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Bill Gates switches to Android phone

bbc.co.uk

21–30 of 126 posts

Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone

#21
post #11

There's a mild delight in noting that Microsoft failed to break into someone else's platform stranglehold. Personally I wasn't sad to see it fail to obtain a place in the market. Disclaimer -- I've never used a Microsoft phone. Indeed, I only know one person that had one - and even then it was an employer decision. Nor have I ever heard anyone wish out loud that their phone was more like their Microsoft Windows compu…

> Nor have I ever heard anyone wish out loud that their phone was more like their Microsoft Windows computer

The one place I want microsoft to succeed is smartphones. Android spies on basically everything you do. Both android and iOS are vendor lock-in in a way we've never seen before. Compared to the current smartphone OS offerings, Windows was (and is) an incredibly open platform.

Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone

#23
post #13
post #4

Windows Phone 8 was probably one of the best OS's Microsoft ever did. It was fast on cheap hardware and the UI actually had just one idea instead of several layers of cruft of generations of unfinished new ideas. It was more open than iOS where it counted and more closed than Android where it mattered. So naturally it failed.

Windows 10 Mobile is better. Developers can use the same XAML + C# toolchain for universal apps, but easily deploy to desktops as well. The Edge browser is much better. It is fast, and shares the same kernel as regular Windows, as well as Xbox. The upcoming mobile version will have something called CShell which means that the interface will be shared among desktop and mobile, meaning that there will be no differences…

Are we supposed to buy legacy/obscure devices to get it though? They lied about upgrading my 920 very blatantly.

Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone

#24
post #2

The total failure of Windows Phone to gain acceptance in the market is a huge pity. I have a Lumina 950 as a secondary device (for loading with a local SIM while abroad) and it’s a solid performer with a polished OS, refreshingly ’different’ UI, and excellent basics (build quality, call quality, and battery life). The basic, core apps I ’need’ in this role are available (WhatsApp, Facebook/Messenger, Twitter, & ceter…

Every major version was a new os. Their phone strategy was terrible and lacked commitment. It didn't help that it was started by one CEO and abandoned midway through by the next CEO.

It failed repeatedly under one CEO, until the next CEO put it out of its misery.

Ironically, by the time it was terminated it had developed into a very valid product indeed. Shame - Apple and Android definitely need more competition from someone with actual resources (sorry to the Sailfish, Firefox OS, Ubuntu Phone, etc etc).

Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone

#25
post #11

There's a mild delight in noting that Microsoft failed to break into someone else's platform stranglehold. Personally I wasn't sad to see it fail to obtain a place in the market. Disclaimer -- I've never used a Microsoft phone. Indeed, I only know one person that had one - and even then it was an employer decision. Nor have I ever heard anyone wish out loud that their phone was more like their Microsoft Windows compu…

> Nor have I ever heard anyone wish out loud that their phone was more like their Microsoft Windows computer The one place I want microsoft to succeed is smartphones. Android spies on basically everything you do. Both android and iOS are vendor lock-in in a way we've never seen before. Compared to the current smartphone OS offerings, Windows was (and is) an incredibly open platform.

WHy not LineageOS then?

Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone

#27
post #11

There's a mild delight in noting that Microsoft failed to break into someone else's platform stranglehold. Personally I wasn't sad to see it fail to obtain a place in the market. Disclaimer -- I've never used a Microsoft phone. Indeed, I only know one person that had one - and even then it was an employer decision. Nor have I ever heard anyone wish out loud that their phone was more like their Microsoft Windows compu…

> Nor have I ever heard anyone wish out loud that their phone was more like their Microsoft Windows computer The one place I want microsoft to succeed is smartphones. Android spies on basically everything you do. Both android and iOS are vendor lock-in in a way we've never seen before. Compared to the current smartphone OS offerings, Windows was (and is) an incredibly open platform.

Windows already spies on you on the desktop. Is their mobile OS different in that regard?

Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone

#28
post #2

The total failure of Windows Phone to gain acceptance in the market is a huge pity. I have a Lumina 950 as a secondary device (for loading with a local SIM while abroad) and it’s a solid performer with a polished OS, refreshingly ’different’ UI, and excellent basics (build quality, call quality, and battery life). The basic, core apps I ’need’ in this role are available (WhatsApp, Facebook/Messenger, Twitter, & ceter…

Every major version was a new os. Their phone strategy was terrible and lacked commitment. It didn't help that it was started by one CEO and abandoned midway through by the next CEO.

I don't think that was at all part of why it failed. Palm stuck to their OS but theirs failed too.

I think all that ultimately mattered was that Android became the Windows of mobile phones; an operating system that each manufacturer/carrier could customize to sell the idea of value-add (with no actual value-add, I know).

Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone

#29
post #11

There's a mild delight in noting that Microsoft failed to break into someone else's platform stranglehold. Personally I wasn't sad to see it fail to obtain a place in the market. Disclaimer -- I've never used a Microsoft phone. Indeed, I only know one person that had one - and even then it was an employer decision. Nor have I ever heard anyone wish out loud that their phone was more like their Microsoft Windows compu…

I’ve got a Windows Phone* and I honestly appreciated it’s UX. It wasn’t “for me”, but I still appreciated how they took a new direction than just the rampant copying back and forth like iOS and Android do. I kinda wish it had gained share, competition is a good thing, especially when the competitor is willing to step outside the box.

* - Admittedly I also have 10+ Android phones, 20+ iPhones, and 2 WebOS phones.

Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone

#30
post #6
post #4

Windows Phone 8 was probably one of the best OS's Microsoft ever did. It was fast on cheap hardware and the UI actually had just one idea instead of several layers of cruft of generations of unfinished new ideas. It was more open than iOS where it counted and more closed than Android where it mattered. So naturally it failed.

>It was more open than iOS where it counted and more closed than Android where it mattered. Elaborate on counted vs mattered?

Customization vs security, probably.
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