Switched from iPhone 5 to Lumia 920 today

[JamesTBurns]

I'm a hardcore Apple person too. My first was an Apple II+ when I was 7 years old and I've always had an Apple of one kind or another ever since then, right up to today.

I thought everything Microsoft did sucked until I saw Windows Phone and Windows 7. I still use a Mac, but I use Win 7 also now and I love my Windows Phone. As much as I am an Apple fan, iOS just doesn't do it for me.

Yeah, iOS seems like the one area where they just stopped innovating. A question I'm pondering now is whether the live tiles and "toast" notifications will be as good as iOS/Android pull down notifications. Android came up with that, but iOS made it even better.

 

[Connie Litrenta]

Knowing Apple, they'll take from the Live Tiles idea and then patent it. :winktongue: I realize there are a lot of Apple/iPhone fans out there but as good as it might be, I'd be getting VERY tired of the "look" of the OS. Same thing year after year. That's what's so refreshing about WP8. They've done something totally different and it's just simple and sleek. LOVE the live tiles.

 

[david90531]

What a smart guy

 

[JamesTBurns]

Knowing Apple, they'll take from the Live Tiles idea and then patent it. :winktongue: I realize there are a lot of Apple/iPhone fans out there but as good as it might be, I'd be getting VERY tired of the "look" of the OS. Same thing year after year. That's what's so refreshing about WP8. They've done something totally different and it's just simple and sleek. LOVE the live tiles.

I like the live tiles too, but I"m still not convinced that they are as useful as a standard notification center. If an app doesn't have a live tile, there is no notification.

 

[firedancer1189]

Thought I would chime in concerning my 920/iPhone 5 experience thus far.

I have always been kinda anti-Apple. Just couldn't see myself as one of the countless iSheep out there and have always favored the dark horse if you will. My company pays for my phone, however the company only allows (and pays) for my phone if I use an iPhone. So instead of saving the money every month and just getting rid of my personal line, I kept my personal line, bought a 920, and now have a separate work line which is an iPhone 5. Every single one of my friends carry iPhones, they are the epitome of iSheep. They were very impressed with me not succumbing the power of Apple but also called me an idiot for paying for my personal line still when I could have just consolidated to one phone. However, to me carrying the 920 and sticking with the Windows OS is well worth the monthly access fee.

I will try to be as non-bias as possible here but some things have become blatantly clear in the first week or so. The first thing I noticed is the weight/form difference. The 920 feels incredible and I find myself just holding it and sliding it around in my hand even if I am not using it. I personally like the weight of it. I know a lot of people were crying because it was too heavy. but honestly it feels like a well built phone and for those of you it's too heavy for, well I suggest you hit the gym a few days a week. Sure the iPhone 5 is the lightest phone on the market but it's so light it just feels a bit on the cheap side. I often find myself just checking to see if I have it on me because it's just too light. As far as the actual form factor goes, it's a no brainer. The iPhone 5 just looks ridiculous. By just stretching the screen vertically it looks like my universal remote control. My friends (and others) defend that design decision saying that people want to be able to access the entire screen with just one hand. My rebuttal to that is first of all I can cover the whole screen with one hand on my 920 and my hands are probably on the small side. Second, I rarely use just one hand to manipulate my phone unless I am driving in which I really shouldn't be doing in the first place.

When it comes to the operating system, I get it., Apple's OS works and I understand that they want to stick with something that works.but it's just boring! They really haven't done anything too terribly different in six years now. I realize Windows has a long way to catch up to make everyone happy (we all know what a train wreck the Xbox Music syncing has been) yet we all know how refreshing the Windows 8 OS is overall as a whole. As far as the dreaded "app gap" goes, I can't honestly say there has been an app that my iPhone 5 has that my 920 doesn't have or something very similar. I will admit I am not a heavy app user so maybe this effects others more than it does me.

Before I start to ramble here, I will end it with this: When I have the phones sitting side by side at work or in public, not a single person has asked my about my iPhone 5. They instead ask me about my phone with the "huge and bright screen"

Cheers!

