Satya Nadella Admits Microsoft’s Phone Share Is Unsustainable

Megalith

Megalith

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Despite the company’s less than admirable phone market share, Microsoft is willing to truck on due to their cross-platform philosophy and trusts that their more successful ventures will draw developers back in.

The focus on mobile experiences makes sense for a company trying to push into cloud services, especially because mobile as a category been a disaster for Microsoft. The latest Gartner report estimates that the company’s share of the mobile market is a measly 1.7%. Nadella admits that’s unsustainable, but argues that the company is already trying to get to a world where the device matters less than the services it is accessing.
 
New Lumia 950 is wonderful. I use it for a week already and really like it.
 
What MS needs to do is pay for the business apps to be ported to Windows.
By just having Cisco AnyConnect and Cisco Jabber available on WP they would make huge inroads into corporate use.

The comparatively low cost of the Windows device makes it highly attractive to corporate customers, except that the insistence of using Skype for Business and apparently not working with Cisco on AnyConnect & Jabber totally kills the deal.

I had a Lumia 800 before the Galaxy S5, and I liked the Lumia better. The user experience on WP is #awesome, it just needs a few "mission critical" apps and I'd switch back to WP in an instant.
 
Which is sad as they have good phones. I dropped my 1520 into a river. Took me 15 minutes to find it in the mud at the bottom. Just wiped it off on my shirt to dry it and no problems.
 
Yeah, Microsoft needs to finance the porting of useful apps to try and JumpStart their phones again cause it's financial suicide for independent developers to even just do a port for it.

Looks like a money pit for Microsoft for years to come.
 
I'm supremely certain if they keep murdering what used to be Windows with spyware and crappy "apps" that Phone will catch on and desktop will reach a zen state of synergy.
 
thekipper said:
Late to the market and a poor ecosystem...not sure what they expected.
Click to expand...
Not. At. All. On the first part

Remember WindowsCE (1996)? How about Windows Mobile (2000)? Microsoft had mobile phones and PDAs on the street over a decade before iPhone was ever sold. But the hardware wasn't ready for it. Nor was their a market for it....and quite frankly both the OS and the software for it sucked.


Accusing Microsoft of being "late to market" is like accusing the Wright Brothers of being late to the airplane.
 
Great! If the device I use isn't important, than there's one less reason to get a windows phone! Great argument there MS!
 
I would love to have a Windows Phone. However, I am not willing to do any business with Verizon or AT&T. (Verizon ripped me off by resetting my contract date during a customer service call, and charged me a $250 early term fee when I moved away from their service. AT&T's CEO seems hell bent on insulting every single customer he has, and the board has refused rein him in.) That bottlenecks me to either Sprint or T-mobile. I did have a T-mobile Lumia 925, but the charger port broke because it was too cheaply made, and they don't even have a Windows phone model of any kind anymore. The phone was easy to use and took great pictures. I loved it, except for the extremely cheap feel of the unit. If they were to come out with a nice phone that worked with T-mobile or Sprint, I'd buy it.
 
Skripka said:
Not. At. All. On the first part

Remember WindowsCE (1996)? How about Windows Mobile (2000)? Microsoft had mobile phones and PDAs on the street over a decade before iPhone was ever sold. But the hardware wasn't ready for it. Nor was their a market for it....and quite frankly both the OS and the software for it sucked.


Accusing Microsoft of being "late to market" is like accusing the Wright Brothers of being late to the airplane.
Click to expand...

MS repeatedly trashed and then rebuilt their mobile OS. They fragmented their own market and pissed off customers enough times that they lost almost everyone.
 
Trouble is for a company with seemingly endless resources to throw at a problem Windows Mobile development seems glacial and messy at best.

The quality of development at MS has dropped considerably the past 3-4 years.
 
Skripka said:
Not. At. All. On the first part

Remember WindowsCE (1996)? How about Windows Mobile (2000)? Microsoft had mobile phones and PDAs on the street over a decade before iPhone was ever sold. But the hardware wasn't ready for it. Nor was their a market for it....and quite frankly both the OS and the software for it sucked.


Accusing Microsoft of being "late to market" is like accusing the Wright Brothers of being late to the airplane.
Click to expand...

Yeah I had three or four Windows 'smartphones' long before the iPhone was a twinkle in Steve Job's Tech Development team's eye.
 
