Going to AT&T Store tomorrow, Get iPhone 5 or Replacement 920? Can't decide

[jbs4life97]

So, tomorrow I am going to the AT&T store to return my 920 (I have various issues, mainly something is loose inside, the vibration rattle and people have had trouble hearing me at all on a few phone calls). But I can't decide if I want to get another 920 and risk having some of the same issues or possibly worse, my 14 days running out and then being stuck with a "broken" phone essentially.

Overall, I think the Lumia 920 itself is fine and I don't have issues with it at all (if I were to get a good unit), my problems are mostly with WP8:

-KakaoTalk Messenger has some serious problems (developer side - but I use this app on a daily basis and it being available on WP8 was a key point for me switching phones)

-I really want a Notification Center - Facebook "notifications" are really terrible overall, and it's nice to have all notifications in one central hub

-Orientation lock

-In order to resume an application where it is currently at, you MUST hold the back button and select it etc. Clicking on the app from say, the home screen will simply restart the application as if you just opened it for the first time (pretty annoying)


Those are just a few of my issues with my experience so far. So do I replace my 920 with another and hopefully my issues are fixed with an update - or back to iOS which works, but it's pretty boring at this point in time.

 

[SteveISU]

Why not try android? HTC One X+ or Note 2/GS3?

 

[Darus214]

You get a one year warranty so if it breaks within that one year you can still get a replacement.

 

[SteveISU]

You get a one year warranty so if it breaks within that one year you can still get a replacement.

He's not talking about a broken phone literally. Just "broken" features in WP8 OS or a lack there of, to his expectations of course.

 

[anon(5370748)]

The real question is whether you're okay with being an early adopter. I'm keeping my 920 because I'm not a huge app user, and it works well for what I want a phone to do. I'm also burnt out on Android and Apple and wanted something different and exciting. The hardware is beautiful, I like the camera, and I find WP8 to be pretty slick (though rough around the edges). It suits my needs now, and I'm fine with waiting for them to keep improving it. If you're not happy with that scenario and want something that "just works" right now and has a ton of apps for it, you should go to either Apple or Android and just keep an eye on WP8 over the next two years to see whether you want to switch to it when it's more mature and polished and your contract is up.

 

[lancguy]

Well op's first issue could be a manufacturing issue. But I think the vibrate issue could be the way the phone is designed. I turned vibration off because I don't really need it, and it is annoying. However, the 920 has some stabilization features that might cause the loose sound that OP has. I've seen that complaint common here at wpcentral on the 920's. The rest of the complaints aren't really a problem with the OS. OP needs to realize that the phone is designed differently than android and apple, and the ap support just isn't where those two os's are yet. Orientation, notification center, and application resume are limitations of the OS(It's how the OS is designed regardless if we like it or not). While Kakao is clearly a problem with the application itself and not the OS or Hardware. I recommend exchanging the device but staying in the WP family. Try the 8x and see if that fixes your vibration issue, the rest of your issues will work out as the os and ap developers mature, and ap developers migrate over. If Kako is really a show stopper, then maybe OP should hold off until the ap developer can support W8 100%

 

[danbbrantley]

The addition of a notification center is all but guaranteed in Q1 of 2013 when the first update is made available, google Apollo Plus for more info. I also believe some apps have been optimized for fast resume from a press of the tile, but not all, this should improve as developers update their apps to better suit what WP8 can do.
Can't comment on the other issues, but you do in fact have a one year warranty if something goes wrong - Nokia is known for their customer care so I wouldn't expect a replacement to be difficult to come by.
That said, these things aren't all available yet, nor are they absolutely guaranteed to come. Are you willing to put up with these shortcomings for the time being?

 

[vlad0]

Get another Nokia.. I have the iPhone 5 and its nothing special, it fails to impress me on a daily basis.

 

[palandri]

So, tomorrow I am going to the AT&T store to return my 920 (I have various issues, mainly something is loose inside, the vibration rattle and people have had trouble hearing me at all on a few phone calls). But I can't decide if I want to get another 920 and risk having some of the same issues or possibly worse, my 14 days running out and then being stuck with a "broken" phone essentially.

