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[megarockexe]

Never forget.

So this really looks like the end now, huh? Historically, no one has ever rebounded from the hole Windows Phone got itself in, I think. It's been fun watching their admirable efforts throughout the years. Always seemingly adequate. And the big dreams of Windows 10...
Almost all certainly in the trash in a few months. A vicious cycle, but I don't know how else it could have ended. The platform really deserved better.

 

[juliushandle]

We'll all likely buy 950s still (on the cheap) before moving on. I know I will. A sweet 950XL for $300 and I'll go down with the ship with it.

 

[LostMyNarbles]

We'll all likely buy 950s still (on the cheap) before moving on. I know I will. A sweet 950XL for $300 and I'll go down with the ship with it.

Hell I would too at that price although I'd prefer a 950.

 

[joshschw]

so many things could have been done to improve the situation.

-not fire nokia staff
-come out and say you are committed to mobile
-finish the damn mobile OS so they didn't have to release an incomplete OS "for its fans"
-release a Lumia 650 with the 950s (the 635 was a very popular low end phone)
-get it out to more carriers. t-mobile wanted the W10 phones, microsoft said no

i do understand why microsoft did or didn't do what they did but sometimes you have to tell the shareholders that they need to think long term. if microsoft loses mobile, there will be no microsoft in the future. both google and apple will take their lunch and push them out.

True, but they also could have just:

1) Released some sort of phone.

I doubt anyone at Microsoft is surprised in the slightest with those numbers.

There's also now way they are giving up on anything anytime soon. They have invested HUGELY in win10 mobile in many many ways.

EDIT: Maybe T-Mobile wanted it, maybe not. T-Mobile has also EOL'ed several WP devices after about 15 minutes. Lumia 810, HTC M8, Lumia 640... Probably others too. They've been a BAD partner.

 

[LostMyNarbles]

True, but they also could have just:

1) Released some sort of phone.

I doubt anyone at Microsoft is surprised in the slightest with those numbers.

There's also now way they are giving up on anything anytime soon. They have invested HUGELY in win10 mobile in many many ways.

EDIT: Maybe T-Mobile wanted it, maybe not. T-Mobile has also EOL'ed several WP devices after about 15 minutes. Lumia 810, HTC M8, Lumia 640... Probably others too. They've been a BAD partner.

Can't blame them for given up on devices that weren't selling well. At the very least them saying they want Windows Phones on their shelves makes them a better partner than at least half of the wireless carriers.

 

[joshschw]

Can't blame them for given up on devices that weren't selling well. At the very least them saying they want Windows Phones on their shelves makes them a better partner than at least half of the wireless carriers.

But the Lumia 820 & 822 did well on ATT and Verizon. Maybe the 810 on tmobile was EOLed after so few months because tmobile didn't know what they were doing.

The 640 did well on ATT. Why did tmobile struggle with it and EOL it after two months(?)

 

[Paganmoon]

After seeing it mentioned here I decided to try out Fenice (twitter app), and it seems to be the only updated Twitter app that actually handles the "new" (since a year or so?) retweet/reply function of Twitter correctly. Probably cause non of the other ones (MeTweets being my preferred one, Peregrin being the one I use now though), have been updated in ages.

Though, Fenice doesn't seem to remember your position in your timeline, and always starts at the top? any way to change this? I don't follow too many people, so I rather just continue from where I left off.

Then again, Fenice is stuck in a crashloop for me right now, and keeps closing down as it starts, so not that I can use it at all.

 

[VanMardigan]

The crash loop is because your free trial ran out. It's just supposed to give you a message but a wm10 bug just makes it crash.

 

[brotkasten]

Can someone get a mod to lock this thread? There's an article on the Verge that says Windows Phone is dead.

Now it's truly time to pack it up, folks. It was great with you guys.

 

[runningjoke]

It's true, Windows Phone is dead, long live Windows Mobile.

Anyway you can still lock this thread because the W10M OT is already up

 

[Ganondolf]

I still believe what I said earlier that MS will move to making one phone (2 if you include the XL model). it will be called the Surface Phone and will complete directly with the iPhone.

They will leave the low and mid spec phones to OEMS which they will help like they have with Windows 10 devices. The lack of completion from the Lumia range will please the other OEMS and hopefully the popularity of the Surface brand will attract people. these combined will help WM10 increase in market share.

