From the Forums: Hot threads and Windows Phone shortcomings

This week's hottest thread really isn't just one hot thread but rather a collection of related threads covering one topic: Windows Phone and its shortcomings.

Some of these so-called deficiencies could be bigger than Windows Phone itself or at least that is what some think. In this thread "Why WP isn't as popular as it should be" forum member baileystein, who sells Windows Phones, has a unique perspective on all of this and shares it with us.

Curious as to what he and others have to say? Read on past the break to get their views.

"Let me start off by saying one thing. I sell Windows Phones and have a pretty good idea "how" to sell them and what catches peoples attention. I keep getting the notion that people think the Windows Phone is bad, has touch screen issues, freezes constantly, etc. I simply say back, "You've been misinformed, have you ever tried an android?". We'll end that there, I'm not a fanboy, I just love the Windows Phone.

So why isn't it as popular as it should be? There are several reasons which I have came up with and if anybody would like to add to this list, FEEL FREE!"

The author of that post then lists quite a few reasons to back up his claim and they're worth the read. Head to that thread here to get the rest.

What does all this mean for Windows Phone in the long term? This bring us to our next thread "Beauty is as beauty does (n't)... " where forum member Pocket_Fuzz spends some time comparing Windows Phone shortcomings to a feature phone he is using:

"Recent job hours reductions forced me off my WP7 Arrive as a smartphone to just a PDA and back to the Feature Phone Sanyo scp8400. What has come to light is that I DO prefer custom alert tones for DIFFERENT notices which come through fine on the Sanyo, but as we all know are NOT available on WP! Hmmm, but Android does, and so does iOS now.

I cannot exchange the great pix and videos from my Arrive to my Netbook or my laptop unless I have ZUNE AND a Wi FI connection - not always available when I am in the field.

WHY isn't Bluetooth file exchange turned on? But hmmm, Android does bluetooth file exchange. My WP7 phone ( and most of the ones out there) don't even utilize a micro SD card - so cannot simply swap a card to change files! But the Sanyo feature phone has a swappable micro SD card! As do most Android phones."

Pocket Fuzz lists even more reasons in that post which do raise some valid points. Of course Microsoft can only do so much and many of the features in Windows Phone are the ones that many use on a regular basis. Bluetooth transfers, while nice, don't work so hot for 8 or 16MP photos that can span up to 4MB in size. Still, some of his other complaints do ring true for many of you. Finish reading Pocket Fuzz's post here.

While we try to make sense off all this we have to ask are these really weak points of the Windows Phone OS or is Windows Phone just a different way of thinking?

Forum member jabtano brings this all together in his thread "Why WP7 could still fail". In short, he thinks that not only are these shortcoming going to aid in the failure of Windows Phone but that even the name Windows Phone will cause its failure. That combined with Microsoft's presumed inability to adapt will not allow Microsoft and Windows Phone to be competitive in the mobile market.

"Why WP7 could fail. We all know that the OS is smooth. though it's not for everyone. The point here is this. Windows on my PC/Laptop/Tablet is ok but my phone should be cool it's with me, out and about. Frankly there is nothing cool in "windows name" the reason why Xbox is so popular because it's not called windows games. Now that I have the name out of the way lets really get down to the nuts and bolts. when WP7 was launched it was so with missing key features that really turned on MS. people didn't even want to look at it no C&P, no multitasking..ect.. Microsoft the worlds biggest software company is there own worst enemy."

Jabtano goes on about how Microsoft is not doing all they can and while many express this viewpoint, the fact of the matter is software development can only go so fast. Had Microsoft tried to release a "feature complete" OS, it would have not come out till 2012 (and that's being generous). Seeing as critics were calling it "too late" in 2010 we could only imagine how they would have reacted if Microsoft waited even longer. Fact of the matter is, when you're not a software engineer nor managing developers, it's easy to criticize since you can ignore reality.

We think the big question is will Windows Phone fail? What about these shortcomings of the Operating System are they flaws at all or are they just a different way of thinking? Can Microsoft adapt fast enough to keep up with the competition? What about Microsoft's track record on updates?

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In the history of Windows Phone we have seen Microsoft do some amazing things like releasing Mango (a major OS upgrade with 500 new features) to the majority of Windows Phones in a very short time. Microsoft even got LTE into Mango phones despite the fact that LTE wasn't scheduled to be available until Apollo.

But has Microsoft done enough to sway the masses? It's all a lot to digest and there is much more in the forum discussions, so let us hear what you think.