So, Words with Friends...

[WasteSomeTime]

Who else is as disappointed as I am with this app?

Firstly, it's WVGA and looks awful on higher-res phones.
Secondly, it is clearly a bad port and runs sluggishly on my new phone where pretty much everything else runs as smooth as butter.
Thirdly, it's ugly - gradients are so iOS.

But my main point of content is actually one of functionality.

When I have the tile pinned to my Start screen, it updates whether or not I have it enabled in the app's settings. Not only that, but it does not appear in the Background Tasks area of the main OS settings..

So I have an app doing God-knows-what in the background, and no way of turning it off short of removing it from my Start screen - and even then, how do I know it's turned off?! So much for the 'walled garden' approach if selected apps are exempt from its constraints without having to even inform you.

If you uninstall it. It won't be doing anything.
Sent from my SGH-i677 using Board Express

 

[shinygerbil]

Thanks for that tip.

 

[jwaisanen]

It truly is a terrible app. Zynga should be embarrassed by it, and it's even more frustrating that I paid for it. Hopefully they will release some updates with the major bug fixes. It's a complete joke. Draw Something is almost equally as bad.

 

[rebornempowered]

Anyone noticing that the Nokia version of the app is working better? The ads are changing and the game is faster. Maybe the problem was server side.

That said, it still could use an update to be more like a Windows Phone app. I am just glad it seems to be working better.

 

[moegumby]

Downloaded yesterday and runs fine as good as it did on my iPhone. I have a 8x and no problems with the app.
Sent from my HTC6990LVW using Board Express

 

[shinygerbil]

1.0.0.1 update in the Store right now. Loaded it up - looks like they've cut down the resolution for new devices - everything looks chunkier.

Wouldn't know about the actual game though...first time it crashed on loading a game. Second time it locked the whole phone up and required a reboot. Third time it wasn't able to log me in.

I really hope I can persuade some of my older relatives who only use Facebook to find an alternative to WWF.

 

[HappyPalm]

It's not perfect, but I'm liking it so far, and I'm thrilled we have it available--now I can play my friends that only play WWF (I love Words by Post!).

What I wish Zynga would tweak!

• It's a tad slow to load...but not horrible. (7 full seconds on my Nokia Lumia 900. This is from tapping the tile to being inside a game.)
• It doesn't refresh when you're in the game, you have to re-load the game (sometimes it will refresh if you go back to the main menu).
• Sometimes it fails to give a tile notification for a new play.
• I can't play words that start with "Z!!"

Features I miss from Words by Post:

• No "back" button to reviews past words plays. Example...someone scores 99 points playing ZAP...you want to know how they did it, so you hit the back button, ZAP disappears, and you can see what tiles were played on. Or, you just want to review the last few plays that were made.
• Doesn't add up your points for you before you play.
• No dictionary for looking up words played.
• No "stats" for seeing past games played with a certain player.
• No "ranking" system.
• No spellcheck in chat, which means you have to be really precise to hit the right letters.

 

[rangerdogy]

On the positive side, if someone plays "ZAP" for 99 points, you know they are not using a Windows Phone device.

Seriously, the not being able to play words starting with Z is very annoying!

 

[iradeut]

Seriously, this issue with not being able to play any word with a z in it is ruining my marriage. This one issue is why my wife hates the Windows Phone I bought for her.

 

[HappyPalm]

Well, the "Z" thing is annoying, but I just see it as an extra challenge, and so far, it hasn't kept me from losing a game. Haha I did lose 39 points once though because I couldn't play Zap! We have an unfair advantage...it just means we have to be that much more creative! Since we can't play words that start with Z, look up scrabble words that contain Z for ideas. If you learned 2 letter words for this game that were previously foreign to you, why not learn some new Z words. hehe

P.S. I still love my Windows Phone despite not always having the best apps. I didn't buy it for the apps though, I bought it for the OS, and I've never regretted it. It's not perfect, but I definitely like it over iOS and Android!

 

[iradeut]

Anyone know of the latest update (yesterday) fixed the 'z' issue?

 

[rangerdogy]

In the story about the update, people said it fixed the Z issue. I have not had a Z since the update, so I can't say for sure.

 

[GG916]

The latest update sucks! Takes LONGER to load the games and it just bricked my phone! The previous update was much better - I didn't have either of those issues. When will they figure this out? :angry:

 

[mdmogren]

I cannot get the game to even login now. Uninstalled and reinstalled about 5 times. After I hit connect with facebook I get "network error, try again later."

Network and all other apps are fine of course...

Biggest POS app ever, and for $3!?

 

[etlahrs]

This time I don't believe it is the app, but Zynga themselves. My wife tried playing on both her iPad and iPhone and neither would update for her either. While the WP app does suck, this time I think it is on their end.

 

[etlahrs]

Update: I saw Zynga made an announcement that is was indeed down and that they fixed it. Mine still wouldn't update, but after uninstalling/reinstalling, it works again.

 

[iradeut]

I can confirm that the latest update fixed the 'z' issue, but my wife reports that the app is still locking up frequently. Hopefully more updates coming.

 

[HappyPalm]

The "Z" issue is fixed, and the app works fine for me other than being a little slow.

 

[odin09]

The app had been working fine for me, albeit at a snails pace. The last update ruined everything. It is crashing constantly now. I have to load a game 3 or 4 times before it lets me take a turn. Hopefully they will keep working on this. Sucks to see my turns come up instantly on my wife's iPhone.

 

[HappyPalm]

Agreed--the latest update slowed it down. It takes longer now for my games to load up. I only play one person on WWF though--the rest are on Words By Post, which works wonderfully on our phones.