• Windows Phone has lost 1 million users in the USA since the start of this year
    113 replies, posted
[img]http://wmpoweruser.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/image11.png[/img] [quote]Things are starting to get desperate for Windows Phone in the USA, with the latest Comscore numbers showing a dramatic and accelerating drop in Windows Phone users in the USA. The numbers show Windows Phone doing a Blackberry, dropping a massive 0.6% between the 3 months ending January 2015 and the 3 months ending April 2015, translating in a loss of 966,000 users over the period. As shown in the graph above, the efflux of Windows Phone users has been consistent since the beginning of the year, and appears to be accelerating, with the biggest drop being from the March numbers of 6.2 million to the April numbers of 5.7 million. The exact reasons are of course not known, but there are a number of possibilities, with the top of the list likely being Windows Phone users out of contract waiting for an end of the year flagship which never showed up switching to the iPhone 6, especially with Microsoft’s clearly demonstrated commitment to providing their services on that and other platforms.[/quote] [url]http://wmpoweruser.com/windows-phone-loses-a-million-users-in-usa-since-the-beginning-of-the-year/[/url]
I'll be honest, I didn't even think Windows Phone had a million users total.
A lot of cool apps aren't available for windows phones (I have one). There's a bunch of cheap knockoffs, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a major reason people don't get it.
[QUOTE=gman003-main;47895223]I'll be honest, I didn't even think Windows Phone had a million users total.[/QUOTE] It's got far more userbase outside the US than within the US. Heck, in Italy or Brazil it's the second most popular mobile OS, with 40% of the country using it. [editline]7th June 2015[/editline] Although it really has been hampered with the lack of a flagship. The last time one came out was last year, around this time, and in the US it was a Verizon-exclusive. Also the lack of Snapchat might mean something (that's less of them not making the app and more the Snapchat CEO having a vendetta against WP)
and I lost mine in the toilet
MS needed to reach out to more developers who were popular on iOS and Android, it took far too long to get instagram onto the platform and even today it's still BETA and lacks features found on iOS and Android
Been using a Lumia 720 Windows 8 phone for 2 years now and while the build quality is fantastic (especially the touch screen) like slayer20 said there is a massive lack of support for apps. The app store is a cluster fuck and it's incredibly hard to find quality apps. Difficulty finding good games is probably the main reason why it's failing.
They're not releasing as many new phones as android. simple as that
I like my windows phone, but a lot of apps just aren't available, and that's because Microsoft loves to retain all the control over everything, giving little for devs to use. (Can't change the function of buttons to open up a different app or do something different, for instance) Other than that it's fine. Especially for how much I paid for my phone Hope that changes when Windows 10 comes along
I'm getting a Lumia 640 soon myself, heh.
The problem with all these OSes is that you reach a point where it's impossible to enter the game and succeed. Like Google Plus in social media. If the Windows phone OS was a reworked branch of android that ran android apps then it might have taken off, but expecting developers to develop two seperate apps for IOS and Android is pretty steep - throwing in a seperate run for a Windows OS is overkill.
I have one, i often sit there everyday looking at it thinking why the fuck did i pick this for my next phone contract upgrade.....
got a lumia 930 and it's the best phone i've had fuck snapshit and instarreah
[QUOTE=Limed00d;47895309]and I lost mine in the toilet[/QUOTE] right where it belongs
Maybe it will be better once Windows 10 rolls out?
I wonder if Windows 10 will improve support for Window Phones
I love my windows phone. The problem is Microsoft hasn't released a flagship in more than a year since they are waiting for windows 10 to release. People got tired of waiting on top of companies telling WP users to Fuck themselves by removing apps such as 6snap (I barely download new apps and even then windows phone lacks behind because in creating new apps its never in the equation) I have a Lucia 1520 and its still the best phone I've ever own. Can say I'm not a little salty seeing facepunch shit on it though...
