Probably not until Windows 10 which won't be until next year. Considering the last flagship, the Lumia 930 was only sold briefly in the US (as the Icon), I can't see that not hurting MS.
That said, as somebody who is not from the US, the 930 is awesome and I don't need a new phone in the next 12 months :).
I keep hearing late this year, not next year. Anyway they don't want to have another long struggle with the carriers to push out the Win10 update for their new flagship. Especially VZW. They had that problem with the Icon, so I would bet they aren't eager to go through that again. With that being said that will probably only affect their future top-of-the-line model. Their rumored 840 shouldn't be that far away and will likely put a larger gap between the lesser models and the 800 series.
What problem did they have with the icon? Curious because I just picked one up yesterday, using it with Tracfone. very impressed so far, Hell of a step up from the HTC Trophy!
Nothing was wrong with the phone itself. Great phone. The problem was with VZW mostly. It launched with 8.0 and they had a really uphill battle with VZW getting 8.1 and new firmware released - it took forever. Then, they killed it supposedly because of sales but it's like who would buy an 8.0 phone with ZERO idea of when or even IF it will see the update, when other phones were available with 8.1 preinstalled. It was just a mess.
Agreed, the only thing I don't like about the 930 is the camera is disappointing. The 1020 was also disappointing.....I'd like something with the 808's quality.
The irony is amusing. the 1020 trades blows with the 808, due to OIS and Back-side sensor, it can get away with having a smaller sensor. Now, if you can hold the phone perfectly still, or on a tripod, the 808 will be better most of the time.
I do wish they had included the 3 and 8mpix modes on the 1020 camera pro app though.
We had an MS engineer onsite a few weeks ago and I asked him specifically, they are waiting to launch new phones with Win10 because Continuum will require new hardware. There's 2 phones being developed and tested in-house now, Cityman and Talkman. Hopefully they also improve the build qualiity and aesthetics, I've never been a fan of the blocky/clunky dimenions and sharp edges of the Nokias.
Well they could launch the Continuum-capable hardware as soon as it's ready with 8.1 and then update to 10 later. I believe the reason they are trying to avoid doing that (especially with a flagship series) is that they know it will be a CF trying to get carriers to test and deploy updates. If it's anything like the Icon situation, you could have a flagship phone stuck with last year's OS (and firmware) for ages. You could install a dev preview but without the latest firmware support stuff tends to be broken.
So it's really a combination. I think on the high-end Continuum-enabled hardware they'll delay until the OS is ready to launch preinstalled, and avoid the carrier delays. I don't blame them.
Contracts sometimes make sense but not for such an inexpensive device. Plop down the $120 or pay $5/month (which works out to $120). That way you get the discounted Edge plan.
The only time I'd buy on contract anymore is if it's a very expensive phone and it works out about the same over those two years, or if you're using a carrier that doesn't offer any benefits for buying off-contract AND you plan on sticking with them for the foreseeable future.
I agree. Generally i see little sense in a contract for a cheap phone. Most people should be able to ut find a couple hundred and then get a really nice and cheap sim only rolling contract. But for flagships, it's not always easy to find £500, and as such i've generally found that carriers tend to offer a far more competitive contract to encourage you to pick up the expensive phone. My M7 ended up being about £300 cheaper over 2 years by going with a contract instead of buying the handset and the corresponding sim card plan. Not the case for cheap phones. Plus if i'm going to be locked in for 2 years i might as well be locked in on a great phone.
The specs look almost identical to the LG Leon LTE, except for the weight, so the development cost was probably minimal. This is similar how all the other recent non-Lumia Windows phones were "designed" recently. Presumably, MS just provide a Windows port for the Qualcomm reference phone design and make a deal with phone manufacturers to take the final step and p4ovide an extra
Except it shares none of the LG design language. Doing a port of an existing phone would have made sense. But they straight up bought this generic handset from a Chinese ODM factory and slapped an LG logo on it.
This screams ODM phone. I bet the totality of LG's contribution was emailing the LG logo to the Chinese ODM factory for some rejects that BLU passed on.
