Has anyone gone from WP to iPhone and still using all MS services?

[steve_w_7]

I am getting ready to jump from Windows Phone to the iPhone and I still plan on using all of my Microsoft services (Outlook, OneNote, One Drive, etc.)

I am wondering if there is anyone out there who has done this (or has attempted to do this) and how you made out? Has Microsoft made the transition as easy as it appears to be? From my perspective, there seems to be no downside.

 

[steve_w_7]

If you love apps and games, there's nothing that can touch an iPhone.

While this might be a true statement, I felt like I was way more productive with my Windows Phone than I do with my iPhone.

 

[MarkusDindu]

While this might be a true statement, I felt like I was way more productive with my Windows Phone than I do with my iPhone.

Fair enough. You mentioned that WP has more free apps, but there are a bunch of free apps and games on the iPhone as well. It's not something Ive paid much attention to though. The iPhone caters to the non thrifty type. It's why developers make the most money there, and it's why they have the best App Store.

 

[dgr_874]

Three weeks since switching to iPhone and I thought I'd give a little update.

I like the phone, but I don't love it the way that I enjoyed my Windows Phone. The iPhone experience is super polished, but there's something missing -- it's cold, like it doesn't have a soul, if that makes any sense. It just feels like a device to me unlike my Windows Phone which felt incredibly personal.

I find myself being more and more disappointed than being impressed anymore - but I think that has a lot to do with my expectations going in.

There are a ton of apps, but very very few that I would miss if I switched back. The one thing that is glaringly different between the two app stores is that the Windows Phone store offers a ton more free apps or apps that have free trials. There are hardly any apps that you don't have to pay for on iPhone. When I was on Windows Phone, I found that I was constantly trying out new apps (weather apps, for example). You can't do that on iPhone without plunking down a couple of bucks each time. I don't mind paying money for a good app, but I like to try it out first if I can.

The biggest thing, to me, with iPhone is the number of times you have to touch your phone to get anything done. Tap, tap, tap. Windows Phone is so much more productive with the glance screen/lock screen notifications. And when you do have to turn on the phone, if the information doesn't present itself on your live tiles, the swiping gestures and the back button are so much easier to navigate than what iPhone has going on.

I guess what I've come to learn is the grass is definitely not greener on this side of the fence. Windows Phone has a great thing going and they could easily go toe to toe with iPhone if they could offer a premium handset experience. Fingers crossed for W10...

Pretty spot on with my experience too. It started out great. I loved the screen. I was using apps left and right. I was enjoying the music player that worked well and had smart playlists and had star ratings. My friends and family loved that they could face time me so easily. It was nice, thin, light and all that other good stuff that Apple likes to tout. Battery life blew me away for an iPhone (I have the 6+). I used it for months while my 920 sat on the shelf waiting for updates. But it was never fun to swipe up and see all that personalized stuff on my home screen. I organized all my stuff, downloaded apps by the dozens, and got it how I wanted it and was suddenly bored beyond belief with it. It worked fine, it just seamed dead.

So I went and bought an 1520 for ATT and carried them both for a month side-by-side (very pimpish!) to really get a comparison. It found myself reaching for the 1520 more and more to accomplish things and only used the iPhone for some tasks that I could not do on the 1520 with it. PDF attachments are much easier to handle on the iPhone with the outlook app and one drive there. One note has a few benefits too not available on WP.

Then The Xbox music update over the last few days fixed a huge problem I had with Xbox music, streaming my own collection. I still miss my smart playlists and star ratings and a few games but I don't think I will miss it enough to pay the premium that Apple wants to charge me (and don't even get me started on the watch...). As I have no desire to own an Apple computer (PC Gaming master race here) its pretty much settled down to the windows ecosystem. And I am ok with that! It's not perfect by any means, but it is exciting to be part of something new and be different than what most people have. For the first time in a long time, I am starting to believe that Microsoft can actually pull off what they have been talking about for the past few years. And they did it by going back to being a software company, not a hardware company.

Edit:

I found a much easier way to download PDF attachments. If I see an email has a PDF attachment, I close the mail app, go to outlook.com in internet explorer and click on the PDF in the email there. Once I select it, it gives me the option to download it to my phone. It then places the PDF in the "downloaded" folder and I can access it with the Files app anytime I need it to. I can even upload it to whatever OneDrive file I want with the files app. This is so much easier that the previous work around that I used to use.

 

[Mike Gibson]

The iPhone experience is super polished, but there's something missing -- it's cold, like it doesn't have a soul, if that makes any sense. It just feels like a device to me unlike my Windows Phone which felt incredibly personal.

Couldn't have said it better myself. You notice this after extended usage of iOS. I think it's because of the app-centric nature of iOS. The thing is simply a device to run apps, nothing more. There's no way to quantify it, it's just a "feeling", as in you could pick up any random iPhone on the street and use it without skipping a beat. My HTC 8X, on the other hand, is my phone. I have my critical contacts on the main screen and can tell if my wife or daughter have sent me a text or called. It's more personal (maybe iOS can do that too, I don't know).

