Switching platforms? | Thinking of leaving?...comment here!

[Longstone]

Microsoft How you have failed me, let me count the ways!

Don't know if you want to classify this as a rant post, an acknowledgement of my symptom to put to much faith in a product/manufacturer or simply, a need to get something that's been bothering me off my chest.

Over the past several years I've put a lot of faith in Microsoft, I've been a vanguard for many of their new products, products which ultimately let me down, were changed by Microsoft to make them much less appealing or just flat our abandoned.

Allow me to give just a few examples keeping in mind I've always pushed Microsoft products. Up until recently when my mother traded in her "Crazy" Lumia 928 for an LG-G4. I should mention the Lumia 928 I recently gave to my son to use as a zune replacement (more on that in a moment) has to date been my favorite phone despite being a bit under spec'd and lacked an SD slot.

Zune
My wife bought me an Apple iPod, as soon as I unwrapped it we hopped in the car and returned it. Desperate to purchase a similar product to show her how much I really appreciated her perception of what I was hoping for I picked up a Zune HD 32GB. Man was I excited, until about a month later when I realized the product as amazing as I thought it to be, was dead on arrival. Shortly after picking it up I received an email (presumably due to my registration of the product) that Microsoft was dropping support. What a shame, I really loved the product and believe that was the beta interface for what would ultimately tun out to be the Windows 8 mobile ecosystem.

Surface RT
Not one or two, but 3 Surface RTs. I jumped on the original Surface RT pre-ordering it the same day it was announced. When the guy (can't remember his name) deliberately dropped it on the stage and picked it up to continue using it I immediately bought it. Shortly there after for birthday/Christmas presents I bought our kids the Surface 2. Well it's been several years, I still receive security updates, the kids and I use them like crazy despite the only tangible update is the recent start menu addition.

Microsoft Lumia
Yeah still a bit butt hurt about this (can I say that?) Wife and I both jumped on the Lumia Icon's. Mostly because the M8 were $200 apiece and Microsoft store had the Icons for $0 with a new contract. No-brainer right? Wrong. Every day my wifes phone has reboot, Bluetooth hasn't worked, apps crash for no reason. We tried trading it in 3 weeks after owning it and Verizon sent her a refurbished (also a very sore subject around our house). Same problems and I've had to listen to it multiple times a week since we've owned it. Wish I would have let her pick up that droid she was leaning toward and had some peace and quiet.

Lumia 950 & 950 XL - Seriously I can't get started on this, there isn't enough memory or storage on your forum servers to hold all my nasty thoughts on these devices not coming to other carriers other than AT&T. Microsoft's fault? Verizon's fault? Clearly shared. Verizon's for not authenticating, Microsoft for not really wanting to provide it to other carriers here in the US. Whatever, fact is it's a huge mistake when it comes to expanding Microsoft's exposure and availability. I digress.

Frankly I'm tired of waiting/wishing/hoping Verizon would finish with their Microsoft mobile testing. It takes them forever and Verizon really doesn't give a crap about Microsoft mobile. Due to coverage restraints it's really the only option for us.

Windows Phone Ecosystem
I've expressed this displeasure in the comments and forum a couple times. The hardware and interface is now all that separates Windows phone with it's competitors. They all have nice hardware, they all have great unique features that set them apart. But Microsoft seems hell bend determined to walk backward in order to blur the line between it's products and others. Rooms is a great example of this. Why get rid of one of the most unique features of the platform? It's why convincing my wife, daughter, parents and in-laws was so easy to jump on the platform. Group texts, calendars, notes and photo sharing? Yeah! Expand it with squadwatch-like features, built in skype the list goes on. Instead, they drop it and tell us to move all of our data to one drive so we don't loose it.

OneDrive
As mentioned above I have quite the investment in Microsoft products. As such my entire family and extended family (due to my push for them to use Windows-based devices) have a huge storage footprint in OneDrive. Now despite the freebies over the years and the payed (by me) storage they are about to drastically cut storage. Oh come on! I have gigs of storage, my wife has gigs of storage thanks to the camera's on these Lumia devices we have and that applies to my parents and in-laws taking video/pictures of the grandchildren and essentially doing away (finally) with a separate camera.

I think I'm just tired of getting burned. The OneDrive storage and Lumia 950/XL only on AT&T I think have just about burned out my ******-ism. Even I can't continue to defend Microsoft on these recent ones. :unhappy:

 

[rhapdog]

Re: Switching platforms|Thinking of leaving...comment here!

I've done a lot of things in my life, and succeeded at almost everything I've tried. However, I'm a terrible salesman. Why? Because I'm going to be honest with people. There are a lot of people in real life that I recommend Android or iPhone to, even though I prefer Windows for my own use. There are some I recommend Windows to, but I have to get to know what their needs are before I recommend something. They need to use the right tool for the job. Personally, the things I absolutely love about Microsoft's Mobile OS there are others that don't give a diddle about. That's okay. I don't take it personally. Things they love and need about Android I find I don't need. I don't try to convince them they don't need it either. I just find what a persons true needs are and recommend accordingly.

I have gotten a number of people to try and love Windows Phone, but none of them on the basis of Cloud Storage, because they could get comparable on Android. Even now, the storage is comparable to Apple's iOS. Several were older people that were confused trying to use an Android phone, and needed something that would work to make calls, texts, and take pictures with. That's all they wanted. And they wanted to spend almost no money. To get a decent camera with almost no money, Windows Phone was pretty much it. Android under $50 didn't get much in the way of a camera. These people were satisfied with the 5MP camera on the Lumia 520.

It's okay if you get dissatisfied and want to leave the ecosystem. Make peace with yourself and move on. Don't ever let it get in the way of your needs or happiness.

 

[garak0410]

Re: Planning to switch to Android

HI All,

I am a windows phone user since its first launch.
I had Samsung focus, Lumia 900, Lumia 1020 and now Lumia 640.
Had a very bad experience with Microsoft support for MS Band. getting frustrated and planning to switch to Android.

Looking for valuable suggestions.

We had a problem with a Gen 1 Band and they refused to repair it. They said it got too wet and that did NOT happen...perhaps a lot of sweating from working out but that's it. Have since switched to a Note 5 and LG Urbane watch. Yes, I do miss the Windows Phone UX but I had to move on. I do hope I can come back to it if things do improve. But I am enjoying the Microsoft ecosystem on Android thus far.

 

[garak0410]

Re: Leaving Windows Phone after 4 years

After 4 years with Lumia's, starting with windows 7, I've decided to throw in the towel and move to Samsung.

I've spent the last week mulling it over since my contract is up for renewal and I can trade in my Lumia 925 for a new handset. I was set on the 950XL since it fulfilled 2 of my 3 principle criteria:

1. The phone should look premium with metal finishing.
2. The phone should have bio-metric security (I've got way too many passwords!!!).
3. The phone should have a stylus since I'm tired of fumbling my way around OneNote.

The tech specs, needless to say, should meet minimum standards of all leading handset makers.

Originally the 950XL covered points 2 & 3 and I was willing to forego the metal finishing to stay with Windows 10 (I've been running 10 on the insider program for a while and love it) but last weeks news that they are no longer including the stylus was a deal breaker.

