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

[fatclue_98]

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

A week ago I pulled one of my relics (iPAQ 910) out of the drawer just to see if it still worked. I had twisted my ankle pretty badly and was laid up for a few days so I let an old adage take hold. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." I can't begin to tell you how nice it felt to be "disconnected" from the world. Calls, text and push email still works perfectly on WinMo 6.5 and I actually got the rest I needed. Not being content, I Doctored an old Pre 2 and brought it back to life as well. God I miss webOS. Just like the iPAQ, the only things that worked were calls, text and push email.

No Facebook, no LinkedIn, no Skype, no nothing. Tethering was available on either device via USB, Bluetooth or WiFi so my tablet was readily available to keep me connected - just in case. Because of my work obligations I'm required to have an electronic leash but it sure felt good to be free. A Nokia 808 or N8 could very well be in my immediate future since none of those devices I mentioned has any type of camera to speak of. There's too much beauty in the world to leave it to an undesirable shooter.

Disconnect and enjoy Mother Nature's gifts. Who's with me?

 

[b0blight]

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

A week ago I pulled one of my relics (iPAQ 910) out of the drawer just to see if it still worked. I had twisted my ankle pretty badly and was laid up for a few days so I let an old adage take hold. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." I can't begin to tell you how nice it felt to be "disconnected" from the world. Calls, text and push email still works perfectly on WinMo 6.5 and I actually got the rest I needed. Not being content, I Doctored an old Pre 2 and brought it back to life as well. God I miss webOS. Just like the iPAQ, the only things that worked were calls, text and push email.

No Facebook, no LinkedIn, no Skype, no nothing. Tethering was available on either device via USB, Bluetooth or WiFi so my tablet was readily available to keep me connected - just in case. Because of my work obligations I'm required to have an electronic leash but it sure felt good to be free. A Nokia 808 or N8 could very well be in my immediate future since none of those devices I mentioned has any type of camera to speak of. There's too much beauty in the world to leave it to an undesirable shooter.

Disconnect and enjoy Mother Nature's gifts. Who's with me?

I think many here need to leave their phones at home and go out and see the world more !

 

[b0blight]

Re: Switched from Windows Phone to Android

I have recently upgraded my phone from a Luma 928 to a Galaxy Note 4 and I must say, this is one awesome phone. I would suggest it to anyone looking for a new phone who isn't happy with the current Windows offerings. Before this starts a war, I had nothing against Windows Phone or Microsoft in my two years of using the OS. It was very smooth and well built for most of my needs. I just wanted to try something different. Hopefully Windows 10 really takes off and brings the OS more into the mainstream, but for now I am off to Android for a while.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

Yes ! People with your mindset are very difficult to find nowadays ! We should all enjoy the different services/OSes that are available and not fight over every single thing !

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

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

Windows Phone and I are taking some time apart from each other and separating. We still love each other but we've agreed to see other people.

I am currently in a relationship with an iPhone and My bad-*** Lumia 1520 is with my best friend now.

LOL...in truth I am not really leaving the platform. I won a free iPhone 6 from T-Mobile and I have been wanting to try tmobile service anyway and I also decided to really give apple another try. I want to see what is so special about IOS/Apple and this time I have a Windows Phone to compare it to.

My lumia 640 XL is still my secondary phone that I use and play with daily but for now until the next high end Lumia, I am #teamiphone

I have to say....I am sort of adjusting to not having my live tiles and as much as I hate to admit it, the apps do truly work a whole lot better on the iPhone.

That's not to say I love iPhone more than windows...Several things I hate and this is why this affair will be shortlived...I am just waiting for my one true lumia to find me and we drift off into the wonderful future together with Windows 10

Still here on WC daily though <3

 

[Laura Knotek]

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

Thanks. It is definitely an experience. I don't think I could be fully happy in iOS land longer than a few months. I love the fact that in window phone all my email boxes are separate and not unified. It is quite annoying to deal with the unified inbox on iOS personally as well as a few other annoyances.

