What Are Your Plans for WP?

[OwenDL]

SO! With the possibility of a Surface Phone, there may be hope for those of us who dream of a sleek, silvery Windows phone that can compete aesthetically with an iPhone. However, since this may not be coming until early or mid 2017, we're stuck putting up with WP's current situation-- a very small amount of carriers actually supporting the platform and offering the new phones, a slow development process for Windows 10 Mobile, and so on.

I ask, to those of you who are waiting for a Surface phone, what are your plans until then? My contract with Verizon ends this September and I just purchased a $30 640 on AT&T's GoPhone system that I'll be able to use from September to the release of the Surface phone(Not going to lie, if I could switch SIM cards I would replace my Icon with this 640...).

I will remain always-optimistic and wait patiently for a Surface phone rather than moving to Android or Apple, despite the shortcomings WP has recently seen. If the Surface phone never comes, or is a failure, then a 950 may call my name, or this fantastic 640 may have to last me until Microsoft can get back into the Mobile game (if they intend to).

 

[ven07]

I think I will go with the Icon (get RS via the XDA tricks), but this depends on me finding a job Can't spend on tech until I have a job (the missus....)

Otherwise I will go with the 640 since it is cheap at this point..

Definitely not leaving the platform yet. The SPhone news has given me new hope Not that I ever lost it, but I just want to buy a phone from MS instead of another manufacturer.. The Vaio did look interesting tho

 

[fdalbor]

I have already moved to Android as my main phone but i have a 640 on the same plan (only 10$ a month to have a second phone on same plan, even with a different number). But i dont know if i will ever trust Microsoft with my main phone. As it is the 640 is still waiting for W10. It may never happen at the rate they are going. I just dont trust them any more. I had to give away my 820 and my wife's 925 when they shut the door on W10 for them.

 

[pankaj981]

I'm not waiting for the surface phone per se but the announcement...until then I may or may not move. I was eyeing for the Nexus 5X for quite sometime now but after reading issues with Android (more issues than my WM10 daily driver 1520) and experiences from fellow WP members about missing WP after moving onto other platforms (I'm long time WP user since the Samsung Focus), I'm going to stick with my 1520 until it dies or until I can convince myself to move on to iOS (or live with it's boring UI/UX).

 

[libra89]

I'm not waiting for the surface phone per se but the announcement...until then I may or may not move. I was eyeing for the Nexus 5X for quite sometime now but after reading issues with Android (more issues than my WM10 daily driver 1520) and experiences from fellow WP members about missing WP after moving onto other platforms (I'm long time WP user since the Samsung Focus), I'm going to stick with my 1520 until it dies or until I can convince myself to move on to iOS (or live with it's boring UI/UX).

I think the 5x is worth a try. Just buy from a place or person that allows for returns.I'm seeing one on ebay that keeps relisting and allows for returns.

As for my answer to this thread, I currently have no plans with WP. I have a T-Mobile 640 but until it officially gets Windows 10 Mobile, I'll stick with my iPhone SE. For me, it's not optional for WiFi calling to work. It needs to work for me. I have had no issues of it not working with the SE, or 5x when I had it. I'll be watching what's going on here, of course.

 

[Guytronic]

My gadget addiction pipelines device boredom for me.
Sometimes I'll hang with Windows for a day or 2 then I'm all about Android for a while.

As far as WP plans I have none.

Just a thought to ponder...
Nine or 10 months is an eternity when it comes to tech.
As I've said hundreds of times before..."Expect the worst ... hope for the best"

 

[HeyCori]

After switching to the 830 because my 1520 is waaaay too big.... I've since switched back to my 1520 because damn it's hard to quit! :grin:

However, I have little reason to upgrade because the 1520 does such a great job running Windows 10. I've played with the 950 at AT&T, and aside from the camera, it didn't seem like a noticeable upgrade. So for the time being I'm staying put.

