Good bye Windows Phone... for now at least.
I hate to say it, but today I'm probably going to grab a Nexus 6P. And I may not come back to Windows Phone. I won't be selling or trading my old phones any time soon, so the possibility exists that I'll not only come back, but also quite soon.
I'm looking to change carriers. In this case, to one of the cheaper carriers. So, even by adding $25/month to cover the bulk of the phone cost I'll still be paying less than I am now. That isn't the only reason though. If it were, I'd just pocket that extra $25 a month.
Basically, Windows Phone has stagnated. And worse, they've fallen back into some of their old routines. When Windows Phone first came out it had short comings, but it also had compelling new features. And the Platform, for a decent time was also highly transformative. To the point where it could be amazingly aggravating. But, it also felt fresh. And the feature gap closed over time with the rest of the competition and all that remained was the app gap. Which wasn't a huge deal to me (and still isn't).
In addition to things being relatively unchanged now for a very long time, they've also fallen back into their cycle of abandoning devices. Both my Lumia 1020 and HTC One M8 are nowhere to be seen on the list. Both devices are on the Insider program and Windows 10, frankly, runs fine on both. In fact, on the M8 it runs great. But, Microsoft appears to have abandoned both. Which puts me back in a position where I would need to buy a new phone just to stay current on Windows 10. What makes this doubly ludicrous is that the M8 was provided to me BY MICROSOFT when I went to an app accelerator lab FOR WINDOWS 10!!!!
Then of course, they lost a ton of functionality (some temporarily and some permanently) when they went to the Windows 10 common core. They've also, over time, homogenized the crap out of it taking out features that once differentiated the platform.
Basically, every single Windows Phone I've purchased has ended up being abandoned for the next OS release. My first Windows Phone 7 device didn't get the upgrade to 7.8. My second device did, but didn't get the update to Windows 8 (because none got that). My third and 4th Windows Phone devices are the Lumia 1020 and M8, and both of those seem slated for the cutting block. My wife got a brand new Lumia 925 not long before I got my M8, and that is also not on the list.
If ALL WP8 based Lumia's were being supported immediately for Windows 10, then I'd say that, at the very least, there was an equivalent to the Nexus lineup.
Add on top of that the fact that Android has come a long way. I hear that the occasional lag and stuttering still exist, but with higher end modern devices that is mostly a thing of the past. Feature-wise they are making both Microsoft and Apple look like fools. They have regular releases that are much more feature packed than what their competitors are delivering. And, if you go with a Nexus device you have some assurances that you'll at least get the next major release or two (I think the 5X also get Android N preview).
I'd probably still choose a Windows Phone device over a non-flagship Android device. The list of WP devices that are already supported for Windows 10 represents both a larger percentage of devices that will get the upgrade and a larger range of device types than seen on Android. And I have no urge to do anything iOS. I still don't understand how that one is still around. To me, it doesn't feel like the OS has matured since its inception.
The final problem is that there is nothing tying me to Windows Phone. I'm not a huge app guy, but lets face it, everything I have is either on the Play store, or a derivative of something from the Play store. Even my Microsoft apps are all there.
I still disagree with what they did to/with Java and believe in protection for APIs as well as source code. But, I also think they are moving away from that more and more. I won't be putting Android on a desktop or tablet. But, for a phone, I'm starting to see it as the superior option.
I'm looking to change carriers. In this case, to one of the cheaper carriers. So, even by adding $25/month to cover the bulk of the phone cost I'll still be paying less than I am now. That isn't the only reason though. If it were, I'd just pocket that extra $25 a month.
Basically, Windows Phone has stagnated. And worse, they've fallen back into some of their old routines. When Windows Phone first came out it had short comings, but it also had compelling new features. And the Platform, for a decent time was also highly transformative. To the point where it could be amazingly aggravating. But, it also felt fresh. And the feature gap closed over time with the rest of the competition and all that remained was the app gap. Which wasn't a huge deal to me (and still isn't).
In addition to things being relatively unchanged now for a very long time, they've also fallen back into their cycle of abandoning devices. Both my Lumia 1020 and HTC One M8 are nowhere to be seen on the list. Both devices are on the Insider program and Windows 10, frankly, runs fine on both. In fact, on the M8 it runs great. But, Microsoft appears to have abandoned both. Which puts me back in a position where I would need to buy a new phone just to stay current on Windows 10. What makes this doubly ludicrous is that the M8 was provided to me BY MICROSOFT when I went to an app accelerator lab FOR WINDOWS 10!!!!
Then of course, they lost a ton of functionality (some temporarily and some permanently) when they went to the Windows 10 common core. They've also, over time, homogenized the crap out of it taking out features that once differentiated the platform.
Basically, every single Windows Phone I've purchased has ended up being abandoned for the next OS release. My first Windows Phone 7 device didn't get the upgrade to 7.8. My second device did, but didn't get the update to Windows 8 (because none got that). My third and 4th Windows Phone devices are the Lumia 1020 and M8, and both of those seem slated for the cutting block. My wife got a brand new Lumia 925 not long before I got my M8, and that is also not on the list.
If ALL WP8 based Lumia's were being supported immediately for Windows 10, then I'd say that, at the very least, there was an equivalent to the Nexus lineup.
Add on top of that the fact that Android has come a long way. I hear that the occasional lag and stuttering still exist, but with higher end modern devices that is mostly a thing of the past. Feature-wise they are making both Microsoft and Apple look like fools. They have regular releases that are much more feature packed than what their competitors are delivering. And, if you go with a Nexus device you have some assurances that you'll at least get the next major release or two (I think the 5X also get Android N preview).
I'd probably still choose a Windows Phone device over a non-flagship Android device. The list of WP devices that are already supported for Windows 10 represents both a larger percentage of devices that will get the upgrade and a larger range of device types than seen on Android. And I have no urge to do anything iOS. I still don't understand how that one is still around. To me, it doesn't feel like the OS has matured since its inception.
The final problem is that there is nothing tying me to Windows Phone. I'm not a huge app guy, but lets face it, everything I have is either on the Play store, or a derivative of something from the Play store. Even my Microsoft apps are all there.
I still disagree with what they did to/with Java and believe in protection for APIs as well as source code. But, I also think they are moving away from that more and more. I won't be putting Android on a desktop or tablet. But, for a phone, I'm starting to see it as the superior option.
Comments
Post a Comment