This experience is definitely make me appreciate windows phone more as well as giving me perspective into another world.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have you tried Outlook for iOS? I'm using Outlook for Android and like it better than the Gmail app. A friend of mine likes Outlook for iOS.

Sent from my rooted Nexus 7 (2013) using Tapatalk

 

[Mirakle]

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

Wanted to switch to Android to get Waze working again (there are no voices in it for Windows Phone users anymore), use my heart rate monitor with the dedicated app that only exists for iOS and Android, and play with ifttt.
Problem is that I cannot find one Android hardware device that appeals me enough to buy. The almost perfect device would be an Android Lumia 930. That's silly.

 

[Joe920]

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

Amazingly I bought the Fire Phone this week for $159 including one year of Amazon Prime. Using it while I wait for MS to fix the WP10 preview (loading...loading...). It sure is nice to have Google Maps back. Also: seems faster. Plus a Starbucks app, yay!

 

[Sewzeppelin]

Goodbye guys. I'll miss you all

Guys. I wanna say goodbye to you everybody , for helping me. Thank you all for that sleepless nights , that we spent together waiting for win 8 , 8.1 , any hands-on videos. I'm moving to another platform , cause Microsoft hasn't offered me an excellent choice for flagship phone. Hope I'll enjoy my new Lg G4. I'll never forget windows. I'm with you
Sincerely - Sewzeppelin

 

[Laura Knotek]

Re: Goodbye guys. I'll miss you all

Guys. I wanna say goodbye to you everybody , for helping me. Thank you all for that sleepless nights , that we spent together waiting for win 8 , 8.1 , any hands-on videos. I'm moving to another platform , cause Microsoft hasn't offered me an excellent choice for flagship phone. Hope I'll enjoy my new Lg G4. I'll never forget windows. I'm with you
Sincerely - Sewzeppelin

Good luck!

I hope the LG G4 works well for you. The reviews I've seen really say that it has a great camera.

I hope you like your G4, and don't be a stranger. We welcome folks who use any mobile platform here at WindowsCentral. :smile:

 

[jz78817]

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

yeah, after three Windows phones (7.x, 8, 8.1) I'm probably switching away soon. Windows 10 seems like they're getting rid of pretty much everything that made Windows Phone appealing to me. the continued lackluster app situation isn't great either. the real killer is accessories. the radio I put into my truck has CarPlay and Android Auto support, and both are awesome. There's nothing​ on the radar like that coming from Microsoft.

 

[JPDVM2014]

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

With the new T-Mobile announcements, I'm thinking about switching from AT&T to T-Mobile. I am still undecided about whether I want to take my Lumia 1520 with me or "upgrade" to a Note 4. With the new Jump On Demand program, I may pick up the Note 4 just to test the waters, and then come back to the MSFT fold when the new flagships are released. That is if T-Mobile even offers them. That is the one problem I see. T-Mobile isn't really known for offering any flagship windows phone devices. On the other hand though, by the time I save up the money to buy a Windows 10 mobile device outright, maybe some more apps will have made their way over. I guess, worst case scenario, I sell the Note 4 and revert to my 1520. Anyway, I may or may not be leaving. No matter what, I will still be around. Windows Phone is my ideal OS, if only they could get more apps on board.

 

[forenuser]

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

Hi Folks!
So here is my little story...

I started with a Palm Pr? and "Pre Central / webOS Nation" in 2009. Lovely little device, that's for sure.
After that german Pharmacist finished Palm i moved to Android, starting with a Nexus S, folowed by a Xperia Z, Z Tablet and finally Z Ultra.
Anyway, Android started annoying me with thinks like missing read permissions on external SD Cards, double swipe to unlock and some things more. It felt that Android just did not fits anymore.

So i moved again, this time to Windows Mobile and a Lumia 640 XL DS.
I was surprised how well Windows Mobile works on a mobile device. Of course, there are differencies and i miss some stuff. But after the first few days i am faithful. And i hopefully find a mobil home for more than a few years...

