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

[Existence_Inc]

Since this is the place to post it: I recently left WP after the disaster that was the Icon (poor support, broken AMOLED screen firmware, no Glance, no Tap to Wake). I am not married to my carrier (VZW), but an employment service discount and living in a rural area means I sacrifice both service and/or money to have the OPTION of using a 950/XL.

I picked up the HTC 10 and I have been pleased with the device. The camera is pretty good and about on par with my Icon's. The audio quality is a HUGE leap forward and that is important to me. The device has been solid for me, no software issues or bugs to speak of.

However, I don't much care for android. I miss my live tiles. I miss the camera button. I miss being able to uninstall ALL carrier bloat. I miss the MS Keyboard most of all. It just worked well for me. I have disabled all Google apps except for the Play Store and Photos (because HTC didn't include their own gallery app), and I have installed almost all of the MS apps I have come to rely on. With that said, I feel like the quality and support of the apps is vastly superior on Android over WP8.1. It is much better on WP10.

I have W10m installed on my Icon currently, so I can keep pace with the changes as the OS matures. Perhaps when MS deems the CDMA folks worthy, I can come back to a finished and well supported W10m platform. Please make a phone worthy of the Surface moniker available for ALL carriers! Please?

~Ex (still a fan of WP)

 

[Reflexx]

And I finally did it. I moved to Android with a Samsung Galaxy Note 5... and may upgrade to the Note 6 when it comes out.

I'm not happy about it. I was with Windows Phone since the very beginning with the Samsung Focus.

I was having a horrible experience with AT&T's billing and customer service and switched to T-Mobile. AT&T wouldn't unlock my Lumia 1520 for some dumb reason. It was a warranty replacement unit, and apparently not in their system as a consumer device... but still locked to their network.

I will say that I really do like trying out the apps that weren't available on Windows Phone, though admittedly I only did just that.... tried them out. I didn't end up using them. I suppose if someone wants to Snapchat me they could now. But meh... that's probably once ever three or four months that I'm asked about that.

The phone itself is pretty, though it is a little small. I thought the Note would be bigger. It's tiny compared to my 1520.

The UI is so hectic, and it's not intuitive at all. I have figured out how to use almost everything, but it just seems so clunky compared to how streamlined WP is. But it is nice to be able to customize things so much. But it's almost too customizable if that even makes sense. I feel like there is some order missing amid the chaos. I suppose having so many options makes me unsure about what the proper workflow would be. Kind of like I need to do a bunch of research that I really don't have time for. With WP it just works and works well.

With that said, I don't hate my new phone. I do like it. It just will take a lot of getting used to, and I miss stuff from WP. WP just makes sense in a no nonsense kind of way.

I do hope to come back to WP in another one or two years. Maybe if a Surface Phone comes out. Hopefully T-Mobile will carry it.

 

[Guytronic]

The UI is so hectic, and it's not intuitive at all.

I see this a lot from new Android users.
Over time the UI will make sense especially with advice from Android users.
I run one screen and keep my homescreen to a minimum.

It's easy to confuse yourself with so many customization choices on Android.
Android is most certainly an adventure after switching from any other OS.
Good luck with the Note 5.

 

[Laura Knotek]

The UI is so hectic, and it's not intuitive at all.

What I've done is use Nova Launcher Prime and organized my apps into folders on my homescreen and even on my dock.




Those icons will look completely different, since I'm using a custom icon pack.

 

[Guytronic]

Here's mine...


Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[StevoPhilo]

The bottom line is Microsoft let their market share drop to what it is now. It's already been predicted that smartphones aren't selling like they use to due to it being too saturated. Most people are buying flagship phones and holding onto them for years, or they'll just buy cheaper flagships every 2 years like the Oneplus2 etc. Even Apple recognized this with their SE.

