(Official) What WP needs to succeed

[gmocnik]

Is there anyone else disappointed with the office package?

I wanted to post this with my windows phone and I couldn't. The keyboard would not show up ....

I made a mistake that I posted this http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...y-not-make-wp-better-compete-android-ios.html under a new thread. They closed it up, but I would still like to comment all replies. They said I am blashing in my first post, and blashing and blashing. It was not my intention to blash, I become a windows phone user about two months ago, and in this time I have collected my impressions about it and I wanted to share them, is that so wrong?

 

[LiveTilesRus]

This has probably been said. Sorry.

There are the enthusiasts like many of us here. And then there is the average consumer that just wants their phone to do what all their friends' phones will do. I pretty much loath Facebook but I created a Facebook account just to get access to the chat feature which integrates nicely with People Hub (btw) and is a nice cross platform chat app. I'm new to WP mostly since I got the 1020 a month ago. My other phone is an HTC One.

Folks, the WP FB app (even the new beta) seriously lacks compared to the official app on Android. But! But! But! I can hear you say, yeah I'm saying the same. Bottom line when most customers get their WP8 phone home and discover that Facebook app is seriously lacking, that phone is going straight back to the store. Given how much I loathe FB it pains me to say this, but then there is reality....

Oh.. While Google updates monthly, MS is MIA.

 

[eapttls]

Come on Microsoft! Integrate EAP-TTLS protocol already!

Why isn't this protocol integrated in Windows Phone. I bought expensive high-end phone called Lumia 920 and I can't even connect to my schools EDUROAM network. Are you kidding me? I could buy 10€ Chinesse Android phone on EBay and it could connect flawlessly to EDUROAM network, but surprisingly this high-end phone Lumia 920 can't. My school is using TTLS and PAP for verification and as I read this protocol isn't supported by Windows Phone 8. And don't come out saying I have to install certificate, as I have installed my institution certificate and it still doesn't work. I tried everything I could imagine.

 

[troylytle]

I saw many complaints in a row and wanted to let everyone know again there is a forum that is Microsoft's uservoice where you can voice your concerns and get responses back if enough people who traverse the site vote for it.

 

[rkarolak]

As someone who is is a long time Android and iOS user and just now am starting to use WP8 I find two glaring omissions that I feel that needs to be added.

1. Notification Center. It's nice seeing a number of notifications on the lock screen and previews on tiles, but having a place or dropdown with a list of all the notifications and the ability to switch to the app would make things a lot more convenient. This is probably the biggest thing I'd like to see improve.

2. There is no rotation lock. This is rather annoying, although I hear that 8.1 will add this feature.

The app selection could be better, but it isn't too terrible. I've been keeping an eye on the catalog before buying a 1020 and it seems to have really improved over the last few months. I'm able to get the Apps or third-party clients of almost all the ones I use regularly. The one exception right now is Waze, but that's coming to WP8.

Overall I'm pretty happy with WP8 so far. I do like iOS and Android, but WP8 does feel like a breath of fresh air.

 

[PeterVohcop]

I try to connect lumia 920 with company's wifi. Unsuccessful :unhappy: I cannot choose encryption manually.
I cannot set static IP, subnet mark, DNS or proxy server.

 

[jaenicky]

Re: Come on Microsoft! Integrate EAP-TTLS protocol already!

Why isn't this protocol integrated in Windows Phone. I bought expensive high-end phone called Lumia 920 and I can't even connect to my schools EDUROAM network. Are you kidding me? I could buy 10? Chinesse Android phone on EBay and it could connect flawlessly to EDUROAM network, but surprisingly this high-end phone Lumia 920 can't. My school is using TTLS and PAP for verification and as I read this protocol isn't supported by Windows Phone 8. And don't come out saying I have to install certificate, as I have installed my institution certificate and it still doesn't work. I tried everything I could imagine.

