Windows 10 Phone Is Like Waiting For Godot

Can you wait? Windows 10 Mobile is expected to ship sometime in November on new phones and in December for older phones

By Stephen Pate – Microsoft is almost on the cusp of releasing a phone that competes with the iPhone and Android phones.

While Apple releases the “most amazing iPhone ever” with the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus,  Google Android phones march on to something called Android Marshmallow and Windows Phone is almost, almost in sight.

The latest version of Windows Phone is called Windows 10 Mobile to match Windows 10, the operating system that more than 110 million people use on their desktops, laptops and tablets.

There are about 60 million Windows phones in the world, compared with 300 million iPhones and 800 million Android phones.

Last week Microsoft unveiled the Lumia 950 and 950XL, new flagship phones that will ship in November 2015 with Windows 10 Mobile. The phones look impressive even the operating system has to be finished in the next 30 days.

I have used Windows 10 Mobile on the Windows Insider Preview program for a few months. The latest build is 10549. While it hold promise, Windows 10 Mobile barely works. When it does on my Lumia 920 phone, it’s an improvement over Windows Phone 8.1.

However, most of the time my phone seems to be pushing through molasses waiting for the app to start. When the app is finally there, it feels like too many features have been left out.

For instance Outlook is one of the best email, calendar and contact managers in the computer world. Somehow, the Windows Mobile version is nothing like the real thing on your computer. It’s like Matisse painting with Crayons.

By comparison, Outlook on an Apple iPad is a great app.

The still and video camera developed by Nokia on the new 950 and 950XL should be the best in the smartphone world. Maybe that will make a difference. But that’s another story.

There are millions of Windows Phone enthusiasts hoping that Microsoft gets it right this time. The clock is ticking towards the November release of Windows 10 Mobile.

Windows Lumia 950 and 950XL phones will be sold unlocked through the Microsoft Store. Other than the US carrier Verizon you should be able to use one on most carriers around the world.

If you are interested, you can leave your email with the Microsoft Store for November 2015 delivery – Lumia 950/950XL from Microsoft Store USA  and Lumia 950XL from the Microsoft Store in Canada.
.