that's too bad because I quite like the Lumia 635 I got just recently. the price was also very cheap. there certainly not as many apps on WP as you'd get from Apple or Android, that's for sure.
I don't think it's too late - Microsoft has always just been really slow to catch on, but they have lots going for them too. For example, in the future I could see your phone tripling up as a your tablet and laptop/desktop after you plug it into the appropriate casing. Windows would be well suited for devices like that. And while the touch apps are lacking you have a ton of Windows programs; they just need to be updated to offer touch friendly user interfaces. That said, I don't think Windows RT is going anywhere.
Well it's normal for MS. They introduce a product, it fails, they stick to it and keep the money flowing in. Eventually the product grabs market share. That's what MS do. No innovation, no focus on products. They produce a bad thing, sometimes they learn from the mistakes, sometimes they don't. Still they will stick to it.
I have a friend that uses a Windows phone and really likes the way it feels when you hold it compared to other smartphones. In terms of aesthetics, I find the polycarbonate designs are ugly in any color. HTC 8x hits close to what I expected from Windows phones from the very beginning. The curved, slender form factor (see image below) fits with modern smartphone design. I would like to see more mirroring of existing android models running windows OS as well. The new M8 looks really nice and Windows shouldn't aim for substandard just because most of its market is in the third world. http://cdn2.gsmarena.com/vv/pics/htc/htc-8x-1.jpg In terms of the operating system, the tiles are annoying as hell on Windows 8 desktops, but on the smartphones they are a really neat way to organize and view information. That being said, the windows phones that I've played around with transition from this lovely tile home page to these ugly menus (see image below left and center). No matter what color theme you select, it just doesn't compare to navigating menus in android and iOS. I feel like i'm navigating a shopping list instead of a menu of settings, contacts, etc. I've heard mixed reactions regarding the displays and touch sensitive varied between the models that I played around with. Inconsistency put me off from even considering a windows phone since my first thought is product defect such as improper calibration, design flaw in the touch screen technology during production or assembly, etc. The naming schemes also don't help since someone new to Windows models sees a jump from Windows Phone 260 to Windows phone 340 ... so did they produce 80 other models of this phone? If so, why does the touch sensitive suck? http://winsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/wp-8.1-screens.png In terms of app store, I think Google and Microsoft could do better to protect users even at the expense of offering only a few quality apps. That being said, something that I noticed in the Windows store for desktop is that some of the apps weren't actually apps at all. I don't know if this carries over to the phones, but I'm presuming it probably does. This would type of mistake is another nail in the coffin for me on buying newer windows devices. In terms of specs, I think the 41 megapixel camera is a good marketing gimmick and I've heard it does well in contrasting light (areas where other smartphones struggle). Likewise, Cortana is another feature that I would expect from a competing smartphone. Having come to love my nexus 4, I've identified features that I need from my next smartphone: dual sim card support for traveling internationally, a removable battery, external SD card slot, universal sided quick charging port instead of wireless charging, a supper energy saving mode, single integrated communications app. I don't need to be bouncing between apps to call, text, group chat, etc. In terms of price, I'm willing to pay $400-500 dollars for a unlocked smartphone without contract. But it will need to be a higher quality smartphone like the newer HTC M8 running windows before I will consider investing in a windows smartphone. Do I think that Windows OS has a place in the current market? Yes. Microsoft could turn this around, but I wouldn't expect them to steal away the fan base from apple and android. There are plenty of folks in between that swing either way, but Microsoft is going to have to convince them its worth taking the plunge. The HTC M8 is a good first step, but I'm not entirely sold on the operating system, app store, and future growth potential for this phone. Microsoft needs to change that image, which will be difficult. Even with Windows 8 on desktops being a failure, the rumors about Windows 9 threshold do very little to change my opinion that Microsoft can learn from its mistakes. Maybe in the hands of another developer there would be a better chance of launching a tile based operating system in the current market despite all of the device saturation. At some point, users have to replace older devices.
I have been using Windows Phone for 3 years. I have no complaints. I am not feeling shorted on apps. 90+% of the apps on all phones are junk anyway. I have one for everything I want to do with it. I have had the Lumia 900, 920, and 1520. The hardware is excellent in all cases. Much better than the Android phones I had been using previously.
