Switching from iPhone 5 to Lumia 920 - differences

[evilrob]

I'm thinking about ditching all my Apple gear and moving back to Microsoft.

I will be replacing my iPhone with a Windows Phone for phone duties, my iPad with a Surface RT for tablet duties and my Apple TV with an Xbox 360 to get some sort of link between phone and tablet to TV (I assume this is possible via Xbox Glass or something), as well as play GTA V (obviously).

I would like to hear from others who have switched from iPhone to Windows Phone how they found the transition and any gotchas I need to prepare for. I'm particularly interested to learn whether Nokia Drive is an adequate replacement for the Tom Tom app I currently use for satnav duties.

Requirements: Calls/texts, decent camera, light email/web browsing, music/radio, Sat Nav, need to be able to stream to TV/speakers - edit: it turns out I don't need to be able to do this!

I'm not heavily invested in terms of apps or licensed media - I prefer to rent movies ad hoc (currently via iTunes, but Xbox Video seems OK, otherwise there's always Netflix), and I mostly stream music (currently via Spotify, but am open to trying Nokia Music or Xbox Music if people recommend those services over Spotify; not sure how well Spotify works on WP8 so any experiences in this area would also be welcome).

I currently use Gmail for my email/contacts/calendar, but was planning on switching to Outlook.com to ensure everything plays nice (or at least better than Gmail) with WP8.

 

[paulxxwall]

You won't regret switching!!

 

[evilrob]

You won't regret switching!!

I'm sure I won't. How has your life improved since going Microsoft?

 

[ag1986]

I'm not sure if you can mirror/stream from phone to TV via Smartglass - you may want to verify that before switching.

 

[evilrob]

I'm not sure if you can mirror/stream from phone to TV via Smartglass - you may want to verify that before switching.

I have asked the question over in the Xbox sub forum - cheers!

It's not a deal breaker - I assume there's a native Xbox movie rental facility (either ad hoc or Netflix or something) and some sort of SkyDrive integration on the Xbox if I want to display photos; as long as there's some way of getting my stuff on the TV, I'll be happy.

For music, I can always bluetooth I guess (again, any real world experience with how reliably this works would be appreciated).

 

[Gurggles]

Currently there is no airplay alternative like you are used to having on IOS. But you can use smart glass to type through an Xbox so you can easily enter in what you want.

 

[evilrob]

Currently there is no airplay alternative like you are used to having on IOS. But you can use smart glass to type through an Xbox so you can easily enter in what you want.

I'll chalk that up as a win - typing in search strings on an Apple TV is pants.

 

[Kebero]

The main thing would have been apps, if they were important to you. Since it seems that's not much of a consideration, I don't believe there will be much to vex you. I would at least spend sometime with the UI to see if you prefer it to iOS.

 

[peacock93]

Not positive but I think you can use Nokia's PlayTo app.

 

[evilrob]

Not positive but I think you can use Nokia's PlayTo app.

Good call - didn't even know this existed. From the Nokia website:

With Play To you can share your photos, videos and music from your Nokia Lumia WP8 phone to your DLNA-capable devices over your WLAN network. This could be that new big screen TV you have or maybe just your Windows laptop and/or desktop or XBox. Play To makes sharing easy.

Also, WPCentral's own article seems to suggest it will do more or less what I want.

If it does what it says, I'm happy. I won't lose any sleep over it if it doesn't.

 

[Moiz Mian]

I thought smartglass works like dlna. I think if you're viewing photos, videos, or music on your RT tablet, you can click Play to xbox and mirror them on your xbox. I don't think smartglass on windows phone works like that though. All you have is the remote capability for now. And of course Nokia's own PlayTo does the same thing, but to a generic DLNA receiver

 

[venom5150]

I own a 4s iPad 2, Surface RT (Pro as well), and Nokia 920/1020 so I have somewhat an idea to what to expect. I have had an Xbox360 since November 2005 and PS3 so Apple TV was never a consideration. Remember that Xbox 360 does require a Gold Membership for Netflix, HBOGo, Amazon, etc. Now with that out of the way, download the Skydrive app. All pictures and Video you take on your Lumia 920 do to SkyDrive (Make sure to set it as the highest quality which will require Wi-Fi) you can view all your photos from your phone and video from this app. PhotoBeamer allows to share to any computer TV that have internet. You will enjoy the family rooms, integrated live tiles if you use facebook, and do not forget to pick up the Wireless Charging Stand. Its a little pricy but one you get charging wirelessly there is no going back.

