Tom Warren at The Verge reports that Microsoft has once again broken its promise to upgrade Windows Phones. From the article:
Microsoft has screwed up its Windows Phone upgrades once again. While the software maker promised that all Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices would be upgraded to Windows 10, it's breaking that promise. Microsoft started rolling out Windows 10 Mobile to existing Lumia devices this week, and revealed that handsets like the Lumia 920 and Lumia 1020 will be stuck on Windows Phone 8.
[...] Windows Phone fans aren't necessarily angry at the lack of upgrade for their chosen devices, it's more the broken promises. Windows Phone 7 handsets were never upgraded to Windows Phone 8, and Microsoft set the expectation this time that history wouldn't repeat itself. Another broken promise is bad news for a mobile operating system that is practically dead, and once again Microsoft has angered its small but loyal base of Windows Phone users.
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Bill Gates has said that he thinks everyone would be using Windows Mobile right now and not Android if it weren't for his distractions and the antitrust investigation that his company got caught into.
"There's no doubt that the antitrust lawsuit was bad for Microsoft, and we would have been more focused on creating the phone operating system and so instead of using Android today you would be using Windows Mobile," Gates claimed during his speech at The New York Times' DealBook Conference.
[...] Microsoft cofounder also revealed that the company was almost launching Windows Mobile on a Motorola handset but missed out on it by a few months, giving Android an unbeatable advantage. While there were a lot of factors, Gates says it's this 3-months delay that led to Android's supremacy and the downfall of any mobile efforts by Microsoft.
"We were just three months too late on a release Motorola would have used on a phone, so yes it's a winner takes all game."
Related:
Nadella: Microsoft Isn't Killing Windows Phone and Will Go It Alone
Steve Balmer: Use Android to Save Windows Phone
Microsoft Breaks its Windows 10 Mobile Upgrade Promise
Microsoft Axes 2,850 More Windows Phone, Sales Staff
Windows Phone Dies, Aged 6
It's Been 5 Years Already, Let's Gawp at Microsoft and Nokia's Bloodbath
Microsoft is Embracing Android as the Mobile Version of Windows
(Score: 5, Funny) by davester666 on Monday March 21 2016, @08:04AM
registered their strong disappointment at this turn of events at a recent shareholders meeting. one threw a chair and the other made a threat "just wait till you all come up for reelection to the board of Microsoft"
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @08:06AM
TFT should read
Microsoft Breaks <fullstop>.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Monday March 21 2016, @05:22PM
That implies that it worked at some point in the past...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @05:35PM
Windows 2000/XP/2003 i.e. NT 5.x era?
(Score: 2) by Marand on Monday March 21 2016, @06:14PM
It did until 2007 [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @08:12AM
n/t
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Monday March 21 2016, @02:00PM
My thought too. Would any (sane) windows mobile phone user actually want W10 on their phone? ;-)
(Score: 2) by tibman on Monday March 21 2016, @02:34PM
Only if you care about getting updates (security fixes hopefully). I don't think their phones have had a major update in a year and a half? I had their WP 6 and 7. Both abandoned by Microsoft before i could even get comfortable with the phone. Buying a windows phone is only good for people who get a new phone every year. Lumia hardware looked great too (1020, looking at you). Balmer somehow convinced Elop(Nokia CEO and seemingly MS plant?) to choose windows as their phone OS. About the time i heard Nokia were finally putting android on it Microsoft bought Nokia and killed it.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by bitstream on Monday March 21 2016, @03:20PM
Is the Windows Phone hardware capable of any free operating system like CyanogenMod or Replicant?
Does Nokia have any capability to grow and make phones or software anymore?
I found them incredibly reliable. Nokia hardware with above OSs would be a killer.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 22 2016, @12:07AM
> Is the Windows Phone hardware capable of any free operating system like CyanogenMod or Replicant?
Reportedly, someone managed to run Android on a Lumia 830. Microsoft has issued an update to prevent that.
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/88942/20150928/latest-microsoft-security-patch-covers-loophole-that-allows-android-to-run-on-windows-10.htm [techtimes.com]
> Does Nokia have any capability to grow and make phones or software anymore?
They were prohibited from using the Nokia name on such phones until 31 December 2015.
https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/3/4688888/there-will-never-be-another-nokia-smartphone [theverge.com]
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Tuesday March 22 2016, @05:16AM
Perhaps Microsoft could be charged with market corruption locally? Thus allowing people to legally bypass that shit and sue Microsoft on top for invasion of property rights. Anyway it should mean that Lumia phones could be sold with Android and other operating systems unmodified.
2015-12-31 Has passed so that hindrance is gone. The clincher is patents and being able to use specific techniques, developing, manufacture, marketing and sales. I would specifically look at patents and competent personnel as the key to reboot the phone business.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Gravis on Monday March 21 2016, @08:16AM
i wonder what the other customer thinks of the upgrade. ;)
(Score: 2) by Webweasel on Monday March 21 2016, @11:54AM
I don't give a shit about windows 10.
