Hey Microsoft, when in India?

By Abhishek Baxi
last updated

The world is ready for the Windows 10 Devices event – the biggest Microsoft event in recent times - in New York City. Across the proverbial seven seas a lot of Windows enthusiasts in India will view the live stream in the evening, and expectedly wonder 'When in India' at the end of the blitzkrieg on the stage.

The 'Last' Frontier

The last Windows Phone flagship device, the Lumia 930, went on sale in several countries across the globe in July last year, but it only trickled in to India in the second-half of October. The Surface devices, now headed to their fourth generation, have still not released in India. Microsoft Band? Well, let's not even go there.

And, while hardware is a tricky business and needs supply chain and retail setups, we've not been served any better on the software and services front as well. While Bing always had limited features for the Indian market (unlike Google's all out and last mile services in India), Cortana on Windows Phone is still in alpha. No Groove Music too (Google Play Music, iTunes and the new Apple Music are here of course). More recently, Windows 10 rolled out in India without Cortana – one of the marquee features of the latest version of Windows.

The Big Billion

The second class treatment is ironic. Technology companies across the globe see the Indian market as the biggest opportunity, along with China. The unfortunate population numbers and the untapped majority aids the opportunity with a huge potential customer base. Even at Windows Central, readers from India rank highly after the US which is enough evidence of the interest in the Windows ecosystem in the country.

It's not that Microsoft doesn't realize that. The slew of budget and mid-range Lumia devices launched since last year and the recent announcement of local datacenters in India are a testament to Microsoft's interest in the market and the recognition of the opportunity.

And many readers at Windows Central keep pointing out – incorrectly, of course – that India should be better served since an Indian-born Satya Nadella is at the helm. Hah!

When in India

For all we know, the October 6 event will see the launch of Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface XL, and likely the Microsoft Band 2 as well. There will be some accessories like the new Treasure Tag and a Skype speaker, perhaps.

It is left to be seen when some of these will land in India. October-November is the major festive season in India, but the Lumias will likely not make it very soon. Nokia has had a fantastic supply chain and retail presence in India, and with Microsoft Priority Resellers, I would imagine Microsoft to carry forward the experience. But that hasn't been the case as yet. For most Lumias launched in India, you'd still struggle to find accessories in stores – even those ones that were formally announced.

There are about a dozen brands selling wearables in India, including the expensive and hardly selling Android smartwatches, but Microsoft Band is nowhere to be found. The great reviews that the Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 have garnered have only sparked the interest in several Indians like me – I bought the Surface RT, and now Surface 3 from the US. While Lenovo and HP have introduced several tablets and convertibles, the Surface products are nowhere to be seen. This needs to change.

All in Hope

So, as Microsoft finds its way out as part of its biggest transformation, a zillion Indians would hope that they feature right up on the list as launch plans and services are formalized. One would expect Microsoft to bring broader and feature complete services, launch more devices, more quicker, enriching the Microsoft ecosystem in the country.

