After moving to the Android ship

[HassanDiab]

Hello all windows mobile fans...

Before i begin,
I was on the windows phone wagon since the early days of WP 7.5 with my Lumia 710 moving to the 925 after wp8...

It was a long way full of painful waiting and waiting all the time.

Well it was not my first smart device, iPhone 2G was the first one, moved to windows mobile 6.5 with the famous HTC HD2, the moving to android with an experia...

When i saw the windows phone 7 the first time (in the ADS), as I'm a graphic designer, it was like a dream come to true the concept behind the phone was great, the animations and typography thing was a dream, it was very fast and fluid, OK it lack lots of features but it was a great OS.

After some time with this OS, i've became a big fan of it, i moved to the wp8 and i told everyone about my great experience on WP, i changed the mind of my friends and family, they bought wp devices 920, 925, 1020, 820, 520, and 630.

The biggest problem was lacking of apps for every one of them, even for me, but i ignored it because i loved the OS and how it was designed, and every thing about it.

When Microsoft starts to remove some great features in WP8 and 8.1, it was really annoying.
the os moved from being people oriented to another alien thing.

The big change come when windows 10 for mobile come to live.

The move was big, the OS was good, but.... it wasn't a windows phone, it look like a customized android version that have a WP skin, wasn't as smooth or conceptual as it was before.

I felt that windows 10 was like some pieces of puzzle apps, nothing was unified, not all apps have the same design or concept behind, it was not a complete OS after all...

Even though, i stayed with my lumia 925 to the last build of windows 10 mobile the 10586.107, it was better than those before even smoother and almost no bugs, but even these release felt incomplete in some ways, and my phone felt old.

From 2weeks ago, i got a gift from a friend, it was the LG V10....

Oh my GOD, the phone was gorgeous, a big 5.7" very sleek design, superb camera, shock proof, and Android OS 5.1.1....

So i thought it would be the heaven, after being on windows for a long time, and the lack off apps had hurts a lot, the wait for a good OS and good phone finally is over.

Well NO, a very big NO! Android is mature enough but not a good OS, it s a very bad one, cluttered, unorganized, and too bad for my taste.

The one and only one good thing in android (or iOS), is the great polished apps quality, and the presence of all what u think about in the store (even what u don't need or think about ).

Although there's a great feature that i liked in android (like the clipboard), i hate the way the os works as a bunch of bad services that u r not allowed to stop any of them....

At last i would say that windows 10 is just better OS than those two (Android and iOS), it needs to be more polished and to have more attention from developers.

What i think is the best about windows is its design language and simplicity so please Microsoft keep it clean, fast and simple.

I will be back to windows wagon ASAP, for now i would stick with this phone just because i cant afford the Lumia 950XL yet, and i wont buy a bad phone like 550 for sure.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for my bad english.

 

[fatclue_98]

Hassan, thank you for an insightful write up minus the usual derogatory remarks one sees on these boards. As a bilingual person, I applaud your efforts and let me add that some native speakers kill the Queen's English more than you do. :winktongue:

 

[NVMY03ION]

I agree I've been through android and an iPhone and although I'm contemplating going back to an iPhone I won't be back to android. Getting errors like keyboard not responding or phone not responding is hella annoying. I enjoy windsows phone but the app gap seriously has to be closed if Microsoft wants any part of the mobile phone market thru have to get out of the hole.

Sent from mTalk

 

[Mad Cabbie]

Whilst, I also agree about the 'other' two, you offer the perception that your Win 10 mobile experience was regarding an official release. I agree, wholeheartedly, that it still needs polishing and refining.

Whilst some aspects of the new OS do have an android feel about them, some are a more organised experience. I was a late adopter, having persisted in trying to improve android for the multitude of 'flashaholics', who resented an open source project being locked down by OEM's. I came in on 8.1. For me, the biggest issue on my 930 was the way in which the settings were laid out, with no rhyme or reason, yet my wife's 640 had some semblance of order. Why? My other dislike, was the way in which tile transparency resulted in thick black line. 8.1 was a brilliant OS to use, but some areas just felt lacking, like the start screen transparency. Despite these, somewhat personal, minor niggles I grew to enjoy the simplicity, reliability and the rock solid performance of a device that wasn't pretending to be something it isn't. Like the OP, android, no matter how much we tweaked it, just didn't feel ermm, 'alive', 'personal' or enjoyable as WP. It felt robotic (sic).

I enjoy the windows experience so much that I have invested in 14 now. 12 for my taxi firm, and 2 personal. All running w10m 107. Our office girls don't have to shout peoples addresses' over an open frequency radio, they use the Cortana text facility. The drivers find them very easy to use. No need to touch the phone, Cortana reads their next job to them in their Bluetooth, and they reply by Cortana, confirmation arrives on the PC.

