Is there anything unique left in windows phone ?

[damonator98]

I simply cannot understand why Microsoft being the software company had this much problems with Windows phone (os reboots, missing functions, slow updates), it seems for me that this OS is treated like a free-time hobby when MS is not working on "real" Windows (PC). I mean I still like it but I feel lack of effort in making wm/wp a complete strong os.

 

[Ian_Superfly]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

I simply cannot understand why Microsoft being the software company had this much problems with Windows phone (os reboots, missing functions, slow updates), it seems for me that this OS is treated like a free-time hobby when MS is not working on "real" Windows (PC). I mean I still like it but I feel lack of effort in making wm/wp a complete strong os.

I have the same feeling.
It looks like the "less productive/less bright" are put to work on WP/W10M (all the way from development to marketing).

The focus is on Windows 10 (PC) and iOS/Android.

 

[elindalyne]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

LiveTiles and Glance are the truly unique aspects of WP/W10M. Continuum is unique, but not widely available so I won't include it.

As for those who are saying that Microsoft is giving away all of their uniqueness... Clearly the strategy was not working. You can complain all you want, but we're still only ~3% marketshare. Things need to change and what we're seeing now is the beginning of it. Microsoft lost the smartphone wars, but it has a pretty good shot at the 'smartphone plus' wars.

 

[xirsteon]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Nothing to say here. All that I need to say have been said. I was never an app for this app for that user. However, seeing as MS continues to cater heavily to those other platforms, I began to think about my next platform. I do NOT like ios or Android but if I had to make a leap forward, it'll be Android for lack of choice. I get the impression that one day MS will drop WP/WM altogether. They have been hinting at this for some time now. Take for instance the launch of 950/XL / 550 devices? the launch was completely botched. They don't even seem remotely interested in these devices other than pricing them so high. My DD is a NL920 and I've been thinking hard over the last few months what I'll do next. I really wished the App support was there for WM/WP as I wouldn't have mind.

Take for instance, I bought an HTC Re camera, well I could use it w/o apps but to use other features i.e. timelapse, see the videos/pictures, you need an app which as you can guess is not on WM

I got a Amazon FireTV Stick and guess what, there's no remote app to control it. I use my work GS4 to fill in the gaps but honestly, if I leave WP, it'll be mainly for lack of apps.

I can't justify paying $550 for 950xl w/the sort of 3rd class support MS is providing these days. Sure it isn't their fault, I just couldn't justify it. The only alternative for me as usual, is to wait for the 950/XL to go on fire sale then buy one.

In my house, we have 2 Gen 1 Surface RT (now sold), 2 SP3, 2 NL 920, iPad (for app fixation), 1 GS4 (work for app fixation too), I have 5 friends who have abandoned ship because of app gap. It is unbearable and undefendable anymore.

 

[Ten Four]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

It looks like the "less productive/less bright" are put to work on WP/W10M (all the way from development to marketing).

I highly doubt this. Probably understaffed and working to artificial deadlines imposed by those in admin/marketing/sales. Take a look at any major software package and it is full of bugs, poorly implemented "features," and terrible design problems. Which is why you should never buy software/hardware until it has had a chance to mature for at least 6-12 months. This is complicated stuff. The same thing happens with other complicated stuff: cars, airplanes, military hardware.

Some things that make WP worth considering: tiles, security, ease of use, great cameras (not unique, but rare) at their price points, expandable memory, great build quality, durable, some very good inexpensive phones (Lumia 640), Glance, etc. I don't think there is much "unique" about any phone ecosystem.

 

[bathugeo]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Sales, marketing and admin are where all the genuinely stupid people go to work (although there are exceptions of course). Exceptional companies (like HP when Hewlett and Packard still ran it, Microsoft when Gates was still engaged, Apple, Dyson, Facebook or Google) are all run by engineers. They go wrong when the engineers get beaten at corporate politics because they were too busy focussing on customers and the idiots take over.

 

[nedarata]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

continuum?
it is 6yo tech with pointless dock
symbian had something similar

 

[MikeSo]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

W10M, for all its flaws, is still hands down the best OS on the "regular" cellphone market. Android and iOS are both good, but honestly nothing beats W10M pound for pound from a user standpoint (I can't speak for developers). Live tiles, the new excellent action center/settings, built in functions like the speech-to-text keyboard, Cortana (whose weakest point is the knowledge behind it, where Google has an incredible advantage), PC integration, it all adds up to a phenomenal package.

If it had the apps and good marketing, Android would be toast. IMO.

 

[Devan Hammack]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

continuum?
it is 6yo tech with pointless dock
symbian had something similar

Every OS has something "similar", where you can cast to a screen.. but no, its not the same.
Having a movie play on my TV yesterday (from my phone) while was doing other stuff on my phone was 'special'.

 

[cracgor]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Let me stop you there. The tiles in windows 10 are the best iteration .

