[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Why is Windows Phone 7 Failing? Former General Manager Explains here

[bkrochman]

I can't speak for any consumer other than myself, but WP7 is failing with me because I used a WP6 phone and disliked the experience. I have an Android phone now and have far fewer crashes and other issues. Was it WP6, the hardware or the carrier? Who knows, but I have the same carrier (T-Mobile), the same manufacturer of phone (HTC) and a different OS. Thems the facts. My analysis WP was not ready for prime time and I don;t have enough spare cash to throw at a new WP phone to see if it is any better.

[Viujim]

I'm going to differ on one item, advertising. The ads I have seen for decades from Microsoft all seem to have been made by that completely uncool cousin of mine who no one wanted to hang out with at family get togethers. Case in point is that recent ad with the dad dancing to a Xbox game in front of his family while they all tap their toes in approval while recording it to play it back all jazzed up. It's like they live in the uncool universe and they are so genuinely unaware of just how uncool they really are. The Brady bunch were cooler than this crew. They couldn't pull off cool if you deep freezed them to 0 Kelvin. Perception is everything when marketing a consumer good and this is where big M fails everyday.

I'm going to differ on one item, advertising. The ads I have seen for decades from Microsoft all seem to have been made by that completely uncool cousin of mine who no one wanted to hang out with at family get togethers. Case in point is that recent ad with the dad dancing to a Xbox game in front of his family while they all tap their toes in approval while recording it to play it back all jazzed up. It's like they live in the uncool universe and they are so genuinely unaware of just how uncool they really are. The Brady bunch were cooler than this crew. They couldn't pull off cool if you deep freezed them to 0 Kelvin. Perception is everything when marketing a consumer good and this is where big M fails everyday.

[Soundjudgment]

Viujim, on 27 December 2011 - 03:41 PM, said:

I'm going to differ on one item, advertising. The ads I have seen for decades from Microsoft all seem to have been made by that completely uncool cousin of mine who no one wanted to hang out with at family get togethers.

Absolutely correct. MS has *ALWAYS* failed with their TV and Print Marketing over the years... ALWAYS! It is as if they can't find a decent ad-firm that can do real-value commercials which don't insult the viewers with their gee-whiz fluff. You can tell just by reading each ad campaign between the copy-lines. Apple and to a lesser-extent Google/Android seem to reach the intended viewer, not insult them with dancing flamingos and flying people.

Some will say, "But oh they have gotten better..." Well, where are the sales to prove it? Same lipstick, different pig. But it's always MS failing to make the grade or else be two years too late out of the gate.

[happajay]

Please....tiles? that was the stupidest idea. WP was concentrated on facebook integration and crap like that. Adults don't want that crap. Of course this guy is gonna tout it as better because he helped design the platform. The reason hardware and wireless carriers don't advertise and promote WP garbage is because it was too late with too little. It offered nothing but dumb facebook, tiles and other crap. People know what they want and it's not WP.

[FF22]

The unified Windows 8 platform will be Microsoft' big chance to take on Android and iOS. They'll be able offer integration between desktop and mobile at a level unprecented in the industry and where the other two platforms just simply won't even be able to compete, not even in years.

That's because you'll be able to run actually the same apps with the same interface, bought/licensed through the same channel (and most likely having had bought just once). This will not only be a big advantage per se, but will also drive people who are satisfied with their Windows 8 desktop exprience/apps to buy Windows 8 Phones.

Of course Microsoft has to make it right. It will be their big chance - but if they mess it up, it will be a failed attempt, like many others before.

[KaschaK]

happajay, on 27 December 2011 - 06:12 PM, said:

Please....tiles? that was the stupidest idea. WP was concentrated on facebook integration and crap like that. Adults don't want that crap. Of course this guy is gonna tout it as better because he helped design the platform. The reason hardware and wireless carriers don't advertise and promote WP garbage is because it was too late with too little. It offered nothing but dumb facebook, tiles and other crap. People know what they want and it's not WP.

Are those the same "adults" making fart apps and Angry Birds the highest volume sellers on the phones of other carriers? Interesting.

I can see someone who had Windows Mobile being turned off by the shortcomings of that system and being hesitant to go back. So the guy on here saying that makes a lot of sense and to him I can only say that when they went for a ground up redesign, it was with your concerns in mind. And it is in fact, just what they were going for. A completely new OS. You would be surprised.

As for you happajay, this entire comment of yours is hilariously shill-like and uninformed. I can tell people who've no real insight on the product very easily, and sometimes I wish you guys would allow the sources you downloaded your opinions from to stand on their own rather than trying to hustle them as as the results of your own insight and research.

