I'm out

[rdubmu]

So it's been a month of using the Lumia 930, and I have to say it's an impressive device, but not impressive enough. I'm a bit lost on words here but the main reason for me leaving Windows Phone altogether is that I can't seem to change my mindset from Android, looking at the quality of the apps that are on Windows Phone makes me laugh and to think how on earth can people live with apps that work like this.

Whatsapp - It's a complete joke, it just looks like Whatsapp rushed a release and stuck with it just to make Windows Phone users happy; sharing photos to the app sometimes don't even work they just take me to the chat screen.

Phonly, Nextgen, Weave etc.. - Decent apps but comparing them to Google Play Newsstand, feedly or Flipboard there isn't any competition there; I can't seem to get over how amateur the apps look.

Windows Phone 8.1 U1 - A very nice OS, but unfortunately it's something I can't get used to - Things just aren't organised and thought out properly (settings menu). What was meant to be an amazing new live lock screen app even when it was delayed turned out to be a limited cheap looking app considering it was meant to be a Microsoft published app.

Lumia 930 - The phone is great, build quality is excellent compared to what Android phones are released and the camera is brilliant but I can't understand why it's so heavy - they should've taken the weight in consideration on this phone. Other known bugs such as the bottom right of the phone overheating and the purple tint issues are annoying.

Microsoft and Apps - Microsoft aren't even favouring Windows Phone which completely pi**es me off, Skype and Office apps are first to get updated with new and better looking versions on iOS and Android with no information given for Windows Phone users. Look at Skype still being developed to run on OS X 10.5 when WP7.5 will no longer be supported. In my honest opinion I believe Microsoft are looking in to all this the wrong way and they're trying to go for the money. Releasing Office for iOS and Android will give them a greater return rather compared to Windows Phone. I can't see things changing any time soon and I'm fed up with an operating system that isn't gaining enough traction.

I know this is a rant and all I'm doing is saying the negative points about the phone/OS but I legitly think it's not the right OS for me and it's something that won't boom for a very very long time (~5-7 years if it's still available then).

Just want to know any ex iOS/Android users and what their thoughts are on the points I've put across.

All great points. The app issue is a reason I had to leave. Even the apps available on both platforms are not equal, iOS apps are much more polished even for the new apps that have come out. I am not a programmer so I wonder if it has to do with the programming language of each OS, is it easier to program for iOS? Why do the apps look better, run better on iOS? Is it because windows phone is hard to program for, are their less tools, does the OS limit what you can do?

 

[BigCTM]

Here's the way I look at it. I have used Android, Windows Phone and IOS extensively. The only one that I miss using when I switch is Windows Phone for some reason. I always come back to it, despite the app situation and it's getting better every day.

Yeah, you just don't know sh*t of what you are talking about, Android L is completely different. Dalvik is no longer used and now ART is the default runtime engine.

I like WP as an OS but not the quality/selection of apps. I see MS going the same path BlackBerry (former RIM) took and we all know how that ended.

 

[carlos12001]

I wouldn't say Android has poorly ported apps. Android has grown so much that the quality of apps are on par with the the iOS versions and now there's no such thing as a "port" since they're released on iOS and Android at roughly the same time. Android makes up a huge part of smartphone market share.

Look at the twitter app for both Android, near enough the exact same.

While they have increased the quality, I disagree that they are on par with ios.


Sent from my iPhone using WPCentral Forums

 

[masterchief1984]

So it's been a month of using the Lumia 930, and I have to say it's an impressive device, but not impressive enough. I'm a bit lost on words here but the main reason for me leaving Windows Phone altogether is that I can't seem to change my mindset from Android, looking at the quality of the apps that are on Windows Phone makes me laugh and to think how on earth can people live with apps that work like this.

Whatsapp - It's a complete joke, it just looks like Whatsapp rushed a release and stuck with it just to make Windows Phone users happy; sharing photos to the app sometimes don't even work they just take me to the chat screen.

Phonly, Nextgen, Weave etc.. - Decent apps but comparing them to Google Play Newsstand, feedly or Flipboard there isn't any competition there; I can't seem to get over how amateur the apps look.

Windows Phone 8.1 U1 - A very nice OS, but unfortunately it's something I can't get used to - Things just aren't organised and thought out properly (settings menu). What was meant to be an amazing new live lock screen app even when it was delayed turned out to be a limited cheap looking app considering it was meant to be a Microsoft published app.

Lumia 930 - The phone is great, build quality is excellent compared to what Android phones are released and the camera is brilliant but I can't understand why it's so heavy - they should've taken the weight in consideration on this phone. Other known bugs such as the bottom right of the phone overheating and the purple tint issues are annoying.

