From Jelly Bean to Amber. My leap into WP8 and the 925

snowmutt

New member
Jul 4, 2011
3,801
0
0
Visit site
As I laugh several times out loud, it is just too painful to try and explain what I find so funny to the non-geek-non-tech-we-actually-have-a-life crowd.



Please, take your time, keep posting, and I am on my way to CrackBerry to pick a fight by mentioning apps right now....

Oh yes, there will be blood.

Looking excitedly to the next 10 days.
 

Asrialys

New member
May 22, 2013
147
0
0
Visit site
Yeah, I was puzzled when Peek was missing from my brand new Lumia 925. A user here told me to update Display+Touch. I had no idea how to update a setting, but then some time later (approximately 24 hours after buying the phone), the Store tile told me I had some updating to do. I saw Display+Touch and few settings on that list. Now I have Peek. By the way, I had run the Phone Update setting a few times before eventually getting that update. Apparently, the update comes when it comes...
 

Muessig

Moderator Team Leader
Sep 30, 2012
5,647
1
36
Visit site
Chris, normally Nokia support really know their stuff, so please don't let one person put you off. The support rep was a bad cookie and even though they didn't realise the literally brand new 'peek' setting on glance existed and practically flat-out called you a liar, please don't let that deter you. This is a very rare case of bad Nokia support in my experience.

The best thing you can do is to make sure your phone has the Nokia system apps up to date. You can either do this by following this guide to find out how to make sure you get app updates, or use this app: LUMIA pusher | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United Kingdom) Lumia Pusher. Add to this the obligatory make sure your phone OS is up to date through settings>phone update.

As far as a youtube app goes, definitely you need to try Metrotube and myTube. Personally I prefer Metrotube but these are hands down the best youtube apps.

As others have said, go to the store, get WPCentral app and click try. This will give you a trial version that never expires and if you like it enough, you can invest $1 and say "adverts be gone!"

Here's hoping you still have a Lumia come day 5.
 

Chris2183

New member
Jul 18, 2013
62
0
0
Visit site
Almost every WP app is available in a trial version. The WPC app is an unlimited/unrestricted trial. You can download the trial for free. There is no difference to the paid version except for the in-app advertisements. For the purchasing price of $1 you are given the option to remove the advertisements, and the good feeling knowing you are doing the right thing and supporting the developer. ;-)

Gotcha, I was under the inpression that the trial option on apps would be full use of the app for a short duration before asking for payment to continue. In the Play Store, free versions are labeled "free" or "lite" in most cases so I was looking for the one labeled free. I have no problems purchasing an app when Im positive Im keeping the phone

As I laugh several times out loud, it is just too painful to try and explain what I find so funny to the non-geek-non-tech-we-actually-have-a-life crowd.



Please, take your time, keep posting, and I am on my way to CrackBerry to pick a fight by mentioning apps right now....

Oh yes, there will be blood.

Looking excitedly to the next 10 days.

Dont forget to call physical keyboards outdated and lame :grin:
I am very adept with Android. The phone is not overly complicated its just different

Yeah, I was puzzled when Peek was missing from my brand new Lumia 925. A user here told me to update Display+Touch. I had no idea how to update a setting, but then some time later (approximately 24 hours after buying the phone), the Store tile told me I had some updating to do. I saw Display+Touch and few settings on that list. Now I have Peek. By the way, I had run the Phone Update setting a few times before eventually getting that update. Apparently, the update comes when it comes...

This is where I got in trouble, it never dawned on me that this is an app. I assumed it was baked in

Chris, normally Nokia support really know their stuff, so please don't let one person put you off. The support rep was a bad cookie and even though they didn't realise the literally brand new 'peek' setting on glance existed and practically flat-out called you a liar, please don't let that deter you. This is a very rare case of bad Nokia support in my experience.

The best thing you can do is to make sure your phone has the Nokia system apps up to date. You can either do this by following this guide to find out how to make sure you get app updates, or use this app: LUMIA pusher | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United Kingdom) Lumia Pusher. Add to this the obligatory make sure your phone OS is up to date through settings>phone update.

As far as a youtube app goes, definitely you need to try Metrotube and myTube. Personally I prefer Metrotube but these are hands down the best youtube apps.

