I don't intend to bash Nokia or WP7 here, just wanted to voice my opinion on why I ultimately gave up on the Lumia 800.
first off, I have been wanting to get a WP7 phone since the first Samsung Focus was released. I even was ready to purchase at an AT&T store with cash on hand w/out the contract, only to come across an idiotic employee who said they don't sell any phones out the contract (even though they listed the out of contract price??)...anyway, that's another story.
anyhow, I decided to then wait once Nokia partnered w/ MS for these phones, and ultimately jumped on the Lumia 800 last month from an iPhone that I've been using for the past 3 years. I was amazed by how gorgeous this phone was once I received and started using it for the first time. and I will say I thought I would never go back to iOS.
then, my interest started falling apart over several things - one main thing being the battery issue many of you may know (even after the latest update).
the battery issue became such a deal breaker for me. I could not use the phone and enjoy it the way the user interface and functionalities was meant to be. I developed a habit of always going to settings just to see how much battery I had left, which was an annoying thing to do on its own, but even more annoying to see that the battery can drain from 90%, to 40%, to <20% w/ minimal use within a matter of hours. trust me, I have tested this for a few days by leaving my phone idle at work.
it even got to the point where I emailed Nokia several times, only for them to respond with basic tips on how to preserve battery life (ie turn off 3G when not needed, turn off wifi, turn off live tiles, turn off background apps). well heck, if I have to do all that, then how could I even use this phone to its full potential? also, I never had to worry about such silly issues nor will I ever want to, and sorry to say this experience has made me worry more about using the phone than feeling that it's a much more usefull tool than my previous phone.
other issues that also irritated me was how it seems the developers half-assed their apps with WP7 (apps that are also available in the iPhone). the reason the lack of total apps did not bother me is because who cares if iOS has 1 million apps versus WP7's 30k...I only use less than 30 key apps. but even with the apps that are available, they are not even as useful as the iPhone version.
examples:
ESPN Scorecenter - cannot choose favorite sport or favorite team. live tile finally came out but you can't pick what info you want to see.
YouTube - app exists but it's merely a link to the web browser version???
Music - cannot even stop music completely w/out having to download an app, which by the way I had to google this as there'd be no way I could've even seen this app or look for it in the store (or even know it exists because you wouldn't think you need an app to stop music??)
Weather - no native app, must choose one based on reviews
Stocks - no native app, must also choose based on reviews
Notes - no native app
even 3rd party apps like Yelp - it cannot be used unless you turn on location services..which lead back to battery issues. I use Yelp all the time to look at info and phone #s. I dont want to have to turn on location just to get this information.
Flixster - has terrible quality videos
Videos - how do you drag through the video instead of hitting rewind or fast forward?
SORRY this is so long and if sounding as I am bashing, I am not. these are my legitimate concerns and just wanted to share in case anyone out there has felt the same way.
though I switched back to iOS, I do wish WP7 success as well as Nokia and all the other manufacturers. I guess it's just not for me, at least not yet.
I hope in Apollo many of these issues would be addressed. but still, you would think that if MS and Nokia wanted to make a dent in the smartphone world, they'd have learned from iOS and Android, and at least release functionalities that at the very least match what iOS/Android already offers instead of playing catch up with every major update.
I am sure many of you will not read this crap but for those who do and care to share your thoughts, thanks in advance. and again I do not intend for this to offend anyone, but apologize if it does.
first off, I have been wanting to get a WP7 phone since the first Samsung Focus was released. I even was ready to purchase at an AT&T store with cash on hand w/out the contract, only to come across an idiotic employee who said they don't sell any phones out the contract (even though they listed the out of contract price??)...anyway, that's another story.
anyhow, I decided to then wait once Nokia partnered w/ MS for these phones, and ultimately jumped on the Lumia 800 last month from an iPhone that I've been using for the past 3 years. I was amazed by how gorgeous this phone was once I received and started using it for the first time. and I will say I thought I would never go back to iOS.
then, my interest started falling apart over several things - one main thing being the battery issue many of you may know (even after the latest update).
the battery issue became such a deal breaker for me. I could not use the phone and enjoy it the way the user interface and functionalities was meant to be. I developed a habit of always going to settings just to see how much battery I had left, which was an annoying thing to do on its own, but even more annoying to see that the battery can drain from 90%, to 40%, to <20% w/ minimal use within a matter of hours. trust me, I have tested this for a few days by leaving my phone idle at work.
it even got to the point where I emailed Nokia several times, only for them to respond with basic tips on how to preserve battery life (ie turn off 3G when not needed, turn off wifi, turn off live tiles, turn off background apps). well heck, if I have to do all that, then how could I even use this phone to its full potential? also, I never had to worry about such silly issues nor will I ever want to, and sorry to say this experience has made me worry more about using the phone than feeling that it's a much more usefull tool than my previous phone.
other issues that also irritated me was how it seems the developers half-assed their apps with WP7 (apps that are also available in the iPhone). the reason the lack of total apps did not bother me is because who cares if iOS has 1 million apps versus WP7's 30k...I only use less than 30 key apps. but even with the apps that are available, they are not even as useful as the iPhone version.
examples:
ESPN Scorecenter - cannot choose favorite sport or favorite team. live tile finally came out but you can't pick what info you want to see.
YouTube - app exists but it's merely a link to the web browser version???
Music - cannot even stop music completely w/out having to download an app, which by the way I had to google this as there'd be no way I could've even seen this app or look for it in the store (or even know it exists because you wouldn't think you need an app to stop music??)
Weather - no native app, must choose one based on reviews
Stocks - no native app, must also choose based on reviews
Notes - no native app
even 3rd party apps like Yelp - it cannot be used unless you turn on location services..which lead back to battery issues. I use Yelp all the time to look at info and phone #s. I dont want to have to turn on location just to get this information.
Flixster - has terrible quality videos
Videos - how do you drag through the video instead of hitting rewind or fast forward?
SORRY this is so long and if sounding as I am bashing, I am not. these are my legitimate concerns and just wanted to share in case anyone out there has felt the same way.
though I switched back to iOS, I do wish WP7 success as well as Nokia and all the other manufacturers. I guess it's just not for me, at least not yet.
I hope in Apollo many of these issues would be addressed. but still, you would think that if MS and Nokia wanted to make a dent in the smartphone world, they'd have learned from iOS and Android, and at least release functionalities that at the very least match what iOS/Android already offers instead of playing catch up with every major update.
I am sure many of you will not read this crap but for those who do and care to share your thoughts, thanks in advance. and again I do not intend for this to offend anyone, but apologize if it does.
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