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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

#81

Post by pohl »

nemtaro wrote: post #70
lostlogin wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It helps to not conflate iTunes (an application) with the iTunes Store (a service). The latter can be accessed either from the former or from a handful of roughly equivalent apps on the device itself (an App Store app, an iTunes Store app for media, a Podcasts app...) There are very few things one cannot do without the former — which is good, because odds are that, when someone is talking about how bad iTunes is, they're criticizing the desktop application specifically.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#82

Post by Zigurd »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #76
Zigurd wrote: post #14

Most of the reason behind this grab-bag list of places Windows Phone has some market share is that Nokia previously dominated sales in most of these places. Nokia used to be "tier zero" of the handset business, in a class by itself, and with a distribution network that reached where nobody else went. It is a too-easy prediction that these numbers won't hold up as both upper-tier Android OEMs and deep-discount Chinese…

This is the real reason behind these numbers, Nokia's brand and distribution network. Interestingly, Microsoft hasn't bought the Nokia brand for smart phones so once the sale goes through all new phones will no longer be branded Nokia. And after as short period of time Nokia will be able to licence the name to some unpronouncable-to-westerners company from China and Nokia Androids will be on the market to compete wit…

Microsoft owns all of Nokia's handset assets now, and has the brand license for a remarkably short time, as you point out. Nokia will continue to use their brand for their infrastructure business as well as maps and other online services.

Microsoft does own Nokia's distribution network, and even the factories that make Series 30 handsets, and all the other odd stuff. Another headache for the next Microsoft CEO.

My bet is that Nokia will get back in to the handset business, and possibly other consumer electronics, once their non-competition agreement expires. Nokia owns some of Jolla, and most of Jolla's employees are formerly Nokia people. I think Jolla already uses Nokia's maps and media ecosystems.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#83

Post by lostlogin »

nemtaro wrote: post #70
lostlogin wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Music is via Spotify, or, rarely, via the music app which has content in the cloud. Spotify stores my music locally. The App Store doesn't have iTunes in its name on iOS devices (as far as I can see). If I wanted music on my device via the music app, I'd buy it from the store. However if I owned a CD (not sure how this would happen, binned them all ages ago) I would have to stick it in a Mac (not mine, it hasn't got a drive), rip it, put them on a memory stick, get it to my Mac, dump them in iTunes (argh), then wait for cloud sync.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#84

Post by hawkharris »

melling wrote: post #47
hawkharris wrote: post #40

I'm working on a project for a large company that recently made Windows Phone 8 its corporate standard. I have to say that I've been impressed with the phone since I started using one for development. The display, camera and interfaces feel smooth and fun to use. It's easy to bash Microsoft and dismiss its products altogether, but it's important to give them a shot, if only to avoid the mistake of limiting ourselves…

Why? We've pretty much limited ourselves to Apple and Microsoft on the desktop for almost 2 decades. In fact, it has been pretty much limited to Microsoft. They still have about 90% desktop market share, and almost 100% of the corporate desktop. Microsoft illegally killed off most desktop competition when they forced hardware vendors to pay for DOS on every PC they shipped, regardless of which OS they shipped. Person…

If you were a professional filmmaker, would you only watch movies made by Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay? If you were a chef, would you refuse to eat anything but lobster and filet mignon?

Apple and Google are the lobsters and the Steven Spielbergs of the technology world, so to speak: they're highly respected, rich and popular. In a way, there's nothing wrong with that: I use a Macbook, Gmail, etc., because I think they're very well made.

My argument isn't that the software industry should jump into bed with Microsoft; I'm saying that trying technologies like the Windows Phone is vital to our professional development as software engineers.

If you consider yourself a creator in any given field, you can't keep up without at least dabbling with different and sometimes lesser appreciated products. New ideas often emerge when we deviate from standard tools and practices.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#85

Post by DanBC »

hawkharris wrote: post #84
melling wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? We've pretty much limited ourselves to Apple and Microsoft on the desktop for almost 2 decades. In fact, it has been pretty much limited to Microsoft. They still have about 90% desktop market share, and almost 100% of the corporate desktop. Microsoft illegally killed off most desktop competition when they forced hardware vendors to pay for DOS on every PC they shipped, regardless of which OS they shipped. Person…

If you were a professional filmmaker, would you only watch movies made by Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay? If you were a chef, would you refuse to eat anything but lobster and filet mignon? Apple and Google are the lobsters and the Steven Spielbergs of the technology world, so to speak: they're highly respected, rich and popular. In a way, there's nothing wrong with that: I use a Macbook, Gmail, etc., because I thin…

I strongly agree with your post.

It is baffling to me that some people on HN have such strong resistance to trying other platforms, or are so defensive of their favoured platform.

I assume that all software sucks, all hardware sucks, and there are only minor variations in levels of suckage for experienced users.

It's weird that many people on HN will have no experience with home computers of the 80s era, or different OSs.

Re: Countries Where Windows Phone Outsells The iPhone

#86

Post by melling »

hawkharris wrote: post #84
melling wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? We've pretty much limited ourselves to Apple and Microsoft on the desktop for almost 2 decades. In fact, it has been pretty much limited to Microsoft. They still have about 90% desktop market share, and almost 100% of the corporate desktop. Microsoft illegally killed off most desktop competition when they forced hardware vendors to pay for DOS on every PC they shipped, regardless of which OS they shipped. Person…

If you were a professional filmmaker, would you only watch movies made by Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay? If you were a chef, would you refuse to eat anything but lobster and filet mignon? Apple and Google are the lobsters and the Steven Spielbergs of the technology world, so to speak: they're highly respected, rich and popular. In a way, there's nothing wrong with that: I use a Macbook, Gmail, etc., because I thin…

Yes, I agree and I completely understand. It would have been great if BeOS and OS/2 survived, for example. Unfortunately, Microsoft killed off all competition. Now we're stuck in a world where 90% of the world runs Microsoft's operating system, and there's very little innovation. I'm all for looking at Microsoft's ideas. I just feel safer with Google on 80% of the world's phones. It'll add balance have another major player.
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