Thought I would share my experiences with my switch from my 920 to a Samsung Note 3. For those WP fan-boys who have gone into a rage thinking this is one of 'those posts', relax, it's just a chronicle of what I have gone through and some might find my final observations useful. But it's a long read. If you want the short story, it's think carefully before jumping, WP probably stacks up a heck of a lot better than you think against iOS and Android. But any way, here's my story.
Background: I switched from Sprint to AT&T 2 years ago to grab a Lumia 920. My entire family is on Sprint so the move cost me about $70 extra a month to use WP. It was worth it to me because I really liked WP OS and was sick of my old Android (Evo Shift, was pretty cutting edge when I first got it). Using WP was great and MS seemed to be pushing new enhancements all the time. I found I was always using and toying with my 920, the phone and OS never seemed stale.
Cut to 20 months later. The WP OS is still, IMHO, the best, fastest, most fluid mobile OS there was. But I had a dilemma. I wanted a larger phone and in all honestly, I was disappointed in the lack of good strategy games. A minor thing to many, but important to me. The other item was money. I had spent an extra $1600 over two years to get the 920.
I started looking around and was interested in the HTC M8 but I sort of wanted a slightly larger screen. If you liked the M8 screen size that phone seems like a no-brainer. Lumia had the 1520 but it just seemed ginormous and the ergonomics of the phone made it seem even larger. But the real issue was I wanted to jump back to Sprint to save money and they have absolutely no WP choices. I started looking for news about them getting the M8 but nothing seemed like it was on the horizon. So I started thinking the unthinkable, iOS and Android. iOS was really out though as it just seems like a big app launcher to me. Plus the iPhone seems so stagnant. Look at a 1st gen iPod touch from 2007. Now look at an iPhone. Yep. Thank god Apple is finally giving their faithful larger screens.
So I started looking at Android again. I tried a Note 3 in the Sprint store and the size was perfect. Great phone, Android OS seems okay, and I could get one on sale on Amazon for $99, a pretty good price for a Note 3. Well, I jumped. I got my Note 3, loaded up some games, putzed around in the OS, and immediately missed WP. All I can say is, to me, WP has a more clean - consistent UI, is quicker, and the built-in apps and functionality just seemed more intuitive.
As for the games, well, after spending a lot of time trying and researching I have purchased a few 'okay' games (Autumn Dynasty, Bards Tale, Front Wars, Imperium Galtica 2) and have tried many more (Age of Civilizations Europe seems promising), but I have found the same issues I found on WP. First of all, In-App games are becoming the scourge of the mobile world. I would rather pay $5 or even $10 for a great game than play some damn in-app pay-to-win game. Secondly, there are probably just as many good game choices on WP as there is on Android. European War 3 and 4 are still my favorite games on both platforms. And so far I have no found no great apps on Android that has made me think, wow, glad I went over to Android. Yes, Android has a ton more apps and games than WP. But if you put the word 'quality' before 'apps and games', well, then no, there's really not much of a gap.
In fact, there are probably only three reasons I kept the Note 3. First, the screen is the perfect size for me. Secondly, Launcher 8 Pro. It lets you set your Android UI to match the look and feel of Windows Phone. Yep, I am running WP on Android, or at least the best you can do on Android. This app saved me. Finally, I really wanted to get back to Sprint and they simply have no WP hardware choices, so I had to get Android or iOS.
The Note 3 has other good points too - great battery life, good build, but without the other points I might have said screw it, stuck with AT&T and waited for a M8.
I want to go back to WP and really never wanted to leave it in the first place, but until there are more WP hardware choices (and more importantly, until Sprint carries them) I will be using my Note 3.
Background: I switched from Sprint to AT&T 2 years ago to grab a Lumia 920. My entire family is on Sprint so the move cost me about $70 extra a month to use WP. It was worth it to me because I really liked WP OS and was sick of my old Android (Evo Shift, was pretty cutting edge when I first got it). Using WP was great and MS seemed to be pushing new enhancements all the time. I found I was always using and toying with my 920, the phone and OS never seemed stale.
Cut to 20 months later. The WP OS is still, IMHO, the best, fastest, most fluid mobile OS there was. But I had a dilemma. I wanted a larger phone and in all honestly, I was disappointed in the lack of good strategy games. A minor thing to many, but important to me. The other item was money. I had spent an extra $1600 over two years to get the 920.
I started looking around and was interested in the HTC M8 but I sort of wanted a slightly larger screen. If you liked the M8 screen size that phone seems like a no-brainer. Lumia had the 1520 but it just seemed ginormous and the ergonomics of the phone made it seem even larger. But the real issue was I wanted to jump back to Sprint to save money and they have absolutely no WP choices. I started looking for news about them getting the M8 but nothing seemed like it was on the horizon. So I started thinking the unthinkable, iOS and Android. iOS was really out though as it just seems like a big app launcher to me. Plus the iPhone seems so stagnant. Look at a 1st gen iPod touch from 2007. Now look at an iPhone. Yep. Thank god Apple is finally giving their faithful larger screens.
So I started looking at Android again. I tried a Note 3 in the Sprint store and the size was perfect. Great phone, Android OS seems okay, and I could get one on sale on Amazon for $99, a pretty good price for a Note 3. Well, I jumped. I got my Note 3, loaded up some games, putzed around in the OS, and immediately missed WP. All I can say is, to me, WP has a more clean - consistent UI, is quicker, and the built-in apps and functionality just seemed more intuitive.
As for the games, well, after spending a lot of time trying and researching I have purchased a few 'okay' games (Autumn Dynasty, Bards Tale, Front Wars, Imperium Galtica 2) and have tried many more (Age of Civilizations Europe seems promising), but I have found the same issues I found on WP. First of all, In-App games are becoming the scourge of the mobile world. I would rather pay $5 or even $10 for a great game than play some damn in-app pay-to-win game. Secondly, there are probably just as many good game choices on WP as there is on Android. European War 3 and 4 are still my favorite games on both platforms. And so far I have no found no great apps on Android that has made me think, wow, glad I went over to Android. Yes, Android has a ton more apps and games than WP. But if you put the word 'quality' before 'apps and games', well, then no, there's really not much of a gap.
In fact, there are probably only three reasons I kept the Note 3. First, the screen is the perfect size for me. Secondly, Launcher 8 Pro. It lets you set your Android UI to match the look and feel of Windows Phone. Yep, I am running WP on Android, or at least the best you can do on Android. This app saved me. Finally, I really wanted to get back to Sprint and they simply have no WP hardware choices, so I had to get Android or iOS.
The Note 3 has other good points too - great battery life, good build, but without the other points I might have said screw it, stuck with AT&T and waited for a M8.
I want to go back to WP and really never wanted to leave it in the first place, but until there are more WP hardware choices (and more importantly, until Sprint carries them) I will be using my Note 3.
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