I have serious misgivings about Microsoft's approach to Lumia. As flagships my instant disappointment with the 950s was the poly-carbonate casing. The excuse given was that these were left-overs in the pipeline from Nokia. That's a p****-poor excuse since the last Lumia flagship was 2 years ago and they've had plenty of time to change the casing to include a metal finish. In the o2 store the shelves were stacked with gorgeous looking handsets for Android and poly-carbonate Lumia's were definately the ugly sister. I'm not sure that MS can class the 950s as flagships since the aesthetic element is vital in the marketplace for premium handsets. If this were not the case then I don't understand why MS spend such resources on the beautiful aesthetics of the Surface range, I don't think they're going to start stripping out the design to encase the new Surface Book in poly-carbonate . My other worry is that we'll tie ourselves to 2 or 3 year contracts for a 950 and then next year they'll release the Surface phone as the real flagship and we'll all feel pretty cheated again (the same way we felt when they dumped windows 7 mid contract for people).

Prior to my first Lumia 4 years ago I had the iPhone 3g and so this is my first foray into Android with a Note 4. I'm quite excited about it but at the same time really regretful at the missed opportunities for the Lumia 950s since I love Windows Phone.

I'm also gonna have to stop browsing windows forums/websites and start look at Android ones instead. That'll be weird.

Anyway, this is a former Windows Phone Freak signing off.

I feel your pain for sure....I've had to make the move to Android and it has been more enjoyable that I thought it would be, even with Android Wear...

 

[garak0410]

Re: Leaving Windows Phone after 4 years

I made a similar decision. I have had the 1520 for about 18 months or so and wanted a new phone. I was 18 months ago tossing up between the 1520 and the Note 3. I have a Surface and wanted a pen which I thought would be very useful.
I ended up buying the Note 5. It is a great phone and I can revisit Windows Phone next year when they may offer something similar.

Exactly...I've gone to Note 5 and would gladly return if app gap improves and we get as great note taking Windows Phone.

 

[alphabet73]

With sadness its bye bye windows phone for me

I used to have android phones and I slowly got fed up with them. Not what they could do but how slow they were, how long it took to get a software update if at all, and how messy they always look with widgets and icons intermixed all different shapes and colours. Then I started taking an interest in Windows Phone, its neat square edges on the live tiles look perfect to my slight OCD, especially with a good photo behind them. I loved how you were being updated with information as they flipped over. Then my moto g got the lollipop update and the phone ground to a halt, the update making a slow phone unbelievably sluggish. My wife had never really got on with android, she is a bit of a technophobe, even apple didn't appeal to her with its multiple screens, so I took the opportunity to get us both a lumia 735. This was a phone with pretty much the same specs as my moto g, but it was a revelation. The speed and smoothness of the OS was a welcome change, I enjoyed using it and didn't mind that there were not that many games as I don't use my phone for that.
However, I soon found that my bank, whilst having an app for windows phone 8.1 hadn't bothered to update it since it was released, thanks first direct. That meant due to how I went with the security whilst I had android, that if I needed to do something different on my account I needed my android phone. Then they updated the android app and bought in really useful new features that being a windows phone user I obviously had no need of.
N Power have never bought out an app, and if I had to switch on my android phone to do my banking i used the N power app then to input my meter readings, it made sense.
There are a few more apps that I used on android that I either can't get or can only get a version of that is basic and rubbish. None of them seem to have any plans either to bring out a new app for windows 10 which would improve the situation, and I cannot justify running two phones when one will do all I need.
So today I bought a nexus 5xand am returning to android, hopefully when that contract is finished in 2 years the situation with windows phone will have greatly improved and things such as project islandwood will have bought across a lot of much needed apps that bring the additional features and functionality needed. Then I can return, back to the OS that i prefer.
On a positive note my wife loves Windows phone and is sticking with it. She is also going to keep my lumia 735 as a spare just in case. She finds it simple and easy to use, and I have noticed how she uses more on it as well as everything is just there on the main screen for her.
I will keep an eye on windows phone and this site, and will continue to buy apps from the windows 10 store on my computer. Heres to bigger and better.

 

[ejlee072006]

Re: Switching platforms|Thinking of leaving...comment here!

Let me start off by saying that this may be a long read if you decide to read through the entirety of the post, so I apologize in advance. My typing process is much like my personality and thought process, which is sticken with ADD. Yay Adderall. I'm by no means an accredited or experienced reviewer of technological gadgets, but I would LIKE to consider myself somewhat technically proficient in mobile technology. I've used so many different cell phones it's ridiculous, the majority actually being on the Android platform. (Original G1 for Tmobile, OG Droid, Incredible, X, X2, GS3, HTC One X, One S, and so many others, it's really ridiculous). I would also like to disclaim that while the majority of my time in the mobile sphere has been with the use of the android OS, I am in no way a "******" of Android hardware. I am for whatever is good and for whatever works. There are many, many things I wish I could take from ALL platforms and integrate into one OS. How awesome would that be?

So down to the point of my article! I've been getting bored with the Android system, and frustrated with the fact that no matter what high-end Android device I've owned at the time, it still freezes, lags, and reboots occasionally. I know, I know.... I can install a custom ROM, or theme, or "deodexed" kernel to make it faster, but the point is that I shouldn't have too do this. So, I decide to try a subsidized iPhone 5 for ATT&T, because hey, I don't have four thousand dollars lying around to buy one off contract. The overall experience was pretty good, as I have tried out an iPhone 4 and 4s in the past. The phone is fast. The pictures are superb. Everything just. plain. works. However, having moved to a new area recently, Apple Maps is the key factor that drove me away from the phone. In a period of one week, it drove me to a wrong location FOUR times. And I'm talking about at least 10-15 minutes out of the way in traffic. Maddening. I can understand why people would stick with ios 5 or a 4s for this very reason to stay with Google Maps. The point is, the iPhone is a fantastic phone (albeit a bit boring), but I don't think anyone can argue with the fact that it's sleek, fast, fluid, and it just works when you want it too. Enter stage left temptation from the new Lumia 920........

I went to the store and played around a little with the 920, and man, I was intrigued. The first thing anyone can tell you about initial contact with this phone is "Holy $#%@ this thing is huge" and "Wow, this screen is boss". Well, here are some review points from an HONEST user, and yes, I will compare it directly to the iPhone 5 (you've been forewarned, I mean, it's in the title):

• 
  Overall Build Quality: OK, seriously, enough with the too heavy thing. I've seen so many reviews that tout the great features, awesome screen and awesome camera capabilities that this phone offers, only to give an overall negative review simply because the reviewer skipped high school gym class and can't carry around the phone for more than a day. (I'm looking at you, BGR). Please. If anything, the added heft adds that oomph that I like on a mobile device. It doesn't feel flimsy, weak, or cheap at ALL.
  I'm a registered nurse, and this is also how I judge my stethoscopes. I don't like them to feel flimsy and cheap, like a toy out of a .25 cent machine. If I was attacked in my scrubs, could I use my steth to crack a skull? The answer is always yes. This phone could break facial bones with an accurate throw, no doubt. It just feels like a solid and upscale device. Granted, I wouldn't want to go running extended distances with this, but overall, I LOVE the weight of it.