So, yes it has it's foibles, yes it isn't polished, but in my instance, as a business device, it works fine. Oh, and with continuum, I can take financials etc to the bank / account / client meetings, and viola, all required info to hand and not sent via insecure mails.

I would rather hang on for 10to be polished, than run to android, that is basically, a polished turd! :-D As for apple, way to expensive, an in my position, they, like top end android devices, make my drivers a target for idiots. Very few people know WP still exists, and until that changes, my drivers are lower on the mugging totem pole.

Thanks to the OP for providing a balanced, thoroughly thought out post. Not like the normal drivel on these fine boards.

Apologies for the ramble

 

[libra89]

I agree I've been through android and an iPhone and although I'm contemplating going back to an iPhone I won't be back to android. Getting errors like keyboard not responding or phone not responding is hella annoying. I enjoy windsows phone but the app gap seriously has to be closed if Microsoft wants any part of the mobile phone market thru have to get out of the hole.

Sent from mTalk

I agree with this. Before my recent run with Android, I have never tried it before. I am impressed by it, but hating some of the quirks about it. Will see how iOS is, soon enough.

@ Hassan: I have read your post more than once now, trying to think of a good response.

Surprisingly, I agree to a fair extent. Well, it's surprising to me, because I have been using Android as my daily driver for 3 weeks now. I liked it a lot, actually more than I thought I would out the gate. Android has come a long way, it's solid. However, there are some quirks that I don't like so much.
Funny that you said one of them:

i hate the way the os works as a bunch of bad services that u r not allowed to stop any of them

That is something that is odd to me. NFC isn't a bad service but it's weird that even though I have it turned off, it's still running processes. That and other little things is why I'm also trying iOS as well. I haven't tried Windows 10 Mobile since December, so I can't comment on what it can and cannot do, aside from the whole apps thing.

 

[neodk]

I tend to go back to Windows Phone because the phone operates smoothly and has great battery life. I am a fan of the interface but wish there were more applications. I went back to Android and arguably the very reasons I like Windows Phone were the reasons I disliked Android. You have to have a phone with Ferrari-like specifications to run the OS smoothly. Your mileage may vary, but that has been my experience. Install more than the core applications and watch how a device begins to bog down. Then you have pre-installed, non-removable applications that are installed by carriers. AT&T to me is the biggest offender, even with Windows Phone, but that itself can quickly become negated by uninstalling them. Apple still reigns supreme in this area; there are no pre-installed applications from AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon that you have to sort out.
When I got my first Lumia 920, I was immensely impressed with the camera. I thought I had hit the point with a mobile phone that I was going to get a quality camera with a stable OS that doesn’t bog down under heavy usage. The problem is, and always has been, there are a very limited number of apps available that you could install to take advantage of said optics. I eventually floated between Android and Windows Phone for some time. I owned the 1020 and loved the camera. Initially, there were yellow tint issues, but updates later corrected this. I was impatient and went back to Android.
So I come to you know having used the P8 Lite, Nexus 6, Moto G 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] Generation, Huawei P8 Lite and HTC Desire 626S. I can tell you that they take a seat behind the Lumia 640 XL. Windows 10 Mobile will help this device fly and seem more modern, but Microsoft has many bugs to work out before a final build is released. If I could afford a 950, I would have plopped my money down. I know eventually the 640 XL is going to be overshadowed by the newer mid-range devices coming out in 2016. If the OS can sustain itself through the year and continue into 2017, I could see myself buying another Windows Phone. However, if this lackluster trainwreck that has been the official release of Windows 10 Mobile continues, I may find myself going back to an iPhone.

 

[Giddora]

Coming from Android and helping friends with their Android-phones daily makes me already know that it is nothing for me. It's just too gruesome and too much work for something that should just work.

Android is a complex system, and that's about it. People who whine about Microsoft wanting to get things right before releasing Windows 10 to older phones should really try out Android for a few months and learn that the grass really is not greener on the other side.

 

[Leonel Funes]

Coming from Android and helping friends with their Android-phones daily makes me already know that it is nothing for me. It's just too gruesome and too much work for something that should just work.

Android is a complex system, and that's about it. People who whine about Microsoft wanting to get things right before releasing Windows 10 to older phones should really try out Android for a few months and learn that the grass really is not greener on the other side.

There's no grass on the other side... Just a bunch of dirt

 

[Mad Cabbie]

Coming from Android and helping friends with their Android-phones daily makes me already know that it is nothing for me. It's just too gruesome and too much work for something that should just work.

Android is a complex system, and that's about it. People who whine about Microsoft wanting to get things right before releasing Windows 10 to older phones should really try out Android for a few months and learn that the grass really is not greener on the other side.

