Lumia 950 / 950XL? [Stock info/Stores/Networks etc]

Tazzimus

silvelu88 wrote: »

I had my 1520 since April 2014 and upgraded it few days ago to 950 for 99.99. Did you go to the store or checked it online? You better do the latter, I would assume the store rep is misinformed.

Edit. I also kept the 1520, so the trade would be free I believe.

Went in to the store while I was in town yesterday/ Online just says go instore or ring 1907, not the most helpful of services.

Yeh trading the 1520 in would make it free but I'd like to keep that.

silvelu88

Tazzimus wrote: »

silvelu88 wrote: »

I had my 1520 since April 2014 and upgraded it few days ago to 950 for 99.99. Did you go to the store or checked it online? You better do the latter, I would assume the store rep is misinformed.

Edit. I also kept the 1520, so the trade would be free I believe.

Went in to the store while I was in town yesterday/ Online just says go instore or ring 1907, not the most helpful of services.

Yeh trading the 1520 in would make it free but I'd like to keep that.

I did the upgrade online with no issues, maybe you could have a chat with VF in this regard.

Tazzimus

Thinking I'll chat to them here cos I went into a different store today and the fella told me they haven't had any 950 XL's in stock for a few months now...

circadian

Tazzimus wrote: »

Thinking I'll chat to them here cos I went into a different store today and the fella told me they haven't had any 950 XL's in stock for a few months now...

Fantastic product awareness.

jimmynokia

There's no push at all for Lumia phones. Even the PR team is useless.

wrt40

Anyone here with a 950\XL and an xbox one? Can you tell me how the xbox one app works with continuum? In theory you should be able to connect to your home network via vpn and play your xbox on the move. Fantastic if it works even at low stream quality ☺But I wouldn't be surprised if there's a catch in there somewhere

senordingdong

jimmynokia wrote: »

There's no push at all for Lumia phones. Even the PR team is useless.

Truly sickening. We could be forgiven for thinking that TPTB want it dead.
Especially with the push for all these other manufacturers to carry W10.

MJohnston

The thing is the 950 and the 950XL are purely enthusiast devices, were presented as such in the press conferences, were promoted as such in the build up to release, and are still referred to as such by people like Panay even now. They're devices built to appeal to people who have stuck with WP through thick and thin (and imo they certainly do that). They're also intended to keep the hardware lineup ticking over until the first real Microsoft designed and built phone arrives in 10-12 months, the Panay/Surface phone. At that point, if the x86 talk is true, Windows mobile really will just be Windows 10 with no real ifs or buts, and maybe then the idea of widely promoting Windows on phones may be realistic. The truth is though that W10 Mobile does, in itself, change nothing about the core WP issue of the app gap, so you cant just expecting MS to keep piping money into a lost cause (promoting it) when they should instead be thinking of those game changing devices ahead.

MJohnston

Btw I say all that as a massive fan of the Lumia 950XL, who fully intends to buy whatever next years flagship might be. But use Continuum and tell me that's not the future of Windows - a future that needs x86 hardware to really, really shine.

wrt40

MJohnston wrote: »

The thing is the 950 and the 950XL are purely enthusiast devices, were presented as such in the press conferences, were promoted as such in the build up to release, and are still referred to as such by people like Panay even now. They're devices built to appeal to people who have stuck with WP through thick and thin (and imo they certainly do that). They're also intended to keep the hardware lineup ticking over until the first real Microsoft designed and built phone arrives in 10-12 months, the Panay/Surface phone. At that point, if the x86 talk is true, Windows mobile really will just be Windows 10 with no real ifs or buts, and maybe then the idea of widely promoting Windows on phones may be realistic. The truth is though that W10 Mobile does, in itself, change nothing about the core WP issue of the app gap, so you cant just expecting MS to keep piping money into a lost cause (promoting it) when they should instead be thinking of those game changing devices ahead.

