Why have I given up on Windows Phone
pa2k4p
Contributor - Level 1
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36 Replies
LumiaIconUser
Contributor - Level 1

In my opinion, the MS/VZW situation with the Icon has done huge damage to the WP brand. Whereas 7 months ago I would have advocated for anyone switching to the platform, today I have to say I couldn't recommend it. When the largest carrier in the US can't -- for whatever reason -- get it together with MS, Nokia, and 8.1, there is basically no hope.

Sadly, I think this may be the end of the line for WP, at least in the US. If you spend all summer advertising Cortana and 8.1, and then can't deliver it on the largest carrier, it leaves a big "WTefF" in your mind about this platform. Yanking the Icon and going radio-silent on the updates means VZW simply doesn't care.

corkwatchr
Contributor - Level 1

The perfect 1-2 punch to Windows users on Verizon occurs if AT&T soon comes out with a flagship Microsoft WP10 while Verizon still can't even deliver the Cyan/8.1 update.

For those of us sticking with WPs, we're outta here!

pa2k4p
Contributor - Level 1

I wish I could disagree but frankly I see this as a pivotal moment for WP, and regardless of who's to "blame", Verizon is the company that stamps their name on the subsidized product. So as I said before, VZW is one of the large factors that will end WP. You can't get a foothold in the US like this, and I really don't think VZW even cares to try. It's not a money maker for them, and the MSFT cash handed out to market and support can only go so far in some organizations....

WPCyanNOW
Enthusiast - Level 2

Ed Bott on ZDNet seems to sum it up pretty well:

In short, this is Verizon's fault. They have over 40% of the US market and refuse to release the 8.1 Cyan update despite the fact that every other carrier already has.

Verizon is playing a game here, and part of that game is to kill Windows Phone by holding it back every way they can. That is just purely blatant at this point. Windows Phone customers who don't know any better will blame Microsoft. Windows Phone customers who do know better are going to leave Verizon and switch to AT&T - that's a fact. Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, AT&T carries better WP Phones than Verizon, like the Lumia 1020 and 1520. Unfortunately for people like my wife who has a company phone on Verizon, and loves her Windows Phone, she's just stuck.

In all honesty, I'd rather stick with Verizon but my days with them are numbered. I've decided to give them a few more weeks. After that, if there's no news about the update I'm marching straight to an AT&T store. If Verizon does come through with the update by some miracle, I'll stick around a bit longer. But if they pull the same kind of <male cow fecal matter> with the next update, or don't offer newer WP phones when they become available from manufacturers, I will drop them like a hot rock. But you know, I truly feel like I'm giving Verizon another chance that they obviously don't deserve.

xonnia
Enthusiast - Level 3

I have the HTC one M8 so I have the 8.1, but for me its the lack of app support, which  I didn't really notice till i traveled recently.  then it hit like a brick,  no airline app, no hotel app,  no taxi app etc...    And this is blame squarely on MS they need to get off the pot and pay companies to develop the apps and help them if needed.  If they want a smart phone market share its the only way to do it.   If they can't pony up the cash and incentives it wont happen no matter what update verizon provides.   i'm giving them till next septmeber which is sad cause i love the WP OS over Droid so much

barnfish
Enthusiast - Level 2

I agree that the lack of apps for specific businesses is a much bigger problem than i wanted to admit.  I wanted to stick with WP (had the Trophy for 3 years, bought the flagship Icon in Feb'14) and it's only gotten worse.  Need an app for your bank? Hope you don't use PNC (or many others). How about one for SparkPeople? It's been "in the works" for 5 years, not coming.  Airlines? Forget it. Even the new Angry Birds release I saw today is ported for WP7, not WP8 (or windows desktop, for that matter).  My Healthcare provider? Applestore or GooglePlay links, nothing else.  Even my online health care records service has a great lineup of apps, login options (6 separate login services!) and links to their apps on Applestore, Googleplay, but NO WP apps at all.  WP has already lost on the apps front, and Verizon is putting the nail in the coffin. I think the wheels fell off when Microsoft purchase of Nokia took effect approximately one month after the release of the Icon. All promotion of WP phones went in reverse, with Verizon stores and sales actively steering customers away from Windows Phones.  And now, the flagship WP (Icon) that was 'exclusive' to Verizon is mothballed less than 8 months after release, and no upgrades to 8.1 or cyan, and no honest communication about its status.  I've been pretty stubborn in my active support of WP, even promoting it to friends and family - but no more, I can longer recommend this platform.  Due to financial reasons, I'll wait until March 2015 and will be moving on - away from Verizon AND WP.  I still find this platform superior, but lack of support on the largest US carrier and lack of apps has finally worn me out.

pa2k4p
Contributor - Level 1

Very well put, and very much echo's my sentiment. I can't recommend this platform anymore. The app situation is a big catch-22. What developer (well, and the people who pay the dev) wants to waste time developing around features on a platform that won't get released by the largest US carrier? I'm a dev myself, and I won't.

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jasqid
Enthusiast - Level 2

Don't really need an app... Cortana tracks travel data... she did for me. Even let me know when to leave for the airport.

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rcschnoor
Legend

Blame Verizon???

It is not Verizon which is killing the WP platform IF it is indeed being killed. MS need to put more into it.

