Windows Phone, Latin America’s second most widely used mobile platform

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2013/Aug13/08-21WPLATAMPR.aspx

by Bootvis • 13 years ago

34 34 13 years ago

primelens• 13 years ago

Hard to know what to make of this without any numbers, but I doubt the iPhone (or any similarly priced top-end phone) was flying off the shelves in many of these countries.

CmonDev3• 13 years ago

People are buying things they can't afford in every country. That might be a defining characteristic of our age.

forgottenpaswrd• 13 years ago

Wow, I love how with all this PR text they manage to not mention Android even once.

CmonDev3• 13 years ago

Because that would, like, make so much sense for them.

AlexanderDhoore• 13 years ago

The little devil in me would like to see Microsoft burn. The little angel in me knows that a third big mobile OS will be good for competition. I guess I hope Windows Phone does well, but not too well :)

CmonDev3• 13 years ago

Don't worry, there will always be some sort of old-fashioned OS with row of icons around.

harrytuttle4• 13 years ago

Despite being a UNIX die-hard, I rather like Windows Phone. I'm on my second handset (Nokia 710, now 720) and will buy another without hesitation.

If someone can suggest a handset that has better navigation with zero cost, has a battery life like the 720 (2 days EASILY), is silky smooth, has an IMAP client that isn't a piece of shit, is available SIM free for under £200, has perfect Exchange integration, never crashes and can withstand being dropped hundreds of times then I'll switch.

Oh and Nokia build quality: these things are like Nokia 3310s - you can throw them across the room, drop them from full head height and they still work flawlessly with no breaks (I've tried it).

Not one single Android, BB, Firefox or iOS device can actually do all that, which is my problem.

dima55• 13 years ago

Maybe you're not a UNIX die-hard. :)

networked3• 13 years ago

Despite being a UNIX die-hard, I rather like Windows Phone.

I love the UX of Windows Phone but what has kept me from getting a WP8 device for myself is the lack of an SSH client as configurable as JuiceSSH for Android or PuTTY for Symbian (as far as I'm aware). Is there one fit for a UNIX die-hard? The killer feature of JuiceSSH for me (which was a major reason why I decided to stay on Android) is transparent SSH hopping.

Another, lesser, concern is the lack text reflow in IE but I think we can expect that to be addressed soon. It's one of the top feature requests.

stinos2• 13 years ago

Have you tried Windows Phone 8? I was rather sceptical but it kinda blew me away, and now I wouldn't mind at all if it became sortof big. It deserves it.

selfexperiments• 13 years ago

Microsoft are evil. They enthusiastically helped the NSA spy on their own customers. Now I hear they have a big fat contract with the US government. Shady as all hell.

I had the Lumia 920 but sold it when Microsoft betrayed my trust. Installed Mint Linux and phasing out the godawful Windows 8 too.

_random_• 13 years ago

"...Installed Mint Linux..."

Goes nice with a tinfoil hat.

bitserf• 13 years ago

Interesting, what is the reason for the growth in Latin America compared to elsewhere? Does Nokia have a strong brand there?

drill_sarge• 13 years ago

Maybe with the lower price point Lumia phones? I don't know. Maybe they are pushing it really hard like here (Germany). Buy Lumia here ad, buy Lumia there blabla marketing.

hudell2• 13 years ago

Yeah, at least in the south of Brazil, you can't enter a city without seeing a huge ad saying something like "welcome to cityname, here you can buy windows phones in the storename" That and a lot of pictures of windows phone interface everywhere

Aldo_MX• 13 years ago

Telcel was giving the phone for free with an 18-mo contract in Mexico.

The options were really poor, an iPhone 3GS, an obsolete Samsung android phone, or a Lumia.

I don't think this was the reason of the overall growth, but I still suspect it helped.

hudell2• 13 years ago

Stronger marketing, better prices, better UX and I think that a lot of people is still buying their first smartphone, so lack of apps isn't really an issue since they have never had apps in the first place.

Shorel3• 13 years ago

Lack of awareness. No one knows what's a phone OS here.

This is just anecdotal evidence from my personal experience, I could be wrong.

beobab• 13 years ago

I'd be completely happy with my windows phone if only it allowed me to set custom SMS tones. I was very surprised that I like it so much. It has caused me the most frustration I have ever experienced in a phone, but I still like it.

The cheap Nokia Lumia models seem to be making it more popular. My brother and I both independently bought one, despite both being self-proclaimed apple fanboys.

meerita• 13 years ago

Buying an iPhone in Argentina is really complicated. First, because the many complications to import, second because you can't buy dollars making it more complicated and third because even if you use your credit card the government charges an extra huge percentage of the spent price in taxes. All these things are done to stop argentinians to buy foreign money.

pedalpete• 13 years ago

Argentina has some strange things going on, but why is it different with a windows phone?

Bootvis• 13 years ago

I think the most interesting thing about this development is that in Latin America app developers have a much stronger motivation to build apps for Windows Phone. As a Windows Phone owner I think that the lack of apps is the most annoying thing by far. The rest of the OS is actually quite OK.

devx• 13 years ago

I wonder if Windows Phone will soon have TPM 2.0, too:

http://investmentwatchblog.com/leaked-german-government-warn...

scottlilly• 13 years ago

Sadly (I'm a Windows developer), it's almost all Android here in Paraguay.

I spoke with a couple local companies that do mobile development and the biggest problem is still the cost of hardware. That's even though Paraguay doesn't have anywhere near as large a problem with importing as other nearby countries do (for example, Uruguay's 60% import duty and 22% IVA, Argentina's restrictions on imports and spending money outside the country). I occasionally pop into cell phones stores and I haven't yet found a Nokia Lumia to replace my old X6. I'm sure they're available, but they certainly aren't common.

Windows Phone, Latin America’s second most widely used mobile platform

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