Thinking of switching, i'd like some opinions.

[N_LaRUE]

-The apps run in a sandboxed environment, so there's no file browser on the Windows Phone operating system. So for example if you're going to attach a photo to an email, you can't just hit attach and browse for the file. Instead, you'll need to go to where the file is located (in the photos app) and then essentially "send/share the file to email as an attachment" from there. It's an extra step, and I'll admit it took some getting used to at the beginning, but now it isn't too much of an annoyance.

This semi correct. In email you can attach photos fairly easily. You can even do it in reply emails. What you can't do is attach documents in either case, which is annoying. You have to do it in the manner you describe. Where it become immensely frustrating is when you're replying. You also can't attach multiple anything to emails.

As for experience, regardless what Lumia 92* or for that matter, any Lumia, you get a similar experience. The OS is the same on all WP phones the only difference is firmware and adjustments in spec.

On the whole the WP experience is great. There's some annoyances like with every smartphone but on the whole it works well. With upcoming release of more 'popular' apps it looks like the future is getting more promising.

 

[frooglepoopillion]

This summer, I went from a Nexus 4, to Lumia 920, and finally settled on a HTC One. I had the Lumia for about a month and while there were some things I enjoyed about WP8, the platform just isn't there yet. There are a few things that I wish they had and I would likely go back if/when they are added.

-I wasn't heavy into the Google ecosystem, but most of my friends are and it would be nice to at least have Hangouts and Youtube apps (although I never tried the third party apps, I hear they are OK). Maps wouldn't hurt, but Bing/Nokia maps were decent substitutes.

-IE for WP8. It is just missing too many features of Chrome and Firefox, namely the cloud functionality. If I can't have apps for my websites, I want to be able to sync the favorites which it won't do. The recent additions of UC and Maxthon are a huge step forward and hopefully more are coming. Hopefully they allow you to change the default browser in the future as well.

-Facebook chat/People Hub integration. Great in theory but rarely works (I'm not huge into Facebook, but when I use it I want it to work). Also the contact info fields were lacking IIRC, no contact photos(?).

-Task management. Works very similarly it iOS6, except you can press the back button repeatedly to close out apps. Supposedly they are fixing this in the new update though.

Those are my major gripes with WP8, but some of these may have been addressed already in updates. IMO right now the best all around phone on the market is the HTC One. Granted it is a $600+ phone off contract, but there is zero lag and over all the best smart phone experience I have had thus far. However, I will say that I HATED my Nexus 4 experience (mostly the hardware was junk compared to the Lumia and they were roughly the same price). I would say that if you can afford it the high end Android phones are fantastic, but if you are looking for a better budget experience and don't mind the short comings WP8 phones are much better than the mid to low end Android devices.

 

[Boris Lozac]

it would be nice to at least have Hangouts and Youtube apps

IM+ works perfect for Gtalk/Hangouts, much more reliable (100% so far) experience then i've had on Android..

 

[ag1986]

Personally, I hated that LED notification light in Android. I much prefer the Glance screen notifications that are coming in GDR3/whatever the next Nokia update is called. In the same vein, regarding a notification center, Iwrote this in another thread, but I'll say it again here:
I honestly don't get why people are craving a notification center. I hated the notification center of Android. It was always full, always blinking, making me check it and all it had was a bunch of stupid notifications for apps I rarely cared about. Windows Phone is much better: the apps I care about are pinned on the Start Screen, near the top. If there are notifications, I can see them and I can choose to open it and look at it or not. This is much better than being a slave to a drop-down notification center that always has notifications.