 

[dogfish54]

I like the live tiles too, but I"m still not convinced that they are as useful as a standard notification center. If an app doesn't have a live tile, there is no notification.

Microsoft have acknowledged that they just 'ran out of time' to get the notification center in there, so I am guessing it will be in the next update due in the next few months

 

[ynight]

I actually find it to be easier for ppl with iphone5 to switch than those with 4/4s..I personally switched out apple since 3gs, and i have to admit i havent tried the best of apple myself( for me iphone3,3gs are pretty bad experiences, tons of so called white apple, 4 however, is much better). But never regret to go with wp. It's just smarter..

 

[ynight]

Microsoft have acknowledged that they just 'ran out of time' to get the notification center in there, so I am guessing it will be in the next update due in the next few months

That's more of a personal choice type thing, personally I dont need that, but i can see ppl with a ton of different social apps may find that handy. That said, I also believe it's good to have the choice of wether to use the center or not, so yea, hopefully that will come

 

[dogfish54]

Thats good to hear. I have a Telcel Lumia 610 to use in Mexico, and I'm about to install W8 on my MacBook Pro through BootCamp...I think that's about as far into the Microsoft world as I'll go

Windows 8 is OK on non-touch hardware, but it really only makes sense with touch hardware. The magic isn't in the start screen, although that is nice with touch, it's really in the browser. It's the simple things like 'swipe down from the top to close an app' and 'swipe to right or left go back or forward'. It's really quick to navigate. Also the ability to have two apps side-by-side in the touch environment is very nice. I can't tell you how many times someone starts a facebook chat with me and I am busy browsing the web ... you can pin the chat to the side (take a quarter of the screen) and do both at once.

Anyway ... You may like windows 8 on your Mac, but it's really a 2nd class experience without touch. Also, touch on an ultrabook makes total sense once you use Windows 8. It doesn't make sense in the desktop nearly as much, but the proper windows 8 apps are really nice. My gf has noticed that I rarely use the trackpad on my touch ultrabook now and got so jealous she just bought a touch Win8 machine.

The other thing about Windows 8 is it feels like it's part of the internet and totally connected. If you use all Apple cloud stuff, you likely won't get that full experience on Windows 8 of course, but you can get the skydrive app for your iPhone or iPad. Anyway ... not trying to convert you because I am sure you have your reasons for choosing Apple, but I hope you enjoy the 920. The software is not perfect yet, but I firmly believe it will be fixed quickly.

 

[ynight]

Windows 8 is OK on non-touch hardware, but it really only makes sense with touch hardware. The magic isn't in the start screen, although that is nice with touch, it's really in the browser. It's the simple things like 'swipe down from the top to close an app' and 'swipe to right or left go back or forward'. It's really quick to navigate. Also the ability to have two apps side-by-side in the touch environment is very nice. I can't tell you how many times someone starts a facebook chat with me and I am busy browsing the web ... you can pin the chat to the side (take a quarter of the screen) and do both at once.

Anyway ... You may like windows 8 on your Mac, but it's really a 2nd class experience without touch. Also, touch on an ultrabook makes total sense once you use Windows 8. It doesn't make sense in the desktop nearly as much, but the proper windows 8 apps are really nice. My gf has noticed that I rarely use the trackpad on my touch ultrabook now and got so jealous she just bought a touch Win8 machine.

The other thing about Windows 8 is it feels like it's part of the internet and totally connected. If you use all Apple cloud stuff, you likely won't get that full experience on Windows 8 of course, but you can get the skydrive app for your iPhone or iPad. Anyway ... not trying to convert you because I am sure you have your reasons for choosing Apple, but I hope you enjoy the 920. The software is not perfect yet, but I firmly believe it will be fixed quickly.

well I actually feel the other way. If you ever tried win8 on an over 5 year old machine you'll know there;s no second class here. It truly do wonders to your pc..so yea with touch it's more than exellenct while without touch, i'll only take the more than part off.

 

[dguilloryjr]

dropped the iPhone 4 for a Lumina 920.......

so far so good... hardest thing so far has just been finding apps... Other that that the Lumina Rocks....

