Does anyone actually use the notifications center?

[Nerdy Woman]

I understand using it for missed toast notifications or apps that aren't pinned. For those two purposes it is a clunky solution however. Rather than streamlining it for those two real issues, it was instead designed to appease those who can't leave behind Android/iOS habits.

I disagree, a5cent. I've never used either an Android or iOS phone (no appeasement needed). I find the Notification Center an absolutely essential tool. Being able to see emails, text messages, app updates, and game notifications (why would I pin Words with Friends to the start screen?) all in one quick glance makes the WP even better than before. Although live tiles show quick tally of how many emails and text messages are awaiting my attention, a swipe and a glance lets me know if any of those need my immediate attention.

It's not a clunky solution at all. It provides a single location to get more detail about all kinds of incoming information. How could that be anything less than quintessential?

 

[spaulagain]

I disagree, a5cent. I've never used either an Android or iOS phone (no appeasement needed). I find the Notification Center an absolutely essential tool. Being able to see emails, text messages, app updates, and game notifications (why would I pin Words with Friends to the start screen?) all in one quick glance makes the WP even better than before. Although live tiles show quick tally of how many emails and text messages are awaiting my attention, a swipe and a glance lets me know if any of those need my immediate attention.

It's not a clunky solution at all. It provides a single location to get more detail about all kinds of incoming information. How could that be anything less than quintessential?

Agreed

 

[deadwrong03]

I use it everyday can't imagine life without it
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 928 Tapatalk

 

[a5cent]

It's not a clunky solution at all. It provides a single location to get more detail about all kinds of incoming information. How could that be anything less than quintessential?

Hello Nerdy Women, and welcome to WPC!

Look, I get quite a lot of notifications. Opening the notification centre doesn't provide me with a compact and quick overview of anything. Instead, at least by default, what I get is a long list of garbage intermingled with a few things that might be important. That's what I'm used to from my non-WP devices. That is not how I want to use WP. That can be improved, with a lot of tweaking, but I don't really want to spend that amount of time fiddling with my phone, configuring dozens of notifications, particularly because the chosen approach requires me to fiddle with this over and over again, whenever I add/remove or pin/unpin apps. That is clunky.

Text messages and phone calls are things that I deal with right away no matter who they are from. Not so with e-mails. I get well over 60 e-mails a day and I have (admittedly complicated) rules setup to organize them in to various folders, which I have pinned to my start screen. If I get an e-mail, I don't have to look at it to decide if it's important. I already know based on which tile counts it. Looking at the notification centre, all I get is an endless list of mails. Compared to the solution I already have setup, that is clunky.

Ironically, the two problems I actually did have with WP's notification system aren't solved well at all (missing toasts and not seeing notifications for apps that aren't pinned). Why can't I just have the notification system always show both of those (and only those) types of notifications. Basically, if I unpin a tile, move the notifications into the notification centre, and visa versa. At least let me use that as a more reasonable baseline, upon which I can base the occasional deviation here and there. That I can't do that... that is clunky.

Don't get me wrong. It's better to have this notification centre than nothing at all, and who am I to say what others should think of it. If you and others like it, great! However, at least as far as I'm concerned, you'll only think it's good if you can't imagine something better, or at least better in the context of how WP was originally envisioned.

 

[DavidinCT]

Truth be told, I was dead set against the notification center, read through my past posts. I will admit, I was wrong (don't show this to my wife !!!!!).

I use 2 email accounts, Facebook,. Twitter and normally use them all the time. A lot of the time, just ignore toast messages (when am busy), then having them in the Notification center, I can pull down, look over what I missed them just swipe them away.

It really is a quick simple feature....Could I live with out it ? Maybe but, at this point, I think I would miss it, or have to make all my small tiles, LARGE tiles to see all the notifications I miss....

 

[cocotutch]

Coming from the notification heavy Android OS on my Samsung Galaxy S3, I will need the 8.1 Action Center like I do my Internet. It will be indispensible. I never needed it in the beginning with iOS, but it's a darn quick way to see which apps have notifications instead of having a 20,000px tall Home Screen with every single app as a Live Tile.

I suppose, for the 1520, having so many live tiles won't in fact be such a battery killer, but for lesser specced devices it will be very important.

 

[aiorialive]

For me, notification center is crucial and very useful for the Windows phone new age.

 

[Johnny Bellagio]

IM USING IT NOW!!!!, honestly I can't see why anyone wouldn't use it. Live Tiles are kool, but I turn most off due to battery and performance issues. Plus it's tricky reading a constant changing live tile. Compared to the useful summary display in notification center.... Allowing you direct access to things you want to read. USE IT EVERYDAY

 

[rodan01]

Hello Nerdy Women, and welcome to WPC!

Look, I get quite a lot of notifications. Opening the notification centre doesn't provide me with a compact and quick overview of anything. Instead, at least by default, what I get is a long list of garbage intermingled with a few things that might be important. That's what I'm used to from my non-WP devices. That is not how I want to use WP. That can be improved, with a lot of tweaking, but I don't really want to spend that amount of time fiddling with my phone, configuring dozens of notifications, particularly because the chosen approach requires me to fiddle with this over and over again, whenever I add/remove or pin/unpin apps. That is clunky.

Ironically, the two problems I actually did have with WP's notification system aren't solved well at all (missing toasts and not seeing notifications for apps that aren't pinned). Why can't I just have the notification system always show both of those (and only those) types of notifications. Basically, if I unpin a tile, move the notifications into the notification centre, and visa versa. At least let me use that as a more reasonable baseline, upon which I can base the occasional deviation here and there. That I can't do that... that is clunky.