• 
  Screen Quality & Detail: Seriously, just wow. Like someone else said on another post: "The screen..... oh my God, the screen". Jim Carey would describe it as B-E-A-UUUUUTIFUL! Seriously, it's that good. No really. Even with my laptop right next to me, I had no desire to put down my phone and use it instead. I had no problems opening a website with the mobile browser and reading it on the large and spacious screen. I felt colors were accurately represented, and the text was nice, sharp, and clear with no pixilation seen. IE 10 provides a pretty darn good mobile browsing experience in my opinion. (More about that in the software section). Videos were outstanding on playback. Overall, I think this screen beats out the iPhone 5 screen with ease, so if that's a major draw, this is something to consider when purchasing a new phone. Keep in mind that it's nearly impossible to use this phone with one hand, unless you're related to Lebron James or the grandson of Refrigerator Perry.
  In all honesty, this is simply the best screen on any mobile device I've ever used. It simply destroys any other handset I've used in both low lighting and direct sunlight conditions. Low light setting for the display is still so easy to read, it's ridiculous. This is taking into consideration that I'm fairly young, and I already have -5.75 in both contact lens prescriptions......for those with bad vision like myself, you know exactly what I mean.

• 
  Overall Operating System Experience: I've never used WP7, so I really have nothing to base this newest release on. WP8, to me, seems fairly solid. The OS is fluid, smooth, and much like iOS 5 and 6, it just plain works. I didn't experience any hiccups or freezing at all for the most part. The Live Tile feature is actually really cool. The more important question is this: How long will this be a "cool" feature before the consumer looks at it as being as boring as IOS? People complain about how stale iOS has become, but in all honesty, I can really see the Live Tile feature heading down that same path. Do I really want to sit at the home screen and wait for one of the tiles to flip to tell me what I need and/or want to know? And if I do, there is no denying that a LOT of the applications have issues with the tiles updating since wp8 is so new. I'm actually a minimalist. My android screens weren't cluttered. I only had three screens I ever swiped too. This posed a problem to me switching to WP8. It got annoying fairly quick scrolling down and down and down to look at the different apps. I didn't like a lot of what I installed with the smallest icon tiles, so I went with medium or large. The problem is that the space fills up quick once I found a program I wanted to use on the main screen.
  Also, applications lack their own "flair" per say. They lack originality. Everything has the same feel, and I don't know if its the limitations of the OS or what. For example, a lot of the applications have the same look, with the scrolling, and the large headlines at the top. It's all simplified in my opinion. Whereas in Apple or Android, applications had their own flair or originality. This is really just my opinion, but it's my honest one. Overall, I see WP8 more in line with Apple than with Android. It's more controlled and limited, but in return, you get a much more fluid and stable operating system to work with, which actually to the benefit of the majority of smartphone consumers in America.

• 
  Features, Storage & Battery Life: This phone has a TON of features. NFC, latest Bluetooth, Dolby Digital Audio Equalization, the list goes on and on. I've had no problem pairing the Bluetooth with my Bluetooth unit in my car with my system. It's a breeze, and it sounds amazing. Much better than any Android phone I've owned, and also better than my current iPhone 5 that I reverted too (But not by MUCH). It definitely beats out other phones in this category. However, I never used the NFC, and some will claim for now that it's gimmicky. I can't help but agree with that. Sure, it may make SOME things more easy, but I don't own Bluetooth speakers or anything like that, so for MYSELF, NFC is fairly useless. It's nice to know it's there though.
  It's also fantastic that this phone comes with 32GB of space. Of course it's more like 27ish when you install everything, but hey, that's pretty generous. I never used tons of space anyway, so it's plenty for me. For those who want to take advantage of the beautiful screen and store movies, games, and shows, this might be a problem as there is no option to insert an SD card for additional memory. Something to think about.
  Battery life, at first, is abysmal. I found that even after turning NFC off, running the battery dead, turning the screen on low setting for display, and fully charging the phone, the battery life was still less than stellar. In fact, the battery consistently drained ~13-15% every night with the display off when not plugged in. To me, that's just a little ridiculous. The iPhone 5 barely budges overnight when not in use. Some claim awesome battery life, some claim **** poor. It makes me wonder what is the definition of "moderate to heavy usage" are for those who are claiming awesome battery life. I know that my "moderate to heavy usage" usually drains around 20-25% an hour, even after all of the battery tricks. In my opinion, the battery life is less than stellar overall. Again, YMMV.

• 
  Applications & Navigation: Applications are....well..... some are there, some aren't. I'm not a big social medialite by any means, but I do get on Facebook daily and make a few posts here and there. Facebook integration for this phone is just downright terrible. The main Facebook application is like two tons of W-T-F....it's a bug ridden, ad riddled nightmare to navigate through. Seriously, it's that bad. Thanks Microsoft.....for all of the good points this phone has, there isn't even a passable Facebook application. That's honestly totally unacceptable. Oh, wait, that's no problem, I'll just go to IE 10 browser and do it froWAIT WHAT THE ****? IT'S JUST AS BAD. The mobile browser just simply doesn't work well with some sites. It makes some sites look simply archaic. Try browsing Facebook on the mobile browser for the Lumia 920.....it will make you want to jab a straightened paperclip underneath one of your thumbnails. I used to complain sometimes about the Safari browser......wow, never again. It's a joy to use compared to IE 10. Again, YMMV on some sites. Wpcentral's site loaded beautifully on IE 10 mobile.
  Also, what the **** Spotify? Where are you? I love Spotify, and the exclusion of Spotify really saddened me. Enter Xbox Music. I really was relieved because I thought I found a solution. I have an Xbox and a Windows 8 laptop, so I thought this would be a cool test of seemless integration across three different platforms (Take that, you Starbucks dwelling hipsters... writing papers for your philosophy and liberal arts classes on your MacBooks while talking to your parents on your iPhones). So anyway, I was really excited to try Xbox music. I LOVED the integration of current songs with the Live Tiles. It just looks so damn cool. However, the interface of the application is just so jumbled. I consider myself somewhat tech savvy, and I really had to do some "google research" on how to do things such as downloading playlists to my 920 to work offline. It was a confusing mess. Think of the old "Lipstick on a pig" phrase.....seriously, which is a huge disappoint. Spotify is so much more straight forward to use. I also ran into an issue that apparently has plagued a lot of users, where it kept saying I didn't have DRM rights to access this media on this device, or some garbage like that. In the end, I wasn't able to download ANY song to my device, which left me with only the option of streaming music. Lame. Subscription wasted. I tried restarting, clearing downloaded content, even resetting my phone. Nothing. No help from Microsoft either. Totally disappointed. Nokia music really wasn't that much better, either.
  Navigation? I was pumped about Nokia Drive+. How awesome is it that you could download maps and use them offline? However, on first use, I noticed that this application is missing very basic features. No text list of directions? No alternate routes? The problem is that I live right near a major toll road, and there are back roads around it. However, Nokia consistently wanted to place me on the toll road, which is unacceptable since I can't choose an alternative route......and this was considering that it EVEN WORKED. When I chose offline mode to try to use the map I downloaded, it consistently froze. It would load up my destination, and my starting point would be a mile away from where I actually was. 2D mode, 3D mode, it didn't matter. It just didn't plain work. You have some work to do, Nokia, if you want to make this a serious navigation application. Don't tell me this navigation app is as good as Google Maps, just don't. That's a bold faced lie. Google Maps DESTROYS Nokia Drive in every single way possible. This was a serious deal-breaker to me, along with the non-functioning Xbox Music error.

