So torn! I love it and I don't love it

[CobaltDragon]

Yet another post from a WP7 newb looking for some help/information. I have one more week to decide if I'm going to keep my HTC Radar.

I like a lot about this phone:
people hub
ease of adding various accounts (google, yahoo, etc)
overall UI
speedy
xbox live
most of the apps I used on android are available (except I really miss the app version of pandora!)
IE browser

then there are the things that make me really dislike my phone (some are the same many others have mentioned before):
1) Navigation - tap to navigate, no notification right before turn, map more outdated than google
2) No one-touch toggle of BT, WiFi - even the app out there only takes you to the property page
3) No notification LED (have to turn phone on to see if any notifications - I know this isn't on all android phones)
4) No advanced BT options (turn on/off media/phone connection) - on android I can have it send phone calls through BT and all other media through phone speaker - this made it easy to take calls while driving and still listen to the radio or CD through car and navigation directions from phone speaker
5) No one-touch calling - maybe I am just not doing something right
6) No separate volume for ringer/other audio
7) Notifications disappear after a while - so, if you miss them then you may never know a particular event happened
8) Have option for screen to not timeout only when connected/charging via USB

I'm a big MS fan, been an MVP and beta tester since 1994. I want to love this OS more than android, and I do as far as UI, smoothness, etc. But there are a few really basic things that are missing and just don't make sense to not be there. Is there any word on these things being rectified?

I can hold out a couple more months, but definitely not another year or two.

 

[ryude]

It will be at least a year before any of those things are fixed or changed.

 

[Big Supes]

No word on any updates before Apollo.

Before you do anything, just think about if you can go without the positives on WP once you're back with the Droid. Just a thought.

 

[selfcreation]

1) Navigation - tap to navigate, no notification right before turn, map more outdated than google
2) No one-touch toggle of BT, WiFi - even the app out there only takes you to the property page
3) No notification LED (have to turn phone on to see if any notifications - I know this isn't on all android phones)
4) No advanced BT options (turn on/off media/phone connection) - on android I can have it send phone calls through BT and all other media through phone speaker - this made it easy to take calls while driving and still listen to the radio or CD through car and navigation directions from phone speaker
5) No one-touch calling - maybe I am just not doing something right
6) No separate volume for ringer/other audio
7) Notifications disappear after a while - so, if you miss them then you may never know a particular event happened
8) Have option for screen to not timeout only when connected/charging via USB

1. regarding maps , we are gona be getting NOKIA maps + bing map is still young .. it will get better .. I personal cant stand google maps it always give me BS info and gets me lost LOL.

2. WIFI , BT thing will come, but honesty are you THAT BUSSY in a day to NOT lose 3 sec of your life opening the settings? i mean come on how lazy are people? lol

3. LED: some WP have it. has nothing to do with the OS.

4. yeah that be nice to have.

5. you can PIN contacts to your Home screen = one touch calling.

6. for the Volume , some work around. only one thing missing. you cant have a RING if ALL your system volume is down. but other way arround works fine. but it be nice to have a clear separate volume like in WM

7. Notifications disappear? like what? mine dont. Unless YOU MISS a meeting , in wish case , well it?s too late . WP7 is design in such a way that you CANT miss something because everything is STRAIT on your Live tile, if you miss it , then your blind or your phone int set up properly for YoUR needs. (make sure the calendar is the FIRST tile? that?s more of a unorganized problem then a OS problem.

8. yeah that would be nice , problem with that doe, if you leave your screen ON while your charging it can OVER HEAT your battery and in return DAMAGE IT.


In the end they are all valid points , but most of these things can be solved with work around or different phone models.

 

[kylej1050]

Why do you need to turn off BT and wifi?

I leave mine on 24x7 and haven't noticed any less battery life than when they are off. I know some OSs require you to turn everything off all the time but I don't really think you need to here.

 

[webosisalive!]

No word on any updates before Apollo.

Before you do anything, just think about if you can go without the positives on WP once you're back with the Droid. Just a thought.

tango will be out before apollo

 

[straitda]

What do you mean by one touch calling? If you are reviewing missed calls tap on the circle phone icon next to the missed call to call the person back at the number they called you from. If you want to call one of their other numbers tap on their name for their contact card. Hang in there! It takes some time to get used to all the WP features which are sometimes not obvious.

