Switching from Android to WP8 part 2: 4 days in

[MarcMaiden]

Hi all,

I'm back to share more experiences with WP8 (HTC 8x) after switching from using Nexus devices.

So any issues I had over the past 4 days in terms of bugs have been resolved - things like having Skydrive upload photos to Facebook at the same time as my trying to share photos were causing issues but were quickly resolved.

One thing I also noticed is that developers who take the time to develop rich applications - not this simple ports - create extremely well designed and beautiful apps. These apps include:
FidMe
MetroTalk
MetroTube
Rowi
WPGram
Photofunia

As a software engineer myself, I can see developing for windows phone can be a lot of fun - especially if you love programming - WP8 SDK lets you be flexible with design - whether you want to develop metro style apps or static page style applications.


This brings me to the only thing that concerns me about the platform - It's long term support. I love WP8, I love the designs of the available devices, and I love what Microsoft has been doing. At this point, the race for #3 isn't over yet - Blackberry 10 is right around the corner. I'm rooting for Windows here, but it's super hard to see what will happen. If Blackberry flops - then we could be in good shape.

Lets take a look at history:
Back in 2009, 2 years after launch, Android held about %5 of the market share. while iPhone held 25-30. This is when the Original Droid came out - the first real device (and software) to compete with the iPhone.

Microsoft is about at the same place Android was during it's inception - we are 2 years into launch and at about 5% market share. as well. I think with frequent updates - Microsoft can continue to rise in market share which will of course, in turn, bring more developers over. I never understood why developers were so stingy about investing in lower markets - A good engineer can port their applications cross platform no problem - I wouldn't even consider myself a "good" engineer but I know there are plenty of tools to help you do that - most of them are Microsoft supplied.

anyways I am optimistic about this platform and plan to invest long term into it. - I'll give you guys another scenario:

If you followed my original post where I was asking about WP8 before coming over, you would know that my girlfriend was also planning on coming to try WP8 - I had convinced her to trade her iPhone 4s for a Galaxy SII about a year and a half ago and she liked it a lot but missed some of the features and stability of iOS. She saw me interested in WP8 and decided she wanted to compare side by side iPhone 5 and WP8 devices. We left the store today empty handed - why? Because she didn't find one device that met ALL her wants and needs - The reason why iPhone is a contender here is because she knows the platform is mature, and is the "safe" choice. She is torn because she loves the design, feel, and performance of WP8 but some of the apps like Instagram being missing keeps her from jumping ship with out thinking.

While my girlfriend might have a little more knowledge than the average consumer, I feel like this is a reflection of a up and coming trend. People will start seeing holes in platforms - the holes are Microsofts (or anyone one elses) chance to rise.

anyways that ends my rants and opinions.
-------------------------------------

On the technical and performance level:
Internet Explorer preforms so well - I love it

Bing maps and search is growing on me - I'm getting better and searching and getting things I want

The integrated deal finder is amazing - I just moved into a new town and searched for gyms - I found one and it had a deal listed for $25 off/mo which made the gym membership a steal - I saved it to my wallet from the maps app and redeemed it today.

All in all I am loving the phone and OS. - I hope Microsoft comes out with more features soon - I'm really curious to see whats in store. I'd also like to see some of the promised apps from launch to show up


EDIT: I thought of a good way for Microsoft to entice developers: Microsoft would pay developers from part of WP8 sales based on how quickly their app gets installed. For example - if Instagram came to windows phone, Microsoft could pay them a certain amount of money from sales based on how soon the app was installed on a recently activated device.

 

[Blkacesvf41]

I share your optimism and enjoyment of this platform. I came over from BlackBerry and so far I'm liking it a lot. I also just bought a new Windows 8 PC and love how the pictures I take with my 822 are synced to SkyDrive and can see them there right away. I think that once the app market grows larger and better, that's when WP8 will take off.

 

[courtjames]

I myself am pondering this move as well. I had a Nokia Lumia 710 for T-mobile for the better part of last year. I really enjoyed WP 7.5, but then Android 4.0 came out and I switched back. Now that I've tried Jellybean on a Nexus device, I've decided that from now on I'll only buy Nexus devices for Android. That being said, the nexus got boring so Im considering a move to WP8. Im not a heavy app user, but I am a heavy Google user, so that makes me a little hesitant because during my time before, there were no really good alternatives for Google apps.

 

[Bilal_Fakih]

If you are in the US, UK or Canada, please download Nokia drive and share with us if u like it or not

Besides, im glad u like the OS but yes there are holes in the OS and im really hoping for MS to get these updates to improve the phone and also for developers to provide us with there great apps that work better or at least as good as iOS or Andriod

Edit: I thought Nokia released Nokia maps but i was wrong it was Nokia drive and Nokia drive doesnt support places if im not wrong!

 

[sharpinator]

we can't get nokia maps. Do you mean nokia drive?

 

[Bilal_Fakih]

I myself am pondering this move as well. I had a Nokia Lumia 710 for T-mobile for the better part of last year. I really enjoyed WP 7.5, but then Android 4.0 came out and I switched back. Now that I've tried Jellybean on a Nexus device, I've decided that from now on I'll only buy Nexus devices for Android. That being said, the nexus got boring so Im considering a move to WP8. Im not a heavy app user, but I am a heavy Google user, so that makes me a little hesitant because during my time before, there were no really good alternatives for Google apps.

No apps for google in here. Google decided not to make a single app..the only app from google is google search so thats it. Im not sure that you are aware of the war between the two famous companies. Google wants it so its not our choice. So if your a google user then i dont think u can jump to WP8! sorry!!

 

[Bilal_Fakih]

we can't get nokia maps. Do you mean nokia drive?

Yep! i got it wrong and was confused! thanx buddy

 

[MarcMaiden]

Yeah Google really bothers me - I love everything Google, I really do - but fact that they refuse to acknowledge WP8 as a viable platform is pretty arrogant - if they had Google apps on Symbian, there is no reason not to have them on WP8. I am starting to make the switch from Google services to MS - Gmail to outlook, Google to Bing. It's hard because I used them for over 7 years. I really like the ease of outlook.com.

Would I consider going back to Android? Sure - if Google tightens up OEM and Carrier control + OEMS start putting out better software design. I like HTC's design, but Sense is not designed to look good with their devices - if they did something like they did with the 8x where the design screams the platform, both software and hardware - I might consider going back to Android. It's heart breaking, it really is because I love Android but it's gotten a little to stale for me. I am still using my Galaxy Nexus for development - each time I pick it up, I some what miss it, but when I look at my 8x and compare side by side and start to feel better about my choices. I think WP is not old enough for people to feel as attached - same goes for the MS ecosystem. It's so new that people haven't had a chance to fall in love like they did with Apple or Google.