I don't get the Android and iOS people who want 5 different "volume" settings on one device. It's confusing and makes no sense.
It also means that, when apps adjust volume, it's inconsistent. Some apps will mute important volumes (like the alarm, which may make you sleep in).
Other times, you think audio is off when it's not. On the iPhone, for instance, you can actually put it in mute mode by flipping the mute switch (which Apple totally stole from Palm and the Treo, BTW -- where's the lawsuit?!?), and still have sound happen. This happened to me in an important meeting when I had an iPhone in "mute" mode that started BLASTING one of those annoying web video ads when I was looking up information pertinent to a topic being discussed. On Android and iOS devices, mute doesn't actually mean mute -- it means "sometimes mute."
With Windows Phone, audio is simple, easy and straightforward. Mute is ALWAYS mute, not "hopefully" mute. Volume level medium means medium volume, across the experience. It is how things should be. Multiple volumes is a complicated, confusing "feature" that adds nothing to the experience and significantly detracts from overall usability.
It also means that, when apps adjust volume, it's inconsistent. Some apps will mute important volumes (like the alarm, which may make you sleep in).
Other times, you think audio is off when it's not. On the iPhone, for instance, you can actually put it in mute mode by flipping the mute switch (which Apple totally stole from Palm and the Treo, BTW -- where's the lawsuit?!?), and still have sound happen. This happened to me in an important meeting when I had an iPhone in "mute" mode that started BLASTING one of those annoying web video ads when I was looking up information pertinent to a topic being discussed. On Android and iOS devices, mute doesn't actually mean mute -- it means "sometimes mute."
With Windows Phone, audio is simple, easy and straightforward. Mute is ALWAYS mute, not "hopefully" mute. Volume level medium means medium volume, across the experience. It is how things should be. Multiple volumes is a complicated, confusing "feature" that adds nothing to the experience and significantly detracts from overall usability.