Day 20 with Icon and It's feeling... Limited

nasellok

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The Op is right, why is there such a huge gap in basic core os function and features? Its not hardware as the icon and 1520 run the same CPU and gpu as the top android phones. I'm not talking about apps but the os itself.

Now, WP8.1 isn't out yet, but from what we know about it - it looks like we can probably make an assumption that after 18 months, windows phone 8 hasn't gotten a lot of new features. Nokia has done their best to bring them to WP8, but its not a huge amount. I think what we are looking at with MS's evolution, is that they are adding features in huge chunks. Look at 7->8, and now 8->8.1. If we look at what 8.1 brings, I think we are looking at a monumental upgrade - sort of similar if Android jumped from 2.1 -> 4.0 ish upgrade (2010 - 2013). The biggest difference being that people on the original 8.0 phones, will be able to run 8.1 with no issues, whereas all the Android Phones that were running 2.1-2.2, etc, got screwed, and if you didn't get a new phone, you were forever stuck on an old outdated OS (that is unless you rooted, and installed Roms, which we all know lag the device so bad you could hear it crying from the inside.

My point of all this - MS, while slow to get on feature parity with other OS's, seems to be doing it right. You will eventually be able to run the same app on your desktop computer that you run on your cell phone - that coupled with the fact that your desktop computer also runs any software you could possibly need (unless its Windows RT, which we all know has its own set of limitations). I do however wish that MS would build some of the great Windows 8.1 features into Windows Phone - particularly running side by side apps, and full file explorer, but im hardly going to consider them deal breakers. Ive been using my Icon since launch day, and Ive never even thought of trying to use mobile powerpoint to create a presentation. Ill use my Computer, cause that's what its for.
 

Joel S79

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Android os has zero features, its the OE like Samsung HTC LG that adds them to the base os. The G2 is packed full of features and is still a monster with no lag or bogging down. I can't stand when people say that all those things bog down a phone and the fact that WP runs smooth on slower chips means the 800 equipped phones should be able to be even faster then android with the same features. But that's not the OP point, his point is things apple and android have offered for years aren't even available or work half assed. Yea WP is relatively new but MS has been coding for how long now??

Just... come on. Android does not have "zero features." OEMs add a lot of crap, but most of the core functionality people are used to with Android is Android.

You may not like it, but it's a fact. The more apps you have running, the slower the device will run. Android is WAY better now as far as performance goes, and some people way overstate the performance hits, but Android OEMs have long relied on top of the line hardware to give users solid performance where Apple and Microsoft aimed to give a consistent experience across the board (this is also why WP8 and iOS were rather minimal when they launched, so they could produce a reliable core first).

MS coding forever means nothing. Ford has been building cars for over a century, but you wouldn't expect them to release an electric car that's better in every way than the Tesla Model S on their first shot would you? Their initial hybrid cars were a joke, it's only recently that they're respectable.
 

savagelizards

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Concerning the screen not turning off during calls: Do you have any sort of case or screen protector on your Icon? It's possible that it could be interfering with the proximity sensor.

I have only an Incipio Feather case and no screen protector (my daughter, who works in Best Buy's mobile department, is appalled), so that's not it. It happened to me again twice today, and I was playing around with it to see if the sensor was working. It seems to, but it is definitely touchy. It may be me moving the phone around against my head too much. I will definitely take it to the Microsoft store to get it checked out. I haven't had any other hardware problems though. The build quality is excellent.

I'm going to blatantly give you a hard time about this next point (but it's largely in jest).... It's your description of how you simply cannot wait to finish your conversation before checking notifications when they come in... Really?! I mean... REALLY?! That's pretty rude/inconsiderate of you and I can understand how you disappearing from calls for several seconds might annoy the people who are on the phone attempting to talk with you.... I wouldn't blame Microsoft for them getting annoyed. Maybe just finish talking and then check the notifications.

I appreciate your humor, and I know there's an etiquette point in there as well. The point is that with android, I can just scan the top of the phone and read what the notification is and know if it's important or not, and if (as it often happens) information has arrived that has bearing on my call.

