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Microsoft Fails Windows Phone Fans Again By Delaying Windows 10 Mobile (venturebeat.com)
An anonymous reader writes that Microsoft says the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade will begin early next year. The company had previously promised a roll out this month. Venturebeat reports: "Windows Phone fans and fanboys have a tough job. They have to stand by an operating system with a new name every few years, significantly fewer apps than the competition, and a distant third place spot in the market. The latest news out of Microsoft isn't making their lives any easier. This week, Microsoft failed to deliver on its promise of rolling out Windows 10 Mobile devices to existing Windows Phone devices in December. The new target? 2016."
"Microsoft Fails Windows Phone Fans (...)"
Is there such a thing as "windows phone fans"? I'd have thought that fans as in coolers would be more likely than fans as in enthusiasts regarding Windows Mobile...
Stupidity is an equal opportunity striker.
Fellow slashdotter Bill Dog
I'm surprised Microsoft hasn't just killed it off already. This is their third reboot, with nothing to indicate that this time will be any better than the last ones. Between R&D costs, marketing costs, the Nokia bribe, the Nokia buyout, and the fact that every phone sold costs them money, they've likely lost upwards of $20 billion on it already. I wonder how much longer the shareholders will tolerate this.
Every so often someone posts a defense of Windows Phone here on Slashdot, but I've still never even seen a modern Windows Phone. I mean, not since the olden days, it's got to have been over a decade. They really ought to just pack it in. They had a reason to exist back when they were the only company that made it relatively easy to develop and deploy your own software to your own devices, but now that's everyone.
I have a Windows phone for over a year now. However, I don't profess it to the world, like owners of other phone systems. It does what I want, and that is all I need. nuff said.
As far as the Windows 10 upgrade, I am blocking that, just like I did on the PCs. No phoning home my personal data to advertisers, Microsoft.
If Microsoft had been smart about their strategy, they'd have made the tablet and phone modes for Windows able to revert to a full desktop when a keyboard, mouse and display are connected. Corporate America would **love** a phone with 4GB of RAM and a good Atom CPU that can be plugged into a standard display and use bluetooth inputs to become a small desktop computer. Microsoft would probably have jumped from 2.5% to 20% of the market within two years if they'd adopted a strategy that was based on the premise that Windows adopts to your usage and any Windows device is a computer.
However, I don't profess it to the world, like owners of other phone systems.
Umm...you sure about that? I've both read and seen how Windows Phone fans react when they walk into a carrier store, ask where their Windows Phones are, and then when the staff say something to the effect of "we don't carry those because our customers don't want them" the WP fans suddenly behave like PETA activists at a fur store as if not carrying their brand is a crime against nature.
I know, it's rare because there are so few of their fans, but if you don't believe me go peruse some of the fan forums.
They have yet to bring out the Microsoft Zunephone 360.
When WP launched it was ahead of it's time. Metro looked great, unified messaging, live tiles etc. Feels like they've taken their foot off the gas, same with the XBOne. If MS want market share, they've got to be committed, I'm sure it's possible.
As a t-mo user on the Lumia 640, the delay doesn't affect me much as i am awaiting the w10m wifi calling driver fix.
The staff of Microsoft lost a lot of time doing that elaborate funeral for the iPhone years back.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/...
Know how you knew Windows phone was going to fail? The banner that called it "Windows Phone 7 OS Platform"
"What kinda phone is that?"
"Windows Phone 7 OS Platform"
"What?"
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
I've seen one of the newer Luminas. Doesn't seem that bad for a basic device. And by basic I mean a device lacking apps, no a device not potentially capable of great things.
The interface takes some getting used to but only due to be different from every other standard phone. Functionally it's just fine, browsing works, phone works, skype works, sms works, facebook etc.
Really I see it as being a bit of a hit if:
a) it had a lot of apps
b) they removed the name Microsoft
c) they removed the name Windows
they walk into a carrier store, ask where their Windows Phones are, and then when the staff say something to the effect of "we don't carry those because our customers don't want them"
You know the Apple store is not a carrier store right? Every carrier store I've seen carries at least one Windows phone (Lumina) if not more.
I've never seen anyone drive a Tesla, but that says more about where I live and who I hang out with than the company's success.
But I do see Teslas, pretty much every time I go further than the local store.
The Windows UI is way nicer to use
Than what?
The problem is lack of apps because Android and Apple have all the momentum, just like MS had all the momentum through the '90s.
Then they squandered it by releasing several incompetent phone OSes.
