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Microsoft Has Run Out of Windows Phone Stock (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the thanks-for-the-fish dept.

Even if you really wanted to buy a Windows phone, Microsoft has run out of Windows Phone devices to sell to you. From a report: I've been watching the number of Windows Phone options on the Microsoft Store website dwindle for over two years now. I was honestly expecting them to disappear completely more than six months ago. It's 2018, and there are still two remaining phones. Last night, they both flipped over to "out of stock." The HP Elite x3 with dock, normally $799 but on sale for $299, and the Alcatel Idol 4S, normally $299 but on sale for $99.99, are officially out of stock. The third option for $169, the Alcatel Idol 4S with VR Goggles, is of course also out of stock.

12 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Oh no! by jimtheowl · · Score: 5, Funny

    Next Story: "This guy bought the last Windows phone!"

    1. Re:Oh no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Story after that: Guy wonders why he bought a Windows Phone.

    2. Re:Oh no! by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      I expect it was some old guy where is current phone was broken. Perhaps a flip phone from the 1990's found these as a cheap phone for a replacement. With markdowns like that, it is a good price.

      If he is going to be using it to make phone calls, and perhaps some new fancy smart phone thinks like internet browsing, it is probably perfectly fine.

      Microsoft actually put some effort into the Windows Phone 8 and 10, vs the old Windows Phone powered by CE which just crammed the desktop UI onto a small phone. While I argue Windows 8 and 10 just crammed the phone interface on the desktop instead.

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      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    3. Re:Oh no! by Tablizer · · Score: 2

      Last Post! (from Windows phone)

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      Table-ized A.I.
  2. Wow! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Funny

    That means they finally found a vict^H^H^H^H buyer for the 10th Windows Phone! ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  3. Which is really kind of sad by Xoc-S · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Windows Phone was really well done. (We'll ignore Windows Phone 6 and before as if they never existed!) Much more coherent interface than either the iPhone or Android. And the battery life was way better. The problem with it was timing and apps. If it had come out before the iPhone, they would have ruled the market, and Apple would probably be suffering. But coming out after the iPhone and Android, they were continually playing catch up. They never got the app base, and without that it was chicken and egg...nobody bought it because it didn't have apps and no apps because nobody bought it.

    1. Re:Which is really kind of sad by iamhassi · · Score: 2

      Windows phones were out before iphone. They were called Windows Mobile. They were rather popular too, only real problem is they needed a stylus, some apps downloaded to PC and transferred to the phone, and the touchscreen keyboard was small and sucked, but that was the way things were back then so we didn't know any different. Apple came out with full touchscreen designed for fingers, not stylus, and a well designed App Store built into the device.

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      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    2. Re:Which is really kind of sad by greenwow · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Two friends of mine interviewed at Microsoft recently to work on Windows phones, so it sounds like they're trying again.

    3. Re:Which is really kind of sad by sonicmerlin · · Score: 2

      No, Metro UI sucks. Tiles are useless. It's ugly. It's cluttered. That's why it failed.

  4. Re:And probably was not by a person by PPH · · Score: 2

    2 sales reps

    What were they selling? The last two Windows phones?

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    Have gnu, will travel.
  5. Well, I'm also surprised it took this long. by filesiteguy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Being a Windows Mobile fan, especially Windows 10, I really liked where the devices were going. Microsoft even sent me a 950xl, which I mostly loved. (I very much disliked the power button placement, but the phone and camera were top-notch.)

    Since I abandoned Android after they dumbed it down in Jellybean, I decided to move on to an Iphone and have both a 7+ and a X. Great phones and the Microsoft apps like Office, OneNote, OneDrive, OfficeLens, Skype for Business, and Office 365 Admin work better on Ios than on Windows Mobile.

    Go figure.

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    The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
  6. You never go wrong with buying Microsoft by eclectro · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There's probably a lot of corporations stocking up on this phone who developed in-house applications that run on Windows phones and not Android. Part of the reason for this is that they could have much better control over the phone/environment once it was in a worker's hand. There are inventory tracking companies that still use it.

    --
    Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"