Last weeks sad news is coming from many news sites. Because of bad selling of Microsoft Lumia devices, Microsoft will pull the plug and ending sales of all Lumia smartphones by the end of this year. That's not strange with 0,7% market share only in Q1 2016 (Gartner). Probably the Surface Phone fits better, but it will be no consumer device for sure. This news is killing for Lumia owners like me, where devices are half of price after release 9 months ago.
Where my Lumia 950 was €599 around 9 months ago, with another €99 for a Display Dock (which was included with 950XL only), price has now dropped down to €299 with a free Display Dock instead. That's a €399 price drop within a year, which is frankly outrageous if you ask me! Microsoft is abandon Windows Phone lovers that way really quick. No good residual value for the money here, and no one daring to buy Surface Phone at later time. My 2 cents..
Where promises were made on Continuum and Appstore support, on both Android (Project Astoria) and iOS (Project Islandwood), nothing has been released so far. Continuum was not as expected, without further app support and possibility to open a single app multiple times. Appstore support on both Android and iOS transfers has never been released, which was another reason for me to buy this flagship. No single reaction from Microsoft so far on this!
So yes, it's no secret, Microsoft is done with it's Lumia line of devices. Probably Surface Phone will be coming end of 2017, where current Lumia 950 (XL) owners will not try it again. Time will tell if Surface Phone (when released, because currently just a product that's in-development internally), is good value for money after all. Still a disappointment for me and many other Windows Phone lovers, and time to look for a new device and platform.
My personal experience on: Microsoft Lumia 950 experience after 9 months (pro's and cons)
Other news on Lumia smartphones:
-Goodbye, Microsoft Lumia. Hello New Surface Phone
-Should you wait for the Surface Phone or buy a Lumia 950 now?
-
Top 4 Reasons The Microsoft Surface Phone Will Be The Best Phone To Enter The Market
-Microsoft’s rumoured ‘Surface Phone’ may not arrive until next Fall
-Microsoft Surface Phone To Replace Lumia 950 Line; Release Date Moved To 2017?
Why would Microsoft offer a new Display Dock to 950XL owners and not for people like me who purchased the 950 model. I don't want to hold a 5.7" Phone daily, just because of the free Display Dock offer. (I guess most people ordered the 950XL for that one?)
The Lumia 950XL has benefits enough for $100 extra:
-5.7" display
-Gorilla Glass 4
-Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
-3340mAh battery
Still pity because I don’t want to spend another $99 just to try the Continuum feature. Colleagues asking me about the feature a lot, but cannot show it to them. A missed oppurtunity if you ask me!
Expect a personal review for the Lumia 950 soon. (and hopefully for the Continuum feature at a later time)
Recently on the Microsoft Windows 10 devices event new Lumia phones are announced. Last year the last Nokia phone (930) was released, which is still loved by many people. Microsoft skipped the 940 version, and is using the 950 and 950XL version now. Devices are called Microsoft Lumia now, with Windows 10 Mobile onboard. With this release, Microsoft wants to make sure this is a major release, kind of new generation. Same thing as for Windows 10 for desktops.
Let's have a look at the 950 and 950XL specs so far:
When looking for a comparison with the 930 have a look here:
Because of new functionality (Continuum, Windows Hello, Wireless charging, Cortana, Adaptive antenna technology, Octacore & Hexacore processors and Liquid cooling technology) this must be my next phone! Therefore I ordered the Lumia 950 today, which will be my next device in around 6 weeks. Hope to share my personal experience within a few months. Just click on the pictures for a better view :)
Source and photos: OneTechStop.net
During the Microsoft October 2015 event today (October 6th) Microsoft made the following announcements. It's full of great hardware and even greater functionality running on Windows 10. Microsoft is back in business again with both great hardware AND software. Microsoft will be loved again, that's for sure :)
It's all about #Windows10 and #Windows10devices now!
Windows 10
-Running on 110 million devices worldwide within eight weeks
-1.25 billion store visits worldwide within 10 weeks
-Running on Xbox One and mobile devices soon
Xbox One
-This holiday a great line-up games running on Xbox One and Pc
-New games are: Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5, Gears of War 4, Forza Motorsport 6, and many more
-New Xbox One Limited Edition consoles with 1TB storage (multiple editions) with a new game enclosed
Hololens
-With Project X-ray you can play games in your own environment (mixed reality)
-The Hololens development edition kit will be available Q1 2016 for $3,000
-Expect more holographic games soon!
Band 2
-Has a rounder design and offers more functionality. It has a Barometer, Gorilla Glass 3 and Cortana build-in
-Has all known features from the first Band: Built-in GPS, UV monitoring, Guided workouts, Sleep & Calorie tracking and Smart notifications
-Note: Still no Endomondo support, which I'm using for running :(
-Pre-order today and available October 30th for $249
Lumia 950 and 950XL
-Best mobile phone ever. It has Adaptive antenna technology, Octacore & Hexacore processors and Liquid cooling technology
-Lumia 950 specs: Hexacore-chip, 5,2 inch OLED screen, 564 PPI, 20MP sensor, Triple LED, and many more
-Lumia 950XL specs: Octacore-chip, 5,7 inch OLED screen, 518 PPI, 20MP sensor, Triple LED, and many more
-4k video with hardware button, saving on Cloud-storage, 32GB local storage and 2TB (maximum) on SD-cards
-Support for Continuum (with Microsoft Display Dock) and Windows Hello (works with iris scanners) on both phones
-Multitasking on multiple screens possible, keyboard/mouse and USB-drive support (Full Pc experience)
-Available November for $549 (Lumia 950) and $649 (Lumia 950XL) and Lumia 550 (budget-phone) available December for $139
Surface Pro 4
-Note: 98% of people using Surface Pro 3 recommend it, I too :)
-Bigger screen, using 12,3 inch now (no 14 inch as rumoured) and thinner/lighter (from 9.1 to 8.4 mm)
-The screen has 267 PPI and 5 million pixels, which is 20% more then Surface Pro 3
-Maximum configuration available is 1TB local storage, 16GB memory (finally) and Gorilla Glass 4
-Pen storage when/where you need it (magnetic) in multiple colors available (better then Surface Pro 3)
-Surface Pro 4 is 30% faster then Surface Pro 3 and 50% faster then MacBook Air :)
-New type cover with fingerprint reader, better keyset (scissor design) and precision glass trackpad in multiple colors available
-New docking station with 4x USB 3.0 ports, 2x 4k display ports, Gigabit Ethernet and more (for Surface Pro 3 also)
-Pre-order October 7th and available October 26th for $899 (at minimum)
Surface Book
-The 14 inch Surface (as mentioned earlier) has become a 13,5 inch laptop called Surface Book :)
-This is the first laptop ever made by Microsoft, and the fastest laptop anywhere on any planet ever (!)
-The screen has 267 PPI and 6 million pixels, it has touch and pen support same as Surface
-Has a perfect typing experience (quiet, stable and comfortable) a precision glass and 5-point multi-touch trackpad
-Onboard are a new Intel Skylake CPU, nVidia Geforce GPU and high-speed GDDR5 memory
-Surface Book is 50% faster then MacBook Pro, has 12 hour battery life and works with new docking station also
-Has a screen which can be detached from the keyboard, it's a laptop and a clipboard in one (!)
-It's the most powerful and ultimate laptop on the planet :)
-Pre-order October 7th and available October 26th for $1,499 (at minimum)
I'm really thrilled and excited about all the new stuff coming. Hope to have a Band 2, Lumia 950 and Surface Book soon :)
Watch the recorded session on: http://www.microsoft.com/october2015event/en-us/live-event
