Possible Windows Phone 8 Start Screen Improvement(s)

[eruptflail]

"It looks too busy
It looks to cluttered
It looks un-organised"

Since these are all pretty much the same thing, you don't have to use the smallest icons if you don't like. Some people may want things to look busy though, and may have a method to their madness when they make, what seems to you, a cluttered look.

 

[SCOOBY_666UK]

"It looks too busy
It looks to cluttered
It looks un-organised"

Since these are all pretty much the same thing, you don't have to use the smallest icons if you don't like. Some people may want things to look busy though, and may have a method to their madness when they make, what seems to you, a cluttered look.

But it doesn't make sense to use larger icons for non-live tiles e.g. Microsoft Office (including pinned documents)/ Music & Videos etc.


Again, I'm ONLY suggesting 'Grouping' as an option...for those that like a managed/organised feel/look... AS in Windows 8.

 

[dukrem]

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I really like it with the W8 background

That would be really nice, unfortunately I think it's a little too close to release for a major redesign.

I do think that to appeal to a wider audience microsoft needs to offer things like home screen backgrounds and a notification centre to make users from other platforms feel at home.

I've done some quick mockups of what I'd like to see as an option for users who want the additional customisation. There are a couple of examples with tile grouping and a couple without.

 

[vp710]

That would be really nice, unfortunately I think it's a little too close to release for a major redesign.

I do think that to appeal to a wider audience microsoft needs to offer things like home screen backgrounds and a notification centre to make users from other platforms feel at home.

I've done some quick mockups of what I'd like to see as an option for users who want the additional customisation. There are a couple of examples with tile grouping and a couple without.

Please, no background pic, it looks horrid. Like a bad dream from the 2000's...

 

[goliath83]

I think the background and the grouping looks great, and is just what wp needs! If you don't like having backgrounds, then can can always skip it.

 

[smoledman]

I disagree with landscape mode, no smartphone does that for the home screen unless you jailbreak.

 

[vp710]

If you don't like having backgrounds, then can can always skip it.

I totally and firmly disagree with your opinion.

Customer customization and OEM freedom is what killed the reputation of Windows because it yielded horrible devices, skins and users ending up complaining their machines were slow (duh!!). Just visit the website for windowblinds to get a feel how horribly out of hand this will get if we let people customize backgrounds, tile color and transparency. In that sense, Android is ironically the new Windows. Total freedom = never ending tweaking and poor performing devices. If you want to play around with settings and customization, instead of using something that just works and is a perfect example of minimal efficiency, get an Android device.

This seems like an authoritarian opinion, but MS desperately needs to overhaul its image and that's what the company's been doing by enforcing strict OEM requirements, and limiting user mods. You could argue "what do I care if you customize your device?", but the truth is even if I doesn't affect me directly, it affects Microsoft's reputation and as a consequence its ability to grow and appeal to the masses, get better 3rd party support, better apps and hence it does affect me.

MS has been getting a lot of bad press about the fact W8 is "forcing" a new UI onto people, that's it's "closing" down its environment, that it's going to piss off its partners with the Surface but the truth is MS's strategy will, in the long run, make people's lives simpler and more efficient.

 

[CJ Thunder]

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I really like it with the W8 background

I thought that was the idea for W8 and WP8, the fact that these things would be very similar. The fact that the backgrounds can't be the same on the phones are odd.

I would also like to see folders that are not folders but other start screens. Click on the weather apps folder, in that folder you see all the different apps and locations pinned as if it was the start screen. Lives tiles and all.

 

[dukrem]

I totally and firmly disagree with your opinion.

Customer customization and OEM freedom is what killed the reputation of Windows because it yielded horrible devices, skins and users ending up complaining their machines were slow (duh!!).

To some extent, and I agree with UI customization there is potential for people to make their phones look truely hideous, but giving users a bit more freedom with the UI will not have any performance impact. The reason the windows XP customisations produces such horrible performance was that the customization was not there and users had to resort to 3rd party solutions. I completely agree that any 3rd party and OEM UI customization should be banned, but MS should inlcude more options to prevent that sort of 'modding community' (if you can call it that) from needing to exist.

With regard to customization allowing people to just make their phones look downright bad (ie horrible background images), sure, it will defiinitely happen, but the majority of cases will result in a nice-looking but personal appearance. And I think that may draw a lot more users in.

Personally I like the look of the windows 8 interface and wish they'd just make that. My main concern is that the current interface starts to feel boring after nearly 2 years of use, and it feels about time for a refresh.