Windows Phone 7 Sales Continue To Struggle 351
rtfa-troll writes "Even with the pre-Christmas buying rush, Microsoft is already desperately offering a new buy one get one free offer similar to the ones they gave for the KIN. According to the article, 'Windows Phone 7 devices can't even manage two per cent of the fortnight's sales.' These aren't official Microsoft figures; they come from online shopping sites. But since Microsoft official sales figures seem subject to manipulation, this is perhaps one of the better guesses we will get at the success of Windows Phone 7 until well into next year. This also strongly backs up other reports of deeply disappointing phone sales. Even Microsoft supporters have been wondering for a while whether it's time for Ballmer to go. If the sales reports are true, then he may be pushed before he jumps."
Less editorialization please (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Even better than that, the phones they're offering are the HTC Surround, LG Quantum or the Samsung Focus - not the more popular phones such as the Omnia or the HD7, which one can learn from other sources [eweek.com] are selling like the proverbial hot cakes.
A poor attempt, really.
smart phones... no longer interesting (Score:3, Interesting)
The only functionality I use in my phone these days is the address book. Everything else I do through my iPad. If they'd add phone capabilities to the iPad (a bluetooth earpiece and adding a CDMA radio would do it) then I wouldn't even need a "phone" per se. Sure, I want to carry lots of functionality, but the tiny, tiny universe of a phone's screen just doesn't cut it anymore -- the iPad simply crushed that whole domain for me.
As I'm carrying the iPad anyway, much less cumbersome and easier to use than
Re: (Score:2)
If they'd add phone capabilities to the iPad (a bluetooth earpiece and adding a CDMA radio would do it) then I wouldn't even need a "phone" per se.
While not exactly native cell phone functionality, I have had great success with whisper [whisper-app.com] voip on my iPad using the normal headphones and mic.
If you have a 3G enabled iPad, you can then install either My3G or VoIPover3G too. Then you can place and receive calls over wifi, 3g, or bluetooth.
Whisper even has a 'free' option if you don't mind listening to an ad. (Good for testing purposes anyway.)
I'm sure there are other VOIP clients out there with different services and price plans.
Even Skype with My3G would
Re: (Score:2)
Sonofa, oops... My mistake
Whisper is a chat client. The app I meant to share is Whistle!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/whistle-phone/id322326573?mt=8 [apple.com]
Re: (Score:2)
The iPad's a bit awkward to walk around with in your pocket, isn't it? I can't see something that big ever being as universally accessable as a smart phone.
Re: (Score:2)
It's all about the right interface for the job. While a pad may provide more real-estate than a smartphone and more mobility than a laptop, it strikes me as being far too bulky to lug around everywhere I go like my smartphone and entirely the wrong platform for general computing tasks. What I want is platforms playing to their strengths and the ability to quickly move data between them. Of course, what I expect is the Industry to tout each platform as the next coming for IT that will completely eliminate
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:4, Interesting)
Samsung Galaxy S (T-Mobile) – buy one, get one free! [twentyfourtimes.com] (Android 2.1 OS). Yes, kind of looks like you need Steve Jobs' reality distortion field to convince people to pay undiscounted prices. :-)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:5, Insightful)
Comparing a brand-new phone to ones that already have market-momentum is brain-dead, as has already been discussed on this forum.
And, this is Windows Phone version SEVEN, as clearly described in the name of the product. This might be a brand-new phone to mobile application developers, but for the other 99.9% of the people this is just a new revision of the same old horrible Windows phone operating systems.
It doesn't help at all that this phone is being advertised as "the smartphone for people who don't want a smartphone." Good job finding that marketing niche, Microsoft. What next? Microsoft Fruit Basket 7.0, for people who hate fruit? Microsoft Electric Car 7.0, for people who hate driving?
