Here are *MY* issues with WP8

[iamtim]

At one point I was a heavy corporate BB user, although I had an HTC Touch as my personal phone. Then the iPhone came out and with the iPhone 3G I became a heavy iPhone user, swearing to never again use a Windows phone (the HTC Touch SUUUUUUUUCKED, as did the Windows Mobile OS installed on it) which lasted until the iPhone 5 came out and I decided to retire my trusty iPhone 4 for a new Windows Phone because they looked really cool. I've had Android phones as backup devices (a T-Mobile G3 and a Samsung Captivate) but I never really liked Android much. As a matter of fact, I sold off a Nexus 7 tablet to fund my upgrade. So, here I am.

I initially purchased a Lumia 920. Great phone, but mine overheated like dammit and dropped data connectivity so I swapped it for an 8X. Another great phone, but I didn't care for the form factor so I swapped it for a Lumia 820. Another great phone, and I'm quite fond of this one.

After using WP8 for almost a month, I can say that I have never had a random reboot. While my 920 had battery life issues, the 8X and my 820 have had excellent battery performance. I've never had music syncing issues, either, but I've never had an Xbox Music Pass. I am, generally speaking, very happy with my decision to try WP8 and the Lumia 820. That said, I do have some issues with WP8 and, after a month of trying to temper other's issues on this forum, I thought I'd put mine out there as well.

1. Instagram. When I was on the iPhone, I started using Instagram. It was a neat way to share photos to friends and strangers, kinda like Twitter but with pictures instead of 140-character blurbs. However, few of my friends used it (including my GF who jokingly called me a hipster for using it), so it eventually faded out of use. Now that I've switched to WP8, my GF and a bunch of my friends have become hipsters themselves (heh) and started using Instagram. Figures. So I'd like to get back in on the fun. Not so much that I'm ready to toss my 820 back into the mix and go hunting for a replacement iPhone, but enough that I find myself thinking, "man, it'd be cool if there were an Instagram app on my phone."
2. The built-in Facebook integration. When I look at "what's new", I have no idea if I'm looking at Top Stories or Most Recent. I prefer the Most Recent view. Further, I can't "like" individual comments, only posts and pictures. Fortunately I realize that "Facebook integration" doesn't mean "every app feature", and that there's a website and a stand-alone Facebook app if I need a bit more detail than the integration is giving me. Plus, if I feel like I'm missing something in the "what's new" view, I can go directly to the person-in-question's feed in my People app to see what's going on with them. Ultimately, a minor issue, but certainly a "nice-to-have".
3. The camera. I can't hold the phone steady enough to take good pictures using the hardware button. So I avoid it and instead use a tile to launch the camera and a screen-tap to take a picture. When I start the camera from it's tile, there's an on-screen notice that I can tap the screen to take a picture which I can't make go away. I still take great pictures using a screen-tap and it's only mildly annoying, but I'd really like to be able to say, "yeah, WP, I got it" and make it disappear.
4. Phonefactor. This really isn't a WP issue so much as a Microsoft issue, but it's on my WP so I'm putting it here. We use Phonefactor at my work and we have the most current version of the server software, but the Phonefactor app on WP8 won't activate no matter what I do... QR scan, manual entry, whatever. I can still authenticate over SMS or phone call, so again, ultimately a minor issue but I'd dig it if the app would work.
5. Email. When I delete an email on my phone, it doesn't delete on the server until I manually sync. I'm one of the users who doesn't delete email all that much, though, and I can easily manually sync when I do, so this is a minor issue for me. But... it is something they should fix.
6. Settings. There's no rhyme or reason to the settings screen, so sometimes finding the settings app I'm looking for takes a second or two longer than I'd like. Alphabetization would be great, here. Of course, now that I've got my phone setup how I like it, I don't go into settings all that much. So ultimately, MS, take your time fixing this one. A couple of extra seconds won't bother me.

Other than that, I'm happy with WP8 and my Lumia 820. I figured it was time for a happy post where a user expresses his or her concerns about WP8 without the so-often-heard cries of "ruining the platform" and "how could MS do this". Ultimately, all my issues are very minor, and WP8 works for me. I know, I know, that must make me a fanboy and an apologist. C'est la vie.

 

[inteller]

1. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvmogf_look-at-this-instagram-nickelback-parody_fun <---your friends.

2. Most recent, which is a godsend from Facebook's promoted BS.

3. no idea, I dont use a tile.

4. no idea

5. Email changes are synced when a new message arrives, deletes are sent then. Otherwise it is manual sync. This is a proper implementation of Deltasync, other OSs don't implement Deltasync correctly.

 

[iamtim]

2. Most recent, which is a godsend from Facebook's promoted BS.

Rad.

This is a proper implementation of Deltasync, other OSs don't implement Deltasync correctly.

Yeah, I grok. Like I said, not a big issue for me. It would be a "nice to have", though, if the WP8 email app implemented Deltasync incorrectly.

 

[iamtim]

1. Look at this Instagram (Parodie de Nickelback) - Vid?o Dailymotion <---your friends.

Ok, that was freakin' hilarious.

 

[Coolknight1968]

3. Under Settings. Swipe then select photos / camera. There you can enable an option to take pictures touching the screen. If you enable it, I think the msg goes away.

 

[iamtim]

If you enable it, I think the msg goes away.

Already did that, thus I'm able to take pictures via a screen-tap. But the message remains. Woe is me, Microsoft should be flayed alive for not having fixed this already, it's going to ruin the platform.

Just kidding about that last part.

 

[ousooner314]

Settings. There's no rhyme or reason to the settings screen, so sometimes finding the settings app I'm looking for takes a second or two longer than I'd like. Alphabetization would be great, here. Of course, now that I've got my phone setup how I like it, I don't go into settings all that much. So ultimately, MS, take your time fixing this one. A couple of extra seconds won't bother me.

Regarding this - I'm sure Microsoft did some focus group studies and assessed feedback data to determine the ordering based on how often each option was used. Notice how "Find my phone", "About" and "Feedback" are towards the end of the list (least likely to be accessed often), while "themes", "ringtones+sounds", "Wi-Fi", etc. are towards the top. If it were sorted alphabetically, you'd have to scroll all the way to the bottom to toggle WIFI, while "About" would be at the top and never get used. Each platform categorizes and sorts their settings differently based on their usability findings, but none of them alphabetize their settings. Like anything new, it takes getting used to (especially when switching from a different platform), but you'll get familiar with it in no time!