The Sharks Are Already Circling

[tgp]

And I know twenty people will want to post me back that.all my problems will be solved with WP 8.1, but I am talking about now. I feel like I got in a time machine and went back to 2011.

To further highlight this point, I don't believe a user should buy a smartphone based on future updates. We should buy a device for its present state, and be content with it even with no updates.

For one thing, if it's not an iPhone we are not certain when, and sometimes if, the updates will come through. At this point we're not certain of all the new features coming in 8.1, nor the extent of the features we do know are coming. It's probably going to be at least several months until the (official) update comes through anyway.

 

[txkimmers]

I am starting to feel like a crazy person every time I read reviews like that and threads like this. I always thought I was a "typical" consumer. I have pretty basic needs in a smartphone, but I spend a lot of time considering which item to buy when it comes to technology. I tried WP over another Android phone because I fell in love with the aesthetics of the interface, and chose it in spite of negative press I had read about it, and I have continued to love it, it's just gotten better and better over time, and I cannot envision at this point what could possibly pry me away from it. Yet it makes me feel much less like a typical consumer and more like a niche consumer, and not in a fun, snooty, early-adopter BS kind of way. Based on press like Manjoo's article, my love for WP is just an irrational loyalty, like my loyalty to T-Mobile and JC Penney. But I base that longterm loyalty on having had very positive experiences with those brands.

Recently I saw an article that was a decision tree to help the reader decide which smart phone (read: which OS) to buy. The tree was based on the logic that "ease of use" would lead to Apple, "ability to customize" would lead to Android, and "live tiles" would lead to WP. I don't even know where to start when I read something insanely bad like that, it's exactly the kind of article that kept me from looking at WP in the first place. And of course that only reinforces the sense that WP is doomed, that the "sharks are circling" and that I am just crazy for loving the product. I just wish there was a new way for consumers to approach technology choices, I feel like the current tools are not up to the task.

 

[Janda45]

Go to Lowe's, Home Depot, or any hardware store and put a better thermostat on there. If you can figure out so much BS on your smartphone this should be pretty simple. Keep the original thermostat and re-install it when your lease ends if there's an issue. Who really cares if some individual users can't find certain games or apps they could on Android or iTunes. iTunes is a maze and when I received a $75 iTunes card for Christmas one year I couldn't find stuff I wanted/needed and ended up buying a bunch of music. That's just my side of usage and I'm just fine with the WP store and device. WP8 is much easier than managing Android and just cool enough over iOS that I prefer my WP. People spend too much time thinking about, looking at, and wasting time on their phones anyway. I watched a couple at a restaurant recently strain their necks towards their laps on their phones. Ever heard of talking?

 

[savagelizards]

What did you use before the Icon?

My last phone was a Droid Razr Maxx.

 

[TrueMetalGeek]

Hmm...
All the hit piece articles and youtube videos doing a "Microsoft Surface RT Review" kept me from getting my Surface Tablet at first and I got an Android Tablet.
After being frustrated with the non true multi tasking and non drag n drop etc nature of Android (it seems to just be an app launcher) I looked again into the Surface Tablet and realized that 99% of the reviews were from Android (and some iPad) fanboys and were skewed. I finally found a review by that Lisa lady at some sort of tech review channel and for the first time someone actually showed some of the actual capabilities of the Surface that WERE NEVER DEMONSTRATED by the majority of the "reviews".

Even this Forbes article 11 Apps You Can't Install If You Own A Microsoft Surface Tablet - Forbes was total crap and by reading the comments at the bottom I found the truth.

Yeah. I LOVE this tablet and I'm using it now. If they could make a Windows phone anything like it then it would be game over for Android, iPhone. LOL!

Yeah. All that to say, I HATE reviews that are biased to the point of slander!

I'm on Verizon with my Samsung S4 phone and grandfathered unlimited Data.
I get my new phones by upgrading on my wife and kids lines and swapping the new to my line.
The ICON seems to be the first good Nokia phone to come to Verizon in a while and I will be able to upgrade on one of the lines in a few months.

Anyone know if there is a way to tether to a tablet with an ICON (for free) like I've been doing with my Android phones?
I would like to keep the free tethering.

 

[muneshyne21]

Hmm...
Anyone know if there is a way to tether to a tablet with an ICON (for free) like I've been doing with my Android phones?
I would like to keep the free tethering.

I know my lumia 928 has free internet sharing that works perfectly. I can only assume the Icon has it.

