4 ms·

I don't agree that either the Windows or Ubuntu names are really a negative for the phone brands offered by each. I do think the phone OS market is a tough nut

I don't agree that either the Windows or Ubuntu names are really a negative for the phone brands offered by each. I do think the phone OS market is a tough nut to crack given the extremely wide penetration of iOS and Android, but that persists regardless of OS name. You could call Windows Phone anything you want and it still has all of the same problems with lack of apps, lack of widespread handset maker support, etc, same with Ubuntu Mobile. I'm personally still excited about the idea of Ubuntu Mobile, but I never had an interest in the Edge because I just don't think the crowdfunding model works in the phone space. I have less than zero interest in paying $830 (or even the early $625 price) and receiving a phone a year from now that has very vaguely defined specs at the time I'm paying for it. But when Ubuntu Mobile is more fully baked I'll give it a lengthy try out as my "daily driver" on my existing Nexus 4 (or whatever I may have after the N4 that is also supported, depending upon time frame).

Alterlife 13y ago
I don't think that the desktop brand is a negative for the phone. They made compromises to the desktop UI to meet mobile demands in the name of 'convergence' -- justifying the use of the same brand... but as a result, UI experience has suffered on both form factors.
- georgemcbay 13y ago
  Ah, yes, I misunderstood the point you were making, sorry. I would agree that the compromises they made for their desktop versions are a negative, at least in the way they did them. They could support both models fairly well (eg. in Microsoft's case with a few tweaks to bring back the proper start-menu and an option to just not see the metro screen for desktop users who really don't want it), but both seem to have adopted the modern "Apple" style of making things as simple as possible with no option for advanced usages, which I think is a mistake lots of companies (including Google) are making these days. The value to me of old Google products, old Microsoft products, and older Ubuntu (which lives on in other Linux distros) was precisely that they weren't Apple-esque in terms of dictating to me how I'm supposed to use it for the sake of ultra simplicity. Now that they are attempting to be Apple-esque they are losing the hearts and minds of people like me, and not gaining much with the other group (AFAICT), because no matter how bad they try to be Apple, Apple is still a much better Apple than they are.

Alterlife 13y ago

I don't think that the desktop brand is a negative for the phone. They made compromises to the desktop UI to meet mobile demands in the name of 'convergence' -- justifying the use of the same brand... but as a result, UI experience has suffered on both form factors.

georgemcbay 13y ago
Ah, yes, I misunderstood the point you were making, sorry. I would agree that the compromises they made for their desktop versions are a negative, at least in the way they did them. They could support both models fairly well (eg. in Microsoft's case with a few tweaks to bring back the proper start-menu and an option to just not see the metro screen for desktop users who really don't want it), but both seem to have adopted the modern "Apple" style of making things as simple as possible with no option for advanced usages, which I think is a mistake lots of companies (including Google) are making these days. The value to me of old Google products, old Microsoft products, and older Ubuntu (which lives on in other Linux distros) was precisely that they weren't Apple-esque in terms of dictating to me how I'm supposed to use it for the sake of ultra simplicity. Now that they are attempting to be Apple-esque they are losing the hearts and minds of people like me, and not gaining much with the other group (AFAICT), because no matter how bad they try to be Apple, Apple is still a much better Apple than they are.