 

[evilrob]

Remember that Xbox 360 does require a Gold Membership for Netflix, HBOGo, Amazon, etc.

I would probably get that anyway for online GTA V.

download the Skydrive app. All pictures and Video you take on your Lumia 920 do to SkyDrive (Make sure to set it as the highest quality which will require Wi-Fi) you can view all your photos from your phone and video from this app. PhotoBeamer allows to share to any computer TV that have internet. You will enjoy the family rooms, integrated live tiles if you use facebook, and do not forget to pick up the Wireless Charging Stand. Its a little pricy but one you get charging wirelessly there is no going back.

Great tips - it was mostly the (lovely lens stabilised and taken with actual physical shutter button) photos-to-TV-and/or-other-places I was concerned about. Sounds like SkyDrive has got me covered.

Wireless charging is the reason I'll be going for a 920 rather than a 925!

 

[C LaBelle]

I've had an iPhone since the original one came out. Last Nov I switched to the 920 and wished I had done it sooner. Apples restrictions just started to get annoying. ATT moved my contacts over right then and there and everything else I had to set up (Gmail, calendar appointments, alarms, etc). It took a bit of getting used to but I took to it very well. It's more user friendly than everyone thinks. When someone is looking at my phone I hand it to them and they scroll up and down for a minute then hand it back and say "I like my iPhone". Well my 920 can do way more than your iPhone can.

I think one of the biggest disappointments is the lack of official apps. Anyone here can tell you that is probably the most frustrating part. Nobody thinks MS has what it takes to make a successful OS and don't want to support it. There are many third party apps to get the job done and more are popping up all the time. Once people see that the Apple bandwagon has traveled as far as it can go (which by the release of the new iPhones looks to be now) and see how much more a WP8 can do they too will say "Why didn't I do this sooner?" You can tell when a company is doing something right when other companies copy or imitate them (the colored iPhones).

 

[VKStreetwear]

I have been running my Lumia 920 for about 4 months now (also a previous iPhone user since the first one) and have recently started an experiment of running all my IT work duties purely off my new Surface RT. I was heavily invested in apps and am a bit of a photog nerd so one of the biggest draws for me was the cameras. Although I am hurting for some of my go to apps for photo editing (VSCOCam being the best one) I have not really felt any issues on the WP 8 platform and it continues to grow steadily. I would say the biggest frustrations are going to come with notifications, battery that runs pretty hot at times, and software updates. I am an ATT user and did not know of the update issues that WP users have been experiencing and I have to tell you I am not impressed. But other than some admittedly small issues to live with I don't think I will go back to an iPhone. Welcome to the WP community I hope your phone and tablet serve you well.

 

[scgf]

I was a real Apple ******, but bought a Nokia Lumia 920 around Christmas because there was a too good to miss deal on at EE in the UK. I knew if I didn't like it I would be able to sell it for more than I paid for it.

To cut a long story short, I shocked myself. I absolutely loved it. Used it solidly for a week or so, then got my iPhone out to ready it for selling on. My goodness, that made me realise how awful iOS is. The UI consists of screens full of app icons. That's it. No way to have contacts, podcasts, etc. on the screen. Each app seems to have buttons in different places - it's a mess. Windows Phone 8 is a delight. iOS and OS X are now so far from Steve Jobs' vision when he ran NeXT where the interface was paramount and the design philosophy of the GUI was exquisite.

That was the start. I sold my MacBook Air and bought a Surface Pro and have just sold my iMac and bought a Windows 8 all-in-one PC after running Windows 8 on my iMac for a couple of months. I feel like I have been rescued from a cult. I am liberated!

Microsoft seems to have a coherent roadmap which makes sense. The user experience is similar whether using Windows 8, Windows 8 RT or Windows Phone 8. Apple, on the other hand has two completely different systems, OS X and iOS and my fear has always been that there may be convergence in the future but it is likely to go the way of iOS.