In the UK, at least, the main service providers are a lot more likely to sell Windows phones than in some other countries, but you do have the problem that no average person is a Windows fanboy
And with good reason.
Since a phone is half fashion accessory, this is depressingly relevant.
Not mine, it's just a phone. Boring, basic black.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Things could be a lot worse.
Consider that the headline might read "Microsoft Fails Windows Phone Fans Again By Releasing Windows 10 Mobile"...
Dude - they've likely sunk that and more on the XBox franchise... they were an estimated $7bn in the hole when they began working on the XBOne, and Heaven only knows what they sunk into the R&D/marketing on that. ...and they still lose money with each console sold.
Long story short, it's not like Microsoft is new at this losing money thing. If it weren't for the Windows/Office/Exchange/SQL licensing revenues, they'd have been in bankruptcy almost a decade ago.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
I'm surprised Microsoft hasn't just killed it off already. This is their third reboot, with nothing to indicate that this time will be any better than the last ones.
I am...not a fan of Microsoft. In fact, Windows 10 (with built in self serving advertisements) is something I consider really abusive to Windows users. But...
I'm looking at Continuum with a lot of interest. In my younger days, I loved to build computers, and tweak things, and try alternative operating systems, and upgrade my systems part by part, etc.
But these days, I mostly want things to Just Work with as little hassle as possible. Continuum has me interested because I'd love to have just one computing device -- a smartphone -- that can also be easily attached to an external display/keyboard/mouse, and offer me desktop style applications as well.
Store most of my data in the cloud, and I've got a nice, problem free, easy computing experience. That sounds very attractive to me.
I'm not sure if Apple or Google are looking into something similar. Microsoft may be the leader in this area, and if they get first mover advantage, Windows Phone may yet be a competitor, depending on how many other people are interested in Continuum. I think a lot of people might be interested. A lot of people, like me, are sick of babysitting and updating and maintaining and tweaking multiple computing devices.
But I wouldn't see any reason for someone to wish to use these in preference to an Android phone. They're not cheaper and they don't do anything special that can't be found on other devices. The most serious flaw is still the relative lack of apps.
:) haaaaa
They have yet to bring out the Microsoft Zunephone 360.
Well, actually, As far as I can tell, they just took some of the aspects of Zune and made it into Xbox.
Xbox music (now called Groove) is alive and well on Windows phones.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
I've never seen someone using one in the wild, and I tend to notice small things like that (and the WP UI is so ugly and unique that there's no way I'd confuse that for iOS or Android).
I *have* actually used a Windows Phone, a year or so ago at a MS mall kiosk, and a couple years before at a phone store. I had to see the horror for myself. But that was at places that were trying to hawk the thing; I've never actually seen a user in public or met anyone who had one.
I was looking at a continuum device in the local MS Store the other day. It appeared to be a dongle attached to a Windows 10 phone (I forgot the model, but probably one of the new flagship series) which allowed for keyboard, mouse and video input/output. The UI on the 24" screen was standard Windows 10 and it was pretty snappy... I think they are close.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
I've never seen anyone drive a Tesla, but that says more about where I live and who I hang out with than the company's success.
Where the hell do you live? Minot, North Dakota? Rural Wyoming? Kodiak Island, Alaska? I live in the boonies and there's one guy here who drives a Tesla, and when I go to any decent city I'll see a few.
The Windows UI is way nicer to use
No, it isn't, it's flat, ugly garbage. ArmoredDragon's post here explains it well.
This right here is a good reason to never, ever sign up for a phone contract. It's just a bad idea. You can buy an inexpensive or used Android phone for very little money these days and get month-to-month service for far less than it costs to get service through one of the main companies. Getting service from the main companies is for suckers who feel the need to buy from an actual store instead of just signing up for service online.
I was looking at a continuum device in the local MS Store the other day. It appeared to be a dongle attached to a Windows 10 phone (I forgot the model, but probably one of the new flagship series) which allowed for keyboard, mouse and video input/output. The UI on the 24" screen was standard Windows 10 and it was pretty snappy... I think they are close.
I'm so conflicted. I think Microsoft is abusive and I don't want to use their products, but Continuum is so compelling to me...
"I think people like myself and others might be really curious why you do this on every post?"
His reasoning is that a mention of cows following every story might cause more people to lose interest in space programs.
Windows 10 is dead.
Does Netcraft confirm it?
Circumcision is child abuse.
I look at it this way: Not being a market leader in the Mobile space forces MS to be agile and innovative.