Which is why the 950/950XL are failing and are poor excuses for Flagship models. The specs are great on paper, but the OS just isn't there or polished like it use to be. The battery life just seems worse each month that I use it. The only reason these phones exist is cause we asked for it and they delivered half-assed. "This is for the WP fans." This device wasn't meant for anyone honestly. They managed to disappoint existing customers and to not bring in any new ones. I think that's an achievement in itself.

Then you have the 650. It looks better than the 950's and you can tell that they thought this phone through a little more. No one was looking forward to this phone even though it's the easiest way for them to gain market share.

The OS itself needs more work than ever and I think they should've stuck to Windows 8.1 till 10 mobile was ready. The image the 950's left due to the buggy OS is what makes this decline even more.

I don't know what Microsoft is doing anymore and at this point I don't care. When you come out with something as innovative as the Surface line then I'll look again, but I'm at the point where my 950XL doesn't give me much reason to stick around. It's time for people to look elsewhere.

 

[dlalonde]

What I've done is use Nova Launcher Prime and organized my apps into folders on my homescreen and even on my dock.
View attachment 127049

View attachment 127050

Those icons will look completely different, since I'm using a custom icon pack.

Here's mine...
View attachment 127052

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

Looking good guys!

Yeah I like to keep it simple too. I have one page only like I did on my W10m. I miss the live tiles sometimes but that's fine.



I personally find the iPhone to be a mess. Un bunch of icons, not even sortable unless you do it manually. With a lot of apps I'd go nuts.

 

[groady-ho baluzy]

I keep mine pretty simple too. Thinking of installing nova launcher. I do have widgets for news and other things on 2 other pages.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[groady-ho baluzy]

Btw, pretty great looking screens all of you.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[dby2011]

For those new to Android and miss the tile launcher from WP, this works real well:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lx.launcher8&hl=en

 

[dby2011]

Since this is the place to post it: I recently left WP after the disaster that was the Icon (poor support, broken AMOLED screen firmware, no Glance, no Tap to Wake). I am not married to my carrier (VZW), but an employment service discount and living in a rural area means I sacrifice both service and/or money to have the OPTION of using a 950/XL.

I picked up the HTC 10 and I have been pleased with the device. The camera is pretty good and about on par with my Icon's. The audio quality is a HUGE leap forward and that is important to me. The device has been solid for me, no software issues or bugs to speak of.

However, I don't much care for android. I miss my live tiles. I miss the camera button. I miss being able to uninstall ALL carrier bloat. I miss the MS Keyboard most of all. It just worked well for me. I have disabled all Google apps except for the Play Store and Photos (because HTC didn't include their own gallery app), and I have installed almost all of the MS apps I have come to rely on. With that said, I feel like the quality and support of the apps is vastly superior on Android over WP8.1. It is much better on WP10.

I have W10m installed on my Icon currently, so I can keep pace with the changes as the OS matures. Perhaps when MS deems the CDMA folks worthy, I can come back to a finished and well supported W10m platform. Please make a phone worthy of the Surface moniker available for ALL carriers! Please?

~Ex (still a fan of WP)

FYI, there are plenty of simple gallery app available that are free such as QuckPic for Android. Not sure why you would uninstall Google Apps like Maps, Youtube, and Gmail. The basic Gmail app is fantastic and works with Microsoft accounts and Google maps is superior to just about anything out there. Also I highly recommend you use Google Voice for free visual voicemail and dump Verizon's voicemail. Android is intimidating at first but there are so many things you can do to customize it and Google has great services integrated in the mobile OS, I would not deny yourself by quickly uninstalling the google apps.

 

[Existence_Inc]

FYI, there are plenty of simple gallery app available that are free such as QuckPic for Android. Not sure why you would uninstall Google Apps like Maps, Youtube, and Gmail. The basic Gmail app is fantastic and works with Microsoft accounts and Google maps is superior to just about anything out there. Also I highly recommend you use Google Voice for free visual voicemail and dump Verizon's voicemail. Android is intimidating at first but there are so many things you can do to customize it and Google has great services integrated in the mobile OS, I would not deny yourself by quickly uninstalling the google apps.