Exactly my reason for returning my htc 8x. It couldn't connect to my Uni eduroam. I couldn't believe it either. 2013 and it couldn't connect to my Uni wireless network.

 

[Boris Lozac]

But what's the problem, is that the case like how my friend protects his Wifi, that you have to enter MAC adress and all that?

 

[astraith]

I love my Nokia. Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 integration is great. But it needs to be better. For instance, when you have an iPhone, Apple rewards you for being inter graded into their platform. Everything from iMessage, to cloud integration. With Microsoft, even though you have that, it's just not the same.

They need to make us want Windows 8 or visa versa. And right now, they don't.

 

[N_LaRUE]

I can't believe this thread is still going. I contributed some time back but I thought I would add some more here, but this is more commentary than 'features' based.

What WP needs to succeed is really three things.

1. Phones that 'just work'. I know there is always a percentage of phones that are returned with issue from any manufacturer but it would appear that WP has had many that are OS related. This doesn't instill confidence in the user. I've read comments on some threads of people being on their 4th and 5th phone. I'm sorry but if I had issues after two I would move to another platform.

2. Getting the latest greatest apps from the actual developers and not 3rd party equivalents. This is more about image than anything else. If you have major devs bypassing your OS then this gives the impression there's something wrong. People will avoid your platform simply to avoid being the 'odd' one out. This has to change and if it takes money then pay up and get it over with already.

3. There are some quirky things about WP that when I first picked it up confused the heck out of me. There is a lack of carry over from standard way of thinking that has been in smartphones for some time. I get that WP is different, that's fine. That doesn't mean you have to do everything different. Keep the simple things simple.

I truly believe that if these things are tackled, along with adding the necessary features that appear to be coming I can't see a reason why WP won't be successful. If they are not addressed then the question to ask is will this platform ever get more popular and how long before we say it's a failure?

 

[Boris Lozac]

They need to stop with those re*arded commercials against other companies/phones. That last one is cringe-worthy..

 

[kriz225]

My (small) Gripes with Windows Phone 8

As a long-time Android user who switched over to a Nokia Lumia 928 about 3 weeks ago, I can honestly say that I do not regret the switch one bit. However, having come from a long line of Android phones (HTC Hero > HTC Evo Shift > HTC Evo 3D) to the 928 I have a few gripes that I can't quite come to terms with.

Notifications?

It's not what it sounds like, really! I actually thought that a centralized notifications menu would be my biggest gripe with WP8. To my surprise, I actually like not having one. Gone are the days of being enslaved to clearing all those pesky notifications just to keep the space clutter free. Now I just organize my tiles and respond to them with varying levels of urgency.

So, what do I mean then? Well, with Android the "notification area" at the top of the screen is persistent across all applications. While I don't really care for the actual notifications themselves I hate that most apps prevent me from seeing my battery level, WiFi and mobile network state, etc.

No Picture Password

This is something that disappointed me right away. Picture password is something that I'm a big fan of on my desktop PC. I don't want to have to type a password every time I want to get into my desktop, but having a password means my 2 year old can't get in and mess with stuff when the mood strikes her. Cue in picture password! I'd love for this to be available in my phone, and am highly disappointed that it isn't.

Oversimplified Volume Controls

Simplified is a word I'd use often if describing Windows Phone 8 when coming from Android. In almost every instance this is a very welcome change. Most tasks are made much more enjoyable by this. Volume control is not one of them. Android has a volume menu within settings that allows you to independently set the volume level for different activities such as your ringtone and media playback. I really hate that WP8 doesn't have similar functionality. It may seem silly, but for someone who likes to have his phone on vibrate so it doesn't go off at work but enjoys listening to podcasts from his phone via bluetooth in the car it's annoying not to have a menu where I can ensure both levels are properly configured.

Internet Explorer's Problem with the Back Button

I don't really get this one. I'm on the internet, reading some interesting article, and spot a word I don't recognize. No biggie, I press the search button and in a few taps Bing has the answer. Great! Now I get back to my article, finish reading it, and press back expecting to return to the original Bing search the article came from... only to find that I'm taken to another app instead. Why this works this way, I will never know.