As for my future with Windows 10 Mobile, my product choices are always under evaluation. Right now the only appeal for jumping platforms is being able to try something new. But once that initial appeal wears off, I'll go back to doing the same things I'm currently doing on my 1520.

 

[pankaj981]

I think the 5x is worth a try. Just buy from a place or person that allows for returns.I'm seeing one on ebay that keeps relisting and allows for returns.

I just bought one...got a great deal on Swappa (32GB/white/new/$260). I guess its time to re-evaluate Android again after 5 years . I might set it up and play around a bit for a few days but the tough choice would be to gather courage and switch it as my primary device..something I haven't tried for a long time. I actually think about this one time when I was forced to use my standby 5S for a week while my 830 was being replaced by Microsoft...I would say the experience was terrible (IMO). I was missing all the unique WP features I had grown into...the experience is phenomenal. The word flow keyboard, live tiles flipping with news/messages on a glance...ohh the Glance screen..wow I already started missing my lovely 1520...time to go take a look at its beautiful screen again lol...yeah I am being too dramatic here...

 

[libra89]

I just bought one...got a great deal on Swappa (32GB/white/new/$260). I guess its time to re-evaluate Android again after 5 years . I might set it up and play around a bit for a few days but the tough choice would be to gather courage and switch it as my primary device..something I haven't tried for a long time. I actually think about this one time when I was forced to use my standby 5S for a week while my 830 was being replaced by Microsoft...I would say the experience was terrible (IMO). I was missing all the unique WP features I had grown into...the experience is phenomenal. The word flow keyboard, live tiles flipping with news/messages on a glance...ohh the Glance screen..wow I already started missing my lovely 1520...time to go take a look at its beautiful screen again lol...yeah I am being too dramatic here...

Wow, that is a great deal! The 5x has something very similar to Glance called Ambient Display. You can get widgets that will have news in them. Please let us know your impressions though!

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I have already moved to Android as my main phone but i have a 640 on the same plan (only 10$ a month to have a second phone on same plan, even with a different number). But i dont know if i will ever trust Microsoft with my main phone. As it is the 640 is still waiting for W10. It may never happen at the rate they are going. I just dont trust them any more. I had to give away my 820 and my wife's 925 when they shut the door on W10 for them.

Sounds like you have a Carrier phone. My 640 xl is unbranded and has official update so the blame is onyourcarrier, not Microsoft

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Keep using it. Its simply the best os and the others feel inferior

 

[Kevin Rush]

Keep using it. Its simply the best os and the others feel inferior

Very nicely said. Good for you. I agree.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Very nicely said. Good for you. I agree.

I just wish Microsoft wasn't hiding out and waiting and letting oems take the spotlight.

 

[ZuLuuuuuu]

The main problem with current W10M situation is the software so I don't agree with people waiting Surface Phone to be a savior. It might have a few cool features over 950 but it will have the same software.

Currently, W10 (especially Mobile) is a mess. Lots of software are from WP8 era and work slow compared to apps specifically written for W10 (for example, 6tag or WhatsApp). New cool features I was waiting (like PC <-> Phone sync) are announced to be Cortana dependent which is not available in my country, so I won't be able to benefit from them. This made me disappointed for the second time recently after the announcement of older Lumias not getting W10M.

W10 was so buggy when it first came out with 950/XL that it has only recently reached a stability point after phones are already 5 months old.

The announcement that phones with only 2.5 year old hardware won't support W10M made people question how much value Microsoft gives to its customers. A lot of people were already skeptic because of WP7 -> WP8 transition and they turned out to be right. If I buy a Lumia 950 will it get the latest and greatest version of W10M after 3 years? Nobody can guarantee anymore.

If you are going to still buy WP under these conditions then you really need to be a fan of WP or maybe have a very specific reason which makes you not switch. I used to recommend WP to my friends until 2 years ago but right now I can't since they will definitely get more value by getting an iPhone SE for example. I still consider giving MS one more chance but there are so many things that makes this decision very hard...