As others have said, go to the store, get WPCentral app and click try. This will give you a trial version that never expires and if you like it enough, you can invest $1 and say "adverts be gone!"

Here's hoping you still have a Lumia come day 5.

The phone support rep was who I referenced in my post. I later had a live chat in which the rep also claimed the option did not exist until I posted a link to the screenshots that were posted here a few days ago in an article showing off Peek. The Live Chat rep then back peddled and said it was in beta and I would get the update when it was released. My faith in their support is lacking at the moment.

Thank you for the Lumia Pusher Im going to install and update. I will give Metrotube and myTube a try they, are the two that seem to get mentioned more than any other Youtube app. In 10 days WP Central may get my dollar:smile:
 

Guidos Dad

New member
Aug 19, 2011
48
0
0
Visit site
TL:DR- Long time Android user gets a Windows phone. Culture shock and high seas mayhem ensue

After asking about what I thought were my most used apps and getting positive responses, I made the jump and got a Lumia 925 Friday Night. My first 48 hours with it have been a whirlwind of highs and lows. Here is my story.

Friday Im anxious and excited. Armed with the assurance from the forums that almost everything I want to do on WP8 is possible, I head to my local T-Mo store. While waiting I compare the 521 to the 925, ultimately I decide I cant go back to a 4 inch screen and settle on the 925 as I love 4.5-4.7 inch screens they are the sweet spot for me. We pay, swap sim cards and out the door we go. Nexus in my pocket and Lumia in my hands Im king of the world.

The instructions are in the box. We dont need no stinking instructions

Turn it on OMG the screen is gorgeous, the tiles are cool. How do I move them? Long press tap the thumbtack to unstick it so I can move it. WTF did I just delete:shocked:? I still dont know what I deleted. Ok long press and dont touch thumbtack. Sweet I can move it. What does this arrow do, sweet it changes the size if the tile. Im moving and changing tiles now so far so good. Its so sexy and shiny, and man I sure do love shiny things

Time to check out apps. Where is the app drawer button? I hope it was that random tile I deleted. Lets try that Windows button, nope, hmm lets swipe left or right. Woot I found it! Now its time for search and destroy. T-Mo TV, long press, uninstall. Wash rinse repeat for the rest of the T-Mo bloat. Nice try T-Mo but I aint falling for it. The rest of my evening is spent exploring, pinning and deleting.

Saturday
Its a big day today. Im going out with the wife to some antique shops, do some Instagramming, enjoy a nice lunch, and do some rollerskating Its time for the Lumia to shine.

First up we hit the Local Scout tile and search "Anitque stores near me" Apparently I am 1087 miles from the nearest antique store in Maine. Son I am disappoint :unhappy:. Screw it Ill figure it out while we are at an antique store that we know the location of. I spend the next 30 minutes checking and double checking location services to make sure they are all on. They are and Im stumped as to why it gave me stores in Maine until it dawned on me, that me is Maine. Aha. I try again "Antique stores" this time and viola I have a ton of locations at my fingertips. I am learning :grin:

A few taps later and Here Drive is guiding us on our way. The layout is nice, directions are clear, and local speed limits are posted which is nice for unfamiliar areas. We get to our next destination with no hiccups Drive rocks.

I find a few cool things to snap pics of here and there. The camera is awesome, pics look great. I love having a dedicated camera button except when I am trying to turn the screen on or off as I keep hitting it instead of the lock screen button. I have done this several times over the course of the weekend. I plan on doing it tomorrow as well.

Next destination is decided and Drive guides the way and all is right with the world.

Why is my battery draining so fast? I have had it plugged in to the charger while in the car everywhere we went. Why have I lost 66% battery in 5 hours even while plugged in and charging several times in that 5 hours? These questions must be answered. I go to bing search and type in google.com. The third result is Google. Bing does its job:grin:

I search and after several forum threads and some reviews I unsync almost everything, block background tasks and do some tweaking. Fingers crossed we have stopped the massive drain Sunday will give me a better idea if I got it under control or not.

Time for some tunes while driving. I fire up Rdio, it crashes :eck: One more try. I can pick artists and songs but no radio option. Well at least I got Spotify. I launch Spotify and I dont know who in their right mind over at Spotify though it would be a good idea to not include the radio feature that is available on both Android and iOS but I seriously hope he is last picked at the companys next dodge ball match. I am a sad panda. Drive guides me home as I pout.

