I love windows phone 8 but is it a better experience than wp7

[dreonedon]

First I had an android in 2010 it had scratches a broken screen and lagged. Year 2011 my girl gave me a Samsung focus flash i677 wp7 i still have that phone today by the way i work in construction and this phone believe it or not is in perfect condition its fast and does most things i want to do. December 2012 i decided to get a lumia 920 it was great until i made and forgot my wallet password 2 days ago so i decided to reset my phone so i can continue buying apps very wrong thing to do if you have a lumia 920 i still have a cogwheel spinning on my 920 right now i will be getting a new 920 from AT&T in the coming week. so for now I'm back with the best phone i ever had Samsung focus flash i677 wp7 and its in better condition than my 6 month old Nokia lumia 920 what does that say about wp8. All im saying lets not forget where we are coming from.

 

[mase123987]

920 is a better phone. WP8 is a better OS. Glad you like your Focus Flash but to say it is a better phone is kind of crazy. Also, your one experience doesn't amount to a lot. A lot of people can make broad statements based on one experience.

 

[a5cent]

Going to finally disagree with you for once mase ;-)

In terms of its future potential and app selection, yes, WP8 is obviously better. However, neither of those properties are relevant when comparing only the OS in their current states.

IMHO, WP8 adds not a single notable feature to what WP7 already included. Instead it actually lost some features which are still missing (radio, usable XBOX music)

In daily use, my L920 is no faster than my L800.

In terms of stability WP7 is far superior to WP8.

Viewed purely from a consumers point of view, it isn't necessarily as cut and dry as one might think.

 

[mase123987]

Going to finally disagree with you for once mase ;-)

In terms of its future potential and app selection, yes, WP8 is obviously better. However, neither of those properties are relevant when comparing only the OS in their current states.

IMHO, WP8 adds not a single notable feature to what WP7 already included. Instead it actually lost some features which are still missing (radio, usable XBOX music)

In daily use, my L920 is no faster than my L800.

In terms of stability WP7 is far superior to WP8.

Viewed purely from a consumers point of view, it isn't necessarily as cut and dry as one might think.

That's a shame!

WP8 allowed for higher resolution phones and dual core. That alone has allowed WP to say that its flagships are just as good spec wise.
Radio is coming back.
While my 900 was a sweet phone, 920 is faster and smoother for me.
I have had zero stability issues expect for a couple caused by terrible apps. That said WP8 is basically a total redo. It is less than a year old. It isn't like it was just an update.

 

[dreonedon]

That's a shame!

WP8 allowed for higher resolution phones and dual core. That alone has allowed WP to say that its flagships are just as good spec wise.
Radio is coming back.
While my 900 was a sweet phone, 920 is faster and smoother for me.
I have had zero stability issues expect for a couple caused by terrible apps. That said WP8 is basically a total redo. It is less than a year old. It isn't like it was just an update.

 

[dreonedon]

Not saying the 920 and wp8 isn't better but wp7 still runs better to me and a lot smoother its refined I'm using it now and it just feel miles better than my 920 idk why its just smooth bro but I'm still gonna missing my 920 no doubt more features.

 

[dalydose]

The OP asked about "the experience" and WP8 is a better experience for me EXCEPT for XBox Music. Zune was/is far superior and "just works".

 

[a5cent]

That said WP8 is basically a total redo. It is less than a year old. It isn't like it was just an update.

I'm the last person you need to explain that to. I understand why it is the way it is. I also know stability and reliability (many people have experienced the OP's reset issue) will improve going forward.

On the other hand, as it is now, today, in its current form, the consumer facing differences between WP7 and WP8 aren't as big as one might think. That is all I'm saying...

 

[a5cent]

The OP asked about "the experience" and WP8 is a batter experience".

Would you mind elaborating what you mean with "experience" and what exactly you find better (in terms of OS features, usability, responsiveness, etc... not hardware). I don't see it.