I am waiting for HTC to release their Gallery and Music Player apps because they worked so well on past devices. Especially if the HTC Music Player takes full advantage of the DAC for playback. And to answer your inquiry, I don't much care for Google's apps. They do what they say they will do, but there are alternate apps out there that perform as good or better than Google's own. HTC's mail app works great and has been a pleasure to use, as has been Outlook. (On a funny note, the easy set-up GMail protocol is mysteriously absent from HTC mail app, you have to add it manually.) I prefer Outlook's Calendar to Google's, as I don't use my GMail account calendar as my primary. Never have.

Here+ Maps allow 100% offline navigation, and while the maps and nav isn't as good as Google Maps, it is about 90% as good and when you're out of the service area as often as I am (and that is very common out west, look at each provider's cellular coverage maps, it isn't pretty) the ability to have a map off of the grid is huge. I will check out Google Voice. That is a good suggestion. I don't pay for Visual Voice Mail, but if GVoice works like it, I'd be interested.

I don't find Android intimidating, but I do find a lot of the dependency on APPS for Everything does grow tedious. Some things that WP/BBOS/OS10 just DID out of the box requires an app on android. Not a bash, just an observation/opinion. I appreciate the ability to have options, but even finding a nice calendar widget is a real exercise in trial and error. This is why Apple has such a following, I guess: everything just works. That is why I bought my folks an iPad over any other alternative. I just works, and is easy to use for non-tech people.

Anywho, I like my HTC 10 a lot, but it HAS been a transition. Now that I have access to gazillions of apps, I find that I have even fewer installed on my 10 than I did on my Icon. I am a rogue case as I don't use social media or online banking apps or anything of that ilk. I use my phone as a communication and music playback device with the occasional map or video. Probably the result of being a long-time BlackBerry user.

~Ex

 

[wgs84]

I see this a lot from new Android users.
Over time the UI will make sense especially with advice from Android users.
I run one screen and keep my homescreen to a minimum.

It's easy to confuse yourself with so many customization choices on Android.
Android is most certainly an adventure after switching from any other OS.
Good luck with the Note 5.

Can't argue with that. I switched back to Android last week. I got myself a Galaxy S7. It is an absolutely amazing phone, and overall I'm very comfortable using it since I have been using Android since its Froyo days, but even then I sometimes found myself overwhelmed with the amount of features Samsung managed to pack into the phone. Keep in mind that I've been using Android for the past six years, and I'm very familiar with it. I can't imagine what it's like for someone who is new to it.

 

[dbdayton]

I too am leaving Windows Mobile.

I had a 925, which I loved. I was eager to buy the 950XL and I did. But W10M has been a mess. Things don't work, or they would crash. Cortana for me is completely inoperable. Groove music doesn't play "albums" or in order of the songs on the album from local files. Most of the "live tiles" are not live, but seem to be asleep, and take awhile to load when the phone awakes, rendering the live tiles not so live.

I picked up a Nexus 6P unlocked, refurbished on ebay for a decent price. I wanted a phone that I knew as going to be updated and not quickly abandoned for a newer model, which I understand Android OEM's are notorious for doing (I had one before my 925 that was abandoned like a week after it's release) So far it's working great, but I've just got it. Getting used to the UI has taken some work, but for me scrolling sideways to get to apps, is no different then scrolling down to get to apps as I did on Windows. I have notifications for email with a bar on the screen (pre-unlocked screen, not sure what you call that) that works a lot like the old live tile for me when I need to see if an email is important or not.