It also doesn't help that Microsoft's idea of "synergy" doesn't even bother to include embrace, extend, and extinguish anymore. Instead of eating the competition, the divisions at Microsoft are just eating each other. They didn't make a mobile version of XBox live that works on lots of devices, but works better on Microsoft phones. They didn't make a mobile version of the Windows Media Extender that works on lots of devices, but works better on Microsoft phones. Every time Microsoft comes out with something truly cool or innovative, they never let it stand alone. They bundle it to a flailing product, and then act surprised when it all fails together.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh really?
The Windows Phone 7 sold 40,000 units on its first day, according to TFA.
By contrast, the original iPhone sold (on June 29th/June 30th 2007 - I can't find the "first day" sales figures, just the first quarter which happens to only be the first two days of the 1st gen iPhone's sales) 270,000 units. If sales were evenly distributed amongst both days, that would mean first day sales of 135,000 units.
It must be a strange world where selling 135,000 (more than 3 times as many) is "not much better" than
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Utter nonsense. G1 sold 1 million after 6 months. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10226034-94.html [cnet.com]
And how can you compare iPhone 3G to the first release of a new platform?
Also, TFA extrapolates sales from one deals site in the UK to the rest of the world.
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
And give me 2 weeks. Dell sold me on this fancy new phone--but won't sell it. How many people are waiting for [insert form factor] phone to have WP7 on it?
Re: (Score:2)
But it is that past history that, imo, holds the phone back. People have too many bad experiences with Windows Mobile or even Windows desktops and hold that against the phone. Quite frankly I think the new interface is fucking awful. Maybe MS thinks it's cool to make nothing fit the sc
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:5, Informative)
Unless I'm missing something, it's a highly misleading summary. In the TFA, the quoted figures are from a UK price comparison site [mobilesplease.co.uk]. It's not sales, it's site visitors comparing phones.
There is a discussion of sales, but it's from an article dated Nov 9.
This is an embarrassing post, even by Slashdot standards.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:4, Insightful)
If Windows Phone 7 was supposed to beat Apple at its own game, the fact that Apple can keep merrily having among the highest 'on-contract' prices with a shitty carrier, while MS has to basically give them away, then this is a sign that MS is failing. If, on the other hand, Windows Phone 7 is supposed to buff MS's mobile marketshare enough to court developers, ideally without hemorrhaging too much money in the process, then contract-subsidized cheap hardware is a pretty logical way of doing that. No matter how good or bad a platform is, its sales will likely be better at a somewhat lower price and developers care about how many potential customers your platform represents. Also, from a pure financial perspective, it strongly depends on who is taking the hit to make the phones that cheap. If MS is getting their licensing fee, and some hardware OEMs are getting squeezed, that will just be business as usual. If MS has been forced to offer a giant pile of 'well, legally, they aren't actually kickbacks and subsidies' then shareholder enthusiasm is going to cool, possibly fast.
Similarly, with Android, if Android is in fact Google's move into Apple's territory, then the continued low average handset price, and comparatively small market for the Google-blessed 'flagship' models is bad news. On the other hand, if(as was commonly suggested originally) Android is intended as a relatively low-cost way of kicking the dumbphones of the world in the ass and onto the internet, where they can then be used to look at Google ads, then a low handset selling price is actually a feature.
Not quite the same (Score:2)
I saw original Droid phones for 1 penny (w/ contract) just before the Droid Incredible was released by Verizon. Hardly the same as deep discounting of WP7 units a month after release.
The marketing at microsoft baffles me too. I don't know any iphone/android/blackberry users that are even remotely interested in the WP7 stuff. People are staying away in droves.
Re: (Score:2)
WTF is wrong with ... Soulskill?
I thought we established the other day that soulskill was a kdawson sock-puppet.
Re: (Score:2)
And kdawson is the very small shell script that Taco wrote in 2004 to dupe 3 day old posts.
At this point, I think it's fair to say that Slashdot has achieved self awareness. It's just not benign sentience.
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:4, Funny)
> BOGO offers are in no way a sign of desperation.