The Lumia 640 is much smaller and lighter than the Z Ultra and has just a HD display. On the other hand, Dual SIM is just great.
And i would love a proper replacement for PowerAMP. A player that orders by and skip thru directories and filenames. QuickPlay Pro misses the latter. And a contact manager that allows me to create and (re)-name labels. How could Microsoft miss that point?

Well, i hope i was not annoying anyone now!
Thanks and best regards!

 

[anon(9226130)]

I say goodbye to Windows Phone...

I'll leave WP as soon as possible, and I move to Android. I found 3 good phones: Samsung Galaxy S3 NEO, Google Nexus 5, ASUS Zenfone 2 (the 4 GB RAM edition). And I don't know what is the best choice.

Reasons why I leave WP:

- No official apps in the store for lot of things.

- The 3rd party apps are full of ads or in-app purchases. If not, we need to pay for the app.

- OS limitations.

- A lot of game/app on iOS and Android aren't on WP.

- Android is have more personalization options. (Rooting, custom roms and launchers, icon packs etc.)

- Android is stable as WP. (For me. I have an Android tablet and it's not freezing or restarting)

- You can easily sideload apps right from the phone.

 

[TeknoBlast]

Re: I say goodbye to Windows Phone...

I've also been very undecided what to do. I really want to stay with Windows Phone and been with this OS since the first day. Not having some apps does start to weigh on you, but I've toughed it out. I really hope WIN10 turns things around.

I currently have the HTC One WP and I'm loving it. If I ever move onto something else, it will be an Android. Most likely a Galaxy Note since I like big phones.

We'll see when everuthing goes down. My next upgrade doesnt happen until November or December.

 

[resle]

Enough is enough is enough..

I have been choosing MS products over anything else for about 25 years now. DOS over Unix, a Windows PC over a Mac, replaced my original iPhone with the very first Windows Phone I could find, and so on.

I regret none of my choices - except, now and finally, the Windows Phone's one. Enough is enough.

MS products always had quirks, that I (and many among my friends and colleagues) accepted as part of the price to be paid for complex software packed with a plethora of features. Some of those quirks even gave MS software some kind of ... personality. Some of those quirks could be leveraged to achieve superior control.

With Windows Phone those quirks are just irritating, and making one's life miserable. And things aren't changing for the better. I stuck with WP since the very first release of WP7 and I'll save my whole history of frustrations - but now I have a Lumia Icon, which I run on WP 8.1 / Cyan. This should be flagship hardware with software that has been stable for a few years. And yet:

(When it comes to software I'll mention only core apps flaws)

- The clipboard doesn't keep text for more than a minute or so, after which it vanishes.
- The translator doesn't let me copy text. It sends me to look for an external clipboard app.
- Pasting text into the translator adds some garbage to it, always. Sometimes it's stuff such as plaintext function calls from some DLL...
- The battery lasts for some 5 hours, barely
- The phone gets scorching hot when using the GPS
- Cpu? Gpu? Where are you? GPS Navigation is stuttering and all but smooth. It was silk smooth on a meager iPhone 3gs.
- The email app doesn't give notifications for sub-folders
- If the main account encounters some sync problem... you're stuck. You have to reset/refresh the phone. Sort of "just reinstall Windows"
- Internet Explorer renders horribly even core Microsoft websites such as outlook.com!
- That "back" button... are there two apps using it in the same way? Sometimes the use is inconsistent even WITHIN the same app (IE: Notes)
- Some core app uses your account's locale as a source for localization. Some other uses your phone settings. Some has an internal setting. Some will just use your geolocation by default.
- Camera: unbelievably slow before the Cyan firmware. After a 2 years wait, it's decently fast, but still lousy compared to 2-generations old iPhone.
- Bluetooth works pretty much randomly
- When the battery dies, date and time will reset to something completely random. Every single time it's different.
- Apps won't mantain their state - with some very rare exception, even just briefly backing off from the app by pressing the back arrow will reset it to it's "just opened" state
- Many apps require you to log in through this flimsy web login, again - disregarding your main account. Skype, just to mention one.
- Crashes and reboots are just common. You learn to live with them.