Don't get me wrong. It's better to have this notification centre than nothing at all, and who am I to say what others should think of it. If you and others like it, great! However, at least as far as I'm concerned, you'll only think it's good if you can't imagine something better, or at least better in the context of how WP was originally envisioned.

It's so easy to choose the apps that are allowed to use the notification center. Don't be lazy.

It's not a good default that apps pinned to the start screen don't show up in the notification center because it would be confusing for most users and the start screen is to long, it's hard to check for new stuff in a glance.



Without a good default the user has to choose and showing all the notifications is the less confusing base line.

 

[huyulove]

My actions always started from Notification Center not live tile. Live tile is just representing current status not stacks.

I think you just did not understanding why we want Notification Center.

 

[exiva]

I don't, and I think it's useless. I wish you could turn it off without losing toast notifications (Who the hell made that stupid decision?)

It gets cluttered, notifications get stale after 1 or 2 and I don't really care immediately about the old ones (Or I'll see them when I check the other ones.) For example; use the ESPN ScoreCenter app, see how that works out for you. Sure, developers can update their apps and manage them in the code... but ScoreCenter hasn't been updated in over a year. The odds of them updating are slim, same with other devs who just aren't invested anymore. Why if I'm in an app, and I get a toast does the notification show up in notification center? Again. something developers have to implement, and again the same problem if the devs aren't invested in the platform anymore. Microsoft really wants me to believe they couldn't add this in to the core of notification center and didn't need developer interaction? okay.

Look, lets face reality. We first saw actual proof of Notification Center existing back in June of last year. Was it worth the wait for what we got? Or does it seem like a half baked side project for something that should have been in 8.0 or you can even argue 7.5?

As others have said, it's just there for iOS & Android converts and to give blogs one less thing to complain about us not having. Nothing was wrong with live tiles before.

 

[SRK62]

All windows phone 8.1 users used the action center. But i can't understand why the discussion

 

[2tomtom]

YES!. All the time throughout the day

 

[rodan01]

It gets cluttered, notifications get stale after 1 or 2 and I don't really care immediately about the old ones (Or I'll see them when I check the other ones.) For example; use the ESPN ScoreCenter app, see how that works out for you. Sure, developers can update their apps and manage them in the code... but ScoreCenter hasn't been updated in over a year. The odds of them updating are slim, same with other devs who just aren't invested anymore. Why if I'm in an app, and I get a toast does the notification show up in notification center? Again. something developers have to implement, and again the same problem if the devs aren't invested in the platform anymore. Microsoft really wants me to believe they couldn't add this in to the core of notification center and didn't need developer interaction? okay.

There is no solution for that. Developers have to decide what notifications make sense and when to remove them. Microsoft can't take that decision for them



People complain to MS for things they can't solve. If you have a problem with the ESPN app you have to contact the developer.

 

[rodan01]

duplicated.

 

[Brandon Tobias]

I use it daily but it needs some work and stuff missing ..
Missing stuff ..
1) more quick toggles
2) toggles for NFC, Cellular Data, and Screen casting
3) ability to swipe both left and right to remove notifications
4) actionable notifications (i would like to delete mails or choose to reply to them from action center a bit Android like but its handy)

Stuff that needs to fix.
1) opening the app and checking the message / notification does not always clear it in action center
2) Multiple notifications from one app clutters the action center just group all under the app
- example: whats app should say 5 new messages instead of listing all who sent messages.
- use a gesture to expand grouped messages so you can see all who messaged if the user wishes
3) sometimes notifications don't update or show up in action center its rare but happens to me.


also i find it takes up allot of space so i edited a image to show much much space is wasted.

 

[Don Bernin]

Best thing that ever happened to Windows Phone

 

[neo158]

I don't, and I think it's useless. I wish you could turn it off without losing toast notifications (Who the hell made that stupid decision?)

It gets cluttered, notifications get stale after 1 or 2 and I don't really care immediately about the old ones (Or I'll see them when I check the other ones.) For example; use the ESPN ScoreCenter app, see how that works out for you. Sure, developers can update their apps and manage them in the code... but ScoreCenter hasn't been updated in over a year. The odds of them updating are slim, same with other devs who just aren't invested anymore. Why if I'm in an app, and I get a toast does the notification show up in notification center? Again. something developers have to implement, and again the same problem if the devs aren't invested in the platform anymore. Microsoft really wants me to believe they couldn't add this in to the core of notification center and didn't need developer interaction? okay.

Look, lets face reality. We first saw actual proof of Notification Center existing back in June of last year. Was it worth the wait for what we got? Or does it seem like a half baked side project for something that should have been in 8.0 or you can even argue 7.5?

As others have said, it's just there for iOS & Android converts and to give blogs one less thing to complain about us not having. Nothing was wrong with live tiles before.

"Nothing wrong with live tiles before.", except most people have more than two apps installed so pinning ALL of them to the Start Screen just isn't an option. I fall into that category, and I get notifications from those unpinned apps as well and as I don't have my phone with me EVERYWHERE I go, taking a non waterproof device into the shower isn't very clever is it, the Action Centre catches ALL missed toast notifications which makes it far more useful than tiles alone.

 

[Ahmed El Hefnawy]

I don't know how I ever lived without this notification center !

 

[exiva]

"Nothing wrong with live tiles before.", except most people have more than two apps installed so pinning ALL of them to the Start Screen just isn't an option.

You can only fit 2 live tiles on your screen? Is this your phone?