Glancers’ Reaction to Windows Phone 7.8

Another and final installment of Reactions to Windows Phone 7.8. This time we had two of our Glance and Go fans in this article. Sean Johnson (@TheWinPhan on Twitter) and Scott Craft (@LakeCharlesWP on Twitter). I gave them the opportunity to voice their thoughts on 7.8 and I think you’ll find their thoughts & opinions quite good.

If you haven’t yet read part one or two of this series, I encourage you to go ahead and read them right here….

Part I and Part II

I asked them three questions. The only difference this time around, some of the questions were changed since these fans were not industry insiders. The questions are geared more toward consumers Windows Phone superfans!

These were the questions I asked.

1 – What do you think about the 7.8 update and Microsoft’s decision not to extend WP8 to current generation Windows Phone devices?

2 – What features do you think they could bring to the 7.8 update to make it a little more palatable to us WP fans? (Keep in mind the physical hardware differences/restrictions)

3 – Are you going to purchase a Windows 8 device when they are launched this fall? Why or why not?

 

Q1 – What do you think about the 7.8 update and Microsoft’s decision not to extend WP8 to current generation Windows Phone devices?

Sean Johnson @TheWinPhan – First off, I think the few things that we’ve learned about 7.8 definitely appeals to me! I like the customizing that can be done with the Live Tiles and the new colors available, not to mention the goodies that Nokia will continue to bring to owners of the legacy devices.

I would like to have seen the full WP8 on our devices, BUT I FULLY UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT Microsoft’s decision to push forward to ensure future success of their mobile OS, which does in fact require hardware not on board our devices!!! I get it and I support it! I would much rather keep having the ability to buy Windows Phones in the future and without the change in this tough market to crack, that opportunity would surely disappear.

Scott Craft @LakeCharlesWP – For me it’s not a big deal because I am on a first generation device. Now if I had just bought a Lumia or Titan 2 I would be understandably upset. I think Microsoft made a tough decision making a break between WP7/7.5 and WP8, but I feel it was a necessary decision. In today’s market so many sales reps use things like dual-core processor and high resolution screen to sell phones, so while our current devices may or may not be capable of running Windows 8, next to many android phones out there WP looks weak. I also like that with WP8 the basic architecture of Windows Phone will be future proof for some time.

Q2 (2 part) – What reaction would you expect to see from customers? And what would you tell them to overcome any negative reactions?

Sean Johnson @TheWinPhan – If there are any integrated services such as Instagram or other social sites that become available to WP8, I hope finds its way to 7.8 as well. I think it would be great to see Microsoft and Nokia to continue to reward developers who continue to support 7.8 to help the Marketplace continue to grow and current apps not turn to unattended/dead apps. I think that might help the morale of the current owners.

Scott Craft @LakeCharlesWP – Considering the hardware features that are going to be available in WP8, there are some features I would like to see in the 7.8 update. First I would like to see the improved lock screen notifications brought to us in the 7.8 update. As a long time android user I find the WP notifications a bit lacking, so any improvement is welcome. I would also like to see the Nokia maps and navigation in 7.8. I think Bing Maps are pretty solid, but everything I read about Nokia’s maps is positive, so I think that would be a nice addition. The last thing I would like to see the data compression and data smart data monitoring brought to 7.8. With unlimited data going by the wayside and cloud storage becoming increasingly popular, I am interested in any tools that will help us maximize our data usage.

Q3- Do you think this news will hinder any current generation Windows Phone sales?

Sean Johnson @TheWinPhan – Without a doubt!!! I’m a WinPhan, I couldn’t imagine not being able to add WP8 to my Windows Phone collection within the first week of becoming available! I love me some Windows Phone! I’m extremely excited to experience what Microsoft has managed to put together, it sounds fantastic! I also want to show Microsoft I understand their decision and support it, what better way to show it? Buy a Windows Phone 8 ASAP! Crazy too, bought (2) 7 Pros last June, 2 Titans and a Focus S in November, then 2 Lumia 900′s about 3 weeks ago, and planning on buying 2 WP8′s as soon as they’re released to the public! YEP, CRAZY AS HELL, but like I said, I love me some Windows Phone.

Scott Craft @LakeCharlesWP – I want to purchase a Windows 8 device as soon as I can, but unfortunately I don’t have an upgrade until March. I might try to negotiate my way into an early upgrade, but I am going to wait and see when and if Nokia intends to release a PureView device on Verizon. If HTC releases a high end WP on Verizon I will check it out as well.

Wow! Yet again, some awesome, interesting perspectives on this matter. A big thanks to our fans Sean Johnson & Scott Craft for your input! Be sure to follow these guys on Twitter, these guys love WP as much as we do!

Also, be sure to comment below, share you thoughts!