I wanted something different... I mean OK apple can do nothing more with the ipod. I mean really they turned a ipod into a phone then the phone to a tablet so people could read books then they put a camera on the ipad then they make a ipad MINI... for the soul reason to compete with the windows 8 tablet.... they should have just done the full blown apply tv with Samsung another TV manufacturer. so I just wanted something different... don't get me wrong apples done a great job and they have Microsoft playing catchup but there just nothing else you can do with the ipod/iphone...

aside from the lack of apps and trying to find apps that compare to the iphone apps, lumina and Microsoft AWESOME JOB.

 

[ynight]

dropped the iPhone 4 for a Lumina 920.......

so far so good... hardest thing so far has just been finding apps... Other that that the Lumina Rocks....

I wanted something different... I mean OK apple can do nothing more with the ipod. I mean really they turned a ipod into a phone then the phone to a tablet so people could read books then they put a camera on the ipad then they make a ipad MINI... for the soul reason to compete with the windows 8 tablet.... they should have just done the full blown apply tv with Samsung another TV manufacturer. so I just wanted something different... don't get me wrong apples done a great job and they have Microsoft playing catchup but there just nothing else you can do with the ipod/iphone...

aside from the lack of apps and trying to find apps that compare to the iphone apps, lumina and Microsoft AWESOME JOB.

I have a suggestion what do wonders to people in your shoes. Use your web browser more^^ A lot apps are still sub perform the web page and IE10 really rocks..So, try it out

 

[Duvi]

Welcome to WPC and congrats on your 920!

 

[mrtapout1]

I switched from my beloved Android to this, for a fresh new experience. I love the windows platform now, and surprisingly, I have more apps on this than I did my android G. Note. This phone is just so cool for so many reasons

 

[JamesTBurns]

Yeah I think I have over 100 apps on my Lumia so far, so its not that bad. If you want to see what an app ghetto looks like, go to the Blackberry App World. Took my Lumia to work today and everyone I showed was pretty much blown away immediately, just from the initial look and feel of the device. Here is my app wish list so far:

A better Twitter client (that lets you see whole conversations)
Flipboard
an official Google Plus app
Google drive
official Dropbox
official starbucks
Chrome browser
Priceline
Google Music App (really important)
an app like Drafts for iOS
a Nokia branded movie editing app like iMovie would be great


other than that I'm good, and am not feeling any iPhone withdrawal whatsoever!

 

[EliteMikes]

James, you have a lot of Google stuff on your list. I HIGHLY doubt you'll see any of those anytime soon. If I had to guess which would come first it would be Google Plus. Sadly, for windows phone to work right now, you need to go all in the MS ecosystem.

 

[ejwan]

I had iphone withdrawal issues for about 2 weeks after getting my 920, now I don't worry about it. I had iphones the last 5 years. I was getting bored with the bland. The lumina has some issues, but so did the iphone when it first came out. Nokia seems like it is responsive to fixing issues, so we will see. The apps seem to be catching up. I only miss 3 that were on the iphone, but the weren't deal breakers.

I felt like a pioneer when I got the first iphones, now I'm trying something new again. I'll give it a year, if things don't develop well for Nokia and Win8 I'll dump them and get that nexus. 4.

 

[karmamule]

One minor fyi, the official twitter client lets you see conversations. If you touch a tweet that is part of a chain, there is a 'replies to' link underneath that will show you the conversation.

 

[JamesTBurns]

James, you have a lot of Google stuff on your list. I HIGHLY doubt you'll see any of those anytime soon. If I had to guess which would come first it would be Google Plus. Sadly, for windows phone to work right now, you need to go all in the MS ecosystem.

Which I don't have a problem with, but its annoying that I can't even make a web app for Google Music that I can pin as a tile to the home screen.

 

[emirozmen]

I did the opposite lol.
Switched from Lumia to iPhone 5. I am very pleased, however, I should tell that I live in the Apple Ecosystem... Macs, iPads, iPods and Apple TVs