A Foolish Take: How iOS and Android killed Windows Phone

Leo Sun, The Motley Fool Published 6:34 a.m. ET Aug. 8, 2017

Researchers wanted to find out if the mere sight of a smartphone was enough to impair cognitive functioning. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

Data source: IDC. Chart by author.(Photo: The Motley Fool)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has dominated the PC operating system market for decades, but it has struggled to do the same with smartphones. Now, as IDC's first-quarter smartphone operating system report indicates, Microsoft's Windows Phone is officially dead.

Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7, its first multi-touch mobile OS, in 2010 -- three years after Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) introduced the iPhone and two years after Google launched Android.

By the time Windows Phone 7 arrived, users and developers were already split between the iOS and Android ecosystems. Consumers bemoaned the lack of apps for Windows Phones, and developers shunned the platform's small user base.

Microsoft tried to strengthen Windows Phone by acquiring Nokia's handset division in 2014, but that disastrous move resulted in billions of dollars in writedowns. It tethered Windows Phone to PCs with a "One Windows" ecosystem and app store, but that move didn't convert many iOS and Android users.

Microsoft finally stopped supporting Windows Phone on July 11, officially surrendering the mobile hardware market to Apple and Google. Microsoft remains active on mobile devices via cross-platform apps, but it probably won't ever dominate phones in the same way it did with PCs.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. Leo Sun has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends GOOG, GOOGL, and Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: A Foolish Take: How iOS and Android killed Windows Phone

You have to pry the Lumia 950 out of my cold, dead hands!

Why are Windows Phone lovers are head over heels in love with the platform despite how badly it is doing on all sides? Mister Mo answers the question.

😁 You will have to pry that Lumia out of my cold, dead hands, bro!

— Mister Mo (@moverick) August 7, 2017

Last night, in the course of a Twitter discussion, a mobilista requested that I give him my beloved Lumia 950. I replied that he would have to pry the thing out of my cold, dead hands. Of course, he was joking. And he expressed the sentiment that he thought he was the only Windows phone lover left out there.

News flash. There are still multitudes of us out there. Yes; Android has almost 90% of the global smartphone market in terms of sales numbers. The iPhone has about 90% of the profit. Both Android and iOS have tons of apps.

Which Way, Windows Phone Lovers?

What does Windows Phone have? Next to zero markets share, an ever reducing library of apps and absolutely no profits. Oh, Windows 10 Mobile still gets regular software updates. That's something. Scratch that; it is nothing. Why? I get those updates on my Lumia and I cannot tell that anything has changed thereafter. Windows phone has nothing to brag about anymore.

But guess what, Windows Phone lovers are head over heels in love with the platform all the same.

Please hold my beer while I throw a few questions at you. When you fell in love with your boo, was it because the rest of the world loved him or her? Was it because 90% of the people in the world approved? Was it because she was smarter than 90% of all women or men? Or richer? No? It wasn't because of any of those reasons? And you love them all the same? There you go.

You already have your answer to the question you were going to ask me. You already know why some of us still love Windows Phone. We love it because we love it. You can give us all the reasons why we shouldn't be caught dead or alive with a Windows Phone, and we would still hug our Lumias and their siblings from other mothers.

Lumia 950 Takes Great Photos Too

In the case of the almost two years old Lumia 950, it still shoots some of the best pictures ever from a smartphone. After a meeting with a client a few weeks ago, the group needed to take a picture and a good camera was needed. I pulled my Lumia 950 out of my pocket and offered it. Someone said he hoped the photo would come out nice. I chuckled.

We took a look at the photos afterwards and everyone marveled at how great the photograph came out. Suddenly, the Lumia 950 became the subject of discussion. Two of the gentlemen wanted to know where to buy one and all. The Lumia 950 is that good a cameraphone.

Knowing their mobile lifestyles, however, I did let them know that if they wanted one, they would have to deal with some travails, including lack of some apps they use on their Android phones. Love is not blind; it sees faults. The decision as to whether they can live with a Windows Phone or not will be theirs to make just like I had made mine.

Ride-or-die Lovers

Windows Phone lovers are real ride-or-die people. Android and iOS fanboys keep yelling at us, "Windows Phone is dead!" We hear you all. We still love it. It may be dead to you, but it is alive not just in our hearts but also in our hands. Is it your dead?

Yes o! The world can say all the negative things that can come up with about Windows phone. We would NEVER stop loving it!

