Mark Cuban swaps iPhone for Nokia Lumia Windows Phone

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

American investor and businessman Mark Cuban, who owns NBA team Dallas Mavericks, recently carried out an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit. The session was hit by a number of questions from fellow users, spanning a number of topics. Most notably was a conversation that was started by ashton90, who wanted to know what kind of laptop Cuban owns, as well as MP3 player.

Mark Cuban, proving to be an open-minded individual, responded with the following:

"I have a MacBook Air, but am trying the new Acer with Windows 8. I really, really like Windows 8 on my phone. I have 2 phones. first is samsung the 2nd was an Iphone5. THe new Nokia with windows replaced my Iphone 5".

It's not revealed which Lumia Windows Phone Cuban is currently using over his iPhone, but we'd assume it's the Lumia 920. When asked if he made use of T-Mobile's 4G network, Cuban replied with:

"i actually do on my samsung. I love the tmobile wifi calling option. I love the open Android and Samsung platforms. I use a replacement keyboard sw which increases my typing speed (i still miss the speed typing on my sidekick). I love myIPad and my macbook air is amazing when it doesnt crash, so i like apple products, but i think as far as phones, both Samsung 3 w android and the windows phone kick the Iphone's ass. Its not even close."

Strong words published by a well known name. It's good to see strong support continuing to be displayed by celebrities, especially since the likes of Jessica Alba were on-board with the Windows Phone 8 launch. A number of commercials were created for television advertisement slots that saw the supporting celebrities talk about their Windows Phone.

Microsoft is also looking as though the company is preparing to move into position for an all-out marketing attack in 2013, and news stories like this just adds that little bit more.

Source: Reddit; thanks everyone who tipped us!

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

124 Comments
  • I think this is more effective than celebrity advertising. Its raw and honest.
  • Perhaps... But he's a complete unknown outside the US so it's effectiveness is limited. At least celebrities have broader appeal
  • I dont want to start an argument but you underestamate the broad appeal of the NBA in other countries. Mark Cuban is an exstension of that.  Now I or other people don't look to him for gadget advice be he does have a loud mouth, hence the reason your seeing it here and on other tech blog sites.
     
  • Nokia brand dosen't need Mark Cuban outside of USA. In India it's #1 in brand recognition.
  • In India and in Europe......
  • MARK !!! HELL YEA THATS MY TEAM MAVERICKS
  • SAME!!!
  • Shame.
  • Ditto!
  • Go Mavericks.........
  • Yes
  • Hate Mark Cuban because im a spurs fan, but I can understand why his team loves him. This is one thing I can stand behind him on.
  • Yay. This is good :-)
  • My first reaction was... Who? And then I was like... Whaaaat is this guy trying to say...? And then I was like, oh, he's cool with WP8. He's all right. I understand marketing needs a familiar face to appeal to the masses, JAlba is cool... Hobbit is neat. I just feel like we need a little more. Why start marketing the hell out of something after it comes out? Holidays came and went, and WP8 most likely isn't the hot platform this year. Get behind this already. Get rid of exclusives and BS. Just hook the world up with your amazing phones, and the rest should be fine! (egg nog talking)
  • Mark is a billionaire entrepreneur everyone knows him owner of the Dallas Mavericks
  • And he is also know to be a douche.
  • He's also known for being an incredible owner who does all he can to both build a good team and cheer for it. I think he's one of the few owners in sports who is a MAJOR fan of his team. I don't know of any owner who is actually in the stands going crazy like him.
  • Jerry Jones lol we Texans love our sports
  • He's a douche. His STAR player had to tell hime to sit down and STFU. Once he did that, they won a championship. Go figure. 
  • what is douche mean by?
  • In American slang, a douche is an a$$hole. 
  • Wanker?....twat?
  • I generally use it to describe anyone who is a pompous ass :) 
  • Ya I hate the man too, but I would love him if he did for the spurs (my team) what he does for the mavs. Point being, he's a douche but he's good for his team. What I don't like is him interfering with trades. Aside from that, all hatred typically comes from jealousy.
  • You say everyone like the whole world. Not everyone are obsessed with basketball or sports in general. I don't know who this is
  • He isn't just the owner of the Mavs. He owns Landmark Theatres & Magnolia Pictures, and is an investor on Shark Tank. He also is an actor (most portraying himself), and started the Fallen Patriot Fund. He is known within the business world, he has his hands in a lot of different areas.
  • Too bad still wasn't enough. Funny how Microsoft taught me who he is through wpcentral
  • Jesus people, if you don't know who he is (and you're from the US) then you live under a rock. Accept it or get out more. I don't watch sports and I don't have cable and I know him. Damn
  • +1
  • People who might not know him are spending more time outside, less on internet and you tell ppl to get out more to know this guy??
  • I'd guess that most people who spend time outside know this guy. Especially if you have even the slightest interest in sports.
  • Sad when people dont know a man that workings on plenty of things daily for a living, but know actors work work maybe less than half a year
  • I'd never heard of him. I watch almost no TV and he never appears on Doctor Who.
  • +1 for Doctor Who!
  • *everyone in the US, not everyone
  • THIS IS THE BEST NEWS ALLL YEARRRR
  • Probably had to take out a loan to get one. Sucks to be him
  • Lol
  • That's because he knows what's up.
  • Awesome news! Still don't like the Mavs as I am a South Floridian.
  • GTFO
  • Still waiting for that Jay-Z wp8 commercial though.
  • ^this
  • He's probably got the 8x if he's on TMO.
  • "THe new Nokia with windows replaced my Iphone 5" 
  • The lumia 820?
  • Well if he is on Tmo then it could be the Lumia 810 
     