I want to end the list here even if there's a lot more. And I see fundamental issues I didn't even mention, such as the utterly inconsistent UI, getting even worse in Windows Phone 10.

Who wouldn't give up at this point?
Any other Icon user with the same experience(s)?

 

[Ian_Superfly]

Why should I buy another phone with Windows?

I fear MS gave up and are about quit the phone business to focus on services like Windows/Office/OneDrive/Azure/Xbox etc.

They do not show our phones ANY love at all. What we seems to get is left overs from Windows 10 (via universal apps) but if that will work as poorly as Windows 10 apps works on tablets it will not be a success.

When I bought the Lumina 920 we had unique things like Office, SkyDrive, OneNote etc and this was not available on Android/iOS.
These apps/services are today provided by MS to the competition and they are actually more pleasant there then on the WP (WTF!). AND, now with the new focus on services, why care about phones? What would MS gain more if people use Office on Windows compared to iOS?

Universal apps? Somewhat cool but who is it really for? How will it increase the usefulness of a Windows phone compared to what iOS/Android has?
iOS/Android has all the functionality and all the apps already (partly thanks to MS...). What should we "sync" with universal apps that can't be synced on iOS/Android today?

Continuum, wow, its a cool thing! But really? Will it make any difference? And, when the phones are powerful enough to be able to run office applications multi tasked and windowed at full speed, do we honestly believe that Apple/Google will not have something similar?

No, I think MS is about to jump out of the phone business. Therefore, my next phone will most likely be the iPhone 7 (or whatever they will call it) :unhappysweat:

OR, could you give me arguments why I should not switch? Is there anything "real" that I would loose?
(I will gain a lot of more opportunities and also more love from MS...)


P.S I do not blame the competition, I blame MS for giving up and giving their candy to the competition at the same time they let WP rot in the dark.

 

[hexacore]

Good Bye WP and the Windows Central Community

Hi guys, i hope y'all having a great weekend.
So just yesterday i switched back from a Lumia 930 to a Galaxy S6 and i'm loving my desicision with no regrets at all.
Using Android once again made me realize how much i was missing out on apps and social media.
Microsoft's ignorance is so big that they update and release their own apps on other platforms before windows phone, so do you expect from a company like this?
Stop wasting your time if you're a loyal windows phone user cause you're missing out and left in the shadows and MS couldn't care less.
So after using windows phone for 7 months i must say that i loved every single bit of it.
The smoothness and the cool tiles of ths OS has made it unique and pleasant but the lack of quality apps and regualr updates for existing ones has become way to big to ignore and i just exploded and made the switch back to android.
With that being said my work is done here, thank you guys for everything here at WC and now i'll be in Android Central .
So long folks

 

[gpobernardo]

Re: Good Bye WP and the Windows Central Community

It's unfortunate that the situation has called for drastic action on your part. However, we are all entitled to our own opinion and choices.:smile:

See you over at AndroidCentral then.:wink:

 

[sup3r1or]

Moving away from windows phone

Hello everyone ,
What I'm going to write here is strictly my opinion, I do not try to persuade anyone in anything but just want to express myself and maybe get your opinion.