I also think the Surface Phone will have Intel's Core M Mobile chipset and will run any universal desktop app when in continuum mode. I then think in a few years when the software and hardware are ready MS will combine Windows 10 Desktop and Mobile. when in normal use you will have the mobile UI and when you connect to a screen instead of going into continuum mode you will go into a full windows 10 desktop.

This is what I believe MS's long term goal for Mobile is.

 

[Paganmoon]

Thread should be locked in a few pages anyway.

Windows Phone |OT2| Still Alive!

 

[n64coder]

Question. I thought I read a while ago that Windows 10 Mobile was suppose to sync text messages with your desktop/laptop/tablet through the Messaging app... did that not make the cut?

I don't think it's there yet but possibly in Redstone. I do see Skype messages get synced between my devices but not text messages yet.

 

[Paganmoon]

Message syncing (and sending) from/to desktop is locked behind Cortana iirc.

 

[LukasTaves]

WP may be dead really, but Windows Mobile, the leaks about x86 phones, an win32 emulator for arm, and desktop returning to arm devices gives us a very clear view of Ms current strategy.

They are going for a platform convergence on a myriad of devices, and with continuum to have the platform changing with the device changing too.

If they succeed, they will have phones that has a very nice touch interface, capable of running powerful apps natively, but that when connected to external devices can give you all the freedom and productivity only a mouse/keyboard and more real screen state can provide. And it doesn't matter if your device is arm or x86, you just plug in and your apps become remarkably more powerful, and you gain years of desktop software to run.

If you look at the point of view, Ms handling of the OS kinda makes sense. You are not there yet with your platform or even the hardware that will power it. You have no marketshare, and your attempts to keep that marketshare results in you losing money. In that sense 950 and 950XL makes sense, they give the current users of the platform the phone they've been waiting, it keeps the money from bleeding, and you can then focus on getting the platform ready so it can really be a disruptive thing.

In that sense, getting the microsoft experience on other devices also make sense. There's a ton of users who grew up on ipad and iphones, and had limited contact with a pc. Ms needs to get the market to want to use Ms software if it wants to succeed into launching a new experience that relies on people wanting to use said applications in the first place.

Even the app situation is not currently all bad. Windows 10 going strong as a whole is driving development of universal apps that can be easily adjusted to supported small screen sizes, so by the time Ms comes full force on phones that can be a desktop the app ecosystem will be much healthier, even for phones.

Of course that's a bet, but I can see Ms building work first phones, that happen to be a very good experience for the end user in a way that it decides to switch for his personal device as well being a safer bet than releasing one device poised to save the system.

 

[hadareud]

Would nice if that were to happen.

They didn't necessarily have to run WP into the ground first, though.

 

[brotkasten]

While we're at it, another WP is dead article. This time from Brad Sams at Petri.com.

Windows Phone’s Downward Spiral Reaches The Bottom

When Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7, the company held a funeral for the iPhone on its campus, a bold statement but one that would foretell it’s own demise, rather than that of Apple’s. During the company’s second quarter, calendar year fourth quarter, phone revenue decreased $1.2 billion as the company only sold 4.5 million Lumias, a year ago for the same period, they sold 10.5 million devices.

https://www.petri.com/microsofts-windows-phone-becomes-a-third-class-citizen

Meanwhile, the Surface business Is Once Again A Billion Dollar Operation

 

[CaptainABAB]

Nadella seems to be doing fine so far - his emphasis is on growth sectors and reorganizing MS for the future. While it might bug me as someone who likes Windows Phone, I can't blame Nadella for giving up on Windows Phone - it was a dead end by the time he took over.

IMO, I think what people don't understand is that Microsoft could have poured everything they had into Windows Phone and it would have barely moved the needle on market share. There's never been a good argument that I've seen for how to save WP. Instead, people have quite reasonable suggestions - flagships, midrange phones, paying app developers, etc etc - but none of them would have resulted in 20 or 30 or 40 million Windows Phones being sold in a quarter, which are just the barest kind of numbers one would need to say the WP is "saved." Nadella has made the right choice: acknowledge that mobile is lost, and concentrate on trying to find the next thing. Windows Phone was dead long ago because mobile was already lost; people just weren't willing to accept it.

Completely agree.

Everybody bitching about Nadella doesn't seem to realize that even if he went full throttle with new phones, marketing/advertising, whatever, WP would still be in a distant third place with the same app store problems...the only difference is that instead of 5 million, maybe they would have sold 10-15 million. While 2nd place Apple is selling 75(!) million in the same quarter.

