GDR2 - What Can We Reasonably Expect?

[Ali Babba]

*blah* deleting post. Apparently I needed more coffee this morning.

 

[mdb4403]

Let me just say this about the notification center as someone who has extensively used Android, WP7.5 and 8 and IOS. Ive also played quite a bit with the the BB10. I use an android as my daily driver specifically for the notifications. Here is the problem with WP8 actually there are two that bother me. First, I chose not to keep a tile for every application I regularly used pinned to the start screen. There are some that I receive notifications on that I don't have on my start screen. I don't use them regularly but I do occasionally. The reality is unless I happen to see the toast notification I will have no way of ever knowing whether I received a notification. And yes I realize the answer is to pin a tile to the start screen for these application but you know what I don't want to. I don't like the look. I don't have to do that in android. Second, the notification drawer in android and IOS is accessible virtually all the time no matter what application I am in. If Im working on a document in my office application I can check without leaving the application or going to the home screen whether I have received an email, for example, simply by pulling down the notification screen. You can't do that with WP8. You have leave your current application and then to go back to the home screen and check your live tiles do that in WP8. It is just not as functional as having access to an always present notification center.

 

[ttsoldier]

Let me just say this about the notification center as someone who has extensively used Android, WP7.5 and 8 and IOS. Ive also played quite a bit with the the BB10. I use an android as my daily driver specifically for the notifications. Here is the problem with WP8 actually there are two that bother me. First, I chose not to keep a tile for every application I regularly used pinned to the start screen. There are some that I receive notifications on that I don't have on my start screen. I don't use them regularly but I do occasionally. The reality is unless I happen to see the toast notification I will have no way of ever knowing whether I received a notification. And yes I realize the answer is to pin a tile to the start screen for these application but you know what I don't want to. I don't like the look. I don't have to do that in android. Second, the notification drawer in android and IOS is accessible virtually all the time no matter what application I am in. If Im working on a document in my office application I can check without leaving the application or going to the home screen whether I have received an email, for example, simply by pulling down the notification screen. You can't do that with WP8. You have leave your current application and then to go back to the home screen and check your live tiles do that in WP8. It is just not as functional as having access to an always present notification center.

You're contradicting what you're saying.

If you're in an application, and you get a notification, you will receive a toast. You will see it because you're looking at the phone (Well, no toast for email but i hope that gets fixed in the update

 

[d_abbatelli]

Cut the crap with the notification center war please, this is not what this topic is for...

Personally, I expect a whole lot of bug fixes around the music experience: see duplicate/triplicate songs, playlist management and so on. Right now, I just can't use my telephone to listen music, between duplicate songs, weird id3 tag management and various bugs. I would also like wifi syncing, but I'm afraid that's not something we're gonna see anytime soon.

Other thing I would like, but I don't expect in GDR2 are the profiles, and possibly an automated profile management app / API's to realize one.
Is just silly having to remember to silence a smartphone. Isn't it smart enough to understand when does it have to shut up?

 

[ricbon]

i would like to see the transistion animation sped up a little more and be able to change sounds for text messages and incoming email

 

[SanjitVignesh]

i would like to see the transistion animation sped up a little more and be able to change sounds for text messages and incoming email

The transition animations are a bit slow now.
You can change the sound for text messages and email in the "ringtones+sounds" settings.

 

[ricbon]

The transition animations are a bit slow now.
You can change the sound for text messages and email in the "ringtones+sounds" settings.

i guess I ment to say downloaded alerts. I can download ringtones and set them but not with text or email, I have some bioshock sound bites waiting in the wings.

 

[morpheus1982]

That would be nice. I would akso really like a better way to access folders. They don't show up on the main tile count, and are always several taps away.

Pin said folder to Start screen and then you will get Tile count and notification sounds for it.

 

[morpheus1982]

I know this is going off topic just a hair but, Why does people THINK they need a "Notification Center". Live tiles are to replace this, so email, texts, etc are available on a tile for you to see with out having to go into a menu. I DO see a need for a quick place to turn on hardware features (Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth, etc)

A notification center is something you NEED for Android or iOS but, not WP8, I don't see the need and don't think you will ever see a Notification System.