Abhishek Baxi
Abhishek Baxi
153 Comments
  • Do as India.
  • Where is @Rodneyj? Missing his comments.. Lol
  • Wen in England??? How about a store or two?
  • I know!
  • This is the world smallest violin.
  • Actually if Microsoft did release everything in India properly we might have more than 3% market share. Never underestimate any market with a huge population like India. If 1% of India bought Windows Phones, it would equal more users than 10% of the UK doing the same. Android has a huge market share because it's cheap and available world wide. When someone wants to buy your product, you make sure that they can as quickly and easily as possible, because that one person buying might convince 10 others to buy it as well. No need for tiny violins, I really don't care how any Indian feels left out at not being able to buy a surface, but the fact is Microsoft is missing out in a huge market and as a whole that holds the Windows platform back.
  • If that's true (and it probably is) then why doesn't Microsoft just do that?
  • I totally second that. Well said!
  • This. What mbrdev said.
  • There are lots of cheap WP available in India. Even some from regional manufacturers.
  • *drops some coins in to tangledW's hat* God bless you.
  • Wen Violin in india
  • THANK YOU
  • And what about all those other countries (like most of Europe) which also don't have many of the features or services that other countries do have? Not only do we buy a lot of budget phones, but also the high-end devices plus various Microsoft Services that have been handicapped since they launched (if they even launched). So what about us? I'm from the Netherlands and most us are fluent in English, but we are not allowed to use those services with the NL-region. Or things like Bing (and subservices like Maps) and others aren't working as nice as they are elsewhere. Why would India be the only one targetting your article? And why is speech recognision (like dictating messages) still not available everywhere (apart from a handful of nations)? Why does that take so long? They had since WP7 to get it right and its still not in there. And with Android or iOS people can so we are missing a very important differenciator on our markets. Microsoft has been too US-focussed for many years now and it just has to stop. Go international and perhaps even force local Microsoft subsidaries to up their game. This isn't something to take lightly. Its something you need in order to compete. Currently you are way behind, and i'm not only talking about features, i'm talking about the basics of locallisation.
  • I feel you and the way they defend this by saying "we need to make sure it's top notch for each and every new country" is a lot of BS. Come pay us a visit with your US Cortana and see if it works in here. Oh it doesn't? Well.. Your globalisation model is fckd up.
  • And now India focused, thanks to Satya. You have to appreciate that about Indians; where ever they go, they make sure they benefit their country one way or the other. Logic goes out of the window in such cases. Watch the replies now about one of the biggest population in the world, etc etc. But what percentage of that population can actually afford a $400-700 phone, or a $500-1500 tablet, etcetera.
    My point is, there are numerous countries with much higher GDP. Those should be the target. That's where people can actually afford this stuff.
    Oh and by the way, like Baxi mentioned, Android based smart watches are expensive and hardly selling! Can you not get a clue from that? Android is widely used in India and they still can't sell a quality smart watch.
  • We don't need everyone in the world to have a flagship. But you need a good even spread of them globally, flagships in the hands of people who cam afford them give the people who can't something to aspire too. People don't buy a cheap galaxy because they love Android, they buy it because one day they want a galaxy flagship and they want to be part of the same ecosystem. If they can be exposed to flagship windows phones they might aspire to have one, and instead of buying that cheap galaxy they go and pick up a Lumia 640. That's how market share can increase which is good for everyone.
  • Yes, mbrdev, flagships are often times the selling point for more inexpensive phone models. People really want the flagship, but settle for a phone that costs lesser money, and gives you a similar experience. HTC has been doing that, and while it doesn't work too well for them, it surely does for Samsung.
  • You're right about the GDP and what their focus should be. The focus is where the money is, at least in this dire market position that Microsoft has. I do not think, however, that Microsoft is India-focused as of now. I wouldn't go so  far as to generalize all Indians under the stereotypical "help my country back" mesage. Quite frankly and honestly, many Indians I've met in the US are here because they were sick of that place and needed to escape. Yes, this comment may draw hate, but in my experience, this is true for many people.
  • @centrally windows, no hate from me. I reckon that's spot on.
  • Notinhg about the coment, but great name lol
  • "....but what percentage of that population can afford a blah blah blah..."
