Hi all,
After all the helpful tips I got from my first thread here: http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...-about-wp8-thinking-about-coming-android.html
I decided to write about my experiences with Windows Phone 8 and switching from Android as my daily driver. Hopefully this will help other people who also had the same questions as I did when it came to switching (which can be the hardest part).
Ecosystem (not apps)
I am no stranger to the Microsoft ecosystem. I own an Xbox 360, Alienware Windows 8 machine, and a Microsoft Surface. I have always preferred Skydrive to Google Drive - but never really gave Bing, Bing maps, and Outlook.com email the attention I probably should have at the time. As we speak, I am trying to migrate my important accounts and sign ins to my Microsoft account and Outlook Email. The Email client on the web (outlook.com) is beautiful, simple, and fluid. I never used much of the features in Gmail - except the Google Now integration for flight info and package tracking. Outlook is having trouble getting all my mail from Gmail - I guess it's because I have 7 years of Emails there. For now, I'll keep both Emails - the Gmail one will be more for spam and in case I forgot to switch Emails for one of my accounts.
Here are list of pros and cons for ecosystem for day 1:
Pros
-Fast, simple, and fluid experiences all around
-Xbox, Skydrive, Email, Facebook are all well integrated beautifully
-I've used Microsoft customer support before and it is really good
-Messaging app works better than the Windows RT/8 counter part - does a better job with facebook integration and messaging
Cons
-Coming from Android, it can be a little underwhelming at first to see such simple interfaces with out intricate settings - I need more time to adjust to the WYSIWYG style of Microsoft
-Bing search and maps do not feel as good as the Google counter parts - but I believe this is because they require a different way of searching - I'll update this when I play with them more
Apps
Obviously WP8 is lacking in the 3rd party app department. If you are someone who has relied on 3rd party apps, or someone who is an app whore and needs the latest and greatest app for everything - This is not the platform for you - yet. While I have faith in WP8 and can see more and more developers coming over, it's about what's available now. For me, I use core apps + a few social media apps the most. Sometimes I'll get a cooking recipe app, or a photo editor - but you have to really ask yourself what do you do the most on your phone now, and find out if there is an app that you need on WP8 - you can find out here: Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)
Pros
-Core apps are amazing - Internet Explorer is ridiculously fast and puts chrome on my Galaxy Nexus to shame
-When developers put in the effort, the WP8 style is beautiful
-The main apps are there and if not, there is usually a really good 3rd party option
Cons
- Facebook! UGH it's like Android all over again - the biggest gripe I have is that when facebook "times out" or closes by itself (when you don't use an app for a while it stops in the background) then you stop getting notifications. I believe you have between 10-15 minutes after opening and minimizing the app before this starts to happen. My solution is to keep a small "me" tile next to the FB one because the me one because it shows you notifications on the tile more effectively.
-Some...well a lot of apps are missing, most people wont miss them or don't need/use them, but this could make or break the experience for others
That's about it for now - I have the red HTC 8X and it's gorgeous, the battery life is amazing - I can see myself getting almost 2 days of battery at this rate. The camera is good - low light performance is good not great (that's what Lumias are for) but normal/good light photos come out amazing. HTC really stepped up there game here - I am glad to be supporting the underdog - and the colors are AMAZING
My suggestion right now? If you really want to give WP8 a shot - I'd buy out of contract, since these phones aren't as popular yet, you can find them for $300-400 in like new/new condition on Clist, swappa.com and digicircle.com. Would I consider going back to Android as my daily driver (as a phone) - sure - Google needs to get it's OEM and carrier situation fixed first. It was OK because I had the Nexus, but I'm stuck on Verizon, and aside from the Galaxy S III and other bloat filled or oversized Android phones - your options are limited, which is what pushed me this way.
After all the helpful tips I got from my first thread here: http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...-about-wp8-thinking-about-coming-android.html
I decided to write about my experiences with Windows Phone 8 and switching from Android as my daily driver. Hopefully this will help other people who also had the same questions as I did when it came to switching (which can be the hardest part).
Ecosystem (not apps)
I am no stranger to the Microsoft ecosystem. I own an Xbox 360, Alienware Windows 8 machine, and a Microsoft Surface. I have always preferred Skydrive to Google Drive - but never really gave Bing, Bing maps, and Outlook.com email the attention I probably should have at the time. As we speak, I am trying to migrate my important accounts and sign ins to my Microsoft account and Outlook Email. The Email client on the web (outlook.com) is beautiful, simple, and fluid. I never used much of the features in Gmail - except the Google Now integration for flight info and package tracking. Outlook is having trouble getting all my mail from Gmail - I guess it's because I have 7 years of Emails there. For now, I'll keep both Emails - the Gmail one will be more for spam and in case I forgot to switch Emails for one of my accounts.
Here are list of pros and cons for ecosystem for day 1:
Pros
-Fast, simple, and fluid experiences all around
-Xbox, Skydrive, Email, Facebook are all well integrated beautifully
-I've used Microsoft customer support before and it is really good
-Messaging app works better than the Windows RT/8 counter part - does a better job with facebook integration and messaging
Cons
-Coming from Android, it can be a little underwhelming at first to see such simple interfaces with out intricate settings - I need more time to adjust to the WYSIWYG style of Microsoft
-Bing search and maps do not feel as good as the Google counter parts - but I believe this is because they require a different way of searching - I'll update this when I play with them more
Apps
Obviously WP8 is lacking in the 3rd party app department. If you are someone who has relied on 3rd party apps, or someone who is an app whore and needs the latest and greatest app for everything - This is not the platform for you - yet. While I have faith in WP8 and can see more and more developers coming over, it's about what's available now. For me, I use core apps + a few social media apps the most. Sometimes I'll get a cooking recipe app, or a photo editor - but you have to really ask yourself what do you do the most on your phone now, and find out if there is an app that you need on WP8 - you can find out here: Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)
Pros
-Core apps are amazing - Internet Explorer is ridiculously fast and puts chrome on my Galaxy Nexus to shame
-When developers put in the effort, the WP8 style is beautiful
-The main apps are there and if not, there is usually a really good 3rd party option
Cons
- Facebook! UGH it's like Android all over again - the biggest gripe I have is that when facebook "times out" or closes by itself (when you don't use an app for a while it stops in the background) then you stop getting notifications. I believe you have between 10-15 minutes after opening and minimizing the app before this starts to happen. My solution is to keep a small "me" tile next to the FB one because the me one because it shows you notifications on the tile more effectively.
-Some...well a lot of apps are missing, most people wont miss them or don't need/use them, but this could make or break the experience for others
That's about it for now - I have the red HTC 8X and it's gorgeous, the battery life is amazing - I can see myself getting almost 2 days of battery at this rate. The camera is good - low light performance is good not great (that's what Lumias are for) but normal/good light photos come out amazing. HTC really stepped up there game here - I am glad to be supporting the underdog - and the colors are AMAZING
My suggestion right now? If you really want to give WP8 a shot - I'd buy out of contract, since these phones aren't as popular yet, you can find them for $300-400 in like new/new condition on Clist, swappa.com and digicircle.com. Would I consider going back to Android as my daily driver (as a phone) - sure - Google needs to get it's OEM and carrier situation fixed first. It was OK because I had the Nexus, but I'm stuck on Verizon, and aside from the Galaxy S III and other bloat filled or oversized Android phones - your options are limited, which is what pushed me this way.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram