What does it take to push WP7?

[Bateluer]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/microsoft-paid-nokia-250-million-to-adopt-windows-phone-q4-ear/

As SlashGear's Chris Davies noticed, Nokia received about $250 million from Redmond during the fourth quarter of 2011, as part of the companies' "broad strategic agreement." Under the agreement, the manufacturer receives so-called "platform support payments" from Microsoft -- which, in turn, receives software licensing payments from Nokia. The $250 million Microsoft doled out last quarter is the first of these transactions. All told, Nokia expects the payments both to and from Microsoft to total "in the billions of US Dollars."

Cash. Lots and lots of cash.

Remains to be seen whether there will be any actual movement of WP7 devices though.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/microsoft-paid-nokia-250-million-to-adopt-windows-phone-q4-ear/



Cash. Lots and lots of cash.

Remains to be seen whether there will be any actual movement of WP7 devices though.

given what they have spent on marketing so far I wonder if they would have been better off using the money to further subsidize the phones. WP7 already uses lower end hardware so if they could ensure all of their top devices were free with a contract they might be able to get more sales.

 

[Bateluer]

given what they have spent on marketing so far I wonder if they would have been better off using the money to further subsidize the phones. WP7 already uses lower end hardware so if they could ensure all of their top devices were free with a contract they might be able to get more sales.

Thats actually a really good idea, IMO.

Its bad when Windows 6.x outsells WP7. :/

 

[Mopetar]

Sounds like some kind of shell game. We'll give you a pile of money and then you use it to buy software from us so that we can use that to give you another pile of money.

 

[bearxor]

I don't think it's bad that Windows 6.5 outsells WP7. WM6.5 is still being used in a lot of industrial applications that may never shift to iOS/WP7/Android.

I think that if Microsoft want's to make headway in this market, they've got to come down in price. Something like Titan or the Focus S should be $100 tops, preferably $50 or below. And carriers have to get onboard. VZW has shunned WP7 until LTE is available, Sprint is in a huge transition period and probably won't be looking for a WP7 device until late this year or early next. That leaves only AT&T and TMo as the main WP7 providers in the US.

Microsoft needs the Apps, the need the advertising and they need the cheapness. Take the hit on the hardware to try and get your platform out there. It's not much different than selling consoles, right?

 

[Deeko]

Its more than just a payment to use WP7, though. They're collaborating more broadly - like Nokia's map technology powering Bing Maps. I'm sure that's something Nokia doesn't give away for free.

 

[ponyo]

Microsoft should make every WP7 free with two year contract to get people hooked. Would need no advertisement. Phones would sell itself at that price. You can't convert people if people never try your product.

 

[Brian Stirling]

They need to start hiring crack dealers. If you use your Win7 phone you get crack. Might also work with meth...


Brian

 

[Red Storm]

Microsoft should make every WP7 free with two year contract to get people hooked. Would need no advertisement. Phones would sell itself at that price. You can't convert people if people never try your product.

And it wouldn't hurt to get some phones out on Verizon. You know, the carrier with the most subscribers in the US. Why there is still only the HTC Trophy is beyond puzzling, though I think it has to do with MS not making LTE phones and Verizon only wanting LTE phones going forward.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

And it wouldn't hurt to get some phones out on Verizon. You know, the carrier with the most subscribers in the US. Why there is still only the HTC Trophy is beyond puzzling, though I think it has to do with MS not making LTE phones and Verizon only wanting LTE phones going forward.

Verizon didn't want any if they didn't have LTE.

 

[Red Storm]

Verizon didn't want any if they didn't have LTE.

Yeah, and I don't blame them. Microsoft needs to speed up WP7 hardware specs in two areas (LTE and screen resolution). Those are not "on paper" specs, they are tangible benefits that people can actually notice without benchmarks.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I think Microsoft is getting it all wrong. It's not the manufacturers. It's them.

Metro is nice and simple, but it's a little bit too much so, and there is very little in the way of an average consumer being able to make it prettier. Wallpapers, themes, etc... are most likely in order. Otherwise, WP7's interface looks plain boring IMHO, especially compared to an Android phone next to it.

Next is the app landscape is pretty barren. Even if there are more apps on WP7 now than there are possibly on WM6.5. In fact, I think what Microsoft needs to do is revise the distribution channel, throw advertisement on every TV channel every 15 seconds, entice even more developers to create meaningful apps that aren't colored texts on black background, and do giveaways to current owners.

There are so many more things Microsoft can do to WP7 other than having more manufacturers and carriers jump onboard...

 

[quest55720]

I think Microsoft is getting it all wrong. It's not the manufacturers. It's them.

Metro is nice and simple, but it's a little bit too much so, and there is very little in the way of an average consumer being able to make it prettier. Wallpapers, themes, etc... are most likely in order. Otherwise, WP7's interface looks plain boring IMHO, especially compared to an Android phone next to it.

