Microsoft should have left Nokia alone

Before Microsoft purchased Nokia’s Devices & Services division, and essentially swallowed up the area that was producing Windows Phone-based devices, Nokia was essentially the name behind Microsoft’s mobile operating system. While there were other handsets out there, the market was dominated by Nokia. The manufacturer managed to boast noteworthy flagships, as well as fill out the rest of the spectrum at the same time.

Let’s face it, ever since the launch of Windows Phone, the other manufacturers out there that seemed so excited about the prospect of another platform just faded out. And with their own lack of attention, so did the most important part of the mobile OS: the phones. HTC and Samsung basically provide a perfunctory amount of attention to Windows Phone.

I can’t even remember the last Windows Phone that Samsung launched that was honestly worth any amount of real attention. And then there’s HTC, which just launched the One (M8) for Windows. It’s a good phone, sure, but even it managed to garner little attention. Like many other Windows Phone handsets it launched, and then was practically forgotten about in the same day.

It didn’t help that, when it did launch for AT&T well after it launched for Verizon, the Big Blue carrier essentially snuck it out there into the wild with little fanfare.

I think the last time that I was excited about a Windows Phone was the Lumia 920. Sure, the Lumia 1020 quickly became one of my favorite Windows Phone-based handsets out there after using it, but the Lumia 920 was pretty great. That was back in 2012. Since then, it’s basically just been waiting and more waiting.

I’m waiting for Microsoft to release a Surface phone, yes, but more than that I just want to get the impression from Microsoft that Windows Phone is a serious competitor in the smartphone market. Because it is. I love Windows Phone, and I’d honestly love to adopt Cortana into my life because it’s a great feature. And yet, I’m still just waiting for a phone that I actually like using. That packs plenty of specs and features.

You know. A real flagship.

The worst part of all this is that I feel like I’ve just been waiting since the very beginning. I’m still waiting for Microsoft to launch cross-device gaming, for instance, so I can start on my Windows Phone while I’m away from my house, and continue right from where I left off on my Xbox when I get home. I’m still waiting for developers tor really start focusing some of their attention on Windows Phone. And, I’m still waiting for a phone to really grab my attention.

I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m just not sure how much longer I can do it. And, simply put, buying the division within Nokia that was actually releasing phones doesn’t seem like the best strategy anymore. I was on board with it back then, but now? Negative.

Maybe I’ll get surprised by the new devices from Microsoft in 2015, when they launch Windows 10. Or, as is usually the case, maybe I’ll just have to wait until 2016, or 2017, or…

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