Sell me on upgrading to a WP8 device

dana_flood

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Okay, so I've got a Nokia Lumia 900, which I mostly like, but it's starting to have physical problems, so it's about time to get a new phone.

Tell me why I should get a new WP device rather than a high-end Android.

My concerns are as follows. Bear in mind that I mostly like the interface, so this isn't an "I hate Windows" rant.

- The main selling point of WP is the Live Tile aspect of the metro/modern interface, but on my Lumia, the Live Tiles mostly aren't so live. My weather apps mostly only update the tile when I open the app (rather than the every hour I have told it to update in the app settings), my news apps (fox and al jazeera) frequently show the same headline for days on end.
Is there anything in live tiles that I can't replicate (or improve upon) with an Android widget? I do like the ability to pin a tile for my wife on the home screen to see when I have specific messages from her, and I'm not sure if that's something that Android does.

- There's no notification light to let me know what I've got without turning on the screen. Admittedly, I hear that the notifications are much better on a lockscreen with 8/8.1 than with the v7.8 that I have, so that's something. But it seems based on the 8.1 release (and the initial devices announced recently) that nobody has a notification light, and a notification center is still at least an update away from reality.

- Android's voice command capability is a lot better. Cortana may (or may not) close this gap, but at this point, it's vaporware.

- Android has a strong selection of keyboard options (many of which are much faster and have autocorrect/word suggestion features that work better than the default/only WP option)

Nokia's camera advantage is a factor with me, and I am willing to overlook some lack of apps and capability to have a high quality camera. So Windows Phone does at least have a significant edge in that regard (until Samsung starts pushing out phones with better cameras, which I suspect they will in the next year).

Basically, tell me what I can do with a Windows Phone that I can't do with an Android device. I recognize that Google is evil, so I'm willing to lean towards Microsoft in the event of a tie.
 
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Jack Janik

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You can be different. Have a stable OS, beautiful colors, at the high end android vs windows phone 8, I still prefer wp8, but most would rather take the larger Appstore. At the mid/low end, there is no android phone you can get for the same value as the 520, sure, you may not have as many apps, but you won't have to constantly do battery pulls and have apps crash.
 

ag1986

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Okay, so I've got a Nokia Lumia 900, which I mostly like, but it's starting to have physical problems, so it's about time to get a new phone.

Tell me why I should get a new WP device rather than a high-end Android.

My concerns are as follows. Bear in mind that I mostly like the interface, so this isn't an "I hate Windows" rant.

- The main selling point of WP is the Live Tile aspect of the metro/modern interface, but on my Lumia, the Live Tiles mostly aren't so live. My weather apps mostly only update the tile when I open the app (rather than the every hour I have told it to update in the app settings), my news apps (fox and al jazeera) frequently show the same headline for days on end.
Is there anything in live tiles that I can't replicate (or improve upon) with an Android widget? I do like the ability to pin a tile for my wife on the home screen to see when I have specific messages from her, and I'm not sure if that's something that Android does.

I have had no problems with widgets. Where I think they win over live tiles is the interactivity. You cannot, as far as I know, pin a contact to the home screen for all messages from that contact. You can, however, add a messaging widget to the home screen which you can scroll to read your messages, and tap to open them. As far as updates go, WP8 has a hardcoded 30-min minimum refresh interval which is not attractive to me.

Unless you can afford one of the flagships like the Xperia Z, HTC One or GS4, WP is better.
 

tgp

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There is very little, if anything, WP can do that Android can't. The same cannot be said the other way around! Android might do it differently, or slower, or not as convenient, but still do pretty much anything that can be done on a smartphone.
 

lukeap69

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HTC One blinkfeed will show the news headlines and update them frequently if you like. I find the notifications better on Android since these will be shown on the notification bar (top bar). Weather will update per hour, 2 hrs etc depending on how you set it. There are so many customizations on Android.

Having said that, WP is simpler, smoother and if you prefer the tiles, stick to WP.



Sent from my Nokia Lumia 925 using Tapatalk
 

z33dev33l

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Windows Phone isn't about what it can do that others can't, it's about ease of use. Any time I get an android phone, I open it, I install apps, I flash a new rom, I reinstall those apps, oh but this rom has gestures, reflash, oh, this one utilizes GPU acceleration? Reflash, All the while there's tons of battery pulls and installing copious amounts of software. With windows phone I bought it, I opened it, I installed a few games and Nokia apps and I go. It even has my social networking cooked in. You will not get as consistent or smooth an experience even with the highest end android compared to the lowest end wp8 device and there really is no better auto-correct than WP8's wordflow but I do miss swype sometimes
 

anon(8057870)

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WP is secure than Android. No need to have apps to clear RAM n kill apps. You can enjoy each update as we can expect at least 3 update an year. Nokia low light capabilities. Bright colors of the phone. Nokia apps.

