Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft To Abandon Windows Phone?

Posted by samzenpus on from the red-headed-step-child dept.

symbolset writes "Microsoft has had some trouble as of late getting adoption of their mobile products. Even Bill Gates has said it was inadequate. Despite rave reviews of Windows Phone in the press it has failed to get double digit share of the smartphone market. Now comes reports from WMPoweruser that WP8 will lose mainstream support in July 2014."

23 of 505 comments (clear)

  1. Er, that likely means they'll be on WP9 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Er, that likely means they'll be on WP9. How long will Google update Android 3.x or even 4.0?

    Trololol samzenpuss, trololol.

    1. Re:Er, that likely means they'll be on WP9 by fermion · · Score: 1, Informative

      Given that MS has said it will release a new product every six months, and that MS seldom provides mainstream support for old product(read: new computers always are sold with current products), this is like the case. July 2014 will make current products two releases old. MS is likely only going to support current and previous release. Alternatively, it may be that by the end of the year all devices will be migrated to Windows RT.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    2. Re:Er, that likely means they'll be on WP9 by kelemvor4 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Er, that likely means they'll be on WP9. How long will Google update Android 3.x or even 4.0?

      Trololol samzenpuss, trololol.

      Especially since MS has come out and said that all wp8 devices will be upgradable to wp9. It even says as much on TFA linked in TFS. Way to deliberately mislead readers, samzenpus. There's a career in politics somewhere out there for you.

    3. Re:Er, that likely means they'll be on WP9 by atamido · · Score: 3, Informative

      But on a related-note, the first jump Microsoft made from Windows Phone 7.5/7.8 to Windows Phone 8 broke compatibility for all existing third party applications.

      This is not correct. The framework used on 7.5/7.8 still works on 8, and so applications released for 7.5/7.8 still worked, that framework has just been deprecated for new applications. MS released an additional framework for 8 that was not compatible with 7.5/7.8, so new applications developed with the new framework will not work on older phones. This is not particularly surprising given that I have encountered numerous applications for both iOS and Android that do not work with older versions of the OS.

    4. Re:Er, that likely means they'll be on WP9 by stephanruby · · Score: 1, Informative

      From where do Slashdotters get their information? From only other Slashdot posts filled with lies and misinformation?

      Here is the official table of "breaking changes in core Windows Phone features" for Windows Phone 8 from Microsoft itself.

      And please, speak to any of your developer friends who developed on Windows Phone 7. You're obviously not going to take my word for it. I assume you're just going to think that I cherry-picked the information I wanted from the Microsoft web site.

  2. Headline title is sensational by Omicron32 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ridiculous headline title. All this means is they're going to be moving onto the next version of the OS by then (WP9?). Speculating that they're going to leave the phone market entirely is a little far-fetched at present.

    1. Re:Headline title is sensational by Moggyboy · · Score: 5, Informative

      I agree the headline title is sensational, but have you forgotten what "moving on to the next version of the OS" meant for us idiots who bought WP7 phones? Or for those of us who spent a couple of years skilling up in Silverlight? After the treatment we have been given over the last five years, I for one will not be buying another Microsoft product any time soon, and I would certainly not trust any assurance that WP8 phone owners will receive the next major version of the operating system. Will that new version retain your music collection? Your preferences? Your apps? Will the apps you've written still work? Who knows?!?

      --
      Work smarter, not harder.
    2. Re:Headline title is sensational by Dogtanian · · Score: 3, Informative

      And a great example of Betteridge's law of headlines [wikipedia.org].

      Betteridge's law of headlines is mentioned only in the articles that it fits.

      Not at all; while in the past I myself have criticised Slashdotters who assume that Betteridge automatically applies to *every* headline in the form of a question, this one *is* a case where the writer "knows the story is probably bollocks, and doesn't actually have the sources and facts to back it up, but still wants to run it".

      To nitpick, in this case the "story" is actually a (mis-)summary of others' stories that don't actually make this claim- which perhaps is what you meant- but IMHO the spirit in which Betteridge was clearly intended still applies.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    3. Re:Headline title is sensational by terjeber · · Score: 3, Informative

      Netflix.

  3. The editors can't read. by DAldredge · · Score: 2, Informative

    On the other hand the OS support date is reset with any never version of the OS, so a Windows Phone 8.5 or 9 update in November 2013 would bring along its own 18 month of security updates. Microsoft has already promised all current Windows Phone 8 handsets will receive the next major version of the operating system.

  4. Did we read the same article? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article said they would be updated the system to a new version and that the new version would be pushed to all windows phones. That system would get security updates for 18 months. It sounds like they just want people to upgrade to me.

  5. RTFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    This posting looks like FUD, if you read the article it says.
    All window 8 phone devices will get new version of OS, which will have a 18 month support window.