If we get anything out of the update, I want a FM radio that Microsoft has said it was coming... Baseball games are free over FM but, to stream them it costs $40 a year from MLB. That is just wrong.. I see this as a major step backwards from WP7

Notification center needed to see missed notifications history for 3rd party apps as you don't see them in ME tile.

 

[Ludwig1976]

Just few OS bug fixes. Nothing else. Same in GDR3.
Maybe WP Blue will introduce 1 or 2 new features, but I don't think so.

 

[Vb2012]

Just few OS bug fixes. Nothing else. Same in GDR3.
Maybe WP Blue will introduce 1 or 2 new features, but I don't think so.

Yu do know then WP won't be able to succeed it feels like Yu are getting happy over this -_-

 

[anon(5335877)]

Just few OS bug fixes. Nothing else. Same in GDR3.
Maybe WP Blue will introduce 1 or 2 new features, but I don't think so.

What? So when are we getting new features?

 

[AndyCalling]

Firstly I expect FM radio as promised, but such is a bit old hat. Why not DAB? The digital revolution happened in the 20th century Microsoft, please catch up. Also, I expect the email app to be updated to the same level of functionality as the Win8 version. Just so I can send office docs and PDFs to my groups, without a 25 person cap. Currently I have to attach my document, then save it as a draft, then open the web version (which won't add attachments directly for some reason?) so I can send it from my alias to ALL the addresses in my group. This must change as email is pretty much the main feature of a smart phone after calls and texting.

Oh yes, and if they could just stop Xbox Music from generating duplicate entries and get the search engine to find EVEN JUST ONE podcast I'll be happy-ish, but I really ought to be able to put an rss podcast feed in directly. Yes, there are other podcast apps, but they all save podcasts to the miniscule 8gig of internal storage when I have clearly set all audio to go to the SD card. This bug needs correcting ASAP.

If they add a second notification centre I expect them to allow us to turn it off. I like my customized start screen notification centre and I don't want a second one making things confusing, giving me two notifications to clear each time I get one. That would be a real backwards step.

My little old HTC Wildfire can do all this (except DAB) and it's a fraction of what my Lumia 820 should be. I would like to be able to carry just my WP8 phone and not have to keep my old Wildfire with me to plug the holes. Not too much to ask?

 

[YCSMD]

Holy ****, if GDR2 doesnt bring scrubbing to the music and video player Im going to be really annoyed. This **** is crazy and the new YouTube app does nothing to fix it.

 

[AndyCalling]

Oh and one extra change. MS need to reconsider their view of 'security' when making their phone OS. Win8 is pretty damn secure, so why go over the top with WP8? It's like a landlord having a fantastic property to let, way better than others in the area, with good locks on the doors as expected. When they rent out the property however, it is not seen as a security risk to hand the key to the new tenant. If the landlord insisted in holding on to the key, saying the tenant will feel much more secure sitting in their lovely new garden shed and able to appreciate their new, beautiful, secure home risk free from the outside it may be considered a little too secure from the tenant's perspective.

Considering the OS is called Windows and now it even has tiles, the home analogy is clearly the one MS is using so my use of it is perfectly appropriate. Windows is my digital home.

Basically, security wise, I want to be able to keep THEM out as best I can but not at the expense of locking myself out as well. I'm kind of surprised MS doesn't get this fairly simple and obvious balance.

 

[Onager1286]

Pin said folder to Start screen and then you will get Tile count and notification sounds for it.

The only problem with that is that I have quite a few folders. I'm not interested in cluttering up my start screen with all of them

 

[Ludwig1976]

Yu do know then WP won't be able to succeed it feels like Yu are getting happy over this -_-

I have no flag. I don't fight any war.
WP is just an OS focused on smooth and easy UI, so it will never be rich of features. Every upgrade will ever be focused on bug fixing and you'll never get big features. Take a look to uservoice.com: features with tens of thousands votes have ever been ignored by M$. Why should it suddenly change?
This is what I have learn about WP7 and these first six months of WP8.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

 

[Ludwig1976]

Holy ****, if GDR2 doesnt bring scrubbing to the music and video player

No chance, imho.

 

[Angry_Mushroom]

As an 810 owner? Not much, but hopefully you guys will get FM radio. Maybe a few updates to Xbox Music? Granted I think that will show up when the new consoles drops.

 

[Kamal Khetan]

Guys will this GDR 2 be for all the Windows Phone 8 devices?