    http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Phones/cell-phone-detail.aspx?cell-phone=No...
  • It has to be 920 based on his reply to question about using Tmobile 4G. He replied he uses Samsung for T-mo. 
  • He's a billionaire he could be on all the networks. Not just one.
  • He probably has both T-Mo and AT&T
  • also a valid point
  • Shark Tank!
  • the great thing about rich and famous d-bags is that poor and unfamous d-bags just follow their leader so expect more WP8 devices sold just because of this.
  • A large by-product of celebrity endorsements.  It's amazing at the amount of crap people will buy just because a someone famous said they liked it, or that they use it.
  • haha are you refering to Iphone? thats what exactly Iphone is all about. But its going to be history soon.
  • Not just iPhone's, but many many consumer products. Shoes, Clothes, Grooming products, etc.
  • worked for me and Gears of War and Law and Order SVU. As a big Ice T I know he is a huge gamer and one of his favorite games is Gears of War. For SVU I started watching it because of Ice T and now I love the show overall.
  • So I'm assuming you know Cuban personally to know he's a douchebag?
  • Lol! I agree 100%. People are such sheep.
  • He's not really a d-bag. He just speaks his mind like a regular guy instead of being PC all the time. I disagree with him a lot, but I disagree with lots of people all the time. Saying something that people disagree with doesn't make you a d-bag. He treats his players and staff tremendously. People always talk about how he is the model sports owner.
  • do you mean pg? and anyway on the subject of sheep, i think one way or another we are all conformist. you either conform to the fact that people follow their role models no matter how stupid they might be or you conform to the idea that people are conformist :p. Either way it doesnt change the fact that we are all followers in some way or another.
  • I say who gives a shit if Cuban has a W8 Phone. I bought this product because I thought it would be worth it. I was right. Not because this rich guy has one.
  • Most people who have WP, do because they know the product. People like Cuban will help move the likes of isheep who want what is "popular" with celebrities.
  • Seriously man?! People should think for themselves and purchase what he or she likes the best. Not what Cuban or other celebs. That's what makes a lot of us considered 'fools'
  • No platform, WP8 included, can succeed without the support of millions of idiots, morons and trend followers.  That is how the world functions.  
  • Agreed. Not really sure why this is even news; must be a slow day for WP Central.
  • Unfortunately, there aren't enough buyers like you so the reach out to new markets is always welcome, in my opinion.
  • If you like Windows Phone and want it to grow and succeed, you should give a sh-t. He knows people of greater influence than you and more people know of him and are more interested in him than you. His endorsement puts more awareness and credibility to WP than just expecting/hoping everyone think for themselves even on things they have no aptitude and/or desire to become more knowledgeable about.
  • @blasher4 I did for the same reason as you, each person is different and is motivated by different things, so if someone likes Cuban and wants to learn more about the windows phone good for them...I have no complaints, it is their money and ultimately their choice
  • Wow thats great news, another celeb that is using WP8.
  • Still don't get how this guy is a celebrity. I must live under a rock.
  • If you're not a fan of the NBA or of ABC's Shark Tank or at the very least aware of these products, then of course you wouldn't know why.
  • ...or Dancing With The Stars or well known Internet billionaires or indie entertainment studio owners, or...
  • Lol... Nope. None of the above. I'm not saying it's not amazing news - if it is... I'm just saying I have no idea who this clown is.
  • lol. Love it. Windows phone gonna have a great 2013 coming. Finally people are starting to realize iphone 3,4,5 whatever the number is it totally sucks. Just look at iphone same look boring icons and clutter icons that sits there dead. All those fools buying iphone 5 just because of size hahahha what idiots.
