Windows Phone 7.8 rant
I stumbled across this article while look for new on the when I might be able to get the Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade for what is now my wife's Lumia 800. I will credit the post as at least being original and not seeming to re-hash news from other sites. And I'm really not frustrated or upset by the article, it simply sparked controversy in my head that I now want to expel onto the internet.
His question is "is Windows Phone 7.8 too little, too late?". My question is, too little for what? And too late for what?
Yes I get that people are frustrated that their reasonably new phones were basically orphaned just months after they were released. But the reality is simple, once the announcement came that they wouldn't get WP8 everything else was moot. It really wouldn't have mattered if 7.8 came out the moment they announced they wouldn't be getting WP8. They are still being left behind on relatively new hardware and many people would have felt equally shunned regardless. In fact I remember tons of people planning to sell their phones and switch back to Android/iOS on the spot, or planning to boycott it or all sorts of other forms of retaliation. And this was before they were told what 7.8 would include or when it would be released.
I'll wager during that time a lot of people did in fact leave the platform that otherwise may not have. The problem is the people who stayed or hadn't decided to leave by that point.
Now let me just jump out and say quickly... the number of people who even know what is going with regards to new releases of their current platform is small. The number of people who both know AND care are even smaller. Go out, find a friend, a stranger, anyone... tell them there is a new version of their Phone OS out.. then pay attention to what percentage give a ****. Honestly, might be hard to believe, but it is probably in the less than 5% of society that cares. Perhaps even fewer than that.
So I repeat, too little for what? For those who care, it was too little from day 1 when they were told they weren't getting WP8. Those that care are gone or still planning to leave when they can afford to. For the remainder... those that actually care about these sorts of things and hadn't decided yet were likely so small a number that their exodus will go un-noticed.
Just my opinion, but if Microsoft released WP7.8 for all phones right now, or never I think the difference in impact on their bottom line would be far less than even 1%. They did the damage up front. Now they can take all the time they want. Those loyal to the platform have either bought a WP8 device already or will once they can, 7.8 is gravy.
His question is "is Windows Phone 7.8 too little, too late?". My question is, too little for what? And too late for what?
Yes I get that people are frustrated that their reasonably new phones were basically orphaned just months after they were released. But the reality is simple, once the announcement came that they wouldn't get WP8 everything else was moot. It really wouldn't have mattered if 7.8 came out the moment they announced they wouldn't be getting WP8. They are still being left behind on relatively new hardware and many people would have felt equally shunned regardless. In fact I remember tons of people planning to sell their phones and switch back to Android/iOS on the spot, or planning to boycott it or all sorts of other forms of retaliation. And this was before they were told what 7.8 would include or when it would be released.
I'll wager during that time a lot of people did in fact leave the platform that otherwise may not have. The problem is the people who stayed or hadn't decided to leave by that point.
Now let me just jump out and say quickly... the number of people who even know what is going with regards to new releases of their current platform is small. The number of people who both know AND care are even smaller. Go out, find a friend, a stranger, anyone... tell them there is a new version of their Phone OS out.. then pay attention to what percentage give a ****. Honestly, might be hard to believe, but it is probably in the less than 5% of society that cares. Perhaps even fewer than that.
So I repeat, too little for what? For those who care, it was too little from day 1 when they were told they weren't getting WP8. Those that care are gone or still planning to leave when they can afford to. For the remainder... those that actually care about these sorts of things and hadn't decided yet were likely so small a number that their exodus will go un-noticed.
Just my opinion, but if Microsoft released WP7.8 for all phones right now, or never I think the difference in impact on their bottom line would be far less than even 1%. They did the damage up front. Now they can take all the time they want. Those loyal to the platform have either bought a WP8 device already or will once they can, 7.8 is gravy.
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