Microsoft has 3 months to make or break Windows Phone


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Devastatingly, many retail assistants in phone shops constantly bash Windows Phone 7 and tell consumers not to opt for it :( 3 different customer assistants in 3 different shops (in 2 cities) have told me I shouldn't go for a Windows Phone despite them not knowing I actually have one and that I believe it is currently the best phone operating system around (more people might agree with this when Mango is released). This is a huge, damaging problem, and unfortunately, it may have even damaged Windows Phone's image, in the eyes of many consumers, beyond repair. If you were a closed-minded, gullible consumer (which the majority of average operating system users are), and someone irrationally told you not to go for an operating system, would you ever decide to opt for it? I imagine the majority wouldn't.

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The best marketing is word of mouth. I'm much more inclined to go by people I trust experiences than I am any marketing campaign in the media. Unfortunately for Microsoft they don't have enough people using their phones to spread the good word. Most people I know have either an iPhone or an Android and they gush on and on about them. I honestly don't see myself getting a WP7 when my contract expires in a few months either.

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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 :(

(Y)

couldn't have put it better myself.... iPhone ads run all day round but i have yet to see a single Windows Phone ad...on any of the channels here. and i'vent mentioned the quality of Apple ads which is awesome.

@jakem1

You might think 3 months is arbitrary but Mango will be released in the next 3 months along with Android Icecream and iOS 5. If Mango doesn't get the sales registers ringing Nokia will probably be a shadow of itself and WP7 will be the Opera (browser) of the Smartphone world. i donot think Microsoft has plan B.

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Ads alone don't help, I bet you all seen lots of RIM and Palm/HP webOS ads yet are those doing anything in the market? Nope, RIM is dropping market share in the US like a rock in water yet no one seems to mention that little tidbit. Ads in the end are just one part, maybe if the carrier sales reps didn't try to push you to something else and actually checked out the platform things would be different.

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(Y)

couldn't have put it better myself.... iPhone ads run all day round but i have yet to see a single Windows Phone ad...on any of the channels here. and i'vent mentioned the quality of Apple ads which is awesome.

@jakem1

You might think 3 months is arbitrary but Mango will be released in the next 3 months along with Android Icecream and iOS 5. If Mango doesn't get the sales registers ringing Nokia will probably be a shadow of itself and WP7 will be the Opera (browser) of the Smartphone world. i donot think Microsoft has plan B.

Mango will probably be released in 3 months but there are no guarantees and, to the best of my knowledge, MS haven't announced a release date. Go ahead and give them 3 months if that's important to you but at least start it from the release date. If you start it today you might find that the deadline expires before the software is even released :rofl:

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Mango will probably be released in 3 months but there are no guarantees and, to the best of my knowledge, MS haven't announced a release date. Go ahead and give them 3 months if that's important to you but at least start it from the release date. If you start it today you might find that the deadline expires before the software is even released :rofl:

huh, Apple was running iPhone ads / atleast feeding speculation even before it was released. WP is on the market now.. where are the ads that show people how cool the OS actually is ?

and if MS cant release Mango within Oct 21st - 3 months from now, then its all lost anyway - yet another year . which brings me to another MS trait in mobile and media offerings ... sloppy execution.

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Mango will probably be released in 3 months but there are no guarantees and, to the best of my knowledge, MS haven't announced a release date. Go ahead and give them 3 months if that's important to you but at least start it from the release date. If you start it today you might find that the deadline expires before the software is even released :rofl:

The App hub will be accepting Mango apps in 32 days (8/22). I'd be amazed if they can't get mango out the door in the following 2 months.

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Its all about quantity and shop sellers. Ms is getting stomped by android as sales staff direct people away from WP to Android. MS needs to address this. They also need to get more phones out there because the majority of people dont even know what OS they have got, people just think they have got a samsung or whatever. The more WP on offer the more likely people will try them and consider buying them.

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I think what the guy is definitely right on is getting working demo units out there. Particularly for the holiday season, they should be paying to have people out there in various stores promoting Windows Phone, with working demos so that people can actually use it. That's one of the things the iPhone 3G had going for it on launch - every store that sold cell phones had at least one working iPhone 3G on display to try - all the other phones were dummies, but the iPhone was real. Microsoft should be doing the same thing, and also have the people there to make sure the phones are always charged and working properly. I've gone into several stores that have demo Androids or BlackBerries that aren't working because they ran out of charge and nobody has bothered to fix it.

MS should also offer extra bonuses. I've done sales assist before, and the salespeople are primarily concerned about commission, if they get $7 on each sale, but a particular model gives them an extra $20, they'll really push that one. Throughout the holiday season, MS should make sure that Windows Phone sales account for way more commission than Android or iPhone. That'll instantly turn around the problem of sales people trash-talking Windows Phone. They'll find good things to say so they get more money.

They marketed the hell out of the Kinect, and I guess it paid off, but the Xbox 360 was already doing well, they should be doing even more with Windows Phone.

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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.

They have money in the bank for financial emergencies.. its a thing that bill gates started back in the day .. since technology changes so fast money in the bank is the only way to be able to react quickly.. look at a company without a ton in the bank and how it has effected them.. Nokia

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Nokia better bring it. As for Mango, IMO it's more of a catching up update than a highly revolutionary one. But it's nice nonetheless.

I hope that's sarcasm.

Mango brings 500 new features and enhancements to Windows Phone so if anything it's an evolutionary release rather than a "catch up" update. The same can't be said for "iOS5 Copycat" though...

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huh, Apple was running iPhone ads / atleast feeding speculation even before it was released. WP is on the market now.. where are the ads that show people how cool the OS actually is ?

and if MS cant release Mango within Oct 21st - 3 months from now, then its all lost anyway - yet another year . which brings me to another MS trait in mobile and media offerings ... sloppy execution.

Are you suggesting that Apple have been advertising iOS5 features to the general public via TV and print advertising? I find that hard to believe but would be interested to see an example.

Personally, I think Microsoft have done as much if not more than their competitors to get news out of the changes that are coming in Mango. First the big announcement, then they did a good job of getting a beta version out to the community to work with. They've also released a number of videos over the last few months demonstrating the new features in action. I'm sure that Apple have done similar marketing work with the iOS5 beta and I haven't seen anything from Android.

The thing is, until the software goes live and is available to the public there's not much you can do to market it to anyone but developers and geeks. That's why I think Rush24's 3 month deadline is silly - he's raising expectations amongst his readers before they can be fulfilled.

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