Could Sprint's apathy towards Windows Phone come back to haunt them?

[pyroscott]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 17 January 2012

 

We know how the lack of the iPhone hurt Sprint for years with customers bolting to AT&T first, then Verizon to get their hands on the coveted device. Sprint's distaste for the windows operating system has been well documented recently with Sprint calling the HTC Arrive a flop and saying they would not release another WP until around September. AT&T on the other hand has become very close to the struggling operating system recently with several powerful windows phones joining their lineup. I could see Apple being vindictive and refusing to release any new devices to that carrier to "punish" them for not being fully invested in their product, but would Microsoft do the same? Down the road, windows phone may become a powerhouse, and Microsoft may choose to ignore Sprint and release their best devices on other carriers. They might also give up on their mobile OS and disappear.

[legion125]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 17 January 2012

 

Those are some good points, but MS first has to get some traction for WP. I see that every one is excited about Nokia being back in the market, which tells me people are more excited about the hardware that whats on it. This could be a good thing in the future, but so far I'm not seeing it.

[S4GRU]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 17 January 2012

 

It could hurt them. If WP starts to take off and demand starts to occur. But in the current device ecosystem and consumer demand weighted against Sprint's overwhelming contract with Apple, I know I wouldn't be investing much time or effort on a Windows phone at the moment if I were Sprint

[legion125]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 17 January 2012

 

I think Sprint still has some breathing room. If WP starts to move, it will take a couple of quarters for it to show relevance and it will be fairly easy for Sprint to jump back on the bandwagon. Remember, Sprint is hinting of a WP release this fall and right now, Nokia branded phones are the flavor of the month.

 

How long that last is anybody's guess, but remember, Nokia didn't have success building CDMA phones, and if I remember correctly, they farmed that business out to another OEM that built the phones but stamped Nokia on them before they ultimately pulled out of the U.S. market, thus, so far no Nokia CDMA phones. Around the release of the iPhone 5, Sprint may throw 1 or 2 WP phones out there with minimal support. If WP does take off, Sprint had better train its retail reps better. Last year i was playing with the arrive while waiting for a repair and the rep there didn't know a thing about the phone.

[BenChase7]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 17 January 2012

 

Like Legion125 said, It will be easy to jump on the WP bandwagon. Unlike apple, where there is all kinds of hoops to jump through and negotiations to do, WP is probably a lot easier to get. Besides, if Sprint wanted WP, I doubt MS would hesitate, they want/need all the exposure they can get to compete with Android and iOS. I would imagine that if WP takes off, Sprint could have a new WP phone within a couple months.

[pyroscott]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 17 January 2012

 

A lot of the success of a platform depends on the marketing, which is often done by the carriers. Also, Sprint may know something we don't. The WP platform may be changing to allow more customization and compete more with Android instead of iOS, or Microsoft may be gearing up to aggressively market their platform towards the end of the year and Sprint wants some fresh handsets instead of stale ones.

[legion125]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 18 January 2012

 

@BenChase7...Although I' don't know exactly what the tiff b/twn MS and Sprint was about, but it seems that Sprint is more miffed than MS (anyone know what the disagreement was about?). I'm sure MS would be more than happy to throw $ at Sprint to advertise since MS seems to be in the mood to subsidize marketing. What is intriguing to me is Nokia's play in this. I'm starting to see some success in it's branding of hardware and software which is good for the WP OS in the short term. This could be the catalyst that MS needs if there is a big push by people to get the Lumia 900, although I still think people are more entranced by the hardware than software. Elop seems to think he's found the winning combination.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Stephen-Elop-calls-the-Nokia-Lumias-first-real-Windows-Phones-all-others-hedging-their-bets_id26017

[legion125]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 18 January 2012

 

@pyroscott...WP does need more abilities at customization. Right now, I would cast WP as more of a clone of iOS (with exceptions) than any other OS. Until MS allows users to at least make enough changes so users can "make the phone their own" as far as colors, backgrounds and tile management, WP will continue to have that cookie cutter look which (to me) makes it hard to differentiate from one phone to another.

[pyroscott]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 18 January 2012

 

I agree, WP is an experience similar to iOS, and they really need to allow some customization. They can give the user some control without losing the smoothness of the OS. It seems like they have a death grip on everything to do with the OS. From hardware requirements to lack of customization. I, for one, do not like my OS to micromanage my user experience and that is the main reason why I continue to use android devices.

[S4GRU]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 18 January 2012

 

Maybe a Launcher type of skin will be created for WP eventually. It just will have to come with WP's blessing since its not open source like Android.