I was an early adopter of portable devices, including Palm and Windows Mobile. When I tried to explain their potential as an all-in-one mobile computing platform the people around me thought I had been watching too much Star Trek. The idea that a Palm Pilot could evolve into a phone, GPS, media player, and web browser seemed far-fetched to most of my friends.
I remember the first iPhone, and how it led me to replace my Dell laptop with a MacBook. Then Android came along with the ability to root and customize the device to meet my needs. I thought I’d died and went to technological heaven. It can’t get any better than this.
When Windows Phone 7 came out I chuckled because it seemed like a step backwards from Android. To me it was also a step back from the much older Windows Mobile. Android was the new Windows Mobile because it too was extremely customizable, and XDA Developers were extending its power on a daily basis. Microsoft products seemed like relics from a by-gone era. The company was a like a dinosaur wandering around in its own primordial forest, oblivious to the world around it.
One day a friend gave me an RTM release of Windows 8, while rambling on about the new Outlook.com and SkyDrive (now OneDrive). I immediately saw the advantage of the tiled Start screen and Modern UI for use on my Home Theater PC (HTPC), but still preferred OS-X on my business desktop. It did, however, cause me to wonder about how it would compare to my iPad and Android. It seemed to be designed specifically for touch devices. As Christmas approached I decided to treat myself to a new Dell XPS-10 Windows RT tablet and keyboard combo. By January my iPad and Android tablet were on eBay. The Windows RT tablet was far better for my purposes than the others. I also found myself leaving my MacBook at home and taking the XPS-10 with me for trips.
I had never been a fan of Gmail because of its terrible UI, but felt forced by my Android phone to use it. One day Google “updated” Gmail with a new and “improved” interface. For me it was the last straw. Gmail had went from bad to worse. Based on my experience with my Windows RT tablet I decided to create an account on Outlook.com, and slowly migrated everything from Gmail to Outlook. It’s proven to be one the best decisions I’ve ever made. Outlook’s clean easy to use interface makes the chore of reading through emails a pleasure, and I can edit Office documents without having to download them.
OneDrive access through Outlook, and its integration with my Windows RT tablet and Office 2013 has made my life much easier. I no longer carry a USB thumb drive on my key chain. This led me to consider a Windows phone, but I was reluctant due to all the negative information regarding it. The big “app gap” and lack of customization weighed heavily on my mind, but out of curiosity I picked up a used Lumia 920 on eBay.
The tiled interface was familiar but I struggled to replicate the things I could do on my Android Galaxy S3 loaded with CyanogenMod. After a week of tinkering I switched back to Android. A month or so later I began reading about Microsoft’s new Bing apps for Windows phone and decided to give the Lumia another try. These improved things somewhat, but not enough for me to make the Windows phone my daily driver. Time passed and Windows 8 evolved into Windows 8.1, and the Bing apps could share information with those on my tablet. Once again I tried using the Lumia 920, but it still didn’t quite fill all my needs. Having OneDrive and Office on my Android made the decision to switch even more difficult. Why switch when I have it all on Android?
At about the same time Microsoft made the Developer Preview for WP 8.1 available, I came into a Lumia 1520. This, combined with the updated Bing apps, OneDrive integration, and improved social networking was a game changer for me. Now, after two months with my Lumia 1520 running WP 8.1, I find using my old Android phone to be cumbersome and antiquated.
Over the past couple of months I have replaced all my Apple and Google devices with Microsoft Windows. I can move seamlessly from one to another sharing information along the way. This is what I tried to explain to my friends back in the days of Palm OS and Windows Mobile. A world of interconnected devices that provide information and entertainment anytime anywhere. When I read blog posts and articles about how Microsoft is late to the “game”, it’s indicative of how little these authors understand about what’s taken place over the last 18 months. Microsoft isn’t late to the game, they’re actually inventing and creating a whole new game. Life after Android, iOS, and OS-X is not only simplified, but greatly improved.
I remember the first iPhone, and how it led me to replace my Dell laptop with a MacBook. Then Android came along with the ability to root and customize the device to meet my needs. I thought I’d died and went to technological heaven. It can’t get any better than this.
When Windows Phone 7 came out I chuckled because it seemed like a step backwards from Android. To me it was also a step back from the much older Windows Mobile. Android was the new Windows Mobile because it too was extremely customizable, and XDA Developers were extending its power on a daily basis. Microsoft products seemed like relics from a by-gone era. The company was a like a dinosaur wandering around in its own primordial forest, oblivious to the world around it.
One day a friend gave me an RTM release of Windows 8, while rambling on about the new Outlook.com and SkyDrive (now OneDrive). I immediately saw the advantage of the tiled Start screen and Modern UI for use on my Home Theater PC (HTPC), but still preferred OS-X on my business desktop. It did, however, cause me to wonder about how it would compare to my iPad and Android. It seemed to be designed specifically for touch devices. As Christmas approached I decided to treat myself to a new Dell XPS-10 Windows RT tablet and keyboard combo. By January my iPad and Android tablet were on eBay. The Windows RT tablet was far better for my purposes than the others. I also found myself leaving my MacBook at home and taking the XPS-10 with me for trips.
I had never been a fan of Gmail because of its terrible UI, but felt forced by my Android phone to use it. One day Google “updated” Gmail with a new and “improved” interface. For me it was the last straw. Gmail had went from bad to worse. Based on my experience with my Windows RT tablet I decided to create an account on Outlook.com, and slowly migrated everything from Gmail to Outlook. It’s proven to be one the best decisions I’ve ever made. Outlook’s clean easy to use interface makes the chore of reading through emails a pleasure, and I can edit Office documents without having to download them.
OneDrive access through Outlook, and its integration with my Windows RT tablet and Office 2013 has made my life much easier. I no longer carry a USB thumb drive on my key chain. This led me to consider a Windows phone, but I was reluctant due to all the negative information regarding it. The big “app gap” and lack of customization weighed heavily on my mind, but out of curiosity I picked up a used Lumia 920 on eBay.
The tiled interface was familiar but I struggled to replicate the things I could do on my Android Galaxy S3 loaded with CyanogenMod. After a week of tinkering I switched back to Android. A month or so later I began reading about Microsoft’s new Bing apps for Windows phone and decided to give the Lumia another try. These improved things somewhat, but not enough for me to make the Windows phone my daily driver. Time passed and Windows 8 evolved into Windows 8.1, and the Bing apps could share information with those on my tablet. Once again I tried using the Lumia 920, but it still didn’t quite fill all my needs. Having OneDrive and Office on my Android made the decision to switch even more difficult. Why switch when I have it all on Android?
At about the same time Microsoft made the Developer Preview for WP 8.1 available, I came into a Lumia 1520. This, combined with the updated Bing apps, OneDrive integration, and improved social networking was a game changer for me. Now, after two months with my Lumia 1520 running WP 8.1, I find using my old Android phone to be cumbersome and antiquated.
Over the past couple of months I have replaced all my Apple and Google devices with Microsoft Windows. I can move seamlessly from one to another sharing information along the way. This is what I tried to explain to my friends back in the days of Palm OS and Windows Mobile. A world of interconnected devices that provide information and entertainment anytime anywhere. When I read blog posts and articles about how Microsoft is late to the “game”, it’s indicative of how little these authors understand about what’s taken place over the last 18 months. Microsoft isn’t late to the game, they’re actually inventing and creating a whole new game. Life after Android, iOS, and OS-X is not only simplified, but greatly improved.
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