I honestly cant see the surface phone supporting desktop programs. They have already structured windows 10 for OEMs, windows 10 is free for devices under 8" and can only run windows store apps. They're not going to do a u-turn on that. The best you're going to get is remote desktop and vpn, which you already have with the 950.

I think the aim of the surface phone will be in the quality of build. It is going to be a surface after all. Along with what will be by then a quality, stable OS.

MJohnston

wrt40 wrote: »

I honestly cant see the surface phone supporting desktop programs. They have already structured windows 10 for OEMs, windows 10 is free for devices under 8" and can only run windows store apps. They're not going to do a u-turn on that. The best you're going to get is remote desktop and vpn, which you already have with the 950.

I think the aim of the surface phone will be in the quality of build. It is going to be a surface after all. Along with what will be by then a quality, stable OS.

The bit in bold I don't believe is true, but we don't have any sub 8" tablets to test that theory with iirc! But it doesnt matter imo, they'll make sure the "Surface" phone supports X86 apps, but probably only when you're in Continuum mode, possibly only with those apps that are listed in the store (which is open to all apps now remember, not just ARM compiled ones

theothernt

MJohnston wrote: »

The bit in bold I don't believe is true, but we don't have any sub 8" tablets to test that theory with iirc! But it doesnt matter imo, they'll make sure the "Surface" phone supports X86 apps, but probably only when you're in Continuum mode, possibly only with those apps that are listed in the store (which is open to all apps now remember, not just ARM compiled ones

I think there's a little confusion about how the store works and what it supports.

From Windows 8 onwards, the Windows Store supports ARM, x86 and x64. But x64 and x86 doesn't mean legacy apps, it technically means Intel/AMD support for Modern Apps. A package type for legacy desktop apps doesn't exist yet. Microsoft have talked about Project Centennial but we have no release date yet.

wrt40

MJohnston wrote: »

The bit in bold I don't believe is true

The bit in bold is a fact, a quick Google and you'll see.

What is not a fact is that the Surface phone will use mobile intel chips or that they will allow desktop apps. We'll have to wait and see but I don't think Microsoft will allow a surface phone to be used as a guinea pig for what is a relatively new and unproven mobile intel chipset. For a surface phone it HAS to have the best and at the moment and the foreseeable future that is Snapdragon.

liamog

wrt40 wrote: »

The bit in bold is a fact, a quick Google and you'll see.

What is not a fact is that the Surface phone will use mobile intel chips or that they will allow desktop apps. We'll have to wait and see but I don't think Microsoft will allow a surface phone to be used as a guinea pig for what is a relatively new and unproven mobile intel chipset. For a surface phone it HAS to have the best and at the moment and the foreseeable future that is Snapdragon.

I'm pretty sure the whole point of the surface line is to redefine a sector. Allowing legacy x86 applications to rub on continuum is a game changer and that's exactly what the surface team is after.

You appear to have MS confused with Apple when it cones to risk in devices look at the use Qi, the OiS tech, heatpipe for the 950xl. Surface is an even bigger list.

wrt40

liamog wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the whole point of the surface line is to redefine a sector. Allowing legacy x86 applications to rub on continuum is a game changer and that's exactly what the surface team is after.

You appear to have MS confused with Apple when it cones to risk in devices look at the use Qi, the OiS tech, heatpipe for the 950xl. Surface is an even bigger list.

Legacy apps on a phone is not a game changer. All it does is pander to an ever decreasing group of MS enthusiasts. And when it involves adopting an inferior chipset I wouldn't exactly call that taking risks. I'd just call it a dumb move and I have all the confidence in Panos Panay to come up with something better.

They need more market share, meaning they need to convert iPhone and Android users. that means convincing them to change their ecosystem AND buy all their favourite apps again or in most cases do without them completely. I don't claim to have the answer but I've no doubt whatsoever legacy apps that can only run when you plug it into a monitor is not the answer.

Having a high quality, top of the range, spec'ed to the max luxury Surface branded phone is enough to convert a lot of them. Lets face it, there are many, many iPhone and Android users that don't use or don't care about apps, it's all about status.