That can only be a good thing for end users. Especially if they use their deep pockets to subsidize R&D and hardware costs.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Not to mention that while Microsoft may be out of vogue now, who knows what it will be 5 years or even 10 years down the road.
Keeping a horse in the race is a good long run strategy.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
There's fans for everything you can think of. Think of any highly-obscure genre of music, for instance (like Norwegian shouting choruses): there's some fans of it out there, somewhere.
It's the same for Windows Phone. There's fans out there, somewhere. A few of them pop up on threads like this one to tell us how wonderful it is, even though it's a piece of shit. What's important is the numbers, though: there's not very many of them, and most of them work for MS (those would be "shills"). MS is infamous for employing "technological evangelists", which is just a euphemism for "shill", and sending them across the internet to act like regular people who just love MS products, when in fact they're MS employees paid to do that. MS is the reason we have the term "astroturfing". But not all of them are shills: there's genuinely some real MS lovers out there. Maybe even dozens!
Is that number for the US or worldwide, or some other particular market? It has been acknowledged that WinPhone is more popular in some markets than others, and the US is one where they're not popular at all.
Funny thing is, as far as I am aware, this is the first time in history where "Microsoft" and "Windows" are displayed prominently on a Windows Phone.
In the past, Windows Phone was "just an OS" and the manufacturer and/or carrier would brand everything.
So, at best, your B) and C) points have not had a lot of time to really prove out one way or the other. As for A) ... *shrug* it just depends on what you need. Also, just stating that you have 10,000+ apps in your store is really meaningless and only useful in a marketing sense.
If all you do is the standard 10 things most people use their smart phones for, then Windows Phone is just fine. You may need to find alternative apps to the ones you normally use, but maybe you don't. For example, on Android and iPhone I LOVE BeyondPod for my netcasts. On Windows Phone I don't have that available... but the built-in podcast software is decent enough, or I could use something like PocketCast, which I have heard is pretty good.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Or you sign up with a carrier that just adds the phone sub to the plan, and lets you pay it off early if you want a new phone. T-Mobile lets me do that. I did that once when I had a phone battery just shit out on me, and it was $40 to pay off the phone, or $45 for a new battery. I just went ahead and paid off the old phone and got a new one. Once the phone is paid off, I just get $20/month knocked off my bill.
ntr
I went pre-paid years ago and have never looked back. It is half the cost and overage fees are impossible, if you reach your cap, that's it.
I have been using AT&T pre-paid for a while and the funny thing is, the cost of that plan has actually gone down by $10/month since I first started on it... That is basically unprecedented in my experience with carriers... Compare that to contract users. The rate may go down halfway through your contract term for new users, but since you are in a contract, you have to continue to pay that original rate.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
The summary and the title sneakily suggest the windows phone has fans. Perry Mason would object to assuming facts not in evidence, in addition to the usual irrelevant, immaterial, incompetent, not having proper foundation laid.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
" However, I don't profess it to the world"
You just did.
Good points!
I use it on a daily basis but only as a media device - it has decent battery life, and connected to WiFi I can use it to stream audio or play podcasts without drawing down my regular phone. Pocket Casts is twitchy on it, but still syncs so it's easy to hop between devices.
I don't use it as a daily driver because of some of the software restrictions that impact how I use the phone (restricted app access to SMS and call logs). Apps are a little lacking and many are well behind Android counterparts, but that's survivable.
For the most part the builds have been stable, though I've had a few hangs in one of the recent ones related to WiFi. In the early days T-Mobile's WiFi Calling on my home network would just lock the thing up hard - but it'd come back if it was disconnected from the wireless network either by changing the SSID briefly or by going for a walk around the neighborhood.
fencepost
just a little off
Not a trace of Google on them. That's a very big feature.
Do you seriously think this is still funny (not that it ever was)?
How about some intelligent humor for a change?
A few of them pop up on threads like this one to tell us how wonderful it is, even though it's a piece of shit.
And then there's the other end of the spectrum: Morons like Grishnakh who seem unable to acknowledge the platform's strengths, insisting on calling it "a piece of shit".
Here, let's examine one positive and one negative aspect of every major platform:
iOS
+ Carefully tailored for the hardware it's running on
- Some essential features are overlooked in favor of features of more dubious value
Android
+ Lots of options to choose from (both hardware and software)
- Asinine update model
Windows (whatever it is they're calling the phone version these days)
+ Continuum
- Lack of developer support
See, I've experienced all 3 major OSs. My personal favourite at this point is the Windows Phone. I've just purchased my second Windows capable phone as I was going on 4 years with my first. I purchased the Blu Win HD Unlocked for $140 all in. Had to add a 32gb SD card since the base product comes with only 8GB. So you could call me a fan boy and since I'm a MS coder it just makes sense for me.
