Microsoft still has a lot to do to impress Android and iPhone users.

[crystal_planet]

and about xbox video... why is it socomplicated to make possible to rent a movie regardless of the country you are in... Microsoft should make worldwide... seriously... I had to create an email adress with United-States has my country to unlock this service... I simply don't understand Microsoft on this... same for Local Scout and lots of W8 and WP8 key features... If Apple can do it.. I don't know why Microsoft can't

That's not Microsoft. That's geoblocking. That's also the reason why some apps are not available to us. And also why I can't get hulu inatalled on my WDTV Live.:angry:

 

[Laura Knotek]

That's not Microsoft. That's geoblocking. That's also the reason why some apps are not available to us. And also why I can't get hulu inatalled on my WDTV Live.:angry:

That's true. It isn't always US that gets certain apps or features first. Spotify was available in UK for two years before it became available in US.

 

[brmiller1976]

When I lived in the UK, I used a US proxy server frequently so that I could view content on Comedy Central or YouTube without the "this content isn't available in your country" error message.

The legal regime is still living in 1950 while the real world is in 2012.

 

[PhilR8]

Sorry, but I own a Galaxy S III, and it's just as laggy, crash-prone, freeze-prone, etc. as every other Android device I've owned.

It's a lot more colorful, and initially impresses, but after a few weeks, you hit "WTF moments" every few hours.

There's a lot to be said for consistent and reliable... that's why Apple can charge what they do.

My wife has the Evo 4G LTE and while she doesn't experience WTF moments every few hours, she does experience them every few days.

But to be honest, those hiccups are easily tolerated because of the sheer utility of Android. We actually just completed a week-long road trip and we used Google Navigation over Nokia Drive because when put side by side, Nokia Drive is so far behind that it is a complete embarrassment. We were able to easily stream content from the PRI and NPR apps. I really cannot underscore enough how simple this was on her android phone. There is no similar solution on Windows phone without downloading podcasts through Xbox music. The streaming content ran in the background while navigation was running, too.

The point is that Android users, even casual non-techie folks like my wife, have become accustomed to a certain level of capabilities that I just don't thin WP8 can currently provide. So while Android sill does lock up sometimes (my 920 has also locked up recently) most users gladly tolerate that minor irritation because of everything else the platform allows them to do.

 

[brmiller1976]

For a pure consumer phone, I suppose that's OK. I use mine as a personal and business phone, and I couldn't afford all the problems at work that my locked up phone was causing -- crashed conference calls, missed e-mails, etc.

 

[cgk]

Speaking of content - is the Podcast support in WP8 as bad as WP7? (I understand that podcasting actually works in the US? - so if you are from there you might not have any idea what I'm on about).

 

[crystal_planet]

When I lived in the UK, I used a US proxy server frequently so that I could view content on Comedy Central or YouTube without the "this content isn't available in your country" error message.

The legal regime is still living in 1950 while the real world is in 2012.

Utterly ridiculous I agree. What I wouldn't do to get Iheartradio on my phone...

 

[eve6er69]

I think a biggie in this discussion (sorry only read the op's opening statement) is apps.
I am using a BlackBerry 9900 and after listening to podcasts and reading reviews it seems we are about even on the app front. Bb10 is dropping and all the talk on crackberry is always leaning towards app ecosystem.

Kevin is using a 920 and said lack of instagram,opentable and others is a huge problem for him but he's trying it as part of his world tour thing.

Its kind of sad that people don't really care about the phone that they're buying now rather if it supports the apps they know and love on their current device.

Sent from my game boy color

 

[Laura Knotek]

I think a biggie in this discussion (sorry only read the op's opening statement) is apps.
I am using a BlackBerry 9900 and after listening to podcasts and reading reviews it seems we are about even on the app front. Bb10 is dropping and all the talk on crackberry is always leaning towards app ecosystem.

Kevin is using a 920 and said lack of instagram,opentable and others is a huge problem for him but he's trying it as part of his world tour thing.

Its kind of sad that people don't really care about the phone that they're buying now rather if it supports the apps they know and love on their current device.

Sent from my game boy color

I wonder how many people will dump Instagram, since they do not want their personal photos turned into ads.

 

[fardream]

Android and iPhone users don't see much need to jump in the WP8 and W8 boat. Why? Because their preferred OS meet their needs. WP8 should keep all of its must have features while having more features to meet the needs of an iPhone and Android user. While WP8 is simply gorgeous, fast and fluid.. it falls short for a lot of iOS and Android users in terms of features and apps.

The xbox music app (Win8 and WP8) should be better. It needs some major updates, because at the moment it feels like they didn't put much effort in it. Except for the design...

You should be able to carry your videos in you smartphone and WP8 seems to be lacking there.

The lack of key apps should be taken into consideration by Microsoft and they should do something about it. Pay to motivate them to make an app for Windows Phone.

The official Facebook app seriously needs to be improved... it is really far from a quality app... Same for the official Twitter app... it's not common to see unofficial apps being 10X better than the official app...

Windows Phone will be a strong player in the near future, but I think that this is what Microsoft is missing to compete with Android and iOS.

Microsoft is being laughed at and the only way to get over this is to do better than iOS and Android. (I already like it better than Android and iOS, but the tech industry does not have the same opinion as I). Microsoft should come up with a tablet with a SIM card slot... it's 2012... they should make it cheaper to get more sales... Profit is good, but visibility is better and you can't make enough profit if most people see your tablet and say "Well I saw a review that rated it quite low and anyway it's too expensive". At the moment Microsoft with the Surface RT is the tablet that make the most profit per unit on the market... there is room to lower the price.

Microsoft is about to come back in the game, but it needs to boost things up a little bit. Microsoft is not in the same position they were years ago and that means that it needs to push its products more than its competitors... Make less profit and get more sales.

