Jason Ward uses Windows phone (for now) and asks why do you?

[Laura Knotek]

I think it's weird that someone says they like Windows Phone because of Microsoft Authenticator App and then people pile on "Oh, Oh, Oh, there is a Microsoft Authenticator App on android!" It almost seems like people are trying to get people to quit Windows Phone. Something I've noticed for a couple of years.

That isn't the case at all. Everyone should use what works best for his or her needs. However, pointing out facts regarding particular apps that are not exclusive to Windows 10 Mobile is simply to inform persons of available options.

 

[Kevin Rush]

My wife and I are long time Windows Mobile phone users and are very happy using the best mobile phone operating system. We have never considered anything else. The phones are a joy to use. Such an easy and fun experience. We plan to continue to support, what we like.

We are currently looking to purchase a couple of HP Elite X3 Verizon CDMA phones as backups. Let us know if someone has one and wants to sell it.

Best wishes.

 

[StariKletar]

Still rockin' myLumia 950 DS. I just hope there's another Windows Mobile device before i have to make a switch. I had an Android phone a couple of years ago (work phone) and i never got used to it. It just kinda sucked compared to my Lumia 920 then. There's currently no device out there that even nearly comes close to deliver the experience that you get with live tiles as well as some other things. I live outside US and i can still get quite good experience with Cortana. At least for what i use/need it. And as long as my Lumia does what i need i'm not switching.

 

[fdruid]

Still enjoying my Lumia 950 XL.

Why? I dislike the alternatives. Android and OS don't cut it for me. I don't feel hindered by the "app gap" at all in my daily use.

So I'll keep buying and using Windows Phones until the next mobile thing from Microsoft comes. Will probably be that Andromeda thing.

Why Windows phone? I've always loved the idea of having a PC in my pocket, and the evolution of Windows on phone, from Windows Mobile, to Windows Phone to Windows 10 Mobile has embodied that for me to varying degrees over the years.

Beginning in 2006 with the Cingular 2125 running Windows Mobile 5.0 (my first smartphone), my Windows phone journey has ridden the spectacular crests and frustrating valleys that have defined the platform. In fact, what may surprise many who follow my work is that Iinitially rejected Windows Phone 7 as an oversimplified UI and a backward step to Windows Mobile, the powerful, flexible and open mobile OS I loved.

Windows on phone, with its unique approach, is now a fading shadow of what it could've been. Still, Microsoft's enduring Windows on mobile strategy,via the rumored Andromeda device reflects the inspiring ambition Microsoft's previous mobile efforts (though poorly executed) exhibited. Will, the synergy of Windows 10 on a folding pocketable device be a winner? I don't know. Will the device even launch? Microsoft could scrap it. Still, Microsoft's pursuit of a vision to put real PC power in our pockets, via context conforming hardware and software on a device coupled with telephony is inspiring.

So as I contemplate my next move, Microsoft's Andromeda device which will likely be too expensive, or an Android phone, I'm enjoying what inspired me years ago, the Live Tile life, on my Lumia's 950 XL(personal) and 1020 (business)!

So what inspired you to embrace Windows phone and why are you still holding on?

 

[mlcooper54]

I have a Microsoft Lumia 640 with W10 mobile. $30 at Best Buy at closeout in 2016 + 128 GB microSD card. I've been with Windows phones since 7.5.

I have a NuVision 8" tablet with W10 Home..mostly for reading ebooks and keeping up with email. A Surface Pro gen 1 with a Toshiba DynaDock and 3 external 21" monitors with Office 365. At my client offices I use my Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E570 with i7-7500, 32 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, and 1 TB HDD and Office 365 and 2 external monitors. My last 'Windows' purchase was a Harman Kardon Invoke. Sound quality is awesome. What's really neat is when I'm cooking dinner and use the last of the lettuce, I'll say "Hey Cortana - remind me to get some lettuce the next time I'm at the Kroger." Sure enough, my phone reminds me to get lettuce when I pull into the Kroger parking lot the next day.



