I picked up a Samsung Focus when they were first released (last November, I think) and loved it. I had previously been using a Dell Streak, before that a Samsung Captivate and even before that an Iphone 3GS which replaced my Iphone 3G. I'm kind of a tech geek and I've used just about every operating system out there, including a brief stint with a Palm Pre Plus this past summer.
I kept the Focus until February of this past year when I sold it to buy an HTC Insprire. This was the first Android phone AT&T released that was really worth anything, so I wanted to give Android a fair shake after a disappointing Captivate experience. I kept the Inspire until September as my main phone, when I sold it and bought a Samsung Infuse and a Blackberry Bold as a holdover phone until I could figure out an operating system I really wanted to use.
The problem I have with Android is not it's functionality. It is very powerful, has a well rounded app market and does a lot of things. Unfortunately it doesn't do a lot of those things well. Every manufacturer ROM I've used (especially from Samsung) has been laggy and I ended up rooting it and installing clockwork mod so I could install custom ROM's. After days of flashing and re flashing new ROM's I would find one I liked well enough and would keep it for a couple weeks only to try something else. I found I was never really satisfied with the UI of stock Android or whatever ROM I happened to flash. No change in launchers or widgets or boot animation made me completely satisfied. Android was just to sporadic and felt like it wasn't very well thought out, but rather they through in a bunch of added functionality after the fact and hobbled together an operating system that was as frustrating as it is powerful.
When I first tried iOS I was happy. It was my first true smartphone, and at that time (iPhone 3G) the OS still felt fresh and different and the app catalog was amazing. I kept the iPhone for almost two years, which for me is no small feat. I loved iOS soo much that I bought a MacBook. Then something happened. Sometime around the announcement of the iPhone 4 I got bored. The OS was exactly the same with some pseudo-enhancements like "multi-tasking" thrown in. I did something I told myself I would never do, and I left iOS.
That began the journey that led me to WP7 and it's refreshing, seamless UI that I absolutely loved. It was missing some features for sure, but for a first generation platform it was great. I don't know why I left. I think it was because no one I knew had a WP7 and I didn't think the OS was going anywhere. However, I'm ready to come back.
My question for everyone is if they are still happy with WP7 after almost a year of use. Does the UI still feel fresh? Is 7.5 everything it's been made out to be? Am I getting back into a dying OS?
I plan on picking up a Focus again soon, because I love the Super AMOLED displays especially on the Metro UI. I know I can wait a couple weeks for the Focus S, but I don't have that kind of cash to pick up something like that and the Focus I can get for a $130-$150 used on EBAY. Come January if I think any of the new phones are worth it I'll grab one then.
So is it worth it to get back in?
I kept the Focus until February of this past year when I sold it to buy an HTC Insprire. This was the first Android phone AT&T released that was really worth anything, so I wanted to give Android a fair shake after a disappointing Captivate experience. I kept the Inspire until September as my main phone, when I sold it and bought a Samsung Infuse and a Blackberry Bold as a holdover phone until I could figure out an operating system I really wanted to use.
The problem I have with Android is not it's functionality. It is very powerful, has a well rounded app market and does a lot of things. Unfortunately it doesn't do a lot of those things well. Every manufacturer ROM I've used (especially from Samsung) has been laggy and I ended up rooting it and installing clockwork mod so I could install custom ROM's. After days of flashing and re flashing new ROM's I would find one I liked well enough and would keep it for a couple weeks only to try something else. I found I was never really satisfied with the UI of stock Android or whatever ROM I happened to flash. No change in launchers or widgets or boot animation made me completely satisfied. Android was just to sporadic and felt like it wasn't very well thought out, but rather they through in a bunch of added functionality after the fact and hobbled together an operating system that was as frustrating as it is powerful.
When I first tried iOS I was happy. It was my first true smartphone, and at that time (iPhone 3G) the OS still felt fresh and different and the app catalog was amazing. I kept the iPhone for almost two years, which for me is no small feat. I loved iOS soo much that I bought a MacBook. Then something happened. Sometime around the announcement of the iPhone 4 I got bored. The OS was exactly the same with some pseudo-enhancements like "multi-tasking" thrown in. I did something I told myself I would never do, and I left iOS.
That began the journey that led me to WP7 and it's refreshing, seamless UI that I absolutely loved. It was missing some features for sure, but for a first generation platform it was great. I don't know why I left. I think it was because no one I knew had a WP7 and I didn't think the OS was going anywhere. However, I'm ready to come back.
My question for everyone is if they are still happy with WP7 after almost a year of use. Does the UI still feel fresh? Is 7.5 everything it's been made out to be? Am I getting back into a dying OS?
I plan on picking up a Focus again soon, because I love the Super AMOLED displays especially on the Metro UI. I know I can wait a couple weeks for the Focus S, but I don't have that kind of cash to pick up something like that and the Focus I can get for a $130-$150 used on EBAY. Come January if I think any of the new phones are worth it I'll grab one then.
So is it worth it to get back in?
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