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Think I've changed my mind about Windows Phone


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Old 01-12-2014, 13:56
jonner101
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I don't think there is anything technically wrong with windows phone, they were just too late to the party and grossly underestimated the success of the new touch UI paradigm that was first seen in iPhone and later Android.

Also the lack of apps, the negative image of windows 8,

Finally in my experience people generally don't like the aesthetic of the tile interface.
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Old 01-12-2014, 14:11
jonmorris
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I always thought that Windows 8 would help sell Windows Phone, but never realised it would be so bad that it probably put more people off than it converted.
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Old 01-12-2014, 15:20
Rich_L
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What does it offer that iOS and Android don't?
Cortana!!!
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Old 01-12-2014, 15:58
clonmult
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Those wishing to knock WP should use get themselves a device and live with it for a bit. I used an Ativ S from January to August. WP8 was pretty dire but the very wonderful developer preview programme I put WP8.1 on it as soon as I could. By the time I got shot the phone was running very well with good battery life.

I can’t say I particularly enjoyed my time with WP but I didn’t hate it. It was a lot easier to use than iOS though. It does certain things very well – the ability to use a SD card for all storage was great, even though the Ativ came with 16gb I used a 32gb card. The waste of screen space in apps, lack of a file manager, lack of complexity and the fact I have never had a particular love for Nokia were my main gripes. The day I went full time back to Android was a happy one. I to have just got a £15 530 to give (to give to my daughter rather than use myself) and I may well pick up another device next year to see how it is getting on - the 830 looks good. I wouldn’t want to do it full time again though, it’s just not really me.
If you had WP8.1, then you had a file manager (its part of 8.1). And whats this "waste of screen space"? Can't say I've ever noticed it.

But you are right though - a lof of the negativity is from people who never used it.

Heck, prior to owning the 1020, I used to say that WP is change for the sake of change, that the interface couldn't work well.

I was wrong. Very wrong.

I spent a little time getting a 630 configured for my ex's daughter, and even during that half hour (most of it spent fiddling with the parental controls and linking accounts) I discovered that the interface was actually rather good.

The interface on WP8 onwards is - at least for me - considerably easier to live with than either Android or iOS. To coin the old phrase that tends to be used by Apple fans - it really does "just work". And having now lived with the 1020 for over a year and not having experienced one OS problem, I'd also happily claim that WP is leagues ahead of both iOS and Android for reliablity (yes, I do have an iPhone 4S and a 2012 N7, as well as a BB Playbook and a Windows 8.1 tablet, so have the OS bases well covered).
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Old 01-12-2014, 16:58
jonmorris
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The 2012 Nexus 7 is pretty awful though, even with successive updates (especially Lollipop). I think you'd have a more positive outlook of Android with many other devices.
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Old 01-12-2014, 17:07
GeordiePaul
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I am as big an Android fan as you'll meet but even on high-end devices Android isn't always as reliable as it could be and can imagine the simpler and more locked down Windows Phone having less issues overall. Battery issues in particular seem to be the one thing that plague Android and are not always easy to track down the cause (like why, for example, my One M8 GPE went from using 20% battery overnight playing music to over 50% without having actually changed anything on the phone). Random and sporadic crashes occur for no obvious reason. Sometimes I find I've lost signal in areas where I should have it, and just other glitchy things are all to be expected, no matter which device I've owned (including, but not limited to the M8, N4 and N5, SGS2, 3 and 4, Note 2, One M7 and probably many others I've forgotten).

Don't get me wrong, I like Android and overall its the best Mobile OS around (arguably) but because of its complexity it does crash now and again.

I had a Nokia Lumia 920 for a good couple of months which never crashed, or showed any unpredictability at all in the whole time I owned it.
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Old 01-12-2014, 19:18
jonmorris
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WP certainly never appears to crash, but nor does Android these days. Maybe the odd app, but that doesn't usually do much harm.

And my Z3 is pretty solid in the battery department. My average stats show it as 19 hours and 4.5 hours screen on time.