I realize their product accounts for less than 3% of the NA market so I don't expect carriers to bend over and stock that product. What I do expect is an unbiased opinion when asked about the product. In every single store I've gone I always get the "WP are shit, they don't have apps and the hardware sucks". I'll ask them if they've tried one and how they came to this conclusion. I usually get a blank stare. Most of these opinionated retail clerks only really know 2 or 3 phones well enough to recommend and WP is not one of them. IMO it's one of the reasons the product has not picked up. Nobody is pushing them because it's really easy to push Apple and Android.
There are fans for every brand.
I liked WP 8.1 for being fast and responsive on modest hardware. Was eager to try WP10 so I enrolled to windows insider and started getting builds and so far am ambiguos about it. WP10 is a bit tidier and better organised, otoh the phone feels slower/less responsive and there are a couple of minor glitches (music player sorta hiccups and inserts 2s of silencee every 15 minutes or so, the accept phone call screen got changed so that I managed to accidetally drop couple of calls just thanks to the new layout) that need to be sorted out. So maybe it is better that they wait until the thing is ready to go out
Which apps are you looking for?
My understanding is that any app written for Windows 10 can run in either mobile or desktop mode... and no doubt the built in ones (mail, web, Office) will cover most initial needs.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
Yes there are Windows Phone fans. I'm one of them. Try browsing the forums at www.windowscentral.com and you'll see a lot more of them.
"fans" is plural, so there must be at least two.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
"Universal Windows [10] Apps", or whatever the hell MS calls them this morning, will run at most aspect ratios and display sizes. However, Windows 10 Mobile* still supports apps clear back to WP7.0, four API versions and one major infrastructure change old. WP 7.x and 8.x apps were never intended to run on anything that could be called "desktop mode". WP8.1 supported its own version of "universal" apps, where you could use the same code for PC/tablet and phone apps, but I'm not sure if that means universal WP8.1 apps installed on the phone will have the ability to handle Continuum. We shall see.
The primary targets for Continuum (For Phones, as opposed to the whole "auto-switch to tablet mode" thing on convertible laplets) are, at least initially, Microsoft's built-in apps. Edge and "Outlook" (it's a very nicely souped-up mobile email client, but Outlook it is not) and OneNote and Word and so on. The Office apps built into W10M are way more powerful than they were in any previous Windows Phone version, even in phone mode; in PC (Continuum) mode they'll be weaker than actual PC versions but much closer than you might expect.
Also, while new hardware is required to use the dock that allows plugging in a display and USB devices, you can connect Bluetooth keyboards and mice to a legacy phone running W10M just fine, and there's been ways to mirror the phone's screen on a PC for years. That's not as good as Continuum, but maybe there's also a way to directly, wirelessly connect the phone to a PC or TV screen - I haven't checked - and that mostly solves that issue.
* which, unlike what some people have claimed, is no more a "reboot" of the OS than Windows Phone 8 -> Windows Phone 8.1 was; they just changed the name again
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
Yep. Top articles (copied and pasted from the forums):
I Can't Deal With The 950XL Anymore...
Glance screen issues
why is my phone freezing up after a phone call (side note: Wow, I saw that one on Windows 6 mobile. They still haven't fixed it?)
Things I don't like about Windows 10
Don't understand why Windows phones aren't more popular
Mind you, as a former Crackberry user, I completely understand being a desperate fan of a dying platform. Had my company been able to keep BES up reliably, I might still be using one.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
So instead you get Microsoft. Massive difference. If you were that concerned about your privacy you wouldn't be using a smart phone, or if you did you'd at least control what firmware was on it down the last app.
I went with Virgin.
Bought the Phone outright on sale so no contract.
$35 a month for unlimited calls, text 2.5 GB 4G data and after that throttles down to 3G.
Impossible to get overage charges.
The downside is the network. I don't travel much but if a person does Virgin would be awful as its coverage is really bad outside metro areas.
Rule 1 on the internet as in life,Don't feed the trolls.