• 
  Cell Phone Reception & Quality: Let's not forget that despite being a feature packed media power house, that it's also a cell phone[/I. For all intents and purposes, this phone has the best reception and audio quality of any phone I've used. Reception is strong in all areas, even in areas weaker with my android and iPhone 5. Earpiece is loud, and speaker volume rocks. It truly is a great cell phone in this regard.
  

Overall, the experience with the Lumia 920 wasn't a negative one. It's one of hope......that maybe ONE day by the time AT&T will provide unlock codes for it, it will be worth going back too. I really loved the "freshness" and "newness" concept of WP8, however, key features that I really WANTED in a cell phone just weren't there. Spotify keeps saying they are working on an app for WP8, but that doesn't satisfy me. Xbox Music is just a totally unacceptable experience for streaming on my phone as of now. Nokia Drive+ is a god awful experience in my opinion, since I don't want to stream online everytime that I want to plan a trip. Same with Xbox Music since this error won't let me download and play music in offline mode. It's a shame too.

It's a shame that for all of the awesome features and unique experiences that the Lumia 920 and WP8 has to offer, it can also be overshadowed by glaring bugs and poor performing applications. Like I said, I'm not a "******" of any one OS or platform, I just like what works. If Nokia could deliver a better GPS experience, and Microsoft could work to deliver a more solid experience with Xbox Music on WP8, I'd be sold. As of now, for MY needs, Google Maps and Spotify are just two crucial apps for me, and since the 920 doesn't offer any comparable applications as of now, it just simply doesn't work for me. Again, YMMV. Ironically, not even a few days after switching to the 920, Google Maps was released again for the iOS 6 platform. It is just as good as an experience on that platform as it is the Android devices. Nokia could stand to learn a thing or two from them.

I hope people who have been on the fence about a 920 found anything helpful from my experiences the past couple of weeks. The Lumia 920 is a fantastic device, however, it's just not for me. Hopefully by the time AT&T has unlock codes available, it WILL be the right phone for me. I'll still be lurking the forums, keeping my hopes up that WP8 becomes the OS that I know it can be.

This

 

[ejlee072006]

Re: Switching platforms|Thinking of leaving...comment here!

I was. Forced to get an iPhone becAuse assurion cAncelled 1520, at first I was like this iPhone was boring no live tiles no nothing, but now!! I think windowsphone/mobile is dead!!!
I don't really see me going back to wp/mobile
iOS just works, apps,notification
What's the point of live tiles if it's always late anyways...
Just FYI I was a user since conception hd7 LUMIA 710 Titan Titan 2 LUMIA 800 LUMIA 920 1520. I had my time with the wp/mobile enough is enough

 

[Akssingh]

Today's Gartner data about WP market share made me sure that we will soon be waving good bye to our beloved platform.... It's been a really nice three years journey for me....
I am inviting all of you to join me and wave good bye to windows phone and share your experience of windows phone with us.

 

[dlalonde]

Re: Switching platforms|Thinking of leaving...comment here!

Well that's it for me.

I've bought my first Windows Phone in March 2013. I was in love with it. The social intergration in the people hub, the unique design language, the ecosystem with Microsoft services and the hope for the future as the platform seemed to be starting up.

Months later, Windows Phone 8.1. A big step up from Windows Phone 8 but losing some unicity (exit the social intergration in the people and enter the aweful aweful Xbox Music). But that was just part of the experience, having hope for the future. Eagerly waiting for the Xbox Music updates hoping they'd put something awesome in it. The arrival of Vine and Instagram raising again our hopes for the future.

Then Microsoft decided to put Windows Phone aside in 2014 focusing on Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile as well as their services on other platforms (given these services would be included in Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile). So the rebirth of Windows Mobile brough again hopes and promises for the future! Windows 10 Mobile was coming along very nicely and even better, Microsoft decided to act to close the app gap ans allow its users to install Android apps in case iOS devs didn't want to port their apps on Windows Mobile (I mean why would they even bother).

And then... nothing... I'm tired of using an OS that's constantly getting there, that's constantly promising but never actually gets anywhere. I'm tired of hoping things will get better and waiting... waiting for the platform to take off, for the services to become better, for the future to bring something more, for the app devs to get around to making apps available, for Cortana to be available in my region... I want an good finished OS that doesn't keep changing every year, that just works and has what I need on it.

Then the last straw was when they removed the Android subsystem and flushed project Astoria down the toilet...

So I'm off. I'm selling my 640 and I got myself a Moto X Play with stock Android 5.1.1 which is simply awesome and Android 6 coming in some weeks and I moved all my services to Google.

So maybe I'll see you again someday Windows Phone. But goodbye for now!

 

[Robert R Stephenson]

To stay with Windows mobile or switch to Android?

I've been with a Windows phone since Windows Phone 7 with the Samsung Focus and up to today with my Lumia 640 (1020 RIP) and I have loved the MS ecosystem, apps, UI, and especially the cameras. The thing that I love about MS is that almost all of their services that I love such as OneDrive, Xbox, OneNote, Health work across a range of OS's *cough*google*cough*. ive been wanting to upgrade my phone, but I am in a pickle, Upgrade to the 950 or switch to Android? I ve used apple before and had the iPhone 3GS before I made my switch and have no desire to go back. the reason why I ask this is because there is not much in the way of App support as we all know when it comes to WM. I do a lot of photography and social media so its hard to get a lot of the photos I take and publish them with 6tag, don't get me wrong, I love 6tag, way more than the official Instagram app but I've always noticed the quality, especially with videos isn't their when compared to my friends iPhones or Android phone. now I am comparing it to weaker hardware so I am not sure if getting the 950 will help in that matter.

the Android Phone I had in mind is the LG V10, reason being is Samsung products have always failed on me even my Focus when I had it so I wanted to try LG out, thing is I'm on AT&T, I will not ditch because its cheaper for me with the family plan and I'm open to the idea of purchasing a phone unlocked but prefer a cheaper subsidized 2 year plan. reason I like this phone is that in my eyes and on paper, it looks to stand toe to toe with the 950 in some regards.

the point of this question though is how is Android compared to WM? ive hardly ever used it but i'm pretty techy, but I would like to read comparisons. the other question is am I wrong to think about leaving Microsoft hardware?

 

[Doug Swallow]

Re: Switching platforms|Thinking of leaving...comment here!

The last week or two has been painful, but yesterday I finally decided Windows Phone/Windows Mobile needs a break, or rather I need a break from it. I have a dual-sim Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ arriving tomorrow and that'll be it for the next round. If Microsoft can get their act together for the year or two that is my phone of choice, more power to them. Windows 10 Mobile is not ready for prime time, and probably is not going to really be ready anytime in 2016. Microsoft Edge is horrendously buggy and sloppy. It was sort of the desktop experience of it that, with a couple other app availability issues, pushed me over the edge (pun intended). If they can't manage to get that working reliably without third-party plugins polluting the code runtime, on the 100+ million user base of Windows 10, they've got bigger issues to deal with. They've wasted far too much time replacing the entire Windows Phone ecosystem twice now, and from the beta-ish software the 950 shipped with and the 950XL is destined to have when it ships, too, I'd be limping along for another year at least, with a flaky OS, let alone without some significant apps, too.

And now with Outlook (and really the entire Office suite, but Outlook most importantly) on Android, there's an email client worthy of using that can connect properly to Exchange servers.