Now over the course of my life I have owned many phones starting from Nokia 3310 to modern smartphones. I have used, Symbian, Blackberry OS, Android and iOS and for a full year Windows phone 8.1.
Having spent a couple of years on android and before that on Blackberry Bold then moving to Iphone 4S and then to Android again. Last year I decided to get a windows phone because it looked great, used resources quite well and I absolutely fell in love with Lumia 930. Over this year love slowly became less pronounced and then it started to turn to frustration. A lot of things feel half-baked, some features are very clever, but experienced is a mixed bag.
Now for next phone I will go for Note 5, still will keep this Lumia 930 as a backup phone. Here are some of my frustrations:
1. The software is stable it doesn't crash often but some things **** me off, when I suspend app and then go back to it a few seconds later, I get greeted by annoying LOADING.... or RESUMING... and it can take anywhere from 1-2 seconds to 15 seconds or longer sometimes it will just hang like this.
2. Lack of apps and those that are there seems devs never bother to put any decent features in compared to IOS or ANdroid counter parts, and it goes especially true for fitness apps like Runtastic, MapMyRun and so on. Sometimes, I have nothing even close to official app as an alternative. Even facebook is so poorly done on WP. Why cant I edit only certain posts that I make (just one of many annoying things).
3. Live tiles, sometimes just wont update, does this always have to be fixed with reset of the phone?
4. Options menu is just a mess to get to something, scrolling pages and pages or options. Quick settings only 4 buttons, now I know this will be fixed in WP10 but maybe a little late?
5. Changing system language or adding more languages always needs a restart? Come on.
6. Limit to 30 apps that can be suspended in background and finding which ones are allowed which ones you want to be able to suspend.
7. Huge list of apps to scroll through when you installed an app and need to find it to put it to start.
8. This might be just my things, but why in night mode my alarm does not go off?
9. Half baked email app if you connect to your gmail/yahoo mail.
10. In most messaging apps, I will get notification and preview of message, but when I open app up to 30 seconds there is nothing there and then bam message shows up. What's App, Kik, Line, facebook messenger.
11. Browser - this is horrific experience by this time, a lot of websites do not format properly, or lag or become almost unusable at time, stuttering while scrolling with nothing more than a few pictures on the site and text. Scrolling down sometimes just gives white screen for up to 10 seconds. Downloading files like podcasts often you have no idea how long will it take, plus once the screen times out in 9 out of 10 times download will stop. Yes I can use podcast app BUT often when you stop it go back in to resume the podcast it will load it for 30 seconds then just drop it to very beggining.

Now onto Lumia 930 itself:
12. Battery life has been really poor. Charge full, play for an hour just reading news, sending some messages and I can kill most of my battery. I often have to plug in just after lunch. I do not play games on phone. My usage is usually messaging and reading. I have my old 2 year old HTC One M7 (which broke many times and spent 5 months in total in repair) has better battery life, I can go on with same usage almost full day.
13. Camera, this is probably the most annoying one. During day it takes amazing photos but any low light/evening environment is very bad. We went with my wife and my daughter to the restaurant once, it was by no means dark just a little dim. I could not take any decent photos, dark as hell and grainy pictures. My wife had IPHONE 4 (2-3 year old phone) and took great pictures.

Last 2 months was really tough and sometimes it just drives me up the wall. I downloaded music from soundcloud and music player just won't see it until I restart the phone. It is those small little things that all come together.

I hope I didnt upset anyone, I have tried WP10 and I saw how fast and fluid it is (and buggy) lots of new things there but I think it might be a little late for me to sit and way or invest into another WP handset.

 

[2526]

Why I am leaving Windows Phone, THE Perfect Smartphone, after just 3 years.

I have NEVER written anything about technology, reviews, etc. and am by no means, overly tech-savvy.

I love Windows Phone. The os worked, it was precise, integrated things well, and did the mobile thing (in my opinion) better than Apple or Android. Apple wants your money. Android (Google) wants your information. Windows.......probably wants both, but, offered up Office integration, email, xbox services, etc .

Again, never contributed to a tech forum but....Groove Music? I have purchased an xbox music subscription (Pass) for the past two years. I never thought I needed to actually own an Xbox. Their name change is for marketing only, not "brand" confusion.

We all rent movies from "Redbox." Did anyone ever think they needed to OWN a Redbox to rent a dvd? Microsoft's poor music market can not be solely blamed on a video game console.

I could write at length, however, the heart of it is, I LOVED Windows Phone. It made sense. I am over 40, do not use a ton of "apps" WILL pay for a SUPERIOR camera vs. a year of Amazon Prime. vs. a streaming music. Apple devices and architecture will phase out over time.

At this writing, Verizon, Tmobile, Sprint, etc. have ended the "contract" phone. I appreciate WP has been successful in many non-US markets, however, I can no longer support the platform.

I love Windows Phone and have owned a 925, 521, 630, 635 & 640. Yet, they roll out "Grove" music for iOS and Android, and DO NOT offer it to xbox music paid subscribers.

Sad.