I *like* Windows Phone 8

[BrandonCormier]

I love my Lumia 521. I came from android and actually find windows phone to be better in many areas. The os is fluid, the lock screen is beautiful, music is far superior from android counterparts, and I have every app I need.

 

[cckgz4]

I like my phone as well. I agree with the previous statement about the live tiles make your home screen feel alive, and that arranging the homescreen can be your notification center. I like the ease of customizing and the fact that we have an option to customize natively. So far I've had little to no issues with WP8. Kind of worried about getting this 520 with the memory being so low, but we'll see how it plays out

 

[DalekSnare]

I *like* my Windows Phone 8. Many of your reasons are the same as mine. (except Facebook, I don't do facebook) I recently have been forced to use my corporate Note II as my daily driver because my L920 screen was damaged. I miss my L920 so much that I frequent this site with the Note II. (This must lead to some really confusing web trends) The biggest thing I miss is the fluidity of WP8, my L920 is charging right now as I take a deep breath to replace the screen that just came today.

Nervousness and excitement doesn't really explain it!

Good luck with the new screen! I have to switch to Android for a month or so from time to time for work, and it's torture. I have a GNex and a GS3, and I constantly feel like the stymied Android person in the "smoked by WP" commercials as basic stuff takes forever or requires lots of task switching. And everything is so ugly and static! The widgets waste too much screen space and icons don't display even basic info like iOS badges do. And the Band-Aid it uses to compensate for the useless icon interface is an RSI-inducing swipe from the top of the 4.5+ inch screen with the thumb. It's a terrible gesture; it's not even remotely comfortable to reach that far. And once you do have the notifications open they are jumbled in a big list and not organized like live tiles. At least the stock interface is decent looking now in 4.x, Gingerbread was ugly as sin. When I get to switch back to my WP, it's always a huge relief. Android just doesn't work for me.

 

[wize72]

Same feeling for me; I used almost all smartphones available (All BB, GSII, GSIII, GS4 (For 3 weeks), HTC One (For 5 days), Note2, iPhone4, 4s, 5.
I had a Lumia 920 back in January and I sold it because I got an iPhone5 from my company. I was missing so much WP8 (And Nokia hardware) that I just bought the Lumia 925. I have to say that I'm delighted with this device; it does all I need and has all the app I need (FB, twitter, LinkedIN). Plus, I love tech gadget and I'm so happy with the wireless car charger, FatBoy wireless charger and wireless charging stand; I like to tap my Lumia to the car charger to enable the drive mode, tap it to the wireless stand to enable the night mode. I feel my device alive.
I recently spent 2 weeks in Portugal for holidays and the Here Drive + was just perfect.
I'm an huge Apple fan (MBP retina, iPad, etc...) but I have to say that for my smartphone experience, WP8 represent a fresh change and I see a great future for this platform.

 

[Smyrna5]

The thing Andriod and iOs users throw at me when they find I have bought a Windows phone is that our app store isn't big enough. Apple has something like 400,000 apps now but the simple fact of the matter is that most of them are either duplicative, or not something most people want. I am not a gamer on my phone, so how many games you have available is not important to me. If you take a look at this list of the top 50 apps for Apple iOS tablets, you will see most of them are games. Most of the rest we have in some variant.

http://www.canalys.com/download/tablet_apps.pdf

 

[Dadstar0410]

The thing Andriod and iOs users throw at me when they find I have bought a Windows phone is that our app store isn't big enough. Apple has something like 400,000 apps now but the simple fact of the matter is that most of them are either duplicative, or not something most people want. I am not a gamer on my phone, so how many games you have available is not important to me. If you take a look at this list of the top 50 apps for Apple iOS tablets, you will see most of them are games. Most of the rest we have in some variant.

http://www.canalys.com/download/tablet_apps.pdf

Not to mention the same app on both iOS and Android get counted twice, once for the free version and once for the paid version, while Windows Phone for the most part has them bundled as one app where you are offered a trial mode. That skews the data as well, and others don't realize that.

 

[pommes]

I just adore the Windows Phone style, its minimalism yet colorful style that really stands the test of time, and never get boring. The apps following that style are so beautiful to look at and smooth as it wasn't made out of pixel. It so fresh because it emphasize on typography and therefore it's not an Apple/Android clone.
About apps, I had an Iphone and I would download tons of apps but then after playing a game or using an app once I wouldn't touch it again for weeks. I guess that I didn't really needed them on a regular basis and that my life doesn't revolve around downloading tons of stuff on my phone. Plus I prefer playing game on my computer or my nintendo 3ds just like I prefer listening to my mp3 songs in my gorgeous cowon player.
I've had my Lumia 920 for two days and it's so gorgeous and classy and different.