What I'd like is an app store thats not full of scamware.
C'mon MS. You want this "Universal platform" and the revenue from your walled garden store, but its more dangerous in the garden then outside of it!
Perhaps that's the joke. Garden is an anagram of danger....
Yes, so my win 8 phone is a POS, I regret buying it.
(Still love my Zune though, at least that plays of the HD instead of trying to stream Xbox music despite the track being on the SD card in the phone)
Priyom.org Number stations, Russian Military radio. "You are a bad, bad man. Do you have any other virtues?"-Runaway1956
(Score: 5, Funny) by Arik on Monday March 21 2016, @08:35AM
I really doubt that. Any 'loyal base of Windows Phone users' that might exist must logically consist of masochists, who enjoy this treatment, and count on it. So I really doubt this made anyone angry.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday March 21 2016, @11:48PM
I doubted the "Loyal base of Windows phone users" bit too, but my experience of Windows phone users is very limited, (surprise).
My sister owned a Windows phone, she bought it because the sales guy told her it was "the latest model", when it was an 18 month old Lumia.
She thought it was great, and to be fair it did work pretty well, but then I showed her the Vodafone app I use to top up and manage my plan, and the banking app I use, neither of which are ever going to happen on Win Phone.
She's got a pretty nice Android phone now.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by ThePhilips on Monday March 21 2016, @09:36AM
They have declared the promise more as a marketing ploy to display advantage over Android.
First time they have failed to uphold the promise was literally months after they have made the declaration.
Now, "the most important Windows" update is not available too.
Considering how they are failing, IMO, they should just stop promising.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @11:01AM
They should, but have politicians stopped making promises? No and never will. Same with corporations.
(Score: 2) by ThePhilips on Monday March 21 2016, @11:14AM
To give some credit to the politicians, their promises usually hold until they win elections.
MS' promise hasn't lived even till an uptick in the market, least till a major market share.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Monday March 21 2016, @03:19PM
This is SOP for Microsoft. It's part of their competition toolkit. How many times has Microsoft promised capabilities to challenge Linux (as a server) yet never delivered (or delivered late and only partially working)?
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 22 2016, @01:06AM
(Score: 5, Touché) by patrick on Monday March 21 2016, @09:42AM
Microsoft has angered its small but loyal base of Windows Phone users.
He'll get over it.
(Score: 4, Funny) by julian on Monday March 21 2016, @03:30PM
Indeed, Paul Thurrott's Stockholm Syndrome for MS is limitless.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @04:11PM
What about Ballmer and Nutella? Or did even both of them switch away from Windows phones as well?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @06:19PM
No, even Paul Thurrott has thrown in the towel on Windows Phone [thurrott.com]:
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @07:47PM
Now it's just Chair chucker and Nutella?
(Score: 2) by coolgopher on Monday March 21 2016, @12:05PM
Last I checked, this "upgrade" really seemed to be a downgrade in many areas in particular related to Cortana. Inability for Cortana to call up phone-local items (e.g. settings) as well as breaking the Hey Cortana feature makes me *not* want this upgrade. Cortana was a big selling point for me when I got my Lumia (well, that and the fact I don't like the iCripple and can't stand the (mal|ad)ware commonly referred to as Android). I was even keen enough to get in on the WP10 beta to see if I could get Cortana even more functional. Back then I accepted that hey, it's a beta, things won't be all ready yet. Seeing that state carry over into the actual release is disappointing to say the least. I still reckon Cortana holds a lot of promise, I just wish she'd get some more love from the integration team.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @12:17PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @01:32PM
You actually used a MS beta product? That is a brave soul you are. They usually break more than they fix.
MS can make good software. However, their beta software is just that, beta. It is not ready for anything.
I may try their stuff out or work out a couple of issues on their beta software. But never use it for real. It is a lesson I learned during windows 95. I ended up with software that did not work properly. I had to removed several features (rather minor cosmetic ones) due to the fact entire APIs just 'went away'. Cost me a about 1-2 weeks of work and 2-3 days of removal time.
For me the 'big feature' they borked up was media player. I actually liked it. It was one of the few players out there that did very good with cataloging and editing meta data at the same time with a nice interface. Then windows 7 came out... The still have not fixed it corrupting mp3s in a particular way. Despite the detailed bug report and video to reproduce the issue.
(Score: 2) by iamjacksusername on Monday March 21 2016, @07:06PM
If you have one of these models from a carrier that you purchased under contract, I would absolutely return it and ask for an exchange for an equivalent device. It should not change your contract length as Microsoft "broke" the device - e.g., the device was advertised with certain capabilities and now those have been removed. You would have an excellent case to be able to exchange it for a similar device without affecting your cellular contract.
You need to vote with your wallet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 21 2016, @09:40PM
Hahaha +5 funny.