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Ok so Im sure this will be moved but I wanted my fellow TP 2 owners advice on what would be a good upgrade for moving to an at&t windows phone 7.
I have done some research and believe that the LG Quantum is more to my liking than the HTC Surround or Samsung focus for various reasons starting with the keyboard. I have also found that it offers tethering as well as voice to text which seems to be a cool feature. I have actually held the phone in my hands yesterday and compared to the other wp 7 at&t phones. It will no doubt be a bit different than what Im used to but nevertheless I do like the idea of having the latest and greatest hw and sw.
I am curious if these phones will support Tomtom as I use it all the time. I know that it will have to be jailbroken to load future custom roms but I think I can be patient.
I guess I am just wondering if Im missing something so if you all have any insight I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks.
swtaltima said:
Ok so Im sure this will be moved but I wanted my fellow TP 2 owners advice on what would be a good upgrade for moving to an at&t windows phone 7.
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Click to collapse
If this post is moved, it would be because this has absolutely nothing to do with ROM development.
LG phones have been pretty underwhelming in the past. But I haven't seen the Quantum in person, myself. WP7 has already been jail broken, apparently. But the mod community has not traditionally been all that excited about making custom ROMs for LG devices, if I'm not mistaken. Although the scope of this site has been expanding quite a bit recently.
swtaltima said:
Ok so Im sure this will be moved but I wanted my fellow TP 2 owners advice on what would be a good upgrade for moving to an at&t windows phone 7.
I have done some research and believe that the LG Quantum is more to my liking than the HTC Surround or Samsung focus for various reasons starting with the keyboard. I have also found that it offers tethering as well as voice to text which seems to be a cool feature. I have actually held the phone in my hands yesterday and compared to the other wp 7 at&t phones. It will no doubt be a bit different than what Im used to but nevertheless I do like the idea of having the latest and greatest hw and sw.
I am curious if these phones will support Tomtom as I use it all the time. I know that it will have to be jailbroken to load future custom roms but I think I can be patient.
I guess I am just wondering if Im missing something so if you all have any insight I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
TomTom will not work on WP7 nor will any other progam for windows mobile. WP7 is totally different and for now has a limited amount of programs and it will probably be awhile before we see third apps like we do for WM6.5. I think they are tryin to make it a closed platform like IPHONE and Android where most the apps will be endorsed by and distributed by Microsoft. I am not sure if there is a version of TomTom yet for WP7 but the one u have now will not run on WP7.
porkenhimer said:
I think they are tryin to make it a closed platform like IPHONE and Android where most the apps will be endorsed by and distributed by Microsoft.
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Android is fully capable of sideloading applications from sources other than the Android Market, including user made apps, beta software, etc. AT&T is the only carrier that has locked down the ability to sideload on their Android phones. Plus, Google is pretty open to what software they will allow on the Market, unlike Apple.
redpoint73 said:
Android is fully capable of sideloading applications from sources other than the Android Market, including user made apps, beta software, etc. AT&T is the only carrier that has locked down the ability to sideload on their Android phones. Plus, Google is pretty open to what software they will allow on the Market, unlike Apple.
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i never said u couldn't get third party apps i said that android and iphone want all apps to be endorsed and distributed by them. meaning if someone makes an app they want that app to be cleared for sale or download by them on their market. apple and google only make money off of paid apps if they distribute them and the maker of the app will make more money if their app is distibuted by apple or google cause the apps will all be in one place and easier to find which means they will have a better chance of selling. Microsoft wants to do the same thing by putting the majority of the WP7 apps in one place. the reason they even want free apps is cause the longer u look for apps on their stores the greater chance is you will click on an advertisment which pays them a few cents each time someone click on it. thats how all these companies make money. youtube is the worst but maybe the smartest cause they even put advertisments in their clips. they'll do anything to make a few cents but a cut of the money goes to the person who owns the video too. that is enough to make people wanna put their product on these sites and let them distribute it, money.
porkenhimer said:
i never said u couldn't get third party apps i said that android and iphone want all apps to be endorsed and distributed by them. meaning if someone makes an app they want that app to be cleared for sale or download by them on their market.
