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

[libra89]

I gotta say, though: I've been playing with the launcher Asus just put out, and I'm liking it loads better than my LG G4 original skin, and I just never liked Nova. Asus's is a little glitchy, I'm just glad not to be on the LG stuff, though.

I think it's kind of crazy how much a launcher (and/or an OS) can possibly change your experience on Android.

 

[mikepalma]

I'm amazed that even MS owned Skype works so much better on iOS. Can move the little window in iOS for example but now w10m...

 

[Keith Kerswell]

I can't believe that I'm even contemplating this...

I've been a Windows mobile fan ever since the Nokia Lumia 800 was launched back in 2011. Granted, I didn't buy that device because the app gap back then was too huge and it was missing some basic functionality which Android and iOS already had. However, I worked in the mobile phone industry and used the phone every day in work.

Over the next couple of years I went with Android, various models, but we had a bitter divorce and I would now say that it is my least favourite of the three OSs on offer. So I jumped ship to Apple...sad sad day, I know. I loved that every app I wanted was there. Everything the people in my social circle could do, so could I.

Then one day, along came the Nokia Lumia 520 in Cyan and I got it for giggles as a spare phone. Even though my iPhone was vastly superior in almost every aspect of a smart phone, I loved that phone so much that I sold the iPhone 4S and used the 520 as my main...crazy. But I loved it, the live tiles, Microsoft, Nokia, being the underdog...just loved the whole damn thing. And from then until now, I've been a very strong advocate for the OS, even released apps on that platform alone.

As we all know, things improved over time and more apps came to us. I'd follow Microsoft and Windows Phone news daily, and yes there was daily news. Then came along Windows 10 and all of its potential. The bridges to help devs easily port their apps over. A new chapter. With it came the first big problem, the 950 and 950XL. From the day I saw them, I felt a sense of doom come over me. Yes, I read the stories, it was the last piece of the Nokia/Microsoft puzzle and they needed a 'Flagship' to aim Windows 10 Mobile at.

Now, some months on, I am surrounded by iOS. Everybody in my household has an iPhone, friends have an iPhone, and this isn't the main issue. I mean, I can't say I love the design, though it is pretty sweet in fairness. It's how they use them. FaceTime, apps, games, the whole lot of it. And all along I'm thinking, tough, I don't care because I love the Windows mobile OS. Just looking at it makes me happy. Then, time goes on and an app pops up that I want and I can't get it. OK, I'll deal with it, I have in the past. Then an app is available but severely lacking in functionality compared to the big boys. Annoyed, but I have an app and that's a good sign.

But now, I have the latest fast build installed on my phone and the battery lasts about 2hrs before needing a charge. "Don't use it on your main device" they said. "Just for testing" they said. But I don't care, I need to see the OS going forward and I couldn't bare the hit of another backward step, even if that step is a small one. Then, apps start getting pulled from the store and we are left wondering if a Windows 10 version is coming. Maybe it will, maybe it wont. However, in the meantime, I've been using an old iPhone 5c and I feel all dirty again but more like a sort of relaxing mud bath kind of dirty.

Apps, they're there. Fully functioning apps, even banking apps, check! Now, just to throw a curve ball in there, it's not all lovers paradise over on iOS. First of all, I still hate how locked down the OS is. Some of my everyday apps on Windows mobile aren't on iOS, which was a shocker. I can't stream to my Xbox. What the hell is up with the iOS alarm? The alarm on windows is amazing, increasing in volume, set snooze duration, doesn't switch off until you wake the hell up! Not on iOS, that's 8mins snooze with no compromise and if you don't get up soon enough then it'll switch itself off...what is up with that?!?

So, I've written too much but it is a topic that I am very passionate about. I've been holding out on an upgrade for over six months now, and this week it's happening...I'm upgrading to an iPhone with all of its functionality, fully beefed up apps, Wallet for my contactless bank cards and enough useless apps you can shake a stick at.