There were not enough people familiar with Windows Mobile in the first place for "people" to know they don't want Phone 7. If there were, they wouldn't need PC World to tell them they're nothing alike. This article was spot on. Microsoft will not allow OEM's and telcos to cut corners or saddle the experience with their own self serving garbage that turns the concept into something completely different from what was promised.

Apple does the same thing. The difference is that iPhone users have been convinced that they are somehow culturally handicapped if caught without an Apple product. At least a part of that is that more people have their IT company experience with work computers and thus Microsoft, than Apple, and thus the corporate experience with Microsoft products cannot be separated from the company itself. Whereas if people had any experience with Apple at all before they bought an iPod or phone, it was in a far different setting with little on the line and little opportunity for the misdeeds of the home computer to rub off on the company at large.

People don't like Microsoft. So when Apple, AOL, and a host of other companies do the same type of draconian over-lording Microsoft was always accused of, there's always an excuse for it. Only Microsoft brute forces OEMs to bundle its rider products and pay licensing fees. And they do it cause they're greedy. When Apple does it, it's to maintain compatibility, ease of upgrade, and to ensure a consistent experience. All the things you claim are poppycock excuses Microsoft is using as a front for being boring and uncool.

When I make a statement about WP7 making the other two look and feel like yesterday's utter garbage, I'm speaking of my own experience with all three, and what others I know have said about their own WP7 phones. Not sweeping generalizations and non sequiturs about what the public at large thinks of a device they know nothing about, most likely have never seen and recognized live, have never actually played with and almost certainly can't speak on with any insight. See the difference? Oh and yes. It does make the other two look and feel like yesterday's utter garbage. While running on yesterday's processors. While Android fans and iPhone fans are shaking and Jonesing for the next chip to help their phone's performance turn the corner, I'm wondering what the point of a dual core phone chip actually is.

[kronoscornelius]

At best, WP7 is equal to Android technology-wise, but Android has a better business model. Comparing WP7 business model to Android is like comparing a totalitarian regime to a democracy. The carriers know what they are doing if they are pushing Android.

On the technology side, we are at a point in OS development where improvements are marginal at the performance, reliability and security level. Instead, Google has focused on making the platform friendly, and providing a development environment that is friction-less for developers. Android also lets companies like Amazon fork the OS and make something new. To say that WP7 or iPhone are better than Android is to only look at particular technologies (pieces) of the OS (memory allocation, handling of multiple task) but forgetting to account how all the pieces come together to form the final platform ( an app market, a open source policy, a fast development cycle)

In the end consumers go with what the geeks among them recommend, and this geek recommends Android.

[anonymousr46j]

Windows Phone is CLEARLY superior to iOS and Android, but the only people who know that are the ones that have actually USED it (I don't mean picking it up at a store, tapping a few tiles, then placing it back on the stand).

Alot of the negativity comes from market analysis; Windows Phone have 1 percent of the market, therefore it is bad. That is a ridiculous conclusion to make.

There is no push from retailers to sell Windows Phone and the few phones available aren't on the best handsets. There are exceptions, the hardware on the HTC Titan is great.

Even so, Windows Phone OS is so good that even on a handset with minimum hardware specs, it is smooth and fast. It is so easy to use and has social integration baked into it.

If a phone is supposed to be a way to communicate with people, then it doesn't get any better than Windows Phone...

[anonymousr46j]

bkrochman, on 27 December 2011 - 03:25 PM, said:

I can't speak for any consumer other than myself, but WP7 is failing with me because I used a WP6 phone and disliked the experience. I have an Android phone now and have far fewer crashes and other issues. Was it WP6, the hardware or the carrier? Who knows, but I have the same carrier (T-Mobile), the same manufacturer of phone (HTC) and a different OS. Thems the facts. My analysis WP was not ready for prime time and I don;t have enough spare cash to throw at a new WP phone to see if it is any better.

There is no Windows Phone 6. There was Windows Mobile 6 which is in NO WAY anything like Windows Phone.

Windows Phone is a completely different mobile OS than Windows Mobile.

Windows Phone <> Windows Mobile

[NewTeKnology]

Windows Phone is currently failing because it doesn't have it's own niche yet.

Android offers a variety of choices at a variety of prices plus has a lot of different apps to choose from. Thus Android overall is the most balanced.

iOS caters to those who want simplicity, design, ease of use, security and apps/games.

Windows Phone will compete once it is running the same OS as Windows PC. Once Windows Phone can use Windows PC software and games it will take off. Because then you will have Windows PC that you can carry in your pocket.