 

[fatclue_98]

Yes. This turned out to be a huge disappointment for me. Not a dealbreaker (yet), but once you are used to the WP People Hub, it's really hard not to have that information all in one place.

I went to the Apple store today and they had no clue that the issue existed and offered no solution. I did find an app that aggregates all that info, but it's just another app and it feels tacked-on.

I had to get an app to link all my FB contacts. That's just plain sad. Now for the kicker: for real-time updating I had to use the paid app. Now for the real swift kick in the groin area: most of the times I had to manually link the contacts. Some, not all, Androids need an app to integrate FB contacts too.

 

[steve_w_7]

I had to get an app to link all my FB contacts. That's just plain sad. Now for the kicker: for real-time updating I had to use the paid app. Now for the real swift kick in the groin area: most of the times I had to manually link the contacts. Some, not all, Androids need an app to integrate FB contacts too.

I would be real interested to know why Windows Phone can pull this information together so seamlessly and the other two cannot. That's a huge win for Microsoft!

 

[fatclue_98]

I would be real interested to know why Windows Phone can pull this information together so seamlessly and the other two cannot. That's a huge win for Microsoft!

Agreed. There's no excuse because Palm's Synergy was doing this in 2009.

 

[tgp]

Agreed. There's no excuse because Palm's Synergy was doing this in 2009.

I'm curious about this. I purposely don't sync my Facebook contacts, but every time I log in for the first time it asks to sync them (I choose no). What actually happens if you choose to sync?

 

[fatclue_98]

I'm curious about this. I purposely don't sync my Facebook contacts, but every time I log in for the first time it asks to sync them (I choose no). What actually happens if you choose to sync?

It would help to know what device and OS version you have. It sounds like you're on Android because I've seen that message. Syncing your FB contacts simply joins that person's FB info along with their Gmail, or whatever you use, to make it easier to reach that person. Having that person's complete profile in one location makes it easier to call, text, email, tweet or whatever from one centralized location. I consider it an indispensable tool and Palm's traditional dominance in the PIM field made that possible with webOS's first release. Nobody ever did contacts and calendars better.

 

[tgp]

It would help to know what device and OS version you have. It sounds like you're on Android because I've seen that message. Syncing your FB contacts simply joins that person's FB info along with their Gmail, or whatever you use, to make it easier to reach that person. Having that person's complete profile in one location makes it easier to call, text, email, tweet or whatever from one centralized location.

Yes, sorry for not clarifying. I'm using Android. I'm currently using a Nexus 6 with Lollipop. I guess I'm wondering what happens if you choose to sync with the popup in Facebook. You're indicating that it doesn't actually do it. I'm asking what it actually does. Nothing?

Please note that I am not in any way challenging or doubting. I never use the function so I have no clue how it works. I'm curious as to why the Facebook app would ask if you want to sync contacts if it can't actually do it.

 

[fatclue_98]

Yes, sorry for not clarifying. I'm using Android. I'm currently using a Nexus 6 with Lollipop. I guess I'm wondering what happens if you choose to sync with the popup in Facebook. You're indicating that it doesn't actually do it. I'm asking what it actually does. Nothing?

Please note that I am not in any way challenging or doubting. I never use the function so I have no clue how it works. I'm curious as to why the Facebook app would ask if you want to sync contacts if it can't actually do it.

I said some, not all, Androids fail to sync FB contacts. I've never had a Nexus device so I don't know. If yours does, I would recommend you do for the reasons I stated above. If you could have all of a contact's information in one place would it not be easier?

 

[steve_w_7]

Yes, sorry for not clarifying. I'm using Android. I'm currently using a Nexus 6 with Lollipop. I guess I'm wondering what happens if you choose to sync with the popup in Facebook. You're indicating that it doesn't actually do it. I'm asking what it actually does. Nothing?

Please note that I am not in any way challenging or doubting. I never use the function so I have no clue how it works. I'm curious as to why the Facebook app would ask if you want to sync contacts if it can't actually do it.

I can't speak for Android, but on iPhone, (in theory) when you sync FB with your contacts, all of the information that is collected on their facebook profile would be synced with the contacts on your phone (phone number, email, address, profile picture). In addition, it would create a new contact for any friends that you have on FB that aren't in your iPhone contacts. Brilliant! Except for one thing -- Apple doesn't have their crap together and they can't seem to figure out how to execute this like Microsoft has.
Syncing is hit and miss. Duplicate contacts get linked and then unlinked randomly. About 10% of your contacts will actually sync. If you want the rest of your contacts to sync, believe it or not, you have to go into each individual FB contact and request that they give you permission to access this information.

Somehow, Microsoft has figured out a way for this to work flawlessly and it's one of the things that I miss most about Windows Phone.