Switching platforms? | Thinking of leaving?...comment here!

[Christopher Lindsay]

Stopping by again. So far, day one with the Google Pixel. My impressions thus far is that this is overall better than my 950. It's fast, like extremely fast. I never even thought my 950 was slow until I got this phone. I don't think I've ever seen a phone this fast in my life. Clearly there's a lot of optimized power under the hood. I'm not really an app guy. I'm big on getting things done. All of the Microsoft apps are on Android and to be honest they are indeed better in a lot of ways. Pages I had issues loading on edge load perfect on the Bing app. Issues I had with OneDrive no longer exist. Even this Tapatalk app is way better now. So far the biggest drawback I see is the keyboard. The virtual keyboard on my 950 was a lot better. Microsoft needs to bring their keyboard over because I would use it for sure. I'm still learning the OS but thus far I like it. Being able to run two apps at the same time in multitask is amazing. I've replaced the main stock Google apps with Microsoft apps and to be honest I think if Microsoft just put more attention into Windows phones it could be the smooth experience I'm getting from Android at the moment. This is only day one so there's still more setting up to do. I'll follow up later with more info.

 

[Joe920]

I'm still learning the OS but thus far I like it.

I've been eying a 128GB Pixel XL myself, but that price, dear lord!

Anyway, if you spot any notable OS difference please add them in this OS thread:
http://forums.windowscentral.com/ge...-against-ios-android-os-so-apart-app-gap.html

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

I've been eying a 128GB Pixel XL myself, but that price, dear lord!

Anyway, if you spot any notable OS difference please add them in this OS thread:
http://forums.windowscentral.com/ge...-against-ios-android-os-so-apart-app-gap.html

Yeah the price is a lot. I have the 128gb regular sized one. I just couldn't put up with my 950 anymore. It got so bad that it stopped adjusting brightness and it would crash on the start screen. It was clearly beyond help. I ended up getting a new 950 from at&t because I've only had the phone for a couple months and it's still under warranty, but the headaches of it pretty much guaranteed I was done with Windows phone so I'm just going to sell my new one to recoup some of the lose of the Pixel price.

 

[slivy58]

Stopping by again. So far, day one with the Google Pixel. My impressions thus far is that this is overall better than my 950. It's fast, like extremely fast. I never even thought my 950 was slow until I got this phone. I don't think I've ever seen a phone this fast in my life. Clearly there's a lot of optimized power under the hood. I'm not really an app guy. I'm big on getting things done. All of the Microsoft apps are on Android and to be honest they are indeed better in a lot of ways. Pages I had issues loading on edge load perfect on the Bing app. Issues I had with OneDrive no longer exist. Even this Tapatalk app is way better now. So far the biggest drawback I see is the keyboard. The virtual keyboard on my 950 was a lot better. Microsoft needs to bring their keyboard over because I would use it for sure. I'm still learning the OS but thus far I like it. Being able to run two apps at the same time in multitask is amazing. I've replaced the main stock Google apps with Microsoft apps and to be honest I think if Microsoft just put more attention into Windows phones it could be the smooth experience I'm getting from Android at the moment. This is only day one so there's still more setting up to do. I'll follow up later with more info.

Congrats on your new purchase!

My daughter-in-law just acquired the Pixel (not XL) and she really likes it, and from what little I've seen me too although the lack of OIS and expandable memory kills the notion of me owing one. We were toying around over the holidays seeing who's was faster (Pixel vs GS7) and I was having a tough time keeping up LOL, snappy little bugger for sure.

There's lots of keyboards available for download in the app store that are very customizable so maybe you can find one that'll get you closer to the WM experience. Having the majority of Windows apps is a bonus for sure, issues with any app has been far and few between for me on Android plus many are so much more robust than their WM counterpart. The biggest thing I'm finding and loving with Android over W10M, the overall stability, you know just like the old W8.1 days :smile:

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

Congrats on your new purchase!

My daughter-in-law just acquired the Pixel (not XL) and she really likes it, and from what little I've seen me too although the lack of OIS and expandable memory kills the notion of me owing one. We were toying around over the holidays seeing who's was faster (Pixel vs GS7) and I was having a tough time keeping up LOL, snappy little bugger for sure.

There's lots of keyboards available for download in the app store that are very customizable so maybe you can find one that'll get you closer to the WM experience. Having the majority of Windows apps is a bonus for sure, issues with any app has been far and few between for me on Android plus many are so much more robust than their WM counterpart. The biggest thing I'm finding and loving with Android over W10M, the overall stability, you know just like the old W8.1 days

8.1 won me over to Windows phone for sure. I was legit happy with it. 10 introduced a lot of good features but it's so unstable. I feel like I've deprived myself not switching over sooner because the experience of fast solid OS with legit app support is enough to make a difference. I haven't snapped enough pictures to say anything about picture quality but I can say already that the camera app is not as flexible. As far as OIS vs EIS, I have to play with it a bit more first.

 

[slivy58]

8.1 won me over to Windows phone for sure. I was legit happy with it. 10 introduced a lot of good features but it's so unstable. I feel like I've deprived myself not switching over sooner because the experience of fast solid OS with legit app support is enough to make a difference. I haven't snapped enough pictures to say anything about picture quality but I can say already that the camera app is not as flexible. As far as OIS vs EIS, I have to play with it a bit more first.