    Population of India, according to their population clock, is approximately 1.28 billion. That's 1280000000. Lets say a meagre 10% of that not-at-all-meagre number fit your unfortunate and Hollywood informed, slumdog millionaire criterion. That's still, 12800000000. Population of United states: Approx, 350000000. Use your addled brain to figure out which number is bigger and then approach the situation with a slightly more flexible mindset.
    Good day.
  • India is definitely an important target market, but not overly so. More than 50% of the population is rural, and even if we agree that 10% will afford flagship smartphones, many people in India will blindly shell out $1000 for an iPhone 6S (Yes, that's the price). Many others will be Android fanboys, and there are too few WP potential purchasers. Of course, the same could be said about other countries, but they don't want to waste too much money on advertising especially after that $7b+ write-down. I believe it will come eventually to India.
  • More than 50% is rural? Is that a fact now? Would love to see some evidence behind that. Also "rural" might also include people who possess acres upon acres of farmland. That my friend, is probably the most precious commodity you could own there.
    I've been there, lived there for a while. If you own a mediocre amount of land, you have the best safety net, ever. So even if "50%" is right, then like 50% of that 50% is *loaded.*
  • According to the statistic 14% of the total population in India are using IOS where as only 2.6% are using windows and the rest android. Now you do the math. Even if India is not the main target for smartphone manufacturers right now it will be by 2017.
  • About that 'wherever Indians go they benefit their country' .... I don't really agree with that. I am a South African of Indian descent (1860 indentured labourers) and we have the largest Indian population outside of India. However, coming back to what you are angling at, yes, it is contradictory to sell premium devices at high prices that most people cannot afford, hence the budget segment rollouts we've seen from MS this last year. Someone earlier from Nederland also pointed out how there are many windows phone users globally who do not have access to features like cortana, etc, which are set to be key differentiators for windows devices and Microsoft. Here, in Aouth Africa, I don't see, for example, localised to our region or country. MS really does need to acknowledge that they serve a global community, not just the US, UK and, especially with recent posts, India.
  • I couldn't agree more, this stereotypical mindset that *cough cough* 3rd world countries or to put it in a polite perspective, emerging markets cant afford flagships is absurd. I come from Botswana, hardly a globe-trotter and our population is somewhat 2mil yet I see more people buying Samsung galaxies & iPhones here because we want them and they are available unlike Microsoft devices, my mother rocks a Note 4 & iphone 6, my dad an iphone 6+ and they fall in the category of middle class earners, if they can afford flagships in a 3rd world country what makes people/Microsoft here think that there's no market outside the Us?? I use an l730, it cost me an equivalent to 350$, it took me a long time to get it because of lack of availability, not that I can't afford it. If Microsoft is going to succeed in the mobile division, they need to make their devices available worldwide
  • indian buying power might not be great compare to china/carrier based usa.....but this changing now....more people buying apple mobiles.....more and more chinese oems entering india.......samsung galaxy line sell good ......so what this article suggesting is microsoft must increase their presence before its tooooooo late.....people in india buy unlock mobile so at least i prefer constant price ( accepted little price drops) through device cycle...rather than releasing at premium price then after 3 months drastically price drop..... 
  • Ha! This guy gets it.
  • So..basically what you are saying is..we don't have buying capability!? Or..are you saying we are cheap?
    Either way.. You're wrong. Portraying a whole country cheap just because couple of android smart watches didn't sell is stupid. 75% of my friends have premium gadgets(>350$/300£) such as Apple products and other ultrabooks. The only reason those so called "smartwatches" didn't sell because we know how overrated they were. If a quality product launches in our country..let me assure you..we very much have the capability to buy it.
  • Here comes another stupid comment. Seriously, you seem to be knowing much more about Indians than Indians themselves. Granted, there are some very selfish Indians, but please don't tell me that there are no people from other countries who make sure that they benefit their home countries( I'm not supporting the idea). I would like to know what has Satya specifically done for the Indian market that makes you think that he is giving us any special benefits. As far as the population replies go, I guess you should read them. How do YOU know what percentage of the population can afford a $400-700 phone or a $500-1500 tablet when I can see iPhones costing almost $1000 in the hands of the people & I don't even live in one of the biggest cities of India. Do you really think we can't buy a Lumia 950, 950XL, Surface Pro 4 or the Surface Book if we want to? Then you seriously know nothing about India. I have seen one of my teachers carrying a MacBook Air for one of our classes. Of cours,  there are countries which are probably bigger markets for these