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

[drufranco]

I too just made the switch from a Microsoft Lumia 735 to Samsung Galaxy Edge 7 about 2 weeks ago.
I really do like the bigger screen and wish Verizion had something this size in a Windows Phone. If they ever do play nice with Microsoft and get something like the new HP Elite x3 or the Surface phone or whatever Microsoft calls it I will make the jump back.
But for now I am making due with Android but missing the look and feel of Windows Phone 10.

 

[garak0410]

Wow..... No offense, but you actually messed up your Android phone only after a day??? I guess Android is really not for you. Just saying.....

I used to have this opinion of Android by thinking it was "lagdroid" but my Note 5, especially on 6.01, has been nothing of the short.

 

[libra89]

Even though I am enjoying iOS, I miss Windows Phone/Mobile. If only MLB At Bat app would come back for me (not just for me, but I mean in general) :/ Also I wish that the 550 was more capable than it actually is, camera wise because the size of the phone was great.

The rest of this post is going to sound silly, but it is what it is.

I miss the Windows Phone uniqueness, even though I am on iOS. I don't mean the live tiles, but I guess that the phone is unique. I realized that while watching this video the other day:

Or if you don't want to watch the video, here's the article: Why I switched to the iPhone.... (and back again) - Android Authority

It's not his reasons exactly, but what got me is what he said. He said something similar to, "With Android, I know it's mine because of the inside and outside customization. With the iPhone, your case is really the only way of knowing it's yours." That is so true about the iPhone. With Windows Phone, especially with the colorful backs, you have a mix. You can have a case if you want, but there's customization there, and also it's possible for you and someone else to have the same phone but it doesn't need a case to stand out. Me and my dad used to have the same phone, and we never got them mixed up because I have a green back and he has the T-Mobile white.

I enjoy how it just works the way it should. I'm aware that I sound crazy, but Android offers more of an opportunity to make your device personal. Before settling on iOS, I had a 5x, and it was nice but a bit too big for me. 4-4.7 is the perfect size for me. Too bad the 735 left nothing to be desired at work, really liked it and the green one a lot :/ The smaller phone options that aren't trash are very few, even in the world of Android. It seems like Sony is the only one to make it happen, but I wish that it had WiFi calling though.

Okay, this post has become a ramble, so I'll tl;dr (too long;didn't read) it in a few sentences.
-I miss Windows Phone/Mobile and it's uniqueness even though I am on iOS
-Choosing to have iOS means that your case is really the best kind of customization one can do
-WP with different color backs, makes for a different story
-Android offers more on the exterior and interior
-I enjoy the small phone factor (4-4.7") and that ultimately sways my experience (550 lacks in camera for me, 735 sucks at work, and Sony seems to be the only Android maker who understands that small shouldn't mean bad).

I was so sure about the SE, but now I'm having second thoughts based on my feelings. Everyone is so tired of me changing phones, even I am tired of changing phones, LOL. I'm pretty sure if I buy the SE, that sticks a nail in the WM and Android coffin because I don't have the funds to keep changing the way I have. (Again, return policies are everything but still).

Edit: Aside from what I said, it really doesn't get any better for smaller phones than the SE with great specs. I'll be silly to pass that up for my Windows Mobile lust and for the sake of customization.

 

[garak0410]

I actually sold my lumia 1520 (used for 2 years) to get a galaxy note 4. Reason is because the apps on android work way better and have more features then windows phone. (For instance there is an app called Kakao talk which lets you do voice, video and text, where the windows phone only lets you text.) There is too much of an app gap. I do have a lumia 640 which I bought for $29.99 at best buy where the deal is still going on. Windows 10 has a lot of bugs fixed from previous versions, but it needs to be able to compete with Android and IOS in terms of App variety, and also another thing, it should be a little more open to google drive and docs.

Agreed, Note 5 myself. Also got a 640 to keep up with Windows 10 insider. I still have my ICON as well but it no longer receives insider builds. But it just feels lonely anymore in the Windows Phone world. Not that Facebook is everything, but the beta app at least needs to get "reactions." It is falling behind now. I remember back last year when Microsoft announced "official" Facebook and Instragram apps. Then the story changed on that and now they meant it was to just be universal apps. And here we are 6+ months later and nothing. So so tough being a Windows Phone fan.

 

[garak0410]

I too just made the switch from a Microsoft Lumia 735 to Samsung Galaxy Edge 7 about 2 weeks ago.
I really do like the bigger screen and wish Verizion had something this size in a Windows Phone. If they ever do play nice with Microsoft and get something like the new HP Elite x3 or the Surface phone or whatever Microsoft calls it I will make the jump back.
But for now I am making due with Android but missing the look and feel of Windows Phone 10.

Same here...if we can get the apps we truly need in the future, I'll switch back. Though I have to admit, I am liking Android Wear better than the Band 2, even if the Band 2 was much improved. Band 2 does Health better but Android Wear is much more balanced.

