All this hype about "Windows phones are so cool.." But I never hear about Administrative Access or Rooting style capabilities/Development to enable a Windows phone to work "outside the box" of general design concerning software, i.e: Overclocking, free hotspot, init.d scripts.. ect. You can modify Android, effectively making a "Pinto outrun a Porsche." Can the same be said for a WP? And how many ppl are still trying to get rid of the every 5 min Error notification that used to always pop up on Desktop, from their memory? Still can't shake it after 20yrs!
How many everyday people are doing that on android? LMAO.
Most people don't care to do that.
Come on now.
And I do hope you were joking about error notifications on Windows phone. Because if you're serious, that shows how out of touch you are lol. Because that doesn't happen.
An argument about something I've not actually seen anyone using yet, Windows Phone.
Windows Desktop in China, everywhere.
Windows Phone in China, almost non-existent.
Just remembered something I posted two years ago...
http://androidforums.com/threads/wh...phone-how-are-they.770214/page-2#post-6150841
"Windows Phone in the PRC is quite a rare item so far, or so it seems, and not being marketed very well. The local Unicom dealer has a few non-functioning dummies on display, This is in amonst many functioning demonstration Androids that customers can play with and try out. There's real iPhones as well. Chinese manufacturers(except for Huawei) don't seem to do any Windows Phone handsets so far, they're almost 100% Android now."
In fact it's got worse since then, Unicom doesn't have any Win Phone at all now, and nor does China Mobile.
Thankfully China is not the be all, end all place where an OS success is determined
Windows Phones does much better in places such as the Eu5 and India and such.
OK, a few things...
Agreed that Android is not the most efficient OS around. Yes, it's does require more horsepower than iOS or - gasp! - WinPhone to achieve comparable performance. The decision Google made to go with Java and sandboxed apps in a virtual margins assured a higher system overhead. Obviously, the authors knew this and felt the trade-off for other advantages was worth the efficiency penalty. This in no way means Android is an inferior OS. Just that as with any OS there are strengths and weaknesses.
So my point is, it's not really fair to say that Google hasn't figured out how to optimize their OS - everyone is constantly learning new optimizations and improving their OS, not just Google. It's that the hardware is just catching up with the considerable requirements of Android. I've always been split on whether Java, etc should be used in Android and I still am. I understand the reasoning behind it, but still think maybe there was a better way.
Actually, I think Nokia had the right idea with Maemo. Maemo simply put a full-stack, real Linux distro in your pocket. Years ago, my beloved Nokia N900 could multitask like mad and do it on hardware that would be a joke today.
When Nokia announced the Meego project with some heavy-duty partners, the first thing I thought was: Microsoft will do whatever it takes, will spend whatever it takes, to stop Meego. Whatever it takes. Remember, this is happening at a time when it seemed there may still be time for M$ to make an impact in the mobile OS market. Or for Meego to. If someone made the right marketing moves with a good OS they could have a chance.
M$ is not stupid. They could see that Meego had the possibility of becoming the dominant mobile OS. It was open source, extremely flexible and configurable, and killer powerful. I'll say it again to let it soak in: A real Linux mobile OS in your pocket.
Well, Meego absolutely scared the hell out of Ballmer & Co. They were convinced it would take up market share they needed WinPhone to gain. And so then there was the M$ mole Elop, who killed Meego and purposely trashed Nokia to drive down the stock price so M$ could buy it for peanuts. And they did.
The reason for going over all this story is, anyone who believes M$ is more open than Google or is getting warm and fuzzy about openness in general has not been paying attention the last few years. As always, M$ is open only when it's in their interest to be, or when the market and reality forces it. And they will ruthlessly crush competition when they can.
Yes, Google has tightened the screws a bit. But it has been in an effort to simplify Android development and create a more unified experience for end users. I personally find it hard to object to that. But if a more unified UI is not to your liking, there's still plenty of leeway to modify Android, a little or a lot, even so it's unrecognizable as Android. Remember, Android being open source and given that Google cannot revoke that open source license, Google can go just so far in control of Android.
IOW, choice is alive and well in Android. Unlike Microsoft and Apple products, neither Google or anyone else can dictate what is done with Android. This has to be, must be, a positive thing for innovation. It's just logical.
Bloatware? You say you can uninstall it, but Android users can only disable it. First, that's a result of deals carriers make with the bloatware makers, it really has nothing to do with Google. Second, it's effectively, functionally the same thing.
How is Android usually 1 or 2 versions behind? Manufacturers maybe, but that's their problem, not Android's. Put the blame where it belongs.
How is Google trying to copy Microsoft?
Explain again how Microsoft is more open than Google. I'm stupid.
But you make it sound like a lack of choice is a bad thing overall.....for the millions and record sells that the iPhone makes each year, there are people who don't care about that stuff.
In fact, even within the android ecosystem, the majority of users do not care about stuff being open or closed. I sell phones(specifically Microsoft now) and most people want the phone because
1. Their friends have it
2. A celebrity has it
3. It looks cool
4. I saw that cool commercial...
A very select portion of the overall android community cares about stuff like being open or closed....or full out customization. Just like a few people in the IOS realm care about jailbreaking.
Just like being closed/lack of choice is not always bad, having that choice and the openness is not always good either. After all, look at the tragic mess some of these android phones are that come out. Just because they can.
Which then turns around and gives Android a bad name because people begin to equate laggy ZTE phones to an HTC or Samsung because they are all android. Which is precisely why Google is beginning to tighten up . It has little to do with android itself because stock android is usually good, it's usually the poor designed skins that come with it.
Your conspiracy theories about MS, Nokia, and elop are hilarious.
Microsoft with Windows Phone has struck an amazing balance...it is more secure and locked down akin to IOS but it also gives OEM the openness to bring things to their devices.
Nokia's superb camera quality for Lumia
Samsung's software found on their Galaxy brought to their Windows Phone.
HTC's Zoe and that dot view thing and other features from the M8 for the M8 windows.
No the OS is not a free for all...but it is not some jail either. Most people who speak about Windows Phone usually have no idea what they are talking about.
The same bloatware comes on Lumia and Android phones....which means that likely the same/similar deals are made....and yet I can uninstall the apps off my phone. I can get back the memory...cant do that on Android without having to root.
So the answers are almost always going to be negative/against Microsoft 
