Why Windows over Android?

[Angry_Mushroom]

I'll be honest here. And likely a bit controversial.

I find the designs of the 950 family to be far superior to the new Nexus devices. As far as "stock" experiences go I think that MS offers a more stylish and practical solution to mobile phones. And honestly nothing else in the Android world really grabs my attention right now beyond the LG V10, and that seems a rather niche device to say in the least.

Subjective opinion? Oh yeah, super objective. But stepping back currently, I'm not entirely impressed with the design of smartphones out currently. Few actually grab my attention, and while the 950/XL isn't exactly drop dead brilliant, it's vanilla design does at least bring functionality to the table. They stand to gain so much with the practicality aspect. Leave flat out sexy to Apple, and give me my ultradurable box, dammit.

 

[TechFreak1]

Use what you suits your needs best, my 920 meets what I want my phone to do and others may disagree. That is fine as in the end it's their time and money not mine.

Having said that I'm not glued to my phone 24/7 unlike of the majority of the teens these days.

In regards to Windows Phone, everything that made it so great has slowly been corroded away either by necessity or mismanagement i.e issuing an o/s update to fix issues caused by facebook's changes to their backend does not make a great deal of sense. Then you have that compounded by the infantile US carriers.

In regards to the latter, I would say Rooms is a prime example of mismanagement GroupMe was supposedly the replacement but given majority of the team got recently axed... where does that leave Rooms?? :grincry:

Windows Mobile 10 has ALOT of potential, as we finally get displayport over usb, a lot more than usb host, proper mobile office apps (yes, the Wp8 office apps had a lot to be desired but they still were usable), continuum, windows hello etc it remains to be seen at what they will do with that.

The question is will it ever see it's full potential?

I'm not entirely sure as we still need a proper mobile payments system that can go toe to toe with apple pay and complement it, as that is the only way companies and banks will ever adopt it.

In regards to the apps, Microsoft has the bridges which are not still publicly available once these are released it will be more than interesting to see what happens.

Marketshare, forget about that it's not going to happen anytime soon that is simply down to platform agnostic approach Microsoft has taken and that will always cannibalize sales and combined with the fact WM10 doesn't have much unique points anymore except continuum and perhaps windows hello.

Lastly this SLT (Senior Leadership Team) is more results orientated whereas under Ballmer, things could run at a loss and still continue i.e xbox. If people don't buy the 950 / 950 XL, the purported Surface Phone turns out to be a business phone with run of the mill specs and people put their nose up at them waiting for a "proper" surface phone.

I doubt they will let Windows phone continue and will most likely go full steam ahead with their Plan B (you don't have to look far to see evidence of that).

To avoid ending on somber note, here is a random .gif :winktongue:

 

[rollindice]

I'm from Caribbean and there are many users here with cheap android devices of all brands, many have stress trying to download simple apps like WhatsApp ,Messenger, Play Store tells them it's not available in their country, they then have to use other android stores, mobilegenie,onemobile market to name a few, also these cheap devices are stressful to deal with because their internal memory is quite limited, and during daily use of using phone ,always get errors concerning low on memory, can't even use simple Phone dialer to make phone calls or check messages sometimes,I've been using Windows Phone since they started it, many workmates see my phone (Lumia 1020) and see how simple it is to get stuff done, they want a phone that works and is quite smooth, I introduced them to the lumia 640 among other Lumia devices and many love the simplicity of the Microsoft Store where you just search ,find what you need and not limited to where you live, change storage for everything to the micro sd, all Windows Phones work flawlessly even if have only around 500 mb of internal storage also,I think once people ACTUALLY use the device they'll see how easy it is and it just works.

So far with one person seeing my phone liking it, others followed, it's been about 8 at workplace so far, many also reading more about Windows Phone,saw the Windows 10 Devices Presentation and plan to get Lumia 950 here also,just waiting on the Microsoft USA Store to start pre-orders, the majority of people here purchase phones unlocked here online.

 

[FaisalST32]

I'm from Caribbean and there are many users here with cheap android devices of all brands, many have stress trying to download simple apps like WhatsApp ,Messenger, Play Store tells them it's not available in their country, they then have to use other android stores, mobilegenie,onemobile market to name a few, also these cheap devices are stressful to deal with because their internal memory is quite limited, and during daily use of using phone ,always get errors concerning low on memory, can't even use simple Phone dialer to make phone calls or check messages sometimes,I've been using Windows Phone since they started it, many workmates see my phone (Lumia 1020) and see how simple it is to get stuff done, they want a phone that works and is quite smooth, I introduced them to the lumia 640 among other Lumia devices and many love the simplicity of the Microsoft Store where you just search ,find what you need and not limited to where you live, change storage for everything to the micro sd, all Windows Phones work flawlessly even if have only around 500 mb of internal storage also,I think once people ACTUALLY use the device they'll see how easy it is and it just works.

So far with one person seeing my phone liking it, others followed, it's been about 8 at workplace so far, many also reading more about Windows Phone,saw the Windows 10 Devices Presentation and plan to get Lumia 950 here also,just waiting on the Microsoft USA Store to start pre-orders, the majority of people here purchase phones unlocked here online.

All smiles

 

[rhapdog]

You missed what for me, was the determining factor in choosing Windows Phone over everything else out there. Security. Windows Phone protects my privacy better than anything else. iPhone may be close, but Windows Phone is the most secure. Between the security and affordability, I decided to make Windows Phone my choice as my first "smart phone" since I owned a Windows Mobile 5 device years ago. I never put internet on that device, and never used it on Wi-Fi, so I stayed secure with that device. I basically got the WinMo5 device for MS Office, because there was no such thing as iOS and Android back then.

