Flashback: a decade of Microsoft's failed attempts to conquer the phone market

24 July 2022
The Kin phones were an odd experiment, but Windows Phone 7 was supposed to capture the phone market the same way that Window had the PC market.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • 2Wx
  • 25 Jul 2022

I think many factors lead to its demise:

1) Nearly always cheapening out on specs
2) Directly competing iOS and Android that dominated the market
3) In the end, relying on low-end devices to attempt to gain market share

Kind of a pity really cause the software was solid IMO.

    • D
    • AnonD-1046991
    • wvL
    • 25 Jul 2022

    Anonymous, 24 Jul 2022Windows is the best for computers. But for phones Android i... moreI'm not really sure what is this but worse than Dave Chapelle

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • IJK
      • 25 Jul 2022

      The Flip, 24 Jul 2022Imagine a Surface Duo in 2011 with stylus support? Who know... moreMicrosoft killed what was left of nokia

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • 8N3
        • 25 Jul 2022

        The Flip, 24 Jul 2022Imagine a Surface Duo in 2011 with stylus support? Who know... morehtc just announced new phone and tablet less than 1 month ago, if you have forgotten

          • C
          • Carol
          • mek
          • 25 Jul 2022

          The Flip, 24 Jul 2022Imagine a Surface Duo in 2011 with stylus support? Who know... moreI find that Microsoft made no mistake, but killed Nokia, and not only Nokia, systematicaly and with a purpose. With Nokia, blackberry and Palm out of the way, apple could finaly gain momentum. With NOKIA at the wheal, they would have had hardtimes doing what they did to the mobile industry. And MS did all that pretending they "fight" apple. Actually they were always brothers and ms needs apple to stay alive, no matter what. That's because of a lot of reasons. Before icrap1, apple was again at the edge of bankruptcy... strange that ms helped them 2 out of it, and the third time ms was involved in bringing down a Giant, a bit to obvious to be a coincidence...

            • C
            • Carol
            • mek
            • 25 Jul 2022

            The Flip, 24 Jul 2022I've been into phones since 2004 thanks to websites li... moreBest creativity for phones started in 2007 with the first iphone? You gotta be kidding me. That slab was the worse thing that happend to the smartphone industry, and continues to be. It literally killed innovation, and daring to innovate. And nope, it was not the first smartphone in the world. Actually it was not even a smartphone. It was dumber then a feature phone but with a touch glass surface. Could not install apps, and had no app, at the time where even a feature phone could install games and browse the internet. Also, touch was nothing new in phones. Apple innovated alright, they re-innovated marketing, and how to make people believe whatever, but that's about it.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • Lr}
              • 24 Jul 2022

              Kangal, 24 Jul 2022We're living in the darkest timeline. Basically a mon... moreOh brother, this comment made me dream of the world that we could never get

              If the multiple universes theories are somewhat real. lets hope in one of them It happened just as you described, thanks for making me dream man.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 6wN
                • 24 Jul 2022

                Windows is the best for computers. But for phones Android is the king.

                  • h
                  • hmm
                  • pI@
                  • 24 Jul 2022

                  Hemedans, 24 Jul 2022Lumia 520 had krait and cost just around $130. For comparis... moreI had Samsung Galaxy Gio before that Lumia 520 and it was 159 euro in my country. It was really cheap and i still have it and i use it when my main phone breaks down. It was the perfect size phone even tough it can fit over 5inch screen in it while it was 4 inch screen

                    Windows Phone. The best mobile operating system.

                      Imagine a Surface Duo in 2011 with stylus support? Who knows if the Samsung Note would've taken off if Duo existed in the early-2010s? Microsoft still had some mobile clout in 2011.

                      Microsoft, Nokia, and BlackBerry made mistakes like Atari, Sega, and Nintendo throughout the 80s and 90s. That was their undoing. HTC and LG got pushed out of the market.

                      Video game history in the 80s & 90s is very similar to mobile history from 2007-2011. Lots of early 5th generation consoles like the 3DO, Jaguar, Amiga CD32, and Neo Geo CD would come and go.

