Considering Windows Phone | Currently iPhone user

[Marcin_S]

Hey guys and gals.
Till about 3 months ago, I had a company provided phone and honestly never cared about the cell phones ? EVER. I always had crap phones and most of them were blackberries. The exception was last year when I got iPhone 5 when the company decided to get rid of the blackberries.
Since I had switched jobs recently, I went to a Verizon store and ended up with iPhone 5S 32GB ? my first own cell phone BTW (do not care for android ? my wife had several of them and never had a good experience ? so no more Android for our family). Originally I wanted a Windows Phone but seems like Verizon didn?t have a single appealing choice at that time. I am hearing now that Lumia 929 is about to be released and that phone sparked my interest in the Windows and now I am really considering it; however, I would like to know the following before jumping ship:
- I am assuming Windows phones are carrier branded, unlike iPhones ? does it means that they have the carrier bloat that can?t be uninstalled like Android? Or does Windows OS allow to remove %100 of the bloat?
- Who is in the control of OS upgrades? Is it like Apple where they announce a new update and every phone gets it regardless of carrier on the same day (assuming it is supported device) or will I be stuck at a carrier mercy and hope that they actually release it?
- iPhone has an on-demand GPS/location ? when an application needs it, it automatically turns on and then 5 sec later turns off to preserve battery ? how is Windows handling GPS/location?
- Is Windows Phone polished enough or will I be noticing bugs/annoyances left and right compared to iPhone? I am talking about things that we are used to for granted on iOS or even Android but then Windows is not there? Or expecting a feature to work one way, but on Windows it works differently/does not work at all?
- From the productivity and usability stand point is there anything I should be concerned when considering a switch from iOS to WP putting asides gaming as I am not a gamer and do not care about any games?

I appreciate any info.

 

[xandros9]

all bloatware and such can be removed easily, save for the boot logo branding.
Verizon is in charge as usual, however, Microsoft has put out a "Developer" Preview program (very easy to enroll)that gives more timely access to their updates, however Nokia firmware updates will still go through normal channels.

Can't say about GPS usage

WP is very polished, smooth, very little in the bugs department, although there are some differences from iOS and Android, and you will obviously notice them. And do know defective units do exist, and you might have the misfortune of getting one, although unlikely.

 

[DBDev]

Unfortunately I can't help you with the answers you don't already have gotten, but I'm gonna welcome you, welcome to WPCentral and hopefully soon Windows Phone! :wink:

 

[Marcin_S]

Thank you for the responses. It is good to know that all the bloatware can be removed.

One more quick question, I know that WP supports files like Excel, Word, PowerPoint and OneNote, but I am wondering if for example, WP can open/view Visio drawings?

 

[pmhgeneral]

Welcome WP Central forums, Always nice to have new members join in, ask questions and post in the thread's.
Good Luck :smile:

 

[amitnahar]

From the productivity point of view I have to say that I am extremely disappointed.
You can't attach more than one document in email.
You can't share Videos, audios in any messaging service.
You can't set Auto GPS. (GPS on demand).
You can't open Password protected excel files. Oh come on..
No Quick Toggles.
No VPN Support. (I know its coming but no exact dates)

I am also using BB10 on Z10 and I have to say Blackberry is doing really good job. They might not have all the apps and games but the OS is featurewise more complete. Not to forget the BB keyboard. Its really good.

 

[rdubmu]

Using the office 365 app on android and ios, it also doesnt let you open up password protected excel documents. Welcome to the forums.

Sent from my LG-D801 using WPCentral Forums mobile app

 

[Marcin_S]

From the productivity point of view I have to say that I am extremely disappointed.
You can't attach more than one document in email.
You can't share Videos, audios in any messaging service.
You can't set Auto GPS. (GPS on demand).
You can't open Password protected excel files. Oh come on..
No Quick Toggles.
No VPN Support. (I know its coming but no exact dates)

I am also using BB10 on Z10 and I have to say Blackberry is doing really good job. They might not have all the apps and games but the OS is featurewise more complete. Not to forget the BB keyboard. Its really good.

This is great info! Thank you
The first 2-3 items on the list are kind of a deal breakers - wow. I am very disappointed with those limitations.

I agree about BB, even though I never saw BB10, I had multiple BBs with OS6 and 7 and till today's day I miss things like independent volumes for different alerts/messages/rings etc., ability to set out of office message and few others.
I still would like to know if WP allows to open Visio drawings. I am not sure if I should ask, but I am hoping that there is a native support for opening and reading PDF's?

 

[reuben9000]

Ugh. I've been using BB10 on the Z10 for 4 months now and it's simply the most boring and disappointing experience that I have ever had. It takes ages to boot up, apps frequently crash, the camera is oh so terrible and only the fact that I was patient with the OS is the reason why I could get used to the swipe gestures. Every single one of my friends thought they were too complicated and made the phone too difficult to handle. My father once got so annoyed because the swipe gestures were so non intuitive that he threw the phone from one room to the other; luckily it landed on the bed. Although I agree it handles mail quite well and the hub is quite useful. But apart from that there is no reason I would recommend BB10 to anyone. Also, the keyboard is not intuitive and it turns out that I never actually end up swiping up as it slows me down instead of speeding me up.
I've ordered the Lumia 1520 and I can't wait for it. Sure it has its niggles like the quick toggles but there are connectivity shortcuts and I'm willing to live with that. And just to show that I'm not a ******, I used the Galaxy S3 before the Z10 and had the Lumia 800 before. I currently have an iPad Mini too. So I like trying new things but I've seen how the OS has matured since I had the 800 and I like what I'm seeing. I'm quite a heavy app user and it turns out that the OS does have everything I need. And I <3 the cameras. Lol.

