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Windows Phone 8, are you enjoying it?


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Old 06-08-2013, 19:40
irishguy
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This is the problem I also have which keeps me from using WP8 full time, I've also noticed a lot of the time the WP8 version of apps are crap compared to the iOS and Android versions, Facebook and Dropbox anyone? If I had instagram, vine and a few other apps I'd be happy enough.

Yeah, they're just a piss poor web interface... clearly very little effort put into them which is disappointing... At least iPlayer was done well even if it isn't a native app, like iOS or Android has... still, glad they eventually decided to at least build one.. hopefully a native app will follow at some point.

Metrotube is how it should be done. I'd happily forgo Instagram and Vine for that app.
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Old 06-08-2013, 21:06
VMRocks
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New owner of a Samsung Ativ S (WP 8)...WOW...Wot a thing of beauty...
A bargain on Amazon @ £217...

Highly recommended...
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Old 06-08-2013, 23:21
cnbcwatcher
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An Android's what you make it. It can be as neat as the iPhone, as blocky and animated as Windows Phone or as scruffy and technical as desktop Windows. It can even run desktop Windows. That's the beauty of Android, you have so much control and the latest version (Jellybean) is far from buggy.
How can you run desktop Windows on an Android phone?
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Old 07-08-2013, 09:54
Dan 8t1
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it is so laggy compared to Android. Tap on an app in Android and bang your in. With WP it lags horribly with those horrendous transitions. It is no surprise it is not catching on.
Except a lot of the time it's not 'bang - you're in' on Android, it's actually more like 'tap - icon illuminates. A second or two later a splash screen appears. A few seconds after that the outline of the app appears. Then a second or two after that the content has loaded within the app.

I've done a side by side comparison between my Lumia 620 and the Huawei Y300 (which have similar processors and the same amount of RAM) and the Lumia is faster for a lot of tasks, even when you include the time it takes to do its transitions. I'll admit that Android tends to resume apps faster though.

The lack of Google as well is an absolute is a killer for us power users.
What exactly would you be missing? Mail, calendar and contacts sync with Windows phone just fine. Here Maps/Drive from Nokia are excellent, and if you need StreetView or just want to use Google Maps anyway you can always use the free 'gmaps' app.
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Old 07-08-2013, 10:14
kevin619
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Windows Phone is a great mobile the Microsoft company had put heads together to produce, I'm pretty sure it would go far.
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Old 07-08-2013, 12:02
Stiggles
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Tried it on my sisters 920 and didn't like it at all.
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Old 09-08-2013, 01:06
RichmondBlue
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I've only got the Lumia 520, but so far I'm very satisfied. Decent sized screen for the money, dual core processor, feels great in the hand, good build quality and very smooth in operation.
At last I can see a use for Win8 and those bloody tiles, still wouldn't want them on a non-touchscreen computer though.
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Old 09-08-2013, 02:44
Stiggles
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Except a lot of the time it's not 'bang - you're in' on Android, it's actually more like 'tap - icon illuminates. A second or two later a splash screen appears. A few seconds after that the outline of the app appears. Then a second or two after that the content has loaded within the app.
I have never seen that happen on any of my Android phones i have owned.
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Old 09-08-2013, 09:51
Dan 8t1
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I have never seen that happen on any of my Android phones i have owned.
I'd never noticed any lag on Android myself until I'd used a Windows Phone for a while then did a side by side comparison.
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Old 09-08-2013, 10:05
sancheeez
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Switched from Android to a Lumia 920 a few months back.

The OS is good. Fast, smooth and pretty intuative. Native apps and people/social media integration is excellent. The built in SatNav is excellent. Will be making good use of it in Spain in a couple of months. App selection and quality is still poor compared to iOS and Android although it has improved quite a bit since I got the phone.

But I think I'll be going back to Android after the Spain holiday and/or once the Note 3 finally launches.

Also have an Android tablet and an iPad Mini so I get a good comparison of all three. Android is still my favourite, mainly due to the endless customiseability (is that even a word?) although my other half is exactly the opposite. She's stuck with Apple as she like it's consistency, which I see as being restrictive. She's indifferent to WP8 having had a few goes on my 920.
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Old 09-08-2013, 10:10
koantemplation
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The was an update today for my W1.

I'm quite liking windows 8. The tiles are very intuative.
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Old 09-08-2013, 12:45
alan1302
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I have never seen that happen on any of my Android phones i have owned.
Must be lucky then - has happened on all my Android devices. Not all the time but on occasion.
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Old 09-08-2013, 13:40
finbaar
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I'd never noticed any lag on Android myself until I'd used a Windows Phone for a while then did a side by side comparison.
No, it is WP8 that is horribly laggy with its overdone animations. Android on my N4 is super fast.
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Old 09-08-2013, 14:22
Dan 8t1
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No, it is WP8 that is horribly laggy with its overdone animations. Android on my N4 is super fast.
Ahh, thanks for clearing that up for me. And here was me thinking I'd seen Android being laggy with my own eyes.
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Old 09-08-2013, 16:03
wilt
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No, it is WP8 that is horribly laggy with its overdone animations. Android on my N4 is super fast.
Windows Phone 8? The operating system that is pretty much universally praised for being fast and fluid on any hardware? Is laggy?

