Windows Phone losing traction in NA...
I like Windows Phone. But that doesn't mean it is without flaw. I also don't think that the "flaws", both real and perceived truly have anything to do with their market share. People, generally for no good reason, dislike Microsoft.
Anyway, Windows Phone, previously was growing in market share. Not astounding, I suppose, when you consider how small their market was to begin with. The smaller you are, the easier it is for you to grow and to grow by larger percentages. If you only had one user, adding a second would be a 100% increase for example.
I didn't see the raw data, but some sites said the growth flat-lined and others said it declined. I'm inclined to believe that the truth is somewhere in the middle. By which I mean, while I would believe that their market share slipped a little (perhaps less than a 10th of a percent, and hence the competing interpretations of the data) I don't think I believe that the absolute size of their user base decreased.
Seems counter-intuitive. But the smartphone market is still growing year over year with people switching from feature phones to smart phones and more and more people simply picking up their first phone. In this fashion it is possible to have your market share slip, while overall user base remains the same or even increases. Not important to the argument. But wanted to point that out. Given the growth rate of this sector and the fact that many list the market share as remaining stable, it should mean that they saw growth in terms of absolute numbers.
But, nonetheless, I'm hoping this will prod Microsoft in the right direction. I'd like to see the platform become more open. Not open source per se. But rather a solution to barricaded API's and closed app store. The Windows Phone SDK contains a number of API's that are restricted to 1st party use (or some special cases). And while I agree that they could be abused, they can also be used to provide much richer experiences. Ultimately, it is the consumers who are the ones hurt in this tug of war.
Somewhat related is the Windows Store model. I've argued many times over in the past that there are solutions to protect those who publish apps to the official store. Using technically the same code but targeting an arbitrarily different runtime for example. Because the runtime, and thus the IL for Store apps and "side-loaded" apps would be different, it wouldn't be possible to simply pirate games/app. There are likely also some limited number of things that could be done surrounding the packaging and signing of the apps that might sufficiently deter piracy.
Either approach is likely to open up loopholes that will enable people to do things you didn't intend. But, if you keep closing those loopholes in updates as they are found, people will lose interest. Especially on a platform with the following this one has. The community has basically given up on rooting Windows Phone for example.
Both the SDK access and store changes would appeal to developers, and the latter would appeal to consumers. Access to 3rd party apps could be hidden behind a dopey setting the way it is on Android and loaded by some other UI. Changing the setting can trigger all manner of warnings about exposing yourself to malware, etc... and there is no reason where, even though additional API's may be opened up, that you can't be notified which API's you're granting an app access too. In fact, the platform already does this today for things like location access or access to your address book, etc...
Anyway, Windows Phone, previously was growing in market share. Not astounding, I suppose, when you consider how small their market was to begin with. The smaller you are, the easier it is for you to grow and to grow by larger percentages. If you only had one user, adding a second would be a 100% increase for example.
I didn't see the raw data, but some sites said the growth flat-lined and others said it declined. I'm inclined to believe that the truth is somewhere in the middle. By which I mean, while I would believe that their market share slipped a little (perhaps less than a 10th of a percent, and hence the competing interpretations of the data) I don't think I believe that the absolute size of their user base decreased.
Seems counter-intuitive. But the smartphone market is still growing year over year with people switching from feature phones to smart phones and more and more people simply picking up their first phone. In this fashion it is possible to have your market share slip, while overall user base remains the same or even increases. Not important to the argument. But wanted to point that out. Given the growth rate of this sector and the fact that many list the market share as remaining stable, it should mean that they saw growth in terms of absolute numbers.
But, nonetheless, I'm hoping this will prod Microsoft in the right direction. I'd like to see the platform become more open. Not open source per se. But rather a solution to barricaded API's and closed app store. The Windows Phone SDK contains a number of API's that are restricted to 1st party use (or some special cases). And while I agree that they could be abused, they can also be used to provide much richer experiences. Ultimately, it is the consumers who are the ones hurt in this tug of war.
Somewhat related is the Windows Store model. I've argued many times over in the past that there are solutions to protect those who publish apps to the official store. Using technically the same code but targeting an arbitrarily different runtime for example. Because the runtime, and thus the IL for Store apps and "side-loaded" apps would be different, it wouldn't be possible to simply pirate games/app. There are likely also some limited number of things that could be done surrounding the packaging and signing of the apps that might sufficiently deter piracy.
Either approach is likely to open up loopholes that will enable people to do things you didn't intend. But, if you keep closing those loopholes in updates as they are found, people will lose interest. Especially on a platform with the following this one has. The community has basically given up on rooting Windows Phone for example.
Both the SDK access and store changes would appeal to developers, and the latter would appeal to consumers. Access to 3rd party apps could be hidden behind a dopey setting the way it is on Android and loaded by some other UI. Changing the setting can trigger all manner of warnings about exposing yourself to malware, etc... and there is no reason where, even though additional API's may be opened up, that you can't be notified which API's you're granting an app access too. In fact, the platform already does this today for things like location access or access to your address book, etc...
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