Sunday

After I Google how to turn on hot spot, I tether my tablet to the Lumia. It connects easily. I later connect my trucks bluetooth and place a call. The call is loud and clear I love bluetooth 4.0 as it always seems to play well with my truck. My Nexus has struggled with my truck. A2DP streaming is great but call quality is horrible, this is one of the few things I heavily favor the 925 over my Nexus on.

I link Google and Facebook. My address book updates and links duplicate profiles. My calender now shows duplicate appointments and I now have Facebook feeds in my phonebook. I am now the proud owner of an Outlook 2 option in my apps also. I think I am going to reset the phone and start over since I have learned a few things. While the Facebook link added details to my contacts I dont use it enough to care about the feeds littering my inbox. I would also like to redo some things to my liking.

Conclusion
UCbrowser > Internet Explorer
While the apps fell short in several places the phone is fast, sleek and sexy. The OS itself feels very polished and lag free.
Im trying to adapt to the lack of notification bar and LED notifications. the tiles at the top feeding me info on missed messages and emails help. Its not a big deal just a different way of doing things.
Glance is cool
City Lens is a neat gimmick
The camera is awesome
I like Local Scout more than the new Google Local
Here Drive is great

Is the OS and hardware enough to keep me onboard or will the app frustrations send me back into the loving arms of my Nexus 4 we still have 12 days to find out:grin:

OK saw this thread and said I have to read through it and see what you and others have to say. I to have an N4 and have been thinking about getting a WP8. Read your first post and loved your comments. Will go through the rest of the posts later to see other comments I hope will help in my decision or not to make the change from Jelly Bean.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
 

Chris2183

New member
Jul 18, 2013
62
0
0
Visit site
Day 5 A Dance With Dragons

Posting live from the WP Central app!!!
Just kidding, there is no way I could type all this on my phone. Im using the free version at the moment, but this app is well worth a dollar.

First thing this morning I checked the forum hoping there may be a solution to my problem with Glance. Low and behold Muessig comes through with the Lumia Pusher app to force the update. I push the update, and Peek works like it did before the reset. I am good to go :smile:

WP Central vs Nokia Support Lets tally the score

WPC score -9001
Nokia Support score - Charlie Sheen


One thing I have been missing is my Google Now card that shows traffic and trip time to work in the mornings. Here Drive has a Commute live tile that does the same thing. I load it up and set my destination. Time to work is close to Google Now's time. Green, yellow and red lines for traffic did not show up for me. I dont know if it only shows yellow and red if theres traffic or if its not showing any traffic. My commute is pretty mild anyway so as long as it shows me an accident or something seriously impeding me Im good. Here Drive is really turning into the standout app on this phone.

I leave NFC on today and turn off bluetooth and WiFi. NFC on my Nexus consumes very little battery so I feel that the same holds true for the 925.

Normal morning routine engaged Browse Instagram with Instance, Google Plus, Android Central and Crackberry.

Dis Gun Be Gud
Crackberry is on fire this morning. The Nokia 520 is why Nokia is failing. Apparently they set the bar low for quality smartphones and now people expect high quality low end smart phones from Nokia and refuse to buy their higher end handsets. Silly me I thought it was because many were waiting on the 1020 :straight:

Morning shenanigans aside battery life is doing good.


Lunch

Some photo editing with Fotor, some instagram and web browsing. A little bit of Baconit for flavor. Battery life is on par with my Nexus usage and little bump charges from my Astro. NFC being on is having no impact. Crackberry is now blaming Best Buy for dropping the Playbook due to it not getting BB10, instead of them dropping a 2 year old tablet that is EOL.

Bright spot of the day the 4.3 update is rolling out for my Nexus starting today :smile::smile::smile:


Late afternoon
I try an app called AE Fruit Slash. It was free and recommended on Baconit. Its a Fruit Ninja clone that is only one level and wants me to connect with Facebook. Instant uninstall.

Hide yo wife, hide yo kids
Crackberry is now in the throes of "I told you so's" as the Bluebox Masterkey exploit has happened in China :shocked:. For those that dont know this is an exploit that allows remote takeover of an Android device providing you have the "allow install from unknown sources" option checked and download an infected app from a 3rd party app store. (Google patched the official store awhile back).