Ok.
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Old 09-08-2013, 16:09
sancheeez
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No, it is WP8 that is horribly laggy with its overdone animations. Android on my N4 is super fast.
Animations? Eh? What animations? Unless you mean the live tiles?

Can't say I notice any lag on my 920. I can say the same of my Note 10.1 tablet. Fast and smooth, they both are. Only thing I notice any slight lag on is the iPad Mini.

My first Android phone however (original Samsung Galaxy S) was horrendous for lags and delays. Original Note was a vast improvement but still hit the odd glitch.
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Old 09-08-2013, 16:27
Mr. Cool
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I dislike WP8 as it along with iOS is far too basic. The whole tiles idea is backwards. A bit like Windows 8. It's an awfully restricted OS. Windows Phone 7 was worse.

Anyone who claims Windows Phone 8 lags less, which makes it a better OS has no idea. My Nexus 4 is smooth.
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Old 09-08-2013, 17:36
Stiggles
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I'd never noticed any lag on Android myself until I'd used a Windows Phone for a while then did a side by side comparison.
I just did a side by side comparison of my Nexus 4 and a 920, and apps open at pretty much exactly the same time on both. The N4 beating it on some. No lag or delay on either. Same with the Mrs S3.
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Old 09-08-2013, 17:38
Stiggles
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No, it is WP8 that is horribly laggy with its overdone animations. Android on my N4 is super fast.
It's not on the 620 or the 920 i used today! Its very fast. Easily as fast as my N4.
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Old 09-08-2013, 20:41
alan1302
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No, it is WP8 that is horribly laggy with its overdone animations. Android on my N4 is super fast.
What WP8 phone have you used that was like that?
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Old 09-08-2013, 20:43
alan1302
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I dislike WP8 as it along with iOS is far too basic. The whole tiles idea is backwards. A bit like Windows 8. It's an awfully restricted OS. Windows Phone 7 was worse.

Anyone who claims Windows Phone 8 lags less, which makes it a better OS has no idea. My Nexus 4 is smooth.
What is wrong with the tiles? What makes it backwards?
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Old 09-08-2013, 22:38
Mr. Cool
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What is wrong with the tiles? What makes it backwards?
It is much easier to have numerous homescreens rather than scrollable tiles. Widgets are another missing feature when tiles are used.

Not to mention the awful look of them.
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Old 10-08-2013, 11:24
Dan 8t1
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It is much easier to have numerous homescreens rather than scrollable tiles. Widgets are another missing feature when tiles are used.

Not to mention the awful look of them.
No widgets? In many cases an app's tile becomes a 'widget' if you make it medium or large size.
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Old 06-11-2013, 20:28
koantemplation
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opps wrong thread.
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Old 28-11-2013, 01:26
Nick2008
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I switched from Symbian to WP8 and after some initial teething troubles, I've really grown to love the OS.

I've had to accept to loss of a few features which were standard on phones such as the 808 and N8 as well as the ability to open up the OS as I did on Symbian to create custom roms but once I got over that, it has been a great experience. Besides, in time the OS will become rootable which brings a lot more freedom but also some risks.

I'm not a user of social media so the lack of a few popular apps in that category hasn't bothered me in the slightest but I would really like to see a dedicated banking app from my bank. Apparently one is in the pipeline so it's just a matter of time. Also, a BT Sports app with streaming ability would be great as would a Sky one plus it would be cool if the BBC invested a little effort into creating some WP8 apps. There are a few third party ones which are good but it would be nice if they created some themselves.

The OS itself is very smooth. I'm having trouble believing that someone on here insists WP8 is horribly laggy as I haven't experienced anything like that on any of the WP8 handsets I have used. Some of the live tile apps are very good as are the many lenses apps that enhance the camera experience. Most games I have tried have been pretty good too. That isn't to say that all apps I have tried have been great as quite a few have been utter gash but this problem exists on all platforms. As well as using Symbian beforehand, we also have Android and iOS devices in the house and crap, useless and sometimes potentially dangerous apps exist on those marketplaces too.

I have been so impressed with WP8 that I have given the missus my old 920 and upgraded to the 1020. She is very happy with the 920 and we're even getting a WP8 phone for our daughter for Christmas.

As for the 1020...I have been utterly blown away with some of the images it has captured. Yes there is a post processing delay which takes some getting used to, especially if you have the camera set to capture in 5MP and full resolution modes but the end result is very impressive. The full resolution images have been great for resizing and improving the original shots. In fact, having the full resolution copies on hand have made an amazing difference on a few occasions. On one such time, I was photographing fireworks with a long exposure setting but without realising, I had zoomed in a bit for a few shots. When I realised, I corrected the zoom and carried on. Later when reviewing the images, I was a little disappointed that some of the subject was out of frame but I was able to save the situation by resizing from the full frame full resolution image. Managed to convert quite a few disappointing shots into impressive images.

The pinch to zoom detail on the full frame images is jaw-droppingly good too. However, if I'm perfectly honest, I do think the images captured on my 808 were a little sharper but this is something that Nokia are working on with their Black update. Add to that RAW support which is bloody amazing for a smartphone and things are looking very good indeed.

I was very sceptical about making the switch at first. I loved Symbian and clung on to the hope that it has a future when it was pretty much dead and buried. My experiences with Android and iOS failed to convince me to switch to those platforms so I took a gamble with WP8 and I'm glad I did.
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