What's the deal with 1080p displays? I'm using Lumia 620 WVGA and its perfectly okay

[poddie]

It still sounds like something that doesn't require an actual notification center. I guess since I don't use every social network on the planet, I don't know to what extent which application use toast notifications (I also think that term is kind of dumb, but that's irrelevant). To me, when I think of potentially-missed notification, I think of:

1. Text messages
2. Instant Messages
3. Game messages (such as alerts to your turn, game invites, and friend requests)

I think all of these can be handled easily without a notification center that will just add a bit of weight to the OS that I don't really want. For the first, we already have it covered. If you miss a message, it will be on your lock screen. For the second, I have IM+ pinned to my start screen, so the live tile (usually) updates that. As I said, USUALLY, so they need to perfect the live tile updating on that app. For the third, there are two possible solutions. The first option is to give the Games hub a notification center. You can go in, and one of the tabs would be "notifications," where it will list which games have notifications and how many. The alternative (or, perhaps, an extension of this) would be the same as how live tiles currently operate. You give it a number in a bubble on the live tile to let you know that you have notifications within your games. Ideally, this is a Games hub notification center extension. Otherwise, you would either have the Games hub highlight titles with notifications, or you'd do the same number-in-a-bubble notification manner for each game. The highlighting would be more obvious and less clutter-filled, in my opinion.

My whole thing, though, is just that I don't see myself needing a notification center. I don't see any examples where one is REALLY necessary, even. I mean, we have live tiles to cover this for a reason, and if you don't want to use the live tiles for that purpose, I'm a little bit confused as to why you're on this platform in the first place, because that's kind of their staple feature.

I guess I'm not so much AGAINST a notification center as confused as to why people react like Windows Phone is crippled by its non-existence on the platform. It could provide a small level of convenience, but I'm not the least bit concerned with it. I think it's something outside of the top-10 of needed improvements to the OS.

Trust me, there are MANY apps out there that issue toast notifications for all sorts of things. For example, the eBay app can notify you of messages, auctions ending soon, etc. You'll just have to trust me that yes, people do use this app and do assign some value to its notifications. Likewise for Facebook, LinkedIn, and thousands upon thousands of other apps that people use on a daily basis.
Now, a frequent occurrence once someone has installed 8 or 10 apps (and yes, many of us have that many or more) is that you will be on the computer or watching tv and you will hear a toast notification. I know you don't personally like this name and think it's stupid, but that's what it's called. Now most of us don't want to jump up and go check the phone every time this happens. We get up in an hour or twenty minutes and wonder what that particular chime was for. Right now, there is NO WAY to find out. NONE. You (and many others who refuse to listen to this very simple argument) are now shouting "I HAVE LIVE TILES WHICH WILL TELL ME!!!". Well, maybe, maybe not... you see, there are many reasons this is not quite the solution to this issue:

(1) We don't all have every app we use pinned to the Start Screen. If not, you don't get a Live Tile for it.
(2) Many toasts are additional information that is not reflected on the Live Tile in the number count.
(3) The toast notification actually includes much more information than can be reflected in the simple counter anyway.
(4) Many apps that issue toasts don't even have a Live Tile counter.

There is one additional major reason you should care about this. Go and read any review of a Windows Phone from a non-Windows Phone site. I'll wait.

OK, now what were the main complaints they made in the article about Windows Phone? That's right, (1) Many of the major apps like Pandora and Instagram are not on WP and (2) There is no Notification Center. See? This is dragging the platform down because it is a feature that many people find very valuable, is mature and full featured on the other competing platforms, and is completely and utterly missing on ours. If you want WP to succeed, as I do, you shouldn't even care so much if this is a feature you personally have a use for. You should want it so that we are on a more competitive system and it will remove one of the major blocks people have against using it. (Same reason we should all want that useless Instagram app released for WP... many potential WP users will not buy in without it, which limits our user base.)

The other misunderstanding you seem to have is that this will in some way affect your usage of WP. It won't You just won't open the notification center. Bang. Done. No impact. You already have control over which apps can issue toasts on WP. There is no need to build any of that functionality into NC. It's literally just something that will sit behind the scenes on your phone that you can leave alone and never open. Doesn't that sound pretty reasonable? Shouldn't that make everyone happy on this issue? Why do people need to campaign against NC? Why do they insist that it is not the WP way? It could be done in a way that completely adheres to the metro standard and integrates absolutely seamlessly.

