Productivity

[thatotherdude24]

This might not be the right site to ask this on but, honest opinions please.

In the past few months I have used all 3 major phone OS's: WP8, iOS and Android. I have been looking and yet to find the 'productivity' OS. I use my phone to get work done, I'm not a big mobile gamer, when I do want to mobile game I have my iPad for that (another device that I feel isn't for getting actual work done but is very nice for casual use and gaming). Right now I have a Lumia 822 as my Windows Phone but I constantly switch between my iPhone 5 and Galaxy Note 2 as my daily drivers and surprisingly between those 2 I find the Note 2 is the better 'getting work done' device.

I am a Google services user, Gmail, docs, drive, etc...etc. Based on that obviously Android would be a better fit for me than WP8 but I'm looking for something that can blend everything together so it all 'just works'. I'd be willing to switch to Outlook but I don't know enough about its features compared to the Gmail features. Same thing with the other Google services, blogger, books, sites, voice and the biggest one to me is cloud print. Does Microsoft have equivalent versions of these services? I really would like to be one company to try to achieve that ecosystem and everything 'just works' type of productivity. I really don't think that will happen anytime soon with Android because Google does not have any type of Desktop OS that is going to get work done, yes they have Chrome OS but it's not even comparable to the standard Desktop OS we're all use to.

So my big long rant all lead to this, do you think Microsoft has a good setup of services/WP/Windows/ecosystem to get work done? If so how do you do it? I'd really like to go all in one company and I'm okay with Microsoft, I'm sure they have service I don't know about that would fit my needs excellent.

Thanks for the help.

 

[iamtim]

If you go "all in" with Microsoft - meaning Outlook.com instead of Gmail, SkyDrive instead of Google Drive, Office instead of Google Docs, etc. - I think it's a better "getting work done" platform. At least, it has been for me.

 

[tgp]

It depends what tools you use for productivity. If you use Office then you're better off with WP8. However, if you have an Office 365 account then Android or iPhone might work well enough for you. You need the Office 365 account to use the app, but once you're logged in you can read & edit local Office files as well (at least on Android you can; I haven't used iOS's Office app very much yet so I don't know about that). If you use email a lot including files then Android is the better option. You also mentioned cloud print. I don't believe WP has an equivalent, at least not as good as Google's. Skype is on all 3 platforms, but ironically both iOS's & Android's versions are better than WP8's.

 

[stmav]

It's all up to you personally, go with what you like. For me Gmail was horrendous. I dumped it immediately and stayed with Hotmail. The new features on outlook.com make it even better. And the fact that it's on my laptop, surface and phone for mail and any office needs, not to mention SkyDrive, keeps me very satisfied and happy with the ecosystem.

 

[fatclue_98]

Sounds like you need a tablet more than a phone. Anyway, WP8 does have a few different apps for printing to a Google Cloud Print device. My wife used a blog app on her old WP7 device so it'll work on your 822. If I'm not mistaken it only supported WordPress, though. As for mail, cloud storage and docs, Office is still the one to beat. Plus, OneNote can be a sanity-saving app sometimes.

 

[ajst222]

Sounds like you need a tablet more than a phone. Anyway, WP8 does have a few different apps for printing to a Google Cloud Print device. My wife used a blog app on her old WP7 device so it'll work on your 822. If I'm not mistaken it only supported WordPress, though. As for mail, cloud storage and docs, Office is still the one to beat. Plus, OneNote can be a sanity-saving app sometimes.

I love OneNote. Such a good app. But anyways, OP, the most productive OS out there I would say is BB10, however, there will be some missing apps. You could switch to Microsoft services and sideload SkyDrive (which is what I have to do) and the built in DocsToGo is actually pretty good. There is a WordPress app which I do use and I think it works well.

For productivity, you can't beat BB10. The multitasking is the best out there (IMO), the Hub is great for all your messaging/communications, and it's just a clean, organized OS. However, you might have some problems in regards to the apps.

 

[Cleavitt76]

The Microsoft ecosystem is pretty much the defacto standard for "getting work done." Apple and Google are major players in the consumer world, but they are barely competition in the business computing world. It's a no brainer that Windows, Office, Outlook, Skype, etc. are probably your best bet as far as a business oriented ecosystem. However, no one ecosystem is perfect at everything. While Microsoft's ecosystem is probably the most complete (certainly for business/productivity) it still has it's own weak points. For example, Windows Phone is still somewhat immature and could be integrated more coherently with the rest of MS's services. That, and the fact that you rely so heavily on Google's services make the best smart phone choice for you less obvious. MS is working hard to make Windows Phone and the rest of their ecosystem more seamless, but that is going to play out over time. At this point in time, I don't think there is a perfect choice for you. Each ecosystem is going to have some holes in it, but in my opinion the MS ecosystem is going to be the first (and possibly the only one) to accomplish what you are looking for.