Lumia phones have so often had far too tiny batteries. The Lumia 1020 a classic example. 2,000mAh isn't enough if you're using the camera. I have the camera grip and that's still not enough!
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Old 02-12-2014, 09:11
noise747
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I am as big an Android fan as you'll meet but even on high-end devices Android isn't always as reliable as it could be and can imagine the simpler and more locked down Windows Phone having less issues overall. Battery issues in particular seem to be the one thing that plague Android and are not always easy to track down the cause (like why, for example, my One M8 GPE went from using 20% battery overnight playing music to over 50% without having actually changed anything on the phone). Random and sporadic crashes occur for no obvious reason. Sometimes I find I've lost signal in areas where I should have it, and just other glitchy things are all to be expected, no matter which device I've owned (including, but not limited to the M8, N4 and N5, SGS2, 3 and 4, Note 2, One M7 and probably many others I've forgotten).

Don't get me wrong, I like Android and overall its the best Mobile OS around (arguably) but because of its complexity it does crash now and again.

I had a Nokia Lumia 920 for a good couple of months which never crashed, or showed any unpredictability at all in the whole time I owned it.
Android is a bit bulky and do require some pretty decent hardware to run on, but I think most of us knows that on here.
Windows seems to run on lower spec hardware, which must be a first for Microsoft, because their desktop Os seems to want faster and faster hardware with each release.
Saying that Windows 8/8.1 is better on lower spec hardware than Windows 7 was.

I like Android as a OS, it is a pity that Google have something to do with it. i find Android is easy to customise, lots of apps, even if 99.9% of them I have no interest in,

While i doubt i would ever buy a windows based phone, since I am trying to get away from windows on my computer, I am glad that there is a bit more competition out there.
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Old 02-12-2014, 09:46
barbeler
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For £12.50 a month, I got a Lumia 520 from TalkTalk, including a 1 gigabyte monthly data allowance, more calls than I could ever use and unlimited texts - yet I still can't wait to get rid of the bloody thing.

I manage to pick up about one in five calls due to the stupid rigmarole you have to go through to answer them and after all, that is the main purpose of a phone. Who on earth would watch the iPlayer on it?

Mainly (and this is the mega-issue) it's that bloody atrocious, obnoxious and infuriating Bing button, which Microsoft claim is "an essential part of the user experience".
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Old 02-12-2014, 10:10
clonmult
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The 2012 Nexus 7 is pretty awful though, even with successive updates (especially Lollipop). I think you'd have a more positive outlook of Android with many other devices.
I've had a few Android devices over the years; I don't mind it, but it doesn't have a great interface. Sure, its flexible, but it is lacking in any form of elegance. It has just never felt slick, on any device that I've used.

Not that WP is perfect - its great in all areas apart from settings, which is an absolute mess (apparently due to be changed in an upcoming release?).
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Old 02-12-2014, 10:23
Miyagi
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I manage to pick up about one in five calls due to the stupid rigmarole you have to go through to answer them and after all, that is the main purpose of a phone.
Out of interest, what is the 'rigmarole' you have to go through to answer a call? Is it much different than answering a call on a iphone or android phone?
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Old 02-12-2014, 10:32
gomezz
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Pick up phone and slide up the lock screen (if you have one set up). Not sure what is rmuch of a rigmarole about that?
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Old 02-12-2014, 10:34
sdduk
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Sorry but WP is a juster Phone....Just needs this just needs that its been lagging behind a few years now
To be honest since they released the windows phones it's just not working for MS

