Microsoft to pay AT&T reps $200 million in the U.S. to recommend Windows Phone models

43. -box- posted on 26 Jan 2012, 16:56 2

It's not a desperation move; many reps will just hawk whatever is the flashiest gadget that they'd want, not considering what a customer would want. By incentivising the Windows Phones, it makes them more likely to be put forward for the customers' consideration. The phones are solid, the OS is solid, it's just the reps who won't share info about the WP series

48. Gdrye posted on 26 Jan 2012, 17:41 0

I work at At&t and as a sales rep i ALWAYS give customers all selections of the phones to see how interested they are, i wont push one over the other, but i will put it in the consumer hands, and if they pick one over the other, thats not my problem thats the problem to the companies involved in making the phones. But i do believe Nokia and Windows will garner a lot of attention.
P.S. is it me, or do i see the Nokia windows being a premium chick phone?

49. yougotkilled1 posted on 26 Jan 2012, 17:50 1

WP is really a good OS. It's smooth and doesn't require high end specs to really operate. I hope they don't give up on it

50. remixfa posted on 26 Jan 2012, 18:24 1

the connotation in the article is a bit off.. obviously Ms realizes that reps push what they know and what they make money on. they tried it the nice way and got ignored by reps that sold what they knew made money... iOS and android. now Ms is turning the tables and making sure reps get paid. now more reps will actually look at the product instead of brushing it off.

52. medicci37 posted on 26 Jan 2012, 18:25 1

Cant wait til Bill Gates joins Jobs in hell. Hope they are both reincarnated as Foxconn employees :-)))

53. rex1213 posted on 26 Jan 2012, 18:39 0

"Some might look at this plan by Microsoft as cheating somehow, while others would just call it another form of promoting the software."

Cheating? For me, this sounds more like bribing.

57. pongkie posted on 26 Jan 2012, 19:06 1

Whats the fuss all about apple does it allot and even exploits blog sites such as this

58. som posted on 26 Jan 2012, 19:21 0

Microsoft should offer a free Windows Phone with 2 years contract to every new customers not the sale rep. Remembered Japanese saying "Customer is God".

59. dorfoz posted on 26 Jan 2012, 19:23 0

lol @ the consumers who don't research phones. In the end they're the ones either loving or regretting their choice. If you're a smart buyer, you'd wanna research on anything that you're going to be investing time (2yr. contract) and money on.

WP is a great os. It's streamlined and smooth if you know how to use it. But 10-15 bucks don't mean anything if the consumer returns it and gets a different os.

63. InspectorGadget80 posted on 26 Jan 2012, 20:36 0

Like M$ steals money from Android. Please you have to pay ME MORE THAN 100$ to sell a Windows phone. Greedy MUTHER FCKERS

65. InternetsTroll posted on 26 Jan 2012, 21:31 1

Android and suck my left nut

69. dominicancash posted on 26 Jan 2012, 22:33 1

OMFG will start by saying this time you guys really made to open and account just to comment on this crap, you say spending 200 millions because they think , they cant compete with android lol pls the problem is u have a million retards working for 10 s**tty dollars and hour that dont know anything about phones , and the just tell u get and iPhone or android so micro$oft need to treat them like like hungry dog and give them money to do their job , and by the way you guys here in phonearena are so unprofessional when it comes to all your post confusing ppl all the time , they said they will spend 200 million over all promoting wp7 , just just wanna know how much money apple pay you guys to be kissing their asses like you guys always do , and yes money is the power how they spend a billion so we can get over the boring iphone and laggy android .

72. wumberpeb posted on 27 Jan 2012, 00:56 3

You can separate most of these comments quite easily...

Own a cell phone and consider yourself an industry insider because you read a lot of articles on Phone Arena? You think what MS is doing is appalling and should be labeled as "bribing."

Work IN the cellular industry for a carrier or retailer and realize this happens all the time with various manufacturers? You're happy to start seeing MS push their product and don't mind this move one bit.

76. Bluesky02 posted on 27 Jan 2012, 03:15 1

I think this plan is to familiarize salesperson with Windows Phone OS. The incentive would pushed salespeople to sell WP by studying their product description carefully. This include Android and Apple fanboy salesperson who would be driven by this incentive.
As for cheating yes, it is cheating. But we all know microsoft enter the party a bit late, so that's why they are doing things a little different.

84. blofeld posted on 27 Jan 2012, 12:43 0

It's obvious the idiot who wrote the article is a Microsoft hating twat. It's also obvious that the author is an ignorant dumbass. If you had a clue, you would know that Apple and Google are doing the same exact thing. Both companies pay salesman for every iPhone or Android they sell. Yet I don't see you slamming Google or Apple for the very same practice.

It's also obvious the commenters are completely ignorant of the fact. Otherwise they wouldn't so willingly stick their foot in their mouth.

85. Forsaken77 posted on 28 Jan 2012, 00:18 0

Microsoft had no choice but to resort to this type of tactic. They're not getting a fair shake in the retail channel by reps just recommending iPhone or Android. I think Microsoft should've just given reps a free WP to use. That way the reps would be familiar with them. If they gave reps free phones it would probably be cheaper for them. But whatever it takes to get WP's in the publics' hands. I have a high-end Android phone but I'm waiting for the day Microsoft can put out a Galaxy S2/3 type of windows phone. Once WP gets high-end hardware and an advanced feature set, I'm jumping ship to them.