I have no doubt this is made solely to reduce or eliminate android patent payments to Microsoft on the G4.
So will we never see another flagship with a screen that's less than 5.5 inches? I know the iPhone 6 has a 4.7in display, but the chassis is kind of large. Maybe the Z4 compact if it makes it out of the Japanese market?
There is the galaxy S6, HTC one m9 and as you said, iPhone 6. IPhone 6 chassis is larger than what it should have been but it's still way smaller than 5.5" phones.
Seems reasonably priced for a non-contract LTE phone on Verizon - which has exceedingly limited options off contract in this price range. Honestly Windows Phone needed this released a while ago to compete with the likes of the cheap Motorola Android offerings. They have to have more availability in different market segments if they want to get a bigger share and attract more developers. I don't think for the price that this phone is a dollar short, but it is definitely a day late.
Agree with mortimerr on the Z4 compact. I hope the U.S. gets it, but I'm not going to hold my breath. My wife has the Z3 on Verizon, and it's excellent, but her one complaint is that it's just too big. Otherwise she loves it. The wireless charging works great.
networks do matter. Although, $12000 a year... Either that's a pretty big business (in which case, that is relatively small cost) or they're paying for really expensive packages for their employees. In which case, they could probably save quite a bit of money...
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RU482 - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
are there any flagship Windows phones coming to market anytime soon? Specifically, something with a great camera?althaz - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
Probably not until Windows 10 which won't be until next year. Considering the last flagship, the Lumia 930 was only sold briefly in the US (as the Icon), I can't see that not hurting MS.That said, as somebody who is not from the US, the 930 is awesome and I don't need a new phone in the next 12 months :).
Alexvrb - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
I keep hearing late this year, not next year. Anyway they don't want to have another long struggle with the carriers to push out the Win10 update for their new flagship. Especially VZW. They had that problem with the Icon, so I would bet they aren't eager to go through that again. With that being said that will probably only affect their future top-of-the-line model. Their rumored 840 shouldn't be that far away and will likely put a larger gap between the lesser models and the 800 series.RU482 - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
What problem did they have with the icon? Curious because I just picked one up yesterday, using it with Tracfone. very impressed so far, Hell of a step up from the HTC Trophy!Alexvrb - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link
Nothing was wrong with the phone itself. Great phone. The problem was with VZW mostly. It launched with 8.0 and they had a really uphill battle with VZW getting 8.1 and new firmware released - it took forever. Then, they killed it supposedly because of sales but it's like who would buy an 8.0 phone with ZERO idea of when or even IF it will see the update, when other phones were available with 8.1 preinstalled. It was just a mess.IntoxicatedPuma - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
Agreed, the only thing I don't like about the 930 is the camera is disappointing. The 1020 was also disappointing.....I'd like something with the 808's quality.testbug00 - Monday, May 18, 2015 - link
The irony is amusing. the 1020 trades blows with the 808, due to OIS and Back-side sensor, it can get away with having a smaller sensor. Now, if you can hold the phone perfectly still, or on a tripod, the 808 will be better most of the time.I do wish they had included the 3 and 8mpix modes on the 1020 camera pro app though.
Brett Howse - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
Nothing official but Windows 10 time frame expect new hardware. However not sure yet when that time frame is yet for the phone.chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
We had an MS engineer onsite a few weeks ago and I asked him specifically, they are waiting to launch new phones with Win10 because Continuum will require new hardware. There's 2 phones being developed and tested in-house now, Cityman and Talkman. Hopefully they also improve the build qualiity and aesthetics, I've never been a fan of the blocky/clunky dimenions and sharp edges of the Nokias.Alexvrb - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link
Well they could launch the Continuum-capable hardware as soon as it's ready with 8.1 and then update to 10 later. I believe the reason they are trying to avoid doing that (especially with a flagship series) is that they know it will be a CF trying to get carriers to test and deploy updates. If it's anything like the Icon situation, you could have a flagship phone stuck with last year's OS (and firmware) for ages. You could install a dev preview but without the latest firmware support stuff tends to be broken.So it's really a combination. I think on the high-end Continuum-enabled hardware they'll delay until the OS is ready to launch preinstalled, and avoid the carrier delays. I don't blame them.
testbug00 - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link
blocky/clunky, yes. Sharp? 0.0*looks at 520, 920, 1020, 1520*
Not sure where you're getting sharp from.