Was the iPhone KILLED when Verizon passed on a contract to be the sole provider with iPhones? No, Apple just went with their 2nd choice of AT&T. If Verizon could kill a platform, iPhone would not be a major player today. Now the iPhone is a popular choice on all providers. Possibly MS could learn something from that.

MS needs to build demand and UNTIL their app store has comparable apps for what people want and currently use on their platforms of choice, as indicated in posts in this thread, that will NEVER happen. In the past, I have considered purchasing a WP. I did not do so, not because there were not phones available which were attractive, but because the apps I use on a regular basis WERE NOT available in the Windows Phone App Store. THAT is the bottom line.

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pa2k4p
Contributor - Level 1

You can't seriously compare the launch of the very first smart phone against the launch of a new smart phone platform in an already mature market. C'mon.

rcschnoor
Legend

Contrary to what Apple history re-writers would like you to believe, there WERE smartphones BEFORE the iPhone. It WAS NOT the "very first smartphone".

primortal
Master - Level 1

People keep for getting about Apple's Reality Distortion Field Smiley Happy

We had the Windows Phone Mobile(Windows CE/Pocket PC), Palm OS and Blackberry.

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deloused
Master - Level 3

I never realized people thought apple made the first smartphone. I used to sell lots of Palm/Treo/Windows/Blackberry devices back in the day before the iPhone. Even back then and thru my 19 years of cellular we always sold less of the windows devices, and saw more returns in them than any other platform. As this has continued I'm sure that's why.

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rcschnoor
Legend

pa2k4p wrote:

You can't seriously compare the launch of the very first smart phone against the launch of a new smart phone platform in an already mature market. C'mon.

Just to use 1 manufacturer, RIM:

BB 5810 released 2002

BB 6210 released 2003

BB 6510 released 2003

BB 7210 released 2003

BB 7750 released 2004

BB 7100t released 2004

BB Pearl 8100 released 2006

BB Curve 8300 released 2007

I am sure I may have missed a few Blackberry devices in this list.

The very first iPhone was released in 2007, WELL AFTER there were already smartphones on the market!!!!!

Oh, by the way, I was using a windows phone 3-4 years ago with the HTC Touch Pro 2. I stopped using Windows Phones because of the lack of app support. It has not improved much in those years since I left. THAT is what is killing WP, not Verizon. Simply because they update their OS does not make it a new "smart phone platform". iPhone has updated its OS, Android has updated its OS, they don't call themselves a "new smart phone platform" every time they do so. C'mon.Smiley Happy

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pa2k4p
Contributor - Level 1

Oy Vey.

You know what I mean. Go ahead and throw some Windows Mobile devices in your list too. Sure, there were "smart" devices at the turn of the 2000's. I know, I worked on them and wrote what we used to call "programs" for Palm and CE devices. Derp.

rcschnoor
Legend

No, I don't know what you mean. You make a statement you KNOW to be false????

pa2k4p wrote:

You can't seriously compare the launch of the very first smart phone against the launch of a new smart phone platform in an already mature market. C'mon.

and expect to be taken seriously?

When you say "the very first smart phone" I tend to think THAT is what you mean.Smiley Happy

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pa2k4p
Contributor - Level 1

You win the internet, smart guy.

Thanks for contributing your vast knowledge and highly relevant opinion of semantical grammar to the conversation. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

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rcschnoor
Legend

After re-reading your posts, you are probably right. Exaggerations, half-truths(if that) and misinformation are a good way to make your point.

Oh, and of course a few insults thrown in to sweeten the pot.

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pa2k4p
Contributor - Level 1

Please, tell me more about how the introduction of the iPhone is anything like the introduction of Windows Phone 7.

rcschnoor
Legend

pa2k4p wrote:

Please, tell me more about how the introduction of the iPhone is anything like the introduction of Windows Phone 7.

Possibly you could point to a post of mine which said it WAS like the introduction of the iPhone.

On the contrary, it is NOTHING like the introduction of the iPhone. Apple had an EXTENSIVE library of apps available for the iPhone BEFORE it was released. Apps which provided MORE capability than the competition, not LESS which is what the Windows Phone App Store provides. MORE of a library than the competition had, not LESS.

As I have stated before, THAT is what is holding back the platform, apps which are not available for the device which ARE available on other platforms AND which users have come to expect AND rely upon. That is what is keeping many people, myself included, from even giving them a shot. Especially after giving them a shot once, a couple of years ago, when promises were made the App Store would have similar apps available just like the other platforms. After many years of waiting, those similar apps are STILL not available. If anything the app disparity just keeps getting bigger.

So no, it is NOT like the introduction of the iPhone, NOR did I ever say it was.

The ONLY thing I have said, is that Verizon PASSED on being the exclusive provider of iPhones, which eventually went to AT&T AND the platform survived AND is still thriving even though Verizon did not initially support the device. Not having Verizon support, therefore, does not mean the platform will not survive.

IF your supposition is correct that Verizon does not support the Windows Phone platform, THAT could be one similarity between the 2, in that Verizon DID NOT support the iPhone platform initially, either. With THAT similarity, possibly the Windows Phone platform could have a very rosy future just as the iPhone currently enjoys. Of course, MS will have to build support by providing the vast app library in the Windows Phone App Store JUST as Apple did with the iPhone AND as Android is also doing. We will have to see if that ever happens, though. It has been quite a few years without that being the case, though.

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