So now I'll be able to get my banking app back (Bank of America), utilize the considerable features of the Lexus Enform App with my 2016 RX, finally have a working electronic credit card payment system to use if I choose, and be able to use any number of other apps that I may desire without particular concern of hunting down those supporting Windows Mobile/Phone anymore.

I'll miss the live tiles, but I've sort of been missing them already with Windows 10 Mobile, considering how unreliable they've become. And so much of Windows 10 Mobile was looking like Android, I find many of the reasons I really liked Windows Phone are disappearing. I understand the issues with making it too easy to run Android apps on Windows 10 Mobile, but on the other hand, that would likely have been enough to keep me around a bit to see how well that turned out.

But I will say the 950XL otherwise was/is nice hardware. The iris scanner would've been nice to use. And as unlikely as I would have thought 4 or 5 years ago, I would actually prefer that sort of construction to the too-easily-breakable glass everywhere. But things are what they are, I suppose.

The feeling I got from the whole announcement/pre-order/delivery date experience with the 950/950XL, however, was truly a pathetic series of bungled moves that continues on even today. A shame.

My mid-term prediction: Windows 10 Mobile will see new life on an Intel-compatible platform; ARM will basically disappear in this ecosystem, and the Intel-based code/applications which target the desktop user base will be the savior for the Windows Mobile ecosystem. Microsoft will never say this out loud until they're ready to be selling products for it, but I don't doubt that's where we're headed. I look forward to being able to have that as a choice next time around.

 

[ReverendDC]

Why I Left Windows Phone

A sad day occurred in my life approximately two weeks ago. My beloved, who had been with me through half a dozen moves, raves, hiking, gym work, long distance drives and more than one breakup, had been shattered. The callous villain, exhausted from finishing an early morning shift, ripped my Precious from the car…while still attached to an aux cable. The gorgeous face of a beautiful giant beast was forever blemished. My cherry red Nokia Lumia 1520 was never again to be my constant companion. I had just finished my payments that month, and had unlocked the phone two days prior.

I have been a Windows Phone user for 5 years. On launch day November 2010, I purchased my first foray into the world of Windows Phone, the Samsung Focus. I actually bought 2 – AT&T was having a buy one get one free deal. The phone lasted for two years. I came from iOS, and I was a jailbreaker. (I had Windows Mobile 6/6.5 before that, and PocketPC 2003 Phone Edition prior to that. I’ve been using smartphones for 10 years.) The limitations of iOS simply limited my growth on the platform, a situation which remains true to this day. Android at the time was a train wreck, a mush of emulation, short battery life, and questionable apps. This was still the days of Froyo, which most Android users today have no idea even existed. Google has even dropped support for this version. Blackberry was already on the skids. I had HEARD of Symbian…

The draw of a middle of the line system which offered good customization but still maintained a speed and architectural smoothness was alluring. The look of the system was (and is) smooth, functional, and beautiful in its deceptively simple interface.

When Nokia, the beautiful makers of the Tonka-tough bricks of yore, brought the Lumia 920 calling, I was hooked. I maintained my love for 3 plus years through two different devices, and I still believe that the aforementioned 1520 is one of the best smartphones for 2013-14 through any platform.

The spoiler is in the title, but, suffice it to say, I am now a very ashamed Android owner. The reason can be summed up in the very word that outlines all 5 years of my Windows Phone experience:

“Patience.”

When I bought my Samsung Focus, I was shown demos of using my phone as a second screen through my Xbox 360. The Xbox achievements were an awesome add in to the great, but stark, Zune Music player. There were some missing features to be sure, such as true multitasking (tombstoning was confusing and inconsistent at best), lacked the ability to change the size of tiles, any background you wanted as long as it was solid white or solid black, and didn’t have any apps or games, but the POTENTIAL was there. From the tight integration with Facebook and Twitter to the awesome $15/month Zune Music Pass (with 10 free, DRM-free songs per month) to the wireless syncing to the dedicated camera button to the live tiles that have since become the sign of the OS, the pieces were in place. All we had to have was…

“Patience.”

The Samsung Focus, while a fine phone, would be the first embodiment of the failure of Microsoft to support its own loyal customers. It was said that Windows Phone 7 would support SD cards. The Samsung Focus had a slot for one. However, you could only use it as a permanent fixture. It was memory expansion, not a portable memory slot making syncing unnecessary. To use it, you had to factory reset your phone. In the time where backups were not yet available, this basically meant starting over from scratch, simply to add an SD card. In addition, SD cards were not (and are not) reliable for long term read/write cycles – they are not SSD drives in miniature. As a result, if your SD card failed (and it would), you had to factory reset your whole phone just to get running again. In a theme that would also repeat, yes, you COULD do something, but it was a bodge at best and not quite usable (but OH SO CLOSE) at worst.

The app situation never quite improved during the 7 series. Developers were lazy, and very few quality apps were produced, first or third party alike. Those that did filter through may have seen some updates at first, but fell off as the platform was not received as well as hoped. The Hubs, a brilliant idea of tying all of your most used apps and information in one place, was slowly discarded by developers who didn’t want to put in any extra work to reap the small number of rewards from the tiny platform, followed my Microsoft themselves.

The tight Twitter and Facebook integration started to wane, as separate apps were created and promoted over the idea of a one-stop posting shop. The Hub would basically disappear by Windows Phone 8.

Do you remember Messenger? I remember when that feature was integrated from Day One into the messaging app on WP 7. It was an awesome feature…until Messenger was rolled into Skype, and all we received was promises of a return some day. That day has finally come…3 years later.

“Patience.”

Another word started to creep in when features started to be removed…compromise. There was already a great amount of compromise from the “Grandaddy,” Windows Mobile/PocketPC, to Windows Phone 7. Some features still aren’t back, and probably never will be. The hardware, which was good for Windows Phone 7, was not sufficient at the high end for the time with the update to Windows 7.5. In fact, while “Mango” fixed a ton of bugs from the first iteration (like crashing while exiting the Store after a download), “Tango” began the platform’s race to the bottom. These cheap phones may have temporarily swelled user numbers, but it also fostered an idea that the Windows Phone OS in general was a cheap alternative to something better. This was completely understandable, as I stuck with my Samsung Focus for far longer than I normally would have, simply because there was nothing better.

By the time the Nokia Lumia 800 was released, it was known that Windows Phone 8 would replace Windows Phone 7, and that it was being built on the NT kernel. For those who know a little about OS architecture, this spelled the death of the CE/Windows Phone 7 platform, although Microsoft decided to be vague to stop the anticipated drop in sales of current generation phones. Those poor souls were “rewarded” with Windows Phone 7.8, probably the worst kludge possible in the circumstances.

Meanwhile, those who took the plunge on the best phone available at the time of release, the Nokia Lumia 920, received a great, extremely sturdy phone without SD card support (even though Windows Phone 8 introduced removable SD cards) and an integrated battery. Wireless charging was great, but, when the battery inevitably failed over the course of 1.5 years, I couldn’t replace it. In addition, I lost my phone and had to send in for a replacement when it bricked during Update 1, another completely necessary fix to a shockingly buggy system. However, now based on the NT kernel, surely the app count would come! With the increased hardware, we can expect more capabilities, like NFC, payment systems and true integration with Xbox Live! That camera with OIS and a great 6 element lens and a great low light capable would really bring it all together!

“Patience.”