The apps do make the phone and the UI. I'm really surprised at the difference in number and quality of shared apps on Android over Windows. The Outlook app on Android is SOOOO much better then it is on Windows....and that to me tells me all I need to know about the future of Windows Mobile. It's dead. Even Microsoft is mailing it in on W10M

 

[Imanolsf]

I used to have the lumia 710, 620, 920, 635 and de microsoft 640 and now just bought a ZTE Mavel 25$... Blows all my previous phone i feel that i lost my time using all those WPs... In term of apps the rest my 640 blows this cheap phone

 

[HeyCori]

Not leaving Windows Phone... but I am taking a break from it.



I've been with Windows Phone since the beginning, back when it was just Samsung, HTC, LG, and Dell. And I still like the OS more than Android or iOS. In fact, I was using the iPad at work today and the OS feels like stepping into the past - but I digress.

Basically, I'm feeling a little Windows Phone fatigue. I know some will disagree, but aside from a handful of UI changes, Windows 10 feels a lot like 8.1. The way I use the OS hasn't changed much over the years. My home screen is still the same boxy live tiles. I'm still swiping left to access my other apps. I'm still using the action center in much the same way I've always used the action center.

Furthermore (and I'm sure more will disagree), smartphone hardware is duuuuullll. I'm having a hard time telling what actually makes phones different besides camera quality. Large screen? Check. Fingerprint reader? Check. Glass front? Check. Processor that does everything you need but everyone thinks is under powered? Check and check. I couldn't take anymore boring, flat pieces of glass.

So instead of being a bitter forum nerd, I decided to do something about it. Hence the BlackBerry Passport. It's not like I'm expecting BlackBerry 10 to make a stunning comeback. I don't expect it to do anything besides its out-of-the-box functionality. But it's different. It breaks the mold. It reminds me that hardware should be aspirational.

I also don't expect it to last forever. It is, after all, Blackberry 10.

Eventually I'll have to switch to another OS. Hopefully, by the time I do there will be more on the market than generic pieces of flat glass.

And no, I'm not leaving Windows Central. You guys are stuck with me. :evil:

 

[Guytronic]

I don't disagree at all with yer words Cori...

Keep having fun!
That's what matters anyways...

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Laura Knotek]

Not leaving Windows Phone... but I am taking a break from it.

View attachment 127179

I've been with Windows Phone since the beginning, back when it was just Samsung, HTC, LG, and Dell. And I still like the OS more than Android or iOS. In fact, I was using the iPad at work today and the OS feels like stepping into the past - but I digress.

Basically, I'm feeling a little Windows Phone fatigue. I know some will disagree, but aside from a handful of UI changes, Windows 10 feels a lot like 8.1. The way I use the OS hasn't changed much over the years. My home screen is still the same boxy live tiles. I'm still swiping left to access my other apps. I'm still using the action center in much the same way I've always used the action center.

Furthermore (and I'm sure more will disagree), smartphone hardware is duuuuullll. I'm having a hard time telling what actually makes phones different besides camera quality. Large screen? Check. Fingerprint reader? Check. Glass front? Check. Processor that does everything you need but everyone thinks is under powered? Check and check. I couldn't take anymore boring, flat pieces of glass.

So instead of being a bitter forum nerd, I decided to do something about it. Hence the BlackBerry Passport. It's not like I'm expecting BlackBerry 10 to make a stunning comeback. I don't expect it to do anything besides its out-of-the-box functionality. But it's different. It breaks the mold. It reminds me that hardware should be aspirational.

I also don't expect it to last forever. It is, after all, Blackberry 10.

Eventually I'll have to switch to another OS. Hopefully, by the time I do there will be more on the market than generic pieces of flat glass.

And no, I'm not leaving Windows Central. You guys are stuck with me. :evil:

That's cool! I hope you like your new Passport.

I'd be interested in hearing more about it, since I've never seen one, so I'm really curious. :smile:

 

[Guytronic]

I've never seen one, so I'm really curious.

I've never seen one either.
I know Tim Allen used one on Last Man Standing.
The device looked like a handheld small widescreen TV :winktongue:

 

[mark233]

Now enjoying android in my new Xperia Z3

Thank you libra89 and Guytronic.