high end devices & Microsoft should have a proper presence in them, but, if they simply stay away from India, then a time will arrive when there will be no one wanting a Surface or a Lumia here, as they will be deeply entrenched in their Apple & Google devices & this will be a failure on an epic scale. Try as hard as you might, but you simply CANNOT ignore India. It is a much bigger market than you think of it to be & will become even bigger with each passing day. "Oh, & by the way, Android based smartwatches are not selling" because they seem like a useless product to most of the Indians not just because they are expensive. They serve almost no purpose here. Android sells here because people actually like Android on phones. Even I'm moving to Android as I see nothing which can make me stick to Windows 10 Mobile. Here, if you are using WP, then you are already a fool(not my opinion). People wouldn't even buy the Apple Watch here in too large numbers while they would be more than happy to buy the new iPhones.  Maybe, you should visit India & have a first-hand experience of the country.
  • Heck, neither the 930 nor 1520 is sold here in Cambodia (in fact not even the 830)
  • so the bigger Surface Pro 4 is called XL? that's a nice unification of branding there, MS.
  • Title is wrong, it's 'WEN in India' :P
  • Yep, the title is wrong.
    "WEN/When in <another contry>"
  • Exactly!
  • Windows Central, Will I see you tonight at the party? I'm going to be the one with a crutch! LOL
  • Ah, hyperbole. Where would Yankee comedy be without that concept and its bastard brother, stereotype?
  • I just want to know wen in T-Mobile.lol
  • The Uncarrier. I suggest you save for, and buy, an unlocked phone at full price. That will work with T-Mo, and is also likely to have international bands so you can roam on the network while you're on a vacation in... India, of course. :)
  • Lol I have a feeling that will be the case which means I wont be able to get it one day one unfortunately. Oh well I guess. But then again....I'll wait until the announcement.
  • US gets everything and we others get nothing.. :/
  • Stop with the US stuff. If you are not on AT&T, you have not been getting anything decent in terms of phones unless you buy unlocked and skip features.
  • As a loyal T-Mobile customer since 2007, he's telling the truth. We got close with the Lumia 925 but we were missing about 16gb. All the best Windows Phones I've owned came by way of eBay. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Microsoft is the single most US-first US-only US-centric of the big tech companies, by far. That's the problem, no one is asking when in X to Apple and Google because they usually have thing globally available or at least give some dates to when and then follow it. Google's services are mostly restricted by language, not country, like it should be. Microsoft gets the international thing completelly wrong.
  • And that's one of the reasons why they are failing on the hardware department. Samsung galaxies and iPhones are available everywhere, but a Microsoft device??? Nooo, it's like looking for a needle in a hay stack
  • So Apple did not release the first iPhone in the USA first?
  • oh, yeah, the past, such a nice place to live.
    by the way, I said "usually have things globally available or at least give some dates to when and then follow it", I didn't say always, and they at least have plans for other countries in the near future.
  • Here in Brazil we dont have Band, Surface, Cortana... We dont have even Fitbit!!
  • We're almost the same in Argentina, in fact, you tend to have more Lumia models than us (you have the 8x0s usually).
  • And it's one of the countries with the bigger Windows Phone market share... Go figure... At least they announced we will have an Alpha Cortana later this year...
  • Im guessing their deal with Dell and HP to sell Surface, should likely help in making the Surface available to markets MS doesnt have a big "footprint" in ...but hopefully they also put more effort from their end, as that would (hopefully) be more profitable for them as well as make their products more widely available.
  • I can add to it ... I visited Dell showroom yesterday to buy a new laptop for my cousin and I asked them about the deal with MS to sell Surface models .. And he said " Currently we are not doing it directly.. But if you are interested to buy one .. We can defenitely order the Surface model you want .. And in near future.. You can even get Surface models from us directly ..."
  • Really? That's awesome!
  • When you'll start doing business global I'd say..
  • 950 and xl will come on this diwali in india confirmed by Microsoft India
  • When did they say?
  • Wen in South Africa?
  • When Jesus returns
  • +1
  • That would be miss opportunity for MS not taking advantage of festivals.... 9 days of dance festival where boys could have shown their brand new lumias to girls or may be use to take pictures of amazing colurful dressed girls!!!! and dipawali...
  • No officers nce intended but although India has a massive population most of the population wouldn't be able to afford the surface PEO 3 or 4 so this is probably the reason why it isn't released there. You can always order from Amazon UK or US if you are desperate for it, but I don't see that happening. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Amazon US does not ship Surface to India.
