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Microsoft may be ditching Lumia line by end of 2016 for Surface Phone
Everything Goes
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Microsoft may be about to kill the poor selling Lumia range by the end of 2016 and are looking to introducing the Surface Phone in its place. The Lumia range has steadily been discounted already and this may be the end of the line. The Surface Phone may be introduced in October. I guess if this is the case Microsoft will be throwing more good money after bad which they have been doing for years.
http://www.winbeta.org/news/microsoft-looks-set-end-sales-lumia-phones-december-director-mentions-surface-phone
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/138792-microsoft-to-kill-lumia-line-by-end-of-2016-surface-phones-going-forward
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/138792-microsoft-to-kill-lumia-line-by-end-of-2016-surface-phones-going-forward
http://www.winbeta.org/news/microsoft-looks-set-end-sales-lumia-phones-december-director-mentions-surface-phone
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/138792-microsoft-to-kill-lumia-line-by-end-of-2016-surface-phones-going-forward
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/138792-microsoft-to-kill-lumia-line-by-end-of-2016-surface-phones-going-forward
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https://www.neowin.net/news/kantar-ios-and-android-grow-in-key-markets-as-windows-phone-sales-fall-further
http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/smartphone-os-market-share/
It would make sense if large corporates had already moved to W10, or if W10M had some really unique functionality that singled it out - but it doesn't.
For corporates, there are already a variety of connectivity options to allow iOS or Android devices to connect securely to their environments.
I could imagine a phone with continuum could potentially be a device that could replace many peoples laptops, as many corporate applications these days are run via a browser, and the phone versions of Office tend to be pretty good. But the market isn't yet ready for this.
Microsoft really are going at this in a really disconnected manner, which isn't really surprising.
Agreed. Neither iPhone nor Android is ideal for the corporate market. I appreciate people might well be sceptical of the corporate control culture (with some good reason), and point to the apparently enlightened shift to BYOD, but smartphones are a quite spectacular vector for attacks and hacks.
The MS mobile strategy just comes across as a right mess - it's difficult to see it inspiring confidence in anyone, let alone corporates who do their research.
Shame, as the Windows Phone UI is (or at least was) pretty impressive.
Beyond the UI, you have a platform devoid of the apps that most people want. Staff would prefer their own device that can run their apps PLUS work apps, not a work phone that can run work apps and not their own stuff. I can't see many employees liking the need to carry two devices, so that creates a dilemma - and one that I think Android and iOS is winning and will always win.
I know people will say that Microsoft can make it work THIS time with Windows 10 apps, but let's be honest - it's doubtful. It would make more sense for Microsoft to switch to Android, build a custom UI that resembles Windows, and load on all the Microsoft apps, plus seek to find a way to perhaps run Windows 10 apps in that environment instead.
BlackBerry is having limited success, but I think limited success is better than total failure by sticking with BB OS, and I am sure Microsoft could do it better.
Indeed, when Microsoft dabbled with Android for what now seems no logical reason whatsoever, it showed what could have been if they'd continued down that road.
I don't think it's much good, though the restrictive policies the company forces on it aren't helping.
This is after I worked at a company that embraced BYOD and let you use any phone you liked
Mickeysoft need toget their act together.
Look at Android. How many phones get the latest version of Android or even the most basic security patches or bug fixes?
Apple control the hardware and software on their devices. Mickeysoft can do the same, I really am getting fed up of Android phones that don't get supported for updates for a decent period of time or bugs fixed.
I have a Moto G4, it's just had a security patch but will it get another one? At least Mickeysoft can do that to their phones.
If they really pushed the security and the promise to support older phones like Apple do they could make inroads.
It would be nice to have a viable third competitor. Android enters another year still not having sorted its fragmentation and updates issues out, and Google reinvents wheels so fast it can make your head spin. Now we're using Hangouts for SMS! Now we're encouraging you NOT to use Hangouts for SMS! Now we're introducing a new SMS replacement app! 6_9
Meanwhile iOS tootles on sticking firmly to "dump icons all over your screen like you're on Windows 95" and the usual "Apple's way or the highway" stuff. Give us a good alternative!