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Putting Android and iPhone in the same category as "closed" is an injustice to Android, and not accurate. Yes, Google would "like" for apps to be endorsed by them, and to make money off of them, but they aren't forcing it like Apple is. There is plenty of 3rd party software available, and incredibly simple to install on Android. iPhone has to be jailbroken/hacked in order to do so. And Apple even tried to make it illegal to jailbreak the iPhone, to prevent loading of apps from sources other then their app store.
There are plenty of Android app stores like Handango and Handmark, which Google has completely allowed separate from their own market. Major developers like Gameloft have started their own Android app stores, instead of using the Android Market, and now its rumored that Amazon will also have their own Android app store. To say that Google is limiting the distribution of Android apps in any way is simply not correct.
HTC 7 Mozart
Hi
I have just upgraded from the TP2 to the HTC 7 Mozart. I am happy with the phone. It seems to work very well. As stated WM 6.5 software isn't transferrable and there are very few options for full navigation software at the moment.
I found the software keyboard very easy to use in landscape and certainly much better than anything I had on WM 6.5. I think that WP7, as an OS, has a very good way of recognising the difference between different type of gestures and it seems to "know" when you've made a mistake typing and corrects almost all mistakes automatically.
I still use my TP2 for work, so I will just leave it in the car for Sat Nav purposes.
Cheers
andrew-in-woking
I am new to android and the NC is my first device with the OS. I currently have a Storm 1 on Verizon and I hate it. I love Verizon's network but hate hate hate my phone. I'm out of contract and ready for a new phone.
With all the Verizon iPhone rumors, I'm conflicted. Do I get an iPhone when it most likely arrives on Verizon or an android phone that is already there to go along with the NC?
I'm asking this here as you all seem to know so much about android and the NC. I want to tether whatever phone I get to the NC. I'm a mac user solely and like the compatibility there and would have gotten an iPhone immediately a year ago. Now, after experiencing android, I'm not so sure anymore that I even need or want the iPhone.
What are your thoughts on the two paths in regards to phone/NC compatibility and also to a Mac/phone/NC relationship? I really want to sync data between all three fairly seamlessly. Would having devices running different OS's make things too tough or are there enough cross platform apps and functionality to make it not matter?
I fully understand that the NC's capabilities are a long ways from being fully tapped. This might also be moot as both probably can serve my purposes. Figured I would pick your brains and experiences.
Sent from my Nook Color
I have a Mac, iPhone 4 and NC right now and love all three. Apple's stuff are sexy and reliable but closed off. Android is less mature and lacks polish but has so much more potential. When I'm ready for my next phone, I'll look long and hard at an Android. If you like to.customize, I'd say go android. But I love my iPhone. You'll need to jailbreak it to unleash its potential.
Sent from my XDA app on my Nook Color
This is exactly my setup, Mac, iPhone, NC. Syncing, one word - Dropbox. There is entire cottage industry around Dropbox, your Mac, and iOS devices. I don't think you'll be hard pressed to find exactly what you need right there.
But out of curiosity what are you going to be using the NC for, light word, excel type documents, pdf's? I use mine mostly to read ebooks/pdf's, 90%. There are a lot of things in the cloud that are fairly platform agnostic, Evernote comes to mind and different calendar sync apps. Just iTunes search for various one's to sync with google if want it to go with your NC.
As far as Verizon and iPhone, we'll just have to wait. In the US we have it bad, as iPhone (limited by att) does not tether. It's shocking, because in the rest of the world people tehter their iPhones.
I'd say go with iPhone, best of all worlds here, Mac, iOS with iPhone, and Android with the NC. What's not to love, you have it all. That's speaking as a Mac user of course.
newton1666 said:
I'd say go with iPhone, best of all worlds here, Mac, iOS with iPhone, and Android with the NC. What's not to love, you have it all. That's speaking as a Mac user of course.
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Same. I love my i4 and I also love playing around with my rooted NC, I wish the phone could just dual boot both OS and I could be content with that magic phone for the rest of my life.
