Switching platforms? | Thinking of leaving?...comment here!

[thekonger]

I have a question for those of you that have already made the switch to either iOS or Android (there seems to be quite a few). Why are you still hanging out in a forum for Windows Phone? I'm not asking this to be sarcastic or anything, I'm just truly curious because I can't imagine that if I moved on I would bother taking the time to still hang out here but maybe that's just me.

I come to this forum hoping to get some info on the latest workarounds, issues, or features since I'm in the Insider program but I constantly have to wade through pages and pages of complaints, whining, and general negativity to find anything useful. I'll admit that I don't get the almost morbid focus on the negative.

Desperation and a love of WP for me. I so want to get a WP again but as I stated in my earlier post I have no options on Sprint. If nothing hits very soon I will probably commit myself to Android

 

[thekonger]

I have a question for those of you that have already made the switch to either iOS or Android (there seems to be quite a few). Why are you still hanging out in a forum for Windows Phone? I'm not asking this to be sarcastic or anything, I'm just truly curious because I can't imagine that if I moved on I would bother taking the time to still hang out here but maybe that's just me.

I come to this forum hoping to get some info on the latest workarounds, issues, or features since I'm in the Insider program but I constantly have to wade through pages and pages of complaints, whining, and general negativity to find anything useful. I'll admit that I don't get the almost morbid focus on the negative.

Also, I think the reason many of whine and complain is we're hoping MS hears our voices and does something to get WP back on track. It's such a great OS but it's slowly being killed by MS. Sorry if you have to wade through pages of our whining but if things continue to go south for WP you may not have to for much longer; there won't be any forum left and you will have moved to Android or (lord help you) iOS. I watched the BB forums and saw a similar fate occur there; people whining, people complaining about the whiners, and then, no more BB. Problem solved I guess.

 

[Kar98]

Seems like Android offers all features of WP aka W10M. If I switch I gain a world of apps and features and lose live tiles? That's it ? What else does W10M offer over Android?

You're not even going to lose the live tiles.

http://i.imgur.com/AD37ZIy.png



Android has "widgets" that do the same and more.

 

[QuadraFX]

You're not even going to lose the live tiles.

http://i.imgur.com/AD37ZIy.png

View attachment 125312

Android has "widgets" that do the same and more.

.... and your phone screen will quickly start to look like puked.
Live tiles are simple, elegant and well ordered on screen.

Android is just a small, free, hollow OS which quickly becomes laggy and unuseable even on powerful devices. Not to mention the fragmentation of its "ecosystem".

 

[Peter Zanutto GSC]

Also, I think the reason many of whine and complain is we're hoping MS hears our voices and does something to get WP back on track. It's such a great OS but it's slowly being killed by MS. Sorry if you have to wade through pages of our whining but if things continue to go south for WP you may not have to for much longer; there won't be any forum left and you will have moved to Android or (lord help you) iOS. I watched the BB forums and saw a similar fate occur there; people whining, people complaining about the whiners, and then, no more BB. Problem solved I guess.

You make some very valid points but try and put yourself in the shoes of someone at Microsoft who is responsible for Windows 10 Mobile or the phones for a minute. I'm in charge of a large development team so I often think about this. Now think about what the vast majority of posts look like that you see on this forum and others like it. Do you think they are helpful? Do they provide meaningful information that a developer could use to fix problems? Granted there are a few folks here who do go the extra mile to outline what steps they have done to replicate problems but most of what you see is "Windows sucks", "nothing works", "Microsoft are idiots", etc, etc, etc. Imagine if you had to wade through all that crud just to get a few things that could help you make the product better. You wouldn't be too motivated by it and you might even give up and try and find the problems yourself but we know that isn't as effective as a larger beta test.

I sometimes laugh when I see posts that outline major lists of issues that someone is saying they have on the exact same phone I have and the exact same build when all I have experienced is minor annoyances. You just can't help but think that there is something they have done differently on their device than you have that is causing the issue. The thing is, if they calmed down for a minute and thought about it and perhaps reached out for help instead of whining and complaining they might actually get meaningful help.