Sent from my RM-821_im_mea3_515 using Tapatalk
 

brunoadduarte

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Windows Phone isn't about what it can do that others can't, it's about ease of use. Any time I get an android phone, I open it, I install apps, I flash a new rom, I reinstall those apps, oh but this rom has gestures, reflash, oh, this one utilizes GPU acceleration? Reflash, All the while there's tons of battery pulls and installing copious amounts of software. With windows phone I bought it, I opened it, I installed a few games and Nokia apps and I go. It even has my social networking cooked in. You will not get as consistent or smooth an experience even with the highest end android compared to the lowest end wp8 device and there really is no better auto-correct than WP8's wordflow but I do miss swype sometimes

Not to bash on WP, but that post lost credibility the moment you started talking about flashing roms. That's something that isn't mandatory for anyone to do on an Android, hence, can't be seen as a disadvantage. You only flash it the first time if you want to, not because you have to. Same goes for reflashing if you reach the conclusion that the first flash was a dud.

If we use WP out of the box as is, we should ponder Android in the same conditions.

Answering directly to the OP:

- The main selling point of WP is the Live Tile aspect of the metro/modern interface, but on my Lumia, the Live Tiles mostly aren't so live. My weather apps mostly only update the tile when I open the app (rather than the every hour I have told it to update in the app settings), my news apps (fox and al jazeera) frequently show the same headline for days on end.
Is there anything in live tiles that I can't replicate (or improve upon) with an Android widget? I do like the ability to pin a tile for my wife on the home screen to see when I have specific messages from her, and I'm not sure if that's something that Android does.

Some tiles work properly, some don't. But when they don't, it's mainly the devs fault, not WP's or yours. You can replicate most of what the tiles have to offer with widgets, yes. But I'm not so sure about the battery drainage of the tiles vs widgets. My guess is that the tiles take this one and drain less battery

- There's no notification light to let me know what I've got without turning on the screen. Admittedly, I hear that the notifications are much better on a lockscreen with 8/8.1 than with the v7.8 that I have, so that's something. But it seems based on the 8.1 release (and the initial devices announced recently) that nobody has a notification light, and a notification center is still at least an update away from reality.

Given that most of us don't have GDR3 yet, the notification centre is two updates away, actually. As far as the notification light goes, that's a choice that phone manufacturers haven't been making. So no-go on that one. But notifications are better on a WP8 lockscreen as opposed to a WP7.8.

- Android's voice command capability is a lot better. Cortana may (or may not) close this gap, but at this point, it's vaporware.

Point for Android, no "as", "ifs" or "buts" about it. Specially if you're not English or American. I'm Portuguese and around here we loathe stuff written in Brazilian Portuguese and the voice commands are only available in that version of the language.

- Android has a strong selection of keyboard options (many of which are much faster and have autocorrect/word suggestion features that work better than the default/only WP option)

Indeed, one of my main gripes with WP and iOS is not having a 4x3 keyboard for texting. That along with the lack of high-end phones with smaller screens, but that's another ball game.

However grim I may have painted the scenario for WP, my phone is yet to get any bit of lagg or any other thing that so commonly causes pains in the b*tt on Android.
 
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z33dev33l

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Not to bash on WP, but that post lost credibility the moment you started talking about flashing roms. That's something that isn't mandatory for anyone to do on an Android, hence, can't be seen as a disadvantage. You only flash it the first time if you want to, not because you have to. Same goes for reflashing if you reach the conclusion that the first flash was a dud.

If we use WP out of the box as is, we should ponder Android in the same conditions.

The thing is, high end android manufacturers like Samsung and HTC like to put awful UI replacements. Touchwiz is the most dated looking software available and we saw about how people liked the new blinkfeed. If you're using stock out of the box android you're going to have a bad tome and 0 updates.
 

brunoadduarte

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The thing is, high end android manufacturers like Samsung and HTC like to put awful UI replacements. Touchwiz is the most dated looking software available and we saw about how people liked the new blinkfeed. If you're using stock out of the box android you're going to have a bad tome and 0 updates.

Doesn't matter. Flashing roms is still not mandatory for a proper use. My father as an S3, never fiddled with it except to install about ten apps (the ones he needs anyway) and the phone works properly.
 

z33dev33l

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Doesn't matter. Flashing roms is still not mandatory for a proper use. My father as an S3, never fiddled with it except to install about ten apps (the ones he needs anyway) and the phone works properly.

