Nokia Points Finger at Microsoft For Lack of Windows Phone Updates and Apps
Every relationship has its nuances, and usually, every relationship has its fair share of bickering. Even if you love someone unconditionally, there will typically be scenarios where you just can't agree or see eye-to-eye. One had to expect something similar when looking at Microsoft and Nokia, which tied each other to the hip years ago with Windows Phone. Nokia simply hitched its wagon to Microsoft's mobile OS for the future of its smartphone range, and now it's having to live with the decision of selecting an operating system that is having a terrible time gaining ground in the market.
One of the biggest gripes from would-be users is the dearth of apps. The world's most popular apps just aren't on Windows Phone, and if they are, the user experience cannot match the one found on iOS by and large. Nokia vice president Bryan Biniak recently sat down for an interview, and this is what he had to say: "To give you a reason to switch, I need to make sure the apps that you care about on your device are not only on our phones, but are better. I also need to provide you unique experiences that you can't get on your other devices. We are releasing new devices frequently and for every new device, if there is an app that somebody cares about that's not there that's a missed opportunity of a sale. We are trying to evolve the cultural thinking [at Microsoft] to say 'time is of the essence.' Waiting until the end of your fiscal year when you need to close your targets, doesn't do us any good when I have phones to sell today. People rely on applications for their day-to-day life and if you don't have something which I use in my day-to-day life I'm not going to switch [operating systems] because I don't want to compromise the way I live my life just to switch to a phone."
Interesting stuff. For one, it makes clear that the huge Microsoft corporate structure isn't keen on being nimble, and if they continue to lag, they'll fail with Windows Phone as they did with Zune and Kin before it. It also paints a less than rosy picture about the relationship between the two, and who blames who. Of course, if Windows Phone were a coveted operating system, Lumia sales would also be up and they'd be smiles all around.
The truth is, Nokia truly is releasing a lot of great phones. The 1020 is just the latest example of thinking big and offering something unique and powerful, but it's the operating system that holds it back. How many more millions of the Lumia 1020 could Nokia sell if it boasted the latest edition of Android, and was co-marketed by Google?
One of the biggest gripes from would-be users is the dearth of apps. The world's most popular apps just aren't on Windows Phone, and if they are, the user experience cannot match the one found on iOS by and large. Nokia vice president Bryan Biniak recently sat down for an interview, and this is what he had to say: "To give you a reason to switch, I need to make sure the apps that you care about on your device are not only on our phones, but are better. I also need to provide you unique experiences that you can't get on your other devices. We are releasing new devices frequently and for every new device, if there is an app that somebody cares about that's not there that's a missed opportunity of a sale. We are trying to evolve the cultural thinking [at Microsoft] to say 'time is of the essence.' Waiting until the end of your fiscal year when you need to close your targets, doesn't do us any good when I have phones to sell today. People rely on applications for their day-to-day life and if you don't have something which I use in my day-to-day life I'm not going to switch [operating systems] because I don't want to compromise the way I live my life just to switch to a phone."
Interesting stuff. For one, it makes clear that the huge Microsoft corporate structure isn't keen on being nimble, and if they continue to lag, they'll fail with Windows Phone as they did with Zune and Kin before it. It also paints a less than rosy picture about the relationship between the two, and who blames who. Of course, if Windows Phone were a coveted operating system, Lumia sales would also be up and they'd be smiles all around.
The truth is, Nokia truly is releasing a lot of great phones. The 1020 is just the latest example of thinking big and offering something unique and powerful, but it's the operating system that holds it back. How many more millions of the Lumia 1020 could Nokia sell if it boasted the latest edition of Android, and was co-marketed by Google?