This sad day does come with a couple of caveats though. Release on the Surface phone, I'm back in business. Apps that have left come back with all of their Windows 10 goodness, I'll be back. Of course I'll still be keeping my Lumia as, like I said, it has things on there that iOS can't offer. And I'll feel bad most of the time. But there is only so much "Coming Soon....maybe" a guy can take.

Sorry...

 

[mikepalma]

Yep. In short, everything already works in iOS.

 

[rockstarzzz]

I can't believe that I'm even contemplating this...<snip> used the 520 as my main <snip>I have the latest fast build installed on my phone and the battery lasts about 2hrs before needing a charge. <snip>

So you left because you couldn't get decent battery on a 520 that is running a beta developmental software? I wonder if you subject your 5c to iOS beta, what your opinion may be.

Completely with the spirit of this thread, you made the right choice for yourself as you wanted all those apps when surrounded by iPhone users. It is a serious peer pressure that one needs to resist if they want to avoid an iPhone in their life. But as far as apps are your reason for a phone, you need an iPhone and there is no second option to that.

 

[chmun77]

Meanwhile, on the Windows 10 mobile platform.....

Here Maps finally stops working on Windows 10 Mobile - MSPoweruser

 

[Vijay_Anand]

That's more or less why I moved from y 950 to an iPhone 6s, too. Couldn't be happier. I will continue using the 950 for its camera, though.

 

[azteca911]

Losing Here Maps is a big strike for me. I really liked it and used it daily.

 

[psyhound]

Meanwhile, on the Windows 10 mobile platform.....

Here Maps finally stops working on Windows 10 Mobile - MSPoweruser

And yet it works flawlessly on my P9 lite.

 

[mikepalma]

So you left because you couldn't get decent battery on a 520 that is running a beta developmental software? I wonder if you subject your 5c to iOS beta, what your opinion may be.

Completely with the spirit of this thread, you made the right choice for yourself as you wanted all those apps when surrounded by iPhone users. It is a serious peer pressure that one needs to resist if they want to avoid an iPhone in their life. But as far as apps are your reason for a phone, you need an iPhone and there is no second option to that.

I get what your saying, however "iOS beta" doesn't last a year...

 

[libra89]

I admit that I sometimes wonder how it would be to use a phone with a physical QWERTY keyboard, just for a week. Not enough to find one to buy though, because I just know that I would complain about the slow speeds for data unless I use a blackberry, of course.

Random thought aside, I'm looking forward to having this battery anxiety pass. It seems like I am getting a day and some of battery life from the Nextbit Robin. I would even say that it is kind of similar to the battery life of the iPhone SE. However, out the box, you wouldn't get that sadly. I also noticed that I haven't tweaked as much as I thought I would by now.

Something small that wins for iOS and W10M is that if you used a picture for a background, change the background and then delete the 1st picture, you wouldn't see the picture on your device again to choose from for wallpapers. I'm fighting the urge to factory reset my device because I hate seeing pictures that I deleted as choices for my wallpaper :/

 

[tgp]

I get what your saying, however "iOS beta" doesn't last a year...

And to add to this, I've been using iOS (and OS X) beta builds, and I couldn't tell I'm not using production builds based on the stability. The betas are very solid. I'm guessing that Microsoft pushes them out a bit sooner than Apple does.

 

[chmun77]

And yet it works flawlessly on my P9 lite.

Ironically, both Android and iOS are still having updated Here maps while Here maps is discontinued on windows phones. I know the fans will say WP has MS maps but sadly MS maps do not work as good as Here and Google maps outside USA.

 

[Kevin Rush]

Ironically, both Android and iOS are still having updated Here maps while Here maps is discontinued on windows phones. I know the fans will say WP has MS maps but sadly MS maps do not work as good as Here and Google maps outside USA.

My family has always used the NAVlGON app and it uses Navteq (now, HERE) maps and still works great on our Windows Phone 8.1 phones. I recently received an update to the maps. The NAVlGON app is great and worth every cent we paid for them.

