guru Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 ?if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it still make a sound??That is the dilemma I believe ails the Windows phone in its quest to make a headway in the highly competitive mobile landscape. Even with the great reviews of the huge mango update scheduled for the fall, and the prospects of second generation hardware coming from OEMs like Samsung, HTC and especially the much awaited Nokia branded phones, I?m afraid that Windows phone will continue to languish as a so-so mobile OS behind Google and Apple if Microsoft does not fundamentally change their approach in marketing and exposing the OS to the consumers. The new iPhone hardware refresh with IOS 5 and the latest Android 4.0 are set to come out around the same time frame in the fall as Windows Phone Mango. Being the under dog, Microsoft has to actively do more work than their top two competitors. Here are the six areas that I think they need to fix in order to give Windows Phone a chance to gain market share. http://wmpoweruser.com/microsoft-has-3-months-to-make-or-break-windows-phone-part-1/ the article among other things compares iPhone Marketing vs WP7 marketing (lack of)... i have to say MS 's marketing dept needs to be rebooted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Patriot Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 http://wmpoweruser.com/microsoft-has-3-months-to-make-or-break-windows-phone-part-1/ the article among other things compares iPhone Marketing vs WP7 marketing (lack of)... i have to say MS 's marketing dept needs to be rebooted Does Microsoft even have a marketing department for anything other than Windows? LOL I swear, I've never even seen an ad on TV for anything they make other than the "I'm a PC" ads. I just got an HTC HD7 and its really starting to grow on me, especially since I put the Mango beta on it yesterday. The variety and quality of the apps has quite a bit of room for improvement, and I hate the Zune software with a passion, but the OS itself is worlds better than Windows Mobile 6.1 (the last mobile version of Windows that I used). IMHO, WP7 is nearing the quality and ease of use of iOS, and far better than Android (I've owned an iPhone and and iPod touch in the past, and my wife has an HTC Desire, so I've been able to compare all of them). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pygmy_Hippo Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I've got an Omnia 7 and my wife has a HD7 - anytime any of our friends picks up the phones they instantly fall in love with them, but they've never heard of WP7 only the iPhone. Mango looks amazing, but if no-one knows you even exist then being the best is not enough. However Microsoft is in this for the long term, they're going to hang on for grim death - you only have to look at the Xbox to see that. One thing i've never quite understood is why a company with as much money in the bank as Microsoft can be so inept at advertising - everything they put out is just cringeworthy. Whilst Apple adverts reek of smug they seem to be damn effective - If Microsoft is still on a spending spree they should hire Apple's PR guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMH Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 This is an absolutely brilliant article by Rush24. I was actually planning on posting it here myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted July 21, 2011 Supervisor Share Posted July 21, 2011 Does Microsoft even have a marketing department for anything other than Windows? LOL I swear, I've never even seen an ad on TV for anything they make other than the "I'm a PC" ads. I just got an HTC HD7 and its really starting to grow on me, especially since I put the Mango beta on it yesterday. The variety and quality of the apps has quite a bit of room for improvement, and I hate the Zune software with a passion, but the OS itself is worlds better than Windows Mobile 6.1 (the last mobile version of Windows that I used). IMHO, WP7 is nearing the quality and ease of use of iOS, and far better than Android (I've owned an iPhone and and iPod touch in the past, and my wife has an HTC Desire, so I've been able to compare all of them). if i may, what is it about the Zune software that you hate so much? i haven't gotten to test it out personally but from what i've seen it looks like it should work just fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capr Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 what they need to do is get the technology in "our" hands for free. people ask me at least once a day to give them a suggestion on which phone to get. many more people look at what i have and ask me if i like it and why i like it and whether they should get the same thing..... if microsoft puts a windows 7 phone in my hand, i will do the advertising for them ( assuming they impress me that is). I am sure this forum is full of people like me and there are millions of us in the country. microsoft needs to think of a way to give us their tech and let us lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etempest Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 From the (tv) media I'm exposed to, I've seen more HP Web OS Phone / Tablet and rim advertising then I have for Windows 7 Phone on tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pygmy_Hippo Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 if i may, what is it about the Zune software that you hate so much? i haven't gotten to test it out personally but from what i've seen it looks like it should work just fine I know that question wasn't aimed at me but the