Next is the app landscape is pretty barren. Even if there are more apps on WP7 now than there are possibly on WM6.5. In fact, I think what Microsoft needs to do is revise the distribution channel, throw advertisement on every TV channel every 15 seconds, entice even more developers to create meaningful apps that aren't colored texts on black background, and do giveaways to current owners.

There are so many more things Microsoft can do to WP7 other than having more manufacturers and carriers jump onboard...

I am glad MS went the route they did. I gladly will give up things like wall paper customization for a smooth OS with out a super phone. I am also glad MS does not let samsung and HTC muck up the OS like they have android. MS does need to work on the app situation no doubt about it. In the end as far as I am concerned MS nailed it with WP7. The OS runs so silky smooth like IOS. But I can choose a phone that suites me the best. It is also so easy to use my tech challenged wife can use it with out asking me a million questions. That and I have a grandfathered zune pass.

 

[Munky]

It takes product awareness. Throw a bunch of money at TV commercials and you may get more customers.

 

[mammador]

Doesn't surprise me, as most strategic alliances require pooling of resources.

to get WP7 a higher market share, MS and Nokia need to promote it better. Get the major carriers in most countries to have featured Win 7 phones. I think basically what builds Android, iOS and even Blackberry OS is promotion.

 

[fskimospy]

I love the WP7 OS. I would trade my 4S in for one in a minute Verizon had one with a good screen and LTE. I liked Android's operating system but hated the battery life. I love the iPhone's battery life, but hate the cheesy OS. WP7 is the perfect mix if only they came out with a decent handset for me to buy.

 

[QueBert]

Verizon didn't want any if they didn't have LTE.

I think this is dumb on Verizon's part imho, most of the country still can't even get LTE service. They should have got one just to to have a WP7 device. The iPhone 4S doesn't have LTE and it was by far their best selling handset for 2011. The proves that most people don't care about LTE, even if it's available in their area.

 

[Belegost]

I actually agree to a point on the customization. While I don't think a wallpaper for the home screen would be a good idea (and there are apps that do it anyways) Would it kill MS to give me more control over the tile colors? Per tile color, and a color picker from a full color gamut.

Second, an extra screen to the left of home, this would be for "jumbo" tiles full width and up to two rows, for things like mini calendar, email preview, stock tracker, etc.

As for LTE I expect that will be here later this year, MS has been waiting for better LTE modems that aren't battery vampires. Same for apple really.

Higher res would be fine, though I haven't felt a big need for it on my HD7. The main point would be that UI elements would need to remain the same physical scale, because I looked at my friend's galaxy nexus, felt like I needed a magnifier to see anything, tiny little fonts and elements made it feel unfriendly.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Microsoft missed a huge opportunity to completely cannibalize RIM's Blackberries.

Apple does better than Android but even it doesn't work terribly well with corporate policies nor is its push email as good as with Blackberries.


Microsoft should've pushed to make WP7 work well with domain policies along with Office and Sharepoint integration.

WP7 is "capable enough" with a great interface (that needs trying out) and if all the IT departments can only allow WP7 devices, then it would easily be a hit.

"I'm sorry but iPhones aren't secure enough to allow in this workplace. However, I can issue you a WP7 phone."

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I fully understand why WP7 doesn't sell. It's boring. When you look at a couple of sqaures on the screen, versus having wallpapers, app icons, widgets ect, it really sucks when messing with it at the store. You can't do anything with the phones in the store anyways, so being able to flip through home screens and app drawers makes the Androids look better. and Apple sells because of name before OS apperance.

 

[EightySix Four]

Microsoft should've pushed to make WP7 work well with domain policies along with Office and Sharepoint integration.

Wait what? Have you used one? Office/Sharepoint integration is absolutely fantastic, as is the Lync client...

 

[Belegost]

Wait what? Have you used one? Office/Sharepoint integration is absolutely fantastic, as is the Lync client...

Agreed. I use sharepoint and excel a lot on it, well integrated and easy to use. And the outlook was easy to attach to the corporate exchange server. About the only thing I could want on this front is LiveMeeting, that would be great to see the presentation and be on the call from my phone.

 

[poofyhairguy]

MS needs to get better GPUs, and then start selling the Xbox side of their phones. Best MS brand currently IMHO.

Make an "Xbox Zone" like Nvidia did and bribe Gameloft and whoever else to crank out AA games for their phones.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Wait what? Have you used one? Office/Sharepoint integration is absolutely fantastic, as is the Lync client...

Not when it first came out IIRC. Mango was when all that stuff was all put in properly (along with Exchange) but MS still isn't pushing that point as hard as they should.

Still, AD policies and such are still a weakpoint from what I've heard.

 

[EightySix Four]

Not when it first came out IIRC. Mango was when all that stuff was all put in properly (along with Exchange) but MS still isn't pushing that point as hard as they should.

Still, AD policies and such are still a weakpoint from what I've heard.

I have had one since nearly launch and office/sharepoint/exchange integration has always been fantastic. I'm not really sure what AD policies you would like, managing mobile devices has always been handled by exchange, not AD. You can control passwords, wipe/lock devices, and set application restrictions in exchange...