This phone is chirping and buzzing all the time, and I don't know if it's a weather update, the set of plans that the architect was sending me that might have the answer to the question I am trying to solve with the caller, an appointment reminder or a text telling me not to forget I left my car running in the parking lot. I spend a lot of time going form property to property, so my phone is often my entire office.

Additionally when this happens and you absolutely HAVE to check it, you say you need to scan the tiles trying to figure out what just happened. If it's really so important for you to be able to check this stuff while being on the phone then perhaps you need to reorganize your tiles so that all your accounts or the apps which would have these notifications are in a single area of the screen so you can very easily glance at it to see what's new and then get back to your caller that much faster.

Again, mostly just giving you a hard time about that in jest. :)

I have been working on making my tiles more organized and informative. But I still have to take the time to look and discern what is happening, rather than just know what is happening. Here is a screenshot of my latest configuration (any tips for usability are appreciated):

my_tiles.png
 

tgp

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I have only an Incipio Feather case and no screen protector (my daughter, who works in Best Buy's mobile department, is appalled), so that's not it. It happened to me again twice today, and I was playing around with it to see if the sensor was working. It seems to, but it is definitely touchy. It may be me moving the phone around against my head too much.

You're just holding it wrong! ;-) In reality, you may be holding the phone up to your ear in a way that worked with your Android phone, but not the Icon. It could be something more device or manufacturer specific than anything else, and not necessarily a defect.
 

TrueMetalGeek

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If Microsoft could get the Windows 8.1 from the RT into the Windows Phone now that the new phones have 1080 screens and thus could handle the split screen modes, etc it would be GAME OVER for Android.

My Surface RT which I'm using now can occasionally get laggy if I leave a lot of programs in memory but I absolutely LOVE IT compared to using a tablet that is handicapped with the Android system which is generic and made for phones more than tablets.
 

raacut

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People keep fooling themselves into thinking that limited apps is the only thing wrong with wp8. For me its the basic functionality that it lacks even though the OS is like 4 years old. The OS is miles behind the competition. wp8.1 is make or break for me. I feel its going to be make or break for a lot of ppl. I mean we just got screen orientation lock a few months ago lol.....
 

jleebiker

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People keep fooling themselves into thinking that limited apps is the only thing wrong with wp8. For me its the basic functionality that it lacks even though the OS is like 4 years old. The OS is miles behind the competition. wp8.1 is make or break for me. I feel its going to be make or break for a lot of ppl. I mean we just got screen orientation lock a few months ago lol.....

Yep. I have always missed how I could set a specific tone for my kids phone, text and email that were separate from each other and also separate from everyone else. BB had this what, 10 years ago? WP let's you specify a ring tone and text tone, but not EMAIL? WTF?!?! Why stop at ring tone and text tone? WHY NOT INCLUDE EMAIL as well? It's little things like that that bug me. This has nothing to do with the "app ecosystem". This is the OS we're talking about.
 

spicypadthai

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I have only an Incipio Feather case and no screen protector (my daughter, who works in Best Buy's mobile department, is appalled), so that's not it. It happened to me again twice today, and I was playing around with it to see if the sensor was working. It seems to, but it is definitely touchy. It may be me moving the phone around against my head too much. I will definitely take it to the Microsoft store to get it checked out. I haven't had any other hardware problems though. The build quality is excellent.



I appreciate your humor, and I know there's an etiquette point in there as well. The point is that with android, I can just scan the top of the phone and read what the notification is and know if it's important or not, and if (as it often happens) information has arrived that has bearing on my call.

This phone is chirping and buzzing all the time, and I don't know if it's a weather update, the set of plans that the architect was sending me that might have the answer to the question I am trying to solve with the caller, an appointment reminder or a text telling me not to forget I left my car running in the parking lot. I spend a lot of time going form property to property, so my phone is often my entire office.



