Should I make the jump?

[jm1219]

I've been lurking these forums for the past couple of weeks seeing what everyone's experience with WP8 and particularly the 8x has been like. I'm coming from iOS and android, I had a GNex that I enjoyed ROMming, but even with stock jelly bean if you really want to use the full features of the phone your battery life sucks. I switched back to my iPhone 4 and kept the sammy around as a wifi device to play with, even though that has gotten boring.

I'd love to try a new platform, I'd think most here would agree that the UI is the best looking thing yet seen on a phone (although check out the Claystone launcher on Android, it's pretty cool). I even like that the OS is closed-off a la iOS. Idealistically, I wish everything could be open-source like Android, but realistically you get much more out of the phone's internals and battery when the software is truly optimized for the hardware.

I've gotten myself convinced to pull the trigger on the 8x, but I get like this about the stuff so I need you guys, who know what you're talking about unlike my friends ; to tell me why I shouldn't, or at least things about it I won't like. Before you do this though, here's some disclaimers to get out of the way:
-I don't use social networks for myself personally, only for my business. I'm 21 and at least my generation is extremely self-indulgant on these things, I can't take all of the narcissism. My business' twitter and FB doesn't need to be checked-up on every hour like personal accounts, so I'm not worried about social apps on the platform, I have a nice laptop for that stuff.
-I'm not that concerned about the camera. I'm usually not the picture-taker in my group of friends, we leave that to the girls; I simply don't take any important shots with my phone camera.
-I'm not into the Nokia L928 that's supposed to be on it's way to VZW soon. I've been into the smartphone game since I was youngin' with a WM phone. I can say pretty confidently it's just a rebranded L920. Sure, something might be a little different, but nothing big. AT&T wouldn't have paid up to a $350 subsidy (based on the $99/$450 locked/unlocked prices) on the L920 if it was only for a few months exclusivity before Nokia announced a VZW phone with some new killer features. That said, I don't like the Lumia. It's camera is better I'm sure (even if I don't use CP cams, fitting optical stabilization into a little smartphone is pretty cool), and the high-sensitivity screen is nice, but that's it. The software advantage is gone, even if they do release new Lumia-exclusive apps, it seems they will be available on the whole platform soon after, and the freaking thing is a brick. Ew. Like if it's going to be that thick it better have RZMAXX battery, but it doesn't.

So what am I getting myself into?

 

[gapost]

I just traded by 822 for an 8X and I'll tell you, it is fantastic. Size is perfect, screen is beautiful, and it seems faster than my 822. Battery life is great. It is still new, and I am over 24 hours on the charge, with most everything on and many background tasks. My wife liked it so much, she had me order her a red 8X. From what you say, it sounds like it will be a good fit for you and I guarantee, the girls be all over you when they see it. lol

 

[Westiemom]

Love mine, no regrets here at all. The things you mentioned as not important to you are for the most part the only things most people complain about anyway. None of those have bothered me. (I've had mine 2 months today.) I find the 8x beautiful outside and in, so to speak. It is smooth, fast, and reliable. Call quality is great too. And I am also coming from a GNex and am a long time Android user: Incredible, Bionic, GNex, being my last 3.

 

[jm1219]

Nice! I've been reading a lot of problems people had here with their battery life, it's good to here you get good life without having to micromanage the phone. Although you always have to assume people post their complaints more than their positives.

That's mainly what I'm worried about here, not that I'm expecting too much out of 1800 mAh, but I'd like to not have it always on mind like it was with the GNex. Oh, and does the paint really come off?

 

[damule6666]

Im going into week 2 with my 8x. Came from a GS3 and for the most part don't miss much. I am quite happy with everything it has had to offer.
So i say take the plunge, i personally don't think you will regret it one bit.

 

[Westiemom]

Yea, I was always worried about the battery with the GNex. By mid afternoon it had to be charged and that was with little usage while at work. With my 8X the battery was going from full charge at around 6:00 a.m. to about 35% to 40% around 8:00 p.m. Since the Portico update recently, it now is around 70% at 8:00 p.m. - same time period. That is during the week when it gets light usage during the day. On the weekends when I am using it more, I am around 55% to 60% at 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. and that's with a lot of use. So I'm getting good battery life for a smart phone over a 14 to 15 hour time frame. Some folks don't think that's good, but in my experience with high end smart phones its great. I'm used to charging every night anyway, so I'm happy if all I have to do is charge it on my night stand every night - that's no big deal to me.

Oh, and I've had no issues with the coating, but I have my phone in a case. I am always afraid to use these devices without some kind of protection but my case is very slim and form fitting.