As a network administrator/IT contractor I set up and run Server 2008, 2012, and 2016. I run an Exchange Server clone at one government client. All my clients run Office 2010 and up. I run a government website where, among other things, I post upcoming government and nonprofit events. The Plone CMS-based website creates a vCal/iCal link. Clicking on the iCal link pops the upcoming event(s) into Outlook Calendar on all my devices with 2 clicks of the mouse. Another instance where being all-in with Microsoft was a plus was when we took down a Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V host for maintenance. I exported the website image running in Hyper-V to my laptop and imported into Windows 10 Hyper-V. The website was only down for a few minutes.

I had an 80 GB Zune back in the day. Xbox Music Pass. I had 40 GB free OneDrive storage prior to getting Office 365. Being all-in Microsoft just works well for me. My Lumia 640 does everything I need. 3 different email accounts in Outlook. Built-in Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Texting. The occasional phone call. Live tiles just like on my 3 PCs (4 if you include the 10 year old MSI laptop with W10 Pro I retired when I got the Lenovo). I realize that other than the Live tiles, I can get all this with Android/iPhone. I refuse to pay the premium required for an iPhone. I'm not sure I trust Android in regards to security and updates.

Should Andromeda ever make it to public release I'll probably get an early model. FYI my first Microsoft purchase was the Z-80 SoftCard that I plugged into my first computer, an Apple II+ back in 1980.

 

[Johnny Socko]

I am not a Windows Phone user, but I have always admired the platform. My wife had a Lumia 640XL, which she loved, but it died after only a year, and she went with another Android after that.

However, I had to get an "emergency phone" for my then-8 (now 9)-year-old daughter, and Windows Phone was the only platform I would consider. I didn't want her to be exposed to shady apps on Android, and there was no way I was spending the dough on an iPhone (even a used one).

I got an open-box Lumia 635 and lucked-into a free line promotion at T-Mobile. Now she has a stable and easy-to-use phone with great standby battery life and plenty of apps for her purposes. She uses it for games, YouTube, texting grandma, taking photos, etc., and now I have a way to call her if I am running late in picking her up from school. By the time we're ready to upgrade, I could probably find a better deal on a used 935 (they were still pretty pricey when I was shopping last year).

 

[IdleMind]

I'm still rocking my WP10. I use the 950, and HP Elite X3 for my daily. One is for work, and the other personal. I also still have my 1020, and 1520 sitting at home barely used. They do everything I need them to do. Make calls, search the internet, get my emails, check the weather, and I use Cortana a lot just to remind me to do things. Whenever I'm with someone and we're making plans I pull the phone out and say, Cortana remind me to do blank when I get home, or remind me to do blank Friday, etc. People look at me when I do that and are like, "what kind of phone is that?"

 

[Eric Hamilton]

I'll never switch away from my Idol 4s. Ever. I'll go back to a feature phone before I go to android or iPhone.

 

[user-774]

Would keep my L950 if it didn't crash on any given instant since 1 month now. (New battery didn't help at all.) Going to bite the sour apple and buy a new Nokia 5.1 (2018) 3/32 when it's out. First thing on the list is install Launcher10, second is heavily miss myTube!!! And the dark mode!!! And the keyboard!!! And the camera! Ffs...

 

[KREV]

Still using the HP Elite x3 I got when my HTX 8X died last fall. I don't like it as much as the 8X, but I am happy with it and don't plan on getting a new phone anytime soon--and definitely don't want to move to Android or iOS. The Windows on phone experience is just too comfortable to use for me to want anything else.

 

[venom5150]

I still use my Lumia 950 as my daily driver and my iPhoneX as the phone with apps. I am close to ready to move on but the record a call feaure is critical to me. The ease of pressing the record option on the fly is key. Anyone know of an iOS app that can record a call without having to dial a third line? If I can find that app, I may switch.

