touch, and an HTC HD2, then moves to HTC HD7 then HTC Titan.
I have always been a fan of Windows Mobile until Android came onboard, it was then I started having doubt about the future of windows phones. It was frustrating to see that most basic apps were available on IOS and Android but not for Windows phone.
Before that I even converted my family to Windows phones everyone was very enthusiastic about how different and simple the layout was but after a few months they cursed me for suggesting these devices.
Since then I have moved from WIndows Phone to Android, first I had a Galaxy Nexus which I loved until it decided to go for a swim in the sink. I am now a Galaxy S3 owner and love it. I have all the apps that really matter to me.I even moved my email from hotmail to gmail. Something that Windows Phone lacks is Apps and content…Google are catching up fast on IOS. I can now buy magazines, books, music….apart from the music I don’t think Microsoft can compete at this stage. I have all I need with android/google and I wonder if it is not already to late for Microsoft to become a major player. This is a big worry for Microsoft as the sale of PCs are down, people are now prefering to spends their cash on Tablets, where at this model in time Microsoft doesnt have a product which will appeal to a large audience.
Anyway Leigh ..great website I always enjoy your reviews very much.