 

[dratpt]

I've had my black htc8x since December and would wholeheartedly recommend it. It should be noted that I came from a Blackberry and never had to deal with iOS or android.
I don't use a cover for my phone (bought a fat warranty instead... the design is too good to cover up) and have had no problems with "paint" coming off. Battery life seems fine... It truly depends how much I use the phone. I do seem to keep battery life in the back of my mind if I'm traveling (heavy use) and a charger on me. Daily use I haven't had any problems at all; 14 hours average, probably.

DA

 

[jm1219]

Thanks a lot, I'm used to charging every night as well of course, just not twice a day. And I was worried about that thread a few pages back with a lot of people complaining about the coating coming off. I know it's going to be hard for me to put a case over this design.

 

[Jonny8X]

My friend, the 8x is fantastic. Go on,get it now, what are you waiting for!?

 

[jm1219]

My tax refund haha

 

[adrenalinerush12]

I am an extreme Apple fan and I have about every product. I was first in line to buy the iPhone 5 and loved every second of it. Then my friend got a Galaxy Nexus and I began to play with it and loved it. Sold my iPhone 5 and bought one. Battery life was absolute crap. I couldn't stand carrying 5 batteries with me at all times scared my phone would die when I needed it. I loved the smooth interface but I literally couldn't stand the battery situation.

So that brings me to now. I started looking at Windows phones and was amazed by the amazingly smooth and responsive interface. Being a Macbook Pro owner I was afraid it wouldn't work well with what I already have (as far as syncing and such). But it's perfect.

I ended up purchasing an 8X for a GREAT price on eBay and have had it for about 2 weeks now. I absolutely LOVE it and do not miss my iPhone. It's true the developer support is just not there yet and the app store may not have a million apps, but as a phone the 8X dominates. There's never been a glitch and it's always been buttery smooth. The animations are amazing, the battery life is perfect (I can go 2 days), and the device just looks gorgeous. The screen is plenty big and looks crystal clear.

Coming from a former iPhone/Android lover, I love my 8X. Get one now!

 

[jm1219]

Awesome awesome thank you, I've been worried about how it operates with Mac too because i just dropped way too much on a rMBP a couple of months ago.

 

[rocking23nf]

I would stick with Andriod honestly, W8 has some potential, but the 8x seems like a cheaply made phone to me, the new phones on the market are much more stylish. The blue backing on this phone feels really cheap. The buttons are pretty poor also, the top button is hard to press, and the camera button, is both useless and in a terrible spot.
If I didn't need my phone for corporate exchange, I would still have my S2 or my Note.
Im on my second 8x, im currently scared to do updates on it because of fear it will start to freeze.

The good, the touch is really responsive, email syncing with exchange 2003 is top notch, Xbox achievements, music quality is top notch.
The bad, feels cheap, odd quirks/bugs, no vibrate button, lots of popular apps missing.

My 2 cents after 10 days of ownership and 2 phones (first one froze/rebooting honestly like 50 times in 5-6 days)
Second one hasn't rebooted but also isn't at the same OS patch level.

 

[LeLee092]

The buttons are pretty poor also, the top button is hard to press, and the camera button, is both useless and in a terrible spot.
If I didn't need my phone for corporate exchange, I would still have my S2 or my Note.

All HTC phones have those awkward, not-so-sensitive buttons, owned three versions of the HTC mytouch on android and the buttons were the same. Honestly, at the begining its wierd but you just get used to us, 3 years with HTC phones and those buttons doesnt even register (plus the speck covers actually make the buttons a lot more sensitive and better to handle)

 

[Me gusta l920]

8x is great....try getting l920 if possible ..u can get all nokia apps as well and the nokia hardware quality ..so much extra

 

[fiveodano]

8x is great....try getting l920 if possible ..u can get all nokia apps as well and the nokia hardware quality ..so much extra

I would have to second this. I have an 8X, It's a great phone. Best phone I ever had AND I like the fit/finish better than the 920. Having said that Nokia is very proactive in securing the latest and best apps. As an example, I'm not an Instagram user, but today there has been a lot of buzz that Nokia will get that as an exclusive.

Not sure if you use MS Office, but if you do and if you upgrade to the latest version, your going to be amazed at the level of integration with SkyDrive and WP8. Its really the first time I was satisfied with being able to make edits on the go and have truly readable documents I can have with me at all times. Also, if you're not doing it now, give OneNote a try. This has quickly become my most used app. I like it MUCH better than I liked Evernote and I used Evernote for 3 years and liked it a lot.

Oh, and welcome to WP

 

[Me gusta l920]

I would have to second this. I have an 8X, It's a great phone. Best phone I ever had AND I like the fit/finish better than the 920. Having said that Nokia is very proactive in securing the latest and best apps. As an example, I'm not an Instagram user, but today there has been a lot of buzz that Nokia will get that as an exclusive.