  • I can confirm that's not the case. Some retailers on Amazon.com do ship to India, albeit with outrageous import fees and charges. I have been trying to get my hands (and mouth) on Orville Redenbacher's Pour Over Movie Theater Butter Popcorn. Got 10 packs for $20 from Walmart. Now I'm in India, and the 10-pack is $23 on Amazon.com, and with the charges and shipping, it is... $120 Fair enough.
  • "No offence intended."
    A bigger one line joke than "When in India?"
    Read my response to sholokov's similarly flavoured comment. Seriously, the amount of people unwilling to do a basic Google search is unacceptably high.
  • but ......when in India? That line has become a joke all because the Windows Phone followers in IST started asking in every article .....but wen in India. Now that line is stuck in everyone's head like most pple who abuse the repeat button.
  • What about my country, Argentina? Along with Brazil, it's one of the biggest market for Lumias in South America. Then again we only see a fraction of the phones released domestically, and much later. We're about to get the 640 in the coming months and I feel we should be excited about it, go figure. Not to speak of other MS devices which don't get released locally period, you need to find an importer to buy a Surface and even then it's hard and they're expensive. So I understand about India being Nadella's country and China as a big growth market and all. But certainly MS needs to pay more attention to the market and project itself as more of a worldwide company. As they remark in this thread, most ot the main MS services are also US-centric. We're barely being trickled Cortana to other language zones (I have to use my phone as if in Spain to get Cortana in my language, which is even a big ste up from back in 8.1 when I used my phone in US english). So yeah, when everywhere else, Microsoft?
  • Please please Microsoft bring surface pro 3 and surface pro 4 to India. :( :(
  • Wen in Mars?
  • Leave my cousin out of it...
  • Microsoft, please listen to this article. There are so many Microsoft fans here. Many of them are converting to Android or IOS as there are no regional features such as Cortana or package tracking Surface.
  • There is a typo in the title.
  • Lol
  • When in Indonesia microsoft gonna open their official store ! Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Yes its true that Microsoft is always neglected the huge Indian market. Some products have been not available or in limited count. So MS thing about the indian market and publicity is main matter in India.
    I'm sorry for my English.
  • When in Japan? I am planning to move there so would be nice to be able to get the same stuff like I get here in Britannia.
  • Lol you spelled it wrong. It's wen*
  • Thank you...
  • What a pointless fucking article!
  • What a lame comment
  • Ooh that'll teach me...
  • Yet you post more than one comment.
  • The comments are more in response to the kind of bullshitism that I know will crop up in a quasi-nationalistic article like this. The contents of this article, I still maintain, weigh less than the air inside a flute.
  • Now i see Lumia's everywhere.... Need to see SP4...
  • This says february 2016 http://microsoft-news.com/microsoft-to-start-selling-surface-devices-in-...    
  • Problem is there own(US) people treating MS as second class.. And people(other countries) who treat MS First class MS itself treating them as second class... Really sad
  • This was the best title for an article EVER
  • Except there's a typo: *Wen
  • Agreed!
  • Why do I see a truck load of "India isn't worth it" comments sky up? Is it coz we land on your jobs thanks to our hard work and dedication while you sleep on the streets living on welfare?
  • 1. They've been saying, "Not too many Indians have high spending power, which is why it shouldn't be the first priority." Nobody said that India isn't worth it. 2. You sound very self-righteous and inflamed. I should remind you that many, if not most, American jobs that Indians land are because the employers can get away with paying them less money. Yes, there are many hard-working and dedicated Indian-origin people, which is why the CEOs of Microsoft, Google, among others are them. But they're not all.
  • Speaks volumes about them employers then, doesn't it?
  • While I marginally agree with the "not many indians have the spending power" part you forget india wins in sheer numbers. If even 10% indians have the purchasing power to buy a surface that's still nearly 128 million possible customers which is more than the total population of most countries including france, germany and the UK.
  • "high spending power" as in blowing wads of cash via credit cards? We'd rather part ways with out hard earned cash than live on debt. As for the others, cut the racist BS out.
  • No need to get frustrated. Most people here think of india as portrayed in hollywood movies and have no sense of reality. I'm pretty sure most of them still think we live in huts as opposed to the 50 storey apartment building I'm currently living in.
  • I don't really get why MS is so keen on limiting Cortana to regions. I don't want to be stuck in US region just because MS decided that Slovakia will probably never get localization (Siri is still not available in Slovak). Let me freakin use that stuff in English but without the need to set region to something I am not in.
  • Oh brother...
