The manufacturers and carriers are really pissing me off.

drbanks

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I really love Windows Phone 8, but the manufacturers and carriers are driving me nutz.

I like having a replaceable battery. I love having a lot of storage. I need at least 32GB, but when I'm limited to that, I spend far too much of my time having to micro-manage my storage. I feel comfortable in 64GB. I'd really like 128. And don't bother trying to convince me that streaming is an adequate solution. Data caps, no WiFi where I work, and nothing beats being lost someplace with no data coverage, and not being able to use the maps app because your phone's so stingy for space, you couldn't afford to download the map.

My solution to this has been a Lumia 521 with 72GB (built-in 8 and the 64GB expansion). With a couple of minor gotchas, it's quite adequate for what I want.

Except that it's an entry level phone with so little RAM (512MB) that running a large-ish app kicks the background audio streamer out. There I am, happily listening to my audio book, and I'm curious about the weather, 'cept as soon as I open my "HD" weather app, the sound stops. Great. Thank you.

I want a high-end phone that actually acts like it's high end: Either expandable storage or enough options to make everyone happy. Note that you can get an iPhone in 3 different sizes, and if they offered a 128GB model, it'd be a no-brainer for me to switch back. I want either real-world two day battery life, or the ability to carry a spare battery (and I'm not talking some huge external case with a battery built in. I like taking my phones bareback).

I want a decent camera. I want enough RAM that I don't have issues getting apps started, or having my background players killed for the space. 1GB sounds good; 2 sounds even better. I want a decent screen. But strangely, the high end phones are missing high end features, like storage or replaceable battery, whereas the cheapest phone has them (and little else).

And most of all, I want it on the carrier of my choice! This drives me nutz.

I'll pay off-contract prices, so I've been sorely tempted to get a Lumia 928, even though it doesn't have a replaceable battery and it doesn't really have enough storage for me, but since I'm on T-Mobile, I'm not even sure I can get reliable 3G coverage. Where I work has been refarmed; where I sleep hasn't. (And Verizon is arguably the better carrier, but to the tune of $1000 more over 2 years of service.)

I would have bought a 920, but AT&T refused to sell me one off-contract, prompting me to move to T-Mo and getting an HTC 8X. Which, by the way, is so starved for storage that I've never been able to use it as music or book player. The 1020 likewise looks interesting-ish, but AT&T exclusive makes it a no-go for me. I really don't miss my $110/month AT&T bill that comes with fewer minutes and slower data.

I'd like the 925, but T-Mo, as they are wont, pulled the bone-headedest move, ever, by limiting the storage to 16GB. It's like they don't really want people to buy them.

So, I continue to carry two phones: the 8X as the phone with the good screen and good RAM, and the 521 as the audio player and GPS device.

Because no one wants to sell a phone that's actually high-end AND WP8 at the same time.
 

drbanks

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Coming from nearly 6 years of iPhone ownership, I gotta say that I don't care what it looks like if it doesn't do the job.
 

sumothong01

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I understand where you're coming from but streaming and cloud based services are the future. I would love an SD slot and a removable battery but those things are dead or dying.

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 928 using Tapatalk. (Spell check done after hitting send.)
 

eruptflail

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If they'd have taken the space for the gimmicky wireless charger and added a SD card port instead the 920 would have been prime. The 925 had that opportunity, but failed, and I wish Nokia would have released on TMO from day one, so I would have a lumia rather than the 8x. I'm miffed that the 8x is getting shafted by HTC when the Lumia devices get their amber update. I mean here's to hoping HTC pulls through with it's own software update, but that seems unlikely.

And It's not like you can "stream" from the cloud anyway. I know exactly how you feel. Even if I put my music on Skydrive, I can't stream it effectively. I have to play one song at a time, and I can't play it though the music app, or with the skydrive app closed. It's a pain. If "cloud services are the future" then Microsoft is behind the times, because I'm not paying to stream music I already own from the cloud, i.e. Xbox music.
 

jmshub

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I think we are at a weird time for smartphones. They are super popular and more power than ever.... Except that you are right, they don't have enough storage, and the carriers tie your hands behind your back with the data caps. I have a ton of music that I wish I could carry on my phone, but can't. My xBox music pass would be more valuable if I had WiFi at work. Eventually, I think streaming will be the method, since it seems like no one wants to build a 128gb phone.