Beta testing is not for the faint-hearted and definitely not for those who don't want to invest the proper effort to eliminate variables and re-test over and over again. I'm not trying to say that Microsoft is perfect in this but we could collectively be doing a lot more to help them make the platform the best it can possibly be. Otherwise I'm afraid that we will end up following BB into the tech graveyard and that will be a sad day indeed.

 

[Kar98]

Live tiles are simple, elegant and well ordered on screen.

And half the time they quit working, i.e. weather, photos, e-mail, calendar, and just show the app icon instead of information.

Android is just a small, free, hollow OS which quickly becomes laggy and unuseable even on powerful devices.

That's just a small, free, hollow post. I'd have stayed with Windows in my pocket happily ever after if Microsoft would have cared about it one single bit.

 

[thekonger]

You make some very valid points but try and put yourself in the shoes of someone at Microsoft who is responsible for Windows 10 Mobile or the phones for a minute. I'm in charge of a large development team so I often think about this. Now think about what the vast majority of posts look like that you see on this forum and others like it. Do you think they are helpful? Do they provide meaningful information that a developer could use to fix problems? Granted there are a few folks here who do go the extra mile to outline what steps they have done to replicate problems but most of what you see is "Windows sucks", "nothing works", "Microsoft are idiots", etc, etc, etc. Imagine if you had to wade through all that crud just to get a few things that could help you make the product better. You wouldn't be too motivated by it and you might even give up and try and find the problems yourself but we know that isn't as effective as a larger beta test.

I sometimes laugh when I see posts that outline major lists of issues that someone is saying they have on the exact same phone I have and the exact same build when all I have experienced is minor annoyances. You just can't help but think that there is something they have done differently on their device than you have that is causing the issue. The thing is, if they calmed down for a minute and thought about it and perhaps reached out for help instead of whining and complaining they might actually get meaningful help.

Beta testing is not for the faint-hearted and definitely not for those who don't want to invest the proper effort to eliminate variables and re-test over and over again. I'm not trying to say that Microsoft is perfect in this but we could collectively be doing a lot more to help them make the platform the best it can possibly be. Otherwise I'm afraid that we will end up following BB into the tech graveyard and that will be a sad day indeed.

Pete,

I'm also a developer and have been on and in charge of various teams, but I'm not hoping the developers see my concerns here, they have better things to do, like program. My concern is I can't find a WP anywhere. I hope someone at MS who can make some decisions sees it and recognizes they aren't competing in the race if they don't even show up at the starting line on race day. Like I said, no options means I have no choice but to get another Android device.

As for beta-testing, bugs, etc, I think MS has plenty of avenues to get valid information there, but if you're hoping to stop people from venting their frustration in an online forum then good luck with that; if you lock down or block comments it's not really a forum anymore anyway.

Having a 'quit whining' attitude is at certain times justified, but for WP faithful who have been here for years clamoring for changes while WP shares plummet it is more than justified.

 

[k12000lt]

For people to help, MS should atleast show some consistency in their approach. It seems they are still confused about their target. Initially it was mobile first, now cloud first, and they say mobile is not their focus this year. What message does is spread in users? For beta testing, what happend to all insiders who actually helped build and improve W10m?

 

[metalchick719]

I still come here because I still like Windows Phone (at least 8.1, which all three of the Nokia Lumia phones I own still run on), and I also have a Windows 7 laptop. I've always enjoyed this website/forum as well and will continue to visit both, even though I switched back to iPhone in late September. I've even been thinking lately of maybe getting the Alcatel Windows 10 Mobile phone T-Mobile is carrying to see what Windows 10 is all about.

 

[farukdgn]

I have come here after microsoft refused to give win10 update on many devices to see what other people are thinking. I've see that people still try to defend microsoft after so many fiascos.

 

[Peter Zanutto GSC]

For people to help, MS should atleast show some consistency in their approach. It seems they are still confused about their target. Initially it was mobile first, now cloud first, and they say mobile is not their focus this year. What message does is spread in users? For beta testing, what happend to all insiders who actually helped build and improve W10m?