If Windows Phone were to cease having the level of security that it has, then I would go back to a feature phone and only get online with my laptop.

Yeah, security may not be a factor for most, but it is for many.

 

[Jazmac]

Security and the Windows 10 Mobile experience. Nothing like it.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Why Windows over Android?

Okay grasshopper. Here is the abbreviated quality of life spectrum, best to worst: Windows Phone, Abstinence, Android phones.

Any other questions?

 

[N_LaRUE]

Okay grasshopper. Here is the abbreviated quality of life spectrum, best to worst: Windows Phone, Abstinence, Android phones.

Any other questions?

I see. So WP or no phone in preference to Android.

That's is personal preference. It is not reality.

 

[DennisvdG]

I see. So WP or no phone in preference to Android.

That's is personal preference. It is not reality.

Everyone's personal preference IS THEIR REALITY

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I see. So WP or no phone in preference to Android.

I wasn't saying PHONE abstinence was better than using Android

 

[anon(6078578)]

I noticed talk of security. Do you think that the Windows brand itself may have played at least a small part in Windows Phone lack of market share? ie Windows is often associated, rightly or wrongly, with poor security in a lot of users minds.

 

[N_LaRUE]

I wasn't saying PHONE abstinence was better than using Android

Just going by what you wrote...

 

[N_LaRUE]

I noticed talk of security. Do you think that the Windows brand itself may have played at least a small part in Windows Phone lack of market share? ie Windows is often associated, rightly or wrongly, with poor security in a lot of users minds.

There are probably several things that reduced market share of WP and there is no one thing unfortunately.

Though let's face it Windows never had a great reputation for security and even to this day people still state that.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I noticed talk of security. Do you think that the Windows brand itself may have played at least a small part in Windows Phone lack of market share? ie Windows is often associated, rightly or wrongly, with poor security in a lot of users minds.

I'm sure it's true that many people wrongly assume that WP/WM has poor security just because desktop Windows (other than Windows RT) did. Its very ironic since WP/WM is more secure than the competition.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Everyone's personal preference IS THEIR REALITY

Philosophy will get us nowhere...

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Philosophy will get us nowhere...

Not even the worst possible ROI for student loans?

 

[Pete]

I noticed talk of security. Do you think that the Windows brand itself may have played at least a small part in Windows Phone lack of market share? ie Windows is often associated, rightly or wrongly, with poor security in a lot of users minds.

No. It was just timing and Microsoft's strategy at the time. At the time when Apple and Google really pushed into the Mobile market, Microsoft were busy sitting in the boardroom with their corporate hat on, building business revenue. They didn't really catch on to just how quick the uptake was for mobile apps and expected developers to include Microsoft with open arms as soon as WP7 was released. Needless to say, this never happened and still isn't happening.

 

[tgp]

Microsoft were busy sitting in the boardroom with their corporate hat on

Or Steve Ballmer was doing interviews:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U

 

[anon(6078578)]

At the time when Apple and Google really pushed into the Mobile market, Microsoft were busy sitting in the boardroom with their corporate hat on, building business revenue.

I always got the impression with Ballmer that he was just coasting until his eventual departure.

 

[7a2eer]

1. A unique UI.
Hardly. W10M UI is a bad Android clone. Panoramas are there just because they could not be made obsolete with this release due to app dependencies.
With Astoria we know Microsoft is programming to Android API...

2. Better performance on low end devices. (520 anyone?)
No. The advantage of WP8 was app tombstoning. W10M manages memory different, and is going to suck for 512MB owners.

3. A seamless OneDrive integration.
OneDrive has more features and performs better on Windows 8 and Android/iOS.

4. Microsoft apps. (OneNote, Health, Sports, Weather, etc.) Some of these apps are available for Android too, but like them better on Windows.
All of these apps get updated more frequently on Android/iOS. Their appearance is near identical as well.

5. Continuum. Though it's potential is still untested.
Continuum? You've been able to plug in a mouse, keyboard, and display on Android since Gingerbread. Sure UWP apps will work more natively with mouse/kb, however, implementations like Ubuntu are better for people who want a smartphone pc hybrid. People who already have a PC would most likely prefer Apple's continuity. Again, Microsoft is targeting emerging markets with Continuum. Enthusiasts and fans will probably get a kick out of it, but it will grow old quick.

6. Universal app system that makes Continuum possible.
Ubuntu and iOS have universal app systems. Sure the implementations are different, but the end results are better than Continuum. Android has the linux kernel to leverage, and works with far more devices than Continuum will ever support.

7. CORTANA. Again they're making an Android version too, but its integration with the OS will always be better in Windows.
They already have an Android version, and the integration (from client perspective) is just as deep. However on Android Cortana is an app, and will be updated just as frequently.

8. All that Windows 10 promises. Android and iOS app portability, actionable notifications, Skype integration and much more.

• There is no app portability. If I were a full time Windows developer I'd cringe at the thought of Astoria/Islandwood. Microsoft should have made the converse: Develop Windows apps that are iOS/Android portable.
• iOS/Android have actionable notifications
• Skype app on W10M doesn't even have dialer integration like on WP8, that's why they made a new messaging app. :feelsbad: Wonder if Microsoft will rectify this for WhatsApp, ooVoo, and Viber

I did not take the time to articulate myself as this thread does not warrant the time
OP should definitely explore other OSes, and even Windows 8... Seriously