In many respects, the Nokia Lumia 920 was the platform driver, with market share doubling after it was released. Likewise, many more apps were released. Compromise with the bugs, knowing there will be an update released soon, and we’ve got a winner.

The problem was that there were other phones, too. They were pretty good. Did you know that Samsung released a Windows Phone version of their Galaxy SIII, the ATIV S? Does anyone remember the very nice HTC (One) 8X? That’s okay, because Nokia flooded the market with multiple models that made small, simple changes to the basic 920 design (the 820 was a complete failure). You had a flood of 92x phones hit the market, each only slightly different. You have the 925, 928, and the 1020, with a huge (awesome) camera in the back and an extra 1 GB of RAM out of necessity. Instead of having one hero device to point at, Nokia fragmented their own market.

The apps that did show up were usually shells of what the other platforms got. Some were still presented as apps even though they hadn’t been updated in a year or more. There were hundreds of “crapps” that boosted the numbers, but didn’t actually accomplish anything. Most major social sites stayed away, or made half-hearted efforts. Even Google declared war on the platform, forcing Microsoft to play by rules that no one else had to follow. The excellent YouTube app produced by Microsoft was quickly blocked, and we are left with apps that, while good and feature packed, are slower and less integrated with the entire OS than with iOS or Android. Emulated apps drained the battery, which was not replaceable and didn’t charge quickly.

Multitasking was finally introduced, but, again, developers didn’t develop for it, creating a disjointed experience. Some apps would continue to work when you locked the phone, some would continue to play until the system went to sleep, and some you couldn’t turn off without force closing the app. I never had any idea how an app would actually behave until I downloaded it and used it. This fragmentation of native WP7, WP8 and ported apps boosted counts, but did nothing for my experience using the phone.

The most telling omission was banking apps. All banks love one thing more than anything – money. If a platform has enough users to account for the costs of maintaining the app it produces, it will produce an app. This reduces direct contact, and, therefore, cost, which maximizes profit. Banks not only stayed away for the most part, but the few that joined the WP world produced lackluster, ported apps with missing features. Many are now pulling support for their apps. It is not financially feasible to maintain a simple app with even simple capabilities.

PLEASE SEE PART 2 FOR THE REMAINDER

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[ReverendDC]

Why I Left Windows Phone Part 2

Why I Left Windows Phone...The Continuation

For the Xbox platform, the game selection was meager. I had to pay for games that were free on the other platforms. A smaller, more expensive collection, much of which was ported, and therefore not optimized to the platform. With the same hardware, other platforms would play the same game in a far more satisfying manner, with higher framerates, quicker loading, and far more stability. Basically, I was paying for Xbox achievements. The draconian Xbox certification process did not help matters either.

Meanwhile, Nokia?s Race To The Bottom was in full earnest, with even more releases, almost all on the low end, with 512 MB devices propagating the marketplace. The Lumia 520 was a sales hero, and, as long as there was a better device to purchase, was a great introduction device. They sold for as low as $30, and were widely available for GSM networks. For many, it was a simple way to try the OS in a cheap and non-binding way (for us ?muricans).

Meanwhile, Android was closing in on any advantage Windows Phone had in terms of smooth operations. Project Butter had closed the gap, and Windows Phone did not adapt. At the same time, all of the capabilities I was expecting with the ?merger? of desktop and mobile systems, especially with the Surface RT series of devices being released, went unrealized. There was no more integration than there was with Windows 7 before it. In fact, in many ways, it LOST some of the built in advantages it enjoyed earlier. There was no more wireless syncing. The old Zune Music Pass with music downloads was gone, replaced by a streaming service that was just the same as every other offering. The IM/SMS integration had still not been replaced, and Facebook and Twitter postings were now basically through the apps, just like every other platform.

Even the newest features seemed lackluster. The Xbox SmartGlass app was slow and buggy, and didn?t maintain a connection when the phone turned off. Likewise, maybe it was for the best, as anything I did on the phone seemed to cause the battery to die quickly. The syncing app for Windows 8 was a joke, and the desktop version wasn?t that much better. With no SD card, it was either the horrible sync app or USB mass drive. I am grateful for USB mass drive capabilities to this day as a result. For the less technical savvy, this makes for a very frustrating time. Basically, in many ways, the system was still tied to Windows, but didn?t have a good way to sync with it.

NFC seemed hacked on, with some cool capabilities limited by cost and availability (the NFC keychain was especially egregious on both counts), although the tap-to-share was very cool, at least with the few other Windows Phones I encountered.

Microsoft even added cool features, but then limited them to only other Windows Phone users ? Rooms. Great idea if you have 10% of the market, but not so great when you only have 3.6%. If this feature had been opened to other platforms, this may have been a success, but, sadly, this great feature was killed in March 2015. But, if I just waited for a little while, we would get Windows Phone 8.1, which we were told would truly bring the two systems, desktop and mobile together. I would be rewarded for my loyalty and?

?Patience.?

In many respects, the Lumia 1520 (and for others without a love of the phablet, the 930/Icon) was the penultimate Windows Phone. A huge battery, a gorgeous screen, an awesome OIS camera, wireless charging, 32 GB of internal memory, an SD card slot, WiFi dual band, 6? of Windows greatness, a super-fast Snapdragon 800 (801 for the .3 version), great cellular radios, a gorgeous, slim design, and great custom color options. There was only one small problem: AT&T didn?t like some of those features. Being backers of PMA as a wireless charging standard, the Qi system used by Nokia did not jive with that vision. In addition, removal of this feature enabled a thinner phone, which is apparently very important to the US market. They also requested that half of the internal storage should be stripped. This resulted in a slightly cheaper phone, but not a more effective one.

Nevertheless, at least I had the option to add storage. The 930/Icon had no such option. It unfortunately didn?t matter anyway, as the choices that Nokia made to lock phones to individual providers proved the final nail in the Nokia coffin. Instead of having a widespread release of hero phones, they limited distribution to AT&T for a giant phone that is admittedly a niche product, and limited the 930 as the Icon for Verizon only, although Verizon had already shown their lack of concern over Windows Phone in general, letting the Lumia 822 die on the vine. They had Samsung devices, the ATIV series in particular, and carries the HTC M8 Windows Phone, but most people don?t know that. Their sales associates certainly don?t.

Unsurprisingly, what should have been a very popular phone basically faded away, and one sees very few of them in the wild Stateside. Meanwhile, AT&T got an updated 920, the Lumia 830, which was basically the same phone, thinner, with a quad core that was only slightly better that the S4 before it and a slightly better camera. Marketed as the flagship at midrange price, nothing could be further from the truth. The Nexus undercut the price with greater performance and a far larger app base. A good phone, but not a flagship. Again, choice was very limited, and those selling them had no incentive to sell Windows Phone over another system. In fact, most salespeople have no idea to this day of the capabilities of Windows Phone. Then there was the 1320, which was good for prepaid plans, but was never properly marketed, and 720p on a 6? screen is not ideal (look at the 640 XL if you don?t believe me), in addition to still carrying the S4.

These were the last flagships launched for two years.

At the same time, Nokia went down shoveling low end volume shipments to the masses, thinking the methods of the past would work in the present. Shockingly, low end underpowered devices made the system look bad to seasoned smartphone users, and others had no reason to go to a WP device when an Android such as the Moto G could be had for the same price with the same or, in some cases, better performance and a far larger app gallery. Likewise, at the high end, Android and iOS didn?t stop moving, and, in the case of Android, had and has a dizzying array of options to choose from.

