Posts by SoftwareDeveloper 3 publicly visible posts • joined 16 Mar 2016
While the app will not be updated for WP8.1 neither will the data, so eventually you will be navigating to addresses that can't be found, or roads that have changes, bus timetables that have changed, businesses that have moved. This will impact transit, maps and drive versions of HERE on WP8.1
The initial promise of upgrading all WP8.1 has suffered from scope changes that introduces more risk to customer who can upgrade to WP10. The Microsoft Vision for Windows 10 was not locked down when moving to development, significant changes will destroy the deliverables and possibly add more risk to WP10 devices. Certainly Microsoft is demonstrating that it does not apply best practice in project management to achieve the publicly announced vision.
Windows 10 strategy is failing to embrace developers.
Other operating systems have maintained a reasonable level of code reuse, not so with Windows 10, typically we have to re-write the applications and in some cases this requires a considerable amount of development and often finds the Windows 10 environment lacking is required features to deliver the same functionality.
For end users of earlier versions that apps survived several windows operating system versions, however now with Windows 10 the apps appearing that are compatible are first release versions that have not matured like previous operating systems.
Regardless if HERE has a chip on it's shoulder that they where not purchased by Microsoft, I would suggest that the cost benefit of redeveloping their applications to Windows 10 can't not be justified or simply the OS is not delivering the features that it requires - like many other Apps.
Because many applications require a complete re-write for Windows 10 we are seeing an operating system in the market that suffers from minimal support from developers. While the operating system is important, I might suggest good feature rich applications are the selling point. I would certainly not support a mobile phone or desktop operating system that ONLY has core applications developed by Microsoft.
Mobile devices are not only for games, Line of Business applications are critical to many customers, small business and enterprises however Microsoft continues to provide what I would consider a hostile closed shop approach to the free deployment of this class of application.
Android has allowed developer a wider range of API's with unrestricted access for third parties, this has delivered feature rich and a wide range of mature applications, Microsoft either does not allow to some core features or has a tiered approach depending on how much you pay them for the right to develop applications.
I have approached many application developers who have great applications such as government public transport services, educational organizations, etc and have been told they are not going to build Windows 10 applications. If Microsoft does not embrace these organizations then certainly the platforms value is seriously degraded.
We are certainly saddened by the current Microsoft strategy and the apparent ignorance of Microsoft not getting it right. I fear that many more development houses will drop away from this platform.
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