Rather than share what has been a horrid series of posts and threads on how much the Lumia 920 sucks, I wanted to share a different take on things and highlight some of the pieces of the Lumia 920 that I will miss.
First, where am I going?
I've mentioned before that I'm heavily invested in Google. I'm aware now more than ever as to who owns my information and what can be done with it however Google arguably handles this front the best. The best Gmail experience is to be had on an Android phone, and since I'm going to be married to Google applications for the long-term I'm not prepared to go through a nasty divorce. So yes, I have returned to an Android based device for the time being. Within 10 minutes I was already updating and whizzing through the OS.
Why did I leave? Just because of Google?
To be honest, Google is both the reason I left Android and the reason I came back. Google apps run my personal ecosystem. While those apps and services can be mimiced by competing Windows Phone applications the reality is there isn't enough consistency with them. There aren't enough big house developers on board with the platform yet. Music syncing is broken. My phone(s) have become a huge source of entertainment and functionality, so when I cannot perform basic tasks without employing half a dozen work arounds I do find it frustrating. The experience isn't nearly as drawn out on Android for my specific needs.
Haven't you said purchase a device for what it is, not what it will be?
Yes, and for what it's worth the Lumia 920 is still an excellent buy. I will miss the solid build quality and construction, although it's easy to see from reading the forums that not all Lumia 920's were created equally and there are units out in cicrulation that suffer from production issues. Those will be resolved over time so for anyone considering making the jump I still wouldn't hesitate if this was your only concern. Windows Phone is a smooth operating system and its 'at a glance' nature keeps you from being a slave to your device. Many people would benefit from this layout. Android, however, isn't purely a system of menu after menu to get to the one option you want. Like Windows desktop software there is more than one way to do something.
I didn't get another Android phone for customization. I find that many "skins" and overlays are indeed bloatware and take away from the Android experience. I do understand that their purpose is generally to make the phone more accessible to the user but this goal is not always accomplished and as a result devices do take a performance hit. Rooting a device solves this in most cases, though I feel the practice shouldn't be necessary to make a phone usable. I don't plan on rooting this particular device as it has the Jellybean update pending.
Was it the camera?
Not at all. I love the camera on the Lumia 920 and in the month I owned it I was able to capture nice photos and videos that otherwise wouldn't be possible on a phone. Nokia raised the bar and should be commended for their efforts. The issue with soft photos is very subjective. Whether you choose to side with the rationale that the photos should be just right from the start is up to you. With my Lumia 900 I found myself using the auto-fix option after nearly every shot. With the 920 I only used it if I felt colors were off and I used editing tools if I wanted to get creative.
What phone did you move to and why?
The model is irrelevant since utlmiately I'm going back to Android for the consistent experience with Google. I could talk about a better camera (it isn't), outstanding battery life (its about the same) and a stylish design (its plain) but that didn't make deciding on this any easier. I will say that I have removable storage again but I don't have a removable battery. Call quality is slightly better and that is still 70% of what I use my phone for.
There is a chance that as Windows Phone matures I will test the waters again but I probably won't go with any of the launch devices and hold out for something more refined. I don't consider myself a Google, Microsoft, Nokia or any other OS/device ******. I go with what works. For me. I'll still browse this forum because I think the Lumia 920 is a great piece of hardware. I personally wasn't getting what I wanted out of it and had an opportunity to move from a month old device to a brand new in box device that had not been activated. You don't get those too often, especially for higher-end phones.
Enjoy the Lumia 920 everyone. In the end it just wasn't right for me and I'm not afraid to admit that.
First, where am I going?
I've mentioned before that I'm heavily invested in Google. I'm aware now more than ever as to who owns my information and what can be done with it however Google arguably handles this front the best. The best Gmail experience is to be had on an Android phone, and since I'm going to be married to Google applications for the long-term I'm not prepared to go through a nasty divorce. So yes, I have returned to an Android based device for the time being. Within 10 minutes I was already updating and whizzing through the OS.
Why did I leave? Just because of Google?
To be honest, Google is both the reason I left Android and the reason I came back. Google apps run my personal ecosystem. While those apps and services can be mimiced by competing Windows Phone applications the reality is there isn't enough consistency with them. There aren't enough big house developers on board with the platform yet. Music syncing is broken. My phone(s) have become a huge source of entertainment and functionality, so when I cannot perform basic tasks without employing half a dozen work arounds I do find it frustrating. The experience isn't nearly as drawn out on Android for my specific needs.
Haven't you said purchase a device for what it is, not what it will be?
Yes, and for what it's worth the Lumia 920 is still an excellent buy. I will miss the solid build quality and construction, although it's easy to see from reading the forums that not all Lumia 920's were created equally and there are units out in cicrulation that suffer from production issues. Those will be resolved over time so for anyone considering making the jump I still wouldn't hesitate if this was your only concern. Windows Phone is a smooth operating system and its 'at a glance' nature keeps you from being a slave to your device. Many people would benefit from this layout. Android, however, isn't purely a system of menu after menu to get to the one option you want. Like Windows desktop software there is more than one way to do something.
I didn't get another Android phone for customization. I find that many "skins" and overlays are indeed bloatware and take away from the Android experience. I do understand that their purpose is generally to make the phone more accessible to the user but this goal is not always accomplished and as a result devices do take a performance hit. Rooting a device solves this in most cases, though I feel the practice shouldn't be necessary to make a phone usable. I don't plan on rooting this particular device as it has the Jellybean update pending.
Was it the camera?
Not at all. I love the camera on the Lumia 920 and in the month I owned it I was able to capture nice photos and videos that otherwise wouldn't be possible on a phone. Nokia raised the bar and should be commended for their efforts. The issue with soft photos is very subjective. Whether you choose to side with the rationale that the photos should be just right from the start is up to you. With my Lumia 900 I found myself using the auto-fix option after nearly every shot. With the 920 I only used it if I felt colors were off and I used editing tools if I wanted to get creative.
What phone did you move to and why?
The model is irrelevant since utlmiately I'm going back to Android for the consistent experience with Google. I could talk about a better camera (it isn't), outstanding battery life (its about the same) and a stylish design (its plain) but that didn't make deciding on this any easier. I will say that I have removable storage again but I don't have a removable battery. Call quality is slightly better and that is still 70% of what I use my phone for.
There is a chance that as Windows Phone matures I will test the waters again but I probably won't go with any of the launch devices and hold out for something more refined. I don't consider myself a Google, Microsoft, Nokia or any other OS/device ******. I go with what works. For me. I'll still browse this forum because I think the Lumia 920 is a great piece of hardware. I personally wasn't getting what I wanted out of it and had an opportunity to move from a month old device to a brand new in box device that had not been activated. You don't get those too often, especially for higher-end phones.
Enjoy the Lumia 920 everyone. In the end it just wasn't right for me and I'm not afraid to admit that.
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