Exactly. It's why you often see BOGOF offers on PS3s, digital cameras etc. It's what you do when your product is a runaway success and you can't keep up with demand.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You don't offer BOGO if you can sell both for full price. You mention that Android is selling well. It would seem that BOGO is working for it and is thus a valid tactic.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:5, Insightful)
I read /. at work, where I'm not allowed to have a Linux workstation. The servers I work on are Linux though, so it's not like the organisation is anti-Linux, they're just frightened they might be asked to support Linux workstations (not mine of course, but others). Just because someone uses Windows to browse /., doesn't mean they have a choice.
Re: (Score:2)
Not really, just because we're using Windows doesn't mean that we like it. But for a lot of us there's an app or service which isn't available on Linux and we haven't paid for Apple hardware so we'd have to go Hacintosh if we were going to use OSX.
Weird. When I found myself in that situation, I just ran Linux anyways. It's free after all. Then I fired up VMWare (free, later switched to KVM) and had a special little retarded area set aside for the one Windows application that I 'had' to have.
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:5, Insightful)
Which is funny because if you look at the web stats of Slashdot, 90% of visitors are using Windows computers. LOL, bunch of poseur wannabes
[citation needed]
Yes, a large portion of the visitors to slashdot use Windows. Then again, when compared to the general population, a large portion don't.
That so many Windows users see value in, and frequent, a site that is definitely pro-linux/bsd/open source, and what is arguably, even with all the "web 2.0" junk, the most influential tech forum on the net, says that Ballmer is right when Microsoft tells the SEC that linux and open source are the biggest threat to Microsoft.
Think about it - even with less than 1% of the desktop, and being distributed for free, it's more of a threat than Apple, who are worth more than Microsoft.
I don't call them poseur wannabes - I call them fresh blood :-)
The alternative would be an echo chamber.
Re: (Score:2)
Think about it - even with less than 1% of the desktop, and being distributed for free, it's more of a threat than Apple, who are worth more than Microsoft.
Can I have some of what you're smoking? Linux is a threat to MS in the enterprise/server space while Apple is not. On the desktop, Linux is by far and wide not nearly as much of a threat as Apple.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Think about it - even with less than 1% of the desktop, and being distributed for free, it's more of a threat than Apple, who are worth more than Microsoft.
Can I have some of what you're smoking? Linux is a threat to MS in the enterprise/server space while Apple is not. On the desktop, Linux is by far and wide not nearly as much of a threat as Apple.
Two points:
Apple isn't nearly as much of a threat. After all, people who switch to Apple don't suddenly find OpenOffice as their default. And they don't discover that they don't need CALs to access servers, or licenses to deploy those servers, etc.
--
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple isn't nearly as much of a threat.
More to the point, Apple isn't trying to be a threat. Not really, in spite of their ad campaigns. Apple is a hardware company that caters to a specific clientele, and to their credit they're happy with that. That clientele also happens to not be the same people that Microsoft is after.
Apple really has spent very little effort wooing the corporate world, because once you do that, you will be expected to provide a level of support that is far beyond that offered to schools or individuals. In addition, you'll have to supply and maintain an entire ecosystem of corporate connectivity products. I doubt that Jobs & Co. really wants the headaches, and should they? They're already making billions from the Mac, the iPhone and the iPod/iTunes combo, and if they go corporate they'll be competing with commodity operators like Dell and HP/Compaq. Big companies buy from the lowest bidder, and it's pretty obvious by now that Apple has no intention of ever being the lowest bidder.
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It's an operating system, not a religion. I'm using Windows 7 right now as I'm perusing /. while avoiding doing some photo touchups in Photoshop. In a few hours I'll boot into my Debian system and continue working on a project in Python. I feel no shame when I use Windows, it's a tool...it's there to aid in completing a job.
Exactly. What's interesting is the progression of linux as a viable alternative, not the "OMG either switch or you're a dirty person who deserves to live in a cardboard box above a heating grate" attitude, which, pardon the pun, just grates.
That's why I call them "fresh blood", and not, as the GP said, "poseur wannabes". Fresh blood invigorates the lineage. Heck, I still use it when I feel nostalgic for some SimCity once a year :-)
-- Barbie
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Wait, how does a pro-open source tech site having majority Windows using readers prove open source is the biggest threat to Microsoft? You don't know the proportion of Windows users that are interested in Linux, you only know the proportion of tech site readers that use Windows. Are you really extrapolating tech site readership out to the general population?!