  6. Re:HAHAHAHAHAHA by DAldredge · · Score: 5, Informative

    No you deserve -42 for believing a /. headline about Microsoft. The article says the following at the bottom, "On the other hand the OS support date is reset with any never version of the OS, so a Windows Phone 8.5 or 9 update in November 2013 would bring along its own 18 month of security updates. Microsoft has already promised all current Windows Phone 8 handsets will receive the next major version of the operating system."

  7. Tabloid headline not justified by TFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article discusses dates on which Microsoft will end support for its current product, which is designed to be superseded on (at least) an annual basis. It doesn't mean that Microsoft plans to get out of the phone business, or will delegate software development to Nokia or Google, etc.

  8. Fixed that by tuppe666 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yes, WP8 will be abandoned... for WP8.5 or WP9.

    Yes, WP8 customerswill be abandoned... for WP8.5 or WP9.

    Fixed it for you...they will call it Windows phone 8.8, which they will day is the same as 9 :)

  9. Re:WP8 compatibility - forward and backward by unixisc · · Score: 3, Informative

    On Windows 7, if one runs XP mode, one can run 16-bit DOS and Windows apps on them just fine.

  10. Bullshit story and another Slashdot low by mystikkman · · Score: 5, Informative

    Wow, I didn't think Slashdot could go lower but it just managed to do that.

    Next headline: MS to abandon Windows, because Windows XP support Ends April 8, 2014?

    Microsoft will make Windows Phone 9, in fact they even have people working on testing it.

    http://msftkitchen.com/windows-phone-9-testing-begins-also-windows-9-gets-a-mention-from-microsoft

    And Windows Phone 8 phones will be upgradeable.

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416002,00.asp

    And Windows Phone is growing marketshare:

    http://wmpoweruser.com/italy-shows-their-windows-phone-strength-already-15-of-windows-phone-market/
    http://wmpoweruser.com/windows-phone-has-a-16-3-market-share-in-poland-one-of-the-highest-in-the-world/
    http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/analyst-windows-phone-sees-strong-growth-uk-and-italy/2013-01-23
    http://www.wpcentral.com/long-queues-china-nokia-lumia-920-sells-out-two-hours [And yes, that's actually picture of people queuing for Windows Phone)

    And yet we have this bullshit FUD summary, headline and article? No wonder Slashdot is losing readership fast, with barely a few comments for stories compared to earlier.

    The partyline biased moderation, calling people with alternate viewpoints shills and chasing them away into karma hell can only last so long before the echo chamber gets tired of listening to itself and packs it up.

    Reminds me of this story http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/02/16/2259257/draconian-drm-revealed-in-windows-7

    Even the mainstream tech media noticed that. Interesting read: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2009/02/oh-the-humanity-windows-7s-draconian-drm/

    I doubt any one would care now, with most people having written off Slashdot as the hiding place of anti-Microsoft trolls and zealots living in their alternate reality. Posters like bmo, symbolset, tuple666, Zero__Kelvin, LordLimeCat, Jeremiah Cornelius, UnknowingFool, rtfa-troll, binarylarry, MightyMartian, drinkypoo, pieroxy and a whole bunch of others have ruined Slashdot beyond repair and seem to suffer from this affliction: http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/07/25/1757253/linus-calls-microsoft-hatred-a-disease

    This place was always anti-MS but reasonable and informative comments used to get modded up a few years ago, not anymore.There are enough things to bash Microsoft with, why make up lies and spread FUD?

    Of course, the real blame is on moderators for modding up these kind of posts and marking others rebutting replies to them as troll and flamebait.

    Last one out, switch off lights.

    1. Re:Bullshit story and another Slashdot low by recoiledsnake · · Score: 5, Informative

      They changed the kernel in WP7 from WinCE to the WinNT kernel(the same lineage as in Windows 7/8) in WP8, which is a pretty big changes and left the old OEM hardware drivers of WP7 incompatible with WP8. Since the next WP version will be using the same kernel, it's not hard to imagine WP9 working on WP8 devices.

      --
      This space for rent.
  11. Microsoft is on "rapid release" by Torodung · · Score: 3, Informative

    As near as I can divine, Microsoft is no longer going to ship service packs like they did with Vista and prior. Windows 7 is probably only getting service pack 1. Windows 8 basically is SP2. Windows 9 will be SP3. They are on an incremental release cycle, like Apple's OSX, and all those Windows 8 phones might possibly be running Windows Phone 10 by 2015.

    Now, they will be nickel-and-diming you for the desktop OS ($40 CHEAP!), but it might not be the case with phones, especially subsidized phones on contract where all the licensing is handled by the carrier. Also something I'm keen to see, Microsoft does not have a great track record with delivering incremental upgrades that don't crater *recent* old hardware, so it'll be interesting to see if they change their ways in that respect.