thing that bugs me about the Zune software is it only recognises a small set of media codecs, even if you have everything installed on your PC. Years ago I backed up all of my CD's into FLAC and they just refuse to show up in Zune. I'm not transcoding them just to get them to play on Zune, i'll just use other software like Winamp or Media Center Classic - which is a shame because I really like the interface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyLarry Veteran Posted July 21, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 21, 2011 Does Microsoft even have a marketing department for anything other than Windows? LOL I swear, I've never even seen an ad on TV for anything they make other than the "I'm a PC" ads. I just got an HTC HD7 and its really starting to grow on me, especially since I put the Mango beta on it yesterday. The variety and quality of the apps has quite a bit of room for improvement, and I hate the Zune software with a passion, but the OS itself is worlds better than Windows Mobile 6.1 (the last mobile version of Windows that I used). IMHO, WP7 is nearing the quality and ease of use of iOS, and far better than Android (I've owned an iPhone and and iPod touch in the past, and my wife has an HTC Desire, so I've been able to compare all of them). I have seen a ton of ads revolving around the Xbox 360, i think most of their marketing budget goes towards it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Warwagon MVC Posted July 21, 2011 MVC Share Posted July 21, 2011 This is an absolutely brilliant article by Rush24. I was actually planning on posting it here myself. Fixed Just Kidding! All in good fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMH Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I have seen a ton of ads revolving around the Xbox 360, i think most of their marketing budget goes towards it. In rest of the world however, people are bombarded with Google Chrome, Yahoo, iPhone etc advertisements, while Microsoft ONLY focuses on PCs. Thats why Xbox is not as strong around the world, as it is in States. [/font] Fixed Just Kidding! All in good fun! I was sort of expecting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I hate the Apple ads. They reek of smugness and lowest-common-denominator. But I know they are not designed to appeal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyLarry Veteran Posted July 21, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 21, 2011 In rest of the world however, people are bombarded with Google Chrome, Yahoo, iPhone etc advertisements, while Microsoft ONLY focuses on PCs. Thats why Xbox is not as strong around the world, as it is in States. Okay, no argument from me that may be the case, however roadwarrior is indeed from the US, so I was replying to his statement as I was suprised to hear him say he never has seen any ads other then the PC ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 The problem I have with Microsoft's marketing is this... The hardware always seems to be a very muted marketing affair, as if they are waiting for the next major release of XXXXXX to pull it all together. Its like they never have the product where they want it to be to push it to the end-user, so they market it softly until they get the integration they want and then, oh crap we're too late. They make (or license their tech to be used on) amazing products. WP7, Zune, etc - great but generally few people have heard of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dave164 Subscriber¹ Posted July 21, 2011 Subscriber¹ Share Posted July 21, 2011 I have seen a bit, but it has died off recently. I think it will become really big after Mango is released and Nokia release some handsets. Brandon H 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMH Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I hate the Apple ads. They reek of smugness and lowest-common-denominator. But I know they are not designed to appeal to me. I like their minimalism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashel Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I have no issues with the WP7 marketing here in the states and the commercials are generally well done, though I guess I could see the advantage of some commercials for mommies and daddies showing the basic how tos. Probably more important now considering the issues with #1. I'm not sure how MS can really lean on retailers like AT&T or Walmart if they didn't get certain requirements prior to launch but I think most of us agree that your average retail monkey's experience with WP7 is anemic at best. I could care less if it overtakes Droid or iOS though. To make that the arbitrary goal of success is silly to me, though if they truly want to go this route they need to foster a more exclusive club sentiment. Its hard to be cool and hip if everyone has one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drlacus Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I don't understand this love - hate relationship some people have with the Zune software. I had many mp3 players and the Zune software is by far the best product I've ever seen from a company that restricts you to use there softwere with there device / phone os. Face it, itunes is sh*t. It's horribly coded and runs slow even on my notebook which has an intel ssd in it. Sony had the sonicstage years ago and that was also a POS. You can use foobar or winamp or mediamonkey, but the Zune software looks much better and we could say it's "easier on the eyes". It has some problems, you can't customize it like foobar or winamp, it can't play flac or ogg, but with programs like dbpoweramp