With all of this being said, I personally sold more than 15 people on the Lumia 1520, even though phablets were not their primary thoughts. The phone was and is a great piece of equipment that is tough and fast. At least it was when I first got it.

The updates from there added new features, including the Message Center. Unfortunately, most of the new features showed just how far Microsoft, now owners of Nokia, had strayed from the original vision that had me gripped so much 5 years ago. The message center itself should never have been necessary?this was the entire point of Live Tiles. While they still exist today, they are less an integrated part of the experience as they are a nice secondary feature. The original features, such as tap to wake, which was basically brought to market by Microsoft/Nokia, was great, but only had beta and sketchy apps to allow you to change the actual image on Glance. The notifications showing on the lock screen were again hit and miss, with (ironically) Skype not showing the proper icon, instead showing the ?x? box for months. Skype?the Microsoft company.

However, even with all of these added features, the phone was still fast, with only the built in transition lags, the price to pay to allow all users, from the 435 to the 950XL, to have a very similar experience within the core OS experience. It was all there, and the features were being improved constantly. If only I had just a little more?

?Patience.?

The true beginning of the end came when my beloved Lumia 1520 started to have ?moments of insanity.? While I wasn?t touching the phone, it would start to switch screens and ultimately end up with Cortana asking what I wanted. I had Hey Cortana turned off, and the phone was sitting on a table, literally untouched. After a reboot, I didn?t have the issue again for approximately one month. This was one year into ownership.

While the phone had taken a few short spills and one major one, except for some denting on a corner, the phone was in perfect shape. There was no scratching on the reflectively glossy red back, and the camera and screen showed no blemishes. The phone had lived its entire life in a folio case. I had babied the phone its entire life, with regular updates and factory resets to ensure optimal performance (no small feat considering the shoddy way Microsoft handles legitimate apps downloaded to an SD card after such a reset). I still have the phone, knowing there is basically no way to feasibly repair my Precious, as the screen is fused to the glass.

This small fact actually explained the ?moments of insanity,? which happens with regularity now that the screen is shattered. Apparently, there was some pressure on the capacitive buttons on the bottom of the phone and in the upper right hand side of the screen, the same location some have mentioned missing pixels in the past. I did not have the missing or dead pixel issue, but I wonder if this is related. Nonetheless, I did not feel cheated, as, with a 6 inch screen on a literal daily driver, it was expected that there may be some inconveniences such as this. When it started to disconnect me from calls about three months later, it became more of an issue, but, again, this was very intermittent.

Throughout this time, I was delayed on the official release of updates by AT&T multiple times, and I will never see Update 3 officially released to the phone. The trials of carrier devices, I suppose.

My camera developed a shadow spot just southwest of center. I have no idea how it came about, nor was there an activity which may have caused this to occur. I had taken this phone hiking literally up a 10,000 foot mountain, and have the YouTube video to prove it (link upon request). With the glacial built in photo app (which nearly negates the beauty of a dedicated camera button), the camera, one of the best features, became one of the least used.

Then, there was Skype. Someone hacked my account through (apparently) my old Skype profile, as all of my other services are unaffected by any attacks. Dealing with Skype for an account opened more than 6 years ago with a login I no longer use is an issue in and of itself. Instead of confirming my identity through my Microsoft account is apparently not an option. I have to try to find information from a defunct Skype account instead. To confirm my ownership, they refuse to confirm me through my Microsoft account. Literally a security code text way, but they won?t do it. This means that I have to split my accounts, only for Skype. One account, Microsoft? Literally not possible, apparently.

This was not a tremendous deal when it came to Windows Phone 8.1, except that the phone itself would get confused as to which credentials to use. Invariably it attempted to use the default, which prevented me from use due the aforementioned (really? No authentication code text? REALLY?!). This also prevented incoming messages and texts from showing on my notifications. This basically made Skype unusable.

About the same time, the home screen on Windows Phone 8.1 started freezing and refusing to load, resulting in a ?resuming? screen, and kicking back into the previous app. The phone would not even go to the phone screen.

Now there are rumblings about Windows 10 Mobile, with TPs starting to trickle through showing that Skype is about to be reintegrated into the Messaging app. It was, and, of course, I couldn?t change from the primary Microsoft account for messaging. Now I can?t complete video calls because my main account is blocked. I had a dying phone, and I knew that the 1520 was not amongst the phones that were to be updated in the first wave directly. As sales had already ended, support for the 1520 was apparently coming to an end as well. A troublesome phone for most in many cases, and not a sales leader by any standard, we, the high end lovers of Windows Phone, the ones that spend the money (I own over 500 apps, many of them paid, and I have spent thousands in the various stores), and we were being left behind. We were instead going to have to purchase a new phone, the 950XL. Thanks, Applesoft.

It hits all of the flagship buttons. Snapdragon 810? With liquid cooling, no less! QHD? YUP! Removable battery? Check. SD expansion? AW YEAH! Camera? All the bells and whistles. Continuum? My dream?reality. You know what was about to pay off? My?

?Patience.?

I don?t want it.

I want my 6 inch screen. I know I am a niche customer, but I am literally a part of the target audience, the Windows Phone enthusiast who advocates the platform to his friends and family AND is the tech support point for them all. The liquid cooling is a cool buzz word, but, when you think about it, is one scary proposition. The Snapdragon 810, while the beast currently, is also very prone to overheating in Android. As these phones are basically carrying a second OS, which drives external displays and input/output devices, the liquid cooling is more than likely REQUIRED to be able to run the phone. What if your cooling fails? I suspect that the phone will melt. In addition, if liquid cooling fails, um, there?s, um...liquid...in your phone. This is a daily driver device. I don?t care how well you make it, this situation will always remain a possibility. (Trolls, enter here) I cannot stand on screen navigation buttons for Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile. I have had separate capacitive buttons on each device I have ever owned, and I am used to using the device in this manner. Your experience may vary. In addition, I do have some experience with on screen buttons through the HTC M8 Windows Phone. I basically stopped playing some games (N.O.V.A 3, Modern Combat 5 to name a few) because of accidental touches. In the same way, the navigation bar is not at all consistent across apps, again reflecting emulated Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, and UAs. They aren?t even consistent within the apps. Some you can hid the bar. Others you can?t. Sometimes it overlays part of the screen. You may like them?give me a bigger phone with dedicated nav bars (I am 6? 4??again, I?m niche, but target). (/trolls)

The worst part is?there really is no other choice.

Finally, and possibly most egregiously, it?s not the Surface Phone. I don?t mean a Surface RT Phone?I mean a nice Intel X series Atom processor, aggressively clocked according to usage, x86-64, laptop-in-your-hand Surface Phone. Anywhere you go, you have a laptop. Any Windows app neededyou?re your pocket, no external display required. Although out of necessity the phone would probably be 6 inches, it would be doable in 1520 dimensions (the original version, not the AT&T version), and would probably need to pack a 3500 ? 4000 mAh removable battery. Continuum then truly comes into its own, with a low power phone interface, coupled with a full power laptop when needed.

