How To Beat Windows Phone Challenges?

[runawayprisoner]

I don't really see how its bullshit. Every marketing campaign highlight's the product's strong points. They aren't going to have a promotion like this and then have the challenge be something they'll lose, like run a benchmark.

It's bullshit because they choose tasks that are unrealistic and very specific (like viewing the weather information of... two different cities in two different states). Not only that, they rely on third-party applications (like Flixster) to accomplish some of the challenges, which is something your average consumers won't do.

That's not really highlighting their products' strong points at all, I don't think. It's more like a challenge to see who can out-customize them using another platform, and obviously Android would win in that regard.

I think a more fair competition would be to pit two fresh-out-of-box phones and have two non-tech-savvy contestants go at each other with a list of tasks. In that case, it'll highlight other aspects of their product better and also show user-friendliness.

In its current state, this challenge reeks more of geek and less of marketing.

 

[bgstcola]

don't think all of the challenges are unrealistic. What about uploading a photo to Facebook?

And why aren't they allowed to customize the phone?

 

[Deeko]

It's bullshit because they choose tasks that are unrealistic and very specific (like viewing the weather information of... two different cities in two different states). Not only that, they rely on third-party applications (like Flixster) to accomplish some of the challenges, which is something your average consumers won't do.

The weather in two different places made perfect sense with the original challenge - they were at an out of town conference that everyone traveled to, so it is natural to want to know the weather there and back home. The other tasks? Look up a movie nearby, post to Twitter, take a picture? Those are all very normal tasks. And are you really insinuating that using a 3rd party apps isn't a normal thing? People rip on Windows Phone for not having enough 3rd party reps all the time.

That's not really highlighting their products' strong points at all, I don't think. It's more like a challenge to see who can out-customize them using another platform, and obviously Android would win in that regard.

If that were obvious, more people would be winning the challenges, wouldn't they?

I think a more fair competition would be to pit two fresh-out-of-box phones and have two non-tech-savvy contestants go at each other with a list of tasks. In that case, it'll highlight other aspects of their product better and also show user-friendliness.

In its current state, this challenge reeks more of geek and less of marketing.

Its getting thousands of people to come to their stores and look at Windows Phones, which are obviously advantageous from a marketing perspective. I highly doubt this challenge was ever intended to win over the tech crowd. I'm really pretty amazed that Engadget and TheVerge ran these big "exposes" on the challenge, as if it were some big secret that they were cherry picking Windows Phone's strengths and biased towards the store. Of course they are. So? Its not like people are paying them to do the challenge, are they?

 

[runawayprisoner]

The weather in two different places made perfect sense with the original challenge - they were at an out of town conference that everyone traveled to, so it is natural to want to know the weather there and back home. The other tasks? Look up a movie nearby, post to Twitter, take a picture? Those are all very normal tasks. And are you really insinuating that using a 3rd party apps isn't a normal thing? People rip on Windows Phone for not having enough 3rd party reps all the time.

No, I'm not insinuating that using a 3rd party app is not a normal thing, but rather that the 3rd party app should not be taken as the strength of a platform. It's more a strength of the device than the platform since each app is somewhat specific to the device running a platform, no? (referring to the difference between iPad and iPhone here)

If that were obvious, more people would be winning the challenges, wouldn't they?

Except not a lot of people know about it. Microsoft doesn't really drum it up on TV every other hour or so.

And also you have to be at the store very early on to get this in.

I don't see how that gives many people an opportunity to even attempt, let alone winning, the challenge.

Its getting thousands of people to come to their stores and look at Windows Phones, which are obviously advantageous from a marketing perspective. I highly doubt this challenge was ever intended to win over the tech crowd. I'm really pretty amazed that Engadget and TheVerge ran these big "exposes" on the challenge, as if it were some big secret that they were cherry picking Windows Phone's strengths and biased towards the store. Of course they are. So? Its not like people are paying them to do the challenge, are they?

The original challenge was done at CES, which was... pretty much a tech crowd no matter how you try to spin it.

And to be fair, I admit that it's not wrong of them to be biased or to favor Windows Phones in a marketing campaign. But it's exactly that bias that makes it bullshit. It wasn't a fair competition to begin with.

So to sum up, Microsoft isn't doing anything wrong. But the challenge is bullshit (unfair).

 

[darkewaffle]

This thread is so very, very special.

 

[abaez]

I think this set out what it meant to do, get people seeing/using Windows phones. How big is the thread just at slickdeals with hundreds of people trading in their phones for a windows one? And every day we read about getting in line to be the first 100. Times however many stores there are? I bet it's a good chunk and this costs nothing from a marketing perspective.

 

[arod]

I think this set out what it meant to do, get people seeing/using Windows phones. How big is the thread just at slickdeals with hundreds of people trading in their phones for a windows one? And every day we read about getting in line to be the first 100. Times however many stores there are? I bet it's a good chunk and this costs nothing from a marketing perspective.

That whole skattertech article really made it blow up... they had been running the promotion for a while and was being largely ignored but after that article the lines were 200+ at every store because everybody was talking about it... probably was extended due to the lines. Kinda funny that the negative article was the best thing that could have happened for the promotion.

 

[A5]

I should dig out my old HTC Touch running WP 6.5 and trade it for a Lumia 710 (wife is on T-Mo and needs a new phone...)

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I think this set out what it meant to do, get people seeing/using Windows phones. How big is the thread just at slickdeals with hundreds of people trading in their phones for a windows one? And every day we read about getting in line to be the first 100. Times however many stores there are? I bet it's a good chunk and this costs nothing from a marketing perspective.

slickdeals does wonders. i see the same kind of people here in line with me holding their HP TouchPads and what not. I even posted on SD and someone quoted me and happened to be right next to me with their iPad in line.....

Anyhow, I'm in line again. #94 today. Must trade my Droid I suppose, but I'm not going down without a fight. I prepped my phone with the apps I need to win. Lets do this.

 

[notposting]

slickdeals does wonders. i see the same kind of people here in line with me holding their HP TouchPads and what not. I even posted on SD and someone quoted me and happened to be right next to me with their iPad in line.....

Anyhow, I'm in line again. #94 today. Must trade my Droid I suppose, but I'm not going down without a fight. I prepped my phone with the apps I need to win. Lets do this.

Well, at least you will get to dump the old warrior. Sometimes I grab my old OGD off the bedside dock when I forget my Trophy downstairs when I am putting the kid down for a nap, and omg so horrible. Generally want to launch it at high speed out the window, into the toilet, at a wall, etc. Heck it's even running a clean install of Bugless overclocked and it's just so sad.