  • I have to giggle at the whole "2013 will be big for Windows Phone" thing. Others said 2012 would be the year, now it's 2013. I really want WP to increase in market share, but when will that be?
  • It's already increasing in market share.
    As for "big"... what's your definitiion? Above 10%? 15%? 20%?
    My guess is that it won't get above 15% until 2015. But I do think that we'll probably see it reach 8% by the end of 2013.
  • Now all WP8 needs is Simpson tapped out. C'mon EA.
  • Still waiting for @wwe/tna/ufc to profile their stars using windows phones.
  • Windows has great potential to be in the top, they need make Xbox music and video succeed with everyone not just video game players, and jump on the smart tv business for tv
  • It's not that he's rich. It's that he's a guy who knows and understands the marketplace. He's a successful & reputable entrepreneur. This is a great endorsement. Stop being ignorant jerks, people.
  • Genuine celebrity endorsements are worth 10x paid celebrity endorsements. I had recently read an article about celebrity endorsement tweets. Oprah raving about the Surface but they discovered the message came from her iPad.
  • I knew I loved Mark Cuban for other reasons than Shark Tank.
  • Interesting unsolicited endorsement. Even if YOU don't know who he is, he is definitely a well known personality. He's a business person who made billions because he knew when to get out of the Internet bubble. Look up broadcast.con if you're unfamiliar. He still is a major influence in the business world including the business of NBA basketball by being the controversial owner if the Dallas franchise. He is definitely known for independent thought, strong opinions and he is not ashamed of either. The Shark Tank fame reaches a whole other market. He is definitely a high profile, billionaire businessman. The term celebrity is obviously subjective, but he's no professional dancer yet he was on "Dancing With The Stars". He must have been considered a star. :)
  • Dude stfu
  • Everyone has a right to their own opinion. Where's your point? WTF do you think you are telling people to STFU?
  • +1
  • +10000
  • It would be awesome if you took your own advice. Thus is positive press no matter how cynical people feel they need to be.
  • Who cares thus guy is a Friggin' Scumbag. This is one endorsement Windows Phone doesn't need.
  • Pi lambda phi!
  • Yeah right
  • From the comments you can tell who was visited by Santa and who by the Grinch.
  • ^this
  • Wait, doesn't everyone get coal for xmas?
  • Lol
  • Wouldn't it be nice if people moved to WP because it was good and not just because some "personality" also uses it? Radical, I know.
  • But they would first need to know that it is good. The problem with Windows Phone is that its tyring to penetrate a saturated market. A few years before iPhone and Android got a lot of early adopters and they showed their phones to friends and family. Word of mouth did the rest.
    Windows Phone is unable to reach that critical mass needed to have any meaningful word of mouth. If this guy is able to make people interested in Windows Phone, try it out and then spread the word then that is a good thing. Combine that with good reports on early WP8 sales and growth of WP7 in 2012 and afterwards enough people might know about Windows Phone to buy it because its great.
  • I agree, but already Nokia are having hardware issues, the same battery issues that plagued 800/900 models. I just wish producers checked their products first, bad press like thus issues can kill a product. I'm stuck with 7.8 until I can find a model that can offer reasonable power, swaying towards htc
  • What is the battery issue you have? Because I have a 900 and the battery lasts all day with heavy usage.
  • My 900 battery is WAY better than my 920. :(
  • Awesome, Mark Cuban is an important endorsement for the platform. He recognizes the value of the live tiles.
  • Wp8 is here to stay. I think we can expect to see great thing coming in the future.
  • The cool thing about this is it doesn't seem like anyone paid him to say that.  Much more powerful than some commercial IMO.