 

[Dan Wesley]

It's all about UI. I have sadly come to learn over the past few years that Windows Phone is now no longer better than the alternatives at anything except UI. I Switched from iPhone to Windows Phone back at the end of 2013 with a 930. Absolutely loved it. I considered it a massive upgrade despite the app gap. I had come to hate how white iOS had become. It seemed that Jonny Ive had got his way and virtually all screen elements in apps were white. Absolutely hated it. I instantly fell in love with WP dark mode and of course Live Tiles. How is this not a vastly superior interface.

Now I know that I am in the minority when I put UI as the number 1 factor in choosing a phone, as most would choose apps. And I know that aesthetics is subjective. But I can see how important it is to me as over the years I have become increasingly frustrated at how pathetic Microsoft is at consistency. And how terrible certain features are compared to the competition. And yet I still want my phone to be a Windows Phone for as long as is possible.

I have had to come to terms with the fact that one day soon I will have to switch. I know on that day I will have a much more useful and feature rich phone. But I know I won't love it. I won't love looking at it. And of course I will have to choose between the company I hate (Google, and their Do Only Evil attitude to Windows Phone) and the horribly Apple phone with It's horrible everything white interface.

I suppose there is hope on that last one. Did I really hear Craig F stand up at WWDC and announce that Apple had invented this amazing new thing, wait for dramatic pause "... And we call it Dark Mode" for the Mac. I guess they must have had Jonny Ive hand-cuffed and gagged in a cupboard back stage. Can I hope that this means a proper Dark Mode will come to iPhone?

My 930 is still going strong. Ok maybe not strong. But it is still my main phone. I have a simless 640XL as well. I will be one of the string quartet as the Titanic finally goes down.

 

[anachrotech]

I use my Lumia 950 because I love it. When it dies, I don't know what I'll do. I don't like android at all and the iphone is meh. I don't think I will bother getting excited about MS products anymore, and I'll be reluctant to purchase. It seems that almost every time they have something really good, they end up walking away.
That's just me.

 

[David Steadson]

Forced to go Android for business reasons Two lumia 950s for sale here in Europe if anyone is interested....

 

[Jason Ward]

Cool thanks for sharing.

 

[Jason Ward]

I'll never switch away from my Idol 4s. Ever. I'll go back to a feature phone before I go to android or iPhone.

Now that sir is dedication!

 

[Shane Usher]

Good work.

 

[Shane Usher]

People are soo nice when Cortana interrupts our conversation to talk to me. I think they enjoy the novelty. However, like most features it is not as good as it used to be. For some reason she now listens for too long before responding.

 

[Theonlyix]

Elite X3 is fantastic bar the camera which barely is oknafter coming from a line of lumias. My parents love their L950 and elite X3 aswell and continuum is used by both me and them on a daily basis. Its a wonderful experience MS left for dead far too soon. Like many others here, i cant stand the iphones far to locked down state and late to party functions and ill stay away from the insecure, fractured (if youre not paying for it, you are the product being sold) platform that is android(yes i own a couple of android devices so im no android noob, I just don't find it amy good). I need a new good secure option,holding out for Andromeda as of now!

Please MS, hurry with a mobile win 10

 

[Garry Terry]

I love both of my Windows Phones, 735 & the Idol 4S.
The only thing better than a Windows Phone running W10M would be a Windows Phone running W10.
Why?
Microsoft Office apps (which, from what I've seen are pretty weak on a droid), security, not open source and the little caption that says "sent from my Windows 10 phone". I know that sounds silly, but it actually reflects product loyalty. It's a shame that isn't important to some at Microsoft.
I will not use Office on a droid or iOS.
Just not going to do it.
MS Launcher is nice and I'm sure a lot of work went into it.
But looking at it is all I'll be doing.
Lucky that a basic flip phone will now satisfy my needs.