RIP Windows Phone

Skeeter · 24 Jul 2016 at 12:43

Plus, almost everyone is familiar with either Android or iOS. Given the choice (which most people are at work now) they are likely to ask for a work device that is familiar to them rather than one they don't know simply because it has Microsoft written on it.

We are a Microsoft Platinum partner and have a few guys who have come to us from Microsoft. There is only 1 person in the company who uses a Windows Phone. Everyone else uses iPhones or Android. Even the Microsoft focused sales guys.

What we do have however is a massive rise in the number of people asking for Surface Books. There were 5 new ones delivered the other day.

Scougar · 25 Jul 2016 at 05:36

Windows phone (WP10) died for me when they can't even get the interaction between basic functions to work correctly. I can't remember specifically, but some REALLY common tasks would just fail.

Unable to get Chrome. Edge sucks hardcore on WP10.
Lack of apps.

I look at a product like the Blackberry playbook, and the only thing they couldn't get right was app support. Missing some really key apps like skype/netflix, yet the hardware and the software (O/S) were excellent. How on earth do MS think they can come into the market without getting the OS upto scratch, plus, not have the app support and think thy can be succesful?

The ONE feature of WP I absolutely loved was natively being able to block callers, without any stupid application. No rings, no notifications, just outright blocked. Excelllent stuff that a lot of Android phones simply don't support.

I gave up on my Lumia 640 after trying to love it.

AndyCr15 · 25 Jul 2016 at 06:42

Scougar said:
The ONE feature of WP I absolutely loved was natively being able to block callers, without any stupid application. No rings, no notifications, just outright blocked. Excelllent stuff that a lot of Android phones simply don't support.

It's this I don't understand as an Android user. I think it literally took me around 8 seconds from reading this to be looking at a highly rated call blocker on Android. It would then take one click on my PC and 30 seconds later it's installed. I personally don't understand why this would sway someone on a whole OS.

I could understand why it would be an issue if it was hard to find, or hard to install. Personally I find it hard to find apps on my work iPad. When I search something, I'm generally looking at loads of apps that are nothing to do with what I searched.

Skeeter · 25 Jul 2016 at 07:56

Yeah the argument that you can do something 'without needeing an app' is a weak one. Because as long as there is a solution using an app, why does it matter?

Everything is an app really. Just some of them come pre installed with features you like. Arguing the base functionality alone is kind of pointless. Who buys a Smartphone and then never uses any apps?

visibleman · 25 Jul 2016 at 08:58

Skeeter said:
Yeah the argument that you can do something 'without needeing an app' is a weak one. Because as long as there is a solution using an app, why does it matter?

In the same vain, if there's a perfectly usable web app that provides the same functionality, which can easily be shortcut'd to home screens on majority of mobile OS's for 'speed', then why do you need to use a dedicated app?

I see this every day with clients, like consumers they've been brainwashed to believe that everything must have an app yet in 9 out of 10 cases a web application is a better and correct solution - larger target audience, quicker and vastly cheaper development and maintenance etc

AndyCr15 said:
Yes, which can't actually be applied to an OS. So we're using it in another sense, and disagree on how we're using it.

Wow, we're having to explain a lot to these Windows guys...

So you're deliberately misusing a word and then go on to suggest WP users are the idiots - you sound like a smart guy Andy

And an OS could be classed as dead (definition - not alive) in the sense that it's not being actively developed and manufacturers have ceased production of devices using that particular OS.
Either way, WP isn't (currently) that.

P.s - Not a WP user; i use a far superior OS

Tuvoc · 25 Jul 2016 at 09:29

Scougar said:
Windows phone (WP10) died for me when they can't even get the interaction between basic functions to work correctly. I can't remember specifically, but some REALLY common tasks would just fail.

Unable to get Chrome. Edge sucks hardcore on WP10.

I beg to differ, Edge works very well for me on WP10. Maybe it sucks for you, but for the vast majority of people I'd guess it works perfectly fine. I had to use Chrome on my back-up Moto-G yesterday because the battery was flat on my 640, and it was a less pleasant experience than Edge on WP.

Slightly O/T, but I also used Here Maps on the Moto-G and found that excellent.

Must buy a power brick or a spare battery for the 640XL.... For some reason my cigarette lighter a) charges it very slowly and b) can't keep up with the power draw when using it as a satnav !! Maybe the belkin dual plug is at fault.

Skeeter · 25 Jul 2016 at 09:32

But if you don't like Edge, what decent alternatives are there?

AndyCr15 · 25 Jul 2016 at 09:33

visibleman said:
So you're deliberately misusing a word and then go on to suggest WP users are the idiots - you sound like a smart guy Andy

And an OS could be classed as dead (definition - not alive) in the sense that it's not being actively developed and manufacturers have ceased production of devices using that particular OS.
Either way, WP isn't (currently) that.

P.s - Not a WP user; i use a far superior OS

I'm not. I think we all are aren't we? Not alive? I don't think an OS can technically live. As I say, we're having to explain a lot here that seems fairly simple.

Tuvoc · 25 Jul 2016 at 09:53

Skeeter said:
But if you don't like Edge, what decent alternatives are there?

I don't know, never had reason to look since Edge does the job for me. I guess there will always be something someone doesn't like. You can't please everyone all of the time. Nothing is perfect, not even Android....

smilertoo · 25 Jul 2016 at 13:30

I might have stuck with WP if the lumia 920 had gotten a win10 update, but it's on the list of dropped phones, for no apparent reason other than to try and force sales of new hardware. The WP update policy is so poor you may as well buy with the knowledge that you will get no meaningful OS upgrades for that phone.

Helios1234 · 25 Jul 2016 at 13:41

smilertoo said:
I might have stuck with WP if the lumia 920 had gotten a win10 update, but it's on the list of dropped phones, for no apparent reason other than to try and force sales of new hardware. The WP update policy is so poor you may as well buy with the knowledge that you will get no meaningful OS upgrades for that phone.

Probably for the best that you don't get win10.

Skeeter · 25 Jul 2016 at 14:09

Tuvoc said:
I don't know, never had reason to look since Edge does the job for me. I guess there will always be something someone doesn't like. You can't please everyone all of the time. Nothing is perfect, not even Android....

But at least there is choice on Android.

You don't like Chrome, fine, did you try anything else? Opera, FireFox, etc? I use a different browser on my tablet than I do on my phone because of the different strengths of different apps.

On Windows Phone there isn't much, if any choice. If you like Edge, great, but if you don't, well tough **** that's all you have.

I've always said that locking everyone into a single way of doing things is fine, and has lots of advantages, but only if that 'single way' is any good. There's no point locking people into something that's crap.

smilertoo said:
...for no apparent reason other than to try and force sales of new hardware.

What new hardware? We've only seen 1 new Microsoft phone in 2016 so far.

cu3ed · 25 Jul 2016 at 14:45

Well there is Opera, though I'm fine using Edge.

The others just never made one, and don't use any other as Chrome etc are not made for touch.