(Official) What WP needs to succeed

[OzRob]

You don't have to scroll through the list. You can touch one of the blue letters and you'll get a screen where you can jump direct to another letter. You can also hit the magnifier at the top left to do a substring search.

...or Microsoft could implement a way for you to organize the list yourself. That way WP could appeal to people who want to organize their apps as well as those that are happy touching letter lists or searching. The title of this thread is "What WP needs to succeed", and IMO what it needs more than anything else is to appeal to as broad a range of people as possible. So more options = better.

 

[Qtweeder]

MS, at least put the settings menu in alphabetical order!

 

[Otar Kantaria]

Windows issues, which could be corrected (please!)

1. Skype: I'm almost unable to use skype (actually almost stopped using it after I bought the windows phone) - if someone tries to call, sometimes it takes a full minute (or little less) the call window to open, until which, the caller drops the call obviously... and messages, or missed calls, I've received some of them with a full week delay, seriously (I have both 3G and wifi 24 hours, high-speed wifi at home and at work, which makes this really really weird and inconvenient, and sad).

2. Viber: I'm almost unable to use viber, whatsapp or anything similar - same problem here, takes eternity to deliver the messages or missed calls (10-15 minutes late). I understand these are third party products, but skype? isn't it owned by Microsoft? How could an iPhone have a better integration of skype than a windows phone?

3. Push notifications: I really want to have an option to make them go away instantly. When an sms comes and a notification comes down from top, could I have a button to send it back out (e.g. I'm playing a game, or somebody's staring at my screen)? I know I can switch them off, but that's not what I want. I want to be able to manipulate them as I please, please. They could stay there for a second, or two, but no, they choose to stay there just exactly for very long.

4.Open apps: it would be such a blast if I could close the 'open app N1', without having to close everything else. After all, after good round of browsing and gaming, closing all applications takes a serious exercise with all the back button-pushing for zillion times.

5. Games: If I mute the phone (to vibrate only), could the games shut up too? They don't, until I move the voice level from 30 to 0. That's just too inconvenient.

6. X-box: tried to log in to my x-box account, but not even once was I able to do so... "Uh oh... that shouldn't have happened. It appears you've found a glitch in the system" (I've been saving screenshots just to document this disaster). And if you relate this to how many times my live account has crashed (online outlook), where I tried to move all my e-mail accounts from gmail, all I have to ask is: what are you guys doing there, really?

7. Charging: charges too slow. If you let the battery drain out before you plug the charger in, you have no phone for 40 minutes average (and not even with USB, it just won't start even if connected to the wall charge).

and many other little things like that.

I understand these have been discussed quite a few times on different threads, but I needed to write these down. Please do the update and do it right this time

 

[Kavu2]

I stay in Gulf, and switched from iphone5 to Lumia1020. Now things have changed drastically for me.... It begin with..
- how to make a playlist?
-where to find the downloaded files?
-how to share files between PC and phone (documents, video files, which is supported by yxplayer).
-contacts integration with Gmail.
-single notification sound.
-above all the worst thing is it doesn't support VPN.....
No offence... But till now I have faced these problems switching from ios to wp8... Rest is fine..

Joe Belfiore on Twitter....
"VPN support was announced as part of enterprise feature pack coming in 2014"

 

[rntlkn]

I switched from Android to WP newly. I liked it generally but some issues made me uncomfortable.

- Firstly i am surprised that i can't charge my Lumia 925 when it is closed, did not like it.
- As i see there is not Firefox app, there is an enforcement to make users use ie.
-There is no T9 which i was using on my androd.

 

[Selfdestructo Bust]

Re: Windows issues, which could be corrected (please!)

3. Push notifications: I really want to have an option to make them go away instantly. When an sms comes and a notification comes down from top, could I have a button to send it back out (e.g. I'm playing a game, or somebody's staring at my screen)? I know I can switch them off, but that's not what I want. I want to be able to manipulate them as I please, please. They could stay there for a second, or two, but no, they choose to stay there just exactly for very long.

4.Open apps: it would be such a blast if I could close the 'open app N1', without having to close everything else. After all, after good round of browsing and gaming, closing all applications takes a serious exercise with all the back button-pushing for zillion times.

3: You can swipe the notification off the screen. Just put your finger on top of the notification and slide it to the side.

4: I don't know what's an "open app N1" but you can close a specific app by going to it through the multitasking feature (holding the Back button). Then you can press Back to close the app. With update GDR3 you'll be able to close apps while in the multitasking screen.

 

[isnayuha]

Re: Windows issues, which could be corrected (please!)

What i think WP must have:
1. Notification Center
I know, that MS planned this on WP 8.1, but i'm just curious why they didn't put it, maybe, in GDR3 update. Since, in my opinion, this feature is absolutely a must for a smartphone nowadays.