  • I live under a rock because I had no idea who he is but do now... Am thinking He probably loves the Office integration if he is a huge business oriented type of person... Only few things Apple has to me is I love how you can organize the apps into groups other then that Windows Phone 8 is better... Apps wise Windows Phone has more then enough essential apps for me anything more is a plus...
  • Who?
  • He Is a respected business man and former owner of a computer consulting business AND broadcast.com. Both of which he built and then sold at the perfect timing and is now "fabulously wealthy". So he also has a legitimate amount of tech savvy. He's not just some insipid malkovich or kardashian type getting paid to say they like the product. In the end though... This interview reaches about a millionth of the potential customer base so I'm not expecting any sudden bump in sales. Still... Can't hurt. More and more people are starting to take notice. As silly as it sounds I still think we are a stupid instagram app away from breaking through.
  • I don't usually watch basketball but when I do I root GO MAVS! Good to hear that from Mark Cuban!
  • Here's another way of looking at it folks: Successful businessman ditches iPhone, which every C-level exec thinks "they need", for a Lumia 920 to help him run his day and his business. Even if YOU don't know who he is, the people who run businesses (hey, that happens to be Microsoft's market!) know very well who he is and may now go "hmmm, if it works for Mark Cuban...". Wouldn't be shocked\surprised if in near future we get other prominent business folks like Donald Trump on board to help the enterprise customers know this is the phone/platform they want to be using.
  • I hate to say it, but we will find out shortly that he is being paid by Microsoft.  3....2....1....
  • I've never seen Cuban be a paid endorser...they'd have to pay a TON of $$$ to make it worth his while.
  • Cuban is a billionaire. He's also not hired to endorse products. He could care less for cash for WP. You are barking up the wrong tree.
  • Interesting point until you mentioned Donald trump. He isn't a prominent businessman. Hes just a personality. There are thousands of businessmen out there who are actually respected by the business community, trump isn't one of them.
  • I only used Trump as an example of a prominent (read also: popular in culture) businessman. I would've said something like Warren Buffet but not sure what his stance is on technology, how many people in general population are familiar with Warren, etc. It's also worth noting that it's strictly your own opinion that Trump isn't respected, I'm sure millions of others would disagree with you. Again, was simply using a well known name in the general business community as an example, that's all.
  • He said more about his android phone then windows phone...almost just barely brushing over the fact he has one.
  • Skip Cuban, Where's Instagram lol?
  • Meh.
  • +1
  • Strong words but as others have said relative unknown. I agree on both counts with regards to Andriod and WP which I believe is starting to take shape in orhers minds. What I take from this however is an influential mind excerising thought. Apple share price mysteriously continued to slide despite desperate words cries of madness from the stock movels. He maybe right who knows, the last bit done by handwriting recognition on my Surface Simple awesome.
  • I have always liked Mark Cuban. I'm a baller and I keep up with Sports in general. Some people don't like Cuban becuz he's very animated and controversial with some of his statements. He's been thrown out of games by Refs and fined by the league several times. I love the guy. He treats his players like family and NBA players like to play for him. His passion is true and I admire that. He's just not another suit of an owner with canned opinions and ideas. He's also known ad being a tech guy. This endorsement is great for Windows Phone.
  • I didn't know Mark was Cuban? gotcha!
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  • Great endorsement. Who cares if its Cuban or some other celebrity endorsement (see apparently Vampire Diaries for WP product placement replacing Blackberry), as long people buy one, who the hell cares as to why!
  • As a fellow Indiana University Alumnus I support his decision haha! totally not because I also have a 920 too....:P