But if that's all you need why not just buy a flip phone. Yes, the S3 can function just as well as my old 2006 razr if those base functions are all you need it for. If you want to use it as a smartphone prepare for battery pulls.
 

TexasDude

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One word.... Fragmentation.... WP is the same across manufacturers, albeit their firmware differs. The GDR3 Preview is proof that Windows Phone 8 is Windows Phone 8, no matter who made the device. With Android, If you look at two different Jelly Bean phones by two different companies, you would barely know it was the same OS because they all custom skin the crap out of it. Plus, good luck getting a single update on an Android phone, and if you do, it will likely be a one time deal. If you have a low end android (equivalent in price to the Lumia 520 or 521), you will never get a single update, security or otherwise. I just switched from Android recently after having used it for 3 years, and I am only wondering why I didn't make the switch earlier.
 

WinU

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I went from the 900 to the 920. Honestly it seemed like a huge difference to me. The 920 and WP8 is so much better. I think you would find this as well. I had android and just never cared for it beside the swype from Samsung. I will agree that the Nokia keyboard can be tough at times. I have searched for alternatives from time to time. However I just deal with it because I love the Windows UI a lot better. I love the live tiles, being able to move them, resize them, change colors (wish there was a color wheel though to choose from), and just refresh the phone from time to time by simply moving things around or adding a new app. My 920 has been smooth, fast, and very stable. No crashes or freezes ever. I had plenty on android. Why would you want to have to flash? Windows work wonderful out of the box. My battery is great and the wireless charging rocks. No need to mess with apps that control what is running and further just kill your battery. Also the notification thing I don't get. It's never once bothered me. The phone vibrates and screen turns on when a message is sent. YES it goes away a few second later. Eventually these will be added to the Glance screen and you can just peak (swipe hand over phone) and see what you have waiting. The updates have been great, except AT&T sucks and hold them back. I also really hope Cortana can stack up, haven't seen a lot about it lately.
 

Novaone

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Hey dana,

for what my experience is worth, I dislike google too, but was quite able to turn off/not sign in for alot of google or some android background services and disable search location association. I also did not link email accounts, created separate android account etc.
I have also been using WP 7.8 for the last month as I have problem with my Z10, I really miss it now. 7.8 is a pretty disappointing update aside from tile sizes for new lumia users then. my live tiles are buggy too, I frequently have to reset wifi, certain notifications are missed, camera crashes. .

Android has a few great advantages as your next phone if you decide too. Either way don't be afraid to jump to another platform now.
 

brunoadduarte

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But if that's all you need why not just buy a flip phone. Yes, the S3 can function just as well as my old 2006 razr if those base functions are all you need it for. If you want to use it as a smartphone prepare for battery pulls.


Now you're just being plain stubborn. So, since a person only installs ten apps on his/her smartphone, he or she is essentially not using the phone? Has the thought of the fact that the built-in apps may suffice to the average Joe and that that person may still be a power user crossed your mind?

You don't need tons of apps and to constantly flash your phone to be a power user. You only need to actually use and need the features and apps you use and need on that phone. That's what makes someone buy a smartphone over a feature phone. That being said, why bother with flashing and installing tons of apps if you don't use half of them? Just because you can or want to? That's useless.
 

Nakazul

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@dana

Keyboard I must say is superb in WP8. It looks the same, but autocorrect have become super smart so I find it a breeze to use.

Tiles vs Widget is a hard one to compare because it depends on how much you use the phone. If you have many widgets it will (for a guy like me) put pressure on the device so it starts to "lag", for a lack of better word (English not native). I believe the word studder could be right. Everytime I looked at the Samsung Note's in a store, I set it up how I like and its not "smooth" anymore.

In a comparison what can and what can not WP will loose everytime.
I recommend you go to a store and try out some devices.
For me its a huge difference between WP7 and WP8, but its not directly visuall (if you have 7.8.)
 
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3earnhardt3

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The faster webpage rendering and better html5 compatibility make wp8 1,000,000x better than 7.8 to me. The higher resolution screen, glance screen(with notifications coming soon on Nokia hardware), and decent pureview cameras are icing on the cake. As far as comparing to android, that's like comparing a mac to a PC, totally personal preference.
 

jmshub

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If you owned a Lumia 900, then you already have a proclivity towards Windows Phone. The live tiles failing to update was a failure of your phone, and factory resetting it probably would have fixed it. Your live tiles should work fine in WP7, and they will work correctly in WP8.

Unless there is some killer app on Android that you cannot live without, then wouldn't you like another beautiful Nokia? Those gorgeous handsets and fast, fluid Windows Phone. Android is evil. Don't be evil.
 

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