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Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

forbes.com

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Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#61

Post by dexen »

Re: Poland, it seems to me Windows Phone's relative success is thanks to the Nokia brand, and also to iPhone being considered overpriced upmarket gadget and/or hipster symbol.

Nokia has long enjoyed very good opinion and popularity in Poland -- as the go-to vendor, thanks to decently-priced, user-friendly and rugged phones. The second-hand market is huge, spare parts and accessories abound and experienced repair shops common.

Having said that, a few of my friends have gotten Windows Phone and all of them were disappointed, most of them returned them back in exchange for anything Android. Common complain was OS being disappointing for daily use, and app selection was lacking.

tl;dr

In Poland Windows Phone may outsell iPhones, but it still remains niche -- and you should also subtract frequent returns to get actual user base.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#62

Post by userbinator »

salient wrote: post #50
r0h1n wrote: post #26

How long are Microsoft, and those who write about it, going to continue with the delusion that Windows Phone's competition is Apple and iOS, instead of Google and Android? I had spoken to Horace Dediu of Asymco in December for a story on what options Microsoft and Nokia had before them, and here are some of the relevant parts he told me (the article itself doesn't seem to have been put online at Forbes India, who I u…

$50 Android smartphones are coming this year. They've actually existed for quite some time, but this year they will be more "mainstream", and you'll see a lot more models (in poor countries). The combination of the Cortex A7 CPU plus KitKat which is optimized for low-end will ensure they work pretty well, too, relative to other phones in that range with much fewer features and less functionality. So I doubt Microsoft…

They've been around in China for a looooooong time...

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#63

Post by seanmcdirmid »

wila wrote: post #49
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gray market imports are probably distorting numbers in the other countries as well.

Which makes me wonder where all those sold windows phones are. Android and iPhone is what I see around here in Bangkok.

Nokia has better low end distribution channels. I would assume all those Windows Phones are in the rest of Thailand.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#64

Post by seanmcdirmid »

userbinator wrote: post #62
salient wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$50 Android smartphones are coming this year. They've actually existed for quite some time, but this year they will be more "mainstream", and you'll see a lot more models (in poor countries). The combination of the Cortex A7 CPU plus KitKat which is optimized for low-end will ensure they work pretty well, too, relative to other phones in that range with much fewer features and less functionality. So I doubt Microsoft…

They've been around in China for a looooooong time...

A decent Android smart phone for 300 RMB?

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#65

Post by Happer »

girvo wrote: post #3

Look. I don't hate Windows Phone, my girlfriend has the HTC 8X and adores it. With the latest set of big apps ported (like Instagram and Snapchat), it's quite nice. The interface is good, and fast on modest hardware. The browser is pretty meh. PIM functionality is good, as you'd expect from Windows Mobiles pedigree. But comparing an entire ecosystem of phones (with one of the biggest sellers being the $100 Nokia 520)…

>With the latest set of big apps ported (like Instagram and Snapchat), it's quite nice.

It's not only about the big apps. The 'download app from' in advertisement footers are only referring to the App Store and Google Play. By choosing an iPhone or an Android consumers know for sure that they are able to download and use any app, not just the big ones.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#66

Post by kifki »

fosk wrote: post #45
kumarm wrote: post #4

>> Italy and Finland aside, Windows Phone is primarily growing is poorer nations where the iPhone is prohibitively expensive The markets that Windows outsell iPhone are the markets where iPhone has less than 10% market share and where people need cheaper phones. These are not the markets that are attractive to developers (Revenue/user is much lower than developed countries) and hence Windows will not see developer mi…

I understand Finland (home of Nokia), but why Windows Phones are gaining market share in Italy?

They come very cheaply (or for free) with most phone operators.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#67

Post by nemtaro »

steven2012 wrote: post #51
tsurantino wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is likely to be contentious, but doesn't this effectively say that these phones are basically substitutable products? Are there not dimensions beyond price and volume still left to tap into the smartphone market?

If you've had an iPhone for 3 generations like me, there's no way you would switch to another vendor, simply because of all of the apps that you've paid for. If there were some way to get the Android version of an app if you bought the iPhone version, that might make it a lot easier to switch, but without that, I can't be bothered with spending money trying to recreate the same environment I currently have.

I'm not convinced. While most people might have spent enough money on their iOS apps to feel this way, I doubt that buying the same apps (if their free alternatives don't exist) on Android would rack up more than a few tens of dollars.

There are things that iPhone and Apple products still do better than their Android counterparts. For example, you still can't do screen mirroring from your android device to a Chromecast. Meanwhile, AppleTV works like a charm.

But, when it comes to SmartPhones independently, I'm of the opinion that marketing is the only thing keeping iPhone alive. The list of things you get for free with Android that you can't get with the iPhone even if you paid for them are growing longer and longer... Off the top of my head, here are things I've heard from friends who recently switched:

Woa, how did I ever go without Widgets!

Swyping is supported by default, _and_ I can change the default keyboard?!

I can charge my phone with any USB cable, _and_ upgrade my battery?!

You don't _have_ to use iTunes for everything?! ...

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#68

Post by pavlov »

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #34

Didn't Apple take a more gentrified approach to their sales? I was under the impression that Apple didn't bother to market to any of the markets listed in that article because they aren't THE LARGEST AND RICHEST MARKETS IN THE WORLD. It took them over 3 years to release ANY version of an iphone in finland (one of the listed nations in the article): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_iPhone#European_... U.S.A…

It took them over 3 years to release ANY version of an iphone in finland (one of the listed nations in the article): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_iPhone#European_....

You're reading the Wikipedia article wrong. The iPhone was released in Finland in 2008 when the 3G model came out, and that's stated in the article as well.

The primary reason for not releasing the original iPhone in European markets was the lack of 3G. A 2G-only smartphone would have been a hard sell in European markets back in 2007-08 when 3G was already widely deployed and used.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#69

Post by lostlogin »

nemtaro wrote: post #67
steven2012 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you've had an iPhone for 3 generations like me, there's no way you would switch to another vendor, simply because of all of the apps that you've paid for. If there were some way to get the Android version of an app if you bought the iPhone version, that might make it a lot easier to switch, but without that, I can't be bothered with spending money trying to recreate the same environment I currently have.

I'm not convinced. While most people might have spent enough money on their iOS apps to feel this way, I doubt that buying the same apps (if their free alternatives don't exist) on Android would rack up more than a few tens of dollars. There are things that iPhone and Apple products still do better than their Android counterparts. For example, you still can't do screen mirroring from your android device to a Chromeca…

People use iTunes? Genuine question - what for? I live in an all Apple world, work, home, friends (mostly) and family (mostly). I'm not sure any of them use iTunes. With the exception of having to dump video into it to find it on the AppleTV, I never use it. It is awful.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#70

Post by nemtaro »

lostlogin wrote: post #69
nemtaro wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not convinced. While most people might have spent enough money on their iOS apps to feel this way, I doubt that buying the same apps (if their free alternatives don't exist) on Android would rack up more than a few tens of dollars. There are things that iPhone and Apple products still do better than their Android counterparts. For example, you still can't do screen mirroring from your android device to a Chromeca…

People use iTunes? Genuine question - what for? I live in an all Apple world, work, home, friends (mostly) and family (mostly). I'm not sure any of them use iTunes. With the exception of having to dump video into it to find it on the AppleTV, I never use it. It is awful.

Don't you have to use the "iTunes store" to install apps on iDevices remotely?

Also, as an example use case, how else do you put music on your iDevices? I'm under the impression that you have to use iTunes.

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