The only thing that could have changed things around is if Microsoft didn't charge OEM's for WP at the onset and had cultivated OEM & carrier support *before* android became popular. Consumer mindshare was lost many years ago, I'm sorry to say.

 

[lastflowers]

I'd even say it's less the cost and more the strict spec requirement. Android cheap phones are shitty for a reason...

But honestly there's so many factors that go into success and failure and so many singular points you can pivot around.

 

[Magni]

I installed W10 on my 830 to see if Japanese maps were finally usable, since I'm moving to Tokyo on Sunday.

It can't find my new apartment. I try on web, it can't either (trying in both kanji and romaji). After some googling, I figure out that if I go to bing.co.jp instead, I might have a change. Well, no dice, it can't find the chome or building.

Google Maps works, in both kanji and romaji. I don't need to go to Google.co.jp.

Why? Why does this still suck so much, in 2016? If the 5x had an SD card, I'd have bought it already. Ugh.

edit: if I drop a pin on the building and click on "directions to/from", it shows the right address... but if I copy that exact string and search for it, it can't find it! I can't even.

edit2: this was if I drop a pin on bing.co.jp on web. If I drop a pin on the same building on bing.com, the address I get is "Tokyo, Japan".


So in the meantime... what's the best google maps client on W10?

 

[juliushandle]

Best Buy and Blu are having another 3 day sale for one of their newest phones the Vivo XL. It's a well spec'd android phone for $99.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/blu-viv...ed)-blue/4934004.p?id=bb4934004&skuId=4934004

 

[SCHUEY F1]

OT threads about Windows Phone drive me crazy. iPad Pro not chasing the Surface, lol

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

I installed W10 on my 830 to see if Japanese maps were finally usable, since I'm moving to Tokyo on Sunday.

It can't find my new apartment. I try on web, it can't either (trying in both kanji and romaji). After some googling, I figure out that if I go to bing.co.jp instead, I might have a change. Well, no dice, it can't find the chome or building.

Google Maps works, in both kanji and romaji. I don't need to go to Google.co.jp.

Why? Why does this still suck so much, in 2016? If the 5x had an SD card, I'd have bought it already. Ugh.

edit: if I drop a pin on the building and click on "directions to/from", it shows the right address... but if I copy that exact string and search for it, it can't find it! I can't even.

edit2: this was if I drop a pin on bing.co.jp on web. If I drop a pin on the same building on bing.com, the address I get is "Tokyo, Japan".


So in the meantime... what's the best google maps client on W10?

All Japanese map data is from Zenrin last I remember. Google Maps just used their data. So to have Japan Microsoft or Here or whoever has to pay Zenrin just like everyone else.

 

[VanMardigan]

Best Buy and Blu are having another 3 day sale for one of their newest phones the Vivo XL. It's a well spec'd android phone for $99.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/blu-viv...ed)-blue/4934004.p?id=bb4934004&skuId=4934004

Why are you posting this? A $99 android phone? Wtf are you thinking, this is a terrible idea.

 

[brotkasten]

Why are you posting this? A $99 android phone? Wtf are you thinking, this is a terrible idea.

Why? It's supposed to be the Lumia 630 of the Android world.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Welp, back to 8.1.
I loved 10, but then they did an update and suddenly everything was terrible. Mainly battery life. So back I goooooo

 

[juliushandle]

Why? It's supposed to be the Lumia 630 of the Android world.

Specs and performance are better than the 630. It's also a great phone for many of us looking to get our feet wet in Android.

I bought a Blu Life One X for that price and while it's a good phone I eventually went back to my 830 cuz I missed a proper glance screen, live tiles, and other little things.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Everyone talked about getting preview builds and how it would be a good thing to get early access because the carriers always take so damn long to approve anything. But all I saw for 8.1 preview builds and now for 10 builds is how many problems it always has. Waiting for the general 8.1 release was a good idea. Too bad Microsoft didn't wait for the general 10 release to put out the 950.

 

[Paganmoon]

New minor configuration update on fast ring. No real changes, but preparation for future upgrades.

 

[brotkasten]

Specs and performance are better than the 630. It's also a great phone for many of us looking to get our feet wet in Android.

I bought a Blu Life One X for that price and while it's a good phone I eventually went back to my 830 cuz I missed a proper glance screen, live tiles, and other little things.