Ultimately, only you can decide what will work best for you and your workflow. Here are some things I would consider...

• No smart phone is a good productivity device due for form factor limitations. The mobile device market is also changing at a rapid pace. Therefore, I wouldn't start with a phone as the basis for your choice of a productivity ecosystem. Chose the ecosystem/services that make sense first and then get a phone that works well with the rest of the services/platform/OS.

• Google is actively working to make their services less compatible with third parties. Apple has always been focused only on it's own world. MS is doing the opposite and making their core services available on as many platforms as possible. In the long term I would be concerned about relying on services that are becoming less flexible and attempting to lock you in as a customer or using customers as a pawn in their business battles. In some cases it might be best to go with a neutral party (Amazon for example) if none of the big 3 vendors provide an appropriate or "open" enough service.

• Microsoft's ecosystem may have some weak/missing points at the moment, but they have a clear and feasible roadmap to a complete ecosystem. As you pointed out, Google is missing the entire desktop (Chrome OS is a glorified browser) and enterprise components of a full ecosystem. It takes decades to build what Google is lacking due to the enormous complexity. It takes a handful of years to build a mature smart phone platform due to the relative simplicity. I find it impossible to believe that anyone is going to beat MS in the race to a complete ecosystem.

 

[fatclue_98]

I love OneNote. Such a good app. But anyways, OP, the most productive OS out there I would say is BB10, however, there will be some missing apps. You could switch to Microsoft services and sideload SkyDrive (which is what I have to do) and the built in DocsToGo is actually pretty good. There is a WordPress app which I do use and I think it works well.

For productivity, you can't beat BB10. The multitasking is the best out there (IMO), the Hub is great for all your messaging/communications, and it's just a clean, organized OS. However, you might have some problems in regards to the apps.

Sideload SkyDrive? Docs to Go? It seems like a lot of work to do what MS does natively. The closest any 3rd party app has come to full Office capability is SmartOffice on webOS. DTG is not a real alternative to Office for intense work. Plus, the DTG that comes with BB is usually a viewer, no editing or creating. I'm not questioning BB10's multi-tasking capabilities, but the OP is looking for productivity, not eye-candy.

 

[Kevin N Smith]

MS Has a equiv to all but 3 of major google services.

Google Drive - SkyDrive
Google News - Bing News
Google Translate - Bing Translator
Google Search - Bing Search
Google Now - TellMe with some extensions installed.
YouTube - None
Google Docs - Office 365 or Office Web Apps
Google Play - Windows Store
Google Maps - Bing Maps / HERE
Google Finance - Bing Finance
Calendar - Windows Calandar
Gmail - Outlook
Google+ - Facebook/Twitter
Wallet - NFC
Hangouts - Skype
Groups - Rooms
Chrome - IE10
Books - None
Blogger - None

 

[ajst222]

Sideload SkyDrive? Docs to Go? It seems like a lot of work to do what MS does natively. The closest any 3rd party app has come to full Office capability is SmartOffice on webOS. DTG is not a real alternative to Office for intense work. Plus, the DTG that comes with BB is usually a viewer, no editing or creating. I'm not questioning BB10's multi-tasking capabilities, but the OP is looking for productivity, not eye-candy.

If you read my post, I said that BB10 is the most productive OS...as in the OS itself is much more productive than others. I also stated that the OP would most likely have problems adapting to the lack of apps. I'm not arguing with you at all.

 

[thatotherdude24]

It depends what tools you use for productivity. If you use Office then you're better off with WP8. However, if you have an Office 365 account then Android or iPhone might work well enough for you. You need the Office 365 account to use the app, but once you're logged in you can read & edit local Office files as well (at least on Android you can; I haven't used iOS's Office app very much yet so I don't know about that). If you use email a lot including files then Android is the better option. You also mentioned cloud print. I don't believe WP has an equivalent, at least not as good as Google's. Skype is on all 3 platforms, but ironically both iOS's & Android's versions are better than WP8's.

What WP8 app are you referring to with cloud print?


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[thatotherdude24]

It's all up to you personally, go with what you like. For me Gmail was horrendous. I dumped it immediately and stayed with Hotmail. The new features on outlook.com make it even better. And the fact that it's on my laptop, surface and phone for mail and any office needs, not to mention SkyDrive, keeps me very satisfied and happy with the ecosystem.