Alexvrb - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
Contracts sometimes make sense but not for such an inexpensive device. Plop down the $120 or pay $5/month (which works out to $120). That way you get the discounted Edge plan.The only time I'd buy on contract anymore is if it's a very expensive phone and it works out about the same over those two years, or if you're using a carrier that doesn't offer any benefits for buying off-contract AND you plan on sticking with them for the foreseeable future.
hughlle - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
I agree. Generally i see little sense in a contract for a cheap phone. Most people should be able to ut find a couple hundred and then get a really nice and cheap sim only rolling contract. But for flagships, it's not always easy to find £500, and as such i've generally found that carriers tend to offer a far more competitive contract to encourage you to pick up the expensive phone. My M7 ended up being about £300 cheaper over 2 years by going with a contract instead of buying the handset and the corresponding sim card plan. Not the case for cheap phones. Plus if i'm going to be locked in for 2 years i might as well be locked in on a great phone.arnd - Sunday, May 17, 2015 - link
The specs look almost identical to the LG Leon LTE, except for the weight, so the development cost was probably minimal. This is similar how all the other recent non-Lumia Windows phones were "designed" recently. Presumably, MS just provide a Windows port for the Qualcomm reference phone design and make a deal with phone manufacturers to take the final step and p4ovide an extraGunbuster - Sunday, May 17, 2015 - link
Except it shares none of the LG design language. Doing a port of an existing phone would have made sense. But they straight up bought this generic handset from a Chinese ODM factory and slapped an LG logo on it.Zizy - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
WP requires 854x480 if onscreen buttons are used. 800x480 minimum is only if you have capacitive buttons.Gunbuster - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
This screams ODM phone. I bet the totality of LG's contribution was emailing the LG logo to the Chinese ODM factory for some rejects that BLU passed on.I have no doubt this is made solely to reduce or eliminate android patent payments to Microsoft on the G4.
mortimerr - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
So will we never see another flagship with a screen that's less than 5.5 inches? I know the iPhone 6 has a 4.7in display, but the chassis is kind of large.Maybe the Z4 compact if it makes it out of the Japanese market?
arayoflight - Sunday, May 17, 2015 - link
There is the galaxy S6, HTC one m9 and as you said, iPhone 6. IPhone 6 chassis is larger than what it should have been but it's still way smaller than 5.5" phones.SirKronan - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
Seems reasonably priced for a non-contract LTE phone on Verizon - which has exceedingly limited options off contract in this price range. Honestly Windows Phone needed this released a while ago to compete with the likes of the cheap Motorola Android offerings. They have to have more availability in different market segments if they want to get a bigger share and attract more developers. I don't think for the price that this phone is a dollar short, but it is definitely a day late.Agree with mortimerr on the Z4 compact. I hope the U.S. gets it, but I'm not going to hold my breath. My wife has the Z3 on Verizon, and it's excellent, but her one complaint is that it's just too big. Otherwise she loves it. The wireless charging works great.
hp79 - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
"$19.99 on 2 year, or $120 outright."Ridiculous pricing on the contract. So a 2 year contract is only worth $100 for them, lol.
If the real price of an unlocked device is $120 with no subsidy, Verizon should pay you at least $300 to sign up for a contract with this phone.
Gunbuster - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
but but but... The network!Hence the dodo's I work with give Verizon an extra ~$12,000 a year instead of us switching over to T-Mobile.
testbug00 - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link
networks do matter. Although, $12000 a year... Either that's a pretty big business (in which case, that is relatively small cost) or they're paying for really expensive packages for their employees. In which case, they could probably save quite a bit of money...MrSpadge - Sunday, May 17, 2015 - link
The last time I checked a year still had 12 months, not 10. I'm pretty sure it's going to be the same next year.