Each has his/her own preferences, it's really what you're looking for . . . I'd recommend spending time with a rooted android phone--not just the NookColor--before making a decision.
We're doing some amazing stuff here with the NookColor--considering what we started with--but this is barely scratching the surface of development on a device that's still running an eReader's stock ROM for crying out loud. That's not even to mention that it's based on (in tech years) an ancient version of android.
If you spend some time with a rooted Evo, Nexus S, or Droid X running a cyanogen ROM, I wouldn't even remotely say android is immature or lacks polish compared to iOS. If anything, I'd say it's the other way around.
I'm a former iPhone 4 and iPad owner, and I much prefer both my HTC Evo and the NookColor (even in its relatively primitive stage of development) over both of them (Plants vs Zombies is the only thing I miss, and it'll be on Android soon).
They say opinions are like a-holes: everybody has one . . . If that's the case, people having a-holes makes the world go 'round, because android would be much less interesting without iOS, and vice versa. I'd say go to stores where you can play with each OS' flagship devices for a while, check out the best each has to offer, and find what works for you.
I would actually say that stock android is better than stock iOS. But until android can support encryption out of box, I can't make the full switch because I can't sync with work.
Sent from my XDA app on my Nook Color
As usual, ask a question like this and you will end up getting every response possible if you wait long enough.
I know folks who love their Iphones and tether with them here in the US. Jailbroken, or whatever its called and some custom stuff, of course. So I don't think that needs to be an issue in the choice.
Android phones have excellent qualities out of the box though, and once they start being rooted and rom'd- fantastic, as far as I am concerned. The ability to customize and make them YOURS instead of the CARRIERS (at least in function and appearance) is far and beyond anything I have seen on an Apple phone.
There are some advantages to either, as always- if you are on the fence then I too would suggest trying to "spend some time" with both and see if that helps make the decision.
I appreciate all the responses. I know that everybody is different, but it's still nice to hear others experiences regarding their setup.
I an an architect by trade and my mac is my lifeline to do all my drawings and graphics, etc. I'd be lost without it. I won't be a hardcore user with all three phone/mac/NC in regards to work. I mainly want email, music, movies, contacts, calander, etc. to be able to be sync'ed between all devices. I make a change in one and I can update in all three.
I've been playing with both iPhones and rooted Android phones and it really is a tossup. I do like the idea of having the iPhone so if there are special iOS apps, I can get it and have the NC for any special Android apps. Best of both worlds. I also really have to wait and see how the Verizon iPhone will be. I'll play with it in store for awhile before I make a choice.
Then the next question is do I wait for the 4G Android phones to come out on Verizon? I'm content to wait until late 1st quarter 2011 until the dust settles on some of this. I just wanted to get some feedback from people on how their NC's are working with their phones, iPhone and Android.
[I'm posting this in this forum to see what you Android guys think about my issues.]
With the current issues with Chevron and unlocking I am making the decision to trade my omnia for a Galaxy S, the phones are pretty much exactly the same hardware wise. The only thing I don't like about the Galaxy is the shape, I prefer the sqaureness of the Omnia.
Now for my Omnia:
No proper 3rd party communication possibilities(sockets), I use Skype a lot and i've tried alternatives but none of them work well when the phone goes on standby. Microsoft are so controlling with the standby mode that apps are basicly useless when the phone is on standby. Toast notifications are all controlled by MS so if they have issues with their system or a bottleneck I don't get informed that someone has sent me an IM. Which brings me on to another issue.
Microsoft platform.
Microsoft service.
Why the hell is there no Windows Live Messenger support? The fact that a company as big as Microsoft can put out a OS like WP7 and NOT include apps for their own damn product is just stupid. No one knows why they didn't and Microsoft will not give an official reason as to why.
You may say these are all software issues, that they are. Wait for the updates you say...I highly doubt an update that allows apps to use 3rd party protocols will be out for at least 6 months. I thought this februrary update was hopefully going to open up more things on the developer front but all that has been mentioned is Copy & Paste and better performance.