What Outlook features do you like better than Gmail?


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[thatotherdude24]

The Microsoft ecosystem is pretty much the defacto standard for "getting work done." Apple and Google are major players in the consumer world, but they are barely competition in the business computing world. It's a no brainer that Windows, Office, Outlook, Skype, etc. are probably your best bet as far as a business oriented ecosystem. However, no one ecosystem is perfect at everything. While Microsoft's ecosystem is probably the most complete (certainly for business/productivity) it still has it's own weak points. For example, Windows Phone is still somewhat immature and could be integrated more coherently with the rest of MS's services. That, and the fact that you rely so heavily on Google's services make the best smart phone choice for you less obvious. MS is working hard to make Windows Phone and the rest of their ecosystem more seamless, but that is going to play out over time. At this point in time, I don't think there is a perfect choice for you. Each ecosystem is going to have some holes in it, but in my opinion the MS ecosystem is going to be the first (and possibly the only one) to accomplish what you are looking for.

Ultimately, only you can decide what will work best for you and your workflow. Here are some things I would consider...

• No smart phone is a good productivity device due for form factor limitations. The mobile device market is also changing at a rapid pace. Therefore, I wouldn't start with a phone as the basis for your choice of a productivity ecosystem. Chose the ecosystem/services that make sense first and then get a phone that works well with the rest of the services/platform/OS.

• Google is actively working to make their services less compatible with third parties. Apple has always been focused only on it's own world. MS is doing the opposite and making their core services available on as many platforms as possible. In the long term I would be concerned about relying on services that are becoming less flexible and attempting to lock you in as a customer or using customers as a pawn in their business battles. In some cases it might be best to go with a neutral party (Amazon for example) if none of the big 3 vendors provide an appropriate or "open" enough service.

• Microsoft's ecosystem may have some weak/missing points at the moment, but they have a clear and feasible roadmap to a complete ecosystem. As you pointed out, Google is missing the entire desktop (Chrome OS is a glorified browser) and enterprise components of a full ecosystem. It takes decades to build what Google is lacking due to the enormous complexity. It takes a handful of years to build a mature smart phone platform due to the relative simplicity. I find it impossible to believe that anyone is going to beat MS in the race to a complete ecosystem.

WP was very late to an already developed phone marketplace. I think that has to do with all the problems they're having. People know the droid name and the little android guy, everybody knows the Apple name and if you've never heard of the iPhone you're nuts. Since they are late they need that WOW factor to draw people in. It all depends on the sales people too, I've had Verizon sales reps say that WP8 is horrible but can't give a reason why. If the sales people push people away from WP8 there's no way WP even has a shot.

Apple is the king of everything only working with Apple. The new Airdrop for iOS7, people were demanding NFC in an iPhone and their response was something similar that only works on an iPhone, not even old models. Don't bother trying to repair or upgrade an Apple computer yourself anymore.

Part of my problem is I've been so into the Google and Apple news and features I don't know what MS has to offer to compare. It would be nice to know what services are capable of, if somebody could point out a little some of the 'big' features MS offers now that would be helpful.

What device to you would be a good productivity device?


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[thatotherdude24]

MS Has a equiv to all but 3 of major google services.

Google Drive - SkyDrive
Google News - Bing News
Google Translate - Bing Translator
Google Search - Bing Search
Google Now - TellMe with some extensions installed.
YouTube - None
Google Docs - Office 365 or Office Web Apps
Google Play - Windows Store
Google Maps - Bing Maps / HERE
Google Finance - Bing Finance
Calendar - Windows Calandar
Gmail - Outlook
Google+ - Facebook/Twitter
Wallet - NFC
Hangouts - Skype
Groups - Rooms
Chrome - IE10
Books - None
Blogger - None

Are the Office Webapps in Skydrive free or or do I have to pay? I know office 365 is not free, so what is the different between the two?


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[thatotherdude24]

Just a general question for everybody....what phone do you use?


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[ajst222]

Just a general question for everybody....what phone do you use?


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I use a Z10 now...plan on going to Windows Phone with my upgrade.

 

[Mio_WP]

Lumia 920, it's a heavy bugger but it has everything I need

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[bawboh86]

If you get a Windows Phone, Office comes installed on the device for free. From there, you can have it sync to your SkyDrive. The only thing it's lacking so far is remote collaboration on a single Word doc (you can do this in OneNote, mind you, an app I've really fallen in love with). If one person is editing, another can only read. I believe in GoogleDocs two people can edit the same document at the same time.