— Alagbu (@Bagzton) August 7, 2017

However you choose to look at it, if you want my Lumia 950, you will have to kill me and then pry it out of my cold, dead hands. And I promise you that even in death, you will have your work cut out for you. This is love till death – mine or the phone's – do us part.

Related Posts for Windows Phone Lovers You have to pry the Lumia 950 out of my cold, dead hands! Why are Windows Phone lovers are head over heels in love with the platform despite how badly it is doing on all sides? Mister Mo answers the question.
Source: You have to pry the Lumia 950 out of my cold, dead hands!

ACG Player UWP - crazy UI, crazy visualisations

Published by Steve Litchfield at 8:36 UTC, August 7th 2017

This has been out for a while, but regularly updated and I wanted to at least give it a name check here. ACG Player (ACG = Art Computer Graphics) aims to play all media types, adding in computer visualisations to audio - and it's impressive in this regard, though the learning curve in terms of the dense and non-standard UI is somewhat steep. You'll love it or hate it, I suspect!

From the Store description:

A universal media player only for Windows 10 (UWP, PC/Tablet/Phone...), with many unique features! Pure native C++ high performance code. Art Font subtitle, super cool Music Visualization art effects, audio/video effects, customizable gestures & UI buttons ... Art Computer Graphics (ACG).

App is FREE without function limitation! Added IAP to remove ads as users request, it has nothing to do with app function.

Supports subtitle, background music, gesture, MKV... see Features. DLNA/UPnP: (1). Play to devices (all supported); (2). Play files on Media Server (API not supported by phone system). Simple & Green.

The application is effectively a demonstration of the developer's ACG system and it works surprisingly well, with visualisations that genuinely follow the music EQ and volume, see the screenshots below. It's fair to say that the UI is more at home on a larger laptop screen, but the app still largely works on Windows 10 Mobile, on the phone.

Things look a little strange from the outset, with a barrage of text fonts and colours, graphical help hints, and so on. This isn't your standard style-compliant UWP application!

The visualisations (EQVs) work very well though - tapping the screen away from the controls leaves just the visualisation while you listen, with the UI out the way. Here are two of the possible EQVs in action while Adele plays...

There are dozens of EQVs online to grab and use; (right) you can also play with the visualiser settings and generally tweak things to your liking.

ACG Player also handles videos, with a barrage of options and a deluge of UI controls...

The interface generally works better in landscape mode, tying in with the UWP/Continuum nature - this is best used on a Windows 10 tablet, I suspect?

The Settings are legion here - one of the most customisable media applications ever?

You can grab ACG Player here in the Store. Me? I'll stick with Groove (Music), but you might have fun with this on the side! There are adverts, which you naturally pay to get rid of, but it's completely free to use and try.

Source / Credit: Store

Filed: Home > Flow > ACG Player UWP - crazy UI, crazy visualisations

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Source: ACG Player UWP - crazy UI, crazy visualisations

Spotify for Xbox One screenshots supposedly come to light

Spotify for Xbox One screenshots supposedly come to light | On MSFT

Spotify for Xbox One screenshots supposedly come to light

Our colleagues at Aggiornamenti Lumia have gotten their hands on what is claimed to be screenshots of the much-teased Xbox One Spotify app, and it looks pretty good. While the new Spotify app doesn't have that much separating it from its PlayStation 4 or Android TV counterparts, it's perfectly functional looking.

Here's the official description, as well:

Soundtrack your gaming with the new Spotify app, free on Xbox One. Listen to your favorite music as you play any game, and browse playlists for every mood using your Xbox One Controller. Take listening to the next level with Spotify.

Listen to music in the background while you game, for free.

Browse your favourite albums, songs and playlists.

Easy playback from your Xbox One Controller, or change tunes from your mobile or tablet without leaving the game.

Find the perfect playlist for epic gaming in the Gaming genre (in Browse) on Spotify.

Premium users can listen in higher quality audio and without ads.

Is this the kind of thing you wanted to see for the Xbox One Spotify app? Are there any features or UI elements that you think could be added in or tweaked here? With Spotify being such a hotly requested feature for Xbox One, we're just happy that it's finally on its way. It'll be interesting to see how the Xbox One's take on the application is going to be received by the community.