I like how people assume Microsoft is even *trying*, because clearly they are not. Or they would've already jettisoned that hideous tile interface. And they would be delivering first party apps that are compelling and showcase just how "powerful" the framework is as they claim in press releases, and they would be doing more than just "me too" features that ape Android and iPhone. Me-too doesn't cut it when you're that far behind, you need revolutionary or you don't exist.
 
i love lumia devices. I very much wanted a 950 until it became a headache to get on verizon.

that said. I feel they pretty much killed themselves when not pushing forward with project astoria. That was the only reason i would have been able to run a windows phone and still do everything i need to do.

the hardware and software of the phones are better, but with such poor market share. you aren't going to get many devs to convert, even with their vision of easy porting of apps. Short answer is the app gap is going to kill them, which is a shame because the actual phones are wonderful and i prefer windows phone to the other os choices.
 
I'm just so glad I don't live in the US and have to put up with all that locked carrier crap. Buy any phone I want and just use it.
 
I love my Lumia. It actually works unlike the crappy android phones I've had in the past.
 
DPI said:
I like how people assume Microsoft is even *trying*, because clearly they are not. Or they would've already jettisoned that hideous tile interface. And they would be delivering first party apps that are compelling and showcase just how "powerful" the framework is as they claim in press releases, and they would be doing more than just "me too" features that ape Android and iPhone. Me-too doesn't cut it when you're that far behind, you need revolutionary or you don't exist.
Click to expand...

Considering that Microsoft has added mobile features to the desktop and catching a lot of flack over it, they seem to be more than serious. And the guy that's responsible for the hardware of the Surface now has control of phones. So there's probably going to be a Surface Phone. And they added Continuum to the latest 950 Lumia's. Maybe not the most compelling feature ever added to a smartphone but pretty unique.

Microsoft is certainly trying in mobile and taking plenty of risk. How effective all if it is remains to be seen. I certainly don't see expect anything game changing coming from Microsoft in terms of mobile clients, but perhaps just enough to break even or be marginally profitable. They don't need to be a big player in mobile clients to do that, they just need the right products to make a few dollars.
 
Good thing MS wrecked Windows based on a stupid business plan!
 
DPI said:
I like how people assume Microsoft is even *trying*, because clearly they are not. Or they would've already jettisoned that hideous tile interface. And they would be delivering first party apps that are compelling and showcase just how "powerful" the framework is as they claim in press releases, and they would be doing more than just "me too" features that ape Android and iPhone. Me-too doesn't cut it when you're that far behind, you need revolutionary or you don't exist.
Click to expand...

the tile interface isn't really all that much different than the tiles on android or iOs
 
it does suck though. I took a chance on a 1520 when I needed a new phone and now I love it. 1-1/2 later I still love it. It does do everything I need as I am not a super heavy app user.

All I know is I have way less issues with my phone than my wife does with her galaxy S5.

if they had a 6" 950XL, I would be all over it.
 
Bigbacon said:
the tile interface isn't really all that much different than the tiles on android or iOs
Click to expand...

I still think their design is better. I really dislike having multiple home screens with piles of same sized icons to try to sort through. IIRC on Android you can at least somewhat organize them like the Windows desktop where you can leave gaps between groups of icons to make them stand out easier. You cannot do that at all on iOS as it will continuously move them up the screen for you.

It's really nice to have big icon for something that you use all the time, then 4 little ones next to that for quick shortcuts, then having a huge bar for informational things like your calendar or weather. I had no issue putting all of the frequently used items onto one screen and there was enough differentiation because of the size differences to pick up which ones were which. If you wanted a few more you can just seamlessly scroll down. Games are all separated into their own subsection under xbox, so no need to pin those unless you want one for your favorites. If you need more obscure stuff you can swipe to the left for a nice scrolling list that is alphabetized. All of that is done for you automatically so you don't have to waste time organizing 4 screens worth of icons so you can find what you are looking for.
 
bman212121 said:
I still think their design is better. I really dislike having multiple home screens with piles of same sized icons to try to sort through. IIRC on Android you can at least somewhat organize them like the Windows desktop where you can leave gaps between groups of icons to make them stand out easier. You cannot do that at all on iOS as it will continuously move them up the screen for you.

It's really nice to have big icon for something that you use all the time, then 4 little ones next to that for quick shortcuts, then having a huge bar for informational things like your calendar or weather. I had no issue putting all of the frequently used items onto one screen and there was enough differentiation because of the size differences to pick up which ones were which. If you wanted a few more you can just seamlessly scroll down. Games are all separated into their own subsection under xbox, so no need to pin those unless you want one for your favorites. If you need more obscure stuff you can swipe to the left for a nice scrolling list that is alphabetized. All of that is done for you automatically so you don't have to waste time organizing 4 screens worth of icons so you can find what you are looking for.
Click to expand...

i know how it works, fundamentally though it is still just an icon on a screen that you scroll around to pick something OR use the alphabetized list.
 