I bought the nokia 530 form CPW and the first thing when i put the sim in and started it up i couldn't connect to the internet with the sim or the wifi
I had a look on google and found out it was the dam clock not having the right time
A little thing like that is the reasons people are not buying them plus MS want to know to much worse than the iphone trying to get all your information.
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Old 02-12-2014, 10:34
gomezz
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Not that WP is perfect - its great in all areas apart from settings, which is an absolute mess (apparently due to be changed in an upcoming release?).
It was changed for 8.1 and is well though out with all settings options avalable off the "front page" notifications screen.
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Old 02-12-2014, 10:41
sdduk
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The 2012 Nexus 7 is pretty awful though, even with successive updates (especially Lollipop). I think you'd have a more positive outlook of Android with many other devices.
You are talking rubbish the nexus 7 was a breath of fresh air when it came out and to think its still going nearly 3yrs after release is great i have one and have had it from day one and its still going strong with all the updates its had
Don't forget its on to its third firmware update some don't get any updates still runs all the top game on the play store.
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Old 02-12-2014, 10:57
call100
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Sorry but WP is a juster Phone....Just needs this just needs that its been lagging behind a few years now
To be honest since they released the windows phones it's just not working for MS

I bought the nokia 530 form CPW and the first thing when i put the sim in and started it up i couldn't connect to the internet with the sim or the wifi
I had a look on google and found out it was the dam clock not having the right time
A little thing like that is the reasons people are not buying them plus MS want to know to much worse than the iphone trying to get all your information.
Hilarious. I've moved from IOS to Android and now to WP8.1 with the Denim update. I have the 830 and it's one of the best phones I've had to date. Certainly not lagging behind anything.
You mention it being worse than iPhone for spying on you, yet you'll happily get into bed with Google, the worst of them all. It's all paranoia anyway.
I doubt anyone is not buying WP8.1 because of some time issue (that I never experienced) that's just a daft conclusion.
I'm not a die in the hard defender of any OS and will move between them all depending on what is happening at the time I need a new phone, but, I have to admit I'm liking my Lumia.
WP8.1 gives me everything I need, I've not found an app that I need missing from the store. I don't fill the phone with games and useless face makers etc. so I wouldn't know about those.
Not to mention the brilliant camera with a great physical button for more control.
The Phone lasts two days with medium use and the portable wireless charger is great for any extended time away from a power source.
I would encourage anyone to be wary of the myths around WP especially since 8.1 improved it.
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Old 02-12-2014, 11:10
gomezz
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The only thing that disappointed me about 8.1 is that the third party Quiet Hours app no longer works.

(not to be confused with the built in quiet hours functionality that comes with Cortana which is not yet available in the UK).
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Old 02-12-2014, 11:38
IvanIV
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Here's an article about Huawei's experience with WP:

Huawei claims 'nobody made any money in Windows Phone'

I think the problem is in the marketing. MS, Nokia, anybody else expected that people come in herds when there are 2 other well established OSs on the market already. They have to show something that makes people curious about it if they want to get anywhere, I think.
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Old 02-12-2014, 12:36
sdduk
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Hilarious. I've moved from IOS to Android and now to WP8.1 with the Denim update. I have the 830 and it's one of the best phones I've had to date. Certainly not lagging behind anything.
You mention it being worse than iPhone for spying on you, yet you'll happily get into bed with Google, the worst of them all. It's all paranoia anyway.
I doubt anyone is not buying WP8.1 because of some time issue (that I never experienced) that's just a daft conclusion.
I'm not a die in the hard defender of any OS and will move between them all depending on what is happening at the time I need a new phone, but, I have to admit I'm liking my Lumia.
WP8.1 gives me everything I need, I've not found an app that I need missing from the store. I don't fill the phone with games and useless face makers etc. so I wouldn't know about those.
Not to mention the brilliant camera with a great physical button for more control.
The Phone lasts two days with medium use and the portable wireless charger is great for any extended time away from a power source.
I would encourage anyone to be wary of the myths around WP especially since 8.1 improved it.
Think that sums it up don't you
Link by .IvanIV
http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/1/73...-windows-phone
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Old 02-12-2014, 14:53
call100
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The only thing that disappointed me about 8.1 is that the third party Quiet Hours app no longer works.

