Strongly considering leaving WP.
Background:
- I'm using WP10 on a Nokia 1520, and have been since the developer preview. I also have a Nokia 2520.
- This has been a growing urge now for about a year or so, and started before WP10 came out.
- I've been loyal to the brand for almost a decade now:
Phrozt mobiles showcase on Mowned
- I work as a developer/partner on a MS product, and I have been programming .Net for over 10 years now (my entire professional career).
- I've practically been a salesperson for the windows platform all my life.
- I upgraded from win7 to win10 about half a year ago.
- I would literally have to learn a new OS, because I've never owned an Android phone (never going to apple).
- I'm 32 (if any time references come up).
This is going to be a long rant post, but there are several reasons for this. I'm a fiercely loyal person, and I like to stick with people/companies for a long time, once that loyalty is awarded. If you look at my phone history, you'll see that I made it all the way from the windows mobile days, and those were some trying times! Because of this, it takes a lot more than a few issues to send me packing, and I'm usually willing to work through those issues or simply do without. Hell, I even buy into company kool aid for the most part, and don't mind them leading me down the path of madness with a carrot on a stick. That being said, I feel like there are too many issues building up, and the carrot is looking less and less appealing. I'm writing this because the carrot honestly doesn't look worth it anymore, and I don't know if that's just me, or if I'm missing something that you all can fill me in on. Maybe some of my current issues w/the phone are my own fault and you guys can help me out. Ok, enough intro, onto the issues!
Phone Offerings:
1) For the first time in 8 years, I have not upgraded every 2 years. You'll notice from my mowned history, I upgrade phones every 2 years on contract. (200)7 + 8 = 15. We're now in (20)16. That's because there is
nothing to upgrade to. I bought the flagship (1520) on its release day, which immediately eliminates any "budget" phones, and the new "flagships" are not appealing to me at all. There is no 6" option, and nothing about the 950 line excites me at all. This is, of course, at a time when Android continues to have a PLETHORA of options in all different types of configurations in my specified size.
2) The surface got pushed back (again). I'm dealing with multiple issues on a daily basis with my 1520, and the oasis that might bring some refreshment just got pushed back to another hill in the distance. Even then, I'm having a hard time fooling myself into believing they're going to have a 6" option, or even something competitive to what Android will have at that point.
3) ATT and I have had many issues over the years, but I've been shackled to them forever, because they were the only carrier to offer windows phones that I could get at great prices. I bought my Tilt2 cheap. I bought my Titan for 1 penny. I bought my 1520 and 2520 (plus keyboard) *on release day* BOTH for $226 including tax. I've been able to put some masterful deals together on AT&T, so despite being behind the times in billing offerings, and coverage, and all other issues I've had, I've been able to get the phone system I want at awesome prices for years. With nothing to really offer, and this silly monthly payment thing... perhaps I can finally move on from ATT as well.
The OS:As I stated in my background, I've pretty much been a salesman of WP since I started using it as windows mobile. You give me a point on Android, and I'll counter it w/a better point on WP! Well, all my talking points are up, and it's not because Android got better, it's because MS killed the advantages themselves. Et tu, Brute?
1) I literally deal with app freezes and the phone itself locking up/crashing multiple times on a daily basis. It has probably been months since I've gone a day w/out having to restart my phone. The stability of my awesome 1520 went completely out the window with WP10. This was one of the top points I could tout over Androids.
2) Interconnectivity is pretty much a wash now. One of the coolest things I could do on my Titan was load all of my social accounts in one spot and have all of them consolidated and accessible from pretty much any social app that accessed those accounts. One of the best ideas I've ever seen! Well, slowly, fewer apps started recognizing these accounts, and now w/win10, even the contacts list doesn't take all of them into account. This, along with issues like not being able to link/separate emails onto different tiles (I would have work email on one tile, then both my gmails one other tile) are a clear step back.
3) Still lack of apps, and losing essential apps. NO HERE DRIVE for WP10???!?@!??@!?@ Are you freaking kidding me!?!??!?? Look.. I'm not a multifilter instagram/periscope/every social app ever type of diva, nor do I play a lot of games, nor do I need 20 different review apps... but when I'm forced to go back 3-4 years in
basic navigation technology.... what in the literal !@(*?? As part of my sales pitch, I was throwing around the, "yeah, who cares if they don't have all the apps.. they have the main ones, and that's all that matters. And the maps are WAY better!" Well.. now they don't. Of course, perhaps this is because MS dropped support of Silverlight (see my rant on MS as a company not having it's act together below).... which is probably one of the biggest red flags to me in terms of the phone OS's longevity. Yes, I realize there are still ways to develop for WP, but when the basis of that language's support is dropped... that's a HUGE red flag.
4) Exclusivity is gone. Again, one of my sales points was the exclusivity of some apps. We have so few, compared to other platforms, but there were some knockout punches there. The full suite of office apps for free is pretty nice, but that's about it, and most of those can be replicated in a browser. Xbox glass, not exclusive. One drive, not exclusive. Nokia drive, nonexistent! Is there anything even worth mentioning that is exclusive to WP anymore?
5) The Edge browser is a massive disappointment. Can't swipe to go back. Bug where sometimes links aren't clickable, less responsive... so many issues with it compared to IE. I've been having to go back to old browsing apps, simply because of WP10's NEW browsing app. That's a step backward.
6) WP10 itself seems like a step backward. More resources used, less stability (as mentioned earlier), apps take longer to load, some apps aren't even compatible anymore, wifi gives up and forces me to restart, so many more things force me to restart now.... and for what I use it for, it offers NO real advantages, other than a few display gimmicks that look neat... which you should probably turn off if you want your phone to run better.....
Company aspects:
1) I HATE HATE HATE what they did to Nokia. They bought an iconic company and promised to keep it's integrity. Now, a mere 2 years after the acquisition, less than 20% of Nokia staff retained their jobs, the Nokia brand is completely gone, and even the Nokia phone line (Lumia) has been glossed over with MS's brand (surface). Worst of all, MS blames all of their poor numbers on the purchase/Nokia itself. I've been supporting MS for a long time, but this is probably one of the most disgusting things I've seen the company do, and it involves this very topic.
2) Windows 10 itself seems to be going through a lot of the same woes that WP10 is as well. More restrictions, less stability, more hoops to jump through, and it truly seems as though their product lines are completely different companies that simply do not speak to each other - from the OS, to xbox, to development tools, to MS products for the OS... some of the things I've had to go through to get MS products working on an MS platform truly seem like the trials I had to go through to get warez multiplayer games working back when I was a kid. Heck, my Win10 upgrade didn't even recognize my phone the first time I plugged it in.... what the heck? Now, there's no way in hell I'm going to the apple platform, but I'm trying to illustrate that I feel Windows 10 overall is several steps backwards, much like WP10.
Yes, this was a long, ranty post, and part of it was definitely some much needed catharsicism. Another part is because I sincerely hope that I'm missing something and/or am uneducated on how to fix my woes, and that someone can help. I've been a fiercely defensive WP ****** for quite a long time now, tossing my hand up to any and all Androids because of the clear superiority of WP, but I honestly do not feel I can even remotely argue the case anymore. I am literally filled with sadness, looking at my favorite phone, knowing that it is now crap, and it wasn't even because the competition got better, it's because the company that created it crippled it, and offers no foreseeable path of redemption. In all likelihood, I'll probably hold out for another frickin year so I can be disappointed by what the new surface phones will have to offer, but on the other hand, I'm looking more and more at what is available on android...