2. Better App Store
MORE APP! MS needs to make WP more interesting for app dev. And the store itself need to be enchanced to make user easily find apps that they want. It's very difficult when users want to find similar app with the one they currently have, related apps section seems suggesting apps that totally different. I don't know what algorithm MS used, but they need to enchance it ASAP.

3. OS Customization
In this part, as i'm an ex-Android user, WP is an easy OS to use but it lack customization. The only thing that can be change is just that live tiles, lockscreen wallpaper and ringtones. Even themes colour option is limited to some colour. And i still can't believe they remove the capability to lock network mode on 3G in GDR2 uppdate. I hope MS will add more customizeable options into the user interface and settings.

Many more to add, but that what i think most important.

 

[unstoppablekem]

Why does this say 1999? Lol.

 

[tofu.]

They NEED a Bluetooth HID interface, to allow external Bluetooth keyboard functionality. Essential productivity tool for working with Microsoft Office and other business applications on WP8.

they need bluetooth tethering (less power consumption)
they need aptx support

 

[tofu.]

Re: Windows issues, which could be corrected (please!)

3. OS Customization
In this part, as i'm an ex-Android user, WP is an easy OS to use but it lack customization. The only thing that can be change is just that live tiles, lockscreen wallpaper and ringtones. Even themes colour option is limited to some colour. And i still can't believe they remove the capability to lock network mode on 3G in GDR2 uppdate. I hope MS will add more customizeable options into the user interface and settings.

Many more to add, but that what i think most important.

OS customization like android would come from 3rd party hacking

WP isn't popular enough to have good 3rd party development.

 

[anon(6183039)]

MS, at least put the settings menu in alphabetical order!

Im kinda lost in trying to understand the principle MS used to organized the settings menu....

 

[anon(6183039)]

I know the features I will list below were already listed by other in this forum, but let's say it again. Maybe if we repeat ourselves, MS can finally listen to us.

First of all, I will not compare WP8 with iOS or Android because I think it is not the point. Many people say that we cannot compare a 1 year old or so WP8 OS with a 6 year old iOS,for example. Ok I agree but thinking in comparison, back in 2007 when the first iOS was released (called iPhone OS) no one before (except some trying by RIM) had an complete smartphone, so iPhone OS was revolutionary. Based on that, why couldn't WP8 simply borrow those great features all older OS like Android and iOS already implemented? It could have been done and yet be the unique OS like we know WP8 is. There is no excuse for the lack of some BASIC features in WP8.

Top five must-have features in my opinion (in order of importance):
- A fix for an issue (at least on Lumia 920) that makes the phone start heating like hell just from nowhere (even in stand by) and drains the battery in just few hours- Some people say that it is a process that could randomly get stuck and so your phone's processor starting acting like you are playing Halo! A soft reset is required. In my case I have to do it in a weekly basis.
- Most reliable Toast Notification System - Who doesn't have experienced delayed notifications form some apps like WhatsApp or Skype? Most of the time the delay is just few minutes but some other time it could be hours.
- Gapeless audio playback - I want to listen those live albums without being interrupted between tracks.
- Notification Center - Yes, we know Live Tiles and counters are cool and all but we just don't want to have tiles for all installed app and yet be notified when something comes in.
- An usable Skype app - The app as it is at this point is near useless because it is painfull slow and drains your battery in matter of few hours. My 920 start heating itself the moment I start Skype even if I'm not in a video call or sending text. It seems like hard processing is required just to show the app in the screen. WTF MS is thinking neglecting its OWN Messaging app in WP8!

 

[Potami]

DISCLAIMER : Im new to the platform so if there is a way to fix/change this in settings, let me know.

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that battery level and time are not always visable? And to top that off, in certain situations you can't drag that information down. So you have to actually exit whatever your doing just to see what your battery level is at or what time it is.
They need to change this IMO.
Its a dumb move to have essential/basic information like that constantly being hidden from the user for the sake of (I'm guessing) having a purely full screen OS.

 

[lumiadeb]

I don't know what is meant by 'succeed' here.Success in commercial terms?Well,wp8,is walking on the way to success through the increasing adoption of Lumia phones.But it certainly needs some more things to reach a respectable two digit percentage in the world of smartphones.Here are a few of them:
1.Rigidity is written all over the os.The background colour of the UI is limited to only 2,black or white.Why not dark blue or dark green if the user likes it so?White Font against dark background.That is the point that the UI chose.But white font against dark blue background is very prominent as well.So give us flexibility.
2.The theme colours are too limited and ill-chosen.Some theme colours are so unsuitable that they hamper the legibility.Theme colours should be given more thought as that surfaces on tiles.
3.The vertical measurement of The pull-down status bar(showing signals,battery status etc) should be increased and it should show Network Signal,Data Connection Signal,Remaining Battery Charge percentage.And it should house the digital clock with bigger fonts,replacing the too tiny,ever-present clock on the top right corner.One doesn't need to stare at the clock all the time.
4.The screen refresh time MUST be decreased at any cost.Too many developers keep complaining about this big limitation of the OS.If this can be done many apps can be implemented.For example,a clock tile or a weather app.
5.If a file manager seems too insecure to MS,at least the flexibility to create folders within the hubs should be allowed.But a file manager with no access to system files would be best.
6.Unsupported files,even if they come through Bluetooth transfer,at least should be made visible so that user can delete them.

