[Pierre Blackwell]

I don't know what plans MS has with 8.1 going forward only that I hope there will be more to it that what we've seen in 8.1. A lot of stock is placed in Cortana and inasmuch as it is unique, much of that functionality WILL BE hijacked by samsung and google and will probably work in some ways better than we've seen on WP. I've already seen some of it in KitKat. So where does that leave us? Of course, it leaves examining things like file picker, facebook integration, HERE maps and all the basic operations with greater scrutiny. Many wondering why we still don't have VPN worth using or why we are still having problems uploading images to social media. I think the OP has a point in that too much of WP is still convoluted and some a downright "messy" implementation.
I still believe that if MS can get the OS sharper and more cohesive, developers will better flock to see its apps run here. MS also needs to focus on its own must have services. No word on that so far.

That is exactly what MS intends to do. Their vision, everything internet is to bring total cohesive functionality to all MS systems. Something that they already do with Onedrive. Tell me who else has complete integration like Onedrive? iOS??? Andriod??? None of them. Technology is a bloody game like anything else. Of course Siri and Googole now are gong to use Cortana to make their API's better. Apple just brought onboard the person who made Nokia's cameras so amazing on phones. I'm sure you'll see optic image stabilization and some form of pureview on the iPhone soon. The key is who is extracting from who more? Apple's ecosystem has been stale for a while and they need something new. Where do you think they got the color schemes for the 5C? Windows phone is new, it's different, but it links to other components like Xbox that consumers are already familiar with. This is the advantage MS is hoping to take advantage of. Secretly I think both Apple and Andriod would agree that the WP start screen has a much better optical presentation and is far more captivating. Don't be surprised to see some type of rendition.

[el Jono]

Well first off seeing as you're a user of the 920 for the past nine months I would hardly call yourself an avid fan. The 920 has been out for over 21/2 years now. Like with technological advancement, it doesn't take long for another to come. Granted MS still has some ground to cover with WP, but I think a lot of the ground you need to cover yourself. I loved my 920, and for the most part it did everything I needed it to, but now that I've been using the 1520, I see some of the limitations of the 920. 1080p display, microSD slot, a better camera. Are you even using the Lumia Black update? Like other people who commented on this, why are you waiting for 8.1 when you don't have to? I'm sure you'd be pleasantly surprised. They've already sent and update to 8.1 and plan on a few others. I would stop complaining and start aiming at utilizing the most up to date OS.

Actually I am from Barbados I am a fan many people here have S3's and S4's and now S5 and many apple devices the Windows platform is not popular here at all . So can u distinguish how much of a fan I am. Now I am using the Lumia black update for your information and it has been some improvement and I love it in which I got through wpcentral and it fantastic bloggers who assisted me in getting it done successfully. But when u are stifled and baffled in how to add custom ringtones and download and save music for said ringtones u can see why Samsung is ahead of the pack here. I am not well off and I saved and got the phone when I cud afford it so call me a late adopter but an adopter never the less.

[el Jono]

I don't know what plans MS has with 8.1 going forward only that I hope there will be more to it that what we've seen in 8.1. A lot of stock is placed in Cortana and inasmuch as it is unique, much of that functionality WILL BE hijacked by samsung and google and will probably work in some ways better than we've seen on WP. I've already seen some of it in KitKat. So where does that leave us? Of course, it leaves examining things like file picker, facebook integration, HERE maps and all the basic operations with greater scrutiny. Many wondering why we still don't have VPN worth using or why we are still having problems uploading images to social media. I think the OP has a point in that too much of WP is still convoluted and some a downright "messy" implementation.
I still believe that if MS can get the OS sharper and more cohesive, developers will better flock to see its apps run here. MS also needs to focus on its own must have services. No word on that so far.

I totally agree with u on developer integration for e.g yesterday it took me over 15mins to upload 5 pictures to facebook and still have not succeeded in getting it done. Anyhow I will try again

[el Jono]

Sorry, but this is a funny statement. Past history being what it is I can just about guarantee the "official" release wont be without its own set of bugs. Its the nature of the beast and just is the way it is. Then there will be a slow roll out of patches and fixes after the official.
The latest 1 release that was an update to fix stuff on the DP8.1 seem to give lots of folks, me included a new set of issues. So just sayin' , but I wouldn't be holding my breath for a bug free perfect "just because its the official" sort of update. Always going to be issues. So now the question is "why wait then" ?

No it is not I must submit it will not be bug free but at least most of the troublesome bugs would be corrected e.g the whatsapp issue.

[fiveaces01]

I have had a 920 for about a year and a half. It took them quite awhile and some help from apps like mpatool to get the music player up to the level of quality you would expect from the leader in software (Microsoft). Most of the rest of the OS for the phone is much better and easier to use than any other phone OS's that are out there. It was also visually stimulating with the live tile for music and photo's. It would have looked incredible with the transparent tiles if they had left it alone. I agree completely that they are dragging their feet for some reason with fixing the problem. The 2 updates they have sent out accomplished nothing for the user experience for me.

[ven07]

I'm starting to think there is something fundamentally wrong with the WP APIs if apps are being pulled for being non-functional/buggy. You can't keep blaming the 3rd party developers.

The dev's have confirmed that this is a problem on their end so why would we blame MS? lol

[ven07]

Dear OP,

It's very unfortunate that this has happened to you, but this is the beauty of having more than one platform available
If you're complaining more than you're enjoying perhaps this is a sign that you should "jump ship"

Goodluck

[tgp]

The dev's have confirmed that this is a problem on their end so why would we blame MS? lol

I'm not a developer, but even before I read about WP's API restrictions I was beginning to wonder if it wasn't an issue. A lot of cross platform apps do not work as well on WP, or don't have as many features. Even some of Microsoft's own apps are not as good on WP as they are on iOS & Android.