 

[jenni122701]

I am loving my 8X Windows 8 phone! I think its wonderful. I came from iPhone and am not at all disappointed. And I like it WAY better than android, I just dont care for android much at all. I think a lot of people just enjoy putting windows phones down and will find something to gripe about with anything. I can find no reason to dislike Windows phone at all. For me, I DO wish there was an orientation lock, its something I use to use a LOT, but maybe that will come. As for apps they are constantly adding them, so its not a big issue. There is nothing that would keep me from loving and using my Windows phone.


Sent from my iPad 3rd Gen using Tapatalk

 

[anon(5348756)]

I use Windows 8 on my desktop, Windows RT on my tablet and WP8 in my phone. Couldn't be happier! Now I'm looking forward to further integration between all three versions of the OS in 8.1. Hopefully we'll finally get a combined store and 1-app-for-multiple-device-types in 8.2?

 

[crav4speed]

I use Windows 8 on my desktop, Windows RT on my tablet and WP8 in my phone. Couldn't be happier! Now I'm looking forward to further integration between all three versions of the OS in 8.1. Hopefully we'll finally get a combined store and 1-app-for-multiple-device-types in 8.2?

This!

I've been with MS since the WP7 days with my trusty Dell Venue Pro. The OS and those live tiles intrigued the hell out me!! And I am absolutely enjoying the direction Microsoft is taking. My business is run off 2011 Small Business Server, I have W8 on my work desktop, Surface RT at home for light gaming and web browsing and WP8 on the go. My wife loved my 920 so much in fact, she made me buy her an 820 over the iPhone5 and our family room has been amazing. My Surface RT and W8 work machine integrate beautifully and I'm extremely excited to see how Blue will complete integration with WP8. And I'm thinking about buying a Xb1 after release as well to complete the experience.

People might look at me as a MS ****** and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but Microsoft's services and devices have everything that I need for business and for pleasure and I'm extremely happy and that's all that matters.

 

[bawboh86]

Everything you said and more, OP! Funny thing is, I used to be a HUGE open source ***** in college. Everything I had ran Linux. Android came out after I had graduated, but I was still all over it. What changed my mind was Visual Studio 2008. After using that, I realized that MS was starting to make a turn about. I ended up on Windows 7 and haven't really looked back. I switched to Windows Phone because I felt like Android was getting boring, even with the open sourced nature of it. Tinker with it was fun, but I don't have time or patience to make my own kernel tweaks or build my own modules to do this or that. Windows Phone 8 works great out of the box, and the UI that MS has tossed into the phone and desktop versions are really keeping my interest in the company.

Also, what OP says about notification hubs is something I've been scratching my head about for a while. Your start screen makes a great notification hub. There's no need for a shade if you just hit the home button...

The only thing I may be interested in besides this is (sorry) Ubuntu's mobile and the way it seamlessly switches to a desktop mode from the phone mode. It seems intriguing and useful, though, I couldn't develop in my favorite framework (to say I'm in love with .NET and C# and F# would be an understatement). All-in-all, it's a cool concept that I hope other companies pick up, especially those that make and distribute OS's (hint hint, Microsoft). As of right now, though, if I got an Ubuntu phone, it'd just be to toy around with, but not actually use as a daily driver.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Everything you said and more, OP! Funny thing is, I used to be a HUGE open source ***** in college. Everything I had ran Linux. Android came out after I had graduated, but I was still all over it. What changed my mind was Visual Studio 2008. After using that, I realized that MS was starting to make a turn about. I ended up on Windows 7 and haven't really looked back. I switched to Windows Phone because I felt like Android was getting boring, even with the open sourced nature of it. Tinker with it was fun, but I don't have time or patience to make my own kernel tweaks or build my own modules to do this or that. Windows Phone 8 works great out of the box, and the UI that MS has tossed into the phone and desktop versions are really keeping my interest in the company.

Also, what OP says about notification hubs is something I've been scratching my head about for a while. Your start screen makes a great notification hub. There's no need for a shade if you just hit the home button...

The only thing I may be interested in besides this is (sorry) Ubuntu's mobile and the way it seamlessly switches to a desktop mode from the phone mode. It seems intriguing and useful, though, I couldn't develop in my favorite framework (to say I'm in love with .NET and C# and F# would be an understatement). All-in-all, it's a cool concept that I hope other companies pick up, especially those that make and distribute OS's (hint hint, Microsoft). As of right now, though, if I got an Ubuntu phone, it'd just be to toy around with, but not actually use as a daily driver.

