Windows phone apps alternatives of Android

Gino Guillermo

New member
Sep 4, 2013
87
0
0
Visit site
Hi.

As a long-time user of Android phones i have seen the rise of WP8 phones thus i'm planning on buying one in the next month or so. But i have some questions to ask as regards WP8 alternatives of Android apps specifically:

1. Google Currents - that one stop news app anything from current affairs to tech news.
2. Music player - as an audiphile i'm very fuzzy with the sound quality of the music i'm listening. Dolby is fine but i want a good 3rd-party music player app with the ability to create/edit a Playlist, delete songs on the fly, search for an Album art on-the-fly, equalizer settings, ability to set a song as a ringtone and one that supports Flac.
3. Video Player
4. A "calling" app similar to Skype to call people for free or at a cheaper rate than landlines
5. A football to check news, team line-ups, statistics, team schedule, etc. of Premier League or UEFA
6. A Picassa alternative
7. An app to check tube or bus status


Pls advice. Thanks.
 

Major

New member
Nov 1, 2011
447
0
0
Visit site
Hi.

As a long-time user of Android phones i have seen the rise of WP8 phones thus i'm planning on buying one in the next month or so. But i have some questions to ask as regards WP8 alternatives of Android apps specifically:

1. Google Currents - that one stop news app anything from current affairs to tech news.
2. Music player - as an audiphile i'm very fuzzy with the sound quality of the music i'm listening. Dolby is fine but i want a good 3rd-party music player app with the ability to create/edit a Playlist, delete songs on the fly, search for an Album art on-the-fly, equalizer settings, ability to set a song as a ringtone and one that supports Flac.
3. Video Player
4. A "calling" app similar to Skype to call people for free or at a cheaper rate than landlines
5. A football to check news, team line-ups, statistics, team schedule, etc. of Premier League or UEFA
6. A Picassa alternative
7. An app to check tube or bus status


Pls advice. Thanks.

If you're truly an audiophile, I strongly suggest a dedicated getting a separate dedicated music device, such as a Cowon, with a quality DAC. Some people also add on an amp. You can't expect the absolute best fidelity from a cell phone.
 

Doohickie

New member
Jul 9, 2013
360
0
0
Visit site
I think all the apps you listed are available for Windows Phone. They may or may not be the same/as good as/but may be better than what you're using on Android, but there's nothing in your list that's extraordinary. HTC phones come with Beats Audio which from what I read is generally preferred over Dolby, but there isn't a way to play with the sound quality; it's just on or off. I like it quite a bit though and wouldn't mess with it much even if I could.
 

Gino Guillermo

New member
Sep 4, 2013
87
0
0
Visit site
I don't want to get another "dedicated" device as it would be expensive and would add bulk to my stuff when i'm travelling even though it might be small.

How about a good Cinema app to check local cinemas, movie times, etc. Or would that be in the Maps applcations?

And is there a good voice recorder app?
 

MKairys

New member
Dec 7, 2012
279
0
0
Visit site
Cinema: Flixter is what I use; see also IMDB.
Recorder: there are several; I use OneNote for voice notes, also voice-to-text.
 

NotSafeForWork

New member
Jun 8, 2013
88
0
0
Visit site
2. Music player - as an audiphile i'm very fuzzy with the sound quality of the music i'm listening. Dolby is fine but i want a good 3rd-party music player app with the ability to create/edit a Playlist, delete songs on the fly, search for an Album art on-the-fly, equalizer settings, ability to set a song as a ringtone and one that supports Flac.

Pls advice. Thanks.

If you really want to have lossless audio, you can convert FLAC files to the WMA Lossless codec using a utility like dBpoweramp, WMA Lossless is compatible with the default music player, almost all of my music is in that format.
 

Gino Guillermo

New member
Sep 4, 2013
87
0
0
Visit site
For me converting files is a hassle and very cumbersome and takes ages. Almost all major Android phones are fully fledged Flac-compatible.

If any of the features i want is not included in the new Amber update or any of the 3rd-party apps as regards the music player then i'm afraid i will have to avoid a WP8 phone straight away. For me it's somewhat of a deal breaker.