[Localhorst86]

The 920 has been out for over 21/2 years now.

Don't make the device older than it is. It had been released in November 2012, so it just barely crossed the 1.5 year mark.

[Jazmac]

Just curious, what have you seen added to KitKat or Google Now that is in Cortana? I know they're similar, but Cortana was unofficially released a few weeks ago. Google Now is 2 years old. And I don't believe that KitKat or Google Now have had any updates since WP8.1 DP has been released.

You're not seriously asking me that are you? Have you seen kitkat? I talk much hate against Google but I'm not blind. Microsoft dev are more of a scattergun approach to development than managing a consistent look and feel for all apps. Look at how bing food and drink looks and feels as compared to say Flipboard on Windows 8 and Flipboard on ios. Like night and day. Bing food and drink is one of the most classy looking apps it has. Same for Bing news and OneNote. Apps like Foursquare on android and ios look and behave consistently and have a similar functionality. The same app on WP by contrast looks clunky and dated. Tunein radio on ios looks modern, fresh, inviting for touch. On our platform its like an am radio granddad had next to his denture glass. Moreover, like Cortana, Google Now asks what your interests are, places you visit, foods you like etc. You can't seriously think Cortana will not be challenged in a serious way by android do you? Its already happening cousin. It is of no consequence that kitkat hasn't had an update, neither has WP8. Most are not in the dev program and don't yet have what Now and kitkat offer today. I love WP but I'm very realistic when comes to form and function. Either WP is a hobby or a serious device worth our time and treasure.

[tgp]

You're not seriously asking me that are you? Have you seen kitkat? I talk much hate against Google but I'm not blind. Microsoft dev are more of a scattergun approach to development than managing a consistent look and feel for all apps. Look at how bing food and drink looks and feels as compared to say Flipboard on Windows 8 and Flipboard on ios. Like night and day. Bing food and drink is one of the most classy looking apps it has. Same for Bing news and OneNote. Apps like Foursquare on android and ios look and behave consistently and have a similar functionality. The same app on WP by contrast looks clunky and dated. Tunein radio on ios looks modern, fresh, inviting for touch. On our platform its like an am radio granddad had next to his denture glass. Moreover, like Cortana, Google Now asks what your interests are, places you visit, foods you like etc. You can't seriously think Cortana will not be challenged in a serious way by android do you? Its already happening cousin. It is of no consequence that kitkat hasn't had an update, neither has WP8. Most are not in the dev program and don't yet have what Now and kitkat offer today. I love WP but I'm very realistic when comes to form and function. Either WP is a hobby or a serious device worth our time and treasure.

OK I believe I misunderstood you from the beginning. I agree with you for the most part. In the original post I quoted, I understood that you were saying that features in WP8.1 & Cortana will be hijacked by Samsung & Google, and improved, and that you've seen it already happening. I said that I can't see how it can already be happening because WP8.1 has only been out as a preview for a few weeks, and KitKat hasn't had any updates since then.

I firmly believe, as you do, that Cortana will be challenged. But it's not like Android is copying and then improving. From what I've experienced with Cortana, it brings very little that Google Now doesn't already have.

FWIW, the Android OS itself is quite bare of features. If you take out all apps, WP8.1 has more features than Android. However, most Android devices come with a lot of Google apps preinstalled. Good or bad, love it or hate it, that's the way Google operates. The apps integrate so tightly that it's pretty much the same as being part of the core OS, but yet they can be updated separately. Google also leaves some of it up to the dev community. One example is Listen, Google's podcast app. Google dropped it because they said that there were so many good 3rd party alternatives that there was no reason for them to maintain Listen anymore.

And for the record, yes I've seen KitKat! My primary device is a Nexus 5. I also carry a Lumia 920, so I use both sides all the time.

[denzilla]

Honestly, there are a lot of features in 8.1 that should've been in 8 from the start. At this point though, I blame Carriers and Nokia for update delays. Carriers are always going to drag their feet getting updates out, cause they have little interest in supporting phones beyond the initial sale. As for Nokia, they give their updates fancy code names, hopelessly tweak the camera algorithms, throw in some token feature, like a brightness slider, and then hold back the update for existing customers while they release a bunch of new phones with the update preinstalled. I know, its business, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

[Jazmac]

Honestly, there are a lot of features in 8.1 that should've been in 8 from the start. At this point though, I blame Carriers and Nokia for update delays. Carriers are always going to drag their feet getting updates out, cause they have little interest in supporting phones beyond the initial sale. As for Nokia, they give their updates fancy code names, hopelessly tweak the camera algorithms, throw in some token feature, like a brightness slider, and then hold back the update for existing customers while they release a bunch of new phones with the update preinstalled. I know, its business, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Agreed. I guess MS is still feeling proud having pushed Blackberry out of the 3rd spot by doing the little they have done.. Still, I expect a Surface phone announcement soon. No evidence, no proof, no nothing to support it. Just a feeling.

[ven07]

Agreed. I guess MS is still feeling proud having pushed Blackberry out of the 3rd spot by doing the little they have done.. Still, I expect a Surface phone announcement soon. No evidence, no proof, no nothing to support it. Just a feeling.

The force is strong with this one lol Just had to say it but I would like a surface phone too! Can you imagine the functionality we could get with that.. Provided they get it right the first time

[tgp]

Still, I expect a Surface phone announcement soon. No evidence, no proof, no nothing to support it. Just a feeling.

A Surface phone would be nice. I actually expected one a long time ago. Now that Nokia is Microsoft, isn't that essentially what we will have with Nokia phones from here on out? Nokia devices will be 100% Microsoft.