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Go Back   Thoughts Media Forums > WINDOWS PHONE THOUGHTS > Windows Phone Talk

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  #1  
Old 09-08-2011, 09:00 PM
Ron Hostetter
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Default Why Does T-Mobile Hate Microsoft? Or is it Vice Versa?

 

I’ve always been a Microsoft fan. Years ago, I worked for a consulting firm that was a Microsoft Partner, so I spent a lot of my time implementing various Microsoft technologies. A good portion of my salary was derived from the success of the Redmond company.

A few years ago, Microsoft released the Zune, and I jumped on board. It, of course, has become somewhat of a disappointment. I love the Zune Pass service, but the Zune music player device has already died. When Microsoft released their plans for a new Windows phone last year, I was excited. When I saw the early demos of the interface, I was thrilled. I thought that finally, Microsoft could put a dent in the iPhone universe.

My family mobile phone service is with T-Mobile. We’ve been with T-Mobile for years. They’ve always had the best prices, and a decent selection of phones. Last year, when my teenage son was ready to buy his own phone, I talked him into waiting for the new Windows 7 phone to launch before buying. He wanted to buy a jail-broken iPhone to use on T-Mobile.

He agreed with me, and purchased the T-Mobile HTC HD7 on launch day. I was little concerned that the HD7 was the only Windows 7 phone available on T-Mobile. It’s a good phone, but it’s not for everybody.

Here we are a year later, and T-Mobile never did offer any other Windows 7 phone. We went to the store last weekend to look at a new phone for my teenage daughter. There were no Windows 7 phones available. None. Not a one. She bought a Droid. (There were dozens of Droid phones available, by the way).

Why is this? Does T-Mobile hate Microsoft? Does Microsoft hate T-Mobile? Why can’t Microsoft promote its own products? Think about the last time you watched television. How many iPhone or Droid commercials did you see? And how many Windows Phone 7 ads? Pathetic!

Is Microsoft just determined to undermine every cool new consumer technology they come up with? You would think every carrier would have a selection of at least two or three different phones – slide out keyboards, smaller or larger screens, etc.

I asked the sales person, and he told me that he thought a new Windows 7 Phone would be released “soon,” but of course, he had no information about the phone or when it might be released.

C’mon, Microsoft… I’m trying to cheer you on, but you are making it so hard.

 
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  #2  
Old 09-08-2011, 10:45 PM
benjimen
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It's more of a hobbyist phone...
 
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  #3  
Old 09-09-2011, 01:52 AM
djdj
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It isn't just T-Mobile. It's at least Sprint as well... but if you go to a Verizon or AT&T store asking for a Windows Phone most salespeople will try to talk you into an Android or iPhone instead, even if they have a WP model in stock.

I have a friend who was convinced she wanted a Windows Phone. Then she went to the Sprint store to get it. The salesperson spent 10 minutes trying to talk her out of it. Then once she convinced the salesperson that WP was really what she wanted, they didn't have any in stock. Since she was replacing a phone that had just taken a swim in a pool and needed an immediate replacement, she went home with an Evo instead. And she hates it.

All of the carriers are at least partially to blame for low Windows Phone sales. They're next to impossible to get in any retail location. It's hard to sell them if they don't keep them in stock.
 
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Old 09-09-2011, 09:01 AM
virain
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djdj View Post
It isn't just T-Mobile. It's at least Sprint as well... but if you go to a Verizon or AT&T store asking for a Windows Phone most salespeople will try to talk you into an Android or iPhone instead, even if they have a WP model in stock.
I was actually a witness of a sales person talking in a customer from a windows phone into blackberry at AT&T store. The funny part was that customer asked for the phone that she could use Hotmail and Office, that were her two objectives. IMHO WP would fit her perfectly, but not what the salesperson thought. I suspect sales stuff get extra commission or bonuses from pushing Androids and Crackberries. Why they sell iPhone? It sells itself, pluss little chance of it being returned in a week or so.
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Old 09-09-2011, 01:19 PM
liljohn
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Interesting point about the TV ads. Of course all the Iphone ads are paid for by Apple, Android ads though are usually paid for by the phone manufacturer. I believe Microsoft could have the best of both these worlds Microsoft ads and manufacturer ads but yet I have never seen an ad by a phone manufacturer for the Windows Phone. Why don't cellular/hardware/os work together to promote there phones and service?
 