I don't know if our wishes would get any audience at all.So i made the list small.Thank you.

Sent from my RM-914_im_india_269 using Tapatalk

 

[justSomeGuyOnWPcentral]

WP needs --> this <--.
I get that about half the people who go on these forums dont like the wallpaper idea on windows phone, but you don't have to put a picture there, it's just an option. Or you could put a picture thats just a plain color so you have more options then just black or white.
The other this show in this little concept demo is the ability to change the accent to any color. If we could just get that I'd be happy.

 

[Laura Knotek]

WP needs --> this <--.
I get that about half the people who go on these forums dont like the wallpaper idea on windows phone, but you don't have to do put a picture there, it's just an option. Or you could put a picture thats just a plain color so you have more options then just black or white.
The other this show in this little concept demo is the ability to change the accent to any color. If we could just get that I'd be happy.

That would be cool. I'd like to use the background wallpaper on desktop Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone.

 

[ilovenokia]

what I really need in WP8 is a file manager so I have an idea for file manager for WP8

Security is a really concern in WP8 and so the File manager should be

how is that ?

ok WP8 File manager should have the ability to view phone folders and view supported files with the other options like sharing by Bluetooth so on

The Security point is that the file manager automatically delete any un-recognized file type extension or any file that will be changed from say JPG to dll when that done from computer

that file should be deleted so it will not take space in the phone storage.
in this way WP8 will keep secure and in control of what is gets in and out.

 

[Dadstar0410]

Honestly, based off of what I've experienced with the latest Android flagships (specifically the G2, Note 3, Moto X, S4, and HTC One), im a little jealous at the uniqueness of the phone and what it offers to consumers. Therefore, I feel like WP8 and Microsoft should incorporate carrier-, OEM-, and/or phone-based value adds (not just apps; actual features) to increase the user base. Most consumers might think that WP8 is plain because it doesn't offer unique value adds.

 

[FrostyCamel]

I really, really want to like Windows Phone, but....

The lack of separate volume controls is killing it for me. Come on Microsoft! The cheap little Pantech Jest that I upgraded for a Windows Phone 2 years ago had this basic feature. Now that I think about it, the Kyocera flip phone that I had in 1998 had this feature! How can anyone associated with the development of WP think that they can be a serious contender in the smartphone market without something as basic as this?

As you might have guessed, I missed yet another important phone call because I turned the volume down earlier to watch a video clip. I can put up with the lack of apps. I can put up with apps that are buggy and/or lack features when compared with the android version. I can even put up with live tiles that aren't 100% reliable. But no amount of pretty tiles, smoothness and ease of use of the operating system can make up for continually missing calls because no one at Microsoft thinks this is an important enough feature to include.

I've been reading for a while now that it's coming. Prior to every upgrade there is always speculation on this very forum that it's coming. I think I recall reading somewhere (probably here) that it would definitely be a part of GDR3. Well, GDR3 is here, and still no separate volume control!

Sorry Microsoft, but you're running out of time. As much as I like your phone, there are certain things I need to have. What do you want me to do, start carrying an MP3 player so I can listen to music without missing calls?

 

[Crabby Abie The Queen T-Flo]

Re: I really, really want to like Windows Phone, but....

They need to listen to the consumers because we are the ones who keeps their product alive. Wth, with all these bugs, im very disappointed with latest update, i wish i never updated becoz my battery backup got worst and i cant turn off my phone anymore...people cant hard reset ,becoz it might brick their phones... WP is not for the weak hearted, but i am weak hearted anyways. I bought this bcoz everyone uses android, and i want to be different. I didnt know that theres a price to pay in wanting to be different. The devs need to take a closer look at how they programmed the phones, and tested updates before releasing to the public, why the heck cant they figure out the bugs. I never experienced a bricked phone while "just" hard-resetting my phone. Its supposed to be a system process, it should be neutral and not meant to harm our devices. We bought these phones with our hard earned money and yet, it will get bricked in just a matter of a hard reset? Im so disappointed...im just wondering if theres someone from MS reading these posts..,i wonder if theyd ever listen. I think they dont know how to do that. All thats important to them is the sales. Well, they should never underestimate feedbacks. More and more users are losing faith bcoz of the poor customer service. They want people to think they are listening, that they value what we think, but they really dont.