I also happen to like LInux. I'm posting here while running Mint 15, and I belong to two different local Linux user groups.

I have no desire to root my smartphone or install custom ROMs. Any of that customization stuff that I enjoy gets satisfied by my use of desktop Linux. I'd rather have a smartphone that just works and doesn't require any special tweaking for optimal performance.

 

[bawboh86]

I also happen to like LInux. I'm posting here while running Mint 15, and I belong to two different local Linux user groups..

I think you're the first person I've talked to that runs Mint. I'm a huge Gentoo person, myself. Love the low-level tweaking and customization you HAVE to do just to get it running. I'm weird like that, though...

 

[iamtim]

I think you're the first person I've talked to that runs Mint. I'm a huge Gentoo person, myself. Love the low-level tweaking and customization you HAVE to do just to get it running. I'm weird like that, though...

Heh. I used to be a Slackware guy, but now I tend more towards Ubuntu. I've heard good things about Mint though. Prior to Win7, I actively avoided Microsoft stuff... when I *had* to run XP, I'd install a Linux VM and do all my actual work there whenever possible.

Since Win8/RT/Phone, however, I've gone "all in" with Microsoft.

 

[hipporama]

This thread is like a breath of fresh air. Thank you for bringing this topic up.

I used the Galaxy S and S2 for over 2 years before finally switching to a Lumia 800 and now a Lumia 920. WP8 is so much better than Android for me that it's not even funny. I love the simplicity of it all, it does what I want it to without the need for many apps and most of the apps are just absolutely gorgeous. Not to mention that I haven't rebooted my phone in months.

The Lumia 920 is without a doubt the best phone I have ever owned. When I see my friend's Galaxy S4 lag with its octa core processors it just makes me appreciate what MS was able to pull off with WP.

I for one am never going to another OS, unless MS screws up WP in some spectacular way. But seeing the direction they are taking as of late, I don't think I have to worry about that.

 

[mary beth hale]

i have been using windows phone since wp7(1st gen samsung focus). i agree with all the comments...ease of use, fluidity, great esthetics,etc. i require very few apps since the wp system has so many basics available out of the box. i can honestly say that using each of my windows phones has really been a pleasure. i hope windows phone continues to flourish. i believe most people who post on WPC feel generally positive about their wp experiences. where things get off track, i believe, is when members focus on the "my brand is better than your brand" nonsense. gets incredibly ugly sometimes.

 

[clindhartsen]

Hehe, I like the idea of this thread.

So, I personally love my HTC Windows Phone 8X. The OS, plus the design of the phone physically, is just, it's one of those devices I don't think I'd ever get rid of because it's just beautiful. The minimal UI works great for dealing with my generally light email needs, tweeting via Rowi or the built-in route, as well as having a very nicely calm way to actually look at Facebook. Camera button is a godsend for quick photo taking, something that I sorely missed when I spent 6 months on a Droid RAZR. XBOX Music is beautiful, and if you add Pass to it wonderful for exploration. NextGen Reader, Baconit, + the Bing apps are great for keeping up on topics in a clean and elegant fashion, and then Weather Flow's large tile for glanceable forecast since that's all I truly need in a weather app. It's really about being practical for me, a phone that isn't in my way, but gives me what I want easily and lets me (you could argue forces me) get back to what I need to be doing.

"Designed to get you in, and out, and back to life." That's why I love mine.

 

[frodeaa]

I'm a developer as well and looking to get into WP development. What is this DVLUP site you speak of?

DVLUP - Welcome

It's free to register and you link your account with your Microsoft Dev Center account. They have a bunch of different challenges, anything from simple ones like release an app/game or get a certain amount of reviews with a 4+ stars, to advanced stuff like release an app that uses the Nokia Imaging SDK. Each challenge earns you XP that you can exchange for rewards. Rewards range from gift cards to chain brands (Home Depot, etc) to actual devices (Nokia phones, Surface Pro, Xbox 360, etc). If you're starting developing for WP signing up is a no brainer. It's open for US, Canada, UK and I believe as of a few days ago, Australia. I Think they're working on opening in other markets as well.

Make sure to find your local Nokia evangelist as well. They do promos, contests and give-aways all the time. The guy in my area just gave me a free Lumia 800 for releasing my first app back in June.