Not sure if you use MS Office, but if you do and if you upgrade to the latest version, your going to be amazed at the level of integration with SkyDrive and WP8. Its really the first time I was satisfied with being able to make edits on the go and have truly readable documents I can have with me at all times. Also, if you're not doing it now, give OneNote a try. This has quickly become my most used app. I like it MUCH better than I liked Evernote and I used Evernote for 3 years and liked it a lot.

Oh, and welcome to WP

its just that having extra and exclusive is always better...didn't mean to say 8x is crap ...I love its design and many other stuff

 

[Huime]

I've been lurking these forums for the past couple of weeks seeing what everyone's experience with WP8 and particularly the 8x has been like. I'm coming from iOS and android, I had a GNex that I enjoyed ROMming, but even with stock jelly bean if you really want to use the full features of the phone your battery life sucks. I switched back to my iPhone 4 and kept the sammy around as a wifi device to play with, even though that has gotten boring.

I'd love to try a new platform, I'd think most here would agree that the UI is the best looking thing yet seen on a phone (although check out the Claystone launcher on Android, it's pretty cool). I even like that the OS is closed-off a la iOS. Idealistically, I wish everything could be open-source like Android, but realistically you get much more out of the phone's internals and battery when the software is truly optimized for the hardware.

I've gotten myself convinced to pull the trigger on the 8x, but I get like this about the stuff so I need you guys, who know what you're talking about unlike my friends ; to tell me why I shouldn't, or at least things about it I won't like. Before you do this though, here's some disclaimers to get out of the way:
-I don't use social networks for myself personally, only for my business. I'm 21 and at least my generation is extremely self-indulgant on these things, I can't take all of the narcissism. My business' twitter and FB doesn't need to be checked-up on every hour like personal accounts, so I'm not worried about social apps on the platform, I have a nice laptop for that stuff.
-I'm not that concerned about the camera. I'm usually not the picture-taker in my group of friends, we leave that to the girls; I simply don't take any important shots with my phone camera.
-I'm not into the Nokia L928 that's supposed to be on it's way to VZW soon. I've been into the smartphone game since I was youngin' with a WM phone. I can say pretty confidently it's just a rebranded L920. Sure, something might be a little different, but nothing big. AT&T wouldn't have paid up to a $350 subsidy (based on the $99/$450 locked/unlocked prices) on the L920 if it was only for a few months exclusivity before Nokia announced a VZW phone with some new killer features. That said, I don't like the Lumia. It's camera is better I'm sure (even if I don't use CP cams, fitting optical stabilization into a little smartphone is pretty cool), and the high-sensitivity screen is nice, but that's it. The software advantage is gone, even if they do release new Lumia-exclusive apps, it seems they will be available on the whole platform soon after, and the freaking thing is a brick. Ew. Like if it's going to be that thick it better have RZMAXX battery, but it doesn't.

So what am I getting myself into?

With 8X, you get the right size in hand, a higher ppi screen, wins hands down in form factor, that's it.
Unfortunately OS wise Lumia edge out HTC's offering, which is opposite what you might expect.
The HTC gets Beats, a nice looking clock tile, and pretty much thats it. Everything is pretty much equal to Lumias offering.
While on the other side, you can do a simple search in this forum and you will find out which brand adds more value into the OS and the fact that it does make a different.
One killer benefit is called the Nokia Care Suite. Which makes the Lumia shines.

Anyways, welcome to the family.

 

[Coolknight1968]

The 8x with Portico works fine. It is very good for Email, but you will not have all the apps like on iOS. Just make sure you go for 16Gb memory. I also have a Lumia 920... it is mainly a unreliable headache full of problems and I am trying to get a new one from Nokia. We have a whole bunch of HTC 8X in our office... they work. The main issue that remains and that can occur is a hot battery drain, but this is not a frequent event and comes from a task that runs out of control. A simple restart fixes the issue. Stay away from "battery level for WP8", I has become worse and worse and drains the battery.

 

[gapost]

I would stick with Andriod honestly, W8 has some potential, but the 8x seems like a cheaply made phone to me, the new phones on the market are much more stylish. The blue backing on this phone feels really cheap. The buttons are pretty poor also, the top button is hard to press, and the camera button, is both useless and in a terrible spot.
.

Are you kidding? The 8X I feels solid and sleek, best feel of any phone I have held. Yes the buttons are a little thin, and a side power button would be nice, but they add to the sleekness of the phone. The texture is very nice and helps keep a hold of the phone. I would argue that the 8X has the same quality feel as the iphone. Certainly it's a step up from the 822 in terms of quality feel.