So I'm headed back to WP7 after an Android detour. I had a Samsung Focus that was really nice, but I was tired of 3G speeds. I was also curious about ICS and how that compared to WP7. So I bought a cheap, off contract Pantech Burst. The phone itself is similar in size, weight, everything to the Focus, and was promised an ICS update. But after a couple of months with it, I've decided I had enough and bought a Samsung Focus S off Ebay. It'll be here Monday and I'll finally be rid of Android forever.
Here's why I'm back to WP7...
- Tired of constant toggling of Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, etc. I left everything on, all the time on my Focus, and it NEVER ran out of juice or even came close. The best thing about WP7, other than the UI, is the battery life.
- Tired of constant Force Closes and reboots. Android, for no reason, will FC a program or reboot itself randomly. And this has happened on EVERY Android device I've ever owned (HTC Inspire, Dell Streak, Pantech Burst, etc).
- Tired of slow updates. I know AT&T hasn't offered 8107 yet, so I get that WP7 is in the same boat, but 7720 works pretty well as is. At least, compared to Android 2.3. So I get the Burst thinking "hey, how long could it take to get ICS on here"? Come to find out, not until "later in the Summer, maybe end of Summer". I can't tolerate Android 2.3 until then.
- Tired of trying to put lipstick on a pig. Android is an ugly, ugly operating system. The best part about it is that you can change it any way you want to make it look good. But the worst part about it, is that you can change it in any way you want to make it look good. Sydney from Phonedog just had the perfect article about this - customization is great, but the OS shouldn't be so f*cking ugly from the start that you should have to customize it so much.
- Tired of slowdowns. The Burst has 1 GB of ram, a DUAL CORE 1.5 Ghz processor, and was competing with some of the highest of the high end Android devices on speed. But, hey, put a Live Wallpaper on your screen plus a few widgets, and the device SLOWS DOWN. How is this possible? If your OS can't handle Live Wallpapers and multiple widgets, DON'T GIVE THEM AS OPTIONS.
The best way I can describe how I feel about WP7 is that it feels like going home. There's a comfort level there. You know things will just...work. Its what Apple got right with iOS and what Microsoft is getting right with WP7. Google has never gotten it right with Android.
Here's why I'm back to WP7...
- Tired of constant toggling of Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, etc. I left everything on, all the time on my Focus, and it NEVER ran out of juice or even came close. The best thing about WP7, other than the UI, is the battery life.
- Tired of constant Force Closes and reboots. Android, for no reason, will FC a program or reboot itself randomly. And this has happened on EVERY Android device I've ever owned (HTC Inspire, Dell Streak, Pantech Burst, etc).
- Tired of slow updates. I know AT&T hasn't offered 8107 yet, so I get that WP7 is in the same boat, but 7720 works pretty well as is. At least, compared to Android 2.3. So I get the Burst thinking "hey, how long could it take to get ICS on here"? Come to find out, not until "later in the Summer, maybe end of Summer". I can't tolerate Android 2.3 until then.
- Tired of trying to put lipstick on a pig. Android is an ugly, ugly operating system. The best part about it is that you can change it any way you want to make it look good. But the worst part about it, is that you can change it in any way you want to make it look good. Sydney from Phonedog just had the perfect article about this - customization is great, but the OS shouldn't be so f*cking ugly from the start that you should have to customize it so much.
- Tired of slowdowns. The Burst has 1 GB of ram, a DUAL CORE 1.5 Ghz processor, and was competing with some of the highest of the high end Android devices on speed. But, hey, put a Live Wallpaper on your screen plus a few widgets, and the device SLOWS DOWN. How is this possible? If your OS can't handle Live Wallpapers and multiple widgets, DON'T GIVE THEM AS OPTIONS.
The best way I can describe how I feel about WP7 is that it feels like going home. There's a comfort level there. You know things will just...work. Its what Apple got right with iOS and what Microsoft is getting right with WP7. Google has never gotten it right with Android.