A question that I get alot

[Technoloay]

'what exactly is/are the benefit/s of windows phone over android?'

My answers include:
- lag free experience even on the cheapest Lumia.
- personalization.
- future integration with windows 8, and Xbox.

But these do not really attract people to WP, do they?

What else can be added to the list?

 

[Keith Wallace]

1. I wouldn't say that. Windows Phone isn't lag-free, and I'd expect more so on 512MB devices (which come with the wrinkle of being able to run some apps and games).

2. Rooting an Android device leads to a level of customization Windows Phone cannot touch.

3. Microsoft isn't the jerk that Google is, so most of their services (SmartGlass, Skype, Office) have or will make their way to Android.

When I get asked that question, I point out these things:

1. Bing Rewards lets you earn points for searching with Bing. The points can then be used to acquire various things, including Windows Phone Store gift cards. It means that I've gotten Halo: Spartan Assault (among other games) for free by using Bing.

2. Camera tech in the high-end Lumias (92x and higher) is the best you'll find in any smartphone running on a modern OS.

3. You can uninstall carrier garbage apps without needing to do something like rooting on Android.

 

[11B1P]

Kids Corner
Bluetooth speech-to-text
Live Tiles including the custom size options
Office 365

 

[Keith Wallace]

1. Personally, I didn't find Kid's Corner a great thing. My little brother (who is 7) would forget how to get to it because he is mostly used to using his grandparents' iPhones or his mom's Droid 2 to play games. He doesn't play games on my phone anymore though, so not a big deal. Since Kid's Corner games don't necessarily make separate profiles within themselves, there's not a big deal to having it over just showing the kid where the Games hub is (if you're like me and have it near the top of your Start screen).

2. Not sure what this is. Is it a Windows Phone-exclusive feature or something? I imagine it's using a Bluetooth headset for text-to-speech functionality?

3. The tiles can be nice, no doubt. I personally wish that they added 1x2 and 2x1 tiles, though. There are some apps that I want larger than the smallest tiles on my screen for prominence, but they're too big at the medium size to serve a purpose. For example, I'd like to use one tile square to put both IE and the Music+Videos app. The Games hub is the only app I like at the medium size (all but those 3 are at the small size, while IE, Games, and Music are medium), and that's because of the Avatar animations.

4. That's not exclusive to this OS, though the built-in Office is, and it's nice. Granted, no .pdf support worth a darn is a decent counter to that, if it's a file type you use much (for example, I had a teacher who wanted all homework submitted via .pdf because he would grade it on his iPad).

 

[11B1P]

Bluetooth speech works on headsets and thru the car. Yes, I believe this is a WP only feature. When on BT, if you get a text the os will give you the option to read or ignore the text. If you "read" the text, the os will read the text to you. Then you have the option to reply or not, all hands-free. Pretty nice while driving!

 

[Ian Too]

1. A useful device. - I am getting tired of seeing Android devices with low memory warnings. Be it an HTC Desire or Samsung Galaxy Ace, you get the triple: Viber, Whatsapp and Low Memory Warning. Android may be okay on the latest hardware, but the VAST majority of Android devices are low-end and so close to useless, you have to be a pedant to draw the distinction. By contrast, my Lumia 620 has 26 apps/games and still shows 3.5Gb free.

2. Security - Android does the triple whammy of having several security breaches, not being a walled garden and not allowing security software special privileges, so any step you take to improve your situation is a waste of time. The latest is a flaw in the Java random number generator which means app encryption is not safe. Don't forget personal information is kept on these devices. Google's attitude here is shockingly irresponsible.

3. App Availability - Yes, the Windows Phone Store has a third of the apps available in theory, but how many times have low-end Android users selected an app only to find it won't run on their Galaxy Ace? 99% of Windows Phone apps will run on low-end hardware like the Lumia 520 or HTC 8S.

4. Support - Given that most new Windows Phones will be Nokias, how many low-end Android devices come with free turn-by-turn navigation?

5. Updates - Those of us who bought early are in the process of receiving their second OS update on their devices with two more due by the middle of next year. Android devices are updated may be once in their lifetime.

6. Consistency - Buy a Nokia, Samsung or HTC Windows Phone and you will get a very similar experience, meaning that if you swap from Samsung to Nokia, you won't have to learn a different way of doing things the way you would jumping from an S4 to an HTC One.

7. Freedom from Bloatware - Good old Samsung junk half the memory of the GS4, filling it with stuff users never asked for and when they complain, Sammy says: 'buy an SD card.'. My, aren't we lucky?

8. Integration - Windows Phone is an important part of their 'three screens' strategy for the future of computing. Contacts, calenders and even xbox on the phone are tied to the Microsoft account, meaning they are synchronised and available either through outlook.com or the apps on the desktop of Windows 8. This means that if you are arranging a date on the phone, you can use your PC to check if the 24th is free without having to interrupt the call. Any changes on the PC will be synced to the phone and visa-versa without any user having to remember to do it.

9. Privacy - Microsoft don't track the position of your handset or trawl through your private email looking for keywords. Google do so they can target you with advertising. It seems that when you put your (& your family's) personal information on your device, it no longer belongs to you, but to a multi-billion dollar company who have published people's private private information on line - ie: the logins of private unsecured wi-fi networks.

10. Reliability - Windows Phones are extremely reliable. No having to hook out the battery or periodically reset the device, no having to continually manage what apps are using up resources despite not doing anything except waiting for a response from you. Windows Phones just keep going, doing what they're supposed to.

I have now been using Windows Phones for over two years, on four devices and I have never been less than happy with the experience. I see no alternative for a smooth, integrated experience which doesn't invade and commodify my personal privacy.

 

[Oxymoron428]

Ian Too, you have summed this up just as good or better than I could have. My thoughts exactly!

 

[Ian Too]

1. I wouldn't say that. Windows Phone isn't lag-free, and I'd expect more so on 512MB devices (which come with the wrinkle of being able to run some apps and games).

The two experiences are not comparable though, are they? The occasional stutter does not compare with the continual freezing and stuttering of an HTC Desire.

2. Rooting an Android device leads to a level of customization Windows Phone cannot touch.

But that's far too technical for the average user and what customisation is it exactly? It's still on a static UI.

When I get asked that question, I point out these things:

1. Bing Rewards lets you earn points for searching with Bing. The points can then be used to acquire various things, including Windows Phone Store gift cards. It means that I've gotten Halo: Spartan Assault (among other games) for free by using Bing.

Alas, only available in the US - AGAIN.