For me, some of the most important notifications are from apps that I rarely use. For example, I travel about 1-2 times a quarter. So Tripit Pro is my most important app at those times, yet not at other times. It fires an alert when it detects that my flight is late, which is super useful - it gained me about 3 hrs of sleep, for example, when it told me that a 7 AM flight I had was delayed to 11:00 AM (long before BA bothered to...). I'm not likely to have that app on my live tiles, but I don't want to miss notifications either. Similarly for a few other apps - a few that track games and other stuff on Amazon and tell me when they're on sale, things like that. So basically there are common use cases where you don't want an app on your home screen, yet you would like notifications from those apps,

Also, recent versions of Android (think it was JB?) allow you to forbid any app from firing notifications, so that helps for a few freemium games that are annoying like that

 

[ag1986]

This semi correct. In email you can attach photos fairly easily. You can even do it in reply emails. What you can't do is attach documents in either case, which is annoying. You have to do it in the manner you describe. Where it become immensely frustrating is when you're replying. You also can't attach multiple anything to emails.

As for experience, regardless what Lumia 92* or for that matter, any Lumia, you get a similar experience. The OS is the same on all WP phones the only difference is firmware and adjustments in spec.

On the whole the WP experience is great. There's some annoyances like with every smartphone but on the whole it works well. With upcoming release of more 'popular' apps it looks like the future is getting more promising.

For a certain value of great, I would say.

I don't care about apps, the only things I want from WP so I can move are: VPN (wtf, MSFT?!), unified notification centre, a half-sensible email attachment system, separate volumes. These are core issues with the OS. By now, it's stopped annoying me that MS hasn't yet fixed these issues. It's just hilarious.

 

[chezm]

I would say that WP8 is a platform that is for users not so heavily dependent on Apps. I am fine using the browser to substitute for lack of apps, such as banking or news feeds (although Weave works great but Flipboards on the way so im pumped). Overall, my phone never lags or reboots randomly (suffered much of this when i had a GS3), super fast OS with personality (start screen) plus the battery is amazing (L920), these were my biggest reasons to return back to WP (had a Focus for WP7, it broke so i gave Android a try..then returned for WP8). The platform/OS isnt perfect, thats for sure....but it delivers a great experience that doesnt make me want to hurl the phone across the room...much like my last phone did.

 

[WinU]

I have previously had many Android phones. I made the jump to windows when the Lumia 900 came out, didn't even consider Iphone and never will. I have a Windows desktop (not updated, running xp HA) at home, a Surface RT, which I absolutely love both before and after the 8.1 update, and the Lumia 920 in my pocket. And let me tell you the new Nokia's and WP8 blow the 900 out of the water. I absolutely love the Lumia 920 and WP8. It really is stable and amazing. The 920 is slightly on the heavy side but Nokia has made some lighter phones. e.g 925. I think Nokia is great and makes really quality phones and the wireless charging pads rock. Personally I'm that big of a fan of the new Nokia's but only because of size. 1020 awesome camera, basically same operating system as the 920 however it's bigger and heavier. The new 1320 and 1520, that's too big for a phone for me. I don't know why people get excited and want to lug these 6 inch display around. 920 is a perfect size. I think the 925 and 928 would be great as well.

However I know you are asking more about the operating system than a specific phone although I like many of the Nokia apps that come with it the Nokia phones, HERE maps, drive, transit, city lens etc. WP8 itself is great. The operation system is smooth and continues to build and get better. It's fast and very responsive. 4G, wifi, bluetooth all work great. Yes at times I find I am missing an app but NOT VERY OFTEN, and when you have to use the mobile site they work flawlessly. Same goes with the Surface RT. Apps usually aren't needed. Just nice shortcuts! I love the live tiles. It really keeps the phone fresh even if you have had it for a year or so. You can always move them, turn on live notifications, change the colors etc. My opinion android and iphones are boring. Skyrive works great. All pictures I take automatically upload. I have no problems with using IE on the phone. There is a new one that is catching some buzz called Maxthon (search it). I worry about security on it right now though.

I would bet that after a month of getting used to the adjustment that you wouldn't be disappointed one bit. I would bet that you end up like me. Raving about it to friends, coming to Windows phone central to follow the news, reading about upcoming Windows products etc. Everyone will have their opinions though. So go with what fits you the best. But you wouldn't be disappointed with a windows phone at all!

 

[Bartdog]

I have a Lumia 920 and I love it - here's what my pros and cons would be:

Pros
. . .