I used to be all over the live tiles. That was my reason for switching, and yes the way you can make things transparent works better for a background on WM10. It just isn't perfect. I think it takes a lot of effort to make a background work. For example, on my surface, I use the full screen start menu (I preferred it in W8.1). The increased amount of empty space between tiles, is a better implementation in my opinion. I never used real backgrounds (just textures) in WP8.1 because it just looked ugly when I arranged tiles in the way that made sense based on my usage or the information I wanted to see. I understand that you can move the tiles around to see your background, but then I was sacrificing seeing the information on the live tiles I wanted to see or removing tiles I used frequently like Office. Making all the tiles transparent ends up looking ugly to me--all just my opinion. I would like the background better if it looked like it does on my surface; all the advances on the phone have just made things look more messy to me.

Regarding the uniqueness of continuum: the dock, keyboard, and mouse is just as difficult to carry around as taking my entire surface pro and an HDMI/display port cable. The problem with continuum is that the miracast is not fast enough to use without mouse/keyboard lag. When that happens it will be more useful. Otherwise, all of my televisions are already smart tvs with Netflix, YouTube, etc built in and it is more inconvenient to use. Now I understand some people have older technology in their televisions, and I'm not trying to talk down to any of you; but continuum has its limitations even if it is neat. Wouldn't it be equally special to just be able to use a split screen on your phone with web browser etc on one half and video on the other? I use that feature more often to type an email while reading something else, or watch a video while working on something or playing a game right on the same screen.

 

[Witness]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Windows Mobile can be great, but first thing it's gotta be is stable. Apps crashing and the occasional self reboot is ruining the experience for me. It really does feel like the OS is in the late stages of Beta sometimes and with Cortana now on iOS, I may be switching back for a little while to see how it goes. This way I'll be able to get back $700 on the Lumia XL while I wait for some issues to be resolved and by then the phone will either see some discounts (like Band 2) and/or Surface Phone will be around the corner.

I'm huge on MS products, but with a SP3 that's acting up, my Band 1 having a mysterious battery drain last week and the Lumia 950XL having stability/battery issues, it gives me pause. Maybe in a year everything will run smoother and I really hope it will. Going back to an iPhone for a while I will lose my Live Tiles. Cortana, MS Office, and OneDrive will be there so in a sense I won't be missing all that much. Having all these MS apps/services on other platforms is a double edged sword. If even I find little reason to hang on like I used to, what chance is there for the new user? There's no killer app/feature on WM anymore and the FB app is absolute trash.

 

[damonator98]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Ohhh the FB app... When you mentioned it... It's so limited and undeveloped it hurts tu use it. And this is what facebook gives us after 5 years of Fb app being on wp.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Ohhh the FB app... When you mentioned it... It's so limited and undeveloped it hurts tu use it. And this is what facebook gives us after 5 years of Fb app being on wp.

The Facebook app for Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile is made by Microsoft, not Facebook.

 

[damonator98]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Sorry my mistake. This makes it only worse... Also I've just read an article about outlook app being better on ios, which is a good example of what I'm afraid will happen to wp.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Sorry my mistake. This makes it only worse... Also I've just read an article about outlook app being better on ios, which is a good example of what I'm afraid will happen to wp.

The Outlook app on iOS and Android is a rename of the old Accompli app. Microsoft bought out Accompli, which had been around for several years. So essentially the app isn't new. It wasn't built from scratch.

 

[tangledW]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Sorry my mistake. This makes it only worse... Also I've just read an article about outlook app being better on ios, which is a good example of what I'm afraid will happen to wp.

That article failed to mention that there Are reasons why it's better on Windows phone too. For instance, on iOS it's useless to me because it only supports a limited amount of email account types, like no POP accounts.

 

[odin09]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

The Outlook app on iOS and Android is a rename of the old Accompli app. Microsoft bought out Accompli, which had been around for several years. So essentially the app isn't new. It wasn't built from scratch.

Laura you use Android so how would you say the Outlook apps are compared to wp? I am very curious being that I have considered trying out Android.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

Laura you use Android so how would you say the Outlook apps are compared to wp? I am very curious being that I have considered trying out Android.

The Outlook app for Android is excellent. I have no issues with it. I especially like the priority inbox.

 

[Jakoh]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

I think every windows phone user owes it to himself to research the competition and try out one of the others for a week before committing to this OS any further. Sure each of us has spent a lot of time drinking this KoolAid and if users don't stay the OS will die, but I don't see how that is any of our problems. None of us are paid to beta test the hardware and software. Instead we are asked for our time and money. Microsoft isn't running a kick starter. They need to get over themselves.

What makes you think we are so closed minded?:amaze:

I have an iPhone and an Android Tablet. I think WM10 has its appeal over IOS, and you cant compare it to Android. Android is definitely the developers platform, the wild wild west, do what you want, steal what you can.
Apple has never had a phone like the 1520.

 

[Jakoh]

Re: Is there something unique left in windows phone ?

The Facebook app for Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile is made by Microsoft, not Facebook.

LOL
good thing i don't use facebook, I would definitely feel abandoned on WM10.

Also to answer the original poster...The task switching screen and the arrow button.