Advice from the community... What next?

[StyxBoatman]

Yup... It's another one of those threads, but after reading and reading and reading, I'm just ending up more confused. :eck:

I've had my trusty Ativ S since launch and have been holding out to replace it in hopes for the fabled "Surface Phone" that I've just accepted will not come any time soon.

After the rather disappointing hardware event that confirmed no news :angry:, I've decided it's time to move forward. I've tested latest Android phones and I'm totally frustrated with the experience. iOS, I've never liked. So it's back to WM10 for me and hence the request for advice.

I'm having a difficult time deciding on what to get next. I hear/read from many that the best experience is the 950XL, but I'm concerned with the impending discontinuation this December. The post that showed the nice capture of the Microsoft Device screen saying "Lumia Phones no longer supported" was, telling to say the least. Which leaves me with the Acer Liquid Jade Primo, the HP Elite X3 and the upcoming Alcatel Idol 4S. Looking at most posts, it seems most of the community dissuades the Acer Liquid Jade Primo as a choice, which now leaves us with two.

Now, I'm leaning a bit towards the HP Elite x3 because I'm hoping that the heavy HP investment will equate to greater support both from HP and Microsoft. But the non user replaceable battery, missing dedicated camera button, NFC but no Wallet support and price kind of deflate me. Among a few other nitpicks.

In the end, what do you think? Should I just go with the tried-and-true 950 or 950XL? Should I wait to see what the Alcatel has to offer, since it seems specs are comparable to the Elite? Should I just bite-the-bullet and go with the Elite?

Discuss and thanks in advance!!! :grin:

P.S. In case you're wondering, yes, my Ativ is due for a replacement.

 

[Bobvfr]

Love my Xl and I gave my wife a 950 for her birthday last week and in playing with it (Sorry I meant setting it up) and watching my wife plug her phone into the dock and the monitor firing up with what is in effect a PC, I would say if price is any sort of issue, get one.

If you aren't worried about price (And you can get an XL and a 950 both with docks + leather cases and one 64g micro SD card for the price of an HP) then maybe the HP is the way to go, but it is your call.

Not sure what you mean about MS withdrawing support for the two Lumia's and Windows on phones is being updated so no worries there.

 

[StyxBoatman]

Thanks for the input... I was referring to this Forum Post: http://forums.windowscentral.com/ge...osoft-device-support-message.html#post3581986

 

[mark233]

I have both the 950 and 950XL ... I don't really know what would constitute the 'best' experience on the XL. If you prefer larger display then go for the XL. They both have the same camera. Processing will be just a tad quicker in the XL. But I don't count that as a better experience for myself. Both of these phones have been great for me (running latest official Production build --- no Insider builds). The battery life for both are really close to each other in my personal use ... meaning I do whatever on my phone throughout the day and at the end of the day battery percentage remaining is too close to each other to judge which has the better battery life

 

[Smiley8893]

I switched from my 1520 to 950xl and never looked back. It is responsive, camera is awesome and the software is not buggy on release preview. The 950 & 950xl are discounted now to get rid if stocks so I managed to upgrade at minimal cost. I think though for you you need to work out what you want in a phone and narrow down your search that way

 

[mark233]

Ah now I see ... If you're concerned with after sale support (warranty and such) I'm thinking I would go with the Elite X3 if it were me. I've had to use HP support only one time for a newly purchased desktop and it was handled promptly. I was very satisfied with their warranty support.

 

[aximtreo]

If you have used the Ativ for an extended period of time, the Lumia's becoming orphans in the near future should not be a concern. The Ativ was an orphan at introduction. I have the 950XL; love it and plan to use it along side my Nexus 6 for some time. Microsoft has said the WM 10 will continued to be updated so don't let that worry you. You can buy a good used 950XL for less than $300; new for more. Easy decision.

 

[viper1970]

Since I've found out the Idol 4s for Windows is real and not vaporware, I'm going to jump from an iPhone to the Idol 4s. Way cheaper and looks a LOT better than the Elite X3 to me. The camera on the Elite doesnt impress me, and I'm hoping the one on the Idol 4s doesnt disappoint.

 

[abhishek singh21]

wait for the reviews of alcatel idol 4S to flood in, then make a choice between Elite X3 and Idol 4S

 

[StyxBoatman]

OK... I'm going to wait a bit more for the Idol4S Reviews to start coming in as someo of you suggested. I did read Danie's posts and finally got a chance to see the specs. It looks like most of the specs are in line with the Elite X3, except the screen resolution. Looks like doesn't have Wallet/NFC and Daniel hasn't said if it has a replaceable battery. I can live without Wallet, the camera button is welcomed, if it has a user replaceable battery, we may have a winner.

One thing about the Camera. I'm coming from an AtivS camera to a new one, since I haven't experienced the wonders of the Lumia camera, anything is an upgrade to my existing experience. :grin:

On a side note, I'm surprised that most of you said to go with the 950XL! I would figured that a December EoL would have most people saying to steer away due to possible issues replacing damaged/faulty hardware. I do baby my phones, that's true, though.

I still haven't made my decision, but all your replies have been helpful. Let's see what next week brings in terms of reviews and hopefully we can continue the conversation.

 

[PepperdotNet]

End-of-sale does not mean End-of-life.

The 950 and 950XL are not yet at the one year mark. I expect it will still be supported with updates for a good while longer. No issues with mine, which I paid full price for and got it on launch day.