[QUOTE=slayer20;47895240]A lot of cool apps aren't available for windows phones (I have one). There's a bunch of cheap knockoffs, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a major reason people don't get it.[/QUOTE] This is part of it but I honestly don't think this is the major reason why. Your average user when choosing between a phone isn't really intimately aware of an app situation (I work with a bunch of people who have WP and they got it because it was a phone being offered by the carrier and looked neat), and the ones that are only know the old "I hear windows phones have no apps" which isn't true anymore. The app situation isn't even that bad. Pretty much every major app you can get on other platforms is on WP. The thing that sucks about the app situation is at least half of those apps are released and never updated, so they don't run as well as they should, or they are missing features compared to ios/android. You also get the problem where "this obscure service I use or my bank just released an app only for android/iOS", which is another part of the app issue (that w10 will hopefully solve). The REAL reason why market share has likely been declining in the US has to do with the following: 1. There haven't been any big flagship launches in over a year because MS is focusing on W10. No big "Hey this is our awesome phone that shows off our awesome platform" launches in a long time. You need those phones for the enthusiasts and evangelicals to buy and spread the word about your platform. The timing for this is super bad - a lot of people who got into WP8 when it originally launched a couple of years ago have now run off contracts and are wanting to upgrade into newer phones. Too bad there aren't any newer flagship phones to upgrade into that aren't over a year old, so many are just switching platforms instead. 2. Every phone released under WP is carrier locked bullshit in the US. You can only get X, Y or Z phone with this or that carrier. 3. There have hardly been any big marketing pushes or updates in a year or any real exposure beyond small time low/mid-end phone releases quietly put on shelves under the radar thanks to MS focusing on W10. Result: nobody really knows WP exists except when they see someone use it. 4. Every single retailer on earth heavily promotes android/iOS and steers people away from windows phones. This is probably the biggest cause of market share loss and has been a consistent problem. It is hard to fix because your average phone salesman or rep is only going to vouch for the most popular and what they use. Statistically speaking, that means almost none of them are going to promote windows phone, and in worst case (commonly occurring) scenarios actively dissuades people from buying them by perpetuating old rumors and stereotypes against the platform. I've read countless stories on the WP subreddit of knowledgeable fans of WP going in to buy a flagship WP from their store and having to argue with reps trying to instead get them to buy android/iOS (and all of the nice commission earning accessories they have for them!). Basically: everything is in kind of this lull due to w10 development on top of the US being a super shit market for WP in general thanks to the above factors. W10 will hopefully kickstart and change things around for the better and for good, getting rid of all the old (somewhat inaccurate) stereotypes against the platform. If it doesn't then windows phone as a platform will likely die. Guess we'll find out later this year!
I have a Lumia 920 and the only complaints I have with it are the lack of customization and the EXTREMELY lacking app selection. Otherwise this is the best phone I've ever used.
My Windows Phone does everything I want it to -which is essentially alarm and kik- and that's about it. Aside from the shitty music app (with it's many ways to end up accidentally clicking something you don't want to), it's easy as hell to use, but I'd love to get an android.
i can't think of a single handset thats been released in the last 6 months, maybe that has to do with the massive decline?
What can you expect when there YouTube app isn't even an app it's a bloatware link to the mobile YouTube website in the browser.
[QUOTE=jokoman;47896563]What can you expect when there YouTube app isn't even an app it's a bloatware link to the mobile YouTube website in the browser.[/QUOTE] That's partially Google's fault. Microsoft made a fully-fledged YouTube client, but Google issued a DMCA against it because they didn't like it and so it's just an HTML wrapper. The third-party apps like myTube, Tubecast and Metrotube are a lot better. That's also the thing about windows phone; a lot of people don't realize how good the third party apps are.
My biggest issue with my 928 is I just found all the browsers to be inferior. I think I tried 4 of the top ones, and none quite clicked.
I just switched from a Lumia 435 to the iPhone 6+. I really love the Windows Phone, it's a great phone, but the lack of popular apps really kills it. I stuck with WP for a couple years trying to hold out but eventually the lack of Snapchat and other apps forced me back to iOS/Android.
[QUOTE=redBadger;47895444]They're not releasing as many new phones as android. simple as that[/QUOTE] If it was about quantity, then Apple would have collapsed years ago.
I almost considered getting a Windows phone instead of my iPhone 5S just to try something different. Feels like I dodged a bullet.
The phones and OS itself are great, generally. It's just the lack of control devs get with their apps, and the inability to want to create for yet another OS that kills it My Lumia 521 is great, cheap as fucking dicks (No contract, can get it for $20 right now), battery if you don't use it hardly at all can stretch for over 4 days before needing to be charged, everything on it works like its supposed to and works well.... But the letdown is you can't get Steam on it because Valve is like Lolno, Android and iOS only. And That's the same story with a lot of popular apps. That's basically the only down side to windows phones Of course, I only paid 1/25th of what an iPhone costs and don't have to pay out of my ass for a stupid contract to boot, so I can't really complain. I'm more annoyed that I only have 512MB of RAM than anything
[QUOTE=redBadger;47895444]They're not releasing as many new phones as android. simple as that[/QUOTE] yeah totally not because of the incredible lack of apps or anything of the sort.
I had a Windows Phone, Lumia 620. WP was a nice idea but they got it all muddled up and loads of apps aren't available for it so i dropped it for an S5
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