Time to go Here Drive gives me an ETA to the house given the current traffic



Conclusion
Facebook logins suck
Here Drive just keeps on giving
Nokia owes Muessig money for saving their ***
Give the WP Central app a dollar people
4.3 Jelly Bean is here :love:

Day 5 down 9 to go. Somebody give me the number one, absolute, cant live without free app for this phone:grin:
 

Optimus82

New member
Dec 10, 2012
123
0
0
Visit site
@chris2183
The one thing I do miss from Google Now is the automatic suggested time and route to go back home from any location and time, not just set locations and times like My Commute....unless I'm missing something
 

Chris2183

New member
Jul 18, 2013
62
0
0
Visit site
@chris2183
The one thing I do miss from Google Now is the automatic suggested time and route to go back home from any location and time, not just set locations and times like My Commute....unless I'm missing something

Im not sure I just started using the app this morning and only used it to and from work. I'll know more when I go out this weekend
 

tgp

New member
Dec 1, 2012
4,519
0
0
Visit site
I love your writing style Chris! I'll venture a guess that if you end up back at Android after the 14 day trial, you will likely be the first person in the history of wpcentral to do it with the blessing of us WP fans!
 

Chris2183

New member
Jul 18, 2013
62
0
0
Visit site
I love your writing style Chris! I'll venture a guess that if you end up back at Android after the 14 day trial, you will likely be the first person in the history of wpcentral to do it with the blessing of us WP fans!
Lol wouldnt that be something:grin:

Even if I do go back I could easily see myself buying something like the 625 for the days I still want to have a WP device. I would have just bought the 521 outright if the screen had easier to type on.
 

Muessig

Moderator Team Leader
Sep 30, 2012
5,647
1
36
Visit site
Nokia owes Muessig money for saving their ***

You hear that Nokia? I'm coming to collect! In their defence peek was clearly still beta or at least latest release and wasn't included in the latest GDR2 backup thing when you hard reset. I can understand why it would have confused them. Them calling you out because of it is clearly a bad way to go, though. At least WPCentral could help you out there.

Hmm standout apps for free... Can you tell us any app gaps you're still currently missing?
 

Daniel Ratcliffe

New member
Dec 5, 2011
3,061
0
0
Visit site
This guy seems really good. He's documenting his stuff and is definitely trying his best. As someone else said, if you do back to Android it will be with our blessings and best wishes. It's rare I see someone give WP such a fair shot and do their best to see through its shortcomings. Props to you.
 

Chris2183

New member
Jul 18, 2013
62
0
0
Visit site
You hear that Nokia? I'm coming to collect! In their defence peek was clearly still beta or at least latest release and wasn't included in the latest GDR2 backup thing when you hard reset. I can understand why it would have confused them. Them calling you out because of it is clearly a bad way to go, though. At least WPCentral could help you out there.

Hmm standout apps for free... Can you tell us any app gaps you're still currently missing?

Had they pointed me to the Lumia Pusher app it would have worked out fine and I would probably have a different view. The forums came through so I'm good.

My current apps are
Instance (I have a love hate relationship with this app. When it works its good, but it hangs a lot)

Baconit (I like this one)

Simple Calendar (I've used this for years on Android and this version is just as good)

Fotor(love this app)

Spotify(a radio option would put this right in line with its counterparts)

Flixster (good enough)

Netflix. (laid out nicely)

I don't really do social media outside of Reddit and Instagram so Facebook and Twitter apps are unneeded. I feel like there are some real gems out there that are not on my radar so I am open to the adventure.
 

Chris2183

New member
Jul 18, 2013
62
0
0
Visit site
This guy seems really good. He's documenting his stuff and is definitely trying his best. As someone else said, if you do back to Android it will be with our blessings and best wishes. It's rare I see someone give WP such a fair shot and do their best to see through its shortcomings. Props to you.

Thank you. I went in with an open mind and the thrill of trying something new. This was something I've been wanting to try for awhile and the Jump program from T-Mobile meant that if it didn't work out I was only committed for 6 months instead of 24.

Overall its been a positive experience.
 

Chris2183

New member
Jul 18, 2013
62
0
0
Visit site
Day 6


Y'all ain't gonna like this.

I returned the phone today.

The last couple of days there were some nagging issues that I could not see myself getting past.