I feel I am going to leave windows phone and discountinue my Xbox music subscription if Xbox music is not fixed before next iPhone. At least Spotify and iTunes both work, and I am almost sure that apple will not screw music streaming experience.

 

[snowmutt]

My wife has the Evo 4G LTE and while she doesn't experience WTF moments every few hours, she does experience them every few days.

But to be honest, those hiccups are easily tolerated because of the sheer utility of Android. We actually just completed a week-long road trip and we used Google Navigation over Nokia Drive because when put side by side, Nokia Drive is so far behind that it is a complete embarrassment. We were able to easily stream content from the PRI and NPR apps. I really cannot underscore enough how simple this was on her android phone. There is no similar solution on Windows phone without downloading podcasts through Xbox music. The streaming content ran in the background while navigation was running, too.

The point is that Android users, even casual non-techie folks like my wife, have become accustomed to a certain level of capabilities that I just don't thin WP8 can currently provide. So while Android sill does lock up sometimes (my 920 has also locked up recently) most users gladly tolerate that minor irritation because of everything else the platform allows them to do.

My best friend and his Wife are both due for upgrades early next year. I have been talking to them about what they do and don't like about their phones. She has the LG Revolution, and he has a Blackbery Curve. The whole thing you just described is what I have found is the ONLY reason people are not leaving Android. She hates the battery hogging, laggy part of her LG. But a ton of the apps and tools she is used to are just not on WP yet. I can sell her on the OS (She loves it!!) and smooth operation. Even the worst WP is better in the battery life then her LG is. But she would miss a lot of goodies. He is done with BB (not interested in BB10, which I have told him about), but he has seen the tools and extras her Android can do. I think the best I can do is make sure they end up with the best Verizon Androids out there. They will give WP 8 a spin, but I do not think they will get one. (They do not like Apple products or business practices.)

It is still an uphill battle for WP. MS and it's OEMs are in much better position then even three months ago, but it is a large hill.

 

[Simon Tupper]

I feel I am going to leave windows phone and discountinue my Xbox music subscription if Xbox music is not fixed before next iPhone. At least Spotify and iTunes both work, and I am almost sure that apple will not screw music streaming experience.

I simply hate iTunes.. it slow and laggy. But features wise it's not bad.

 

[AMERICANRAJ]

For all you light weight iphone and android users go buy a Nokia Lumia 920 send it to me and I'll sand paper it down so that you are able to carry it. If it's too heavy for your gurly arms.

 

[11B1P]

The lack of key apps should be taken into consideration by Microsoft and they should do something about it. Pay to motivate them to make an app for Windows Phone

If all these big apps don't see the benefit of being on WP8, then piss on them. I'm not dying because I don't have these key apps. Paying them to dev for WP8 is not the motivation I want. Because then we will get crap apps. If they come to MS wanting to dev for them, then we get a company that is interested on their terms, which means they will work to have a quality app. The only way for that to happen is for us to ask them to support WP8.

 

[Black Helicopter Steve]

I am an Android user and I am impressed with the device for the reason pointed out before: the look and feel.

There is, however, a very good reason why Android and IOS look alike: it's familiar. It's a hard sell to some to jump into something so alien looking to what they are used to. Case in point: Windows 8.

 

[Honestabebread]

To be honest, most people switching from a basic phone to a smartphone don't care if its Android, iPhone, or Windows. The key hang up here is sales rep persuasion, which Verizon is trying very hard to overcome. Verizon is marketing WP8 as THE "basic to smart" platform and is forcing handsets onto its management team to make them aware that its not a repeat of Windows Mobile. In my opinion, Microsoft needs to start offering spiffs to front line sales reps. There's a lot of misconceptions that sales reps are incentivised to sell certain phones, not true. A customer could buy a Note II or a free LG Lucid and the rep will make the same amount of money. People respond to incentives. The employee edition 8X is nice, but offering a spiff of some kind would push phone sales over the top.

 

[Optimus82]

I think when it comes to power users coming from android such as myself, it us hard to leave all of the incredible things that android makes possible. Because developers are able to take advantage of so many great api's and features of android, there are many apps that simply cannot be replaced by any other app on both ios and WP.

Some of these apps/features include:

Floating apps- Video players, browser, calculators, note taking, etc,. These sort of apps are taking off with both devs and OEMs such as Samsung. When out and about and on a text convo, webpage or call, I could pull up my calculator, a note taking app or browser without leaving current task and still being able to look at info on main screen.

Widgets. Some are useless(same as some useless live tiles). But some are very useful. Widgets allowed me to stay on the home screen and glance at information. Yes live tiles do the same thing BUT with widgets on android you can also interact as if the app is open. I had a file browser, dialer, calendar, calculator widget which enabled me to do tasks such as manage files on my phone, creating calendar entries, taking notes etc.

Any power user coming from android can tell you this. I am no fan boy and currently happy with my Lumia and coping.

 

[Armada]

I would consider myself an Android power user. Or perhaps "flashaholic" is more accurate. I spend most of my time rooting and flashing buggy ROMs just to stay up to date and have a "pure" OS. I have a Nexus on Verizon but that didn't turn out well as many Android fans will gripe to you. As for apps, the only thing on my Nexus that didn't come with it that I actually use is Facebook. I think I'd transition fine. My biggest wants are the clean interface that gives maximum information to space used and the supposedly power efficient Skype integration. I still have time to think but a WP8 might be better for me than the Nexus 4.

 

[Optimus82]

Come on now. Facebook only app downloaded and you call yourself a power user?

I actually used my phones to the fullest. Viewing and marking up websites, annotating maps and graphic work, Scanning docs to pdf, I'm not a teenager who just plays games and browse Facebook.

 

[JamesDax]

No, not really.