Jack of all trades,master of none
It's been available as a "Preview" for months (since before Win10 on PC went RTM), though the early preview builds of it were far from usable. That 8.8% is a mixture of "Windows Insider" preview users (people with legacy phones) and the new Lumia 950 and 950XL flagships, which come with "Windows 10 Mobile (Preview)" and yes, the "Preview" part of that is not my own addition but is actually what Microsoft says the phone's come with. They are shipping hardware with a pre-release operating system installed. It's bizarre (and is leading to a lot of bad reviews for the 950s, saying things like "great hardware, pity about the software"), but this is MSFT, after all.
On the other hand, pre-release OS or not, the 950 and especially 950XL are apparently flying off the shelves; I live in Seattle so there's no lack of Microsoft stores/kiosks nearby, and none of them have the things in stock. They sell out each shipment within a few hours.
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
While I'm sure they wanted to get it out on time it's not ready. I'm testing it right now on my Lumia 920 and while in general it's a major upgrade with many great features over 8 there are some pretty critical issues remaining. In the latest build which I got only a couple days ago my camera has completely stopped working. In the previous build the news app crashed opening one out of three articles.
It still needs work.
Don't worry they will do the same thing they did with quite a few hd audio functions in Win10 and simply apply a regression for the driver functions that break. Some people will lose others will be ok. Hell they didn't even get the Win10 release right for their own Surface 3 hardware without some features regressing. Windows and HD audio just plain suck period, always has and will continue to suck as long as they don't spend cash on it and pile on the cash for features like cortana which in turn breaks HD audio on some devices because of latency and other serious issues. That is where Apple and core audio has it all over Windows, fewer worries about a hundreds of garbage audio driver interfaces to maintain and test before releases. Audio problems were one of the show stoppers and the cortana team seemed to have priority over the WDM team which is absolutely stupid.
If they screw the pooch as badly with their own phone OS and audio goes for a shit then the release of WP10 will have to be put on hold or they will have to remove some features on the release.
This message was not sent from an iPhone because Peter Sellers really was a deviated prevert without a dime for the call
Then there's fucking morons like ericloewe who don't even know what are and aren't strengths on various platforms. Developer support is probably one of the only decent things about Windows Phone, it's one of MS's strengths. It doesn't overcome the lack of interest by developers because of MS being late to the smartphone party so they don't want to waste time developing for a platform with 10 users, nor does it overcome the horribly ugly UI. Sure, it's actually a fairly speedy OS on leaner hardware (another strength you said I'm unable to acknowledge!) but that doesn't make up for ugly design, lack of configurability, the crappy live tiles, and the complete lack of apps, nor MS's lackluster reputation in general which contributes to the poor uptake.
Android is built on the Linux kernel so actually if you hook a keyboard, a mouse or such in the micro-USB slot on your phone it should just work out of the box. I don't think there's that much consumer interest for hooking up a 10x sized a keyboard to a smartphone though. It wouldn't be a big push for Google to bring out a dongle-sized concept PC based on Chromium OS or Android if such devices prove popular, however.
And if you are willing to hack some there's of course the business-card sized Raspberry PI that has decent ARM CPU, HDMI out and USB in that can be flashed with your favourite Linux distro, Android or Win 10.
>> What in the world makes you think that Windows 8 doesn't "phone home"? :))
Because "Windows 8" is not "Windows Phone 8".
aaaaaaa
Microsoft had all the pieces ready to be integrated into "Windows Phone" in 2009 when the Zune HD came out... Microsoft just didn't put any priority on defending their smartphone dominance of Windows Mobile (dominant in a small market) till *after* the iPhone and Android phones came on the market and made the "smartphone" a device for the masses.
micro-usb hubs with card readers, USB on-the-go and HDMI outputs (MHL or Slimport depending on the phone SoC) can be purchased online for around $US10-15. As a holiday project I've purchased one, though Santa's postal service elves haven't delivered it yet. :)
The 'dumpster' phone promises a treasure trove - cracked screens with worn out batteries might attain a new lease of life if powered by mains and hooked up to a mouse, keyboard and expandable storage.
Yep, It's forced them to compete because otherwise they would be in trouble as more and more people leave PCs for mobiles and tablets.
What I wish they hadn't done is trying to unify interfaces between desktop Windows and Windows Phone. It's ruined desktop Windows IMHO
They do have good products and I really like Windows 7 but I also think Windows 10 is abusive and disrespectful of users.
I'm in a difficult position since I like gaming and there's no real alternative to Windows.
I might go with a double boot system in the future and use the Windows partition as a games console, and Linux for everything else
Congratulations on your narrow views! You are incapable of understanding what "developer support" was meant as, which is frankly an amazing display of incompetence with the English language or a feeble attempt to discredit those who point out that you obviously have an axe to grind.