In no particular order
The lack of Instagram.
While Instance did an ok job when it worked, it hung up a lot. I had to exit and reopen the app to see pics. Ive had a few problems uploading pics as well (today it took 6 minutes to upload a pic). I hope that Rudy Huyn's app can deliver a true Instagram experience. I have reached the point that I either use my Ipad and tether for Instagram or use my Nexus. I tried, I mean I honestly tried to like Metrogram and Instance, I didnt give Instagrapgh a go because they wanted my email address even though I already had an Instagram account. In the end, they just werent the same as Instagram's native app which is a shame.

The keyboard.
The stock keyboard is phenomenal at word prediction. I sent my wife a complete text and only typed about 10 of the letters in the whole sentence. However I found having to toggle between sceens for numbers and back to letters irritating. Im used to Swype which has the number keys and all common punctuation on the same screen, you long press a letter to get to the appropriate number or punctuation. 90Z% of the time you never leave the first screen. I felt it was inefficient. I also love Swype typing, I ran many words together because I havent used a space bar in ages lol.

Swype Demo for those who are unfamiliar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ-RAefCG_c&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL47262BA2C45BF87C

Voice Controls
This was the big one. I could not tell the 925 "Play Rise Against" have it open a music app and play it. My Nexus does this and it makes starting and changing music while driving very simple. Texting and driving is illegal where I live, and the last thing I want is to get a ticket for typing in a song name, or worse cause an accident. Outside of simple commands like "Call Mom" or "Open Calender" it doesnt do much. Hopefully Microsoft will get this on par with Google Now, but as of now there is no comparison.

The lack of a notification bar. I have a lot vital functions in mine. Settings toggles, music controls, weather, emails and texts show up here. Being able to pull down the notification bar and get a quick peek at a piece of information and go straight to it from the bar is wonderful. When I got a text on the 925 I got a little snippet at the top but tapping it didnt take me straight to the text box to return the text. I had to exit what I was doing and then go into messages, I hope the ability to jump from that notification to the appropriate spot gets implemented

lack of toggles. Live Tiles are wonderful, why cant I hit one to turn WiFi off and on instead of it taking me to the settings.

The lack of seperate volume controls. I like my ringer loud and my music about halfway as it causes distortion through my car stereo while streaming if its up too high. All in one volume needs to go





Y'all are gonna like this
Things that I feel this phone does right.

In no particular order

The camera. I really liked using it. Pics looked fantastic and the instant upload to Skydrive was seamless. It made me excited to take pictures:grin:

The camera button. I loved this part of the camera the most. Pressing half way down to auto focus before the shot is awesome.

Live Tiles. I really like these

The OS in general. The phone in general is snappy, and looks beautiful. The uniformity throughout the phone and apps is very elegant. Everything sticking to the Metro UI creates a fluid look that I really enjoyed looking at.

Here Drive. Holy balls, I love this app like a fat kid loves cake

Outlook. I liked my inbox. very sexy and modern looking

Skydrive. This plays so well with my iPad and Nexus that I may give up my 50gigs of free storage with Box and pay for extra Skydrive storage. I had no trouble transferring things across all three devices

Glance. If this ever shows missed calls, texts, emails, and voicemails it will be perfect

Fotor. I know this is an app but it was a joy to use


Dont be sad or upset with me guys. I come away from the experience enlightened, and still have an overall positive view of the Lumia and WP8. I wanted to give WP8 a fair chance, many of you noticed, gave words of encouragement, tips to get me through rough spots, and cheered me on and I thank you guys for that. This forum has been very welcoming to me and showed a lot of hospitality, you guys are the best.



Oh and one more thing.

I loved Here Drive and the camera button so much that I bought a 521 and put it on its own line :grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin:

While I didnt love WP8 enough to keep it as my daily driver, it earned a spot in my heart and pocket to guide me to my next destination to take that next pic. I snapped about a dozen pics tonight with my new 521 and while not as sharp as the 925 they look good and man I sure do love that dedicated button.


Stay classy guys you are the best, and Im not going anywhere.

Oh and it looks like WP Central is going to get my dollar after all:grin::grin::grin:


P.S. Muessig, I will compile some of my findings from switching from Android to WP8 and send them to you when I get a chance. :smile:
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
322,901
Messages
2,242,866
Members
428,004
Latest member
hetb