 

[freestaterocker]

Dude:

https://www.wpnotifyme.com/about.html

Trust me, there are MANY apps out there that issue toast notifications for all sorts of things. For example, the eBay app can notify you of messages, auctions ending soon, etc. You'll just have to trust me that yes, people do use this app and do assign some value to its notifications. Likewise for Facebook, LinkedIn, and thousands upon thousands of other apps that people use on a daily basis.
Now, a frequent occurrence once someone has installed 8 or 10 apps (and yes, many of us have that many or more) is that you will be on the computer or watching tv and you will hear a toast notification. I know you don't personally like this name and think it's stupid, but that's what it's called. Now most of us don't want to jump up and go check the phone every time this happens. We get up in an hour or twenty minutes and wonder what that particular chime was for. Right now, there is NO WAY to find out. NONE. You (and many others who refuse to listen to this very simple argument) are now shouting "I HAVE LIVE TILES WHICH WILL TELL ME!!!". Well, maybe, maybe not... you see, there are many reasons this is not quite the solution to this issue:

(1) We don't all have every app we use pinned to the Start Screen. If not, you don't get a Live Tile for it.
(2) Many toasts are additional information that is not reflected on the Live Tile in the number count.
(3) The toast notification actually includes much more information than can be reflected in the simple counter anyway.
(4) Many apps that issue toasts don't even have a Live Tile counter.

There is one additional major reason you should care about this. Go and read any review of a Windows Phone from a non-Windows Phone site. I'll wait.

OK, now what were the main complaints they made in the article about Windows Phone? That's right, (1) Many of the major apps like Pandora and Instagram are not on WP and (2) There is no Notification Center. See? This is dragging the platform down because it is a feature that many people find very valuable, is mature and full featured on the other competing platforms, and is completely and utterly missing on ours. If you want WP to succeed, as I do, you shouldn't even care so much if this is a feature you personally have a use for. You should want it so that we are on a more competitive system and it will remove one of the major blocks people have against using it. (Same reason we should all want that useless Instagram app released for WP... many potential WP users will not buy in without it, which limits our user base.)

The other misunderstanding you seem to have is that this will in some way affect your usage of WP. It won't You just won't open the notification center. Bang. Done. No impact. You already have control over which apps can issue toasts on WP. There is no need to build any of that functionality into NC. It's literally just something that will sit behind the scenes on your phone that you can leave alone and never open. Doesn't that sound pretty reasonable? Shouldn't that make everyone happy on this issue? Why do people need to campaign against NC? Why do they insist that it is not the WP way? It could be done in a way that completely adheres to the metro standard and integrates absolutely seamlessly.

 

[a5cent]

That would be going out of the way to bias a battery test into the favor of a 720p screen. Use the phone normally, a bit of gaming, a bit of texting, a bit of other app usage. Under these situations there's no difference between a 1080p screen phone and a 720p screen phone.

There is no difference? How do you come to that conclusion? So far, all we have is marketing material and "reviewers" quoting that marketing material. Frankly, your statement can only be false. The question is not if it makes a difference. It must. The question is only how large that difference is and under which circumstances it is most apparent. Until we have real reviews, any statement about battery life, particularly one saying "there is no difference", is simply premature.

Edit: What is and what isn't a biased testing scenario is up to each individual customer. For someone that does little beyond watch YouTube videos and play games, the scenario I mentioned is not at all biased.

 

[ammarmalik2011]

There is no difference? How do you come to that conclusion?

Because I've used a phone with 1080p display.

 

[a5cent]

Because I've used a phone with 1080p display.

Fair enough, but as there is nothing less reliable than eyewitness or anecdotal evidence, I'll wait for a test.

 

[morpheus1982]

I am sorry, but how can having more "light bulbs" turned on NOT suck more juice?

 

[vladi]

Not trying to be an ass here but if you go beyond 300dpi your eyes can't tell the difference in 97% of cases

 

[Coreldan]

The thing for mobile devices is that bigger isn't always better until battery can keep up. I'm sure 1080 does look better marginally than lesser resolutions, but is it worth a crap battery life?