Mobile First Cloud First is not 2 different things, it is one concept - Computing Power on the go backed by the power of the cloud. With regards to what Terry said at Build, it was that bringing out new mobile phones was not going to be their focus this year. They are still very active in development on Windows 10 which includes Windows 10 Mobile. It is one platform now. All you have to do is look at the latest Redstone build to see how many new features are being introduced with more still to come before the Anniversary Update is released.

All the Insiders who actually helped are probably still here. We are still actively testing, and helping, and eagerly anticipating new builds. It's just hard to find us through all the noise.

 

[QuadraFX]

And half the time they quit working, i.e. weather, photos, e-mail, calendar, and just show the app icon instead of information.

Never experienced anything like this.

 

[thalador]

I have this all the time on my 950XL

 

[garak0410]

.... and your phone screen will quickly start to look like puked.
Live tiles are simple, elegant and well ordered on screen.

Android is just a small, free, hollow OS which quickly becomes laggy and unuseable even on powerful devices. Not to mention the fragmentation of its "ecosystem".

I agree with the first part. Totally.

The second part, though...I used to hold that opinion. But my Note 5, with 6.01 has been rock solid with ZERO lag, even with no clean install after upgrading from Android 5.11. It is a whole lot better than it used to be. Fragmentation, yes, it is still there and sometimes tough to deal with. There are some apps/games that will not work on my Note 5.

 

[Robinsonmac]

In grand scheme of life, even us dont matter. So what, we should live a vegetative life?
Ofcourse all carriers will move towards VoLT. But it will take years for developing and undeveloped countries. While VoLT reches to every single corner of world, developed countries will have something new to brag about. Things keep changing. That does not mean there should not be such boards, no discussions, no arguments.

Sooooo. your telling me you can't think of anything better to do than argue about a company &/or a product that you have zero personal stake in with a complete stranger? AN argument that WILL NEVER ever matter. Never said there shouldn't be discussion boards, to discuss the merits of products yes, not partake in ******* matches to make yourself feel better about a product you use or bought. What does a person in Lithuania care if Verizon wireless still has CDMA radios in the phones they sell? What do I care if a person in Malaysia has a GSM phone or what ever carrier they use it on? Here's a hint I don't & never will. I have VoLTE right now on my GS7 & I feel no need to come here & "Brag" about it to people who live in areas that don't & tell them their carrier is crap & so is their phone & so I I feel good about myself....... Sorry I don't get emotionally attached to a communications device & feel the need to defend it like it's my child.....

Going hiking now & enjoy the great outdoors...

 

[hereandthere21]

Perfectly said. As a die hard fan of Nokia, it angers me what MS did to a great company. They used Nokia as a gunia pig and now say it's not their priority. After failed experiement of WP7, they did it again and are still doing it. They went from WP8 to 8.1 and now W10 to redstone just in 3 years, but nothings more than changing OS numbers. Now W10 has become almost skinned android wih limited functionality. What they brag is continum, which itself is imperfect, already invented by Nokia long ago. Just a fancy name, nothing more. No one is talking about basic features, system stability, better app experience (atleast for whatever are available). Then why did not they study android beforehand and made it similar from the start? Atleast similar to symbian..

And each time they do a OS upgrade the old apps don?t work.
My opinion is that they should have countinued with Zune / WM7 design, when you look at that clean design it still blows any Droid or iPhone UI.

Edge is a big joke. Most of the webpages open with some error or rendered incorectly. They already had IE which is far evolved, why did they not improved it with whatever they claim edge has? Why scratch completely it, start afreash every time and ruin everyhing? Now IE is not getting any better, edge is a crap, users are left with nothing. But Android is still with Chrome for so manny years and making it better bit by bit everyime. They need not invent new browser but changed whatever damn codes and it works great.