Further reading: Microsoft, Spotify, Xbox One

Windows 10 news recap: eye tracking support is on the way, Minecraft: Better Together Update beta available and more

Microsoft news recap: BBC teams up with Microsoft for voice-controlled iPlayer, Remix 3D updated and more

Spotify for Xbox One screenshots supposedly come to light

Xbox news recap: Cross platform gaming here to stay, tons of hints about Spotify on Xbox and more

Windows 10 Mobile news recap: Drawing Mode works on mobile, false hope on supported devices and more

Mike Ybarra on cross-platform gaming: "people want larger multiplayer pools of people to play with", it's here to stay

Major Nelson gives more proof of Spotify on Xbox One in latest "This Week on Xbox" episode

You can now change your 'home' Xbox One console 5 times per year

Source: Spotify for Xbox One screenshots supposedly come to light

Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile OS: Beyond Life Support

Microsoft killed its phone hardware business. It's no surprise that the company's latest 10-K filing mentioned nothing about its future mobile plans.

Microsoft has not officially declared it deceased but Windows 10 Mobile is a walking dead like BlackBerry 10 OS.

Don't expect a Surface smartphone to be released this year or next year. Microsoft has more important things to do.

Microsoft's old Mobile-First, Cloud-First slogan is now Cloud-First, AI-First. Microsoft can catch up with Google on Artificial Intelligence.

The fast-growing AI industry could help Microsoft recover some of the losses/write-offs over its misadventure in smartphones.

Two years ago, Microsoft (MSFT) had several OEM partners for its Windows 10 Mobile OS platform. They all gave up making Windows 10 Mobile phones because Microsoft itself was competing against them by selling sub-$100 Lumia phones. In the end, Microsoft also quit making entry-level and high-end Lumia Windows 10 Mobile phones. It wrote off the $7.6 billion purchase of Nokia's (NOK) phone hardware business. There also was the cost of giving severance packages to laid-off phone hardware-related employees.

Further, Microsoft already officially ended support for Windows Phone 8. It is, therefore, no surprise that Microsoft didn't mention any mobile references in its latest 10-K filing. Microsoft will likely still offer support to Windows 10 Mobile phone users but, like BlackBerry (BBRY) 10 OS, it is a walking dead. Qualcomm (QCOM) shareholders should not expect Microsoft to order Snapdragon processors for future Lumia or Surface smartphones. In spite of his interview last May, I don't believe Nadella is ever going to unveil a new smartphone during his reign as CEO at Microsoft.

(Source: Microsoft/Motek Moyen)

Nadella's work history did not show he excelled in hardware products. He has always been a software products man - he knows when a software product is a flop or not. The Windows 10 Mobile OS is just another failed software product like Windows RT, Windows Phone, Windows Vista, and Windows Me. I opine that Nadella is only keeping Windows 10 Mobile on life support because of commitments to OEMs like HP Inc. (HPQ) and Acer who made handsets for it.

Windows 10: Zero Chance of Recovery

Nadella has not officially declared Windows 10 Mobile as deceased, but there are no more vital signs out of it. As of May 2017, Windows only has 0.1% OS share in smartphones. IDC previously predicted in 2012 that Windows will have a 19.2% share in smartphones by 2016. We know what happened. Microsoft ended 2016 with 0.2%!

Microsoft tried but its best was never good enough. In spite of the free Android/iOS app conversion tools, the majority of mobile app developers ignored the Windows 10 Mobile OS and the Universal Windows Platform. Microsoft even tried to lure app developers with cash incentives to make new apps for Windows. The chart above is prima facie evidence that Microsoft failed miserably when it comes to attracting third-party industry support.

AI-First, Not Mobile-First

Microsoft's new top priority is Artificial Intelligence. It failed to compete with Google's (GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Android OS on mobile. Microsoft now wants to try competing in Artificial Intelligence. Unlike the smartphone ecosystem, Microsoft still has a fighting chance to make it big in Artificial Intelligence. Second only to Google, Microsoft made many corporate AI-related acquisitions. Cortana is tested the second-smartest digital smartest assistant.

Below is a screenshot from Microsoft's latest 10-K filing. Microsoft wants to leverage Artificial Intelligence to pollinate the digital lives of people. This mission will span multiple devices. Microsoft gave up on making its own Windows mobile ecosystem in favor of a pure platform-agnostic approach. Intelligent cloud offerings like Azure and Cortana will still disseminate the for-profit influence of Microsoft on devices/computers that don't run on Windows operating systems.