you can convert your music to wma lossless and it won't take much time even with a huge library as it simply puts lossless into another lossless format. About this 3 months period: Look at the xbox. What was the first xbox compared to the ps2? And what about the 360 and the ps3? The 360 is more popular and as Ballmer would say, they keep pushing and pushing and pushing it :D I hope when nokia enters the game it could turn the tide. Windows phone is a great system, but many people don't even know it exists. If I try to check the new phones here on the Vodafone website they don't list windows phones under the smartphone category. What the hell is wrong with these guys? And there's one last thing which could produce a rise in there sells and that is a price cut or low cost devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakem1 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Apple obviously spend a lot on marketing but I've seen lots of WP7 advertising this year and I'm the sort of person that does everything he can to avoid ads. I won't comment on the quality of the ads but I've seen ads on TVs, in the newspaper, in shop windows, etc. Having said that, I've never seen a Google ad for Android. I've seen ads from Android OEMs but never anything from Google so I suspect there's more to it than just advertising. The fact is that people are silly to expect amazing sales for WP7 in the first year. It's a new OS entering a market that has two big players. It's also a new OS with a bad history to overcome and time and time again you see people who should know better mistaking Windows Phone with Windows Mobile. I have an Omnia 7 and when people ask me what it is I tell them that it runs Windows Phone - invariably they look at me with pity thinking that I'm stuck with some old WinMo phone :laugh: WP7 has consistently received good reviews and the early reviews of Mango suggest that that will continue to be the case. IMO it deserves the good reviews because it is genuinely a pleasure to use and things are about to get a lot better. Hopefully good reviews will lead to personal recommendations and thus more sales because I often think that's the best way to sell a product. I think Rush24's 3 month timeframe is a bit silly as well. Mango isn't out yet, we don't know exactly when it will be released other than some time after August and we haven't seen any of the phones that the OEMs intend to release. At least wait for the product to become available before drawing arbitrary lines in the sand :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewzzin Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Does Microsoft even have a marketing department for anything other than Windows? LOL I swear, I've never even seen an ad on TV for anything they make other than the "I'm a PC" ads. I just got an HTC HD7 and its really starting to grow on me, especially since I put the Mango beta on it yesterday. The variety and quality of the apps has quite a bit of room for improvement, and I hate the Zune software with a passion, but the OS itself is worlds better than Windows Mobile 6.1 (the last mobile version of Windows that I used). IMHO, WP7 is nearing the quality and ease of use of iOS, and far better than Android (I've owned an iPhone and and iPod touch in the past, and my wife has an HTC Desire, so I've been able to compare all of them). I saw someone else commented on your comment about hating the Zune software. What is it you don't like? I absolutely love the Zune software. I've been a proud Zune owner and Zune HD owner for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NPGMBR Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I saw someone else commented on your comment about hating the Zune software. What is it you don't like? I absolutely love the Zune software. I've been a proud Zune owner and Zune HD owner for years. Second that. Been a loyal Zune Pass subscriber since the second Gen Zune. Still use my Zune 80 along side my Venue Pro cause the Venue Pro just can't hold my music. The Zune software is the best media management software I've every used (thats not saying that I've used everything out there). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashel Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 If anything, the WP7/Zune connection needs a commercial (like wireless syncs). Zune, while not the best for everything (still keep Aimp around), its head and shoulders above what iTunes brings to the table. Its a full step ladder better on the Windows platform, especially if you have a large library. What is the preferred Droid app for syncing music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eilegz Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 it depends on nokia too, but thats too far away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Veteran Posted July 21, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 21, 2011 I'm constantly disappointed by Microsoft's marketing department. I honestly believe they could have gained considerable market share for Zune before Spotify was released in USA if they'd just marketed it effectively; Zune even benefits Xbox users greatly due to the integration. But Microsoft hardly marketed it, and they didn't showcase all of Zune's great capabilities. Now, as a Zune user, I'm very concerned they will never become the market leader due to Spotify and how well Spotify is known in USA :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I don't know anyone with a WP7 phone :/ I saw a girl on the bus with one close to when they were released but that's it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts