No Longer just a choice of phone but of lifestyle

[Mr_M_Cox]

Hi All,

I am about to hit my favorite time of the every couple of years, phone upgrade time!

Having looked around something has struck me as having changed and I don't think for the better. It appears now that I am not just picking my phone but my lifestyle and to a point all the tech I may wish to buy over the next two years, even if I don't want it yet.

Do i go with apple then have to use apple accessories but get a nice wide range of compatibility but its the only apple thing I own.

Do i go with Microsoft (I currently have a lumia 925). Great as I use a PC both at home and work so integrated well but I have a PS4 so not great to control that, not 100% app coverage etc etc

Do I go with Samsung? I have a Samsung tele so they will pair but then its android which i have never really taken to.

This is the easy bit of the decision, the hard bit is anticipating what tech I may want and where the tech world may go over the next 2 years of having the handset. Will I want to use apple tv in a year? I don't know. Will i want a Samsung gear watch? I don't know. Will Microsoft produce something so amazing with Windows 10 that I long for a Windows phone? Who knows.

It irritates me no end how my choice of phone (or life controller as they should soon be known) can dictate so much about my resulting tech life.

Any thoughts on this topic or discussion on how you picked would be great to hear. Do you agree? Let me know.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Inevitably the choice is yours of course.

Do you really need to get Samsung if you go with Android? It's not necessary and it has one of the worst interfaces going. Major bloatware. There's better options of Android. You can still get all the MS services on Android.

With Apple I'd say that you'll either love it or hate it. Some people who have come from iPhone keep saying it's boring but you get all the apps. Then you have a desire also to become more Apple centric because everything Apple works well, partial Apple doesn't. You can get all the MS services on iOS.

When it comes to WP or W10 we have many questions but not many answers. We just get told 'it's going to be great' and assume it will be. There's no real flagship out (I know someone will tell me otherwise) and we have no idea really when one is coming. We know developers seem to be sluggish with WP8.1 so we don't know if this will continue with W10. We don't know if things will be better overall. So it's a big question mark there as far as I'm concerned. Yes I am a WP user and yes I own a W8 machine.

Personally, that this moment in time I'm looking at Android to replace WP. Main reason is that I'm just over waiting. I don't want Apple so that's why it's Android. Doesn't mean I won't come back to WP in time but at this moment in time I think I'm happy to give it a year or two before I get another one.

 

[Nicholas Maguire]

I'd go Microsoft. When 10 is released, everything is going to work together so well. The app gap is shrinking. That one home automation company released a Windows Phone app, and Windows Phone is getting a CoD Advanced Warfare app. Lumia 830 and HTC One M8 for Windows are looking mighty fine for me the M8 for Windows is a true flagship, and so is the 930/Icon. But yeah, I know what you mean. Things really do change depending on what phone ecosystem you choose. Personally though, Windows Phone isn't as much of a disadvantage to prevent me from choosing it. It's truly a wonderful experience IMHO.

 

[N_LaRUE]

I'd go Microsoft. When 10 is released, everything is going to work together so well. The app gap is shrinking. That one home automation company released a Windows Phone app, and Windows Phone is getting a CoD Advanced Warfare app. Lumia 830 and HTC One M8 for Windows are looking mighty fine for me the M8 for Windows is a true flagship, and so is the 930/Icon. But yeah, I know what you mean. Things really do change depending on what phone ecosystem you choose. Personally though, Windows Phone isn't as much of a disadvantage to prevent me from choosing it. It's truly a wonderful experience IMHO.

If you can get the M8.... It's US only... kind of like the Band... We're stuck with the L930 elsewhere in the world which I will kindly say, no thanks. As for calling either of those flagships is an opinion really, both have over 6 month old hardware, both are too expensive. I will say the M8 is nice looking thoguh. L830 is not a phone I would buy either as it's midrange and will lack features.

 

[Mr_M_Cox]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I agree there are pros and cons for each option. I have owned an iPhone 4 and it was great but I wanted a change and as an IT professional Windows was the obvious choice and I love my WP aswell.

I guess my issue here is maybe not so much the choice of phone more its the way the phone has become a central hub for controlling, viewing, playing on etc etc. a somewhat unimportant but valid example would be camera drones. I was watching the Gadget Show last week (UK lighthearted tech show) and they reviewed camera enabled drones...super cool i thought but then you see that they ALL have to be controlled using an iphone or in SOME cases android. Well that rules me out of that market with my windows phone then.

I know there will always be things I miss and things others miss depending on what you use but it is getting crazy. Seems to keep up in the tech world and be an early to mid adopter iphone is the only option followed by android and then, if the manufacturer can be bothered, windows. Another good example of this is SkyGo, no no to windows :-( do i pay less for my sky, no. Can I access as many services as an iPhone or android users, no. This is an example of where i am experiencing a direct financial and service level hit just because of what phone i use.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I agree there are pros and cons for each option. I have owned an iPhone 4 and it was great but I wanted a change and as an IT professional Windows was the obvious choice and I love my WP aswell.

I guess my issue here is maybe not so much the choice of phone more its the way the phone has become a central hub for controlling, viewing, playing on etc etc. a somewhat unimportant but valid example would be camera drones. I was watching the Gadget Show last week (UK lighthearted tech show) and they reviewed camera enabled drones...super cool i thought but then you see that they ALL have to be controlled using an iphone or in SOME cases android. Well that rules me out of that market with my windows phone then.

I know there will always be things I miss and things others miss depending on what you use but it is getting crazy. Seems to keep up in the tech world and be an early to mid adopter iphone is the only option followed by android and then, if the manufacturer can be bothered, windows. Another good example of this is SkyGo, no no to windows :-( do i pay less for my sky, no. Can I access as many services as an iPhone or android users, no. This is an example of where i am experiencing a direct financial and service level hit just because of what phone i use.

Thanks for clarifying your point.

Yes there can be many lifestyle factors in what OS you use. It's one of my driving forces for changing to Android as well. Not that I'm crazy needing lots of things in my life but I just find Android seems to work smoother with everyday life than WP at this point in time. Which is truly sad.

I'm sure we can both list many things that both iOS and Android have over WP in lifestyle aspects but that's always been the crux of the issue with WP. To me, WP is not a lifestyle smartphone, well it's slowly becoming one with the Band, but it's not always been. Where both iOS and Android are more integrated into everyday life simply because of popularity.

WP has a long way to go to get there in my opinion.