Microsoft and Apps - Microsoft aren't even favouring Windows Phone which completely pi**es me off, Skype and Office apps are first to get updated with new and better looking versions on iOS and Android with no information given for Windows Phone users. Look at Skype still being developed to run on OS X 10.5 when WP7.5 will no longer be supported. In my honest opinion I believe Microsoft are looking in to all this the wrong way and they're trying to go for the money. Releasing Office for iOS and Android will give them a greater return rather compared to Windows Phone. I can't see things changing any time soon and I'm fed up with an operating system that isn't gaining enough traction.

I know this is a rant and all I'm doing is saying the negative points about the phone/OS but I legitly think it's not the right OS for me and it's something that won't boom for a very very long time (~5-7 years if it's still available then).

Just want to know any ex iOS/Android users and what their thoughts are on the points I've put across.

This right here! I love WP, but MS isn't fully backing their own product. Depending on the specs of the iPhone 6 I may go back to iOS.

 

[Geddeeee]

Yeah, you just don't know sh*t of what you are talking about, Android L is completely different. Dalvik is no longer used and now ART is the default runtime engine.

I like WP as an OS but not the quality/selection of apps. I see MS going the same path BlackBerry (former RIM) took and we all know how that ended.

I'm an Android dev, of course I know what I'm talking about. Both runtimes were already in Android. They have just made the switch to ART for consistency. Different apps would use different runtimes according to what the original dev wanted from each. This caused crashes and inconsistency if the latest version was not present. Google have just said ART is now the one and only default RT.
This is what Android L is about. Consistency of the GUI and RT core across the full range of Android devices....

It's like if WP had both CE and NT core APIs running at the same time. Madness. Android is open source, but Google is trying to rein this mess in a bit.
It just means devs have to adhere to a core set of rules now. And about time. Makes our job easier...

Saying WP will go the same way as Blackberry is very short sighted . I would rather use MS APIs than Androids. Ask any dev and they will tell you developing for Android is a bit of a nightmare. Not fun at all!!! Hopefully this will change with the new Android SDK...

Why do think MS are releasing these GDR updates quickly? (GDR2 should be out before years end).
There are loads of neat goodies to come. They are just setting it all up. A lot of features are not yet documented fully in the SDK or even on the SDK website yet.
Once Threshold is finalised, we should see some market share coming to WP.
If devs can get on board to exploit all these great new features, we should see some amazing things....

Let the games commence!!!

 

[EC Translating Services]

So it's been a month of using the Lumia 930, and I have to say it's an impressive device, but not impressive enough. I'm a bit lost on words here but the main reason for me leaving Windows Phone altogether is that I can't seem to change my mindset from Android, looking at the quality of the apps that are on Windows Phone makes me laugh and to think how on earth can people live with apps that work like this.

Whatsapp - It's a complete joke, it just looks like Whatsapp rushed a release and stuck with it just to make Windows Phone users happy; sharing photos to the app sometimes don't even work they just take me to the chat screen.

Phonly, Nextgen, Weave etc.. - Decent apps but comparing them to Google Play Newsstand, feedly or Flipboard there isn't any competition there; I can't seem to get over how amateur the apps look.

Windows Phone 8.1 U1 - A very nice OS, but unfortunately it's something I can't get used to - Things just aren't organised and thought out properly (settings menu). What was meant to be an amazing new live lock screen app even when it was delayed turned out to be a limited cheap looking app considering it was meant to be a Microsoft published app.

Lumia 930 - The phone is great, build quality is excellent compared to what Android phones are released and the camera is brilliant but I can't understand why it's so heavy - they should've taken the weight in consideration on this phone. Other known bugs such as the bottom right of the phone overheating and the purple tint issues are annoying.

Microsoft and Apps - Microsoft aren't even favouring Windows Phone which completely pi**es me off, Skype and Office apps are first to get updated with new and better looking versions on iOS and Android with no information given for Windows Phone users. Look at Skype still being developed to run on OS X 10.5 when WP7.5 will no longer be supported. In my honest opinion I believe Microsoft are looking in to all this the wrong way and they're trying to go for the money. Releasing Office for iOS and Android will give them a greater return rather compared to Windows Phone. I can't see things changing any time soon and I'm fed up with an operating system that isn't gaining enough traction.

I know this is a rant and all I'm doing is saying the negative points about the phone/OS but I legitly think it's not the right OS for me and it's something that won't boom for a very very long time (~5-7 years if it's still available then).