 

[rhodri22]

The OP asked if WP8 a better experience than WP7, and from pure spec and speed terms it definitely is. But as someone who lives in a place with no native podcast support (outside the US) it's a horrible experience. With WP7, I would plug my phone into a wall socket to charge, start my PC, and podcasts would sync wirelessly to my phone from Zune. With WP8, I have to plug in my phone to sync anything, and it's a pain to get the podcasts on to my phone. Therefore, for me, in day to day use WP8 is a worse experience than WP7.

 

[a5cent]

The OP asked if WP8 a better experience than WP7, and from pure spec and speed terms it definitely is.

This is what I completely don't understand (and suspect I disagree with).

Specs DO NOT make an experience! They exist on paper, and if they do not translate into a noticable improvement they are irrelevant. My L800 is just as snappy and fluid as my L920. The EXPERIENCED performance is just as good. No difference.

 

[rhodri22]

Specs DO NOT make an experience!

They do when playing any of the Xbox games. The difference between load times is night and day. If fact, the load times of pretty much every app is so much faster on WP8. If you're just talking about the start screen though then yes, the experience is about the same...

 

[constantinosmi]

Well one thing I find better in WP 8 than WP 7 is the ability to choose what apps show notifications on the lockscreen. I find it useful. Another think I like about the lockscreen is that apps can take advantage of it, especially weather apps! Since WP 8 and WP 7 are almost identical any features that I find useful in WP 8 are extra and account to a better experience than WP 7.

 

[a5cent]

Well one thing I find better in WP 8 than WP 7 is the ability to choose what apps show notifications on the lockscreen. I find it useful. Another think I like about the lockscreen is that apps can take advantage of it, especially weather apps! Since WP 8 and WP 7 are almost identical any features that I find useful in WP 8 are extra and account to a better experience than WP 7.

I can see that. For me personally however, that improvement didn't do much. I think it unfortunate that we need to dig up such minor features to demonstrate differences... kids corner belongs in that category as well.

I guess I just have difficulty associating those features with the grand word "experience".

 

[DavidinCT]

But, 7.8 made windows phone 8 almost pointless in the experience... In day to day stuff, using built in apps, you would not notice much change, if any from 7.8 going to a WP8 device.

Don't get me wrong, WP8 is worlds better in some aspects but, moving from a 7.8 device to a WP8 device, it was not like a worlds difference till I started really looking over stuff.

Plus with 7.8 we get Zune back (Zune blows away the Windows Phone App POS app) and I could have a FM radio to listen to sports games. Yea, FM will come, so they claim. When ? When baseball season is over ?

The OP does have some points that I could agree with...but, I could not go back, I tried for a few days...

 

[dalydose]

Would you mind elaborating what you mean with "experience" and what exactly you find better (in terms of OS features, usability, responsiveness, etc... not hardware). I don't see it.

"Experience" is more than the OS. There has been an explosion in app development and to exclude that from the equation is a mistake and fails to understand how the "under the hood" changes make that development possible. The camera experience is enhanced in the OS **and** via development, for example. Ignoring hardware is also mistake. The hardware standards of the OS are important in the growth. Even things that aren't required by the OS are important to MY experience. Better mics, OIS, wireless charging, NFC are all important to the experience.

If you shape your argument to exclude many of the things that shape the experience, then it isn't a fair analysis.

 

[link68759]

WP8 has more powerful API and thus more capable apps. Moreover, the voice control and app's ability to integrate into voice control is a HUGE advantage over WP7.

Radio is coming to WP8, so that point is invalid. A better music management system will come eventually.

The only reason anyone should stick with WP7 is if they have rooted their device and make use of that freedom... Also HaRET might be finished soon. If you don't know what those mean, then there's no reason to stick with WP7.

/thread
Sent from my Windows 8 device using Board Express Pro

 

[cgk]

Radio is coming to WP8, so that point is invalid. A better music management system will come eventually.

This is an argument to the future - we are talking about user experience now.

 

[Jazmac]

I think WP8 is a better experience. Definitely a better dev platform. Better camera on the 920 than my 900. Better multitasking implementation on the 920. All that for me points to a better experience.