                      Same thing happened to mobile companies like Danger, Siemens, Palm, Ericsson, RIM, Nokia, Microsoft, HTC, and LG. Only 15 years ago, Nokia was on top of the world. Then official death only 5 years later.

                      Nokia and Microsoft share the same tragic fate since they decided to die together like Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun.

                        Microsoft killed their own chance. They kept limiting themselves, they expected people to flock to WP without apps. I loved the UI on my Lumia 1320, it was really smooth and the Nokia apps were great. The problem was the other apps that Android had such as Youtube and other google apps.

                        If Microsoft was smart, they would've focused on apps. They couldn't get app developers on WP cuz there was no incentive. When Huawei had Harmony OS, they gave a great incentive for developers, but MS didn't do this.

                        Such a shame, they had a huge potential, but now it's dead.

                          Mantra for success-
                          Launch MS Lumia phones with same Nokia build & design with Android.
                          Let the design of Nokia Lumias with bold colours & polycarbonate , rectangular slab design, be an identity of MS phones.
                          They will sell. I can guarantee.

                            • M
                            • Mmmma
                            • Xx5
                            • 24 Jul 2022

                            The Flip, 24 Jul 2022I've been into phones since 2004 thanks to websites li... moreSmartphones become unrecognizable slaps is the worst thing ever and the notch and punch hole
                            I like my phone to be 5 inch or smaller with a bezel

                              We never needed Windows Phone. What we needed was Windows Mobile to improve. I still think WinMo's Today screen is the best I've ever seen.

                              Or Microsoft shouldn't have bought Nokia in 2013 and we would have both OEMs jump on the Android bandwagon as far back as 2008-2009. But they refused to join the Android community and both companies failed 3-5 years after Android OS was released.

                              I personally don't have the fondest memories of Windows Phone. I remember having a Samsung Focus for 5 months and it got stolen in a bar in April 2012. Then I got a $30 Nokia Lumia 635 with extra loud speakers. Got stolen while on vacation.

                              Then I got a Microsoft Lumia 640 for $30 during a Black Friday sale. I got 4 of them. I sold 3 other 640s for $100. Good camera for the price and excellent call quality being a Nokian. But sold the one I owned about a year and a half later since WP lacked the apps I needed. Didn't even have an Uber app.

                              I think Microsoft should've made the Surface Duo over 10 years ago. Kyocera had a dual display with the Echo in 2011. Had Microsoft and Nokia jumped on Android earlier, those two would be major Android players today. But they instead joined forces (thanks to Trojan horse Stephen Elop) and both ended up destroying themselves in mobile.

                                • U
                                • Uxic
                                • fI%
                                • 24 Jul 2022

                                The story on how Microsoft keeps chasing their unreachable dream.. Sad.. Even up to this day.. Lol

                                Had lumia 1520 and still keep the functioning Lumia 530, Samsung Ativ S and a random windows 10 mobile from Japanese oem on my drawer. They were just fine and the best stable version is still WP8.1

                                W10 mobile was a messy updates. Rush to release, unpolished, got a few annoying bugs.

                                  Apps? We don't need apps. People don't need apps.

                                  With those words, ms killed every chance they had.

                                    • O
                                    • Opportunity
                                    • Dk3
                                    • 24 Jul 2022

                                    Microsoft still has the chance for a mobile device. They can make a fully fledged windows 11 foldable device with no software imposed limitations.

                                    Just add something like Apple's Rosetta, and you are good to go.
                                    Windows 11 already has support for android apps.

                                    It will have best of both worlds android and windows apps.

                                      • k
                                      • kek
                                      • 8xf
                                      • 24 Jul 2022

                                      Sad as it is, it will only be a lesson more in the book of how corporate thinking can tank a revolution. Kudos to Nadella for finally killing off Windows Phone just to save some penies and push Azure.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • IJK
                                        • 24 Jul 2022

                                        Anonymous, 24 Jul 2022Owned several Nokia phones back in the day. They were the b... moreGreat yes. Always best at any segment? Wrong.

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