  • I don't see many products in my country either. How many wp on sale here? Five. 530,535,630,640 & 735. No flagship since 1020. No 830. No surface. No band. Nothing.
    (Argentina. )
  • I hear you...We're getting the 640 soon apparently. I don't know, I do have some hope that the new flagships will eventually be released locally. But I won't wait for that, I'm getting mine imported.
  • never in india. they will allways only care about 3% us market share. all unsold xbox old consoles and windows phones arrive to country. better to buy apple products. they respet us all the apple products are avalible in country. (even apple tv) is coming soon to india u can understand 
  • This article is not so much about India as it is about non-US countries in general. For many (new) products (like the Band) I understand they want to test it locally first, but c'mon ... Cortana needs to be available everywhere. The whole world needs Bing. You've tested the Band long enough, either stop it or make it available to everyone.
  • Yep exactly! To the author: Why do you think you're the only one being neglected in all t hose things you've mentioned ;) 
  • may be because, "When In India" is very famous in WC nowdays..
  • Agreed. Lumia 535 official flip cover CC-3092 had been removed since first week of January. And I didn't got that one.
  • Now this is real question...."when in India?" :)
  • Yes?
  • @sholokov @centrally windows another thing, GDP of India? Third largest after China and USA. Granted that the GDP per capita and the HDI of that nation are basically dirt poor, their GDP proper, is higher than ANY European country individually.
    Seriously, have y'all not heard of Wikipedia?
  • Wen in Portugal?
  • @abhishekbaxi awesome editorial page.
    These phone will be available at Diwali time & launched October end.
    Source: NPU
    http://www.nokiapoweruser.com/exclusive-microsofts-upcoming-lumia-produc...
  • In India, if you buy a lumia 640 and for some reason your battery dies, you're done for good. You can't buy a genuine spare battery of lumia 640 in India. lol....
    This might apply for other models as well.... IDK...
    I was only concerned about the 640 cuz I own one.
  • actual question should be when in any country except USA ? Microsoft services are sub par in any country except USA
  • Well said
  • Not only India. They neglect all most all the countries apart from US. And yes Lumia 535 is a big mistake of Microsoft. Touch issue was never addressed properly and just keep on releasing updates giving lame excuses. Now they act like there wasn't even something called Lumia 535 on earth. I always being a fan of Microsoft really disappointed about their behaviour regarding lumia 535.
  • Thank you Abhishek for speaking the truth! Hope MS takes notice of our disappointment.
  • Love the title Abhishek .
  • Me too!
  • Your user id :) 
  • What's the "wen" joke? I don't get it.
  • I have seen lot of Lumia 730 in my Indian office.
    Its good ploy to bring all types of devices to each and every country.
  • 640 LTE, 640XL LTE are coming soon to India for many days.. :( thats sad. If they release them for this festival season, I will definitely buy one. 
  • After long time, a good article in wc
  • Highly debatable.
  • Not only is this article poorly titled, it comes infuriatingly close to the real question which is "When will Microsoft stop pandering to ONLY (virtually) the American market and tap the potential of the rest of the world?"
    They should take lessons from Philip Morris, the cigarette company.
  • Your title is more interesting than this article's
  • The day it does Android and Ios will bow before Windows! Can't imagine that day to near soon!
  • When in Australia? No Band, Cortana is still in Alpha as well, the only Lumia being sold by Vodafone, Optus and Telstra is the 640/XL and most are not restocking.
    When in India?
    Get in line with everybody else. Every country has their benefits. Some have high population / # of customers, others have less customers yet more money to spend.
  • wen in india seems faster
  • Why thank you!
  • Next article please.
  • Awesome title
    "when in India"
    are you guys listening ????
  • So, when in Nigeria? Flagships take their sweet time to get here. Took a lot of soul searching before I got my Surface because there is no local support. And that line about 3rd world country income? Well, I see lots of iPhones and Galaxies here. And personally, I have been using top end hardware since like forever. Even the mid end don't get here on time. Microsoft need to focus more on non-US countries. Even Canada complain about lack/lag of flagship despite literally sharing a border! You can't expect market share to grow when people have to order phones from Amazon! It doesn't work that way.
  • Yessssss
  • Really? in Mexico only receives the 920 and the surface 2 (RT) and you are complaining?
  • Though I am in need of handset change, looking at no launch date for IN I have to figure out something else. MS is not alone in the race of second class treatment of Indian market. Earlier Google and Apple has done the same thing and due to which windows phone has some presence, eg. Due to lack of Indic fonts earlier in Android phones, buyers preferred WP.
  • Hope microsoft goes the nokia way...and releases phones faster in india with surface and band...
    Thou just read a article that lumia 950 and 959xl will be launched in india around diwali time that is a good season and should come with good freebies...