(Source: Microsoft)

The new AI-First, Cloud-First focus of Microsoft is commendable. Tractica's 2016-2025 forecast says Artificial Intelligence applications will eventually generate $59.8 billion by 2025. AI could probably help Microsoft recover the losses/write-offs it had to suffer after it bought Nokia's Lumia phone hardware business.

My Takeaway

The healthy revenue streams from its Intelligent Cloud and Productivity and Business Processes segments are sufficient growth drivers for Microsoft. Microsoft doesn't need to sell Windows 10 Mobile smartphones or ARM-based Cellular PCs. Letting Windows 10 Mobile OS quietly die is not going to adversely affect Microsoft's top line or bottom line.

(Source: Statista)

I rate MSFT as a buy.

Disclosure: I am/we are long MSFT, GOOG, NOK, BBRY.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Source: Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile OS: Beyond Life Support

GPD Pocket video review: A teeny-tiny Windows 10 PC for wherever you go

Our video review of the GPD Pocket - a mini PC that can go everywhere - is now available. Let's revisit this cool little innovation!

The GPD Pocket is one of the first attempts at bringing back the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) form factor to enthusiasts. I recently reviewed the GPD Pocket in all its glory, but due to popular request have assembled a quick video look at the surprisingly fantastic device.

GPD Pocket revisted

For a recap, the GPD Pocket is an Indiegogo funded project by GPD, who also made the teeny GPD Win – a pocketable gaming PC. The difference here between the GPD Win and GPD Pocket is the latter sports a full, albeit cramped, keyboard instead of D-pads and gaming buttons.

GPD Pocket tech specs Category Specification Display 7-inch IPS multi-touchCorning Gorilla Glass 3 Display resolution 1920 x 1200323 PPI16:10 aspect Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit Processor Intel Atom x7-Z8750 at 1.6 GHz (Turbo 2.56 GHz) Storage 128 GB eMMC Memory 8 GB LPDDR3-1600 Graphics Intel HD Graphics 405200 MHz base; 600 MHz burst Speakers Realtek ALC5645Monoaural speaker Ports 1x USB Type-C 3.01x USB Type-A 3.0HDMI D Type3.5mm headset jack Sensors Gravity Sensor, Hall Sensor Network 802.11a/ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5GHzBluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology Battery size 7,000 mAh Li-Po Battery life 12 hours of use (estimated) Weight 0.48 kg (1.06 lbs) Dimensions 180mm x 106mm x 18.5mm Colors Titanium

Now available from Amazon and GearBest the GPD Pocket is by no means cheap, nor a suitable laptop replacement, but it sure does pack a punch for its size. It's also a lot of fun to use!

The big downfall of the GPD Pocket is the keyboard. While an excellent design there is just too much to pack into a too little space. You'll have to hunt and peck to type on this and while it is nice to have in a pinch banging out an email or message for Facebook is difficult.

The crowning jewel of the GPD Pocket, though, is the 7-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS touch display. It's just gorgeous, and it makes watching movies, Sling, or YouTube videos a joy. Granted, you'll use the GPD Pocket like a laptop meaning that 7-inch display will be further from your face than a smartphone, but it's still impressive.

A pocketable PC is fun

I can't recommend anyone buy the GPD Pocket over a real laptop, but for those with some extra cash looking for something unique I think the GPD Pocket is a blast.

As I wrote in my review:

Many people could use the GPD Pocket in some clever ways. Using a pocket PC on a cramped airline flight could be better than taking out a full laptop. The ability to make the GPD Pocket a desktop PC by adding a full-sized keyboard, mouse and a display is also not only doable but a fun experience. Pairing the GPD Pocket with your smartphone to give it 4G data also makes it more useful for those moments when you just need more computing.

Combined with the relatively powerful ports including a Type-C, Type-A, and a micro HDMI port and Bluetooth you could turn the GPD Pocket into a full desktop computer. After all, it does pack 8GB of RAM too.

GPD Pocket full review

Either way, I'm thrilled with two things when it comes to the GPD Pocket. One that a company like GPD can make something this awesome without being a large PC manufacturer, and what the future holds for mobile computing. We're on the cusp of having truly portable Windows 10 PCs that we can carry around, and the GPD Pocket is a quick glimpse into that future.

How do you think GPD can improve upon its Pocket PC? Is there such a future for these devices? Let me know in comments!

See at Amazon See at Aliexpress

Source: GPD Pocket video review: A teeny-tiny Windows 10 PC for wherever you go

Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile OS: Beyond Life Support

Microsoft killed its phone hardware business. It's no surprise that the company's latest 10-K filing mentioned nothing about its future mobile plans.