It's a shame Lenovo had done what many feared would happen with Motorola.
Even Google have given the 2 fingers up to their own Nexus devices. The Nexus 5 and 7 (2013) got less than 3 years support before Google pulled the plug. Most people expected them to get Nougat.
Lets not even go into VoLTE and WiFi calling support >:(
http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/08/22/rip-the-nexus-5-isnt-getting-android-7-0-nougat-lets-say-our-goodbyes/
Yeah that's what I'm doing. Or Pixel or whatever the latest reinvention is called
I still have faith in Lenovo. I've been looking at the history of their Thinkpad takeover and it goes
*20 series - Excellent
*30 series - same but mess up keyboard layout a bit, switch to chiclet keys (I prefer these, dislike the layout)
*40 series - Go full "MacBook Copy" - avoid this model unless you want a Windows MacBook.
*50 series - listen to their fans and put the trackpoint buttons back
*60 series - listen to their fans and sort the battery situation out
They listen. I think it's just taken time for them to find their feet after taking over from IBM.
If the *70 series has a chiclet keyboard but with the classic layout I'll love them forever.
In my last 3 jobs, I've had 3 different mobile policies
1) Small company (under 20 employees) where they supplied a phone but you could pick an iPhone, Android or Blackberry (when they were still a thing)
2) Bigger company (few hundred) where everyone got a HTC M8. Phone was OK but I never liked the HTC implementation of Android.
3) Even bigger company (few thousand) with a BYOD policy unless you do a lot of international travel where they supply an iPhone. Windows phones were trialed but not enough people liked them.
What I don't like now is that we have gone from supporting Exchange through native email and calendar apps to requiring people to use the crappy AirWatch app. I know it's more secure but it's bloody annoying.
What has been very successful is a pilot of Surface Pro tablets. For people who spend all day going between meetings and don't need a lot of power or storage they have worked very well. Applications such as PowerPoint and OneNote go to a different level with touch and stylus control. We started on SP3 with Windows 8.1 but have recently started rolling out SP4 with Win 10. Desktops and laptops will be Win 10 by the end of the they year.
Surface Phone has not a prayer of being successful.
I've been at the "same" company for a good few years now; due to acquisitions the mobile policy has changed. It was originally BB only, then we introduced a choice of BB, Android or iOS. Latterly policy has moved to it being Android for most employees, with only certain areas being allowed iPhones.
Never had a problem with AirWatch myself, but I hear that plenty of others have.
With regards your comment on storage, I really doubt that many people genuinely need that much storage - i'm a software developer and have a laptop with a 500gb drive. Of which I use less than 100gb.
I would genuinely love to be using a Surface to replace my laptop, would definitely be a better option for when attending meetings or moving around the office.
Does management see an iPhone as some sort of special perk?
People would flock to it, even if it runs Windows. It's easily the number one gripe most people have about smartphones, they just don't last long enough before you're staring at that red battery icon. Then they complain about it one too many times and get a new phone, the placebo effect lasts about a week and they're complaining about that one too.
Lumias somehow had a (as far as I can tell, false) reputation for reasonable battery life and it's always seemed to me to be one of the few things that's kept it from failing as long as it has.
Some do. Techies tend to be quite happy with Android but once you get to the more commercial and business areas, many still see an iPhone as something of a status symbol that they can pose with.
HP Elite will have 4.1Ah battery, which is pretty mad. But the problem is you have a processor with 4 cores clocked at some mad frequency, 4GB RAM, over 64GB disk, anything with less than QHD display is for losers and it has to have unlimited multitasking, God only knows what for. Those are specs of a computer not a phone. So whatever battery you hang on it, the difference will be a few hours, not days.
Have a word with your boss. A Surface Pro and docking station is a great combination to balance working at your desk and being mobile for meetings.
I tried to get a Surface Book to play with but that would have blown the IT budget out of the water.