Sent from my HTC Arrive using Board Express

 

[jeremyshaw]

[...]

2. WIFI , BT thing will come, but honesty are you THAT BUSSY in a day to NOT lose 3 sec of your life opening the settings? i mean come on how lazy are people? lol
[...]

same could be said of the concept behind the people hub. I mean, why not use several different applications? [...]honesty are you THAT BUSSY in a day to NOT lose 3 sec of your life opening the [apps]s? i mean come on how lazy are people? lol

It's convinience, and even the bloated HTC Sense on WinMo had it (though WinMo actually benefited from HTC Sense, IMO). For the record, I do want such a feature. Less pressing and using the screen to get what I want done = better in my view. It's not even about power saving. If I leave BT on, the silly phone will try to connect to the BT speaker in my car. If I leave WiFi on around town, it tries to go out with everyone's wireless AP. So I'd rather have them on when I want, and off when I don't, and not have to do *that* much more work in an OS designed to reduce work.

 

[jimski]

Bottom line, you have to dig deep and figure out why you wavered from Android in the first place. Then weigh the benefits vs. the shortfalls. Ultimately, the decision is yours to make. Sorry, but won't try to talk you into something you are apparently not thrilled with.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[CobaltDragon]

maybe I am pinning the contact incorrectly in an attempt to get one-touch calling. When I pin a contact to the main screen and tap it it doesn't dial, it opens the contact properties for that person, which lists their phone, email, etc...then you have to tap again to actually place the call.

About the notifications...for instance I got a facebook notification of a reply to my posting. I watched it show up at the top of the phone and it stayed at the top for maybe 30 seconds...then it disappeared without me having even touched the phone at all. There was no other record of it until I went in to either th fb app or the people hub.

You're right, I moved to WP7 b/c there are things about android I really don't like. I guess the problem is that I am not in love with WP7 or android. Each one has things I like.

I may end up buying an off-contract android phone and then checking out WP7 once the next update (Tango?) comes out. If I can remedy my few gripes I'd prefer to be on WP b/c the overall UI is much nicer/smoother.

 

[jimski]

Don't forget Voice for speed dialing/calling. And a bunch of free (or 0.99) apps in the Marketplace for speed dialing are also available.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[aubreyq]

maybe I am pinning the contact incorrectly in an attempt to get one-touch calling. When I pin a contact to the main screen and tap it it doesn't dial, it opens the contact properties for that person, which lists their phone, email, etc...then you have to tap again to actually place the call.

About the notifications...for instance I got a facebook notification of a reply to my posting. I watched it show up at the top of the phone and it stayed at the top for maybe 30 seconds...then it disappeared without me having even touched the phone at all. There was no other record of it until I went in to either th fb app or the people hub.

You're right, I moved to WP7 b/c there are things about android I really don't like. I guess the problem is that I am not in love with WP7 or android. Each one has things I like.

I may end up buying an off-contract android phone and then checking out WP7 once the next update (Tango?) comes out. If I can remedy my few gripes I'd prefer to be on WP b/c the overall UI is much nicer/smoother.

You are not doing anything wrong when placing the call from the pinned contact. You are correct; it is at least two steps. Microsoft's approach is you select the contact first THEN you choose how you will communicate with him/her (txt, email, voice). I *think* that if a contact has nothing other than a phone number (e.g. cannot receive texts) then tapping the contact's tile *might* trigger an immediate call. Again, not 100% sure.

You are also correct on the notifications. There is no notification summary screen. Once the alert disappears the most you'll get for a clue might be a tile count. You have to enter the app (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) to see what the notification was. Perhaps one can consider the Me tile as somewhat of a notification summary screen, but the People Hub is considered a third-party app so you won't get all of your FB friends' status updates or notifications.

Maybe you should wait it out a bit, although people seem to love the Radar. Could the Radar be a "sleeper hit"?

 

[mmbond]

As mentioned above, turn on voice command and call contacts using that. one step and done!

