It has not been pretty for Windows Phone in the past couple of weeks. Windows (Phone) sale is down, no new hardware is seen on the horizon, and worse of all, the app gap has one again increased for the Windows Store. Two of the biggest banks in America, Chase and Bank of America, just announced that they will no longer support the platform, while the other big name apps like TeamViewer and Opera just silently pulled their app from the Store, so what is going on here?
The lame excuses
If you asked, for the most time, both Chase and B of A will tell you that the amount of users on Windows Phone is not large enough to justify the investment that the companies has put in to maintain the app. For the responds, most of us here in Windows land will definitely call BS on that. Let’s be honest here, we are talking about billion dollar companies, and investing a few thousand dollars on just maintaining security, add a few new icons here and there for the sake of refreshment is not that expensive. If they really want to, just have one guy develop the app, if Rudy Huyn and build five-six apps on his own, with limited resource, it is not that hard for these rich geniuses to do so.
As for TeamViewer, that is just straight out weird. It is one thing to publicly say that you are pulling the app, but it is another thing just silently pull the app from the store, let your users hanging with no promises of supporting or even maintaining the app at all. Many news outlets have reached out, and no comment has been made by the company to explain the situation, which again, makes everything worse. Now, on the Opera part, they have come out and ease the public with an insurance that the company is still working on the app. And we never know, maybe TeamViewer is doing the same thing. But the point stands, letting your customer stranded is not the way to do, well, just about anything.
Flip side
Maybe I’m a little bias. After all, as a Windows user, it is quite easy to be frustrated when the apps that you depend on everyday is no longer there. Maybe they are working on a Windows 10 app – which again show an unreasonable stand since they can still let the app live while working on another. Maybe they are working on improving the webapp with the appearance of Spartan. There are too many maybe that can be speculated, none of which can be answered. If only, we are living in a perfect world.
So tell me what you think, how should these companies have handled the situation? Tell me bellow!
Fonetime.net 