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.
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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