I shouldn't have to wait months and months for updates that allow me to use my phone the way consumers have got used to using them before WP7 was even realeased.
I stuck with Microsoft and had a lot of faith in them and even went as far as to spread the word, but this unlocking issue was the final nail in the coffin. What do you guys think I should do?
WP7 is a good platform, but it's not ready yet for geek users... Android is freedom of choice, for people that enjoy cool featires an tweaking their phone.
I think you should wait for the galaxy s2, though.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I agree , you should wait for the galaxy s 2
full on support for MSN messenger with voice and video calling support would be a great selling feature for the phone but i think the phone company's have a part to play in that too. With instant messaging and free video calling who'd need call time.
Okay, so im looking for the best deal online for a cellphone preferably through t-mobile and it'd need to be windows phone 7. I am willing to sign a new contract, at&Ts network is just too overloaded in my area and t-mobile is just a bit more friendly. I dont care if it's the venue pro or the hd7 and I've checked wirefly and lets talk. I just want to find the best deal for my money.
Or you could go android....
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Amazon? xD
Nerz said:
Or you could go android....
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Not desperate enough to downgrade like that.
try amazon!
Thanks for the Amazon suggestions. I'd never actually used Amazon before but it's 50 dollars less. If I can't find anything better by tomorrow I'm switching over.
If you cannot handle Android's Suzuki Hayabusa, it's a good idea to stick with WP7's pink Huffy with training wheels. Amazon is great either way.
Sent from my LG G2x
TJBunch1228 said:
If you cannot handle Android's Suzuki Hayabusa, it's a good idea to stick with WP7's pink Huffy with training wheels. Amazon is great either way.
Sent from my LG G2x
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nice, compare the OS who's main complaints are lag and fragmentation to the fast bike, outstanding. This thread was not intended to turn into a **** measuring contest between OSes, I've reduced enough fandroids to petty 2nd grade insults in every other one of those I've entered. This thread was simply to get some advice, stop trying to compensate for your perpetually dated OS.
Remove panties, untwist, reapply.
If you are happy using a child-friendly phone, surely you can take a joke.
Sent from my LG G2x
Thank you for proving my point, if child friendly means Im not forced to spend hours modifying it before it can pass as functional then I'm more than happy. Look mommy, no lag.
Yep, Android is the most successful mobile OS, with the largest marketshare and the fastest growth in the history of cellular technology precisely because it requires hours of technical modification before it even becomes usable...
WP7 is barely a blip on the mobile OS radar because the only thing it offers is a smooth UI. It accomplishes this by having no customization. You can play with the phone for a day and have done everything the phone is capable of. This appeals to (a tiny minority) of people who want something to hold their hands while they go about their facebooking and emailing. There is nothing that WP7 offers that Android is incapable of doing, but the list of things WP7 is incapable of would turn any forum post into a Novella.
You like the simplicity of WP7, cool. Those pretty colors on the blocks that tell you if you have an email or text message are rad. I can run a fully functional WP7 launcher on my phone and stare at that before I go into a boredom coma. How many Android launchers with widgets, live wallpapers and customizable icons can you run on your super sweet OS?
Sent from my LG G2x
I believe the term here, and I apologize for my butchering of the English language, is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Yes, android is the largest and fastest growing mobile OS, lets go to t-mobile's website, oh, 2 free android phones and some free flip phones, wonder which I'm going to pick. Hmm, let's try ATT, wow, same thing. Android can be used by anybody, any oem, and because of that it's optimized for nobody. This is why it will always feel like going back to windows 95 to me.
As far as your other statement goes, the UI is a massive selling point, absolutely lag free. However, it does have other points. The social networking integration can not come close with any number of apps on android, Zune pass annihilates any service on android, wp7 makes gaming on android look like a joke for the most part and has full Xbox live integration, the most amusing game I've found thus far on either OS came out near each of their releases. For windows phone 7 its the beautifully crafted IloMilo and for android it's a basic tower defense game, robo-defense. Still robo-defense doesn't work on a number of devices because of *gasp* fragmentation. With the release of your new android device the sword of Damocles is hanging over your head, fat chance that it's ever going to see an update. I own an S2 as well and that things been in my kitchen drawer since 2 days after I got it because it has no wow factor at all. Sure opposed to most android phones the lag is greatly reduced but that's about as relevant as coming in first in the special olympics.