A good guide to switching here:
Switching from iOS to Windows Phone 8

 

[evilrob]

I sold my MacBook Air and bought a Surface Pro

Wow... you really are converted! I'm quite happy running Win8 under virtualisation for now; runs beautifully on my maxed-out (Core i7, 8Gb RAM, 512gb SSD) Macbook Air - I can't see myself parting with it anytime soon! Or if I do, it will be for another ultraportable form factor laptop; not sure I'm ready to go tablet-only just yet.

I'm sure my (interface formerly known as) Metro and general Tablet cravings will be satisfied by the Surface RT for now!

Cheers for the guide - I'll check it out.

 

[Fadikun]

Hi, I switched from an iPhone 4 to this and there are several things that may take some getting used to.

And people, if I don't know what I'm talking about please correct/enlighten me.

1. Weight - The 920 is a brick compared to the iPhone 5 and even the 4.
2. Music - If you subscribe to Xbox Music, being able to download or stream any album you want is pretty awesome. BUT, the music player sucks. What irritates me the most is the inability to manage playlists. I hope they improve this with the upcoming updates.
3. Email - Ditching your Gmail and getting an Outlook account is the way to go. You can't flag your Gmail stuff and several other things. I had some trouble figuring out how to make it so all of my email is merged together like it is on iOS, but eventually I did.
4. Calendar - I wasn't too happy with the stock calendar app, but there are several third party apps that are GREAT. I use Chronos for my calendar.
5. Videos - This takes amazing videos, but sharing your videos isn't trivial (again, this should be fixed in the Amber update). For instance, you can't share videos you have already taken with your friends on WhatsApp.
6. Messaging - You can't iMessage, obviously. I have Apple ****** friends that refuse to text me because then their text messages won't be blue... :s
7. Maps - Nokia Maps/Drive has improved quite a bit since I started using it. I still can't figure out how to get a list of turn-by-turn directions on Drive. What I ended up doing is downloading Bing maps as what I click on whenever I want to go anywhere. From there you, when you want directions for somewhere, you can choose to have it open up Nokia Drive for you. I have noticed that, for instance, if you needed to go on I-35 N, it won't display whether you need to go North or South, it will just display "Exit on I-35". When you get close to the exit it will vocally say "North" or "South" but it would be nice if it displayed it as well. It doesn't have all the features I would like on it yet but with each update it's getting better (and they update often).
8. Overheating issues - My phone gets super hot, like finger burning hot, if I do things like play certain Xbox games (Spartan Assault, Shark Attack), steam videos (such as when they announced the Xbox One, or Netflix), and some other graphic intensive tasks. This then causes the battery to drain super fast. BUT, I think the reason for that is because I tried factory restoring my phone early on, and something went wrong. If updating to GDR2/Amber doesn't fix that I will probably send it to Nokia for repair.
9. Youtube - The native Youtube app has issues because Google and Microsoft don't get along. But, MetroTube is the greatest youtube app I have ever seen.
10. Text readability - Text seemed sharper on my iPhone but the bigger screen makes up for it. Video looks great on this phone.
11. Backups - Skydrive is great for auto-backups for picture and video. And documents. There is no Dropbox app, but there is Box, and AT&T locker.
12. Remote Desktop - I used to use LogMeIn on my iPhone and loved it because I could get to my home Desktop from work if I needed to. There are some ways to do that on WP8 but I haven't found anything as reliable.
13. MS Office - I thought I would be using this a lot more. I used to use ListMaster on my iPhone and lived by it. I figured I could import all my lists into Excel and all would be great. That was not the case. I didnt find Excel on WP8 that easy to use. I would have lists such as video game release dates, auto maintenance schedules, shopping lists, etc. I preferred using OneNote to Excel for most things, but you can't sort your lists in OneNote. Again, I have not found a good alternative yet.

That's all I have for now. Overall I am happy with my 920, and Apple will have to do something amazing before I go back to them. Good luck!

 

[evilrob]

Thanks for the epic post, Fadikun - loads of useful information in there!

I think I wanted to know pretty much everything on your list; appreciate you taking the time to write all that stuff out and provide alternatives/workarounds to things I might miss.

 

[darkoman4]

One more thing to keep in mind. Unlike Apple Airplay which can stream pretty much any media from any Application, Nokia's Play To will stream only from local drive, so streaming from Spotify or even from XBox Music cloud for example is not possible yet.