Read what I wrote. It wasn't ME making the claim. Microsoft's filings with the SEC make the claim that linux and open source are their biggest threat.
Better yet, Ballmer has been saying that linux is the #1 threat since 2001 [redhat.com]
And they also admitted it to the SEC in official filings in 2009 [mybroadband.co.za]
So, why are they so scared? Because it threatens their stack, which includes Office, their one true cash cow.
They've never turned an annual p
Re: (Score:2)
Which is funny because if you look at the web stats of Slashdot, 90% of visitors are using Windows computers.
You were expecting sinners to be kicked out of the church of the Penguin and the Leopard?
In the spirit of the season and transition, welcome the followers of the Turkey as we sacrifice it!
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:5, Funny)
Which is funny because if you look at the web stats of Slashdot, 90% of visitors are using Windows computers. LOL, bunch of poseur wannabes
Love the sinner, hate the sin.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
So you acknowledged that Linux is a religion :) ...
But for going to heaven you have to choose the right text editor too
Re:Less editorialization please (Score:5, Insightful)
Because they are all using their corporation approved desktop's instead of working.
Users not posting on /. from work? You must be new here...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The times I have posted a link on slashdot to my server I got different results. Windows was there but iPhones were surprisingly popular. Various linux distributions are right up there as well.
Hmm (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
iCecream?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Also, there was still plenty of room for growth in the console market
And there's not room for growth in the smartphone market? So after 3 years, Apple, Google, and the rest have cornered the entire market, and now growth in this segment is a zero sum game?
Or perhaps in the US alone, only 20% of the phones out there are smart phones [informationweek.com] and the numbers are rising rapidly. This would suggest that there is plenty of room for growth, at least in America. I would be willing to bet the global numbers are similar.
Bill (Score:2)
Call me. Steve not knowing what he's doing could only last so long.
If you want a long-term technology-business-plan, you're new-tech is out-of-touch-tech.
Re: (Score:2)
Don't you think Bill would prefer somebody who can write down coherent sentences? Maybe even sentences without basic grammar mistakes?
Microsoft Needs to Make a Compelling Case... (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think the Windows Phone approach is bad actually - there is something to be said for a device that really streamlines the experience - but the question is how much the market wants it. I'd have to see evidence that iPhone/Android/Blackberry/webOS users are really dissatisfied with the current way of doing things (in the way that pre-smartphone users were with their regular phones).
Re: (Score:2)
Since Microsoft isn't market-savvy enou
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It's funny that for THAT company to have a problem selling "it's easier" but even then, would that even be enough to get customers. I doubt it.
LoB
Re: (Score:2)
Well, I certainly agree that the Windows Phone ads are simply bad. They seem to suggest you won't use your phone that much, but people like me like to use their phone. A different OS isn't going to let me read any faster or play games quicker. However, I wouldn't say they are worthless. They are funny and get remembered. I caught people at work playing the ads and have had links to them posted because th
Re: (Score:2)
I think what they're trying to do doesn't involve the mass retail market. Oh sure, they'd like it to be a hit there, but that's not where their message is the strongest. I think that where they'll try to get their initial momentum is through corporate CIOs. In addition to running Office, WP7 is a platform that can be exploited by the corporate .NET drones Microsoft has been cultivating for all these years. Crates of WP7 phones could be arriving direct without ever going through the retail market.
Re: (Score:2)
This is exactly it. I want to like WP7, but as a geek / power user, it's definitely not for me. And for, say, my mom? The problem is that I don't really see any meaningful way to reply to a totally reasonable question of "why this rather than iPhone?". Because, let's face it, it's what the default choice would be, unless you're looking for cheaper stuff (and then it's Android).
To recap... (Score:4, Insightful)
I understand this is slashdot, but come on. Criticism sticks better if it is documented, otherwise it's just another form of shilling.
