Stick a fork in it, they are done, over, and out. Support is the only item they are sticking with for the Luminas. https://news.microsoft.com/2016/05/...business-to-fih-mobile-ltd-and-hmd-global-oy/ The statement mentions the selling of the entry-level assets but goes on to say that basically all the segment's assets are being sold. Looks to be just keeping just enough to support the Luminas already in existence. EDIT: Will the new company still develop hardware for Windows Phone?
they will probably follow the same strategy as the surface line, release a phone or two that "inspire" OEMs to follow a new direction and nothing else, so the next thing will be "the phone that can replace your laptop" and I guess later on they will realize they missed the smartwatch thing and do it all over again until the surface watch comes to replace your laptop too
Glad I went back to Android.... I'm not really sure Microsoft has any idea what they're doing anymore.
I have a 640 that I bought for peanuts. It gets updates the same time as the desktop (the exact time, like within minutes). It has a modern browser, amazing battery life, it's faster than both the Moto G2 and the iPhone 5S I have around, and because of UWP I have an app for everything I need. Seeing how my wife's Android and her iPhone do updates and how (in the Android's case) they manage SD cards brings them up to kind of a pathetic light. The 640 was also less than half the price of both of them. So, they know very well what they're doing. Windows aren't going anywhere. What will happen most likely is that they will present the first actually "Microsoft" phone as a Surface phone. Now they are in maintenance mode.
I don't how Microsoft plans to be able to sell Surface phones to the consumer, that is if they still go ahead. People just will not want to be paying Samsung Galaxy S7/iPhone 6S prices on high end Windows phone, especially phones usually associated with budget devices. People buying the S7 and 6S do so largely for branding and status, rather than actually needing the extra featues. Microsoft would seriously have to undercut the price in order to generate sales. The other big issue Microsoft will have is that they simply will not keep the existing users of Windows mobile, especially if the 'cheap' version ends up being $500 and expecting to have people upgrade from a 4xx, 5xx, or 6xx phones.
Erm, these are for feature phones and not the current range of Lumia's. If anything this means more focus will go on to support for Lumia's / Surface Phones for next year... I'm currently testing the Redstone update on my old Lumia 735 and there are new features to get excited about, looking forward to this on my production Lumia 650 phone in August. Updates flow through every week or two in the preview for developers and it's nice to see what's coming next as opposed to just guessing for other OS's.
Lots of articles are confused about what this sale means. This was the only article found that actually explains it with a believable perspective; as MS signed over the entry level segment. http://winsupersite.com/windows-phone/microsoft-makes-it-harder-use-windows-10-mobile-specs-increase
I also have a 640 I got for $60 and they are now down to $30 at Walmart. It came with Windows Phone 8.1 and is now running Windows 10 Mobile. It's a great phone and I like the OS more than Android. I wonder if they sold the Lumia name in the deal. It isn't really clear what this means for the future of Windows Mobile. I'm now getting the impression that this deal only includes the basic Nokia models like the 130, 222, 105, 210, and 230 and not the Lumia smartphones that run Windows Mobile. So, that would mean that MS is far from done in the mobile arena.
In any case if there is a future in Microsoft Windows Phones (as opposed to third party devices running Windows Mobile), they will probably be under the Surface branding and not as cheap as the current phones. Ideally Microsoft would really want a base phone around the price of a Lumia 650, although this may not be the case. The top end Surface phone will probably be in the order of the same pricing as a Samsung S7 or iPhone 6S (7 when it comes out). This is referring to recommended retail pricing, not actual pricing which can be much less. Let's call this AUS$1000 (example ONLY before anyone comments). So, the enthusiast Surface phone unlocked from the store is around $1000. They mentioned a mainstream device. The list price of this mainstream Surface phone will probably be half that price, at $500. They also mentioned a business phone. Seeing as the Lumia 650 is cut down a little more than it should be (it should have a Snapdragon 412 not 212, and the Lumia 640 battery not a lower capacity one), and the 650 is a business phone, the business Surface phone will probably be half the price of the mainstream phone, around AUS$250. This is purely speculation, but seems to fit. The business phone even though it is targetting business will probably be a good seller for people wanted a decent phone at a decent price, without the schmancy stuff that people do not actually need other that as a status symbol. What do people end up using iPhones and Samsung S7's etc for? Facebook and Twitter, a little bit of web browsing when shopping, that kind of thing... In the meantime though, they will still be developing Windows Phone OS, with good reason. Continuing to improve the OS, add features, tweak it etc now for existing devices benefits them for the Surface release, as they'll want essentially a 'perfect' OS for release. This does not mean the OS will be final by any means, just that they would want it as best as possible. It wouldn't go down well if the release on Surface phones were like the 950 was originally! The only difference with Surface phones and Lumia phones is that Surface phones will likely be 64-bit only. They are apparently supposedly working on a 64-bit version for release on the 950. Other phones like the 650 do not support 64-bit. The reason for this is that the 650 uses Snapdragon 212 which is ARMv7 32-bit only, whereas Snapdragon 412, the progression of the 400 chip in the Lumia 640, is ARMv8 64-bit capable. Even if they used the (older than 412) Snapdragon 410 in the 650, it is still a better chip than the 212 and is 64-bit. In any case though, you probably need 2 GB of RAM for 64-bit Windows Phone. Just hope they release sensible specs at sensible prices on these rumoured Surface phones, and not skimp on things like RAM etc 'just because'. Example, just because Windows phone doesn't require as much RAM as Android, doesn't mean they should skimp on the RAM like they still have with the 650. How much extra would it have been to manufacture if they added an extra 1 GB of RAM? Product separation is a weak excuse for skimping on lower models, especially if not skimping costs hardly any extra.
Bought a 950 not so long ago. Good phone, fast, lots of memory, good camera, reasonable battery life for a high end one, massively expandable storage. Like the guy above said, gets quick and often updates. It does crash sporadically, but otherwise does everything I need it to.
, i am never ever owning any Microshaft phone even if they are giving it at the best bang for buck look how pathetic the wp7 are, even FB Viber and a screen Rotation is missing Though wp8 users faired well comparably, much rather lug an elcheap android
here's a clarification sometimes I just have to wonder whats the joy some people find in seeing things die, they announced they were selling the -feature- phone business, which was completely out of place in a company like Microsoft, and the community goes like "oh damn lumia is deadddd" maybe I didn't get the joke, were they suggesting lumias are dumbphones? lol anyway here is what it is, the redundant-useless parts of the mobile division are gone or close to be gone, only with a tiny lumia-smartphones business to move forward showcasing their mobile w10, with a few phones every year, just common sense, they are shrinking it down to serve the community that wants a windows phone and nothing more, the moment they step into ios-android battle arena is when loses become unsustainable, so they accepted that fact and now just want to keep their little OS hanging there until a new opportunity comes
Windows Phone investment is not a risk... http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-memo-reveals-shifting-mobile-strategy A new email sent out to partners adds additional context to yesterday's restructuring of Microsoft's smartphone business. Core markets, three areas of strength, and what it all means for the future of Windows phone. Microsoft recently announced further changes to its smartphone strategy around Windows 10 Mobile with further layoffs centered around the Nokia Mobile acquisition. Now that Microsoft's retrenchment is in full swing many see this as the end of Microsoft's mobile ambitions, but a new internal email suggests otherwise. Instead, security, management, and Continuum capabilities are the focus for Windows 10 on smaller screens. Even more interesting is the shift in markets with Microsoft investing in individual ones, but pulling back in others like India and Brazil. Make no mistake about it Microsoft's smartphone strategy is drastically changing, but change does not mean the end either.
