41–50 of 71 posts
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That's the thing. MS has actually produced a really good product, better than any of the alternatives. But it's not going to be enough, because they're too late to get the app developers.
There are plenty of .NET developers so I don't think that will be an issue.
I've played with the Lumia at Best Buy a few times. It's a solid, attractive phone and I wouldn't be ashamed to carry one at all. I'm an iOS guy but as far as Windows Phone goes, I have to say it doesn't suck. I'm not saying that Microsoft's phone and tablet businesses will become a resounding success in spite of all current evidence, but I will say it would be a mistake to dismiss them.
That's pretty much exactly how I felt about mine (before I returned it for an iPhone 5). It does indeed not suck. But you just can't shake the feeling that "this will be better two revisions from now." Take an exceedingly simple example: load up Hacker News, then look at the screen as you rotate the phone from portrait to landscape and back. On an iPhone 5, the rotation is smooth. On the Lumia 920, you see flashes of…
Hopefully that's not a habit. Enjoy your baby!
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That's the thing. MS has actually produced a really good product, better than any of the alternatives. But it's not going to be enough, because they're too late to get the app developers.
There is late and there is staying power. When Google's G1 came out people said "Has promise but the iPhone has too much of a lead." People said that Apple would never be compelling in the personal computer business again. People said RIM was too entrenched to be dislodged from the Enterprise. It goes on and on. Time and time again, making a good product, sticking to the mission and making it the best it can be, has…
In each of those cases the new product that gained ground offered something significant that the existing product didn't. Android offered comparable quality for less money. MacOS offered a significantly better user experience than desktop Windows and also leveraged a higher level of consistency in user interface between mobile and desktop for the new generation of iOS users. And iOS did the same to RIM from the other side.
None of those are simple cases of comparable products gaining ground against intrenched competitors, they're cases of superior products gaining ground. And that's Microsoft's problem. They've produced something comparable, not something superior. Where's the killer app? The UI is neither abominable nor spectacular. It doesn't run desktop Windows programs. It isn't any cheaper than Android. What should make me want to buy one of these over Android or iOS that makes up for the lack of apps and the training cost of learning a new UI?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's the thing. MS has actually produced a really good product, better than any of the alternatives. But it's not going to be enough, because they're too late to get the app developers.
There are plenty of .NET developers so I don't think that will be an issue.
I'm more than proud to say I'm apart of those 4.4 million sales.
I have a Nokia 920 and its solid, really solid. I went back to my iPhone over Christmas (I do mobile development) and I was thankful when I got back to the 920. Its very fast, very functional, love updating tiles. The only gotcha is music - the iPhone still crushes everyone on music apps / syncing / acquisition. Otherwise, the 920 was equal or better - even apps are coming along. Only missing Strava now for me.
My favorite part of the Lumia is the social media integration. It reminds me of what it felt like to switch from Windows to OSX in 2005. But yeah the music experience is lacking, They finally fixed some bugs in their Windows version of iTunes so at least you can still sync songs, but I'm really just waiting for Spotify and Instagram and then I'll be set.
I don't know why manufacturers aren't using machined polycarbonate more the way Nokia and HTC do. It seems LG and Sony are just now trying to be where Apple was 2 years ago with the glass-back phones, which I think was a very poor material to use and a mistake on Apple's part. I think they quickly realized that, but it took them a while to create an aluminum iPhone the right way, because as we know aluminum is not gr…
Samsung is the only manufacturer that is making money from Android, and Samsung doesn't advertise that they use Android anywhere in their marketing. Most Samsung phones don't even show an Android logo when you turn them on. Consumers don't know about or care about Android. "Normal" people do not go into a store looking for an Android. If Nokia had gone with Android, they would be in the exact same position they are n…
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I never understand when people say the iPhone is better for music. I'll grant you the Windows 8 Music app sucks on the desktop, but Zune was solid on Windows 7. The WP8 music app is great, the Zune Pass/Xbox Music Pass is basically the biggest reason I can't seriously consider switching platforms. $8/mo for 10 songs DRM-free and streaming/caching all other songs in their database is huge! Nokia Music playlists are hu…
> $8/mo for 10 songs DRM-free and streaming/caching all other songs in their database is huge Just FYI, it's $10/mo now, and the "10 free songs per month" deal is gone. If you had a Zune pass, you were grandfathered in, but new signups get the new deal. Still a good deal given the catalog size, but perhaps not as good as it once was.