(not to be confused with the built in quiet hours functionality that comes with Cortana which is not yet available in the UK).
What is not available? I have Cortana and quiet hours.......The older phones don't have it, yet, they are all due to be updated to Denim with Cortana in the new year..
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Old 02-12-2014, 15:03
call100
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Not really. Not making money out of it doesn't make it a bad OS. Luckily MS pockets are fairly deep and they will probably come through enough to make it worthwhile. I think, that, if anything, it doesn't appeal so much to a younger audience as Android does.
Yes there are one or two things that I did miss initially, but have since found that they were not vital.....
Hopefully, more people will give it a go and build the market share.....Who knows?
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Old 02-12-2014, 15:06
barbeler
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Pick up phone and slide up the lock screen (if you have one set up). Not sure what is rmuch of a rigmarole about that?
Then you have to tap the accept call button, which often doesn't respond until about the fifth attempt. Also, for no apparent reason, the keyboard often pops up, hiding the accept call button and with no obvious way of getting rid of it.
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Old 02-12-2014, 15:23
IvanIV
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Not really. Not making money out of it doesn't make it a bad OS. Luckily MS pockets are fairly deep and they will probably come through enough to make it worthwhile. I think, that, if anything, it doesn't appeal so much to a younger audience as Android does.
Yes there are one or two things that I did miss initially, but have since found that they were not vital.....
Hopefully, more people will give it a go and build the market share.....Who knows?
The psychology works differently, they throw at you lots of features and you think they are all necessary and can't live without them. You may find yourself using five of them, but the availability of them all was the hook that got you, well, hooked. As a manufacturer you can't really argue what is needed and what is not, if something is enough and if more is useless.
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Old 02-12-2014, 15:25
jonmorris
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Not really. Not making money out of it doesn't make it a bad OS. Luckily MS pockets are fairly deep and they will probably come through enough to make it worthwhile. I think, that, if anything, it doesn't appeal so much to a younger audience as Android does.
Yes there are one or two things that I did miss initially, but have since found that they were not vital.....
Hopefully, more people will give it a go and build the market share.....Who knows?
Microsoft does have a fair bit of money, and in my last job we got quite a bit of it to run a series of projects for them to promote Windows Phone.

It started with a physical magazine given out in retail stores to showcase apps and games, followed by a digital edition, and progressing on to a website that could be viewed on any phone to see the latest apps and games - and invite comments from people.

The website also had a section that I personally worked on about equivalent apps. For example, looking for Dropbox - well how about xxxxx instead?

As time went on, more official apps appeared, but it was still a nightmare trying to add new content and the various agencies we worked with within Microsoft often kept getting us to keep promoting the same old apps over and over again, with very little new stuff arriving worthy of inclusion. The engagement from the general public was also minimal, to the point where Microsoft must have realised the only option was to get rid of it as it was doing more harm than good.

I don't think Microsoft now does any of this sort of thing, having pretty much accepted defeat and trying to find other ways to sell the OS. This appears to be TV adverts that show young business professionals showing off how cool a Windows Phone is, and promoting Microsoft services like Skype or Office.

Maybe when Windows 10 comes out and Microsoft can reinvent itself again, and perhaps make the UI even more customisable, it will get the success many say it deserves, but it will have lost even more marketshare by then.

Ultimately, most phones sold were low-end, low-profit, devices. It might have bought Microsoft the numbers, but it didn't make money. The comments from Huawei might be unexpected but they weren't surprising. That was obvious when all the big players stopped making phones or, at best, made token gesture models by just chucking WP on an existing Android phone and spending hardly anything on redesign.

Oh, and the fact that these phones weren't widely available to buy either.

If these had been successful, retailers would be selling and promoting them.
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Old 02-12-2014, 15:54
dearmrman
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Then you have to tap the accept call button, which often doesn't respond until about the fifth attempt. Also, for no apparent reason, the keyboard often pops up, hiding the accept call button and with no obvious way of getting rid of it.
Perhaps you have a faulty phone, never had a problem like you describe.
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