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Windows Phone 7 Sales Continue To Struggle
rtfa-troll writes "Even with the pre-Christmas buying rush, Microsoft is already desperately offering a new buy one get one free offer similar to the ones they gave for the KIN. According to the article, 'Windows Phone 7 devices can't even manage two per cent of the fortnight's sales.' These aren't official Microsoft figures; they come from online shopping sites. But since Microsoft official sales figures seem subject to manipulation, this is perhaps one of the better guesses we will get at the success of Windows Phone 7 until well into next year. This also strongly backs up other reports of deeply disappointing phone sales. Even Microsoft supporters have been wondering for a while whether it's time for Ballmer to go. If the sales reports are true, then he may be pushed before he jumps."
BOGO offers are in no way a sign of desperation. WTF is wrong with the submitter, and Soulskill? Android has been doing BOGO's or outright free phones for months/years now. Is it "desperate" or "in trouble" or running with "disappointing sales"? Hey, let's all hate on Microsoft without a shred of evidence, it's slashdot!
...no official figures, no official declarations, no after-holiday-season data, no actual news.
I understand this is slashdot, but come on. Criticism sticks better if it is documented, otherwise it's just another form of shilling.
My book: Friendly F#, fun with game development and XNA; my game: Galaxy Wars by VSTeam; my gamedev language: Casanova.
Just like the commercials say - "The Windows 7 Phone. A phone to save us from our phones". They even show how people want to use the other phones, with the clear message that we will not want to use a Windows 7 phone nearly as much. They seem to have actually accomplished their goal, and created a phone that people will be far less obsessed with using than cooler toys like iPhones, Androids and Blackberries.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
I'd say the opposite. They should've released the OS later, when they figured out some kind of compelling difference that Windows Phone 7 could offer over the competition. If they can't differentiate over must-have OS features (and a different skin doesn't count) , they should've worked on something like ultra-long battery life, SDXC expandability, unlimited streaming save-to-the-handset music free with a charter contract, or even free copies of Windows Home & Student. Some "top this" feature they could flog over the competition.
At this point, if someone can't figure a way to be at least 9 months ahead of Apple, they shouldn't even bother to play.
And yes, fire Ballmer. Let's not kid ourselves, Microsoft is still making money, but basically by sheer brute force, not through any brilliant strategizing. XBOX360 should've cleaned PS3's clock, but couldn't close the deal because of quality control issues. Vista should've run rings around OSX, but fumbled because of quality control issues. Kin1, Kin 2? MS knew those were direct-to-video flicks even before wrapping up production. Windows Phone 7, despite the hype, will be a failure unless Microsoft is willing to do an XBOX redux and take years of real losses for market share and bribe or buy a crapload of hot-shot appmakers the way they did with Bungie.
There are two kinds of people: 1) those who start arrays with one and 1) those who start them with zero.
Or other Japanese manufacturers*.
Honda spent years (decades?) building things with small engines. Starting with 90cc motorcycles, they slowly learned the technology and marketplace. As they did so, they slowly worked their way up the product chain until they reached the position they are in now.
Perhaps Ballmer must go. But does Microsoft have the patience to tough it out for a decade or so, repairing the damage he has done and rebuilding the product teams (while enduring stinking sales figures) before they start to see results?
*There are numerous examples other than Honda. But it was the only car analogy I could think of.
Have gnu, will travel.
So far I really haven't seen any indications that the OS is doing badly.
There are clearly more Windows 7 phones in stock than there are people buying Windows 7 phones. If this were a hot seller, there wouldn't be inventory for a buy one get one free deal.
Also, anything following your disclaimer is sure to actually be happening: "So far I really haven't seen any indications that........"
They shouldn't have attached the "Windows" brand to their phone. Windows is a desktop operating system. It has a popularized reputation (warranted or not) for being unwieldy, crashing, being expensive, and mostly dedicated to the accomplishment of boring or undesirable tasks like work, writing papers, using Office, etc. They should have created a new brand for the phone.
Having a "Windows Phone" from Microsoft is sort of like IBM coming out with a social networking site called "The IBM Human Interaction System" and then marketing it to young people as hip and cool. There is an emotional and/or psychological disconnect between the nature of the product and the mental conception people have of the brand.
Even though it's stupid, when I see the Android ads I think "oh cool, an ANDROID! I wonder what it can do? It looks futuristic. I kind of want one." (note: I don't have a smart phone because I think they are stupid.) However, when I hear the word "Windows Phone", it makes me feel like getting one would be like keeping a chunk of my job in pocket. No thanks.
If there is one thing I have learned using MIcrosoft products (and subsequently banning them from my home and business truth be told) is that in the end Microsoft software will bite you hard at some point. Sometimes its a policy change, sometimes a compatibility change, sometimes a virus, but in the end it will hurt. They will continue to promise a rosy picture of the future, and continue to dazzle in the short term, but then the pain will happen again, and the only way off the crazy train that is Microsoft is look behind the curtain and get out while you still can.
When people use Windows 7 sales numbers to show how successful and popular Windows 7 is, I keep reminding them that the numbers primarily reflect PC sales. Windows 7 just happens to be there. Sales of new cars automatically implies sales of new tires, not that the tires themselves are a hit with consumers. What we're seeing in Windows phone sales is an example of the dismal performance of most Microsoft products when they actually have to compete on an equal footing.
So you think that square boxes and text that is cut off is light years ahead of other UIs?
Well, that's the form of the UI, but it's the function that I find more compelling than other phones. The focus for Windows Phone 7 is on Hubs rather than apps. While an app focuses on a single task, a hub integrates similar tasks. For instance, on iOS, if I want to check my friend's twitter feed and a facebook wall, I need two apps to do this; I have to launch one, close it, then launch another. On WP7 there is a single location for this information, and what's more is hubs are extensible, so any service can integrate with them.
Tiles serve to visualize the contents of hubs (The people tile for example shows pictures of your contacts, the pictures tile shows your photos) and the "cut off text" along with parallax indicates your relative location in the hub. While it seems like these are simply aesthetic choices, if you actually use the device you find they serve a functional purpose
And anyway, what exactly is the competition doing? Want to talk about iOS, which is essentially a grid of icons? iOS is hardly consistent, as every app has a custom interface. Yes there are a handful of standardized UI elements, but beyond that there is no standardization. The same is true for Android, where every manufacturer is free to re-imagine the user interface.
You don't offer "Buy one, get one free" deals on hardware you can't keep in stock.
Do you see Apple offering such deals? No. Why? Because they truly can't keep their hardware in stock.
This is basic retail. Whenever you see a "Buy one, get one free" deal, you know somebody is sitting on a pile of sh*t they can't sell!