 

[mspace81]

I found the article pretty well-rounded. It listed both positive and negatives of the device and Windows Phone. I think it's disingeous to make very broad statements about what is or is not useful to others. What I may find useless, is very important to someone else. Companies with this type of thinking will not stay in business very long. Technology is always evolving and these companies have to stay on their toes or easily get burned by the competition. I have a windows phone as my secondary device and there are things I like about it, but a whole lot of things that I don't, which I why it's not my daily driver. For me, lack of apps is not one of the reasons I don't use it as my daily driver.

Just because I don't use FitBit or any other health app, doesn't mean that I find the app meaningless. For someone who has a FitBit and uses it daily, but they are interested in windows phone may be turned off by it, because it doesn't have what meets their current need. Sure a person could use a browser and whatnot, but why should they. Apps are designed to make certain tasks simpler. Every platform has their pros and cons and it's about choosing the one that best meets your needs. And for some, windows will not meet that need and android or ios or blackberry will and vice versa.

Posted via the WPC App for Android!

 

[msft_tinkering]

As others have pointed out, the NYT piece was opinion, not journalism.

Well from their initial impressions, Consumer Reports seems to like the Lumia Icon. Of course the full review won't be out for a while. Nokia Lumia Icon Review | Smart Phone Review - Consumer Reports

 

[angusdegraosta]

These kinds of stories are expected EVERY SINGLE TIME some great news drops about Windows Phone in particular and Microsoft in general. All are ignorable. Mostly written by paid fans of google. Guaranteed.

Just wait until 8.1 begins to roll out. Man, will the fangs from the trolls be out.

Exactly! Paid.

 

[lucas.scott]

I actually agree with most of the article. I think it is rather clear he admires Nokia hardware. Even I as an enthusiast am let down from time to time, but I do believe he should do slightly more searching if he is going to be published to such a wide audience.

I just purchased a home - and I knew ahead of time that 2014 was going to be my "year of home automation" That said - I was a little worried about support on my Windows Phone devices. I also own a LG G2 , and knew I could fall back on that if needed. Fortunately 2 or 3 searches in the Store lead me to Home Genie. A client for an extremely popular home automation server. This gives my Lumia devices full control over all of my Zwave devices, Hue lighting system, THERMOSTAT, etc.

I get what he was trying to say - and im sure some of you feel the pain from time to time - even if you choose not to vocalize it. I would simply like to encourage journalists to put in a little more time to ensure their writings are factual..... that's all.

 

[JBConforti]

I think my biggest problem is that its marked as a lumia icon review when in reality its a WP8 review. If you want to review wp8 and give it **** marks then do it. But don't say your going to review a phone and then dont.

 

[savagelizards]

I think my biggest problem is that its marked as a lumia icon review when in reality its a WP8 review. If you want to review wp8 and give it **** marks then do it. But don't say your going to review a phone and then dont.

That's like trying to review an iPhone without mentioning iOS.
Most of the reviews that you will read for the iPhone acknowledge that the phone doesn't have the greatest specs anymore but it still gets its recommendations based on the advantage of its ecosystem.

Without iOS the iPhone is quite ordinary. Hopefully WP can close the gap quickly with 8.1 and the Icon can escape that fate.

 

[mozman68]

That's like trying to review an iPhone without mentioning iOS.
Most of the reviews that you will read for the iPhone acknowledge that the phone doesn't have the greatest specs anymore but it still gets its recommendations based on the advantage of its ecosystem.

Without iOS the iPhone is quite ordinary. Hopefully WP can close the gap quickly with 8.1 and the Icon can escape that fate.

True, but the NYT review focuses more on WP than the phone itself....I think that was his point and that's how I felt as well.

 

[Lnin0]

To me Android feels like a third world OS. A mishmosh of houses, slums, parlors, markets and businesses all bunched into a dense area spotted with narrow streets. Its not so much the fragmentation but the inconsistencies in everything Android has to offer. Its a dirt cheap phone and a flag ship phone. Its a Samsung interface and its an LG interface. Its a cupcake, jellybean and a forked version. Its a grab bag is what it is.

Agreed Apple and Android have larger apps stores and MS does need to do some catching but at some point the rule of diminishing returns applies. More is not better. Better is better. Having 1m **** apps vs 20m **** apps doesn't matter. All that matters is you have the good apps and it looks like MS is making some strides in that department, just not enough. That will only come as market reach grows.

Although I am not an Apple fan their aging iOS is still the most consistent experience out there with the best apps availability hands down. Anyone that would argue Android is better is just basing it on the Androids' market reach which isn't hard to get when you ***** your OS out to anyone and anything. Android has never been about making a better OS, its been about data gathering.