How much do you miss native google services on WP?

[western_riders_dad]

Before leaving Android for WP8 I was looking forward to the new features that GoogleNow was providing. Other than that, though, there is nothing I now miss about Android. In order to keep my grandfathered Zune / XBox Music Pass subscription I have to associate my primary WP account to one I had setup using a Gmail email address. That bothers me more than anything. rly:

 

[tgp]

Smoothness gets better with each release, still not as good as WP but getting closer. When WP was released Android didn't have a notification centre like they do today, at least not as polished as far as I can remember. The entire OS feels more polished regardless of OEM then when WP first hit the market IMO.

Actually my experience is that my Nexus 4 will run circles around a WP in pure speed. And yes, I had a 920. WP gives you the perception of speed with animation, but from the time of tapping to open app the Nexus 4 will win most of the time. I prefer WP's UI, but if I put as many apps on a WP as I have on my Nexus 4 I find it very inefficient. Beautiful yes, but way too much scrolling. In the app drawer you get about 10 apps showing per page on a WP, but 25 on an Android. Most WP fans mention the good looks, which I agree with, but to me it's not worth sacrificing the functionality. If I've got physical work to do I wear jeans, not a tuxedo.

I've always got a WP device (two right now) waiting until it gets to the point where I can ditch Android, but that hasn't happened yet.

 

[Phone Guy 4567]

Perception is all that matters in the end, If people perceive it to be smoother that's good enough. I think WP is actually more consistently smooth. The thing WP can be thankful for is the deep pockets of MS, which allow it to grow slowly and build an audience. People get bored and as long as MS stays in the game chances are good they will pick up people looking for a change , and budget conscious consumers looking for a good experience. WP fans should not be smug in thin\king WP has as big an advantage over Android in the UI department, as it once did when it first came out.

 

[fatclue_98]

But you can attach pdf files. You can attach any file in windows phone as long as there is a program that opens that type of file. You will see it as a document in office hub and you can share it from there via email and thus have it as attachment. This is true for any kind of file for each you have a program that opens them because then they act as documents and appear in the office hub.

That's unacceptable. What you're describing is basically a one trick pony. Sharing a document, or any file for that matter, is not the same as attaching a file from your email client. No different than iOS where you can't attach files other than pictures. Outlook on Windows Mobile had the paper clip icon that launched a file manager of sorts, and you could attach as many files as you wanted from anywhere on your device, storage card or even a shared network drive. THAT'S what I need in a phone and it's shameful that a 6-7 year old OS can do it and not a brand new one.

 

[pankaj981]

In the app drawer you get about 10 apps showing per page on a WP, but 25 on an Android.

You can have 24 apps on the home screen visible 100% w/ notifications/live tiles

 

[uopjo6]

Nothing. The only reason I still have an active account is because of Youtube. I use MetroTube though which is a far superior app than the "once-was-official" one.

Everything google makes me uncomfortable now and knowing the fact they are heading the google glass direction makes it worst. I really wonder how many accidents they are going to cause.

 

[budney]

If Nokia would do a better job on updating my local bus system in Transit I could get rid of Gmaps for good. :-(

 

[Jazmac]

Google is in bed with NSA so what's to miss?.

 

[LMZR]

I don't miss google services, because the only one i used was YouTube, even now i don't use MyTube that much.

 

[Chregu]

In my country, Bing is terrible in every aspect and most features are not available. Google on the other hand offers everything they have in very high quality. So yes, initially I missed Google very much. After a few years with Windows Phone I have following solutions:

WebApps for Google Search. Could be better but it does the job. (The Russian switch search engine to Google trick doesn't work on my 8X.)
gMaps Pro or GoogleMaps Client for maps, depending on what I want to do.
Metrotube for Youtube, however I never use Youtube on my phone.

I don't use or need the other Google services, as I find Google quite scary. Nonetheless, there is just no comparable service for web search and maps in Switzerland.

 

[mpt15]

I dont miss google search at all. For the past year, I've stuck to Bing on my WP. Four months ago I switched to Bing on my desktop and haven't looked back.

I wish I could get rid of Gmail totally, but I have a lot of contacts who still email me on Gmail. But the change will happen soon.

I didn't use google maps much anyway, and Here maps does the job.

So, I don't miss Google services one bit

 

[Mellifluous]

Google Talk integration would be quite nice, and I *think* I read somewhere that this was something Microsoft were planning to integrate into the web version of Outlook.com, so it may hit Windows Phones too.

Otherwise, I don't miss a thing - I have my Gmail set up in both the email app and with the great Ecomerc GMail app, I don't need Drive on my phone, 3rd party YouTube apps like mytube are superb, and I would keep using Here Maps even if Google Maps arrived.

 

[Kellzea]

Couldn't honestly care less about google services. I have skydrive, office and bing. I'm done.

Google image search is nice, but i wouldn't say its an issue on a phone

 

[John Balacano]

Not At all the only application I use on Google is a native YouTube App But there are a lot of alternatives like metrotube which is awesome

 

[svenhassel]

As long as I can access Youtube and gmail (that work well on WP8), I'm ok. And I have been thinking about dropping gmail entirely, but it would take same time to migrate all my emails. Google has nothing I depend on in the end. YouTube is working worse everyday, maybe because of ISPs throttling.

I've never used gmaps again since I got wp. Here is so much better.

 

[JerseySal]

Eff Google. I don't "need" any of their services. Microsoft's services are just fine for me.

 

[bigbmc26]

Hello, how are you?
It seems that Google and Microsoft haven't been seeing eye to eye.
I was wondering how much do you WP8 users miss Native google services, like google maps, gmail, google drive, music, YouTube and such.
Are the google services a big plus of the android system?

Cheers!

Youtube I get through the browser just fine, gmail comes through the email client without issue (always wonder why people say do you miss gmail, all smartphones have an email client), Don't use google drive, maps, music, or any of their other services. So no, I don't miss anything from Google.

My main email is still and always will be my hotmail account, I've been using skydrive for years now, & Nokia Here Maps works great. Between my Z10 & 925, I really have no need for Google services. Very happy with what Nokia, Microsoft, & BB provide for me.

 

[bigbmc26]

Google Drive---Never used.
Google Music---Messed up my Album art
YouTube---Metrotube works great
Google Maps---Here Drive works great.
Gmail---Outlook is so much better.
I did miss Google Keep at first, but One Note has helped ease the pain, there. If it would only make phone numbers and email addresses "live" it would be perfect.

THIS!!! Completely screwed mine up too, that's I don't use it anymore and just have my music native on my PC and devices.

 

[spyderzWPC]

I have pulled away from google services, youtube is the only thing I really use, my gmail account is my sign up account so it is where I direct all my spam.

 

[Giddora]

I only use Youtube, and I got the old app still on my phone.