Re:To recap... (Score:4, Interesting)
Mission Acomplished (Score:4, Insightful)
Microsoft releases actual cow turd as phone (Score:4, Funny)
Desperate to stay competitive against iPhone and Android mobile devices, Microsoft has released a two-pound lump of actual cow faeces that they claim constitutes a phone.
Windows Mobile 7, in development for several years, strips the mobile telephone down to its fundamental essence: futility, annoyance, malfunction, inconvenience and a socially unacceptable odour. Confounding analyst expectations, the turd is in fact shined.
US mobile carriers hailed the turd as the perfect physical complement to their world-famous customer service. "This powerful product will promote our growth!" said John Harrobin of Verizon Wireless. "We're marketing them as edible."
"We think we can really work the brand equity," said Steve Ballmer, modelling the optional shoulder-length rubber gloves. "Everyone works with our stuff all day every day. They know who Microsoft is and what we do."
"How about making our customers actually swallow our bullshit physically?" said John Harrobin. "Windows Mobile 7 was my idea."
Picture: Steve Ballmer overjoyed at Windows phone sales figures [newstechnica.com].
Re:Microsoft releases actual cow turd as phone (Score:5, Insightful)
If there is one thing I have learned using MIcrosoft products (and subsequently banning them from my home and business truth be told) is that in the end Microsoft software will bite you hard at some point. Sometimes its a policy change, sometimes a compatibility change, sometimes a virus, but in the end it will hurt. They will continue to promise a rosy picture of the future, and continue to dazzle in the short term, but then the pain will happen again, and the only way off the crazy train that is Microsoft is look behind the curtain and get out while you still can.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Because 1. You were not forced to upgrade Ubuntu, 2. You could test the upgrade or create a burnable DVD of your environment to revert to, or 3. Switch distros while saving all of your own data (and preferences if you wish). You have options, its your data, its your freedom to use the software in ways that arent always expected.
On a side note: Sorry to hear about the Ubuntu. As with any upgrade its best to be prepared with backups. I havent experienced pain from Ubuntu lately but I dont trust it to desktop
Learn from Honda (Score:3, Insightful)
Or other Japanese manufacturers*.
Honda spent years (decades?) building things with small engines. Starting with 90cc motorcycles, they slowly learned the technology and marketplace. As they did so, they slowly worked their way up the product chain until they reached the position they are in now.
Perhaps Ballmer must go. But does Microsoft have the patience to tough it out for a decade or so, repairing the damage he has done and rebuilding the product teams (while enduring stinking sales figures) before they start to see results?
*There are numerous examples other than Honda. But it was the only car analogy I could think of.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The wisdom from this is engines were Honda's passion, bread and butter. Everything MS does is about market dominance, no passion, they could care less about profits. As soon as they dominate, MS looses interest (IE, Windows Mobile, Microsoft Money, etc etc).
Stop the constant WP7-bashing. (Score:5, Interesting)
My personal experience with it has been somewhat mixed. The UI is superb, lightyears beyond Android, but it has its share of weaknesses - a big one I can think of is lack of socket support in the public API. I think this will probably be added in the January update, but in the mean time, it means there are a lot of application types that just aren't available, like an IRC client. The dev tools are generally excellent, just limited in terms of exposed functionality.
Re:Stop the constant WP7-bashing. (Score:4, Insightful)
So far I really haven't seen any indications that the OS is doing badly.
There are clearly more Windows 7 phones in stock than there are people buying Windows 7 phones. If this were a hot seller, there wouldn't be inventory for a buy one get one free deal.
Also, anything following your disclaimer is sure to actually be happening: "So far I really haven't seen any indications that........"
Re: (Score:2)
There are clearly more Windows 7 phones in stock than there are people buying Windows 7 phones
Where does that come from? All I see on the Net are slews of stories from frustrated people about how shops have 2-3 WP7 phones, which go away in a matter of hours.
If anything, it looks like the number of phones in stock is laughably small, so much so that it raises a brow regarding manufacturers' expectations on how well it'd sell.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You don't offer "Buy one, get one free" deals on hardware you can't keep in stock.
