Is there any advantage to owning a Windows Phone anymore?

[dgr_874]

OP here, I decided to just go with the windows phone and jumped in with both feet. I turned my iPhone off, took out the sim card, and put into my lumia and haven't looked back. I even deleted iTunes from my computer and am gonna try and make everything windows work for me. I'm already frustrated about a few things but that's just because I don't know how to do things easily yet. I figure immersion is the best thing for me.

Thanks everyone for the great discussion. Lots of you brought up many good points both for and against. It helped me make and informed decision. Bring on Windows and Windows Phone 8!

 

[amorenod]

I think WP does a lot of things better than iOS and Android. I also love that I can delete anything on the phone and quickly. Android doesn't seem to want you to delete anything. Especially with 4.0 and 4.1. Having to go through multiple page clicks to delete an app is tiresome when in WP and iOS you just 'press and hold - select delete/uninstall/hit the X.'

On my Galaxy Nexus, simply press and hold, then drop to Uninstall. Of course, this can be done the hard way as well, via the settings menu.

 

[gregoron]

I like the simplicity and fluidity of WP over iPhone and Droid. Yes, it has less apps and stuff, but that's why I like it. It does the most important stuff easier and faster.

I look at my brother's Galaxy S2 and as much as he's showing me how many screen savers and launchers he has, they all look gimmicky and kitsch. It's no wonder everytime I see his phone, it's always got a new launcher and screen saver. Wouldn't trade my Nokia blue tiles for some artificial goldfish swimming in the background.

Really, WP gets the important stuff.

 

[power5]

Similarly, all of our students are given google apps accounts so we steer them towards using google documents.

Can you save an excel document on iOS or Google apps and email it to someone? Pretty sure you cannot with iOS. So if not, they have to go to their work computer and call IT to get them to install itunes on their computer so they can sync their phone with it. Unless the icloud allows downloads via web. I know my brother tried to share a photo stream with me and could not. I do not own a mac. My <1yr/old mac at work is not the newest snow kitty cat something version so it will not work either. I could buy the iphoto app from Mac to allow it to work.

On WP, I save file, and email. And when it gets to my clients email, they open it in their native excel program. All they had to do was double click the icon in their inbox. I may be out of the loop on iOS or Google, but I am pretty sure its not that easy to send an excel document or have the person on the receiving side view it. If I am wrong, please let me know.

 

[brmiller1976]

Google Apps are popular in academia because they're "free." Although, if I was a university student paying $25K+ per year for an education, I'd expect my university to put a small fraction of that eye-popping tuition towards proper productivity software (the same sort of software I'd use after I graduate).

 

[VagrantWade]

With the recent annoucement of XBOX music being avalible on other platforms "within 12 months" and the growing rumors that office will come out on the ipad soon next year, why even buy a windows phone? I like the windows phone interface and I really think it has alot of potential but what is the killer thing that makes me want to choose the Microsoft ecosystem over the Apple one? I can get my xbox companion, skydrive, Xbox music, and if the rumors are true, Office on my apple products. This does not seem to make any sense.

It used to be lackluster hardware that was holding windows phone back. Thankfully, thats not true anymore with the new HTC and Nokia phones. I believe that apps will come with the mass adoption of Windows 8, so thats not really an issue for me. I'm really looking at the ecosystem now to figure out what works better for me. Will Microsoft be implementing some sort of backup thing like Apple where they store my purchases and making it easy to back up and restore if I ever have any issues? How about allowing me to redownload any media that I purchased more than just a few times? How about letting my recorded tv with AC3 audio show up in Zune so I can sync it to my phone?

I don't mean to sound like im bitter, there is so much to love about windows phone. Its the small, nagging, things that keep me from switching over. Am I just misinformed about its capabilities? Please let me know what you think...good or bad.

Well Microsoft came out and flat up denied Office going multiplat.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Google Apps are popular in academia because they're "free." Although, if I was a university student paying $25K+ per year for an education, I'd expect my university to put a small fraction of that eye-popping tuition towards proper productivity software (the same sort of software I'd use after I graduate).

University students can purchase Office really cheap. I got Office 2010 Professional for $99.

 

[1jaxstate1]

You can make a spreadsheet. It may not be excel, but it can be saved and emailed. And if that person is using excel, it will open. Works the other way around too.

Can you save an excel document on iOS or Google apps and email it to someone? Pretty sure you cannot with iOS. So if not, they have to go to their work computer and call IT to get them to install itunes on their computer so they can sync their phone with it. Unless the icloud allows downloads via web. I know my brother tried to share a photo stream with me and could not. I do not own a mac. My <1yr/old mac at work is not the newest snow kitty cat something version so it will not work either. I could buy the iphoto app from Mac to allow it to work.

On WP, I save file, and email. And when it gets to my clients email, they open it in their native excel program. All they had to do was double click the icon in their inbox. I may be out of the loop on iOS or Google, but I am pretty sure its not that easy to send an excel document or have the person on the receiving side view it. If I am wrong, please let me know.

 

[1jaxstate1]

The look of WP7/8 is so much different than iOS or Android. It's solid and I don't think you'll miss you old phone too much.

OP here, I decided to just go with the windows phone and jumped in with both feet. I turned my iPhone off, took out the sim card, and put into my lumia and haven't looked back. I even deleted iTunes from my computer and am gonna try and make everything windows work for me. I'm already frustrated about a few things but that's just because I don't know how to do things easily yet. I figure immersion is the best thing for me.

Thanks everyone for the great discussion. Lots of you brought up many good points both for and against. It helped me make and informed decision. Bring on Windows and Windows Phone 8!

 

[eric12341]

Its a far superior OS, nuff said.

 

[1jaxstate1]

No its not

Its a far superior OS, nuff said.