Well to be more precise, I suppose my position is that if MS want to increase their product userbase, they need a vanguard of advocates who promote their products far and wide. In the early days of Apple's resurgence, this would've been the graphic designers, musicians, developers, and so on. I think that the advocates that have pushed new MS products are, again, developers and graphic designers and so on, who have transitioned to MS over the last 4 or so years due to their new products suiting their needs (digitizer etc).
My own perception is that their haphazard treatment of their product line has tarnished the sentiment in these communities. It's one thing to phase out phones, but to suddenly drop them in the same year as an amazing keynote in which they promoted the Band and Phones as being central to the platform, at the same time that you're pushing OS updates...it's not pleasant when you've bought into that vision.
Phones might not have been worth the cost in an accounting sense, but if they've lost platform advocates then it could affect their good progress.
Like you though, I'm just speculating and would love to know the politics behind it.
My own perception is that their haphazard treatment of their product line has tarnished the sentiment in these communities. It's one thing to phase out phones, but to suddenly drop them in the same year as an amazing keynote in which they promoted the Band and Phones as being central to the platform, at the same time that you're pushing OS updates...it's not pleasant when you've bought into that vision.
Phones might not have been worth the cost in an accounting sense, but if they've lost platform advocates then it could affect their good progress.
Like you though, I'm just speculating and would love to know the politics behind it.