Do you see Apple offering such deals? No. Why? Because they truly can't keep their hardware in stock.
This is basic retail. Whenever you see a "Buy one, get one free" deal, you know somebody is sitting on a pile of sh*t they can't sell!
Re:Stop the constant WP7-bashing. (Score:5, Interesting)
My personal experience with it has been somewhat mixed. The UI is superb, lightyears beyond Android, but it has its share of weaknesses - a big one I can think of is lack of socket support in the public API.
So you think that square boxes and text that is cut off is light years ahead of other UIs? Have you browsed the web much? MSFT basically took ideas from flash websites and created an inconsistent UI out of it. Should I really expect any more though from someone with the username "linux geek"? The UI is crap.
The lack of socket support is a minor issue compared to the lack of copy and paste and a lack of multitasking this late in the game. They rushed it out. There are gaping holes in the API which cause it to be much harder to develop on compared with even Android let alone iOS. iOS provides a rich set of frameworks whereas MSFT platforms usually offer only basic functionality and you have to either "roll your own" or buy an off the shelf third party library.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The lack of socket support is a minor issue compared to the lack of copy and paste and a lack of multitasking this late in the game. They rushed it out. There are gaping holes in the API which cause it to be much harder to develop on compared with even Android let alone iOS. iOS provides a rich set of frameworks whereas MSFT platforms usually offer only basic functionality and you have to either "roll your own" or buy an off the shelf third party library.
(*yawn*) When the iPhone was released, it didn't have _any_ SDK for writing installed apps, and it stomped all over existing smartphone platforms that did support custom apps, multitasking, clipboard, and sockets -- such as the old Windows Mobile. What made the iPhone a huge success was not its SDK or apps. Just stop think about that for a bit. I think it could be entirely possible for a new smartphone platform to "succeed", i.e. sell widely and turn a large profit, with a tiny app store selection -- if
Re:Stop the constant WP7-bashing. (Score:4, Insightful)
So you think that square boxes and text that is cut off is light years ahead of other UIs?
Well, that's the form of the UI, but it's the function that I find more compelling than other phones. The focus for Windows Phone 7 is on Hubs rather than apps. While an app focuses on a single task, a hub integrates similar tasks. For instance, on iOS, if I want to check my friend's twitter feed and a facebook wall, I need two apps to do this; I have to launch one, close it, then launch another. On WP7 there is a single location for this information, and what's more is hubs are extensible, so any service can integrate with them.
Tiles serve to visualize the contents of hubs (The people tile for example shows pictures of your contacts, the pictures tile shows your photos) and the "cut off text" along with parallax indicates your relative location in the hub. While it seems like these are simply aesthetic choices, if you actually use the device you find they serve a functional purpose
And anyway, what exactly is the competition doing? Want to talk about iOS, which is essentially a grid of icons? iOS is hardly consistent, as every app has a custom interface. Yes there are a handful of standardized UI elements, but beyond that there is no standardization. The same is true for Android, where every manufacturer is free to re-imagine the user interface.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Lack of a socket library in a communications device!? That, to my mind is unforgivable.
Even my Sinclair ZX Spectrum has a socket library. For a "modern security device" that connects to the Internet to not have a socket API leaves me, well, speechless.
Windows Phone 7 looks ugly (to me) (Score:2, Interesting)
I might be the exception, but when I saw a picture [mobilemarketingwatch.com] of a phone with this OS, my first reaction was to think it's plain ugly. I wouldn't buy one just for that. Does anyone else think it looks ugly, too?