    But the headline and summary is just a FUD encounter of the fourth kind: FUDabduction.

  12. Pure FUD and Slashdot bias... by David_Hart · · Score: 4, Informative

    Microsoft has already stated that they are moving towards a faster update cycle for all of their software products. All this means is that there will be no new OS updates for WP8.0 after July 2014. They will have 8.5 or 9.0 out before that date.

    BTW, Google has the EXACT same upgrade/support cycle for each version of Android (18 months).

    I expect more than this from the Slashdot editors!!! After all, they are supposed to at least understand the tech industry which includes software update/support cycles.....

  13. Re:If you want updates, buy Nexus by atamido · · Score: 3, Informative

    How are people so lacking in foresight that they can't do the *very* simple math of calculating the significant price difference over time between a "free" phone with an ass-raping contract and buying a phone outright with only the plan and features they need?

    From what I've seen from most carriers in the US, there is no difference between a plan that is paying for a phone under contract, and one that has no phone under contract. So unless one plans to change carriers before a contract ends, it would cost significantly more to purchase a phone outright and then pay for service. (Note that I'm speaking of major carriers, and this could be different if one were willing to accept a very minor carrier.)

  14. Bullshit story and a Slashdot low by mystikkman · · Score: 5, Informative

    Wow, I didn't think Slashdot could go lower but it just managed to do that.

    Next headline: MS to abandon Windows, because Windows XP support Ends April 8, 2014?

    Microsoft will make Windows Phone 9, in fact they even have people working on testing it.

    http://msftkitchen.com/windows-phone-9-testing-begins-also-windows-9-gets-a-mention-from-microsoft

    And Windows Phone 8 phones will be upgradeable.

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416002,00.asp

    And Windows Phone is growing marketshare:

    http://wmpoweruser.com/italy-shows-their-windows-phone-strength-already-15-of-windows-phone-market/
    http://wmpoweruser.com/windows-phone-has-a-16-3-market-share-in-poland-one-of-the-highest-in-the-world/
    http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/analyst-windows-phone-sees-strong-growth-uk-and-italy/2013-01-23
    http://www.wpcentral.com/long-queues-china-nokia-lumia-920-sells-out-two-hours [And yes, that's actually picture of people queuing for Windows Phone)

    Picking up some loyal users who seem to like it :
    http://wmpoweruser.com/pcmag-readers-choice-awards-2013-windows-phone-wins-mobile-os-category/
    http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/01/customer-satisfaction-of-windows-phone-on-the-rise-according-to-survey/

    And winning some awards
    http://www.wpcentral.com/nokia-lumia-920-struts-its-stuff-and-takes-prestigious-innovative-handset-award-2013
    http://wmpoweruser.com/nokia-lumia-920-wins-engadget-smartphone-of-2012-user-vote/

    And yet we have this bullshit FUD summary, headline and article? No wonder Slashdot is losing readership fast, with barely a few comments for stories compared to earlier.

    The partyline biased moderation, calling people with alternate viewpoints shills and chasing them away into karma hell can only last so long before the echo chamber gets tired of listening to itself and packs it up.

    Reminds me of this story http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/02/16/2259257/draconian-drm-revealed-in-windows-7

    Even the mainstream tech media noticed that. Interesting read: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2009/02/oh-the-humanity-windows-7s-draconian-drm/

    I doubt any one would care now, with most people having written off Slashdot as the hiding place of anti-Microsoft trolls and zealots living in their alternate reality. Posters like bmo, symbolset, tuple666, Zero__Kelvin, LordLimeCat, Jeremiah Cornelius, UnknowingFool, rtfa-troll, binarylarry, MightyMartian, drinkypoo, pieroxy and a whole bunch of others have ruined Slashdot beyond repair and seem to suffer from this affliction: http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/07/25/1757253/linus-calls-microsoft-hatred-a-disease

  15. Re:Good news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Microsoft Corporation Data Mining Analyst, Senior - ADS

    Online Advertising is one of the fastest growing businesses on the Internet today, with $40 billion of a $600 billion advertising market already online. Microsoft is innovating rapidly to grow its share of this market by providing the advertising industry with a world-class online advertising platform and service. The Microsoft Ads Research & Development team is one of the most strategic and growing teams at Microsoft.

    As part of a software company with powerful innovations and part media company with global properties, at Microsoft Ads we bring both our technical and creative side to the table. Through incisive analytics, we know who cares - both when and where. We understand how to get in front of the right people at the strongest point of influence. Above all, we love data and excel at interpreting it for our partners. Collecting valuable information from every campaign and mining it for insights

    http://washington.jobs/bellevue-wa/data-mining-analyst-senior-ads-817244-job/32762254/job/