Cons
. . .So for example if you're going to attach a photo to an email, you can't just hit attach and browse for the file. Instead, you'll need to go to where the file is located (in the photos app) and then essentially "send/share the file to email as an attachment" from there. It's an extra step, and I'll admit it took some getting used to at the beginning, but now it isn't too much of an annoyance.
. . .

UM, I thought this was an odd thing to say so I just tried it. You can, indeed, attach a photo directly fron an email. My problem is that a photo is the ONLY thing you can attach. Where is the ability to attach a document directly from my skydrive, or from a recent file I saved in office like an Excel file?

 

[dgr_874]

You can do it, but it's not easy for sure.

 

[chezm]

1020 awesome camera, basically same operating system as the 920 however it's bigger and heavier.

I tested a demo 1020 at my local store and found it to be lighter and thinner than my 920...someone can correct me if im wrong. What a beautiful device though, i was surprised how nice it is in person.

 

[WinU]

I tested a demo 1020 at my local store and found it to be lighter and thinner than my 920...someone can correct me if im wrong. What a beautiful device though, i was surprised how nice it is in person.

And you might be right I didn't actually check the specs. But when I tested it in my store it felt larger and slightly heavier. Also I hate the bump on the back. Great phone. Just little things that I don't care for. When I compare them on phone scoop. The 1020 says it is lighter!! Felt bulkier to me though. Might have to check it out again!!

Also I forgot to mention to the poster that the battery life has been great on the 920!

 

[cp2_4eva]

Hi there. I am an Ex-Win Phone 7/8 user. I liked ALOT about windows phones, but I switched back to android. I'll let you know why, BUT I am not saying that you should go back to Android. I'm just saying why I went back. I typically look through these threads to see if much has changed about windows phone. I'm waiting to come back, but I'm not sure if the following things have been fixed/simplified.

- email attachments could not be saved to the phones if they were videos. On non WP devices, I save video attachments and delete the e-mail. On WP I have to keep the e-mail in order to keep the attachment.

- Making a playlist on the go was ridiculously stupid. I remember there was some weird queue thing you had to do in order to make some BS play list

- Facebook options were very few compared to what is available on iOS or Android. Even with third party apps there was always something missing

- Apps, Apps, and more apps didn't match up to what was available at the time I was using WP phones. The quality of the apps just didn't do it for me.

- Nokia strong hold on the WP space. Nokia got all of the cool apps as exclusives while people who went the direction of HTC or Samsung got the shaft because those companies really don't delve into apps like that. With Android, apps like ESPN and Google Maps were available to all. With WP, ESPN and some other apps were exclusives to only NOKIA users. And I think maybe it was for 6 months and THEN other manufactures could get it. Yes, people argue that Nokia was making all the drug deals to get companies to even want to do apps for windows phone, but hey if you like Sammy or HTC, thats something you will have to deal with.

- Slow development and MS devs living in a bubble. How in the world has WP been in the Smartphone business and forget to include some things that other OS have done for years?

Those are a few of the more major reasons. Overall, WP devices are good phones. I was just looking for something more complete. And stability isn't crisp all across the board. My last phone was a Lumia 920 and unfortunately I was dealing with ATT when my phone just would not turn back on while I was on vacation and they wouldn't next day me a phone like Verizon does now. Verizon has went deeper into WP space, so I'd be happy to look into a WP phone without needing to go back to ATT.

In closing, get the WP phone. I'm sure you can deal with some of it's shortcomings. You may leave, but you will come back to WP. I'm just waiting for the right words...thats it lol.

 

[cp2_4eva]

Oh and a better notification center would have been really nice too.

Also, custom color palette. Give of a color wheel and let us run free with exact colors we want, not just the few we were limited to.

 

[chezm]

Also, custom color palette. Give of a color wheel and let us run free with exact colors we want, not just the few we were limited to.

I agree with this, im really hoping 8.1 introduces this...i mean a few apps offer it with their Tile (Wikipedia)...not sure why the OS cant implement it.