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Substitute "Linux on the desktop" for windowsphone in your argument and this is something we techies have been arguing forever. I would be fascinated if you cou

by Toshio 14y ago

Substitute "Linux on the desktop" for windowsphone in your argument and this is something we techies have been arguing forever. I would be fascinated if you could explain how the position of today's windowsphone is in any way different from the position of desktop Linux for the past 12 years.

cooldeal 14y ago
Phones need a much more limited set of apps than a desktop or laptop. Many(not all) people just use the phone functions plus Facebook, Maps, Twitter and a couple of other apps and other use cases are covered by web apps. Multiple studies have shown that most people use very few apps. While with the PCs, if you don't have some applications(like say AAA games, Office, Autocad etc.), it cuts away more of the potential audience than on a phone.
- TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
  Yep. Get me a browser, Facebook, Twitter, email and an alarm clock, and I'm happy with almost any touch-screen phone.
- freehunter 14y ago
  Phones also have the need of "my friends are playing X, I want to play X too". Words with Friends and Draw Something being two fairly recent examples. Windows Phone doesn't have these, so when my friends want to play their social games with me, I have to use my Android tablet. Nokia has said the games will be released at some point with a two-month exclusivity deal for Lumia phones (which is ridiculous and hurts the ecosystem), but I don't think they've been released yet.
pmelendez 14y ago
Well I think the fact that a big company is behind the product that would make a difference vs. Linux on desktop case. As a matter of fact, Linux on the desktop had gained much more popularity when a company (Canonical) focused on that niche market.
untog 14y ago
Because desktop Linux has never had millions of dollars available to persuade companies to develop for their platform. Has Canonical ever offered to pay Adobe a ton of money to develop the Creative Suite for Linux? I suspect not. I don't think that the two are in any way comparable. Linux has never had huge resources, marketing and dedicated developer outreach.

by Toshio 14y ago

cooldeal 14y ago

Phones need a much more limited set of apps than a desktop or laptop. Many(not all) people just use the phone functions plus Facebook, Maps, Twitter and a couple of other apps and other use cases are covered by web apps. Multiple studies have shown that most people use very few apps. While with the PCs, if you don't have some applications(like say AAA games, Office, Autocad etc.), it cuts away more of the potential audience than on a phone.

TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
Yep. Get me a browser, Facebook, Twitter, email and an alarm clock, and I'm happy with almost any touch-screen phone.
freehunter 14y ago
Phones also have the need of "my friends are playing X, I want to play X too". Words with Friends and Draw Something being two fairly recent examples. Windows Phone doesn't have these, so when my friends want to play their social games with me, I have to use my Android tablet. Nokia has said the games will be released at some point with a two-month exclusivity deal for Lumia phones (which is ridiculous and hurts the ecosystem), but I don't think they've been released yet.

pmelendez 14y ago

Well I think the fact that a big company is behind the product that would make a difference vs. Linux on desktop case. As a matter of fact, Linux on the desktop had gained much more popularity when a company (Canonical) focused on that niche market.

untog 14y ago

Because desktop Linux has never had millions of dollars available to persuade companies to develop for their platform. Has Canonical ever offered to pay Adobe a ton of money to develop the Creative Suite for Linux? I suspect not. I don't think that the two are in any way comparable. Linux has never had huge resources, marketing and dedicated developer outreach.