So after 6 months with my 1520...

[Michael Dontigney]

The service isn't the point. The point is we can go to one of these platforms, have their services and apps, and have everything we love because Microsoft is developing for those platforms.

You don't need to go far for the app issues, as of today, I can't access my bank. The largest bank in America, at that.

Oh.. Yeah, you can go to the others and get all the Microsoft apps while some of their apps aren't available for Microsoft devices... That is true.. As for the banking app... 1St.. you left off "****ty" when describing your bank... 2nd, I use a small credit union (no fees for nearly anything) and they don't even have an app for ANY smart phone, but you know what is nice about Windows phones? I can pin their login page to my start screen, one click and I'm at the login and ready to do my online banking. Just like an app, but better because I can usually do more than with an app.
That said, you are right that there is a lack of apps on WP.. this is very true.. but I have yet to encounter an app that I would consider a show stopper not being available which would cause me to go back to Android. I wouldn't use an Apple product if you PAID me. Period.

 

[Hokenweazen]

Hey I use at least 10 fart apps. I have to be prepared for any farting occasion.

 

[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

I would consider my bank a deal breaker regardless of your personal feelings towards it. I would consider lack luster first party apps such as Skype deal breakers. I would consider 15 months between updates for most major apps a deal breaker. I'm going to give this iPhone a shot. UI is absolutely terrible, but for now I can rely on being up to date.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

I will say this, you can tell Apple has no horse in the search race, search is terrible on this thing


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[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

A lot of you may not want to hear this, but after a couple of days with this iPhone I have to say that the app gap is real.. Terrifyingly real. You may say "we have received the top apps" and it may be true. But the QUALITY of those apps and their abilities isn't even close. It really scares me because I was not aware of it being this bad.


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[zkyevolved]

A lot of you may not want to hear this, but after a couple of days with this iPhone I have to say that the app gap is real.. Terrifyingly real. You may say "we have received the top apps" and it may be true. But the QUALITY of those apps and their abilities isn't even close. It really scares me because I was not aware of it being this bad.


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Wait, there are people that actually say that there isn't a big app gap? Of course there is! a HUGE one! 200,000 vs 1,000,000+? That's less than 20%. And everyone knows that the apps that are on WP are updates behind. It's a shame... But I really love the OS and how fluid it is... It's a shame it isn't picked up by developers... But MS is a HUGE company! They COULD do more, a lot more, to persuade more developers, more manufacturers... Hopefully WP 10 will bring enough updates to persuade more developers. I can only hope... I'm waiting for my Note 4 to arrive right now... hmmmphhh

 

[Paul1266]

How many apps fo you use? I use about 40 in total...on my iPad Air, HTC One M8 (android) and my various Lumia Devices. I use WP purely so i can experience the utter hell that Apple/android users had to live through when they had access to less than a quarter of a million apps (that's sarcasm right there). Yes, some are of lesser quality than their counterparts but ALL the apps I use are just fine and comparable. I must be lucky I guess. This is a bit like the camera debate...a couple of years ago an 8MP shooter was just fine...now it is beyond unusable apparently. Lets keep some perspective and sanity please.

Choice is a wonderful thing but how many of those 1 million apps are utter and complete dross? Just asking...

 

[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

How many apps fo you use? I use about 40 in total...on my iPad Air, HTC One M8 (android) and my various Lumia Devices. I use WP purely so i can experience the utter hell that Apple/android users had to live through when they had access to less than a quarter of a million apps (that's sarcasm right there). Yes, some are of lesser quality than their counterparts but ALL the apps I use are just fine and comparable. I must be lucky I guess. This is a bit like the camera debate...a couple of years ago an 8MP shooter was just fine...now it is beyond unusable apparently. Lets keep some perspective and sanity please.

Choice is a wonderful thing but how many of those 1 million apps are utter and complete dross? Just asking...

I use several, but it's not about the quantity. I had no idea how great tapatalk is on other platforms. Or the Twitter app. Or kindle. Or Amazon. Or eBay. Or even games like Spider-Man unlimited. Our apps are so neglected it's painful to see the truth.


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[Paul1266]

I use several, but it's not about the quantity. I had no idea how great tapatalk is on other platforms. Or the Twitter app. Or kindle. Or Amazon. Or eBay. Or even games like Spider-Man unlimited. Our apps are so neglected it's painful to see the truth.


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And yet that can only be part of the story. As mentioned, I have an HTC M8 which is a gorgeous device from a hardware point of view but more often than not it just sits in my drawer because the android interface just doesn't do it for me. What it comes down to I guess is that if you use you device as a kind of miny tablet then you are not going to be happy with the app gap I guess. I have an iPad which meets those needs. I use my phone as primarily a communication device, camera and news reader/browser/navigator. Its not deficient in any of those areas and the UI in my opinion just takes a leak over android and iOS from a great height. Fully acknowledge these are all subjective. iOS just plain bores me. So locked down as it is.