 

[slivy58]

The main problem with current W10M situation is the software so I don't agree with people waiting Surface Phone to be a savior. It might have a few cool features over 950 but it will have the same software.

Currently, W10 (especially Mobile) is a mess. Lots of software are from WP8 era and work slow compared to apps specifically written for W10 (for example, 6tag or WhatsApp). New cool features I was waiting (like PC <-> Phone sync) are announced to be Cortana dependent which is not available in my country, so I won't be able to benefit from them. This made me disappointed for the second time recently after the announcement of older Lumias not getting W10M.

W10 was so buggy when it first came out with 950/XL that it has only recently reached a stability point after phones are already 5 months old.

The announcement that phones with only 2.5 year old hardware won't support W10M made people question how much value Microsoft gives to its customers. A lot of people were already skeptic because of WP7 -> WP8 transition and they turned out to be right. If I buy a Lumia 950 will it get the latest and greatest version of W10M after 3 years? Nobody can guarantee anymore.

If you are going to still buy WP under these conditions then you really need to be a fan of WP or maybe have a very specific reason which makes you not switch. I used to recommend WP to my friends until 2 years ago but right now I can't since they will definitely get more value by getting an iPhone SE for example. I still consider giving MS one more chance but there are so many things that makes this decision very hard...

I started out being a WP fan in 2012 but now have lost any desire per se for some of the exact reasons you state, the wait has been much too long with the stories constantly changing, mostly not for the betterment of the platform IMO.

While the other platforms are producing products/software in the mobile industry that advance and entices the consumer MS keeps living in a fantasy world, some day it may come to fruition but it is that day that leaves most wondering, 1-2 years down the road, longer or never.

It’s one thing to have faulty, buggy or a bad batch of devices but an Inconsistent OS is another thing, still reading way too many situations where W10M is having issues running on same/similar devices, one person will proclaim “mine runs flawlessly” but the next “slow, glitchy, battery eater”, all on same devices. The elusive “hard reset” is downright dismal in this day and age, what, spend hours or days tweaking in hopes that you’ll end up with a satisfactory running device not to mention one may have to go through this process umpteen times, that’s 90s crap… Don’t disagree it is the best recourse yet the percentages as “the need to” tell me something is amiss.

WP will probably never die but IMO it is going to be a very long road before is flourishes if it ever does, past history has shown many restarts and to-date what has changed in that respect?

Because I am familiar with WP in general and “there are” a few preferences and niceties that it does offer/is better at, we'll continue to use our Ativ S/L1020/L830, slowly though we are gradually getting bored with them as they appear to be advancing into the dark ages quickly or are there already, looking back from day 1 I'm hard-pressed to see the advancements that should have been.

Starting in the beginning of 2015 and moving forward nothing that MS has done got my adrenaline flowing, each and every so-called progression had a caveat of one form or another that just toned down my enthusiasm for the platform, when my present devices have run their course I don’t see myself looking back for quite some time, it’ll have to be a reasonable time of stability and progression before I even consider another WM device.

 

[Krystianpants]

I don't have any plans. I have a 950XL that meets my needs. I love Windows 10 mobile where it is today on the production ring. I know through builds more cool features are coming. And I will use it until such a time that something out there catches my attention and makes me want to switch. You shouldn't keep yourself locked into a technology because that's all you know. If Google or Apple release something that catches my interest then I will go over there. It's really that simple. So you shouldn't make plans or wait for the future. The future is full of unknowns, live in the present.

Microsoft has made some bad decisions in the past and I already see another bad decision they made recently. Apparently they decided to sacrifice security of the Windows 10 system with the win32 to appx conversions. And it's the secure nature of the UWP model that I really loved.

Microsoft rethinks the Windows application platform one more time ? The Register

They are obviously doing it because people don't really use the store as much as they would like. Their own fault. If they launched their own desktop apps as better UWP apps in the store from day one. People would have used the store as the default. But they showed people that w32 is still better. And why would a developer put their app in the store just so they lose 30% of their earnings? Not sure how things will go with this.