Microsoft has not officially declared it deceased but Windows 10 Mobile is a walking dead like BlackBerry 10 OS.

Don't expect a Surface smartphone to be released this year or next year. Microsoft has more important things to do.

Microsoft's old Mobile-First, Cloud-First slogan is now Cloud-First, AI-First. Microsoft can catch up with Google on Artificial Intelligence.

The fast-growing AI industry could help Microsoft recover some of the losses/write-offs over its misadventure in smartphones.

Two years ago, Microsoft (MSFT) had several OEM partners for its Windows 10 Mobile OS platform. They all gave up making Windows 10 Mobile phones because Microsoft itself was competing against them by selling sub-$100 Lumia phones. In the end, Microsoft also quit making entry-level and high-end Lumia Windows 10 Mobile phones. It wrote off the $7.6 billion purchase of Nokia's (NOK) phone hardware business. There also was the cost of giving severance packages to laid-off phone hardware-related employees.

Further, Microsoft already officially ended support for Windows Phone 8. It is, therefore, no surprise that Microsoft didn't mention any mobile references in its latest 10-K filing. Microsoft will likely still offer support to Windows 10 Mobile phone users but, like BlackBerry (BBRY) 10 OS, it is a walking dead. Qualcomm (QCOM) shareholders should not expect Microsoft to order Snapdragon processors for future Lumia or Surface smartphones. In spite of his interview last May, I don't believe Nadella is ever going to unveil a new smartphone during his reign as CEO at Microsoft.

(Source: Microsoft/Motek Moyen)

Nadella's work history did not show he excelled in hardware products. He has always been a software products man - he knows when a software product is a flop or not. The Windows 10 Mobile OS is just another failed software product like Windows RT, Windows Phone, Windows Vista, and Windows Me. I opine that Nadella is only keeping Windows 10 Mobile on life support because of commitments to OEMs like HP Inc. (HPQ) and Acer who made handsets for it.

Windows 10: Zero Chance of Recovery

Nadella has not officially declared Windows 10 Mobile as deceased, but there are no more vital signs out of it. As of May 2017, Windows only has 0.1% OS share in smartphones. IDC previously predicted in 2012 that Windows will have a 19.2% share in smartphones by 2016. We know what happened. Microsoft ended 2016 with 0.2%!

Microsoft tried but its best was never good enough. In spite of the free Android/iOS app conversion tools, the majority of mobile app developers ignored the Windows 10 Mobile OS and the Universal Windows Platform. Microsoft even tried to lure app developers with cash incentives to make new apps for Windows. The chart above is prima facie evidence that Microsoft failed miserably when it comes to attracting third-party industry support.

AI-First, Not Mobile-First

Microsoft's new top priority is Artificial Intelligence. It failed to compete with Google's (GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Android OS on mobile. Microsoft now wants to try competing in Artificial Intelligence. Unlike the smartphone ecosystem, Microsoft still has a fighting chance to make it big in Artificial Intelligence. Second only to Google, Microsoft made many corporate AI-related acquisitions. Cortana is tested the second-smartest digital smartest assistant.

Below is a screenshot from Microsoft's latest 10-K filing. Microsoft wants to leverage Artificial Intelligence to pollinate the digital lives of people. This mission will span multiple devices. Microsoft gave up on making its own Windows mobile ecosystem in favor of a pure platform-agnostic approach. Intelligent cloud offerings like Azure and Cortana will still disseminate the for-profit influence of Microsoft on devices/computers that don't run on Windows operating systems.

(Source: Microsoft)

The new AI-First, Cloud-First focus of Microsoft is commendable. Tractica's 2016-2025 forecast says Artificial Intelligence applications will eventually generate $59.8 billion by 2025. AI could probably help Microsoft recover the losses/write-offs it had to suffer after it bought Nokia's Lumia phone hardware business.

My Takeaway

The healthy revenue streams from its Intelligent Cloud and Productivity and Business Processes segments are sufficient growth drivers for Microsoft. Microsoft doesn't need to sell Windows 10 Mobile smartphones or ARM-based Cellular PCs. Letting Windows 10 Mobile OS quietly die is not going to adversely affect Microsoft's top line or bottom line.

(Source: Statista)

I rate MSFT as a buy.

Disclosure: I am/we are long MSFT, GOOG, NOK, BBRY.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Source: Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile OS: Beyond Life Support