
Apple vs. Samsung, and the rise of Windows Phone 8 - evo_9
http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/135099-apple-vs-samsung-and-the-rise-of-windows-phone-8
======
rbanffy
If Microsoft is ever compelled to release a list of journalists paid to be
favorable to them, I'm quite sure this will be among them.

It's been a while since I last saw a piece so replete with failed logic.

Why would phone makers want to give control of the single most relevant
differentiator (software) to one company that has more than cozy ties with
their former worst enemy? Oh... And the company is competing againt its former
PC partners...

I understand not all decisions are based in logic, but only a fool would
consider betting the farm on this horse.

------
buster
He is missing one point: Even if Samsungs marketshare drops, there is a whole
army of other manufacturers with Android phones. Unlike Sony vs MS vs Nintendo
this is Apple vs MS/Nokia vs
Samsung+Motorola+HTC+LG+Huawei+Sharp+Dell+Asus+Acer+many others. Ok, HTC will
most likely produce a WindowsPhone as well.

Another point: Android is "free" for the carriers and manufacturers.

That's a big difference.

~~~
barista
You are missing the same point he is missing and one more :)

Its not Apple vs MS/Nokia vs Samsung+Motorola+.... as you are claiming. There
are myriad of other manufacturers who are making Win8 devices both phone and
PCs/tablets.

Also android being free is a myth. It just cost Samsung a billion for making
android phone (somewhat indirectly though) also MS has been after a bunch of
the android makers for license fees. So what makes it free?

~~~
sigzero
"It just cost Samsung a billion for making android phone (somewhat indirectly
though)"

Somewhat? It being Android really had nothing do with what happened to
Samsung.

~~~
barista
are you kidding? Google had the approach where it leaves its hardware partners
out in the open unprotected from patents. Microsoft provides patent protection
for hardware partners when they develop a device. That is one of the reasons
none of the devices got sued. Besides android UI, particularly the original
ones are a shameless copy of iOS UI.

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peppertree
The article is deeply flawed. Patent protection is important, but
differentiation is critical in the eyes of oems. WinMo does not offer
differentiation, so that's a non-starter. In addition, 1b is a small price to
pay for a free os and market leadership.

~~~
pedalpete
WinMo doesn't exist anymore, it's Windows Phone or WP.

Can you explain why you think WP isn't a differentiator? It is clearly and
significantly different visually from the other mobile os's.

~~~
MatthewPhillips
He means to the OEMs. They cannot modify it to look differently from other
OEMs.

I think this is more important to carriers though. They want people to walk in
and see 5 or 6 different looking phones to choose from. Hence the love of
Android.

~~~
eckyptang
...and the fact that Android has turned into a fragmented crapfest.

There is nothing worse than carrier customisation - it's the worst kind of
turd polish.

------
Zenst
Until Apple go directly at Android/google, until then there are many fish in
the sea.

As for windows phone I feel that the new Windows version 8 will in many ways
encourage adoption of windows phones as well as force developers in many
situations to in all efffect create applications that are not that many clicks
away from moving from the desktop to the phone platform, if thats not the case
then you can bet Microsoft will make it happen.

Real fun is that it is eventualy getting down to the ability to have a phone
handle basic phone stuff and everything else is run in a webbrowser HTML5
style and in that the new Mozilla mobile OS taking that approach will prove
very interesting.

That all said the Phone industry has historicaly been a nasty place with
regards to money and patents since its very inception
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Gray_and_Alexander_Bell_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Gray_and_Alexander_Bell_telephone_controversy)
is a good read into the early phone history. Nothing realy changed since now
has it.

------
diminish
I am surprised of so much wishful thinking for Microsoft, Nokia.. It has been
spoken again and again here and there. but at least if WP8 fails too, windows
on mobile please die forever; because it you don't offer anything interesting
and let the mobile world move forward.

~~~
barista
> because it you don't offer anything interesting and

You sound too confident for a person who hasn't ever used a windows phone
before. :)

~~~
diminish
i used 3 generations of windows on my phone; and am sick of this coming again
and again. yes microsoft has some leverage due to its desktop monopoly(and
office) but it must see that it is impossible on mobile to get any traction
despite billions spent on marketing, to nokia etc. msft should better focus on
developing software on android and ios; they just can't do it.

------
CookWithMe
Why does the consumer gain anything? Windows Phone 8 will be released, no
matter what the court says, and Nokia will release phones with it.

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dheller
The biggest misconception I see here is treating WP8 vs. Android vs. Apple as
an isolated purchase.

Microsoft's real opportunity in the mobile space will be anchored by tight
integration with the PC/Xbox. If a consumer is already running Win8 on their
PC and an Xbox in their living room, why wouldn't a Windows Phone be the next
logical step?

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ct
Best thing MS can do is to not alienate developers -- especially the core
enterprise devs that help grow their server OS/DB/Office license revenues.
After the whole WPF/SL snafu I'm reluctant to support WinRT for WP8. No devs =
no apps. No 3rd party apps = failed OS.

------
pedalpete
This article is flawed because manufacturers have been making WP devices, but
those devices haven't been marketed and therefore are selling poorly.

WP needs a marketing push to get into the minds of consumers, before it will
sell in significant numbers.

~~~
lawdawg
There was a huge (and costly) marketing campaign for the Lumia 800/900, and
that resulted in very few sales. The problem isn't the amount of marketing (as
WP and Apple can both attest to), its the product. Average users just aren't
interested in Windows Phone, and the _Windows_ name does not inspire user
confidence (or desire).

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at-fates-hands
This article has several fatal flaws.

It's assuming after the verdict (if and when the case is finally adjudicated),
Samsung will simply dust itself off and start pumping great phones back into
the market that everybody will want - thus giving us more choices as opposed
to less choices. Give the current marketplace, I'm not sure optimistic about
their chances of survival.

Also, the whole analogy about the Xbox 360 grabbing market share when the PS3
was delayed? It sure didn't last, how could we forget the "red ring of death"
syndrome that caused the console to have a 50% or higher failure rate shortly
after its release?

~~~
untog
_Also, the whole analogy about the Xbox 360 grabbing market share when the PS3
was delayed? It sure didn't last, how could we forget the "red ring of death"
syndrome that caused the console to have a 50% or higher failure rate shortly
after its release?_

What does that have to do with market share?

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Toshio
One fact is missing from this analysis: windowsphone is being systematically
boycotted to death by retailers and carriers. No matter how many battles
Samsung loses, windowsphone will never look "gooooooooood", windowsphone will
never be the third mobile ecosystem.

~~~
eckyptang
All it takes is a single misstep by a carrier/retailer and MS's lawyers will
be all over them like crabs.

The platform is actually pretty damn good. I don't get why people are kicking
them out.

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drivebyacct2
Microsoft stands to gain the most simply because of how bad off the mobile
division is.