    And they will launch surface pro by feb 2016...
    Hope like nokia , microsoft gives good priority to india. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I waited for the 930, got tired and bought a HTC e8 last year. Now I'm planning on buying an ultrabook, and I can't buy the surface pro 3, let alone the pro 4- so I will end up buying the MacBook air! Please Microsoft, save me
  • When In Chile? Why all to India Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Your neighbour across the border here. It has always surprised me how Microsoft has ignored India with its flagship class Surface, XBox brands and Band products. Even though the success rate with Microsoftproducts and ecosystem in India is greater than say, China.
  • MS Should Launch Surface Devices in india including Band 2!!
  • Looking for me??
  • For all the commenters complaining about the undue focus on India - that is what this post is about!!! I'm assuming you would be reading this only if you are from India or in some way connected to India. Hopefully WP will publish another post titled 'Hey Microsoft, when in Netherlands?' which our Dutch friends can read and comment on. The fact is even Apple includes India in the first wave of countries to receive their latest products - a case in point being that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch dates have already been made public. Apple has been working with consumer finance companies to offer attractive instalment schemes to entice new buyers and by all accounts, have been fairly successful. It is inexcusable that one can buy an Apple Music subscription in India but not Groove. The reason why Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, etc. are quick to introduce their latest products in India in the first wave is not because it is the most economically profitable decision, but because India is THE last frontier. It is amazing that Microsoft does not get it, especially given Nokia's proud legacy in this country.
  • Loved that wallpaper.. ;)
  • When in Pakistan?! Aah. . . . Forget it!
  • At the end we all want Microsoft give us all services and product
    Specifically xbox one users..as am I waiting for grove music
    It's just feel pitty..that you trusted faith in Microsoft and at the end you get everything after an year.
    # do something Microsoft
  • I do support wen in India ;-) not just because I am an Indian(that is also a reason). But basically because 1) No carrier subsidy here; makes the market unsuitable for Apple and hence only Android to compete.
    2) lot many people(at least many I know) are on Android because there is no equivalent alternative as iPhone is too costly
    3) app gap is lot lesser here; lot many bank apps are already here, local apps are available and windows store icon also present in app bill boards.
    4) Apple crazy is all time low compared to the other main markets; no queue in front of apple store before an iPhone launch, etc. So Microsoft indeed can help with itself with more market share.
    5) Microsoft and Nokia are seen as big brands here; they can easily capitalize. All these points are true for most of the Nokia strongholds. It is beyond my reasoning why Microsoft is not focusing on them with priority. Even one price sensitive, miser customer for Microsoft is one customer lost for Apple/Android right?
  • To be honest, I would love to have all these Microsoft devices, services and stores here in South Africa. There were always rumours that they'd come, but that's where it ended. I had to pay a ridiculous amount to import my Surface 3 without all the Microsoft support and warranty, etc. I don't get to use Cortana without pretending I live in USA or UK. I don't get an app store as populated as even the USA MS store. I don't get all the features of Bing. No xbox music or video service (or groove now). And I could have gotten all the Apple alternatives if I just went down the road and bought an iPad/macbook from the Apple store. I think I'm retarded.
  • Very well put Sir.
  • Well after reading most of the comments, I feel Microsoft wants to be alive only in US and rest of the globe is kept in dark with a piece of pie of windows!! Am a user of windows phone with Insider preview from India and it will remain preview for a longer period. So it can be imagined..
  • 'more quicker'?
  • Maybe first Microsoft is trying to stabilize the losses!!
  • I guess the phones are going to relase here at the same time or very close to rest of world. Accessories and surface devices will be delayed?
  • the only reason that Microsoft bets strong in India  is because would be the next China in the next years, with 1 210 193 422   potential customers is just logic that Microsoft which is driven now by an  CEO which is from there is logic that always will     do everything for his country first, like the past Ceos of Microsoft been always USA first.my Fellow americans  do not ask to Satya Nadella which gets focused in  everywhere, unfortunatelly.because would just  bets on India where by some odd reason   is more  Windows Phones, probably w¿ due the fact that the  main man of Microsoft be from INDIA , that could boosted  the sales there.
  • There's a big event in Bombay by Microsoft on the 5th and 6th November. I believe Satya Nadella himself is coming for it. I hope they announce the launch dates in India then.