As Continuum is now, I can?t simply install PuTTY and telnet into something (sure, there may be an app, but, those of you in the know?). I can?t install Steam and run my lower end PC games. I can?t install a different browser. I can?t use it as a PC, no matter what Continuum does. Talk about bridging the ?app gap,? pretty much everything outside of Snapchat would be covered in such a move. Who cares about 12 hour battery life? Give away an extra battery to the first two month?s customers, make it rapid charge, and throw in a 200 GB card for free (how many of you are going ?no way?!? Well, LG did it for their V10 for the first month, all for free). Oh yeah, make it with a mini display port or mini HDMA-out. Talk about productivity like a boss?

?instead, we get a hobbled, RT version ?desktop.? How?d that work out last time?

The absolute nail in the coffin was Office on Android. I have had an Android tablet for development purposes. I started running Word and found the experience far more enjoyable than the experience on my old standby, and still favorite tablet, the Dell Venue 8 Pro. Microsoft?s apps are better for Android than they are for Windows Phone. With the LG V10 running those same apps, I actually use this functionality on my phone, whereas I almost never did with my 1520 and continue to hate the experience with the 10586 update. It is slow and glitchy, and reminds me of protected mode on full Office. My searches through the Bing App and bar register my Bing points with more regularity than my searches through the dedicated search button on my Windows Phone. Xbox One works with more fluidity with my Android?s SmartGlass. I realized that, through all of it, I had finally lost my?

?Patience.?

I don?t mind beta, but I will no longer be the beta tester. Five years are enough. I was fortunate enough to be able to play with an LG G4, and the experience was very nice, a far cry from the past of Android. I purchased an LG V10 and spent the next week clearing out as much of Google as I could. As soon as I am upgraded to Marshmallow, I will probably root the device so I can clear out as much of Google?s rubbish as I can. I may even flash Cyanogen OS, depending on the LG?s AWESOME camera app and if I can keep it through such a move. I don?t like Android either, and I really appreciate the Windows Phone interface. However, I will not be purchasing a 950XL. Instead, I will have first access to millions of apps that will never touch Windows Phone, at least for the foreseeable future. I have games that run smoothly, and are regularly updated with new content. I have Microsoft apps that are faster than those on Windows Phone, and I have full access to all of my Microsoft data (even video and music through Chrome or Firefox) without the exclusion of other services.

I will be waiting for a Surface Phone, or a better option than the 950XL (the plastic fantastic 950?let?s not even start on that). Although I will be using an Android device, I?m still hoping that there is something to bring me back. I WANT to use Windows Phone/Mobile/PocketPC, but I can?t continue to lose functionality and productivity while I wait another 5 years until Microsoft gets it together. Maybe the UA concept blows up with apps from other platforms (although the Android bridge is ?indefinitely suspended?). Maybe Microsoft will remember those who have stuck with the promise unfulfilled lo these many years. MAYBE THERE IS A SURFACE PHONE ON THE WAY (PLEASE!!!!) My hope, however, still springs eternal. I still have it?

?Patience.?

 

[garak0410]

Re: Why I Left Windows Phone Part 2

ReverendDC ... I appreciate your two part post. I too agonized over leaving Windows Phone recently but I've had an awaking of sorts by embrasing cross platform as I have grown tired to "waiting" on Microsoft by being ALL IN with their one platform.

Coming from Zune, Windows Media Center, Windows MOBILE and Windows Phone, I am now on the following:

Main Home PC / Media Server - Windows 10
Home NAS - Seagate NAS with Windows Storage Server
Media Center - PLEX / XBOX One
Phones - Samsung Note 5
Music Service - Transitioning from Groove to either Google Music or Amazon Music
Photo Backup / Cloud Viewing - Amazon Photos (from OneDrive)

I may also be transitioning grom Outlook as my contacts/calendar to Google.

The nail in the coffin for all of this was no 950xl on Verizon. It has been building for some time...I had "patience" like you wouldn't believe...

 

[user245]

Should I stay or should I go?

Hi, I have been a fan of Nokia/Microsoft phones and the OS had the 630 and 625 both phones are like tanks. I'm now only deciding if to stay after my 625 survived 2 drops and lengthy stays in water but after being weight tested by a car the screen cracked badly but it can still take pics and still do texts and just about read most of it.

Now I have been using a cheapo android someone gave me to borrow. Its been nice to use a couple of apps I use daily to actually be in this century but saying that the apps were user able. so that alone has made me consider android but I still just can't say yes or no to which one. If I get a windows phone it will be the 640 if I go android it will most likely be the UMI iron. major con for the iron is the 5.5 screen thats it for me.

So guys would you recommend me staying? What would be the big plus points in staying? Out of all the social media there is I only use twitter.

 

[daniel cooper2]

Re: Switching platforms|Thinking of leaving...comment here!

Wow alot of you guys are reading my mind. I think it's time to say goodbye. The the lack of apps, the terrible way they are releasing windows 10 mobile. I mean who releases a flagship phone with a unfinished operating system. My 640 has random reboots, Bluetooth issues, WiFi issues, apps that used to run good on the SD card now having problems, getting error message when trying to update key system apps. I used iPhone and android before and I'm sorry I never had these kind of issues on them. This has to be the worst and I do mean worst attempt to roll out a Updated OS. The 950 is suppose to help save windows phone and you release it with 10586.11. Wow really look how long they been working it and you got people not getting notified of text messages on a brand new flagship phone. Anyway I was signing up to be a uber driver for extra Christmas money and guess what...... No uber partner app on windows phone. I'm done bye windows

 

[ortizang]

Switching

I'm already tired guys, I really love windows but I'm gonna switch to android. I don't use a lot of apps but the ones I use like Facebook, Spotify, etc suck. I'm planning to get the lg g4 which is a good phone.

 

[rmeigs]

Re: Switching

I bailed last month from WP after many years -- my first was a Samsung Focus Flash. Some of the best I've owned were the 920, 1020, and 1520. I still give the edge to WP10 over iOS or Android, but the key for me has always been the ecosystem. WPs simply integrated with MS software and services so well compared to iOS or Android, it was a no brainier. But, that is not the case now -- and thank you Mr. Nadella. My new Apple 6s Plus has every MS program I need including my beloved Office Lens. I'm even running Cortana perfectly.

MS is a software company, not a hardware vendor like Apple. There past, present, and future is in great cross-platform software and services. In my Apple 6s Plus, I now have every banking, transit, hiking, and special apps I've always wanted along with a Microsoft dominated smartphone. The UI doesn't come close to WP10, but getting the job done with the tools I need is more important to me than the UI.

One could wish it wasn't so, but I hold little hope for WPs in the short- or mid-term here in the US.

 

[psurob55]

Re: Switching platforms|Thinking of leaving...comment here!

I am considering making the move to Android from my 920, either an S6 Edge Plus or LG V10, for several reasons.

1) Verizon availability
2) App Gap / App quality - I've grown frustrated with low quality WP apps, and from what I gather, It will be some time before W10M resolves that issue with the app bridges.
3) 950 / 950 XL hardware - nothing really ground breaking
4) MS apps on Android, some say are arguably better performing that those on WP.

Been back and forth on this a lot of the past few weeks, and I think I'm just about there, most likely the S6 Edge plus.

I'll be back for the intel based surface phone though.

Does anyone have experience with the Band 2 and Android? I'm really interested in the Band 2, but am not sure if it has the same functionality benefits, such as with cortana, as it would with a Windows Phone. So perhaps the Band 2 may fall off my radar as well.