I meant in terms of cheap/affordable without sucking.

 

[yankeehater]

New minor configuration update on fast ring. No real changes, but preparation for future upgrades.

Thanks I was wondering what it did.

 

[LostMyNarbles]

Walmart has the 640 for $30 if anybody is looking for a backup. You can't beat that price for the quality of phone you get.

 

[juliushandle]

Facebook just announced periscope style live streaming. I'm assuming its for iOS first, android 2nd, and windows never.

 

[brotkasten]

Facebook just announced periscope style live streaming. I'm assuming its for iOS first, android 2nd, and windows never.

Lets wait and see. The new app is being developed in-house, so I'm sure they're on it this time.

 

[JaggedSac]

Lets wait and see. The new app is being developed in-house, so I'm sure they're on it this time.

Can't wait to watch people eat taco bell.

 

[brotkasten]

Can't wait to watch people eat taco bell.

At least you're not seeing picture of it on Snapchat.

 

[ElNino]

At least you're not seeing picture of it on Snapchat.

Maybe as my boys get older I'll find out what people actually do with Snapchat... but I'm not sure I want to. It was also quite the revelation to hear that kids (and possibly adults) are using Instagram to chat as well; and here I thought it was just for food selfies and advertising.

 

[LostMyNarbles]

So I decided to rollback my 640 back to 8.1 and used the Windows Device Recovery Tool to do so. Only issue is when I boot the phone up it asks for a Recovery key for reset protection and I don't even remember setting that up. The phone isn't available in my devices on Microsoft.com anymore so I can't pull up any key from there. Hoping I'm not boned here. :|

 

[hankster]

http://mynokiablog.com/2016/01/29/the-microsoft-lumia-950-xl-a-bleak-review/

 

[SCHUEY F1]

http://mynokiablog.com/2016/01/29/the-microsoft-lumia-950-xl-a-bleak-review/

OS does not lag and stutter in most places.....for me anyways :|

 

[hadareud]

OS does not lag and stutter in most places.....for me anyways :|

It really doesn't. In any places.

That review is bollocks.

 

[brotkasten]

Maybe as my boys get older I'll find out what people actually do with Snapchat... but I'm not sure I want to. It was also quite the revelation to hear that kids (and possibly adults) are using Instagram to chat as well; and here I thought it was just for food selfies and advertising.

I have literally never used Snapchat. All I know is that they got the "it's only for tween sexting" pr curve a while ago and are a legitimate messaging platform now. And it's another thing for people who are depending on social media to plug.

 

[brotkasten]

OS does not lag and stutter in most places.....for me anyways :|

It really doesn't. In any places.

That review is bollocks.

Why would he lie about it? He even has the same 4K recording issues that Michael Fisher had. You guys sound like the guys on Crackberry.

"I don't have problems, never had any, guy must be wrong, la la la la, I can't hear you!"

 

[VanMardigan]

No, but for real, no lag. Of all the issues I've had, that's not one.

Does he show it on video? Best I can think of is if he has a third party app that scrolls badly, I've seen that happen.

 

[hadareud]

Why would he lie about it? He even has the same 4K recording issues that Michael Fisher had. You guys sound like the guys on Crackberry.

"I don't have problems, never had any, guy must be wrong, la la la la, I can't hear you!"

Never even suggested something of the sort, what are you talking about?

Of all the stuff I've read about these phones, lag and stuttering is not something many complain about. Maybe the guy has a faulty unit, who knows, it makes the review unrepresentative/bollocks.

 

[JaggedSac]

I have literally never used Snapchat. All I know is that they got the "it's only for tween sexting" pr curve a while ago and are a legitimate messaging platform now. And it's another thing for people who are depending on social media to plug.

My wife teaches 8th graders and she says that Snapchat is the primary method for them communicating with each other. Such a strange service for that group to take hold of.

 

[Paganmoon]

Don't forget to opt-in to keep your free camera roll storage on OneDrive.
http://m.windowscentral.com/january...l-bonus?utm_source=wpc&utm_medium=twitter

 

[brotkasten]

That Windows Phone thread in the OT is going places, sheesh.

 

[Poodlestrike]

That Windows Phone thread in the OT is going places, sheesh.

So is this thread

 

[lastflowers]

That Windows Phone thread in the OT is going places, sheesh.

haha, I can't even separate the humorous trolling statements from some sincere posts. It's quite fun.