Just want to know any ex iOS/Android users and what their thoughts are on the points I've put across.

I may endorse the post in full. Not much different from all what i have been saying since Xmas, when i got my Lumia 1520. WP is improving. But those improvements come too slow, too late and in too little doses. A typical example is Office Mobile which only after 4 years of WP allows users to open password protected files and files from SD cards. It took 4 years to WP to do things others did in Ver. 1 Alpha.
Technically, i am not an ex Android user. I carry the 1520 for mere "experimental" purposes and taking pictures and then a Galaxy Note II (Waiting for the 4 or for a bigger screen HTC or Blackberry) to have the real job done. I will keep the 1520 as a test platform. But i am not going to buy any other WP till the OS and the ecosystem has what i need, including the keyboard inputs it's missing after 4 years, a choice of office apps (not only Office Mobile with its bugs and limitations), more security, decent apps (not in number but in quality......as the current market is really something only comparable to a third hand chinese black market waste disposal with copies of copies of copies of originals, apps missing functions, buggy, with 80s UIs, absurd limitations and some even premium with a price tag on them which makes me think how dumb some developers are) and better OS-Ecosystem integration (too many clicks to get things done, too much chaos in menus...maybe Microsoft thinks it's original...but it kills productivity).

Only part i disagree with is you including Nextgen in the list of subpar apps. I read a lot of news and have tried (and bought) them all. Nextgen for me is actually the only comparable choice with Android. It has basically everything (I have compared and tested it with Feedly, Pulse, Taptu, and a few others i don't use much but are popular choices). Nextgen for me has become a good solid app for news to the point i often use that instead of Feedly or Pulse (which since became an extension of Linkedn is not such a safe choice anymore), or Taptu (which has very nice features but also some limitations. For the rest i am all with you.

 

[FinancialP]

Hmm Am curious, can android play those files on a 50" Inch TV @1080p and DTS Master Audio or Dolby True HD?

I advise not to watch movies on Phones and just get the bluray and watch em on a 5.1 or 7.1 Home Theatre setup for the best experience.

If you want to watch movies on phones in general, then a different format can suffice.

This is not a valid reason for not liking WP imho.

Surprisingly yes. Most phones today can easily handle this. Wireless and wired.

 

[AG VK]

Well first of all that so called "laugh" about the apps, clearly shows how naive you are about programing. WP apps market its far from being the best, but all the official apps have no possible comparison with Android ones. WP apps are faster, they come with less bugs, and they work on a total different API, a better API.

Secondly, windows phone is not for tweaking personalize or spend the first three weeks changing launchers and applying icon packs, or finding widgets and lockscreens. WP is a system for people that want performance and a native beautiful minimalistic design. Before you get a WP device you need to understand what you are getting, this is no playground like android. This is lighter, simpler and faster. I could mention hundreds of negative points on android, more negative points that what you find in WP. MS gave to birth 3 years ago and you can find more negative points on Android than on WP. That for me is a serious laugh starting with the long life support.

80% of the world's smartphones run Android. 3% run WP. That alone means that your opinions stated above are statistically insignificant.

Look, I'm as willing as the next guy to admit to Android or any other OS' shortcomings. But this sort of blind fanboyish comment based on ONE person's experiences is just meaningless.

 

[AG VK]

Well first of all that so called "laugh" about the apps, clearly shows how naive you are about programing. WP apps market its far from being the best, but all the official apps have no possible comparison with Android ones. WP apps are faster, they come with less bugs, and they work on a total different API, a better API.

Please check out MS' own apps on Android and iOS (like Office 365, Skype, Onedrive and others). You will find that they are better on non-MS mobile platforms. Similarly, take a look around these forums for all the complaints people have about Xbox Music, Facebook, Instagram and other mainstream apps. They are, without exception, very buggy on WP (Xbox Music) or crippled compared to the other platforms (Instagram). Of course, there are the other popular ones like Snapchat or Tinder where you don't even have a WP app!

 

[sandeepsb]

I would rather use MS APIs than Androids. Ask any dev and they will tell you developing for Android is a bit of a nightmare.

I'm not saying I'd prefer Android's APIs, I'm still actively developing for WP8.1 and will continue on but saying Androids API is a nightmare as WP8.1's API is no better. Clipboard support missing in the APIs, there's no reason for that.

 

[chezm]

I wouldn't say Android has poorly ported apps. Android has grown so much that the quality of apps are on par with the the iOS versions and now there's no such thing as a "port" since they're released on iOS and Android at roughly the same time. Android makes up a huge part of smartphone market share.