Google may now adapt swift used by ios. Facebook and other companies are considering it too. So by the time I need a new phone, Google may actually have a new OS built around swift that would get around their whole Java VM issue and increase performance significantly. So when it comes time to change i'm sure there will be a lot of good options.

 

[ven07]

The main problem with current W10M situation is the software so I don't agree with people waiting Surface Phone to be a savior

Lol I don't think everyone views it as the savior of this platform, but I do think that most of us want to see what the Surface team can do with it :grin:

This is the same team that gave us the Surface and haven't stopped delivering ever since, even when everyone said that the world wasn't ready for those devices.. If they do it right (same dedication), can you imagine what they could potentially deliver?

I'm always excited to see new hardware, no matter which platform, but just knowing that the surface team has sth waiting for us, has me more excited than usual

The said bit is, that they keep their projects close to home... so I'm not expecting any leaks

 

[mggm100]

A few weeks ago I decided I'd go back to Android. So I did a little research on what's out there and didn't find anything I can't live without. It still seems like the platform that bored me 2 years ago, and I just can't bring myself to go back. So I'm going to stay with WM because the grass over there doesn't seem any greener to my eyes.

I get a lot of laughs from comments in here, especially the ones complaining that monthly updates are too disruptive. I prefer that to the experience I had with my HTC Androids that were abandoned 6-9 months after being introduced.

 

[Elitewolf]

I'll be sticking around for as long as windows supports the platform, Android still has a ways to go with things I value most like updates, camera features ect. The one thing I really wish we had on windows is a true mid range phone that's priced around $250 unlocked and under. Like the Honor 5x ect. I don't understand the lack of a device in that price range for Windows when it's doing so well for Android.

 

[Martin Oscar Caballero Sartor]

Currently, W10 (especially Mobile) is a mess. Lots of software are from WP8 era and work slow compared to apps specifically written for W10 (for example, 6tag or WhatsApp). New cool features I was waiting (like PC <-> Phone sync) are announced to be Cortana dependent which is not available in my country, so I won't be able to benefit from them. This made me disappointed for the second time recently after the announcement of older Lumias not getting W10M.

W10 was so buggy when it first came out with 950/XL that it has only recently reached a stability point after phones are already 5 months old.

The announcement that phones with only 2.5 year old hardware won't support W10M made people question how much value Microsoft gives to its customers. A lot of people were already skeptic because of WP7 -> WP8 transition and they turned out to be right. If I buy a Lumia 950 will it get the latest and greatest version of W10M after 3 years? Nobody can guarantee anymore.

If you are going to still buy WP under these conditions then you really need to be a fan of WP or maybe have a very specific reason which makes you not switch. I used to recommend WP to my friends until 2 years ago but right now I can't since they will definitely get more value by getting an iPhone SE for example. I still consider giving MS one more chance but there are so many things that makes this decision very hard...

You are right about Cortana. Its no available over here and it seems many features are Cortana-dependent.

A for the 2.5 years old devices not getting an update, rest assured you wouldn't get an update on Android either. Android's update cyce is 18 months. I come from a 2013 Sony Xperia M (bought in 2014) with Android Jelly Bea (4.1) and the last udate I got was 4.3. No 2013-2014 Android phone will get an update to Marshmallow or Android N. On the other hand, my 2-year-old model Lumia 535 (bought new a month back) got an update to Windows 10 quite recently and is gtting new software updates moe frequently than any ANdroid phones. Yes, the approach is ifferent: small incremental builds vs. major PS versions. Will my 535 get the Anniversary Update? I don't know. An I agree with you on mot of your points, but yo would have been forsaken by Google way before. Yes, I know Microsoft can't afford to abandon 2.5 years old devices like Google does. But still, it's still fair for a model's lifespan.