Ask HN: How are you thinking about Window Phone 8?

1 points by bennyjoseph 13 years ago | 2 comments

I played around with the new Nokia Lumia 920 today and was actually impressed with Windows Phone 8. It was fast, the UI was unique but pretty simple to learn, and surprisingly the actual phone was solid. What shocked me the most was the price point of $99.

How are developers thinking about the Win 8 platform? Are you waiting to see if it gains any traction with consumers? Are you building apps now because it is much easier to be found?

With all the patent issues and now licensing costs of Android, I have a feeling hardware manufacturers are going to begin to move to Win 8. Combine that with Microsoft's deep pockets and the other aspects of the ecosystem that they have built (XBox, Surface, etc.), I think they will be a player in one or two years, but mostly at the expense of Android.

smegel 13 years ago |

People buy smartphones for apps. People want fast access to lots and lots of apps - hence the popularity of the Android/iOS experience. I think de-emphasizing apps for more Twitter/Facebook spam is a bad move and consumers wont go for it.

I also think WinPho8 looks absolutely crap. Despite what MS bleats about making the phone about "you" and making the screen more bespoke etc, I actually find the live-tile layout incredibly bland and repetitive - everything just looks like a blue or yellow square with some simple white wire frame figure inside - compare that to an Android screen with a stunning live background of a Galaxy rotating (in my case) and a grid of unique, beautifully well-designed app icons that carry so much identity and flair - no comparison at all IMO.

As for integration with XBox/Surface etc, I think this is a niche market that wont affect the overall picture.

zmonkeyz 13 years ago |

I really like my Windows Phone 7 phone (OS more than phone) so i'm definitely going to upgrade to Windows Phone 8. I really like the design and some apps out there have some really nice live tiles.