But let's talk about the "ugly" claim. It's as subjective as it gets and irrelevant, every platform will have people who dislike the aesthetic design. Lack of configurability is a dubious claim, since iOS is rather similar. And crappy live tiles? As opposed to non-crappy static icons?
Every platform has weaknesses, but spreading FUD helps nobody and only makes one look foolish.
Besides, there are many Android phones which can be loaded with AOSP, and with just a little research ahead you can figure out which of the phones you're interested in are supported. Then you can use them without any Google services at all, and indeed without a store whatsoever by simply sideloading everything. You can in theory do much better with privacy with Android than with the other major phone operating systems for the simple reason that it's the only one whose source code you can see. And if the whole point is to not get any Google on you, then you're not giving anything up, right?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
You can also use Bluetooth keyboards and mice with most Android devices.
Ars Technica article discusses using Android as a desktop. While it just works in many cases, they point out that mouse drags are interpreted inconsistently. Sometimes they are like finger drags and sometimes they can highlight text as on a desktop.
Apparently, Windows phone having few useful apps is a plus.
That way, the battery lasts longer and since nothing needs to load, load times are amazing!
I miss my blackberry. I hate virtual keyboards.
I now have a Windows phone (8, I guess) and I'm told that I should be able to upgrade it just fine. That's kind of impressive. I'm told it should be just as snappy as it is now and it is pretty good. I hate to admit it but I'm kind of liking it. I bought it because I was sick of Android and all the security shenanigans and I have no desire to own an iPhone.
That said, I could easily see myself chucking a phone up on a desktop environment to get some extra stuff done. I don't like tablets but I don't mind my phone too much. Yeah, I could see it being used on occasion. (Probably VNC to my my Linux DE but still used.)
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
I've actually jokingly referred to a project of clustering retired Android phones to be used to map rain-forest flora genomes. While it is said in jest, I'm still a bit curious about the idea.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
And crappy live tiles? As opposed to non-crappy static icons?
No, as opposed to Android widgets. From a post by ArmoredDragon elsewhere in this discussion:
"- Android widgets are INFINITELY better than the live tiles. For example, my calendar widget can do a vertical layout and display multiple events in advance and can even scroll through extras, which sits in parallel with my voicemail transcripts where I also see multiple at once. On WP, your options are horizontal rectangle or giant square that nothing else (besides tiny tiles) can fit next to, and you'll see two upcoming events at best. Worst is that WP tiles will just periodically flip so you don't necessarily see what's pertinent, and they're about 15 minutes behind (as per the OS's restrictions.)"
It's as subjective as it gets and irrelevant, every platform will have people who dislike the aesthetic design.
Yeah, apparently people just LOVE MS's aesthetics so much they're rushing out to buy Windows Phones!! \s
Lack of configurability is a dubious claim, since iOS is rather similar.
Configurability makes up for not-so-popular design choices. Apparently, iOS users are happy enough with Apple's designs, and they tend to be a different type of user anyway. Chasing iOS users and trying to get them to switch is a losing strategy for anyone.
but spreading FUD helps nobody and only makes one look foolish.
Calling valid complaints "FUD" only makes one look foolish.
So, at best, your B) and C) points have not had a lot of time to really prove out one way or the other.
In real layman's terms you're right. My comment was more directed at the slashdot crowd who mostly dismiss it due to it's source without ever having used it, or (as some will quite proudly exclaim) without ever even having seen one.
The delay is unfortunate. But it is better than putting out a release with serious problems. Presumably the Insider program revealed some flaws that are deal breakers for the general public.
My understanding is that any app written for Windows 10 can run in either mobile or desktop mode... and no doubt the built in ones (mail, web, Office) will cover most initial needs.
They have to be re-written as a universal app, which can't quite do all of the same things that a normal app can do. Furthermore, it has to be distributed through the Microsoft app store, which means taking a 30% cut off of revenue.
Do some developers go that route? Yeah, but I don't think you'll see mass adoption. The reason why is because most developers these days no longer write apps for desktop operating systems. If they want to write an app for desktop users, they create web apps that you interact with in your web browser.
Another problem I see with Continuum though is that it necessitates carrying some kind of a dock with you. I can't think of many people who would do that. For that kind of thing, I actually bought a Surface Pro 4, which I use for work, and unlike Continuum it WILL run everything, and it will run it fast too.
Considering the condition of Windows 10 for mobile, they are doing a service by delaying the upgrade.
Isn't the Windows Mobile UI already basically Windows 10 ??