Look at the twitter app for both Android, near enough the exact same.

Saying Android Apps are equivalent to iOS is lying to yourself...they arent bad ports but they're definitely not on par with the quality iOS receives. Sure apps like Twitter and Facebook try to be AS equal as possible, but majority of the big apps run on iOS much better. And yes, WP has the worst quality of all 3.

 

[Andrea988]

Well first of all that so called "laugh" about the apps, clearly shows how naive you are about programing. WP apps market its far from being the best, but all the official apps have no possible comparison with Android ones. WP apps are faster, they come with less bugs, and they work on a total different API, a better API.

Secondly, windows phone is not for tweaking personalize or spend the first three weeks changing launchers and applying icon packs, or finding widgets and lockscreens. WP is a system for people that want performance and a native beautiful minimalistic design. Before you get a WP device you need to understand what you are getting, this is no playground like android. This is lighter, simpler and faster. I could mention hundreds of negative points on android, more negative points that what you find in WP. MS gave to birth 3 years ago and you can find more negative points on Android than on WP. That for me is a serious laugh starting with the long life support.

Sorry but why should an end user know, or need to know, anything about programming? I can assure you that I have found a dozen or so big-name company apps on Windows that do not work any better on my 930 than the android versions did on a phone a quarter of the price, my Moto G. I haven't noticed any that are faster, a couple do not perform as well and several do not have as many features on WP.

The biggest issue with WP is they're (very) late to the party and are still playing catchup, of that there is no question. Yes, there are a lot of poor apps on Android but with the latest push by Microsoft to try to alleviate the "not enough apps" argument, I'm afraid that as a result you're now going to find a lot more significantly worse ones on WP too.

If you are trying to tell people "they need to know what they are getting" before they buy a WP phone then you are completely disregarding the fact that most people simply buy a gadget that they like and they can "play around" with. Just take a look around you and that's what you will find most people do with their phones - it's a toy for grown ups. They don't care about the programming, how it is made to function in the way it does, or any of that, they just want a nice phone they can do what they want to do with, send a few messages take a few snaps and play with a few apps. Sure, business users may have a different agenda but they are not the majority of phone buyers.

You will not find an advertisement for a Windows phone anywhere in the world trying to push it because the programming is better. Because that isn't going to sell phones. People LIKE tweaking, personalizing and changing icons. That's why Android is so popular! Do you seriously think Android would have won 85% or whatever it is of the market if it wasn't what people wanted? If WP are trying to push people down a different route to what people know and love they might as well give up now.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

Doesn't GPS rely on line of sight? If so then you're going to lose the signal whatever phone or device you use in the same circumstances.

I only got my 930 last week but was hugely impressed by the Here Drive+ sat nav app but only used it on motorway and through a couple of towns on a clear day on a 120 mile round trip.

I think the 'assisted' mode only helps it locate satellites quicker on startup, it doesn't do anything else once the satellites have been locked on to as far as I am aware. That's my understanding of it anyway.

You are correct.

Yesterday I fired up my Hike and Bike app which uses satellite tracking (the little dot by the 4G icon at the top). Sitting in my house near two windows, it showed me at the correct end of the house! Claimed a 9.7' radius of accuracy. I walked to the other end, about 35', and sure enough, it put me there.

As a user of GPS on dedicated hand held devices (with 1.44mb of memory for maps!) I am astounded at the current state of the art. What I don't get is why aforementioned Garmins would run 30-35 hours on four AA's, our phones just a few hours.

 

[Andrea988]

What I don't get is why aforementioned Garmins would run 30-35 hours on four AA's, our phones just a few hours.

I think we need to consider that there is a lot more area in 4 x AA batteries, no doubt if a phone battery were that big it would make a huge difference. In a car it's not really an issue I suppose as most of us have power sockets.

Best thing for a bike is probably get one of those extended power packs. They're selling them on ebay now for under a tenner for a 10,000mAh pack. Chances are they're probably not actually all that powerful but they are still decent value.

 

[Jazmac]

When I used my N5 I don't think I had come across a force close, if anything it comes from the bloatware that Samsung/HTC put on the phones which cause the OS to be sluggish.

If you don't know the difference pure Android is just as fast as WP8.* and iOS - it's the skinning and extra (poorly coded) apps manufacturers put on the phones.

Try a Nexus 5 or Google Edition Galaxy/HTC and you'll understand the difference.

I didn't notice the stuff installed on the M8 slowing the phone down. Most things were responsive as expected. I did notice Facebook and Flipboard behaving sluggishly on more than one occasion and Waze would flat out quit while giving navigation. Eh. android forceclose is legionary...and expected.