Overall, I think the Lumia 920 itself is fine and I don't have issues with it at all (if I were to get a good unit), my problems are mostly with WP8:

-KakaoTalk Messenger has some serious problems (developer side - but I use this app on a daily basis and it being available on WP8 was a key point for me switching phones)

-I really want a Notification Center - Facebook "notifications" are really terrible overall, and it's nice to have all notifications in one central hub

-Orientation lock

-In order to resume an application where it is currently at, you MUST hold the back button and select it etc. Clicking on the app from say, the home screen will simply restart the application as if you just opened it for the first time (pretty annoying)


Those are just a few of my issues with my experience so far. So do I replace my 920 with another and hopefully my issues are fixed with an update - or back to iOS which works, but it's pretty boring at this point in time.

This is something you really need to decide for yourself. If you think another OS is better with your concerns, go for it. There's really nothing any of us can really say to convince you one way or another. It's up to you. It's your money; your phone; your standards.

 

[vlad0]

Also, if you care about the camera... the flash on the iphone 5 sucks! I have to take 3-4 shots for one to be decent and in focus.. its awful. Also, the quality is.. there is so much noise that most of the time the images are unusable.

Here is an example.. I went out dancing couple of nights ago, and look:



Noise/blur central.

Here is one from my pureview phase 1, same conditions, same spot ... nails it every time. I mean you can read the planet earth dvd box set behind the dj..



Now you won't get the same results from phase 2, but I guarantee you that it will be much better in situations like this, and also.. it has the same wide angle lens. Look at the iphone 5 pic... the lens on it much narrower.

 

[ARVI_SD]

iPhone 5 is definitely a safe bet and a good phone. It just works for all its needed foforum starting to miss the iPhone features after using wp8

seems wp7.5 is better

 

[jbs4life97]

Why not try android? HTC One X+ or Note 2/GS3?

I had the Motorola Droid when Android first came out (and basically had no features and a vacant app store) the operating system was so terrible and broken that I bought out the rest of my Verizon contract to switch to the iPhone 4 (which was only on AT&T at the time). I know it has been greatly improved since then, but it seems like some applications have too much freedom accessing your phone's data - and if I need to virus/malware scan every new application I install onto my OS their is obviously something wrong.

 

[Gken]

I had a real defective battery, took it back and everything ran smooth as butter right out of the box. I would go with the lumia 920, god I love this thing, had a iphone 4s while I had my Samsung focus S, didn't really impress me first time I ever used the iphone too. I did like the looks of it though.

 

[SteveISU]

I had the Motorola Droid when Android first came out (and basically had no features and a vacant app store) the operating system was so terrible and broken that I bought out the rest of my Verizon contract to switch to the iPhone 4 (which was only on AT&T at the time). I know it has been greatly improved since then, but it seems like some applications have too much freedom accessing your phone's data - and if I need to virus/malware scan every new application I install onto my OS their is obviously something wrong.

It's improved drastically. I also think the virus thing is overblown. Stick with the apps in the play store and you're fine. Start side loading them from some random website and your more likely to encounter a problem.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[EliteMikes]

Apps can resume where they left off from the start screen. Facebook is one example of this already in the market.

 

[MechanizedSunrise]

Apps can resume where they left off from the start screen. Facebook is one example of this already in the market.

+1 The resume from start is an app issue, not an OS issue.

Having said that, I think you should try using an iPhone again post-WP8 before committing. I can understand your predicament as I thought about switching back to Android because the WP7.5 and WP8 Whatsapp app is terrible compared to iOS and Android. However, swapping back to the Android made me realize how much I like the WP user interface and I went back to WP after a few days. Enough so that I went from an L900 to an L920.

I wouldn't depend on Microsoft giving you the notification center or orientation lock though. If you can live with the phone as is, with the potential of upgrades, do it. Otherwise, iPhone may be the way to go.

 

[CSJr1]

Deep down inside you know you want to get another Lumia 920. Your 'id' was telling you this and this was the reason you posted on the wp site instead of the iMore site.