Once this happens (if it ever does), then Windows Phone will become the biggest OS by far and will take almost all of the Android users and most of the iOS users. iOS will still have some sales because of the iPod Touch and the fact some Apple fans will support Apple products no matter what.

[ajwitzel]

bkrochman, on 27 December 2011 - 03:25 PM, said:

I can't speak for any consumer other than myself, but WP7 is failing with me because I used a WP6 phone and disliked the experience. I have an Android phone now and have far fewer crashes and other issues. Was it WP6, the hardware or the carrier? Who knows, but I have the same carrier (T-Mobile), the same manufacturer of phone (HTC) and a different OS. Thems the facts. My analysis WP was not ready for prime time and I don;t have enough spare cash to throw at a new WP phone to see if it is any better.

I had a WP6 and a WP6.5 device, both of them sucked. I'll agree on that point. I disagree on the same manufacturer with a different OS meaning anything other than coincidence. I've personally helped friends with HTC phones, one worked, the other didn't. Both had the same Android version, were the same model. WP6 and 6.5 were definitely not ready for prime time, and were downgrades from WP5 in my opinion. WP7 and now WP7.5 are vast improvements and simply is a completely new OS and share no similarities with the former versions. You don't need cash to see if it is better, just spend an hour in the store and make the decision. All you have to invest is some time. Yes, I own a Samsung Focus running WP7.5, and am planning on getting my wife one after she used my phone for a day while I fixed her Samsung Captivate running Android. She didn't want to give it back.

[ajwitzel]

Zannabang, on 27 December 2011 - 04:57 PM, said:

Wp7 is Dead.

With no apps and no games you cant compete.

Really? How shortsighted this post is. Here is the list of apps I personally have installed on my WP7 phone:

Adobe Reader
AP Mobile
BBC Radio
BoxShot Free (Dropbox client)
Cryp2pass (similar to Blackberry Password keeper)
Dilbert Hub
Evernote
Facebook
Folders (homebrew)
Tag reader (dime a dozen)
Maps (integrated, with turn by turn)
Office (integrated)
Outlook
Slacker Radio
Spotify
Tech News Now
SSH Client
Twitter
Wordpress
WPCentral
Youtube

I'd hardly call that "no apps and no games"...... Note that I haven't even put the games I have installed on the above list.

Please be informed before you make statements like this. http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps

[ronin7752]

The cause of the failure of the Windows Phone 7 is that Microsoft chose to include the word "Windows" in the name. Why would I want a smart phone that's as confusing, unreliable, and annoying as my Windows PC?

Windows has been the OS for for more than 90% of all PC's for over two decades. If the product had the reputation for quality that Apple or Google has, it would be selling as fast as those products. The fact that Phone 7 can't get off the ground, only proves that more people are wary of anything with the name "Windows" on it. ...And they should be.

Microsoft only succeeds because it is too big to fail. The only way they can make a successful new product is to manipulate the market so that they have a near-monopoly for it.

(Maybe this is why M$ is going to make Windows 8 look and work like a Windows Phone 7.)

[YukonCornelius]

Agreed. I have an HTC HD7 WP7 and technologically, it is a great device. Far easier to use than the Android devices and a step above in sophistication. And because MS does exert control over hardware and updates, it makes it much more reliable. But selling it about advertising. One reason Apple has been so successful is not because they have superior products, but because of Superior advertising. MS is boring. They need to fix that image, and they do that by hiring a great Ad agency that can help them do it.

[nijaboy2]

There may be a simpler reason: Availability of phones. I have been trying to get a window 7 (mango) phone for the past one week to no avail. All I see around are android, symbian etc. By the way, I live in nigeria

[mryanaz]

happajay, on 27 December 2011 - 06:12 PM, said:

Please....tiles? that was the stupidest idea. WP was concentrated on facebook integration and crap like that. Adults don't want that crap. Of course this guy is gonna tout it as better because he helped design the platform. The reason hardware and wireless carriers don't advertise and promote WP garbage is because it was too late with too little. It offered nothing but dumb facebook, tiles and other crap. People know what they want and it's not WP.

[mryanaz]

The worst part is that the tiles GUI cannot be replaced with any other GUI of my choosing. I can get "tiles" on my Android phone if I like that GUI...which I do not...

What really annoyed me was that at the initial release of WinPhone7, there was no support for MSLive, no cut and paste, few sync options for stand-alone Outlook users like me and almost no choices of handsets. That pretty much did it for me. Android is working fine for me. There just is no compelling reason for me to switch as everything I want on my phone I now have......except Smashtalk.