Re: (Score:2)
For some reason, Microsoft stylistically seems stuck in the 70s the same way Apple stylistically is stuck in a futuristic white shiny
Re: (Score:2)
It has the trademark Microsoft style: design by committee
You can almost tell the key topics the committee came up with:
* Copy Apple's design, but not too much
* Put in a Windows logo, 'cause Windows is a cool brand
* We need to buttons big, so everyone can hit them
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
They are going to buy RIM (Score:2)
Not too bad actually (Score:4, Informative)
Ars summed it up nicely, their launch numbers are not as bad as some are making it sound, certainly not horrible Windows phone 7 launch numbers explained. [arstechnica.com]
They have a lot to add to this new OS to catch the competition, but they know that, they simply had to ship. Overall it is a very well laid out OS with some great ideas. In the big picture the smartphone market is still very young. Microsoft has a lot of talented people, and backed into a corner Balmer might just let them perform. It is way too early to start pointing fingers and snickering.
It's time to rebrand (Score:5, Insightful)
Having a "Windows Phone" from Microsoft is sort of like IBM coming out with a social networking site called "The IBM Human Interaction System" and then marketing it to young people as hip and cool. There is an emotional and/or psychological disconnect between the nature of the product and the mental conception people have of the brand.
Even though it's stupid, when I see the Android ads I think "oh cool, an ANDROID! I wonder what it can do? It looks futuristic. I kind of want one." (note: I don't have a smart phone because I think they are stupid.) However, when I hear the word "Windows Phone", it makes me feel like getting one would be like keeping a chunk of my job in pocket. No thanks.
Re: (Score:2)
... (note: I don't have a smart phone because I think they are stupid.) ....
rofl
Re:It's time to rebrand (Score:4, Funny)
Microsoft trying to be cool is like dad trying to dance.
Re: (Score:2)
And yet, every year millions of consumers in search of a fast shiny new computer still actively seek out one that runs Windows. Even though many of them know that the Mac is supposed to be an easier experience out of the box, familiarity and compatibility
Well, if it is still struggling... (Score:2)
...it isn't dead yet.
Wouldn't it be kinder to put it out of its misery, though?
The Emperor's Invisible Slip is Showing (Score:5, Insightful)
When people use Windows 7 sales numbers to show how successful and popular Windows 7 is, I keep reminding them that the numbers primarily reflect PC sales. Windows 7 just happens to be there. Sales of new cars automatically implies sales of new tires, not that the tires themselves are a hit with consumers. What we're seeing in Windows phone sales is an example of the dismal performance of most Microsoft products when they actually have to compete on an equal footing.
Folks have learned their lesson (Score:2)
Re:Folks have learned their lesson (Score:4, Interesting)
Thats unfortunately the issue. Microsoft has been going "Try something, if its not a uber success after 2 weeks, drop it, start over with something else". After getting screwed with the Zune (which was a formidable device at the time) in Canada (no music store ever made the light of day, even though they promised over and over and over), the Zune HD virtually not making it out of the states (and got forgotten after its first push), I don't see why Windows 7 Phone (which IS completely awesome btw) would be any different.
As a .NET dev who knows Silverlight, I could easily go and make stuff for Windows Phone 7. Will I? Lol, I'm not that stupid...
Facebook metrics (Score:2)
says it's about 77K people. You can probably discount about ~50K of that as the developers and MS/Dell employee giveaway, however.
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=135892916448833&v=info [facebook.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Um, what? t-mobile has them right now (http://htc.t-mobile.com/hd7/hd7-windows-mobile-lp?WT.ac=0918HOM04) and Sprint (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2370604,00.asp) and Verizon in early 2011 (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372743,00.asp)
Re: (Score:2)
Could AT&T being the sole service provider have anything to do with the sluggish Sales?
Obviously not, since that's not actually true. I see a flashy ad for the HTC HD7 whenever I go to check my T-Mobile account - so it's on other carriers. But why would I, or anyone else, want this phone?
Re:Should have chosen a different carrier (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd say the opposite. They should've released the OS later, when they figured out some kind of compelling difference that Windows Phone 7 could offer over the competition. If they can't differentiate over must-have OS features (and a different skin doesn't count) , they should've worked on something like ultra-long battery life, SDXC expandability, unlimited streaming save-to-the-handset music free with a charter contract, or even free copies of Windows Home & Student. Some "top this" feature they could flog over the competition.
At this point, if someone can't figure a way to be at least 9 months ahead of Apple, they shouldn't even bother to play.