Besides, when NFC payments finally come through, you can point your Lumia 920 332ppi at an iPhone 5 326ppi and say "Retina This!"

 

[kebnt]

I returned my lumia 920 since my 14 says was up and ms store doesn't charge a restocking fee in an attempt to get the headphones. Am back on my iphone 5 and I'm already itching to go back to the 920. I bought it off contract so am trying to get a better deal if I can, but plan to go back to wp. After being on wp I realized, like many other people, that I don't really need that many apps. I will miss being able to just dl a free game and play it for a little bit when I'm bored (or to have more options at quality games to try out).

 

[wamsille]

I like this comment:

It's up to you. It's your money; your phone; your standards.

You can solicit all the anecdotal support you think you need, but in the end until you've had actual hands on experience with each device you won't know what is truly best for you. iOS isn't for everyone. Android isn't for everyone. Windows Phone isn't for everyone. Hardware aside, if you buy into the WP8 generation of devices your experience with the OS is going to be relatively the same across the board. Your expeirence with iOS on the iPhone 5 isn't going to be different from other iPhone 5 users other than what your personal preferences are. And Android is the internet darling of the moment because you can allegedly do with it what you will and make it your own. If you require that level of customization and want to tweak things on the sub-atomic level then by all means go with an Android device. Android itself isn't necessarily a bad OS, however the tendency developers have of taking a good thing and trying to fix it is frustrating, especially when Android wasn't really broken to begin with.

iOS does indeed do many things right. They would not own a substantial portion of the mobile market if that wasn't the case. They have a consistent release schedule and in many cases an iPhone will last you for the duration of your two-year contract. On the flip side the cost of ownership on these devices is still very high even with the carrier subsidy in place. Many would argue that you are getting what you pay for - a high quality, flagship device from a proven and established company. Others would say it's the "i" factor, and that an "i" anything would carry a high price tag regardless of the quality put into it. Then you have Apple's walled garden, which is more or less the gatekeeper policies Apple has in place to prevent certain apps from reaching the market. Again, it's a toss up as to whether this is a good thing from a consumer perspective or not. With so many apps available in their catalog it may never become an issue for you.

Windows Phone as you know is the perennial underdog of the smartphone market. Windows Phone isn't a major OS, however Microsoft is far removed from being a rookie in this arena. Windows Mobile was for many their first forray into owning a smartphone and ultimately it failed to compete with more modern offerings from Apple and Google. In the corporate market RIM still had businesses favoring BlackBerry and BES. Windows Phone 8 is a more concentrated, serious approach to taking their still maturing platform into the forefront of consumer and corporate client bases. Over the years companies have begun ditching BES in favor of using iPhones and even Android devices due to their rising popularity, increased security and overwhelming marketshare. Microsoft has the branding with Windows to re-enter this marketplace and pick away at previously RIM-only customers with easier deployment and management of Windows Phone 8. The devices being released for WP8 have the hardware now to run with the big boys and manage to steal away customers looking at Android and iPhone. Advanced displays, cameras and audio processing are just a tip of the iceberg.

In the end, what works for you will work for you. It is based on what you need and how those needs are most easily met. I hate to say this, but in many cases going with the iPhone is a safe bet because it just works. Keep in mind that part of that rationale is because it is a very mature and stable OS much like OS X and Windows are on the desktop. Another reason the iOS choice is so popular is because of the marketshare Apple has held and as a result has lured more development towards its devices compared to other platforms. Android is just as solid of a marketplace, but you ultimately have a hodgepodge of hardware and software combinations. You are never guaranteed to have the most current version of Android (ever) and rarely will a device be actively supported and last through your two-year contract.

Windows Phone 8 on the other hand is new. Its future is going to depend on adoption of the OS and the hardware currently available, along with any other hardware that is released. You can choose to ride out the storm and see what the next six months brings or you could go with a safer alternative and go to the iPhone. Keep in mind that no one device is 'perfect', and problems you have with the iPhone 5 may be just as plentiful as what you have with the Lumia.

 

[eallan]

Get a 920 or a Nexus 4!