 

[eddydu]

Man this is tough. I currently bought a note 4, prior using the lumia 1520 for two years. I switched because of my need of google drive, docs, and other services and the app gap. I recently bought a 1520 again on ebay, and installed windows phone 10 on it. i have to admit its pretty stable on the 1520 and gave me a new sense of love for windows phone. Also the screen size of the 1520 is so amazing I dont need a tablet or in some cases my laptop as well. I dont care about banking apps I prefer the website anyways but if windows phone supported google stuff more then i would totally stick with the 1520. If I can i would love to keep both, but would have to sell one.

 

[rockstarzzz]

I get what your saying, however "iOS beta" doesn't last a year...

Windows 10 Insider Preview will last for years. Not just one. The reason being it is an open developmental branch. You don't get that priviledge with iOS betas. You get them at a stage equivalent to "release preview ring" on W10. There isn't any equvilalent exposure of the software to consumers, as "fast ring" on WIP.

 

[rockstarzzz]

Man this is tough. I currently bought a note 4, prior using the lumia 1520 for two years. I switched because of my need of google drive, docs, and other services and the app gap. I recently bought a 1520 again on ebay, and installed windows phone 10 on it. i have to admit its pretty stable on the 1520 and gave me a new sense of love for windows phone. Also the screen size of the 1520 is so amazing I dont need a tablet or in some cases my laptop as well. I dont care about banking apps I prefer the website anyways but if windows phone supported google stuff more then i would totally stick with the 1520. If I can i would love to keep both, but would have to sell one.

Windows Phone loves Google. Also, it 100% supports all the Google stuff. The problem is, Google doesn't support Windows Phone.

 

[murtaza_p]

this platform drives you crazy but you just cant leave it.
while I have two numbers one work and one personal I tried using both by using 2 android phones . while my personal phone still is a Samsung S7 Edge my work phone has seen may changes. Initially starting of with a humble moto e, giving up that for a Lumia 830 the Lumia 1520 which in my opinion was the best windows phone ever however due to a camera issue had to let go of that phone which landed me up with a Lumia 930 which had a brilliant screen but a horrible battery life and terrible phone heating issue irrespective of the build or even on windows 8.1 which finally landed me with the Lumia 950 XL DS (with one sim in it,work sim).
while I am actually surprised with the performance of this phone camera and battery life I still cant keep this as my daily driver and only as my work phone mainly due to the occasional freezing up of the software the random reboots (which rarely happens to be honest).
While the s7 edge is the better phone I still find my self using the Lumia 950XL DS more , as to be honest I find android OS to be boring .
lets hope the HP falcon lands in my country (india) which I highly doubt it will as most of the Microsoft stores itself have wound up due to the lack of business .
Microsoft made the biggest mistake by releasing builds of their upcoming OS to the public as it lost the element of surprise , had they launched the official OS with the Lumia 950 twins , as the public got a bad taste of W10 initially not realising that these are preview builds and treating them as daily drivers , very few people like us in this community realise that importance .
While W10 is still isn't complete and still has a few bugs , I can say its close after my brief 6 month absence with this OS and coming back to the platform as my work phone with the L930 I was actually impressed from what my experience last was with the L1520.
The L950XL is a worthy successor to the L1520 ( no I am not biased to the 950XL just because its my current secondary phone ) but it does lack the old charm of the previous Nokia made phone with the beautiful design with the curved glass panel and good fit and finish. Infact that's the only flaw I can find with the L950XL is the bad fit and finish . The buttons feel crude and the back panel creaks like a cheap phone and not a Rs.40,000+ phone .
The camera is amazing so is the screen quality . infact in some occasions it takes better shots than my S7 Edge, battery lasts almost as good as my S7 Edge .
Microsoft is brilliant at working at the OS however in process of fixing some things they break the others at times .
I really love the OS which is why I use it more than my S7 edge but Microsoft is nearly there and I really hope the HP falcon is a turning point for the OS

 

[libra89]

Alright, so it's been about a week for me with the Nextbit Robin and by this point, I have seen everything I wanted to see about it.