 

[hacer619]

there is auto gps, but it's not a 5 sec like you said. when you set gps on, it will only initialize as much as the app needs it.

 

[poots1101]

Just my 2 cents and productivity and bugs.....

You will get Office, which is really nice. Yes there are limitations as other have stated before, so if that's a deal breaker, then that's that.

In terms of bugs....in my experience using multiple WP devices (8x, 822, 928, 1020), there aren't really bugs per say, but more limitations/lacking features. Some of them are minor, but some of them are pretty major and only will maybe be fixed with WP 8.1 coming out next spring. The pessimist in me gets frustrated as I feel stuck in the "just wait for the next update to have everything fixed!" mode. GDR2, GDR3....all were victims of the hype-beast. Hopefully that changes with Blue, but only time will tell.

Also one last point - if you rely heavily on Google services, you might want to just look elsewhere. while some have great 3rd party alternatives (metromail, gmaps+, metrotube), many do not (hangouts, google+), or will be killed off next year (metrotalk for google voice). and i wouldn't hold your breath on their relationship (google and MS) getting any better in the short term.

Best of luck on your decision. While not perfect, I love my 1020 and WP8.

ps i wish they didn't screw up skype like they have. probably my biggest gripe in terms of bugs (notifications) and missing features (this could be such a killer app with unified number, lowered costs, better integration).

 

[amitnahar]

Ugh. I've been using BB10 on the Z10 for 4 months now and it's simply the most boring and disappointing experience that I have ever had. It takes ages to boot up, apps frequently crash, the camera is oh so terrible and only the fact that I was patient with the OS is the reason why I could get used to the swipe gestures. Every single one of my friends thought they were too complicated and made the phone too difficult to handle. My father once got so annoyed because the swipe gestures were so non intuitive that he threw the phone from one room to the other; luckily it landed on the bed. Although I agree it handles mail quite well and the hub is quite useful. But apart from that there is no reason I would recommend BB10 to anyone. Also, the keyboard is not intuitive and it turns out that I never actually end up swiping up as it slows me down instead of speeding me up.

I've ordered the Lumia 1520 and I can't wait for it. Sure it has its niggles like the quick toggles but there are connectivity shortcuts and I'm willing to live with that. And just to show that I'm not a ******, I used the Galaxy S3 before the Z10 and had the Lumia 800 before. I currently have an iPad Mini too. So I like trying new things but I've seen how the OS has matured since I had the 800 and I like what I'm seeing. I'm quite a heavy app user and it turns out that the OS does have everything I need. And I <3 the cameras. Lol.

I am using Z10. Though it used to be buggy but after 10.2 its smooth like butter. The keyboard is the best I have seen natively on any phone though WP8 keyboard is quite good too.
I agree about gestures as they are quite complicated but it takes around 2 weeks to used to it and after that you are set to go.
I am not saying that WP8 is bad. I am using Nokia Lumia 820 as my daily driver and quite happy with it. But one thing that is there is that the phone in no terms can be used as a business phone. It don't have the features that business people take for granted.

I am hopinv that it all will change with Blue. #Fingerscrossed.

 

[Marcin_S]

It has been over a month when I responded to this thread. WP is still on my radar - just waiting for a new Lumia phone. Since I am on Verizon, I am waiting on Lumia 929/ICON to see how it performs and how much it cost (I am on contract so I will be buying out right. The good thing is that my used iPhone 5S 32GB should sell for about the same as a brand new Lumia, so cost wise I am hoping for a wash).
Since I do not have a tablet of any kind (kids have their own iPad's) I am toying with the idea of 6" phone as a compromise device to substitute both tablet and phone, but I am just scared that it might be too big (I am a small guy 5'8 with small frame/hands) to use for making actual phone calls. In any way, I am excited to jump ship - cant wait for this to happen.

Still an unanswered question - can Windows Phone open Visio documents?

 

[hacer619]

It has been over a month when I responded to this thread. WP is still on my radar - just waiting for a new Lumia phone. Since I am on Verizon, I am waiting on Lumia 929/ICON to see how it performs and how much it cost (I am on contract so I will be buying out right. The good thing is that my used iPhone 5S 32GB should sell for about the same as a brand new Lumia, so cost wise I am hoping for a wash).
Since I do not have a tablet of any kind (kids have their own iPad's) I am toying with the idea of 6" phone as a compromise device to substitute both tablet and phone, but I am just scared that it might be too big (I am a small guy 5'8 with small frame/hands) to use for making actual phone calls. In any way, I am excited to jump ship - cant wait for this to happen.

Still an unanswered question - can Windows Phone open Visio documents?

You will like WP8 more than your iPhone

As for the visio documents. The built in office app can't open visio files (It can only open excel, word and powerpoint files), but there is an app 'VSD converter' that opens and shares and convert visio files. However, the app costs $1.99

 

[WanderingTraveler]

You'll be fine with the size of the 1520 if you don't plan on using it one-handed or place it in your pocket for any considerable length of time.

By the way, while carriers have a lot of control over the phone and the firmware, they don't really have a say about their bloatware. One hold and uninstall away from disappearing.

By the way, WP handles Location the exact same way, which means you only use it when you need it. (Unless you have Find My Phone enabled, which checks roughly once an hour)