And battery life isn't going to improve substantially until someone comes up with a better battery technology. For what they do, processors and sensors on these smartphones are pretty efficient... I don't think they can crack the battery problem with todays technology.
 

mase123987

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If they'd have taken the space for the gimmicky wireless charger and added a SD card port instead the 920 would have been prime. The 925 had that opportunity, but failed, and I wish Nokia would have released on TMO from day one, so I would have a lumia rather than the 8x. I'm miffed that the 8x is getting shafted by HTC when the Lumia devices get their amber update. I mean here's to hoping HTC pulls through with it's own software update, but that seems unlikely.

And It's not like you can "stream" from the cloud anyway. I know exactly how you feel. Even if I put my music on Skydrive, I can't stream it effectively. I have to play one song at a time, and I can't play it though the music app, or with the skydrive app closed. It's a pain. If "cloud services are the future" then Microsoft is behind the times, because I'm not paying to stream music I already own from the cloud, i.e. Xbox music.

btw, There are a lot of people. including myself, who think wireless charging is far from gimmicky. I use it everyday and won't buy a phone without at least the option to have wireless charging.
 

trwrt

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What about a Samsung ATIV S? It's got the replaceable battery and expandable storage, and is a high-end phone in all other aspects (except no LTE). Supposedly there is a 32GB variant of it available.
 

despertador

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Yes! I'm with you on most points. I wish there was no carrier exclusivity. I want more storage! (especially with the Other storage bug, and I just like to install more apps/games without worrying) And, I want MUCH better battery life. The blame does share with the app Kik Messenger, as that app is a battery juice black hole. Drains battery like how a starved man on the street drains a bottle of orange juice! (jk)
 

Ray Adams

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As I said ones, WP won't success with low end craps. Without excellent highend phones, we doomed. If NOKIA will think with their head, not the down back side of the case, and make phone with all what you wrote about. It will be ?ber phone! Right now we don't have such device. Everyone has bad sides. Samsung phone just don't have such support as Lumias
 

z33dev33l

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So you want the Ativ S or Lumia 810/20/22? I mean, that's what it looks like to me. I gotta say, I have every major XBL release, 22 audio books, 4 gigs of music, an entire season of Hannibal, 161 pictures, 4 videos, the map of TX, and all of Nokia's apps plus a few others on my Lumia 920 and still have 2.37 gigs to spare so what you might be doing that encompasses more is beyond me. As for the battery, the unibody design is and has been revered as the most beautiful and that's not likely to change but we have a plethora of ways to do things as trivial as snap a case on or plug a small USB attachment into our phone that serve the same exact purpose without sacrificing quality.

Ultimately, I think you're just looking for a reason to complain.
 

elyodeel

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As an above post notes, there is a way to change the setting within amazing weather HD. I am curious if that fixes your music streaming issue? Will you update us?
 

hopmedic

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My two cents - if Amazing Weather HD interrupts music playing, has anyone pointed this out to the developer? If this happened during Microsoft's testing, the app would fail unless it prompts the user (at least the first time, IIRC) asking if he will allow the background music to be interrupted. Probably just an oversight on the part of the dev, and not caught by Microsoft.
 

drbanks

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The setting does work, and I thank you for that.

The 820 doesn't have the high end camera. And no HD screen. I'd buy it if it did.

And, no, I'm not just looking to complain. I'm looking for a high end Windows Phone that's actually high end.

So far the ATIV is looking like its comes the closest.
 

drbanks

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The setting in Amazing Weather HD is tied to the weather animation, even though it doesn't make any noise. Sounds like you can have only one background audio task, and that somehow, animation interferes with that.
 

drbanks

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And, btw, my basic music playlist runs from 10 to 12 GB. That's so I'll only have to resync every week or so. My whole music library is 112GB, so I've given up any hope of keeping that on anything short of an iPod Classic.

Right now, I have 50 Audiobooks in my playlist.

My all-time favorites music list is another 5GB.

Since it's such a small screen, I don't bother with my epub library.

I could, and have in the past, live with 32GB, but it would mean micromanaging storage again. But, T-Mo in their infinite wisdom, have seen fit to limit me to 16, and going to AT&T or Verizon means $40-$50 more per month.

Just because you do ok with 32 doesn't mean everyone does. I STILL carry my SIMless 64GB iPhone, just because I can fit my stuff onto it.
 

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