Lock-in factor

[Votshtoy]

So, been a windows phone user for about seven months now - coming from iOS - and only just recently started to feel like I'd really be missing out on something if I absolutely had to switch back from Windows Phone.

Where on iOS I'd got into iBooks and iPhoto (although Newsstand was a real disappointment), on Windows Phone it's the small set of Bing apps that have started winning me over to the Microsoft ecosystem.

I'd spent the first few months on this device just missing iOS and trying to patch up the lack of iBooks and iPhoto with third party apps, which never seemed able to match up. Now, I'm completely hooked on Bing apps and the way they make full use of live tiles, it makes sense in a way that iOS probably never could.

Anyone else liking the Bing apps as much (and wanting Bing books as much as I do)?

 

[Chris_Kez]

I'd welcome a great books app, but can't say I'm hooked on any other Bing apps.

 

[James8561]

yea they are the best designed apps in the store and they are the standard to which all WP devs should look to.
as for bing books, Microsoft does have a substantial investment in Nook. the nook app on W8.1 is great. I can't wait until they bring it to WP.

 

[Votshtoy]

... as for bing books, Microsoft does have a substantial investment in Nook. the nook app on W8.1 is great. I can't wait until they bring it to WP.

Thanks, haven't taken a look at that yet. Hopefully the delay is Nook and Microsoft working something out.

 

[Chris_Kez]

My understanding is that MS is working on a "Reader" app for Windows 8 to replace the Nook app (since Nook is no longer updating it). I expect we'll see a phone version of that.

As an aside, I had such high hopes when MS announced their investment in Nook. I imagined we'd get a serious competitor to Amazon for Windows phones and tablets; that MS would challenge Apple's iBooks platform and also make major inroads into education by offering a compelling tablet+digital curriculum+Office solution (imagine buying a discounted tablet from your university and getting most of your books and course material digitally). Well, they made the Surface and Surface Pro, and now offer Office 365 University- but as far as I can tell they went nowhere with the books business.