Yep 8.1 was great but was starting to lack for me. Wasn't impressed with MS decision to change direction because it stunted the platforms growth in many ways especially where the user was concerned. Sure Developer and Insider programs allowed those who chose too, an avenue to keep abreast with the latest progressions yet, IMO that was far from fun-n-games for many. Today WM still leaves a lot to be desired especially on the app front, apps weren’t that much of a concern for me back in the 8.1 days but now it is. With my recent WP purchase being pretty dismal any flame we had left for the platform has been snuffed out, hopefully 2017 can rekindle that flame yet highly doubting that.

I’m sure the picture quality will be excellent if what I’ve seen so far is any indication, you’ll just have to remember “keeping steady” is your friend LOL. When I spend top dollar we expect our "must have" list to be fulfilled which includes OIS and expandable storage. On the other hand, if we purchase something like the L650, which we did, it’s to be expected many of those “must haves” won’t be present so our expectations are adjusted accordingly.

 

[Werentuckl]

I want to like the phone I'm driving, an Alcatel One Touch Idol 3 (5.5)... And I almost do. I like the hardware very much. Strong SoC, nice screen, excellent sound, decent camera (although I haven't had time to push it toward any limits). Adoptable storage is a plus since I'm using a quality SD card and the Bus speed is very good.

But the software is letting me down.

• android.hardware.camera2 was never properly implemented so I'm cut out from taking DNG captures
• SensorCore was never properly implemented so I don't have a step counter
• I don't seem to be getting Security updates (stuck on July 1, 2016 security patch level) and don't know if that is the OEM or the carrier intruding and it really shouldn't matter which it is, I need the peace of mind given the notoriously bad level of security (and no, I'm not talking about the leaks that come from sideloading unverified apps - read the tech news; I'm talking about how eminently hackable the system is by design philosophy)
• The labyrinthian device navigation is ridiculous
• Notifications require so much tweaking and you still only get almost what you want, not exactly what you want
• The wild west rodeo of app behaviors make it difficult to have a smooth and consistent UX
• The overbearing Google insistence that any app they have automatically makes any other service that does the same thing (often in better ways) a second class citizen that can't function as fully
• The obsessive compulsory inclusion of Google's intrusiveness: I don't really even want a Google account, but I must have one and I am loath to include other accounts on the device and use them fully since I don't trust the segregation - anything I put on there will be examined, analyzed and packaged as market research (some will say you can control this in large measure, but the methods to do so are tedious and exhausting)

Sure there are Apps, Apps and more Apps. So what? I don't give a flying monkey **** for 99.9999999999% of the sesquimillion wastes of coding that float around in the soup bowl and keep you from finding the tasty bits. Having so many apps ceases to become a valid positive when any good ones are buried under so much unusable dross and you spend orders of magnitude more time than a task takes to find the tool to accomplish it.

I have a feeling I'll be back on my Lumia 650 in a matter of days. It's not that I don't know how to setup and alter the device, it's that in the long run the results are never what I want, only what I have to settle for.

This, a hundred times over. Thank you my friend. *mic drop*

Bows out.

-- W

 

[libra89]

The 650 is definitely a once a day charge. I'm dealing with it and still hoping to see Cerulean come over the horizon.

Sounds like a good plan to me!

I noticed something interesting that I find myself doing, which kind of makes me want to switch phones again (out of what I have, not to get a new one lol). Someone asked me if I could exchange numbers with them last week, and I mentioned that they can direct message me (we exchanged social medias). I have hesitation with wanting to add any numbers because I'm not sure what account it will appear on my Android phone.

Since the MS Exchange thing broke and was fixed, my account for the same email appears as Exchange, Corporate and Outlook. Yep, three different entries for the same email address. I remember just saving a test one once and I couldn't find the contact in Outlook people.

Speaking of people, I also stopped replying to emails with my phone because it sends double replies. I could use another email client but the built in goes with the phone theme. I really love this phone but this is an example of quirks that make me hop over to the next. It's annoying but not enough for me to dismiss the phone. It just makes me miss how well things work on iOS in this respect. Probably going to switch.

 

[Werentuckl]

Well, I definitely did no such thing last week. Or I would have said you sly girl youuuu!

-- W

 

[digitaldd]

For those so inclined this may prove interesting reading. Seems the OnePlus 3T with Nougat is thought to be on par with the Pixel phones.