I have been working on making my tiles more organized and informative. But I still have to take the time to look and discern what is happening, rather than just know what is happening. Here is a screenshot of my latest configuration (any tips for usability are appreciated):

View attachment 59435

Real quick reaction is to go with smaller tiles for weather and calendar, especially if you're using the built in calendar app. It only displays one appointment at a time so I find the largest tile just takes up space. I go with the step down. Same for weather. If I want more info or an extended forecast, I'll open the app. I also moved my more frequently accessed tiles, i.e., email, text, etc., to the middle so it's easier to unlock the phone and open them with one hand. The tiles I access the least are at the bottom and top with the top being those I care more about seeing info on as it's more natural, reading top to bottom.
 

rogerdanielpaul

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I do hope some of your frustrations get addressed (mainly because I share some of them) in the Windows 8.1 update. Mainly the file explorer, if it isn't included in 8.1 I am probably jumping ship.
 

tgp

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I do hope some of your frustrations get addressed (mainly because I share some of them) in the Windows 8.1 update. Mainly the file explorer, if it isn't included in 8.1 I am probably jumping ship.

I'm guessing we'll get a limited form of a file explorer, if we get anything at all. From what I've heard, that assumption is pretty much based on the rumor that we're getting email file attachments.
 

crystal_planet

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I do hope some of your frustrations get addressed (mainly because I share some of them) in the Windows 8.1 update. Mainly the file explorer, if it isn't included in 8.1 I am probably jumping ship.

Ha! Ha! Are you kidding? Hell, they could add that and it would be, "What?! No custom backgrounds? (or whatever) I'm outta here!"

Nope. Whatever it is, it won't be enough. I've seen posters scream about instagram and how it was "make or break" for the o/s and when it finally arrived, something else became make or break. Nah, you'll jump ship anyway - go to Android, be just pumped about your new Galaxy S6 and complain about how laggy it is until you jump that ship and finally see the light and pick up a brand spankin' new iPhone 7 and feel like you're finally home.

Until you complain about how boring static icons are.
 

Jupast

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You might think you're getting The Windows 8 experience on a phone. But you're really getting Windows Phone 8.

That right there is the reason i've always thought 'Windows' Phone is a terrible name.

Bet the average person on the street thinks Taskbars, Blue Screens, Viruses, just when they hear that name attached to a Phone.
 

c0wb0ycliche

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Its worth noting that despite the app gap and a few inadequacies around settings and the browser, Windows Phone devastates Android in regard to stability and reliability. I have coworkers with Nexus 5s, arguably the most "Google" Android phone you can get- and its still daily force closes and reboots, random bouts of sluggishness, certain issues with app compatibility, and visual inconsistency with apps. On my own NVIDIA Shield (which I realize isn't a phone, but still a high end Android device) its the same story. An app that requires some sort of update closes everything you have open... just because. While there are a ton of apps, half are messy or unstable because they need to run on 100 different screen resolutions and hardware types. Don't get me wrong, its way better than it was a few years ago, but Android is still a bit of a mess. And while it has also improved, Samsung, their biggest vendor, still throws ugly and slow UIs over everything.

The iPhone is a little more compelling from a software /app standpoint. But you get a comparatively tiny screen size, no NFC, no wireless charging, significantly less customization, and a UI that hasn't had a serious refresh since launch.

Windows Phone may not be perfect, but for me it beats the mess that Android still is and the one-mediocre-size-fits-all of iPhone.
 

invertme

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I agree with you 100%. I am interested in progress, not perfection, when it comes to Windows Phone.

I find it funny people only focus on what Windows Phones doesn't have but they never focus on how many terrible things Android has and things that Android just does plain wrong.

Really the only deal breaker for the Icon for me personally is the battery life. It's not a WP issue but hardware issue.

I've retired a HTC DNA, HTC ONE MAX, GS3, GS4 and a Razor Maxx all in the last year for multitudes of issues. I'm currently using a Note 3 that while it has problems it suites my needs best right now. Someone just needs to put a 6" WP on Verizon with stellar battery life and I will never look back at Android again.
 

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