The issue with Windows Phone re-iterated
I've been spending a lot of time discussing a number of things regarding this platform lately, and usually it boils down to defending it against people saying that Microsoft should abandon it, or even worse, adopt Android. A lot of my rhetoric focused on why they shouldn't do these things, but perhaps equally important is why Windows Phone is in the state that it is as a platform in the first place. Especially since a lot of my debate is around that fact that Windows Phone IS actually showing signs of success in emerging markets (which also happen to the markets where growth is expected to continue, in contrast to N.A. and the UK/AUS where sales are slowing down).
And that problem is that people don't buy products, they are sold them. So, it matters what is advertised. It matters what the sales people are pushing. And it matters what your friends and family tell you to buy.
For me, this reality hit university. 1st year, while riding the train back home another individual had overheard my conversation with a friend and figured out I was in the Comp-Sci program and asked for my help in buying a laser printer. He didn't want to be forced into an expensive printer with features he didn't need. Since my stop on the train was at the plaza with the store he was heading to, and I was in no hurry, I said yes. I went in, browsed with him, gave him advice and narrowed his selection down to 2 different models.
I explained IN DETAIL why he didn't need to bother forking out the extra money for the more expensive models.
He walked out with the second most expensive laser printer in the store. Because the sales person told him it was better.
Most people aren't THIS bad, but most people also don't have an impartial, knowledgeable aid to assist in the decision and so they end up in the same boat any way.
If you read online you'll find numerous articles and posts and forums where people talk about how carriers bad mouth Windows Phone, simply don't display them or some times even outright refuse to sell them. THIS is Microsoft's problem. Even if a friend or a family member were to recommend the platform to you and even if you had already made up your mind prior, the vast majority of people will buckle at the slightest confrontation. The first suggestion they may be making the wrong choice. The first insult hurled at their choice.
The reality is, especially of late, that the OS has made great strides and many reviewers struggle to find things to hate about it. But that doesn't move units. As long as the sales people push people away, sales will suffer.
I'm not now, nor ever had, said that any platform is the right solution for everyone. And the same is true of WP8.1. But, the reality is that it is a very good fit for a wide range of people. A wide range of people that will likely never look twice at it. There are also people for whom I would explicitly recommend other platforms. iOS, despite having vastly smaller numbers than Android still gets most new experiences first. So people who use fitness hardware that integrates with a phone or smart house hardware are often better served by Apple. Android has the bulk of the rest of the wearable tech industry on board and is a great platform for super users who want to tweak every aspect and aren't worried about the potential need to revert the phone back to factory settings if they blow something up.
Beyond that though, I think the playing field is fairly level. There is the "app gap" but, that honestly exists everywhere. Not every app on iOS is on Android and vice versa either. And, not every Android app is as good as the iOS equivalent or vice versa either. The situation is admittedly worse on Windows Phone compared to those two... but I'd wager it is nowhere near as bad as people paint that picture to be. Aside from the lifestyle choices above and the Google's blocking of their apps and services on the Windows Phone platform, the app gap is actually rather miniscule.
Who is to blame for this? I don't know really. It is easy to blame the carriers because it is them and their employees who are directly to blame. But you can also blame Microsoft because I don't see that anything is being done about it. But then, maybe they are trying and I just don't see those efforts. Conversely, maybe the problem is Apple/Google or device makers.
Carriers likely also highly favour Google for one small insidious reason. The immense platform fragmentation means most devices either never see an official OS update or only see one or two before it gets abandoned. This is what used to happen in the old days of feature phones and even with Black Berries. If you want new features... even just software ones you had to upgrade hardware which often meant renewing a contract and often included additional fees along the way. And for most of the cheap Android phones the same rings true. And it probably isn't the cheap phones they are getting kick backs on.
I've worked in sales jobs before, and the kinds of stories I'm reading on this topic include sales reps intentionally losing sales over selling a Windows Phone or coming near as possible to that. And the only reason sales reps would actually care which phone you buy is if there is some incentive for you to either buy another phone or to not buy the one you wanted. And, generally the only reason for that is if there is a spiff (kick-back) on other phones. Even if the sales reps aren't on commission the managers will still have numbers to meet that those spiffs will pad out and they will push their staff to sell certain phones and not others. But DEFINITELY when they are on commission they will screw you over for no reason other than more money in their pockets.
Don't get me wrong... even an honest sales associate will have preferences and biases. But an honest associate won't let a sale walk out. They'll generally try and give you their reasons for choosing something else in a polite manner that doesn't outright trash another product and they will still gladly sell you what you wanted if they couldn't sway you. But these aren't the bulk of the stories being posted.