You see with Android the richness of options & customisations i have been acoustomed with. And for me its a powerful feature. A powerful tool. As someone who loves listening to his music on his phone i need to have that ability to do what i want with my music like what i mentioned above.

I do not want to organise my Playlists and then delete songs over some 1st-party software that you have to download and then use. Its very 20th century and very backwards. With Android i can just connect with my Mac and drag n' drop files straight away with no hiccups or problem.
 

Kellzea

New member
Oct 3, 2012
413
0
0
Visit site
While i can sympathise that flac may be a red line for you. Drag and drop works just fine on windows phones. You don't have to use any software at all, just drag and drop.

If it helps wp does support lossless wav.
 

Kellzea

New member
Oct 3, 2012
413
0
0
Visit site
I don't want to get another "dedicated" device as it would be expensive and would add bulk to my stuff when i'm travelling even though it might be small.

How about a good Cinema app to check local cinemas, movie times, etc. Or would that be in the Maps applcations?

And is there a good voice recorder app?

local scout will help with movies, but you may find a vue, or odeon app in your region.

There are tonnes of good voice recorders. Lots and lots and lots of them.
 

NotSafeForWork

New member
Jun 8, 2013
88
0
0
Visit site
Have you even tried to convert FLAC files to WMA lossless? You only actually change the container for the audio file, not the content itself. So converting is very very fast. Like 15GB of FLAC files in 5 minutes or so. Faster if you have a decent machine
 

Gino Guillermo

New member
Sep 4, 2013
87
0
0
Visit site
As i said: converting files from one format to another is a hassle & very cumbersome. I want a phone that can play Flac straight away or thru a 3rd-party app from the Marketplace that can play Flac files and have those abilities about what i mentioned on Playlists and deleting files on-the-fly, etc. Has the Amber update not enabled (or included) that?

Is it very easy in transferring files via drag n' drop without the use of a software or app? Any issues with a Mac?
 
Last edited:

NCBryan01

New member
Sep 17, 2013
9
0
0
Visit site
The problem with WMA Lossless is that nothing outside of Microsoft supports it.. Are there any Home Audio Receivers, MP3 players, Car Audio units, Network Streaming devices that support WMA Lossless? I agree with Gino here and with a large library of FLAC files I very much need support for this audio format and I'm not about to convert any of it to WMA Lossless. WMA Lossless is all but a dead format in the digital audiophile world (if there is such a thing).

Bryan
 

JCooperpcola

New member
Sep 17, 2013
7
0
0
Visit site
I did the switch and am pretty pissed about losing all my music on Google Music Player that I can no longer access. Still trying to figure it out.

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 520 using Tapatalk RIP "dam phone"
 

Gino Guillermo

New member
Sep 4, 2013
87
0
0
Visit site
Well, i mostly have 320k MP3 files on my Galaxy S3. I also happen to have Flac music files. I would probably say its 50-50 between them. I have ZERO music over at Google Play store so i'm ok.

I still strongly believe Flac IS the future. It has been out i think for 2 years now and i still can't fathom why Flac isn't supported on WP8.
 

crash1989

New member
Oct 30, 2012
1,491
0
0
Visit site
Well, i mostly have 320k MP3 files on my Galaxy S3. I also happen to have Flac music files. I would probably say its 50-50 between them. I have ZERO music over at Google Play store so i'm ok.

I still strongly believe Flac IS the future. It has been out i think for 2 years now and i still can't fathom why Flac isn't supported on WP8.

Flac files are too big IMO , 320kbps suits me. But I think supporting more formats won't hurt. I really think Microsoft and Nokia are playing big on the digital route with Nokia Music, XBox Music where high bitrates are not possible.
 

NotSafeForWork

New member
Jun 8, 2013
88
0
0
Visit site
It looks like Windows Phone doesn't support WMA Lossless anyway.

"All variations except for WMA Lossless are supported."

Music and videos FAQ | Windows Phone How-to (United States)

Which I know from experience that it IS supported. As half of my music collection is formatted that way (other half being MP3s) I can also confirm that the audio is not being downsampled when being synced because when I make backups of my SD card, the music files are still WMA Lossless.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
322,902
Messages
2,242,867
Members
428,004
Latest member
hetb