- May 27, 2012
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So, I have a Lumia 920 running the new, Windows Phone 8 software. Came from a Blackberry 9900 and have been a BB user for 10 years. Also have the Galaxy S3 and I have been on AT&T for all three devices.
All in all, the Lumia 920 running Windows Phone 8 is spectacular. I am really enjoying it and discovering new features pretty much daily. But, and I mean this in all sincerity and in hopes that Microsoft will take notice, there are a few features I'd like to see incorporated in the next software update from MS.
I'll add my list and perhaps, others can join in as well. I'm thinking these incorporated features will take the Windows Phone 8 software from really good to incredible!
1. Unified notification center. I know the counter argument is that live tiles provide notifications. Yes, they do. But they also disappear and are not available in one unified location where I can act/not act upon my preference
2. LED notification and customized sounds for alerts and individual preferences. Why is this one so complicated!!! One of the things I truly like about Android is how they do not assume that they know what every consumer wants on their device. But locking down the device software (Apple is even worse than MS) to the degree that Windows Phone 8 seems to be can potentially turn users off, killing the chances of gathering scale and an expanded user base. I HATE the universal volume control and the very limited ring tones and alert tones available to the consumer. And not being able to "look" at my phone and see a blinking LED to indicate a VM, text, email, missed call, etc. is crazy and so odd when incorporating these features would surely make me MORE productive. I would like to "see" what's going on with my Lumia 920 without having to pick it up and hit the wake button.
3. Options to download additional keyboards. I use SwiftKey keyboards with my Samsung S3 Android device. Without a doubt, this is the very best keyboard and predictive text input mechanism available on a mobile device (but I have also head that the new, Blackberry OS 10 keyboard is supposed to be even better). Don't get me wrong, the MS keyboard included in Windows Phone 8 is very good. But, once again, I want choices. I want to decide the "style" of the keyboard, size of the letters, if I want the numeric pad on the left, right, or the top row, etc. I don't want what some programmer in Redmond decided all of us want in a keyboard design. MS could easily license and incorporate the various Swiftkey keyboards into their core Windows 8 code. No security issue, and in the end, more choices for the consumer.
4. For God's sake, what's with the wi-fi connection shutting down!!! Are you kidding me? This makes absolutely no sense and to me, is a real problem for power users and those running apps in the background that need a consistent wi-fi connection. Once again, I get the fact that MS is actually trying to help consumers by keeping a lid on excessive data usage. I applaud them for this. But, let ME decide how I want this action to be handled.
5. I'm so tired of hearing about the lack of apps in the MS ecosystem. Really, do we really want to have 1500 solitaire apps! And this a fact: over 30% of the 700,000 apps that are claimed to exists on the Google and Apple store have either never been downloaded, or represent downloads of less than 500!!! BUT, MS, please get the key apps into the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem as soon as possible. More importantly, get me the key corporate and business productivity apps NOW. I'm talking about WebEx apps, apps that will let me search my MS calendar and email for appointments and emails, VPN apps, Jawbone & Plantronics conference call integration, among others. I know the focus is on consumer apps as that is a much larger universe to support the general consumer population. But don't forget about business users!!! If MS does not address the business user with these core apps, they run the risk of getting crushed by the new Blackberry OS 10 phones and ecosystem that is due for release in Q1 2013.
6. A more robust calendar application and search functionality. This is so odd. Why was this feature omitted in the Windows Phone software? Having the ability to search appointments and meetings in my calendar app across previous months, and future appointments, will allow me to be more productive. Omitting this feature is ridiculous and just simply stupid.
These are just a few of the improvements and upgrades I'd like to see incorporated in the next MS update of the Windows Phone 8 software. Would love to see what others think as well and additional items they'd like to see added, or improved upon.
All in all, the Lumia 920 running Windows Phone 8 is spectacular. I am really enjoying it and discovering new features pretty much daily. But, and I mean this in all sincerity and in hopes that Microsoft will take notice, there are a few features I'd like to see incorporated in the next software update from MS.
I'll add my list and perhaps, others can join in as well. I'm thinking these incorporated features will take the Windows Phone 8 software from really good to incredible!
1. Unified notification center. I know the counter argument is that live tiles provide notifications. Yes, they do. But they also disappear and are not available in one unified location where I can act/not act upon my preference
2. LED notification and customized sounds for alerts and individual preferences. Why is this one so complicated!!! One of the things I truly like about Android is how they do not assume that they know what every consumer wants on their device. But locking down the device software (Apple is even worse than MS) to the degree that Windows Phone 8 seems to be can potentially turn users off, killing the chances of gathering scale and an expanded user base. I HATE the universal volume control and the very limited ring tones and alert tones available to the consumer. And not being able to "look" at my phone and see a blinking LED to indicate a VM, text, email, missed call, etc. is crazy and so odd when incorporating these features would surely make me MORE productive. I would like to "see" what's going on with my Lumia 920 without having to pick it up and hit the wake button.
3. Options to download additional keyboards. I use SwiftKey keyboards with my Samsung S3 Android device. Without a doubt, this is the very best keyboard and predictive text input mechanism available on a mobile device (but I have also head that the new, Blackberry OS 10 keyboard is supposed to be even better). Don't get me wrong, the MS keyboard included in Windows Phone 8 is very good. But, once again, I want choices. I want to decide the "style" of the keyboard, size of the letters, if I want the numeric pad on the left, right, or the top row, etc. I don't want what some programmer in Redmond decided all of us want in a keyboard design. MS could easily license and incorporate the various Swiftkey keyboards into their core Windows 8 code. No security issue, and in the end, more choices for the consumer.
4. For God's sake, what's with the wi-fi connection shutting down!!! Are you kidding me? This makes absolutely no sense and to me, is a real problem for power users and those running apps in the background that need a consistent wi-fi connection. Once again, I get the fact that MS is actually trying to help consumers by keeping a lid on excessive data usage. I applaud them for this. But, let ME decide how I want this action to be handled.
5. I'm so tired of hearing about the lack of apps in the MS ecosystem. Really, do we really want to have 1500 solitaire apps! And this a fact: over 30% of the 700,000 apps that are claimed to exists on the Google and Apple store have either never been downloaded, or represent downloads of less than 500!!! BUT, MS, please get the key apps into the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem as soon as possible. More importantly, get me the key corporate and business productivity apps NOW. I'm talking about WebEx apps, apps that will let me search my MS calendar and email for appointments and emails, VPN apps, Jawbone & Plantronics conference call integration, among others. I know the focus is on consumer apps as that is a much larger universe to support the general consumer population. But don't forget about business users!!! If MS does not address the business user with these core apps, they run the risk of getting crushed by the new Blackberry OS 10 phones and ecosystem that is due for release in Q1 2013.
6. A more robust calendar application and search functionality. This is so odd. Why was this feature omitted in the Windows Phone software? Having the ability to search appointments and meetings in my calendar app across previous months, and future appointments, will allow me to be more productive. Omitting this feature is ridiculous and just simply stupid.
These are just a few of the improvements and upgrades I'd like to see incorporated in the next MS update of the Windows Phone 8 software. Would love to see what others think as well and additional items they'd like to see added, or improved upon.
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I think things like the wi-fi issue really show that deep down Microsoft is still the same corporation that moves too slowly and I'm afraid it won't change anytime soon. 
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