For us devs, the dev environment of wp7 is 1000 times easier than androids and much more user friendly, last I heard androids dev support doesn't even offer anything more than a dead email address anymore. Most importantly, wp7 is people-centric as they like to call it. The main point of a phone is to keep up with people and for that it's perfect. I can pull up a contact, read up on what's going on, message them on Facebook or via SMS, hell I could shoot em an email if I wanted to I suppose. I can do all of this with the full facebook/twitter/live integration out of the box (and yes, my most recent hd7 shipped with mango so I guess they are shipping them out that way now)
Finally, sure, you could launch a piss poor emulation of wp7 on your device, you could even get a cheap rip-off of our keyboard and while imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, regardless of how poorly done, windows doesn't need to do that because hey look, our OS actually works. If it ran on every piece of hardware, if OEMs didn't have to pay for it, and if we'd let Chinese companies that make tablets and sell em for 80 dollars use our OS then we'd have all that hype too. Of course then we'd likely be laggy, fragmented, and always feel like windows 95.
Well it wasn't my intention to derail the thread from it's original topic, I was just being a smart ass.
That being said, I am honestly glad Microsoft is doing atleast a decent enough job to pull a couple users away from Android. WP7 is useless to me as well as the majority of other heavy users, but competition breeds innovation. The better WP7 gets, the better the competition gets in response. Win-win.
I'll consider going back to WP7 when it offers the ability to modify and update the OS and UI independent of Microsoft and the carriers whim. They have free wifi tether yet, either?
Sent from my LG G2x
z33dev33l said:
I believe the term here, and I apologize for my butchering of the English language, is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Yes, android is the largest and fastest growing mobile OS, lets go to t-mobile's website, oh, 2 free android phones and some free flip phones, wonder which I'm going to pick. Hmm, let's try ATT, wow, same thing. Android can be used by anybody, any oem, and because of that it's optimized for nobody. This is why it will always feel like going back to windows 95 to me.
As far as your other statement goes, the UI is a massive selling point, absolutely lag free. However, it does have other points. The social networking integration can not come close with any number of apps on android, Zune pass annihilates any service on android, wp7 makes gaming on android look like a joke for the most part and has full Xbox live integration, the most amusing game I've found thus far on either OS came out near each of their releases. For windows phone 7 its the beautifully crafted IloMilo and for android it's a basic tower defense game, robo-defense. Still robo-defense doesn't work on a number of devices because of *gasp* fragmentation. With the release of your new android device the sword of Damocles is hanging over your head, fat chance that it's ever going to see an update. I own an S2 as well and that things been in my kitchen drawer since 2 days after I got it because it has no wow factor at all. Sure opposed to most android phones the lag is greatly reduced but that's about as relevant as coming in first in the special olympics.
For us devs, the dev environment of wp7 is 1000 times easier than androids and much more user friendly, last I heard androids dev support doesn't even offer anything more than a dead email address anymore. Most importantly, wp7 is people-centric as they like to call it. The main point of a phone is to keep up with people and for that it's perfect. I can pull up a contact, read up on what's going on, message them on Facebook or via SMS, hell I could shoot em an email if I wanted to I suppose. I can do all of this with the full facebook/twitter/live integration out of the box (and yes, my most recent hd7 shipped with mango so I guess they are shipping them out that way now)
Finally, sure, you could launch a piss poor emulation of wp7 on your device, you could even get a cheap rip-off of our keyboard and while imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, regardless of how poorly done, windows doesn't need to do that because hey look, our OS actually works. If it ran on every piece of hardware, if OEMs didn't have to pay for it, and if we'd let Chinese companies that make tablets and sell em for 80 dollars use our OS then we'd have all that hype too. Of course then we'd likely be laggy, fragmented, and always feel like windows 95.