Frankly, I think a bit of blame lies everywhere. Carriers have little incentive to intervene as Android lets them practice their archaic art of locking new features behind new hardware sales and likely also due to kick backs. Microsoft isn't doing enough to combat any of this. And, at least in the cases where people are basically being kicked out of the door for wanting a Windows Phone, someone is rigging the game.
And that problem is that people don't buy products, they are sold them. So, it matters what is advertised. It matters what the sales people are pushing. And it matters what your friends and family tell you to buy.
For me, this reality hit university. 1st year, while riding the train back home another individual had overheard my conversation with a friend and figured out I was in the Comp-Sci program and asked for my help in buying a laser printer. He didn't want to be forced into an expensive printer with features he didn't need. Since my stop on the train was at the plaza with the store he was heading to, and I was in no hurry, I said yes. I went in, browsed with him, gave him advice and narrowed his selection down to 2 different models.
I explained IN DETAIL why he didn't need to bother forking out the extra money for the more expensive models.
He walked out with the second most expensive laser printer in the store. Because the sales person told him it was better.
Most people aren't THIS bad, but most people also don't have an impartial, knowledgeable aid to assist in the decision and so they end up in the same boat any way.
If you read online you'll find numerous articles and posts and forums where people talk about how carriers bad mouth Windows Phone, simply don't display them or some times even outright refuse to sell them. THIS is Microsoft's problem. Even if a friend or a family member were to recommend the platform to you and even if you had already made up your mind prior, the vast majority of people will buckle at the slightest confrontation. The first suggestion they may be making the wrong choice. The first insult hurled at their choice.
The reality is, especially of late, that the OS has made great strides and many reviewers struggle to find things to hate about it. But that doesn't move units. As long as the sales people push people away, sales will suffer.
I'm not now, nor ever had, said that any platform is the right solution for everyone. And the same is true of WP8.1. But, the reality is that it is a very good fit for a wide range of people. A wide range of people that will likely never look twice at it. There are also people for whom I would explicitly recommend other platforms. iOS, despite having vastly smaller numbers than Android still gets most new experiences first. So people who use fitness hardware that integrates with a phone or smart house hardware are often better served by Apple. Android has the bulk of the rest of the wearable tech industry on board and is a great platform for super users who want to tweak every aspect and aren't worried about the potential need to revert the phone back to factory settings if they blow something up.
Beyond that though, I think the playing field is fairly level. There is the "app gap" but, that honestly exists everywhere. Not every app on iOS is on Android and vice versa either. And, not every Android app is as good as the iOS equivalent or vice versa either. The situation is admittedly worse on Windows Phone compared to those two... but I'd wager it is nowhere near as bad as people paint that picture to be. Aside from the lifestyle choices above and the Google's blocking of their apps and services on the Windows Phone platform, the app gap is actually rather miniscule.
Who is to blame for this? I don't know really. It is easy to blame the carriers because it is them and their employees who are directly to blame. But you can also blame Microsoft because I don't see that anything is being done about it. But then, maybe they are trying and I just don't see those efforts. Conversely, maybe the problem is Apple/Google or device makers.
Carriers likely also highly favour Google for one small insidious reason. The immense platform fragmentation means most devices either never see an official OS update or only see one or two before it gets abandoned. This is what used to happen in the old days of feature phones and even with Black Berries. If you want new features... even just software ones you had to upgrade hardware which often meant renewing a contract and often included additional fees along the way. And for most of the cheap Android phones the same rings true. And it probably isn't the cheap phones they are getting kick backs on.
I've worked in sales jobs before, and the kinds of stories I'm reading on this topic include sales reps intentionally losing sales over selling a Windows Phone or coming near as possible to that. And the only reason sales reps would actually care which phone you buy is if there is some incentive for you to either buy another phone or to not buy the one you wanted. And, generally the only reason for that is if there is a spiff (kick-back) on other phones. Even if the sales reps aren't on commission the managers will still have numbers to meet that those spiffs will pad out and they will push their staff to sell certain phones and not others. But DEFINITELY when they are on commission they will screw you over for no reason other than more money in their pockets.
Don't get me wrong... even an honest sales associate will have preferences and biases. But an honest associate won't let a sale walk out. They'll generally try and give you their reasons for choosing something else in a polite manner that doesn't outright trash another product and they will still gladly sell you what you wanted if they couldn't sway you. But these aren't the bulk of the stories being posted.
Frankly, I think a bit of blame lies everywhere. Carriers have little incentive to intervene as Android lets them practice their archaic art of locking new features behind new hardware sales and likely also due to kick backs. Microsoft isn't doing enough to combat any of this. And, at least in the cases where people are basically being kicked out of the door for wanting a Windows Phone, someone is rigging the game.
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