Can WP8 do this stuff?

[snaqvi91]

1. Open PDF files within the browser? Download the file to the phone if wanted?

2. Get transit directions for a city not supported in Nokia Transit/Transport (whatever it's called)?

3. Receive files from a PC or Mac over Wi-Fi?

4. Use the phone's LTE connection to create a Wi-Fi hotspot out of the box?

5. Open whatsapp or kik instantly without any perceivable delays when their notification is tapped?

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[snaqvi91]

In case anyone is wondering I'm asking these questions because these are probably my most used functions and so I would like to ask follow up questions that pertain to me.

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[eric12341]

1. Open PDF files within the browser? Download the file to the phone if wanted?

2. Get transit directions for a city not supported in Nokia Transit/Transport (whatever it's called)?

3. Receive files from a PC or Mac over Wi-Fi?

4. Use the phone's LTE connection to create a Wi-Fi hotspot out of the box?

5. Open whatsapp or kik instantly without any perceivable delays when their notification is tapped?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

1) This was possible even in WP7, all .pdf files are downloaded and saved in the PDF reader app

2) I believe so, if there's an app that allows it, Bing search or local scout should be able to tap into it and provide directions.

3) Just Bluetooth and NFC I believe, everything else is through the cloud.

4) Yup, been possible since mango, it's up to the carrier to support it tho.

5) its up to the developers of those apps to use the APIs properly as well as code.

 

[Boggy79]

I transfer files on wp7 over WiFi. Same process will work on wp8

 

[Bspain]

I'll answer what I can:


1. Open PDF files within the browser? Download the file to the phone if wanted?

It opens adobe acrobat from the broswer and will save the file on the phone. you can go straight back to the browser if you wish by pressing the back button.

2. Get transit directions for a city not supported in Nokia Transit/Transport (whatever it's called)?

Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive are not the only navigation apps available, so yes I guess, depends on the city.

3. Receive files from a PC or Mac over Wi-Fi?

Never tried

4. Use the phone's LTE connection to create a Wi-Fi hotspot out of the box?

I dont have an LTE phone but I believe you can, someone else might be able to help with this.

5. Open whatsapp or kik instantly without any perceivable delays when their notification is tapped?

I dont use whatsapp but I have it on my phone and it should behave this way as long as it is pinned to your start screen. havent used kik

 

[snaqvi91]

1) This was possible even in WP7, all .pdf files are downloaded and saved in the PDF reader app

2) I believe so, if there's an app that allows it, Bing search or local scout should be able to tap into it and provide directions.

3) Just Bluetooth and NFC I believe, everything else is through the cloud.

4) Yup, been possible since mango, it's up to the carrier to support it tho.

5) its up to the developers of those apps to use the APIs properly as well as code.

I transfer files on wp7 over WiFi. Same process will work on wp8

Thank you very much for the replies. Just a few follow ups:

1. On Android the phone goes straight to downloading but most of the time I don't want to download the file, I just want to view it quickly so I end up with a huge frustrating clutter on my phone. I understand that PDF files can be downloaded but can they be just viewed in the browser without downloading them?

2. Since I don't have a windows phone, if you don't mind would you mind looking for transit directions for the city of Kingston in Ontario, Canada from for example City Hall to Queen's University. Since I live in kingston transit directions for my city are quite important to me.

3. Boggy79: which app do you use for that?

4. Does anyone happen to know if Rogers supports it? I know that my plan does support tethering in general but would it work on a windows phone.

5. Are whatsapp and kik optimised right now? Or has the developer still got to do it?


Edit: thank you Bspain for your reply too.

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[snaqvi91]

Oh and one last question is tugger an option to automatically change the live tile colors every week to make things look fresh?

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[Pete]

No, you can't set the tiles to change colour to a set schedule. It's something you have to do manually as and when the mood takes you. As for transferring files, I generally use skydrive.

 

[pillswoj]

This issue of transferring files is very important for me as well, I live in a rural area and my home internet is slow, I have skydrive but don't really use it for that reason, also in being able to access my network drives through wifi would be preferable, or will windows phones connect via cable as mass storage devices?

 

[Pete]

Yes, when you connect the phone with a usb cable, you can drag/drop documents, photos, music, videos and ringtones to the relevant folders.

 

[Tyresian]

A note on the PDF function. PDFs MUST be downloaded. There is no way around this. Sometimes in a browser you can view an HTML version but these are not accurate. Even in Chrome on the desktop PDFs open in the browser but the full PDF is still downloaded in the background and saved to your temp files, you just don't see it.

 

[snaqvi91]

Thanks for the replies. I was looking for something like airdroid.

Could someone try out the transit directions thing? Apparently gmaps has transit directions, could someone check if they work for Kingston?

Thanks.

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[alfonz]

I have a Rogers L920.

Yes Rogers does support tethering but as with any other carrier that feature needs to be enabled on your account.

Here is an example of what nokia transport looks like, also note if you click on the routes option it will show you all the bus stops near you and what route stops there as well.

this is as per your request.

 

[alfonz]

Also note, Nokia Maps are quite accurate for Canada Ontario region, some may argue better than google maps. It is also a lot quicker and more responsive because the maps are stored in your phone and do not need network access to constantly update itself.

 

[vel0city]

I've got internet sharing on my L920 on AT&T. Works great.

 

[thekonger]

Also note, Nokia Maps are quite accurate for Canada Ontario region, some may argue better than google maps. It is also a lot quicker and more responsive because the maps are stored in your phone and do not need network access to constantly update itself.

alfonz, this looks incredible, how easy is it to use? I live in a smaller city so wouldn't use it much but if the instructions can be captured in a small note it might be nice to add to the newbie sticky.

 

[snaqvi91]

Alfonz: Thank you so much! I feel bad asking this but could you look for transit directions for something more distant? Say St Lawrence college to 259 Princess Street. The reason I ask is that the locations I gave turn out to be a short walking distance so actual bus times and stuff weren't given. But thanks for the screenshot it looks beautiful.

Could you upload a screenshot of the bus schedule page as well?

I was trying out my friend's Lumia 900 and the transit app said that Kingston is not supported. The Nokia website also says that. Could there be a reason for this?

Also is there true push email on WP8? The kind that's instantaneous and takes hardly any battery life.

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[iPwnza]

Sna, there are settings for that. You can set it to update email and push it to you when it comes to every week. Obviously, higher settings eat your battery.