Switching from iOS to WP7?

[kcnightfang]

So, I'm looking at switching from iOS to WP7. Mainly because:

1. Don't want to get stuck in to much with Apple and I want to maintain enough independence to make switching later possible.
2. I'm a little bored
3. I like how WP7 looks and I want good things to win, not just good things from Apple.

So, given that, I know this might be a slightly loaded question, but: Is WP7 for me?

My main concerns are sync, and apps.

Sync, because I am a Mac user, I use a Mac, an iPad, and an iPhone now so sync is easy with iCloud. I want a good way to sync mail, contacts, and to a lesser extent calendars. I dislike what Google has been doing so I don't want to use that unless I have to, Hotmail/Live doesn't properly support Macs, but it does support iOS much better. I'm also not a huge fan of Facebook but I feel trapped enough to use it to some extent.

Apps, I have a lot of iPhone apps, a lot of which I have paid for. I know they are a loss now, but I do need to replace a few of them. I need a Dropbox based .txt note editor, and RSS reader, an Instapaper client, an ePub reader, a podcatcher, a Twitter client, and a Google Chat/IM client. Those are absolute essentials, and Instapaper support in the RSS reader, and Twitter client are important.

Also, I'm looking for recommendations for phones. I'm on AT&T, no physical keyboards, nothing huge. I like the look of the Nokia Lumia 800 because it looks like a design effort on par with Apple's, but it looks like it's way out for the US, the Lumia 900 looked good, but then I found out that it's a bigger phone and now I'm on the fence. I dislike AMOLED screens too, the pixel dropping looks horrible. So... I know I have almost no options, but finding something I can compromise on is okay.

So, I think that covers it, I hope I can get some advice and clarity! Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to mention that I need the phone to receive email from my iCloud. As long as it is supported through IMAP I'll be okay.

 

[ironnmetal]

Your needs are almost certainly met, and possibly exceeded

Alright, let's begin:

When it comes to syncing, I think you will find that WP7 would meet your needs. In specific regard to iCloud, this is a forum post on here that mentions how a user managed to get at least part of the service synced via an online tutorial: http://forums.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-7-os-discussion/181895.htm

I know you say you don't like what Google is doing, but their service does sync pretty decently (especially if you keep your contact list decently clean).

When it comes to Facebook, since it's integrated with the phone you can also have it sync your friends into your contact list. If you don't like the idea of having 300+ contacts in your phone, you can limit it to just trying to match up with contacts already in your phone. Since AT&T uses SIM cards, it should be super simple to move all of your current phone contacts over.

As far as apps go, I find a lot of that is a matter of preference. You're not going to have difficulty finding at least 1 app in the Marketplace that matches up with the concept you're trying to reproduce. The only thing I'm not sure of is a Dropbox .txt editor so maybe someone else can speak to that. A quick search in the Marketplace for all of your other requirements returns multiple matches, and I'm sure the people on here would have a lot of suggestions on specific apps.

Twitter earns its own paragraph because the service is again built into the OS (baked?). When you setup your accounts on the phone, one of them is Twitter, and again it can sync your Twitter following into your contacts list. I highly recommend watching this video to get an idea of how it all works: Hands on: Windows Phone Mango Twitter integration - YouTube

As far as phones go, I actually enjoy ones that use AMOLED screens. The HTC Titan uses a Super LCD display, but you seem to prefer smaller screens. Is there a size limit you won't go above? I thought 4" was perfect, but after holding the Titan I realized that 4.7" really wasn't too ridiculous. The Samsung Focus Flash has a 3.7" screen and pretty decent specs, but it's not a Hero phone.

My advice would be to wait until after March 18th (the rumored launch date of the Lumia 900 among others) and then head into an AT&T store and hold the different phones in your hand. The nice contrast to Apple is that there is more than 1 to pick from and you'll be able to truly judge if a certain size is "too big" or if a certain display genuinely doesn't please your discerning eye.

 

[kcnightfang]

Ok, those are some interesting links that I will have to look at, thanks!

As far as Dropbox text editors/note apps, I was looking at DropNotes. It's not as fully featured as iOS editors, but that's fine, my needs are fairly basic. It's mostly for notes and things, DropNotes doesn't look like it has search, which might be an issue, I have over a hundred notes at present.

Thanks for your input, I might just have to deal with using my Google accounts. Oh well!

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I looked at phones the other day and the Titan felt gigantic to me. I'm only 5'0" so I have small hands and it felt very large to me. I could probably go up to 4" or 4.3" in the case of the Lumia 900, but I really must look again. The Focus Flash felt good, and my iPhone feels good. The Focus Flash felt plenty snappy, but I'll have to look at the Titan again.

 

[selfcreation]

Hello kcnightfang

Be sure to check out this Thread for all the info!! : WP: The Not so Obvious!!

in the : Microsoft's Metro UI: section you even have a link you can open with your phone to test out WP with a Android or IOS device

 

[kcnightfang]

Ok, so I went by my local AT&T store again today, and the Titan is definitively too large for me. The screen was far better than the Focus Flash, which is the only other WP7 phone I've played with.

I like the size of the Focus Flash and my naked iPhone, but usually I use it an OtterBox Defender, so it's much larger. If I got a phone that was slightly bigger, and got a slightly smaller case I'd probably be fine.

What are the current Hero devices? Also, is there any news about the Lumia 800 in the US?