Same with OS, Android is Still Android with version they keep on improvising. But with MS everytime...start something new, experiment with itfor sometime, leave it die for something new again. It keeps on repeating. Ultimately users suffer. Worst part is, they never finish what they start. They leave it half baked.

* Mobile IE needed some polishing to do. But better idea is to trash IE and develop from scratch new browser.
Proper browser development is 5 years, MS doesn?t have 5 years.

* Here Maps, Here City Lense, Here Transit... - one of the big sell points of Windows Phones in general. But no, why would we support it when we have half baked Maps!

* Lumia Camera apps, scrap that we have a generic camera app and thats it!

*Compare WP apps Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest (the 3rd Party app), ebay, Amazon, Newegg
with same apps on Android. The ones on WP are borderline unusable! Microsoft can make a deal with these companies to pump some money into WP /W10 universal app development - if they don?t see that WP 10 and W10 are connected they are missing out big time!

Long gone are the days where developers flocked to Windows platforms, now MS needs to lure them back!


*We had a super duper Camera phone N1020 with humongous 41 MP sensor. What do we do? Scrap it and forged about that technological marvel.
They could have made a succesor to 1020 - a 4,7 - 5?? AMOLED with 3GB RAM, 64GB storage with SD Card Slot and 808/820 Snapdragon and
a upgraded Version of 41MP sensor, now with some descent CPU that can handle 4K. Instead they rollout the 830, the "budget Flagship" for 400 euro / $. Total flop.

* We have a 950 / 950 XL with half baked OS. The phones look like Lumia 640 big cousin. But you need to pay 50$ for MOZO case and 150$ for Continuum dock to get what they were selling you when they were rolling out the phone. But then it costs 850$!!!!
Microsoft doesn?t realize they are not Apple.

950 needs to be 350$ and 950 XL 450$ with MOZO and Continuum dock for people to even consider it!

 

[Cloudscout]

.... and your phone screen will quickly start to look like puked.
Live tiles are simple, elegant and well ordered on screen.

Android is just a small, free, hollow OS which quickly becomes laggy and unuseable even on powerful devices. Not to mention the fragmentation of its "ecosystem".

I agree with the first part of your comment and strongly disagree with the second part.

Widgets look like crap. That said, I spent a lot of time today tweaking a replacement launcher for Android that lets it mimic the look and feel of Windows Phone for the most part. It's far from a perfect recreation of the WP experience but it's good enough for now.

As for Android quickly becoming laggy and unusable? Not as laggy and unusable as W10M on my Lumia 950XL. I'll repeat what I've said many times before, I love the UI of Windows Phone but all of Microsoft's layoffs and reorgs over the years has left them without an adequate developer pool to deliver on their potential.

I want to be proven wrong but I spent a year hoping to see major improvements to W10M, starting with the first Insider builds, through the official release with the 950XL up to the latest Insider builds. They are, quite simply, in over their heads. A year from now, the OS may be mature enough to call it truly release-quality but I don't think the average consumer or IT org is going to be interested, to say nothing of developers.

 

[ceraf]

Is there an android launcher that looks and functions like WP8/WM10's live tile start screen? (I'd prefer not to use widgets)

 

[NoFlames2]

My 1520 broke and I decided to get a 950 with $150 trade-in of my 920. I'll stick with the platform for now and see where things are two years from now.

 

[wgs84]

I've said in other posts, it's just a damn phone not my identity, it's a communications tool made by a company that I have no personal stake in, zero. Nor any other company or service "winning or losing" & don't feel the need to put others down to make myself feel better about the *&$% phone, computer, gaming console, car or any other product I use. It's like people who when their favorite sports team wins, say "we won" like you had some part in the team actually winning..... If you like WP10 & it works for you, awesome, good for you, if it doesn't & android or IOS works for you awesome, good for you. I swear these boards are like high school boys ******* matches sometimes. The funny thing is, in the grand scheme of life, NO ONE CARES & none of this matters at all.....

Once on another website, I commented on how rough and unpolished W10m is, and some guy went nuts on me like I just insulted his mother. It was kind of funny, and yet sad at the same time.