I first thought the Omnia 7 had pretty damn sweet display. Now that I have 920 and look at it I think there is some stuff on the screen which makes it look so blurry.. but the screen is clean

But yes, I'm sure there is also the mythical "retina" level of resolution where at certain pixel density you cant really tell much difference anymore.

 

[AngryNil]

Are people complaining about the individual pixels they see on their sub-720p iPhones? Nope. WVGA is slightly low, and as such the jump to 720p is noticeable. Even then though, you'd probably have to be rather close and paying attention. 1080p is lovely when the tech reporters see it on the marketing pamphlet and stick their noses in the screens, but if you're holding your phone at a "normal" distance then your eyes seriously won't discern the increase in PPI at a point. You could even say the pixels are wasted since you can't perceive it all.

And yes, that's the important point here - PPI. People might be disillusioned by Apple's "Retina", but the whole idea of being unable to discern the pixels at averaged distances is absolutely true and logical. If you're sitting metres away from your TV, you won't be able to see it clearly enough to see that it's 4K instead of 1080p. Eyesight isn't at an infinite resolution.

I see this as part of the whole Android spec pissing contest that screwed us out of pocketable flagships. Every ~4" phone, bar the iPhone, is decidedly low to mid range.

I first thought the Omnia 7 had pretty damn sweet display. Now that I have 920 and look at it I think there is some stuff on the screen which makes it look so blurry.

The Omnia 7's screen actually looks much worse than WVGA should because it's PenTile. RGB WVGA isn't visibly bad, unless you approach 5" territory.

 

[ammarmalik2011]

I am sorry, but how can having more "light bulbs" turned on NOT suck more juice?

The same way having more cores doesn't necessarily mean poor battery life. Both the battery and display technology are advancing all the time, with displays getting more power efficient.

 

[JerseySal]

People want the "best" stuff because they feel that having what the cool crowd has will boost their social status.

 

[morpheus1982]

The same way having more cores doesn't necessarily mean poor battery life. Both the battery and display technology are advancing all the time, with displays getting more power efficient.

True, maybe its the same as comparing incandescent bulbs to energy-saving halogens.

 

[roaspiras]

I really wanted to thank everyone who have made their comments and views. This was an interesting read. I guess it all boils down to preference and not practicality for some people. Some people would prefer 1080p for the sake of being on the cutting edge and some will be satisfied with WVGA because it does what it is supposed to do which is provide good viewing experience. The good thing is that there is something available for everybody. If you like 1080p then there are a handful of 1080p smartphones available for you. To some users who does not mind displays then there are non-1080p screens. Its like a T-shirt... you have your sizes but sometimes the T-Shirt you want do not have the size for you. Sucks doesn't it? Personally I'd go with practicality and save additional bucks for something else because watching HD on a 5 inch screen is already painful because really 1080p movies are meant to be seen on a 42 or high screen sizes. I think to each is own and whatever display you chose is okay... there is no right or wrong because we all have a choice.

 

[berty6294]

Imo the perfect phone has a dual core processor and a 3.8in 720p screen. Dual core is more than enough for windows phone and 720p is more than enough for a 3.8inch screen. (but 720p is a good standard to work with). If you make a phone with this, an 1800mAh battery is enough to get you 18+ hours of battery life! Not to mention it will be a small form factor phone, I don't know why this hasn't been made yet! Seems like a pretty good formula!

 

[omniusovermind]

Dude:

https://www.wpnotifyme.com/about.html

That's a pretty good interim solution but I think most people really want this to be part of the OS, without need to have an account with NotifyMe or wait for app developers to join that service

 

[roaspiras]

You are definitely talking about a possible upgrade to Lumia 620. I love that phone (I have it). If Nokia puts on serious hardware on a successor to Lumia 620 say for example 630 with 720p screen and 1.5 dual core and 64GB HD, 1GB RAM, Wireless charging, NFC, sensitive screen, Nokia clear/black then it will be a legitimate iPhone killer.

Imo the perfect phone has a dual core processor and a 3.8in 720p screen. Dual core is more than enough for windows phone and 720p is more than enough for a 3.8inch screen. (but 720p is a good standard to work with). If you make a phone with this, an 1800mAh battery is enough to get you 18+ hours of battery life! Not to mention it will be a small form factor phone, I don't know why this hasn't been made yet! Seems like a pretty good formula!