I just bought a Lumia 820 last weekend. It's been a few days, so I cannot say if it's been a good decision, but I knew exactly well what I was getting into.
Smartphones have been my bread and butter for much of my working life, and I had
sworn never to buy a Windows Phone in a rant back in 2011. Moreover, Nokia's decision to switch to Windows phone cost me (and many of my colleagues) my job, making me a staunch opponent of the Windows Phone platform/ecosystem.
So why did I buy a Windows Phone?
My last Nokia phone was the Symbian-running N8, and I loved the phone. After Nokia CEO announced that Symbian is really-really bad, I thought of seeing what the competition looks like. I bought a iPhone 3GS. I used the iPhone until last week, and my summary experience is - "It's a great, great entertainment device, with a wonderful - exceeding my expectations - under interface. But it's an average communication device. And, the camera sucks. And... the battery runs out before the day is over."
Of late, I had been getting bored of the iPhone. I'm sure this happens to most smartphone users, irrespective of platform/OS/brand (we use the damn things all our waking hours!!). So I thought of Android, and was pretty close to getting a Galaxy Grand. But.... I find the Android UI quite ugly & unrefined. Now, there is no good way of expressing this...when I use and Android phone, the different screens, apps and widgets look like they have been collected from many different sources and stitched/patched together like a multi-patterned tablecloth. There is no unity in the different screens. That's when I started looking at the products of my ex-employer. Nokia's phones - whatever the OS running - look lovely, and solidly built. The camera has always been great in Nokia, and after the crappy iPhone camera, the 820 camera seems even better. Battery also lasts a full 24 hours of use, which is not as good as Symbian, but way better than the iPhone and most Android devices.
Besides that, I find the OS UI is very (for want of a better word) beautiful. The fonts, the screens, the bing wallpaper... all looks sophisticated, clean & refreshing. I know the apps are a sore point with WP. Yes, I do miss quite a few from the iPhone - Citibank, Movescount (Suunto's app for tracking sports), a good reminders/To Do app, and free Angry Birds (only the "space" and "star wars" ones are paid in iOS). I also miss the ease of using iTunes for everything - music, apps, books. It will take a long, long time for Nokia/Ovi Suite to match it (I'm an ex-employee, I know :-D)! But, I am happy with the phone. I know the positives & negatives, and I made a conscious choice.