 

[Verkunder]

The Me tile should be your first tile. As for apps that have toast notifications, if they have them, they probably have an indicator on their own tile (text, number, etc). Pin the stuff to your homescreen if it's important!

 

[Forgewizard]

Cobaltdragon,
Try "Connectivity shortcuts" app to pin connection tiles to your start screen. BT, WiFi, Phone radio, etc. Incoming notifications do come across the top of the screen and you can tap on them directly. Your me tile will show updates to FB. The contacts - have pinned to my start screen will show if that person tried to contact me. The tile will say if it's a missed call or the text they sent. Tapping the tile will take me to their page. My phone tile tells me how many missed calls I have. The lock screen shows each email account (three accounts) and how many emails, count of text messages, count of voice mails so there really are all sorts of notice methods and several ways to follow up.

I don't use Pandora, but there is an iHeart radio app that may offer Pandora.

Sounds for alerts and calls is one area WP fell flat on. But we are pushing hard for a change at www.windowsphone.uservoice.com/forums you can too! No OS will have absolutely everything perfect, you just have to figure it which one is perfect for you!

Good luck sorting it out.

 

[Big Supes]

tango will be out before apollo

I'm confused as to what Tango is nowadays. Isn't Tango supposed to be aimed at low-end handsets? Like a budget solution? If it is, I wouldn't expect any improvements on Mango.

 

[Vulak'Aerr]

I'd recommend pinning the apps that are important to you (Facebook it seems) near or above the "fold" on the start screen. Most apps will have a live tile to show you if it has a missed notification. If it is important enough for you to worry about notifications, it should probably be somewhere on your start screen.

 

[naplesbill]

Well, this is definitely a personal decision. However, as someone who has flip-flopped between WP7 and Android since WP7 launch, sometimes distance makes the heart grow fonder.

I was much like you with certain missing features. I loved the UI, performance, and Zune features. The pre NoDo was truly a leap of faith. I picked up the Samsung Focus on launch day. I used it for a few months. I ended up switching back to an Android device (Atrix) for a couple months. I then picked up an HD7s. The 7s shipped with NoDo and the device was very well built. I have a developer account, as a student, so I participated in the Mango developer beta. I was, and still am, impressed with the improvements made in Mango. I bought the Galaxy SII on launch day as well. I used the GSII for about a month. As much as the GSII is a God phone, it still can't hide it's Android roots. I now have the Samsung Focus Flash. I had intended on getting the Focus S, but after playing with both in the store, I just like the Flash better.

All of the mobile platforms have their good and bad points. It really just boils down to which device and platform provides the best overall experience for you. This reality is different for everyone. Your best best is to decide what really matters most, on a daily basis, and what can you either live with or live without.

WP7, for me at least, provides the best overall experience with the people I care about. That is the entire point of Social Integration, and so far WP7 is the only platform that really gets this right. It's more than just notifications and contact pics. I can be a part of my friend's and family's lives, in ways that just weren't possible before. There are many miles between some of us and this is one of the greatest features that keeps bringing me back to WP7. I am not a facebook fiend, but I do like to stay in touch with the people I care about.

I have been involved with mobile devices since Palm and WindowsCE devices first arrived. It has been an interesting trip to say the least. Where we are now, compared to where we were, makes me more excited for where we will be in a few years. Life is good!

 

[WPGenius]

Well put Bill, I went back to my blackberry before my quantum had mango, and ever since I updated, I haven't looked back. WP7 I feel is for the sophisticated crew, and the kicker about it is, is that it is NOT difficult to use. I've had numerous people tell me the reason why they haven't gotten a WP is because it's too difficult. If anything its one of the easiest OS's around. I like the fact that people think ots sophisticated though, it makes me feel special...lol

 

[Rhody#WP]

Strangely, threads like this make me so glad I'm not on Android anymore. Ugh... I can't be bothered with endless customizations. My battery life is good enough that I don't have to bother with turning on/off bluetooth or wifi; I just set it and forget it. I'm not so connected that I need to see a list of notifications that I missed; the live tiles are good enough for me. I am so grateful my life isn't so busy and tied to my phone that I would need one-touch calling; two-touch calling is fine with me.

Thank you, Windows Phone.