It's kind of amazing that we don't have timer, stopwatch or compass....

[fardream]

3 years in and they cannot figure these out? I serious think they should fire Joe Belfiore....

 

[nicfromwales]

We have all of these things.

 

[smoledman]

No Timer, voice memos, video editing(iMovie), music editing(GarageBand) and so much more.

 

[David P2]

My 620 has a compass.

 

[Rindika Fanai]

We have these..for me its hard to believe that after all these years we don't have a 3g /4g only mode... it suckz when you're in an area with low 3g network coverage and the network keeps on switching back to Edge which drains the battery really fast..i know there are mod's for that but i have to flash my phone again since i already updated to 8.1 preview.. I got sick of it so i'm finally gonna use my dad's new galaxy s5

 

[AV2RY]

There are plenty of app you can download from store. I have no need for compass but got Stopwatch Pro+ simple and beautiful app from Nokia

 

[David P2]

We have these..for me its hard to believe that after all these years we don't have a 3g /4g only mode... it suckz when you're in an area with low 3g network coverage and the network keeps on switbacking back to Edge..this drains the battery really fast..i know there are mod's for that but i have to flash my phone again since i already updated to 8.1 preview.. I got sick of it so i'm finally gonna use my dad's new galaxy s5

Well it's either fall back to a stronger signal than having none at all, surely? As that is what would happen if locked onto 3/4G in a low signal area.

 

[CJ Thunder]

I find it infuriating how often I have to wiggle my phone in a figure 8 to adjust my compass... If/when that even works.

 

[James8561]

try #1 toolbox

 

[anon(5344611)]

Maybe part of the reason is to let developers fill the gaps. However, I'd expect the Alarms app on Windows to be ported to Windows Phone, which would make sense (although I'd prefer a more native look and feel, like Stopwatch+).

 

[Gustavo Sanchez]

I have an app for each one of those needs... Is that difficult to search the store to find the best for you?

 

[Kunal Dudwadkar]

I agree, there is a real need to get that 3G Lock, I don't mind my phone being out of signal for a few moments but the auto mode is a serious battery drain. I can't even use skype or browse because the phone falls back to 2G which is embarrassing in front of my android friends. So many updates, yet Microsoft/Nokia is neglecting this minimalistic feature for god knows what reasons !

 

[crav4speed]

3 years in and they cannot figure these out? I serious think they should fire Joe Belfiore....

Fire him for a dumb app you can download from the store? What are you smoking?? I mean, do you constantly get lost that you need to know which direction North is on a daily basis?

I'm glad they are not built in to the OS because I don't need a timer app or a stopwatch app or a compass app built in taking up space on my device. If you need one then download one from the store and move on with your life.

 

[Bahamen]

We have these..for me its hard to believe that after all these years we don't have a 3g /4g only mode... it suckz when you're in an area with low 3g network coverage and the network keeps on switching back to Edge which drains the battery really fast..i know there are mod's for that but i have to flash my phone again since i already updated to 8.1 preview.. I got sick of it so i'm finally gonna use my dad's new galaxy s5

If you are in a low 3G area, and you want to conserve battery, then you should set to 2G only. The battery drain is precisely because the phone is continually hunting for the weak 3G signal. Using 3G/4G only would not have helped.

 

[jobinthomas]

No system audio recorder app. I realized this when my mom wanted to record something and she was asking me how to do it. We downloaded an app, but simple things like these are ones that I'd expect a system app for.

 

[RJ Priest]

Timer & Stopwatch: Avirall Time Suite
Compass: Jack of Tools Pro
Audio Recording: Voice Memos

All excellent apps. Jack of Tools Pro could use some metro UI polish, but functionality is all there.

 

[Pranshul Sood]

download #1 toolkit. ithas timer, stopwatch, world clock, compass, level, currency converter, unit converter, flashlight, and much more

 

[herbertsnow]

No system audio recorder app. I realized this when my mom wanted to record something and she was asking me how to do it. We downloaded an app, but simple things like these are ones that I'd expect a system app for.

Onenote records audio. I use it all the time. With Cortana just say note and record your note after the prompt.

 

[Mr Lebowski]

What are you smoking?? I mean, do you constantly get lost that you need to know which direction North is on a daily basis?

And you don't need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind blows.

 

[anony_mouse]

We have these..for me its hard to believe that after all these years we don't have a 3g /4g only mode... it suckz when you're in an area with low 3g network coverage and the network keeps on switching back to Edge which drains the battery really fast..i know there are mod's for that but i have to flash my phone again since i already updated to 8.1 preview.. I got sick of it so i'm finally gonna use my dad's new galaxy s5

If that's true it is indeed kind if amazing. Phones have been switching between 2G and 3G for more than a decade and it doesn't normally cause any problems. Maybe you have a faulty device?