It's been a month since I purchased a Windows Phone handset for the first time ever. I've commented about how satisfied I am in other posts but I'd like to share some impressions and thoughts in a more detailed post. This should not be taken as criticism - in most cases I'm just pointing out some differences for those newbies like me who have mastered Android and are a bit lost/puzzled/amazed.
First of all, the app gap is real. Not that this is breaking news to anyone, but I'm not talking only about the lack of some of the most popular apps present in other systems but also about the lack of quality alternatives (Google Plus comes to mind). Even worse, I've been looking for recommended apps in old articles and some of the are no longer available. Not to mention that the Facebook app is published by Microsoft, not Facebook. And we all know how inferior it is. Yes, this could change in the future but the app gap will never disappear. I couldn't care any less about it and I knew about this before buying my Lumia, but I had to mention it.
Second, I'm surprised that some of the hot topics in the Android world are non-existent in Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile. Jailbreaking (iOS)/rooting (Android) does not seem to have an equivalent in Windows. The file manager won't show more than a few folders which have common multimedia contents (Camera Roll, Sounds, etc.) and a few app folders. It doesn't seem like MSFT want us to have access to /Windows or /System (if they exist). Am I wrong?
Third, I couldn't find an App2SD app in the store. Isn't bulk App to SD transfer supported? I know, you can transfer one by one from the app list but 1) it's annoying and 2) not all apps can be transferred. Sure, not every Android app can be transferred but at least there are apps that show you which ones are movable. And this doesn't seem to be possible in WIndows.
Fourth , only half of all Windows Phone devices are eligible for a Windows 10 update. Granted, this happens a lot with Android. Even worse, my 2 year-old Lumia 535 (bought new, but the model is two years old) would have been forsaken by its manufacturer or by Google if it was an Android device. But it's a Lumia and it got updated to WIndows 10. The point is, Android dominates the market and manufacturers can afford leaving some devices behind. This is not ok for Windows devices. This is a small market segment, an ever-shrinking one and soon it will be considered a niche or an oddity if the situation doesn't change. Nokia came up with a compromise when the update from 7.x to 8 came: there were non-eligible devices, but Nokia released 7.8, which brought some of the WP8 features. How hard would it be for Microsoft to release Windows Phone 8.5 or WP 9 or Windows 10 Mobile Lite for 512 MB and other non-eligible devices?
Last but not least, I'm surprised by the fact that all that non-updateable device owners can do about it is rightfully cry, moan and curse about it. Being a third-world Windows user for years, I know there have been custom pirate Windows XP ISOs for older hardware with as low as 64 MB RAM. Coming from the Windows desktop (Currently I have W10 installed as my second OS but using Xubuntu as the main one) and from an Android mobile I thought there would be a lot of custom ROMs for those who can't receive an official upgrade, and even ROMs with custom GUIs a la CyanogenMod. That doesn't seem to be the case.
Feel free to comment, criticize me or point out any mistake or misconception.
First of all, the app gap is real. Not that this is breaking news to anyone, but I'm not talking only about the lack of some of the most popular apps present in other systems but also about the lack of quality alternatives (Google Plus comes to mind). Even worse, I've been looking for recommended apps in old articles and some of the are no longer available. Not to mention that the Facebook app is published by Microsoft, not Facebook. And we all know how inferior it is. Yes, this could change in the future but the app gap will never disappear. I couldn't care any less about it and I knew about this before buying my Lumia, but I had to mention it.
Second, I'm surprised that some of the hot topics in the Android world are non-existent in Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile. Jailbreaking (iOS)/rooting (Android) does not seem to have an equivalent in Windows. The file manager won't show more than a few folders which have common multimedia contents (Camera Roll, Sounds, etc.) and a few app folders. It doesn't seem like MSFT want us to have access to /Windows or /System (if they exist). Am I wrong?
Third, I couldn't find an App2SD app in the store. Isn't bulk App to SD transfer supported? I know, you can transfer one by one from the app list but 1) it's annoying and 2) not all apps can be transferred. Sure, not every Android app can be transferred but at least there are apps that show you which ones are movable. And this doesn't seem to be possible in WIndows.
Fourth , only half of all Windows Phone devices are eligible for a Windows 10 update. Granted, this happens a lot with Android. Even worse, my 2 year-old Lumia 535 (bought new, but the model is two years old) would have been forsaken by its manufacturer or by Google if it was an Android device. But it's a Lumia and it got updated to WIndows 10. The point is, Android dominates the market and manufacturers can afford leaving some devices behind. This is not ok for Windows devices. This is a small market segment, an ever-shrinking one and soon it will be considered a niche or an oddity if the situation doesn't change. Nokia came up with a compromise when the update from 7.x to 8 came: there were non-eligible devices, but Nokia released 7.8, which brought some of the WP8 features. How hard would it be for Microsoft to release Windows Phone 8.5 or WP 9 or Windows 10 Mobile Lite for 512 MB and other non-eligible devices?
Last but not least, I'm surprised by the fact that all that non-updateable device owners can do about it is rightfully cry, moan and curse about it. Being a third-world Windows user for years, I know there have been custom pirate Windows XP ISOs for older hardware with as low as 64 MB RAM. Coming from the Windows desktop (Currently I have W10 installed as my second OS but using Xubuntu as the main one) and from an Android mobile I thought there would be a lot of custom ROMs for those who can't receive an official upgrade, and even ROMs with custom GUIs a la CyanogenMod. That doesn't seem to be the case.
Feel free to comment, criticize me or point out any mistake or misconception.
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I've been with windows phone since the beginning and would agree with all of your points.
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