And yes, fire Ballmer. Let's not kid ourselves, Microsoft is still making money, but basically by sheer brute force, not through any brilliant strategizing. XBOX360 should've cleaned PS3's clock, but couldn't close the deal because of quality control issues. Vista should've run rings around OSX, but fumbled because of quality control issues. Kin1, Kin 2? MS knew those were direct-to-video flicks even before wrapping up production. Windows Phone 7, despite the hype, will be a failure unless Microsoft is willing to do an XBOX redux and take years of real losses for market share and bribe or buy a crapload of hot-shot appmakers the way they did with Bungie.
Re: (Score:2)
they could at least use what synergies they have: i'm still amazed my MS winmob 6.5 HD2 won't synch with MS Live Mail, and there's no more free outlook express for win7. not only that, it generates an error message "can't synch mail" each time I plug my phone into my desktop !
i haven't really looked into winphone 7, because that kind of behavior towards customers turns me off big time. i don't know if it's incompetence (no one thought about checking that the latest desktop windows and the latest -at the tim
Re: (Score:2)
backups.
saving batteries by not having wifi on most of the time.
saving money by actually not having a data contract for my smartphone.
what's the point of having a money-sucking data contract, or battery-sucking wifi, when I should be able to grab my mail off of my desktop, the same way I grab my rss feeds, web pages, music, video, synched files... ?
Re: (Score:2)
or at least, I shouldn't see a f**ing ERROR MESSAGE each time !
Re:Phone 7 doesn't feel quite ready yet (Score:5, Interesting)
It is weird, but Android feels like the Windows of the smartphone World. I can install anything I like on it, which will lead to a support nightmare in years to come, when non-tech have installed the Chinese 'super speed up my phone' app. But in allowing people to install what they like, I'm there. I don't want my mobile phone locked down tighter than a ducks ass into iTunes or Windows Marketplace, tyvm.
And those WP7 ads are fantastic - the phone you don't need to use much. What the hell? I admit to having to pull myself away from my new phone, as between using it as an ebook reader, mp3 device, gaming platform, web browser, ticket system for my public transport, etc - this thing is immense. I 'want' to use my phone a lot - as a commuter, it's a fantastic device. But then, when has MS marketing ever 'helped' MS - I swear they're paid per cock-up they achieve.
The lock-in on WP7, and massive restrictions at launch feel very unprofessional. MS knew they were playing catch-up, and had to launch something superb, that was ahead of the game. The gaming does look good on WP7, but it seems they completely abandoned their enterprise market to do it - what used to be fleets on Win Mobile devices will soon be no more - and still MS keeps saying "Yes, it's coming. You'll be able to do 'x' on it, soon". It should have been ready to cater to business on day 1, not as an after thought.
It seems MS really believed they could launch a consumer product that would float on its own merits - even with my MS tinted glasses on, I admit that's something they've never really been good at. They lack 'coolness' to do what apple can do in the consumer market - something I hate as a concept, but concede is a big issue in getting consumer electronics to sell. I originally thought I'd look at Windows Phone again next time my contract's up, but to be honest, I can't see it still being a player in 2 years time.
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe when Ballmer is inevitably canned within the next FY or two, MS will get smart and put a CEO in his place that is much more focused on developing MS's core business model of enterprise software systems, and will stop wasting money on retarded consumer electronics ventures that in the end turn into nothing but money black holes.
If they wait two years, they risk losing most of their 'core market' to the competition. The desktop market is saturated, you have to be crazy to put Windows on a server, and the mobile market is too entrenched for Windows to become the biggest player and probably not even a major one.
Re: (Score:2)
Back when Gates was in charge, Microsoft focused in on one thing: enterprise software. They were good at it. Hell, they were the best at it. They did nothing else except develop this enterprise software.
Microsoft took advantage of being a prime player on commodity hardware. They also ate Novel's lunch by providing a cheap end-run around Novel's licensing (and a rather easy migration path away from Netware). Microsoft solutions tended to be the cheap alternative. That advantage no longer exists.