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Comment by bargl | Hacker News Reader

This is a brilliant move to make Windows 10 much more relevant. I really like some of my Android apps, but I want a Windows phone. Hopefully this will encourage apps like Automatic to move to Windows phone.

I also wonder if this will affect Xamarin in a negative way.

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I loooooooove my Windows Phone. Seriously. Everyone stares at me as if I'm some sort of mutant when I tell them that I am a developer and I still love WP, but it's true. I have used iOS, BB, Android, but none of them compare to WP to me. I like the mix of customizability with solid, expected behaviors. The MS apps are phenomenal (also the Nokia apps), and all the major services have some sort of app, most official by now.

IMO, Microsoft's "uncool" image is the only thing holding it back. Like everything else, it's cyclical. They'll be back on top, and I think Windows 10 is going to start getting people back on board.

Second this with my WP preference. I have a device for the major platforms, but my WP experience is better than the others. It's more intuitive and has is already where the others seem to be trudging towards, in terms of content first. The consistency across apps and within the platform make for a cohesive experience that is moving closer to being seamless with the desktop experience.

I don't know if I would suggest they can get on top on phones, but they are definitely putting forth a very strong proposition for everything down through tablets.

If they can get just a big chunk of enterprise-supporting apps along with the top non-game apps over one way or another, they'll have carved out a sustainable chunk of the pie. This along with their casting of bread and butter like Office onto Android and iOS gets them into an enviable position going forward. But, it's a massive slog to get mainstream consumers to retrench when we aren't looking at something similar to the difference between a Blackberry and an iPhone.

Oh, yeah, I didn't mean WP would take over. I do think WP will take a bigger chunk of the market and will be around for the long haul, though.

By cyclical, I meant the "cool" factor of companies. I'm sure many people here remember when Apple was a total joke after being awesome. Microsoft is coming out of their "joke" phase, IMO.

Single modern language is still a strong selling point for Xamarin.

If I build a native Android app using Xamarin and then take that code and compile it using Visual Studio to then run on Windows 10 will the Windows ecosystem collapse into itself like what happened to Ron Silver in TimeCop when JCVD pushed his present self into his future self?[1]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D01mdGW9-Zg

>but I want a Windows phone

Why?

I just switched to one. The interface feels polished, in a way that I've never experienced on a smartphone before. I've used ios and android devices, and I always found them clumsy and icon-heavy; lots of looking at little pictures, when it's so much easier for me to read text.

All of the widgets "feel" better to me, too, than Android or ios.

I realize it's largely personal preference, but I hope windows phone sticks around. I'd hate to have to go back to one of the others some day.

Because it's got a nice, clean UI with interesting ideas?

It's not a bad platform, save for the lack of apps.

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