As I type on my windows phone I can't wait for the end of contract to move back to the iPhone.

Lack of apps is a big problem. Not to mention I have to do more hard resets on the phone due to it just freezing up. Never had the issue with the previous iPhone 4 & 5.

At this point there's no reason to continue with the windows phone.... Just biding my time to be rid of the POS
 
Bigbacon said:
the tile interface isn't really all that much different than the tiles on android or iOs
Click to expand...

Tell that to consumers that wrinkle their noses when they walk by that Fischer Price Metro UI on display anywhere.

Android UI is what Windows Mobile should've been. People want icons just like on Windows PC. Deal with it.
 
DPI said:
Android UI is what Windows Mobile should've been. People want icons just like on Windows PC. Deal with it.
Click to expand...

As others have mentioned, it's not the UI that's the problem but lack of apps and 3rd party support that is the problem for Windows phones. Android is the new desktop Windows and desktop Linux is the new Windows phone.
 
heatlesssun said:
As others have mentioned, it's not the UI that's the problem but lack of apps and 3rd party support that is the problem for Windows phones. Android is the new desktop Windows and desktop Linux is the new Windows phone.
Click to expand...

Have you considered the UI is a reason people don't even bother trying it? If people aren't interested enough to start using it, devs won't be making apps for it.
 
Ocellaris said:
Have you considered the UI is a reason people don't even bother trying it? If people aren't interested enough to start using it, devs won't be making apps for it.
Click to expand...

It's a classic "What came first, the chicken or the egg" problem. You don't market share without apps and you don't get apps without market share. If you're late to the game like Windows phone was in capacitive touch devices and established competitors with apps, no UI in the world is going to build market share.

And if tiles are such a huge impediment to user adoption that runs counter to the growth that Windows seems to be experiencing in tablets. But in the tablet space with all Windows tablets now x86 and able to leverage the vast Win32 legacy, the tablet app problem is at least partially mitigated along with the flexibility of Win32.
 
I have used numerous Windows Phones. They are nice but need major app support. There are little things here and there that makes WP nice and it's super stable but just about every promise they (Microsoft) make gets broken. Android is annoying IMO, so I moved to an iPhone and have no complaints.
 
It's really a shame that Microsoft is lagging behind so much in the phone business, because Cortana is the better assistant out of Siri, Google Now.
 
zsec said:
It's really a shame that Microsoft is lagging behind so much in the phone business, because Cortana is the better assistant out of Siri, Google Now.
Click to expand...

Google Now at least has a permanent off button. Does Cortana?
 
Ocellaris said:
Have you considered the UI is a reason people don't even bother trying it? If people aren't interested enough to start using it, devs won't be making apps for it.
Click to expand...

The UI is why I like it, the lack of apps and support is why I will dump it.

I think the UI is very small in the decision to use it or not.

When people inquire about the phone the first thing isn't the UI, its the lack of apps. Usually that's my response to inquires and one of their first questions.

Anyone can learn a UI
 
heatlesssun said:
It does. On a phone though not really sure why one would turn off web searches.
Click to expand...

...are you really so out of it that you fail to understand that one can still do a web search, without turning over all your personal info and details and whereabouts to a "personal assistant"? I use Google all the time without enabling Google Now. Turning off Google Now != "turning off web searches".

I mean really? :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Skripka said:
...are you really so out of it that you fail to understand that one can still do a web search, without turning over all your personal info and details and whereabouts to a "personal assistant"? I use Google all the time without enabling Google Now. Turning off Google Now != "turning off web searches".

I mean really? :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...

You do have to use this stuff to know what's there. There's tons of criticism of Windows 10 and privacy issues, very little discussion of what is there. I do use this stuff and I understand the privacy concerns. But why be concerned about the privacy of Google Now and use Gmail or GDrive?
 
Ocellaris said:
Have you considered the UI is a reason people don't even bother trying it? If people aren't interested enough to start using it, devs won't be making apps for it.
Click to expand...

People will learn how to use a new UI, mention the windows phone to "normal" people and they'll ask if it has apps like android or ios, and the answer to that is no. Even people that have bought windows phones recently complain about the lack of apps assuming they haven't dumped it already for something else.

Microsoft could use whatever UI they want, and if they had a proper set of necessary apps for supporting business and enterprise customers it wouldn't require much in the way of cost reduction to make inroads to the SMB and enterprise markets. The problem is, as previously mentioned... they haven't done so. It goes beyond simply having a mobile version of office and would require MS to actually provide resources to third parties for porting business related apps. Once that userbase is established it could be expanded upon for the consumer market. But as it stands, the consumer and business markets have no room for a new phone OS that doesn't actually support anything(no matter the reason).
 
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