Windows Phone dead?

Seen quite a few articles cropping up online with word of around 7500+ jobs being cut, all to do with the phone dept of the company.

http://gizmodo.com/microsoft-doesnt-want-to-make-smartphones-anymore-1716524766

http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-windows-phone-got-right-2015-7?r=US

Seems quite out of the blue considering windows 10 is literally weeks away.

No

It has years left before they would even consider killing it.
Click bait article, that even goes againt the title in the biddy of the article, and you fell for it.

They should just kill it.

It has no chance now, I'm sorry WP loyalists but it's dying.

Glaucus said:

No

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So writing off the 7 billion acquisition of nokia and near 8000 jobs all to do with the phone part of the company is nothing major? There's quite a few sites reporting on this.

It means they are downsizing the mobile phone department. They don't need all of what Nokia had and writing if the value simply means that, same as the initial surface line, it's not worth the money they purchased it for and wont be for years, also MS don't want to be the only WP supplier, many other OEMs have already signed upto build w10 for mobiles.
Literally nothing in this article or any others you have seen point to the death of WP.

They do doing new releases but it doesn't look good when they are laying off loads of their mobile staff (Basically Nokia).

I doubt they want to be a hardware company - I suspect that's all that it comes down to.

With the proliferation of mobile phones and tablets, they'd have to be crazy (IMO) to abandon the market.

Just ignore Glaucus: he'll defend WP forever, even if there's clear evidence he's wrong.

If you don't think Windows Phone is irrelevant as a mobile platform then you're an idiot. Even MS themselves develop their apps for iOS/Android as a priority.

I don't get it.

It's a typical acquisition and streamlining move. And now they are focusing on 6 phones a year across 3 category, dropping thousands of spare staff that worked across Old Nokia means WP is dead?

Business is business. I rather MS streamline and focus than their approach of Samsungs churning of phones till a hit. Theres defending MS and theres being a realist, this is the fact, the lines are blurred between PC, portable devices and pocket devices, that's what W10 is focusing on, unifying as much as possible.

If firing a few staff within a bloated work focused sector (Nokia did more than just WP phones then), then Nestle is pulling out of noodles business 10 years ago (they have not), Mondolez is pulling out of chocolate business (they have not).

Business and decision of streamlining to core business is not always an end of the business core focus, to get their software as wide an audience, including competitions platform.

Would anyone even be surprised if they did die tomorrow? They're simply irrelevant. There hasn't been a single exclusive flagship WP device in what, almost 2 years? They just keep releasing piddly little budget devices which generate no interest whatsoever, and they're constantly playing catch up on the software side with things like Cortana, quick toggle notifications, wallpapers and folders being things which have existed on Android and iOS for ages before the WP equivalent.

The issue is that WP really has nothing to offer to consumers.

iOS offers the simplicity and fluidity that people like. Android offers the customisability that other people like.

AlecR said:

The issue is that WP really has nothing to offer to consumers.

iOS offers the simplicity and fluidity that people like. Android offers the customisability that other people like.

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I disagree wholeheartedly.

Windows Phone offers one massive plus side. Interoperability with enterprise management software and proper 365 integration. It also appears to offer greater battery life than other platforms, and at least at the high end, better built devices than their Android counterparts. Finally, and possible most importantly, WP7 and 8 have never been compromised. iOS and Android have... repeatedly.

My business device is a Windows Phone, my personal device is a piephone. Says it all. Won't be using Android again until such time as they aren't vulnerable to attack (will never happen).

Windows Phone 10 should improve things a great deal, but Windows Phone is always going to be considered a niche market. In reality had they bothered to update WinMo after 6.5 (and keep on top of it) they would have remained competitive in the smartphone space before the influx of cheap Androids happened. Shame they neglected it.

paradigm said:

Windows Phone offers one massive plus side. Interoperability with enterprise management software and proper 365 integration.

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So basically it allows interaction with Microsoft services. That's again not really a compelling feature for 99% of people as they use Google services.

paradigm said:

It also appears to offer greater battery life than other platforms...

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That's anecdotal at best: my Z3 offers better battery life than any Windows Phone going by the stats I have seen.

paradigm said:

...and at least at the high end, better built devices than their Android counterparts.

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I can only think of one really well-built Windows Phone and that's the HTC One M8 for Windows which was an Android phone first. Nokia phones are reasonably well built but nothing compared to Samsung, Apple or HTC devices.

99% of "people" might use google's sub-par services, but enterprises don't!

Also, Samsung and built quality? Don't make me laugh, they invented the flimsy phone. Galaxy s2 through s5 were incredibly shoddy.

paradigm said:

99% of "people" might use google's sub-par services, but enterprises don't!

Also, Samsung and built quality? Don't make me laugh, they invented the flimsy phone. Galaxy s2 through s5 were incredibly shoddy.

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The Galaxy S6 is one of the best built devices, period.

But then there haven't been any decent new devices from Microsoft to compete with it anyway.

I actually really like the high end windows phones but I'm put off by the lack of apps, which Continuum should help with.

Oh and the s6 is a well built premium phone.

paradigm said:

Finally, and possible most importantly, WP7 and 8 have never been compromised. iOS and Android have... repeatedly.

My business device is a Windows Phone, my personal device is a piephone. Says it all. Won't be using Android again until such time as they aren't vulnerable to attack (will never happen).

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Security through obscurity. You wouldn't be worse off using the latest version of Android on a Nexus device.

xb8browney said:

I actually really like the high end windows phones but I'm put off by the lack of apps, which Continuum should help with.

Oh and the s6 is a well built premium phone.

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When you have to essentially port Android apps to your platform, that means it is failing.

I don't see how anybody can not argue that?

paradigm said:

99% of "people" might use google's sub-par services, but enterprises don't!

Also, Samsung and built quality? Don't make me laugh, they invented the flimsy phone. Galaxy s2 through s5 were incredibly shoddy.

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Sorry, but my S2 was rock-solid, the 'flimsy' back cover was actually very strong.