 

[StyxBoatman]

Whelp... My Ativ S just died on Friday and I just realized that I never got back to this thread. So it's time to really upgrade.

I was hoping that MWC '17 would have some sweet "Surface Phone" news, but yup, nothing there.

Since I really need a new phone now, looks like I only have two options (since I REALLY don't want to go Android or iOS). The Elite x3 and the Idol 4S. Evidently, after talking to a Microsoft Store person, they told me that even though the 950's are listed on the site, they are not really available so I could roll the dice and see if I luck out. That's fine though. Seeing the "support" I just received with my Band 2 (basically, none), I WAY too apprehensive about going that route anyway. Good luck and god speed to you brave lot of 950 users~!

Now that we've put some time/distance away from the release of the Idol and Elite, would love to know your thoughts on only those two models. Seems like the Idol is still probably the way to go. In any case, I'm going to be buying this week. So thought I'd bump the thread one last time.

 

[RumoredNow]

I just jumped on the Idol 4S bandwagon a few weeks ago. No regrets. It is clearly a winner: looks, quality build, screen, battery life, power, features, hardware, price.

I believe it is the best all-around phone built for W10M to date.

Compromises would be:

• No Qi, but it charges stupid fast via Type-C
• No NFC, if you and/or your bank aren't with Microsoft tap-to-pay you won't likely miss it
• Camera, it's no PureView/Zeiss/OIS yet it has a quality sensor and takes some very good pics in most lighting
• No Glance, but did you have that with the Ativ?

 

[StyxBoatman]

I just jumped on the Idol 4S bandwagon a few weeks ago. No regrets. It is clearly a winner: looks, quality build, screen, battery life, power, features, hardware, price.

I believe it is the best all-around phone built for W10M to date.

Compromises would be:

• No Qi, but it charges stupid fast via Type-C
• No NFC, if you and/or your bank aren't with Microsoft tap-to-pay you won't likely miss it
• Camera, it's no PureView/Zeiss/OIS yet it has a quality sensor and takes some very good pics in most lighting
• No Glance, but did you have that with the Ativ?

You are correct sir!

Actually, all of your compromises would still apply to me coming from the Ativ:
- Never had Wireless Charging
- Didn't have NFC
- Camera on Ativ is 8MP Rear / 1.5 MP Front. So I've never know the wonders of PureView/Zeiss. So it'll still be a step-up for me.
- No Glance with Ativ, either.

Sounds like I won't miss what I never had. Woo-hoo!

I sincerely appreciate the vote of confidence on the Idol. Probably will end up ordering it before the end of the day.

 

[RumoredNow]

Hey hey... If it helps push you over the line....

I am a Lumia 1520 user who never jumped to 950/XL because the spec difference was not compelling enough and I didn't like the build quality reports. I now feel satisfied with the Idol 4S as a daily driver and have no urge to return my 1520 to daily service.

Also, I had been playing with VR a bit via an Idol 3 (5.5) Android and a generic VR headset. The Idol 4S Windows rig is a much nicer setup for the headset and as an engine to run VR. W10M may not have as many apps for VR as Android does, but there is certainly enough there to make the VR aspects a true value added feature.

 

[StyxBoatman]

Thanks to all, late last week I ordered my Idol. Came in and I've been playing around with it. Up to now I'm REALLY happy with it.

Although there are some odd things that I wasn't expecting when moving from WP8 to 10. For example, there is no easy way to tell what apps have Win10 flavors. So it's been an exercise of going to each app, checking to see if the publisher has another version or doing a search for the app. Doesn't help that Windows Store doesn't do a good job of separating "official" from non, but I think that's a problem with all store fronts.

/rant I'm also VERY surprised on how little UWP apps are actually out there. I thought they would be more prevalent. Heck, I even saw apps that are available on Win10 Desktop that are not for mobile. That just hurts my head. I'm not sure how much easier Microsoft can make it for folks to bring apps to the platform. I've talked to programmer friends of mine and they always give the same excuse of "user base", but when I reply with "isn't Windows still the largest share / user base OS in the world" they never really have a response. /sigh /rantover

I was surprised how soft the speakers sounds though based on all the reviews I read. I was expecting it to boom like my old Arrive. I also wish that Acatel would keep up with firmware updates regularly like I'm seeing HP do with the Elite. I haven't joined the Insider program yet. I want to make sure everything is set-up just the way I like before jumping in.

Anyway, I just wanted to update/share the update with the thread. I'll continue playing around with it and setting it up.

Question, screen protector or not? I've been debating!

THANKS ALL!

 

[tgp]

I've talked to programmer friends of mine and they always give the same excuse of "user base", but when I reply with "isn't Windows still the largest share / user base OS in the world" they never really have a response. /sigh /rantover

Even if Windows is the largest user share, most Windows users are on desktop. Desktop users tend to not use apps. Yes, they are indeed "potential" users, but if they do not actually use them, they provide no value to developers.

Also, I believe Android has surpassed Windows in user base. If not, it is close. All Android is mobile, as opposed to a very minuscule number of Windows mobile users. Mobile users use apps; desktop users use the browser. Imagine if Windows had the user base it does, but it would all be Windows Phone. Then we'd see some apps!

Did you think about it that we Windows fans talk out of both sides of our mouths? We say that mobile does not need apps because web apps are the future. And then we turn around and say that developers should be providing UWP apps because of the huge number of Windows desktop users. We're talking like we should be using web on mobile and apps on desktop. We have it exactly backwards!