New to WP, need input

[MercenaryOne]

The wife and I both picked up new WP8 phones last week. I got the HTC 8x for $50 and she got the Nokia 822 for free, we are on Verizon. So i have a few questions.
First, I constantly see her getting deals on apps for free on her Nokia, where as I have to pay between $3 and $6 for these. Does HTC not do promotions like that, or does Nokia have a partnership with the developers, or do they just not mind picking up the tab for some apps?
When going through her list of apps on her store it is much more extensive, where mine is limited, are all of these just Nokia exclusive?
Will Nokia exclusive apps ever make it to the standard WP8 store?
Are there any plans for Swyp like feature for the keyboard?
I am having to constantly charge my phone on a day to day basis, my 2 year old Galaxy Fascinate with the same battery it came with lasts longer than my 8x, and I used that phone way more than I do my 8x. What gives? Is this a known problem?
Also noticed she has a place for SD card and has a removable battery where mine doesn't. Did I make a mistake in getting the HTC 8x instead of the 822? Why would a supposed "Flagship" phone lack these features where as a mid range phone has them? I still have 1 week to return the phone, is there an advantage to keeping the HTC 8x?

 

[poddie]

The advantage mainly comes down to the design and look of the 8x. In addition, the 8x has an HD screen, while the 822 is 800x480. Personally I would rather have the Nokia I think... but it's all personal preference.

You are correct on pretty much all of your assumptions. Nokia has many exclusive apps that are not on HTC phones.

8x has no Sd card slot.

Processor speed is the same on both.

 

[freestaterocker]

HTC strikes again. Nokia has worked to bring many big devs on board who previously had little to no interest in developing for WP7/8. As a result, they offer many of the resulting apps either heavily discounted or on timed or permanently exclusive status. They are also known for outstanding battery life (assuming your device is one of the lucky ones-they've had some QC issues in this area, especially with the 920) even compared to competing WP handsets. For example, the 2000mah cell in the 920 (again, assuming it's problem-free) is capable of delivering virtually identical endurance as the Samsung Ativ S with its 2300mah unit. If you want the latest and greatest apps, awesome battery life and LEGENDARY post-purchase support, Nokia is the best choice hands down.

For the record, I'm typing this on my Ativ S, which I absolutely LOVE.

 

[iamtim]

The only thing I have to add is that once I retired by BlackBerry 8700, I've not had a smartphone that didn't need to be charged every night. There are tons of things you can do to save battery life - just search this forum to find them - but you'll still probably need to charge it every day to day-and-a-half (if you're lucky).

 

[freestaterocker]

The only thing I have to add is that once I retired by BlackBerry 8700, I've not had a smartphone that didn't need to be charged every night. There are tons of things you can do to save battery life - just search this forum to find them - but you'll still probably need to charge it every day to day-and-a-half (if you're lucky).

I'm only quoting this post so it will appear twice.

If you want a smart device that will last more than a day on a charge, start looking for a Symbian phone. The only downside, of course, is that you'll have a Symbian phone lol.

 

[freestaterocker]

Oh, and some Nokia apps are timed exclusives. A few of them are coming over already. Mostly games. Mirror's Edge is awesome!

 

[narv]

so as stated above..nokia has a lot of exclusive apps, many of which are made by nokia.. however a lot of these will roll over eventually to all win phones.. some of them already have like nokia drive. there is also no plan to support 3rd party keyboards so if they got a swype still it would be built in by the OS.

battery seems to be an issue for a lot of people.. some say doing a factory reset fixes it. the OS has some bugs still but for the most part the OS is pretty solid... but as pointed out above, phones today do so much that having a super long battery life is hard ro come by... it's also variable on signal strength and such.... I know for example reports of people using iOS 6.1 are now averaging about 4-5 hour battery life.. something in the OS code..

overall, I hope you enjoy your phones and welcome to the club!

 

[scottcraft]

I bought an 822 on launch day. After a couple of warranty replacements I'm now on an 8X. I think I'm going to like the 8X better. I prefer the screen, camera and form factor of the 8X. I liked the SD card storage of the 822, but I think I'll be able to live without it. I do miss Nokia music and some of the camera apps, but overall in pretty pleased with the 8X at this point.

 

[jiayit]

I bought an 822 on launch day. After a couple of warranty replacements I'm now on an 8X. I think I'm going to like the 8X better. I prefer the screen, camera and form factor of the 8X. I liked the SD card storage of the 822, but I think I'll be able to live without it. I do miss Nokia music and some of the camera apps, but overall in pretty pleased with the 8X at this point.

Used to own the 820 (iinternational variant of the 822), and I agree to every single point of this post.
The camera is better on the 8X, and the design is KICKASS. I only have a few songs, so I still have 9.5GB left on my 16GB 8X, I do miss Nokia Music though!

 

[iamtim]

Interesting. I've had a 920, an 8X, and an 820; the 820 is my favorite out of them all. I thought I was really going to dig the 8X but... once I used it for a couple of days, I just did not like the form factor. To me, it felt flimsy in my hand. Plus, because the buttons are so small and thin, I really had to land on them just right or they wouldn't actually press. So it was a very awkward phone for me to use.

 

[scottcraft]

Interesting. I've had a 920, an 8X, and an 820; the 820 is my favorite out of them all. I thought I was really going to dig the 8X but... once I used it for a couple of days, I just did not like the form factor. To me, it felt flimsy in my hand. Plus, because the buttons are so small and thin, I really had to land on them just right or they wouldn't actually press. So it was a very awkward phone for me to use.

Button size and placement is definitely better on the 822. The buttons are practically flush on the 8X, so they are harder to press. I think the 920, 820 and 810 look better than the 822. I've never handled any of them so I don't know if the 822 is thicker or not. They are all nice phones though.