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can't go wrong with tmobile lowest mainstream contract to offer its unlimited web plan. with being that said wp7 is a real battery hogger as i've heard i think that's what makes up for it's high end graphic UI's pushing it.
Mcds said:
can't go wrong with tmobile lowest mainstream contract to offer its unlimited web plan. with being that said wp7 is a real battery hogger as i've heard i think that's what makes up for it's high end graphic UI's pushing it.
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Yeah my pre-Mango HD7 got 4-6 hours of moderate to heavy use. But my OC'd and heavily animated G2x only gets a few more hours than that of the same use, so you pick your poison.
Sent from my LG G2x
Pre-mango I'll admit, my battery life on all four of my wp7 devices was a joke, my dvp is literally twice as strong battery-wise, my hd7 gets around 13 hours moderate-heavy usage, and my focus can go two days. That part blew me away. As for what you want from windows phone, the ability to update outside of Microsoft is there for htc's devices though I personally dont see the point in intentionally introducing fragmentation to an OS that is free of it. I doubt there will ever be much more customization than what's intact for the UI, honestly I love not having to move stuff around frequently always looking for that clean but efficient look but that was always just my personal aesthetic preference.
Hey all,
Past couple of days been doing some research. Thoroughly confused TBH. Can't decide which is better...
Now, I'm on Android and not dying to get rid of it or something. But just keeping an eye open for better alternatives.
My sole concern is price. I believe WP8 is a fantastic product. But has got a ridiculous price tag. The kind of money MS is asking for is just bizarre. Nonetheless, I currently can't decide what to pick, LUMIA 920 or the HTC 8X.
Also, a question to everyone who has a WP8, are you truly satisfied in your experience with it or do you think Android is a better bet?
Sent from my RaZr on MIUI.
I'm in the same boat really, I have always used Android but starting to get a little bored with it so looking to try something else. iOS is okay but not for me, so am really looking into WP. The app store worries me, although most of what I use there is already an equivalent app, but it's nice to have more choice.
Have been looking at the 8X but the price is a little high, especially compared to the new Nexus 4. I don't know. Not sure if I would get bored with a Windows Phone, maybe a little more digging into it is needed.
If you keep the Nexus 4 out of the picture then the WP8 phones are priced pretty similar to what new Android phones are priced at, so actually I don't see why you think those would be problematic. Given that the Nexus 4 is also priced in that price range if provided by LG instead of Google (which it is in many countries as there is no Google Play Store there).
Aside from that WP8 vs. Android for most people will simply come down to preference. For some it will depend on certain Apps they rely on and have no equivalent. I personally currently have a HTC Titan with WP7.5 and will get my Lumia next week. For work I have an SGS2 (currently running CM9.1) and I actually prefer WP.
In the end I can only encourage you to really dig into the threads people opened on what they miss in WP. Sometimes they get told how it works in WP, sometimes it simply can't be done but it will give you a better picture than asking us WP users what we think because pretty obviously there are only 2 types:
1.) People who tried WP and don't like it (who will do anything to push you away from the OS)
2.) People who tried WP and like it (and will tell you that you won't need anything else)
In the end no two people are really alike in what they need so the only way to go is to really do some research. WP7 has been my daily driver for 2 years now and a lot of the stuff I was actually missing in the beginning is there in WP8 now (last thing I was missing was backgrounding of Skype). But there obviously are still functionalities someone might need that are not (one example is PPTP VPN - I don't need it, most don't need it but if you do it might be a dealbreaker).
As for the decission Lumia 920 vs HTX 8X. For me the great low light performance of the Lumia and the better App support made me go the Nokia-route. Also I simply wanted 32 GB of storage. My biggest problem with the 8X is that I simply detest the look of the colored speaker grill on the front (otherwise the design is really nice). Weight might be another thing that makes you want to go with the 8X.
R3ACTOR4 said:
Hey all,
Past couple of days been doing some research. Thoroughly confused TBH. Can't decide which is better...