MJohnston

wrt40 wrote: »

Having a high quality, top of the range, spec'ed to the max luxury Surface branded phone is enough to convert a lot of them. Lets face it, there are many, many iPhone and Android users that don't use or don't care about apps, it's all about status.

It is absolutely not. It didn't happen with the Lumia 900, the Lumia 1020, the Lumia 930, the Lumia 1520, and it won't happen with the 950 or 950XL.

Go read some of the most recent interviews with Panay and others at Microsoft, you can see that they've "moved past" mobile, in the sense that they know they can't win with Windows Phone, or simply Windows on phones. They have talked endlessly about looking beyond phones and seeing what comes after. HoloLens is one branch, and Continuum is another. They know they need a real big gamechanger to move the conversation past "there aren't enough apps" to something else, and full-blown Windows x86 apps via Continuum on a phone could be one of those. There could be many others too, but unfortunately I don't believe premium quality devices can change the game at all anymore.

wrt40

MJohnston wrote: »

It is absolutely not. It didn't happen with the Lumia 900, the Lumia 1020, the Lumia 930, the Lumia 1520, and it won't happen with the 950 or 950XL.

None of these devices are of the calibre of android or iphone. Nokia or microsoft have yet to produce a phone of "flagship" quality that people are used to. Panay has distanced himself from the 950. Even at its launch it was very down played and he was at pains to point out it was still a nokia team product and nothing to do with him.

Yes I get that they are trying to change the playing field rather than continue to fight a losing battle. But i don't care what features the phone has, if its not of premium build quality it wont matter. By that I mean every aspect including the chipset and intel is not there yet.

Sir Oxman

MJohnston wrote: »

The bit in bold I don't believe is true, but we don't have any sub 8" tablets to test that theory with iirc! But it doesnt matter imo, they'll make sure the "Surface" phone supports X86 apps, but probably only when you're in Continuum mode, possibly only with those apps that are listed in the store (which is open to all apps now remember, not just ARM compiled ones

I have a HP stream 7 which definitely runs desktop app (upgraded from Windows 8.1) but I do believe all new devices under 8" won't allow desktop apps.

circadian

Has anyone got one of these from their network provider yet? It seems like Three are taking orders but either don't have the stock or just aren't shipping. I know a few people who have ordered from them and haven't got anything.

MJohnston

wrt40 wrote: »

Even at its launch it was very down played and he was at pains to point out it was still a nokia team product and nothing to do with him.

Ah, but you'll note just how much time in that Lumia launch was basically all about Continuum. That's the key thing.

Rsaeire

circadian wrote: »

Has anyone got one of these from their network provider yet? It seems like Three are taking orders but either don't have the stock or just aren't shipping. I know a few people who have ordered from them and haven't got anything.

I got my 950 last week from Meteor on upgrade. I'm really enjoying it so far as it's much faster than my Lumia 1020. I'm still testing out the camera but, so far, the image quality is right next to the 1020 based on the images I've taken and the DNG versions I've viewed in Photoshop.

senordingdong

MJohnston wrote: »

The thing is the 950 and the 950XL are purely enthusiast devices, were presented as such in the press conferences, were promoted as such in the build up to release, and are still referred to as such by people like Panay even now. They're devices built to appeal to people who have stuck with WP through thick and thin (and imo they certainly do that). .

Just sounds like a cheap excuse for a begrudgingly released phone to me.

MJohnston

senordingdong wrote: »

Just sounds like a cheap excuse for a begrudgingly released phone to me.

The "excuse" has nothing to do with the devices themselves and is more about the state of Windows on phones than anything else - Microsoft know that more is needed than just another top specced smartphone, but they haven't gotten whatever they're planning for that ready yet, so they released two to keep the existing userbase happy.