First Party Apps with Limited Functionality

Skype and Calendar are my biggest issues here. I thought integration with Skype would be both rich and seamless. Instead I've got an app that doesn't work as expected (won't show me online unless I'm actually looking at the app) and just doesn't feel as revolutionary as it should. While I admit I find the calendar to be more helpful than Google's version, it's missing features that are available to me in Outlook.com's web interface! Why can't I set an end time for recurring events? Why can't I color code events? There's some disparity on how e-mail works across the different platforms (Outlook.com, W8 app, WP8 app) also, which doesn't make a lot of sense.

/ENDRANT

To conclude, please don't take this as a hate post. That's by no means what I'm getting at here, I love my Lumia 928. I can't even conceive going back to Android after using it. It's just that I feel like there's some really basic, and admittedly small, functionality issues that can be quite irritating.

 

[Fekkern]

It needs to be at least as good as Android for its own apps.

My biggest beef at the moment is the inability to stream videos from Skydrive on my phone, so whenever I go on trips or whatever - I bring my Galaxy Note to stream video from my Skydrive... since using my 920 doesn't work, it only gives me details of the file.

Perhaps someone knows a way around this? Because if I put the file physically ON my phone it has no problem playing my videos. It just refuses to stream which is ******** since the Skydrive is great as a commonplace for files and crap but with WP8 devices...just doesn't work to use it. Need an Android device which is ridiculous beyond measure.

Yes I am mad. I don't want Android phones, I hate the UI with a fierce passion (kindergarten stuff) but Microsoft doesn't offer an alternative at the moment...So I have to have both...

 

[MelodyMan]

Bluetooth actually working as it should (no hiccups or random stopping playing playlists, no more beginning a song a few milliseconds too late etc)
Software volume control (per activity)
Stop-button per (music)-app

 

[PerseusPrime]

1. Decouple UI/Gestures, Settings, Mail, People, Phonebook, etc., as an app so it can be updated independently from the carriers.Go one step beyond google play services on android and keep the OS really light and focused on hardware. This way Microsoft can update these apps whenever they want and not rely on carriers for an OS update.

2. Start screen is becoming cumbersome with a lot of times. Need to implement either semantic zoom like windows 8 or paging as in iOS with dots thingy. In Windows Phone it can be vertical paging.

3, Focus on the quality of apps. Keep them updated on a regular basis, keep them high quality.

4. Cortana, Notification center, etc., need to be launched soon.

If Microsoft can figure out a way to decouple their updates from carriers and can push updates to consumers quickly they can succeed.

 

[shilpa0592]

And now, BBM.

 

[DhenyAW]

Need VPN..

 

[Sayyid Shoaib]

just read article of how the preview for Windows 8 has IE 11 browser working 30% faster than other browsers!

I hope that there could be a boost in the mobile browser performance when the Windows Phone 8.1 aka Blue (or whatever they call it) comes along next year.

Compared to using Chrome on my previous Android device its way to slow and a lot less options

 

[JKing106]

I'm a short time Lumia 1020 user, but how about folders on the start screen, just like the iPhone 3GS and 4S I used for 4 years had. I could put my navigation apps in one folder, my photo apps in another folder, my utilities in another folder, and so on. The Games Hub seems to embody this at least. Seems like a good idea to me.

The way I dealt with this problem was by using an app called "Header Tiles" to create labeled separator tiles (Media, Reference, Tools, etc.) It works, but I'd rather have folders. Try it out.

 

[Ashwin Divakaran]

Windows Phone 8 must allow video sharing over bluetooth and installing apps to a SD card ,that will really set it on course to beat android.
Another big flaw which needs to be fixed is the app size,each app takes about 4 times the download size to install.This will really hamper the experience on lower end phones like lumia 520 which have limited space.