Now, I'm on Android and not dying to get rid of it or something. But just keeping an eye open for better alternatives.
My sole concern is price. I believe WP8 is a fantastic product. But has got a ridiculous price tag. The kind of money MS is asking for is just bizarre. Nonetheless, I currently can't decide what to pick, LUMIA 920 or the HTC 8X.
Also, a question to everyone who has a WP8, are you truly satisfied in your experience with it or do you think Android is a better bet?
Sent from my RaZr on MIUI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive had Windows Phone for a couple years now. First one was the Trophy. Before that I had an Android Incredible and I now have a Nokia Lumia 920. I just switched from Verizon to ATT, and must admit, primarily so I could have the flagship WP8 phone.
I have to be honest. While I do love the phone (though it really is a bit big. Im selling my Trophy/Incredible and picking them up for the first time in a long time after having the 920 for a few weeks is strange. They seem so small, but in a good way as I can hold them in one hand and easily do tasks on them. But thats another story)
I do like the WP OS. I enjoy the look of it, and have always been partial to Windows/MS stuff. But I have to admit that there are indeed somethings that I really miss from Android. Specifically, I do miss choice. What I mean by that is with things like Email clients, messaging clients, true 3rd party browsers, customization. You will be limited to what MS has as base apps for these things. MS has the OS locked down to prevent Devs from giving us anything different when it comes to these things. Now while I do like how the Email works, and now real complaints about the messaging, itd be nice to have choice.
Here is just a small list of some things that are different that youll have to accept if you come from Android. Its up to you how important these things are, and if you want to make the switch.
1. Live Tiles. I actually love the tiles. Great visual aspect of the OS that sets it apart from others. I do find it annoying that even with WP8, there is a very limited choice of color. They give you a few more than WP7, but rather than let us make any color, we are still limited to a handful of choices. It wouldve been very easy for them to do this, I dont know why they didnt.
2. No real notification center. Most are aware of this by now, but I expect that MS is actually working on a notification center as we speak. So I wouldnt be too concerned with it at the moment, as I believe they will get an update out to give us this feature in the not too distant future.
3. Mail, messaging, browser clients. What you see is what you get. I always hoped theyd loosen up a little on this and let Devs provide different options but I dont think that will ever happen. Mail actually works well but its still limited. For example, you cant specifically download any attachment file to a folder. You can only open a pdf/pic/music file. On Android, I could open and save any file I received to a folder and access it later. Same goes with the browser. You cant save any file. IE is quick, but there is no dedicated back button. Very few options. On Android, Dolphin HD Browser was the best mobile browser ive ever used. You will never see a browser like that on WP's.
No other messaging clients either.
4. Back up of apps/data to SD Card. You dont have that on WP8. They have improved the back up utility, but it is still nothing like Titanium Backup. That app was awesome on Android. You could back up App data as you saw fit to your SD card and it was easy to re-install. Again, you will never see an app like Titanium backup on WP. MS lock downs have prevented that.
5. Tethering. It was rather easy to tether without having to pay some extra fee for it on Android. Not so much with WPs. Not sure if its the same on Android as it use to be, but if you enjoyed free tethering, it probably wont happen with WP.
Im sure there are more, cant think of any at the moment as Im a little tired. Its been a while since I had Android. I do miss it but I remember flashing ROMs alot. I dont remember if I did it more to improve my experience or just for phone. Probably a little of both but it did get old updating a ROM every week or so. But I will say this. There was next to nothing my Android phone couldnt do. That is what I really miss about it. Completely customizable, devs could do next to anything as they werent locked out of certain aspects of the phone.
Sometimes I ask myself why I switched to WP. Im a bit torn as of now and not sure where I am going next. I wish I knew what MS's agenda was for the future. What are they working on to improve upon, and what new features. At this point in time, Im going to give them another year, see what they come up with. But part of me is ready to go back to Android.
Sorry for the long winded post. Honestly, think about what you love most about Android. And no matter how silly, ask of those specific things are possible or featured on WP. Something you take for granted my not be here. So ask. Check out WPCentral too and ask questions there too.