So far, that's the only difference in their features and capabilities. I prefer Outlook/Hotmail for the cleaner UI look. I've always found GMail's UI to be just all over the place and cluttered. But that's all a personal preference.

I used Android phones for years before picking up Windows Phone, and I've found that I can get a ton more done on Windows Phone simply for the Office app they included. I've used DocsToGo and QuickOffice, and I found that they always lacked some feature I needed, whether it was viewing a special chart or making a bulleted list. I know that there's full Office for Android, but you have to pay for that whereas it comes free on Windows Phones.

A question I have for you, OP. Do you have to VPN or do any networking? If so, then I'd say stick with Android for a bit until MS fixes some of their issues with Windows Phone.

Oh, and my current phone is a Lumia 1020.

 

[Cleavitt76]

WP was very late to an already developed phone marketplace. I think that has to do with all the problems they're having. People know the droid name and the little android guy, everybody knows the Apple name and if you've never heard of the iPhone you're nuts. Since they are late they need that WOW factor to draw people in. It all depends on the sales people too, I've had Verizon sales reps say that WP8 is horrible but can't give a reason why. If the sales people push people away from WP8 there's no way WP even has a shot.

Agreed. I think Windows Phone is more than adequate for the most people, but people are simply most familiar with the iPhone and Android brand names. I believe Windows Phone will catch up, but it takes time.

I highly recommend the MS ecosystem if you are looking for the closest thing to a "complete ecosystem", but Windows Phone is still a developing part of the platform. That is why I'm saying your best strategy might be to focus on changing to MS services first and worry about the phone later. If Windows Phone does everything you need it to do now then by all means switch, but check the Windows Phone Store first to make sure that there are equivalent options for all your required apps.

What device to you would be a good productivity device?

I guess that depends a lot on what productivity means to each person. In my line of work (IT) I need to run a lot of complex, data intense applications at once. So for me a productivity device means a desktop environment (as opposed to full screen touch apps), keyboard/mouse, and multiple monitors. Anything that can't support that will severely limit productivity for me. A desktop PC is the obvious choice, but as far as mobile devices the MS Surface Pro meets all of those requirements too. I can plug it into a USB 3.0 docking station and turn it into a multi-monitor desktop when I'm in my office, but I can also take it with me and use it as a small laptop or tablet when I'm away from my desk. No need to sync anything because it's one device serving as three.

Productivity for someone in management or sales might be different though. Any device that allows them to respond to lots of emails and view documents might be considered a productivity device in those cases. Even then, any tablet with a physical keyboard of some kind seems like a better productivity device than a phone. I know I would get tired of trying to type emails all day on a smart phone's one screen keyboard.

 

[thatotherdude24]

Agreed. I think Windows Phone is more than adequate for the most people, but people are simply most familiar with the iPhone and Android brand names. I believe Windows Phone will catch up, but it takes time.

I highly recommend the MS ecosystem if you are looking for the closest thing to a "complete ecosystem", but Windows Phone is still a developing part of the platform. That is why I'm saying your best strategy might be to focus on changing to MS services first and worry about the phone later. If Windows Phone does everything you need it to do now then by all means switch, but check the Windows Phone Store first to make sure that there are equivalent options for all your required apps.



I guess that depends a lot on what productivity means to each person. In my line of work (IT) I need to run a lot of complex, data intense applications at once. So for me a productivity device means a desktop environment (as opposed to full screen touch apps), keyboard/mouse, and multiple monitors. Anything that can't support that will severely limit productivity for me. A desktop PC is the obvious choice, but as far as mobile devices the MS Surface Pro meets all of those requirements too. I can plug it into a USB 3.0 docking station and turn it into a multi-monitor desktop when I'm in my office, but I can also take it with me and use it as a small laptop or tablet when I'm away from my desk. No need to sync anything because it's one device serving as three.

Productivity for someone in management or sales might be different though. Any device that allows them to respond to lots of emails and view documents might be considered a productivity device in those cases. Even then, any tablet with a physical keyboard of some kind seems like a better productivity device than a phone. I know I would get tired of trying to type emails all day on a smart phone's one screen keyboard.

Android didn't gain it's rep overnight. I remember going to the Verizon store when the original DROID came out and the rep goes who would ever want internet on their phone, apparently everybody.

WP would be plenty for most people. Very few people actually use any phone to its full potential, people like to brag about their device, WP doesn't have that bragging feature.

I have 2 23 inch monitors hooked up to my custom built desktop so I understand the Desktop thing but mobile is growing. I just hope WP doesn't turn into a locked down device like iOS.

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