With Nougat update, OnePlus 3T finally feels like a complete thought | Android Central

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

After a week of having the Google pixel I'm not sure I'm going to keep it. I've officially been team Android, iPhone and Windows phone. Here's how I view them. IPhone is the worst of the bunch, I actually was unaware that Siri on iPhone was so far behind, not having features like automatic package and flight tracking. It's still tied to iTunes and there's a lot of basic features missing. I think of all the mobile os I've used Android is the best but really this is only because of stability. Other than multitasking android so far doesn't do anything my Windows phone didn't already do. It just does it with better apps and much more stability fine tuning. Windows phone may not be popular but overall I still think it could be the best with some touch ups. Cortana is much better than Siri and Google assistant. It can't maintain the topic like Google assistant but it is still the only virtual assistant that does people based reminders. You can type to it and it reads text messages (something android can't seem to do). The default keyboard is much worse in both iOS and Android 7.1. It can be improved but overall I found no option that matched feature for feature to Windows phone. Making the switch I expected the difference between Windows phone and others to be huge but now I see although it's rough around the edges and has little app support the os itself is better a lot of times. On iPhone i open iTunes and play music. On android I can open Google music and play music but on Windows phone I can pin my favorite albums or artist to my home screen. Same for many apps. Times just seem to work better than icons. So far I'm feeling like I may end up back with the same headaches I started with because I still think I can get more work done with those headaches.

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

I also hate that Google assistant doesn't give feedback confirmation. It's the most annoying thing.

 

[libra89]

After a week of having the Google pixel I'm not sure I'm going to keep it. I've officially been team Android, iPhone and Windows phone. Here's how I view them. IPhone is the worst of the bunch, I actually was unaware that Siri on iPhone was so far behind, not having features like automatic package and flight tracking. It's still tied to iTunes and there's a lot of basic features missing. I think of all the mobile os I've used Android is the best but really this is only because of stability. Other than multitasking android so far doesn't do anything my Windows phone didn't already do. It just does it with better apps and much more stability fine tuning. Windows phone may not be popular but overall I still think it could be the best with some touch ups. Cortana is much better than Siri and Google assistant. It can't maintain the topic like Google assistant but it is still the only virtual assistant that does people based reminders. You can type to it and it reads text messages (something android can't seem to do). The default keyboard is much worse in both iOS and Android 7.1. It can be improved but overall I found no option that matched feature for feature to Windows phone. Making the switch I expected the difference between Windows phone and others to be huge but now I see although it's rough around the edges and has little app support the os itself is better a lot of times. On iPhone i open iTunes and play music. On android I can open Google music and play music but on Windows phone I can pin my favorite albums or artist to my home screen. Same for many apps. Times just seem to work better than icons. So far I'm feeling like I may end up back with the same headaches I started with because I still think I can get more work done with those headaches.

Hmm, sounds like you might be at a crossroads. What I would suggest is to make a list comparing all of them to help you not only decide what are your top things to have in a phone, but also compromises that you could live with. You don't seem like a chronic switcher kind of guy.

After trying a lot of phones last year (no regrets there), I have learned a lot about myself when it comes to phones. For me, I realized that there are three things that will make or break ANY phone for me, no matter the OS. The rest of the things that annoy me, aren't as high ranking as the top three but work as general considerations.

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

Yeah I'm not a switcher at all. I went from iPhone 4S to the 1520 and then 950. The 950 is the first phone I've ever gotten so fed up with that I left a platform after using it only for a few months. I think you're idea is a good one. I don't need a ton of features but I use the virtual assistant a lot because I do not like to be distracted while driving and I may want to text or send an email while driving so I do a lot of hands free dictation while driving. Another limitation of Google assistant is she does not seem to be grammatically accurate when sending any type of message at all. It's all complete run on sentences with no punctuation at all. It's really half baked.

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

Here's my overall review of my Pixel experience. I'll probably return it before the weekend is over and go back to my 950. I just bought my first Android phone. Here's what I think. - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

 

[RumoredNow]

I threw my support into your thread.

 

[HeyCori]

Installed Cortana on my OneTouch Idol 3. While OK Google is fully functional, and likely even better since I can use it hands free, it doesn't integrate well with my current Microsoft services (or it does and I can't figure out how). Much easier to install Cortana then to change my entire ecosystem.

 

[RumoredNow]

Installed Cortana on my OneTouch Idol 3

I tried that, but found Cortana pretty gimped on Android.

Speaking of Idol 3, I'm now using mine for VR. Have you tried it?

I picked up this headset over at Shop AC. There are many similar ones on Amazon as well. The Idol 3 does fairly well with it. Enough RAM, screen and processing/GPU power to make it enjoyable...

IMHO, this is where Android shines anyway - consumption.

 

[HeyCori]

I tried that, but found Cortana pretty gimped on Android.

Speaking of Idol 3, I'm now using mine for VR. Have you tried it?

I picked up this headset over at Shop AC. There are many similar ones on Amazon as well. The Idol 3 does fairly well with it. Enough RAM, screen and processing/GPU power to make it enjoyable...

IMHO, this is where Android shines anyway - consumption.

I did buy a VR headset but I returned it after like two days. I actually thought it worked very well but quickly came to realize that VR wasn't for me. At least not yet. I'm keeping an eye out for the upcoming headsets announced at CES. I suspect they're going to be more like Vive and less like Cardboard.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I did buy a VR headset but I returned it after like two days. I actually thought it worked very well but quickly came to realize that VR wasn't for me. At least not yet. I'm keeping an eye out for the upcoming headsets announced at CES. I suspect they're going to be more like Vive and less like Cardboard.

What are you looking for in future VR that will make it more appealing to you?

I'm curious, since I don't own any VR yet either.