Battery life on it after my tweaks put me at the 20-24 hour regular usage before needing to charge again. It's way better than what I experienced the first time around when I tried the Robin, and that's good. However, I am still charging every day, just never more once a day though.

Camera is adequate enough for my needs, both of them. Sound is great, so glad they fixed the sound issue in the June update.

My overall review of it is that it's great looking, nice OS, and I am mostly pleased with it. The size is an adjustment, especially coming from the iPhone SE, but I adjusted fast. It fits most of my work pants pockets (and even some of my jeans, even though the end sticks out), aside from one that has silly pockets anyway lol.

I said this a few posts back:

I got my Nextbit Robin last night, and I'm hoping that it could be a decent middle ground for me. I'll see how the battery life goes. If it is decent enough for me and my usage, I can take a break on the switching hopefully (unless I just feel like it, which can happen too based on what I'm doing).

The real question is, does it meet that for me?
-drumroll-

I would say it does. I think I might have found a winner for that middle ground! I kind of wish it was slightly smaller and that I can charge it every other day, yes but otherwise, it's pretty cool. Going to try to hang out with it for the rest of the month at least.

 

[Smiggyy]

Adios Windows 10 IP'ers!

Bought myself a Sony Experia Z3 Compact (always loved the old sony ericsson walkman phones) to do a comparison of Android 6 and Windows 10.
What I found has really amazed me and also got me stumped too. More a platform comparison before people state the obvious regarding hardware specs. The phone cost me the same as I paid for my 640 as a point of comparison!
I've been an advocate of the Windows phone platform from 7 through to 8.1 but the competition I'm afraid has stepped up and frankly left W10 fopr dead.
For example, 'Hey Cortana' isn't available for my Lumia 640 but 'Ok Google' is available across the board and boy its good too!
Cortana of late on IP and Production release has been poor, can't understand me, can't dial or text over bluetooth when driving and didn't MicroSoft pioneer the whole digital assistant gimmick anyway?
I really don't want to try Cortana on Android as it will probably be annoyingly better thanon Windows.
The long standing 'joke' that is FB on W10 is just simply great on Android, fluid, fast and well defined/laid out.
The app store is a nightmare on W10, not only in available content (I know this has always been the case) but layout and ease of use, not so in Google Play.
Simple things I can find on Google Play like for example my breakdown provider GEM's app, doesn't exist on W10? The industry is voting with their feet here. Most people use Windows day to day but they are simply not taking W10 Mobile seriously, what do they know that we don't?
Outlook app is ok at very best on W10, its miles ahead on the opposition's platform (how the hell did this happen?).
Google Chrome is like lightening, Edge on it's own platform is pants! I know its new but seriously, it's like driving out of the garage in a shiny all new Model T Ford!
Word and Excel on Android are fantastic, yes I know some will say it's down to fact that 640 only has 1GB RAM and Z3 has 2GB but there are other subtle differences too.
The battery drain issue that has been a blight on W10 appears to be not going away yet Android Marshmallow has 'Doze' which again I was completely amazed at. Put my andrroid phone on aiirplane mode last night alongside the 640, no apps running and this morning the android phone has lost 1% charge overnight, the 640 has lost 11% and looking at these boards its worse for other handsets.

I really, really wanted Android to come up lame in comparison but to find bespoke Microsoft apps performing better on other people's platforms has made me decide it's time to end my love affair with this lady and take up with a new 'woman'!
God knows what Android 'N' will deliver but if it's anything like the current version or better then the hill just got that bit steeper for W10!
This isn't meant to be a slate on W10 I'm just simply reporting on how annoyingly polished and good this platform is compared to W10 and I'm really, really sad about it.

Nobody will miss one person moving platform but I really wanted Android to fail in comparison.