I have to agree. One thing that Android, especially OEM's, is good at, is dropping support very soon in the model cycle. At least the release from Microsoft, a few months back, gave assurances to users of 'less' modern devices that W10M would be available to the devices listed. That, in itself, is quite a statement from an OS provider, especially with the plethora of devices. They stated 8gb storage is the minimum requirement. I can report that .107 runs brilliantly on an elderly 1320 that I cant seem to give up, despite now having a 950xl.

I can see it now. All the hype, MS release it to everyone and within 10 minutes those same people creating again because it isnt what they expected.

And of course, the grass isn't always greener..

 

[Iain_S]

Hello all windows mobile fans...

Before i begin,
I was on the windows phone wagon since the early days of WP 7.5 with my Lumia 710 moving to the 925 after wp8...

It was a long way full of painful waiting and waiting all the time.

Well it was not my first smart device, iPhone 2G was the first one, moved to windows mobile 6.5 with the famous HTC HD2, the moving to android with an experia...

When i saw the windows phone 7 the first time (in the ADS), as I'm a graphic designer, it was like a dream come to true the concept behind the phone was great, the animations and typography thing was a dream, it was very fast and fluid, OK it lack lots of features but it was a great OS.

After some time with this OS, i've became a big fan of it, i moved to the wp8 and i told everyone about my great experience on WP, i changed the mind of my friends and family, they bought wp devices 920, 925, 1020, 820, 520, and 630.

The biggest problem was lacking of apps for every one of them, even for me, but i ignored it because i loved the OS and how it was designed, and every thing about it.

When Microsoft starts to remove some great features in WP8 and 8.1, it was really annoying.
the os moved from being people oriented to another alien thing.

The big change come when windows 10 for mobile come to live.

The move was big, the OS was good, but.... it wasn't a windows phone, it look like a customized android version that have a WP skin, wasn't as smooth or conceptual as it was before.

I felt that windows 10 was like some pieces of puzzle apps, nothing was unified, not all apps have the same design or concept behind, it was not a complete OS after all...

Even though, i stayed with my lumia 925 to the last build of windows 10 mobile the 10586.107, it was better than those before even smoother and almost no bugs, but even these release felt incomplete in some ways, and my phone felt old.

From 2weeks ago, i got a gift from a friend, it was the LG V10....

Oh my GOD, the phone was gorgeous, a big 5.7" very sleek design, superb camera, shock proof, and Android OS 5.1.1....

So i thought it would be the heaven, after being on windows for a long time, and the lack off apps had hurts a lot, the wait for a good OS and good phone finally is over.

Well NO, a very big NO! Android is mature enough but not a good OS, it s a very bad one, cluttered, unorganized, and too bad for my taste.

The one and only one good thing in android (or iOS), is the great polished apps quality, and the presence of all what u think about in the store (even what u don't need or think about ).

Although there's a great feature that i liked in android (like the clipboard), i hate the way the os works as a bunch of bad services that u r not allowed to stop any of them....

At last i would say that windows 10 is just better OS than those two (Android and iOS), it needs to be more polished and to have more attention from developers.

What i think is the best about windows is its design language and simplicity so please Microsoft keep it clean, fast and simple.

I will be back to windows wagon ASAP, for now i would stick with this phone just because i cant afford the Lumia 950XL yet, and i wont buy a bad phone like 550 for sure.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for my bad english.

yes Android and IOS for that matter are terrible mobile operating systems, the only thing it has is the store for those who want a lot of choice, IOS apps are of better quality than the android apps. Windows 10 is a great mobile OS and will only keep improving with each update, hopefully one day the store will offer those in need of all the apps a positive choice, because there is no better mobile OS out there.

 

[xandros9]

Just wanted to plug this:

http://forums.windowscentral.com/phone-wars/411741-xandros9s-ios-android-adventure.html

The grass can be patchy, but its, for the most part, greener if you pick well.

Yellowed if you're stuck with a less-than-optimal device with no support or ROM path.

 

[sikurunana]

You have to have a phone with Ferrari-like specifications to run the OS smoothly.

BEST description of Android I've ever seen! *hi5*

 

[libra89]

Just wanted to plug this:

http://forums.windowscentral.com/phone-wars/411741-xandros9s-ios-android-adventure.html

The grass can be patchy, but its, for the most part, greener if you pick well.

Yellowed if you're stuck with a less-than-optimal device with no support or ROM path.

I also want to say here that I am really thankful for you sharing your experiment and adventure. Not only has your thread helped me, it is also helping others. There's nothing like having someone, such as yourself, go through and try both, starting from the eyes of Windows Phone to the other options. Your thread made me realize and decide to try both.

 

[xandros9]

I also want to say here that I am really thankful for you sharing your experiment and adventure. Not only has your thread helped me, it is also helping others. There's nothing like having someone, such as yourself, go through and try both, starting from the eyes of Windows Phone to the other options. Your thread made me realize and decide to try both.

 

[joymariah041]

Loyalty is a strong and highly sought after commodity