In other words - these phones are fantastic pieces of kit and do basically everything right with their specs, but they still run Windows, so we all can't expect a sales miracle from nowhere.

wrt40

MJohnston wrote: »

Ah, but you'll note just how much time in that Lumia launch was basically all about Continuum. That's the key thing.

Ah yes, and what is continuum really all about? A PC in your pocket ala 2005 (I had a Dell pocket PC back then)? No, its all about the apps. I agree they are trying to change the game but in doing so they are enticing developers to build universal apps and hence bring apps to the phone. Actually not just the phone but a universal app experience across all platforms, which again is changing the play field but at the same time it's really about apps. I'm not saying its the only advantage of continuum. It's a very nice feature and there is definitely a place for it. Especially in enterprise.

MJohnston

wrt40 wrote: »

Ah yes, and what is continuum really all about? A PC in your pocket ala 2005 (I had a Dell pocket PC back then)? No, its all about the apps. I agree they are trying to change the game but in doing so they are enticing developers to build universal apps and hence bring apps to the phone. Actually not just the phone but a universal app experience across all platforms, which again is changing the play field but at the same time it's really about apps. I'm not saying its the only advantage of continuum. It's a very nice feature and there is definitely a place for it. Especially in enterprise.

Well I definitely agree that they're trying to get as much force behind the idea of Universal apps as possible, and if it works, Continuum could be huge even without x86 support. My original point remains though - imo its not high quality hardware that'll win over new users, it might be Continuum though. On that note, I really wish they'd hurry up and launch Universal apps on the Xbox One, because they need every single incentive they can get for people to build them!

liamog

wrt40 wrote: »

Ah yes, and what is continuum really all about? A PC in your pocket ala 2005 (I had a Dell pocket PC back then)? No, its all about the apps. I agree they are trying to change the game but in doing so they are enticing developers to build universal apps and hence bring apps to the phone. Actually not just the phone but a universal app experience across all platforms, which again is changing the play field but at the same time it's really about apps. I'm not saying its the only advantage of continuum. It's a very nice feature and there is definitely a place for it. Especially in enterprise.

Continuum is about ubiquitous computing, the idea behind Legacy (Win32) applications on continuum is to move the line of business application that will never be ported to a universal app.

Your correct that it then entices universal app development. If they enable Win32 using an x86 processor from Intel, im sure you'll find that the Win32 apps only run on the desktop mode.

senordingdong

MJohnston wrote: »

, I really wish they'd hurry up !

A common demand of them for some time now. I appreciate that these things take time but they appear to be shooting themselves in the foot with their own deadlines/expectations.

MJohnston

I'd appreciate not being quoted out of context please!

Fingleberries

MJohnston wrote: »

I'd appreciate not being quoted

Sheesh, touchy

(Sorry, I couldn't resist and fully acknowledge that this was taken completely out of context).

Overall, I agree with the previous comments that the Continuum feature is something in Windows 10 Mobile that really shows potential of the system. If UWP takes off it could really be the mobility of experience that works - buy once, use everywhere, always accessible data and apps.

After //Build2016 we will probably know more about Win32 apps being packaged in the Store. Until then, there's not much point in hypothesising about an x86 phone.

But, at the moment it feels potentially great. So many of us were blown away by it, but we're not quite sure where we would use it in our day-to-day life for now. But, if it takes off, they could be the things that push Windows back into relevance for mobile users.

MJohnston

Fingleberries wrote: »

But, at the moment it feels potentially great. So many of us were blown away by it, but we're not quite sure where we would use it in our day-to-day life for now. But, if it takes off, they could be the things that push Windows back into relevance for mobile users.

Interestingly, I took my Display Dock with me this week when I was on a trip to Cologne, as I was going to try and hook it up to the hotel room's TV and then use it for Netflix (via the browser), some music in the room, or just looking up map directions or whatever.

Unfortunately the hotel's TV was one of those nailed to the wall types, so I couldn't get to the HDMI port

Still, next time I'm on a personal trip, I'm definitely bringing the Display Dock instead of a laptop/Surface!