 

[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

And yet that can only be part of the story. As mentioned, I have an HTC M8 which is a gorgeous device from a hardware point of view but more often than not it just sits in my drawer because the android interface just doesn't do it for me. What it comes down to I guess is that if you use you device as a kind of miny tablet then you are not going to be happy with the app gap I guess. I have an iPad which meets those needs. I use my phone as primarily a communication device, camera and news reader/browser/navigator. Its not deficient in any of those areas and the UI in my opinion just takes a leak over android and iOS from a great height. Fully acknowledge these are all subjective. iOS just plain bores me. So locked down as it is.

I agree that Windows Phone as a platform is superior. But it's really embarrassing that as a superior platform we can even use Skype fluidly on Microsoft own device.


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[threewulfmoon]

The quality in many major apps is very telling between iOS and Windows Phone. Like I said in my earlier post, I was pretty much able to run my agency's Facebook page from my phone with one app. With my Lumia, I need two apps, one of which I had to pay for, and I still can't do everything I could with the iOS Facebook app. IE is a terrible browser, as well. It feels like a mobile browser from a couple of years ago.

I love my Lumia and like the Windows Phone platform. I'm going to stick with it, but I am kind of down on Windows right now. Unless Windows 10 delivers a desktop quality browser on a mobile phone, universal apps may not be enough. I was using my Asus Vivotab last night and it struck me. Why would any company invest time and resources in creating a Windows app (and I'm mostly looking at you, Windows 8.1 metro apps) when you can get the same--or superior--experience in the browser-based version? The Facebook W 8.1 metro app is terrible, but you can get the full-featured experience in a browser on the same machine. This is a challenge that Windows 10 will face--it offers a rich browser unlike any other mobile platform, but it needs developers to make universal apps for its mobile platform.

 

[zkyevolved]

I agree that Windows Phone as a platform is superior.

It really is. I absolutely love the OS and how awesome it is. But that's about where it ends. The UI is fantastic, but I think MS is doing a little something wrong with all the "resuming" screens, and my 1520 and 930 have 2GB ram. The phone shouldn't kick things out of memory within seconds. It's 2GB of RAM!

And yet that can only be part of the story. As mentioned, I have an HTC M8 which is a gorgeous device from a hardware point of view but more often than not it just sits in my drawer because the android interface just doesn't do it for me. What it comes down to I guess is that if you use you device as a kind of miny tablet then you are not going to be happy with the app gap I guess. I have an iPad which meets those needs. I use my phone as primarily a communication device, camera and news reader/browser/navigator. Its not deficient in any of those areas and the UI in my opinion just takes a leak over android and iOS from a great height. Fully acknowledge these are all subjective. iOS just plain bores me. So locked down as it is.

Well, I 100% use my phone for: Messaging (WhatsApp, Line and Email). On this front, I find that WP lacks but because of the developers. I can't share videos over line AT ALL unless I record the video from WITHIN Line (no thanks). Whatsapp trims down videos, I believe. My favorite and top messenger is Line messenger. On iOS and Android, the app is fantastic. Tons of customization, very good features. Really, the best messenger out there. On WP it's REALLY lacking. No backup and restore. REALLY slow to download messages. I can't send a picture without having to stay in the conversation, if I leave, it cancels any sending of any kinds of files. I mean, don't get me wrong. At least it's on the platform... But it's frustrating... I spent more time trying to send messages then actually messaging. WhatsApp is light years ahead of Line, and it's STILL lacking behind Android and iOS. Email is awesome, except for the lack of instant deleting / marking read / etc. But it's an OK email sender Especially with the huge screen.
I also use my phone for phone calls. 1520 and Note 4 have excellent call quality. 1520 is superior though.
And finally, for pictures. I took the same picture within the same 10 seconds from both phones. Tomorrow I'll test out more, but the Note 4 actually took clearer pictures! It actually surprised me. I was expecting the 1520 to kill the Note 4. But still, the 1520 has one of the best cameras on the market.

So, from this, the Android phone wins in messaging, and ties in everything else.

How many apps fo you use? I use about 40 in total...on my iPad Air, HTC One M8 (android) and my various Lumia Devices. I use WP purely so i can experience the utter hell that Apple/android users had to live through when they had access to less than a quarter of a million apps (that's sarcasm right there). Yes, some are of lesser quality than their counterparts but ALL the apps I use are just fine and comparable. I must be lucky I guess. This is a bit like the camera debate...a couple of years ago an 8MP shooter was just fine...now it is beyond unusable apparently. Lets keep some perspective and sanity please.

Choice is a wonderful thing but how many of those 1 million apps are utter and complete dross? Just asking...

Hi! I probably use around the same ones on both OSs, but I find that WP lacks the updates that Android has had for maybe a year or so? Hmm... I did miss WhiteNoise for Android. I use it on my tablet now if I need to sleep. What I really REALLY miss is the very usable multitasking and background tasks from Android. But I REALLY love the UI and design of windows phone...

I use several, but it's not about the quantity. I had no idea how great tapatalk is on other platforms. Or the Twitter app. Or kindle. Or Amazon. Or eBay. Or even games like Spider-Man unlimited. Our apps are so neglected it's painful to see the truth.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, almost every app is very big updates behind. I don't know why .... Is the Windows Phone SDK so hard to program with? Is it SO different than Android or iOS? Oh well... Microsoft is a huge company with the funds to do better... I hope they knock it out of the park with WP10!