 

[EC Translating Services]

OK just to make things clear, I'm not posting a hate thread - I think WP will one day become something real big but right now it's just not my cup of tea. Some people pointed out that the weight of the phone along made me leave WP but they missed out all my other points, even just sitting here thinking more and more on what bothered me with the phone:

INTERNET EXPLORER!

- Try going to nutmeg.com and signing in (if you have a nutmeg account) the page won't even load
- Some web pages look so scrambled it's insane and you can't even use them at all.

For everyone's reference I'll be sticking with the 930 until the announcement of the iPhone 6 next month and will be switching over to iOS.

And finally, I don't understand why everyone's hating on Android, when I was using my Nexus 5 all I had was excellent experiences - a fast and smooth OS, plenty of functioning apps (i'm not taking in consideration the app built by 12 year olds - i'm talking about actual professional apps that have been built by companies). And Skype which is definitely a step up on what Microsoft have delivered for WP.

Fanboys of other platforms aside (which don't count), Android is functional platform with some quirks (enormous usage of memory, fragmentation, slowliness after a while also with top notch devices, lack of safety). Apart from that, people are losing faith in Google and its strategy and the fact it cooperates hand in hand with US government doesn't help. (Despite their fake complaints for the privacy violations). The platform is strong, no doubt. However people are starting to wake up and smell the coffee.

 

[Abhinand Jinugu]

Exactly..
There aren't any good alternatives for the native mail and calendar apps either.. just look at Sunrise, Tempo, mailbox etc for IOS...
Whatever happened to Flipboard that was announced almost a year ago.!! or snapchat!!
Instagram is still beta... Pinterest is just a web wrapper..Foursqaure brings their changes first to IOS/Android in spite of MS pouring money into it.
There used to be a PageOnce(Check) app which they don't support anymore.
Also where are the new devices? Lumia 930 is nothing but Lumia 928 ... It has nothing in it to lure a potential buyer from S5/Iphone6 to Lumia.
With Iphone 6 in the horizon..Good luck MS selling Lumias this fall...

So it's been a month of using the Lumia 930, and I have to say it's an impressive device, but not impressive enough. I'm a bit lost on words here but the main reason for me leaving Windows Phone altogether is that I can't seem to change my mindset from Android, looking at the quality of the apps that are on Windows Phone makes me laugh and to think how on earth can people live with apps that work like this.

Whatsapp - It's a complete joke, it just looks like Whatsapp rushed a release and stuck with it just to make Windows Phone users happy; sharing photos to the app sometimes don't even work they just take me to the chat screen.

Phonly, Nextgen, Weave etc.. - Decent apps but comparing them to Google Play Newsstand, feedly or Flipboard there isn't any competition there; I can't seem to get over how amateur the apps look.

Windows Phone 8.1 U1 - A very nice OS, but unfortunately it's something I can't get used to - Things just aren't organised and thought out properly (settings menu). What was meant to be an amazing new live lock screen app even when it was delayed turned out to be a limited cheap looking app considering it was meant to be a Microsoft published app.

Lumia 930 - The phone is great, build quality is excellent compared to what Android phones are released and the camera is brilliant but I can't understand why it's so heavy - they should've taken the weight in consideration on this phone. Other known bugs such as the bottom right of the phone overheating and the purple tint issues are annoying.

Microsoft and Apps - Microsoft aren't even favouring Windows Phone which completely pi**es me off, Skype and Office apps are first to get updated with new and better looking versions on iOS and Android with no information given for Windows Phone users. Look at Skype still being developed to run on OS X 10.5 when WP7.5 will no longer be supported. In my honest opinion I believe Microsoft are looking in to all this the wrong way and they're trying to go for the money. Releasing Office for iOS and Android will give them a greater return rather compared to Windows Phone. I can't see things changing any time soon and I'm fed up with an operating system that isn't gaining enough traction.

I know this is a rant and all I'm doing is saying the negative points about the phone/OS but I legitly think it's not the right OS for me and it's something that won't boom for a very very long time (~5-7 years if it's still available then).

Just want to know any ex iOS/Android users and what their thoughts are on the points I've put across.

 

[BigCTM]

Flipboard is out for windows phone 8.1.

 

[Abhinand Jinugu]

Can you post link please?

Flipboard is out for windows phone 8.1.

 

[Abhinand Jinugu]

For everyone's reference I'll be sticking with the 930 until the announcement of the iPhone 6 next month and will be switching over to iOS.

touche..