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Old 09-09-2011, 02:57 PM
Ron Hostetter
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While I agree the carriers have some blame, I also think Microsoft isn't doing its part. I would imagine if they (and the hardware manufacturers) threw enough muscle (money) behind this, they could "convince" the carriers to sell those phones.

It's frustrating that even those who know they want this phone can't seem to get it.
 
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Old 09-09-2011, 04:06 PM
whydidnt
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The marketing problem is primarily Microsoft's. They have never viewed the end-user as their customer, so very little effort (read $) is spent on attracting our attention. I think they have recently realized that at the very least they need to spend some $ on carrier relationships, but I doubt they have progressed very far. But let's face it the current offerings of WP7 are blah... they are neutered iPhones with less power, less storage and less "cool factor". They can't compete with Android on features, even if they might be easier to use. They really don't have a niche today. Now perhaps Mango can change that, perhaps one of the OEMs will hit a home run from a hardware standpoint, but I still see OEM's (other than Nokia) treating this as a secondary device and that doesn't bode well for WP. We have yet to see what Nokia will do, but their rumored first offering is more blah...

A the end of the day, from a financial standpoint, if MS can earn $5.00 from most Android phones, sold -- for doing NOTHING - why would they invest more than a couple dollars per WP device sold, since they are only getting a little more than that for each license. Sometime, over the last decade and a half, they have progressed from a software driven company to a financials driven company and most decisions are made based upon what is best for this quarter's financials.
 
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Old 09-09-2011, 04:26 PM
cbf
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Well, if Microsoft doesn't view the end-user as the customer, then who do they think the customer is? Surely not the carriers -- none but AT&T carry even two Win Phones. The OEMs? Only HTC (so far), seems to have made a semi-serious effort at producing some Win Phone 7 models. By the time Nokia gets something to the US market, the game may already be over.

I'm in the same position -- the whole family is up for new phones and there are really no viable Win Phone contenders on Sprint (current carrier), T-Mobile, or Verizon. Even AT&T's three models are a year old..
 
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  #9  
Old 09-09-2011, 04:38 PM
whydidnt
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I think Microsoft still views the OEMs as their customers. Now to be fair, it's quite possible that they, the OEMs and carriers all realized that the first release of WP7 wasn't very competitive, so decided rather than put a lot of resources into a losing effort, they were best served waiting for the "real" first release - Mango. I think it looks like WP7 was originally released just so MS could say they released something, more than it was to actually compete in the market.
 
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  #10  
Old 09-09-2011, 05:39 PM
Sven Johannsen
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whydidnt View Post
But let's face it the current offerings of WP7 are blah... they are neutered iPhones with less power, less storage and less "cool factor". They can't compete with Android on features, even if they might be easier to use.
Not sure I entirely agree with that. I'm sure there may be more, but the only significant shortcoming in WP7 capability is tethering, IMHO. It's been shown the OS is capable of it, so it seems it is a carrier hesitation. Even iPhone just got it recently.

Power and storage are a bit relative to usage. I don't see that the power my WP7s make them any less responsive than any Android phone I've played with, and with a great deal of dat being cloud based, somewhat limited storage isn't that big a deal. I may be off base, but this is my phone, not my media player, so not having my entire music and video collection isn't that big an issue. Don't really have time to listen or watch that much, when I'm limited to my phone anyway. I have more than enough room for the favorites.

"Cool" is marketing, pure and simple. If HTC could license iOS they would stuff it, Android and WP7 in essentially the same chassis, and somehow the iOS and Android would be cooler than the WP7. The Android would probably rise out of the sea and cook your breakfast in the ads, and iOS...well...its iOS, it even gets free air time on Conan. When you get right down to it, all the phones these days are pretty much a slab with some buttons, and maybe a keyboard.

It may be unfortunate that WP7 devices are a year old, but my iPhone 4 is a year old too. It hasn't gotten any more additional features than my WP7. Difference is that people know iPhone 5 is coming. What's a Mango? And who has heard of it outside the geek and phone community that tends to lean toward the 'open source' (read hackable) droid.

MS has hostorically just created a better mousetrap, and waited for folks to beat a path to their door. Not gonna work when the other guys market door to door.
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