 

[tgp]

Everyone is so tired of me changing phones

LOL, are you a mobile street evangelist or what? :excited: My friends and I have no idea what smartphone the others have based on what we talk about. If we do know, it is because we actually see each others' phones every so often.

Most people have zero interest in what kind of phone they have. I'd actually enjoy having someone like you in my circle of friends. :smile:

 

[ioioos]

I?m facing the same dilemma as a few here.

I don?t need to regurgitate the app or stability issues, but I?m starting to question why I have bothered to stay the course. I was an android user way back, but have loved my switch to a 920, then 1020, then 930.

I was all set to go for the 950, but once I held it in my hand, I preferred the more premium feel of my near 2 year old 930. So I?ve waited (I don?t do any insider stuff, just the official updates) and I now have Win 10, which I love; but the app and stability issues are there.

Of course, the mythical Surface Phone would be my ideal wish, but without sight of MS plans (from strategy to price, to app pipeline), I can?t make an informed choice. I?m a PC and Xbox user, but with the core MS apps becoming cross OS, the synergy advantages are becoming less obvious.

Everyone has their own irritants with MS, but for me, it was the decoupling (removal of placeholders) for onedrive from the desktop OS and the removal of the excellent family room on the phones (I switched my whole family to Lumia to use it). The final straw was the removal of the free onedrive space. As a phone/Desktop/Office 365 subrcriber, they gave me 5TB. I closed my other storage accounts and move my 2.5TB of home video and music into onedrive, only for them to revoke the free use months later.

So I?m sitting here with a 2 year old phone that I love, but realising I need to upgrade soon and I?m at a fork in the road. Do I really think the Windows app issue will be resolved, and do I think MS will deliver a constant stable platform without changing their minds every other day?

A few weeks ago I order the android Wiley Fox Swift, which runs Cyanogen. I found the OS to be fine, and of course the app options were fantastic. But I returned it due to a weak camera (it was a cheap model). It?s clear once I?ve been flagship, it?s hard to go back, particularly as I take a lot of photos and video on my phone.

I?m sorely tempted to simply order an S7 Edge and know that it?s probably the best all-rounder on the market today. Alternatively, I could even be tempted to pick up the iPhone SE tomorrow, as it?s highly pocketable, reasonably priced and has a great camera for the money. But of course, the walled garden might frustrate the hell out of me.

I?m really torn, and incredibly frustrated that MS seem so close to delivering the ultimate platform, but seem to make moves or take so long, they shoot themselves in the foot every time.

I think the reality is, they are getting out of the smartphone arena, and instead looking to create a suite of cross platform apps, with a side line of premium devices (surface phone / surface / surface book). Probably a good long term strategy for the Company, but not for me as an existing mobile customer.

 

[libra89]

LOL, are you a mobile street evangelist or what? :excited: My friends and I have no idea what smartphone the others have based on what we talk about. If we do know, it is because we actually see each others' phones every so often.

Most people have zero interest in what kind of phone they have. I'd actually enjoy having someone like you in my circle of friends. :smile:

Haha, nah. My friends notice my phones sometimes, but they rarely do. I don't really talk about them because my friends aren't into tech like I am. My family notices that in the past few months, I have had phones coming in through all possible shipping methods. I'm not exaggerating. They see my phone on the table and they are like, "Oh you got a new phone again?", and also always several days late but eh. I think there have been 2 times that my friends have noticed that I changed my phone.

I started this craziness in December and I'm ending it in April. Went from BLU Win HD LTE->Lumia 550->Lumia 735->Nexus 5x->iPhone 5c->iPhone 5s...and my last stop will be the iPhone SE. Lol.

That's cool, you seem like an interesting person yourself!

 

[NIST]

Question. What is it that you love so much about Windows Phone? Is it the Live tiles and UI? Because if so look at this. This would be the first thing I'd do with a new Galaxy S7 Edge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjko68fbL_M

 

[dby2011]

Thanks for posting that video- I've been saying for a while Microsoft should just build a tile launcher for Android and be done with it. Microsoft currently had a launcher for Android called Arrow which is really good too. They should just dump the idea of windows mobile and concentrate on services and apps for Android and iOS. A tile launcher would be an excellent alternative on Android.

 

[Giddora]

I don't even think people talking about these launchers for Android has any clue about Windows on a mobile and what makes it good.

Seriously... Enough with the launcher stuff. I picked Windows Phone because Android is and has always meant problems for me and everybody I know IRL.

 

[dby2011]

As both a Windows phone owner and an Android phone owner you are completely wrong. You shouldn't be making assumptions. Its a struggle to find anything my 735 with WP10 can do better then my Nexus 5x software wise.

 

[kokola]

Windows phone gave me the biggest headache among the 3 OSes.

 

[colinkiama]

I love it on android. Went from a 735 to the moto g 2015. Everything works great. All the apps are there. Every feature you could possible dream or think of is here more or less. The best part about android imo is custom ROMs and rooting. You really can customise your phone to meet your exact needs. (Even though your warranty may disappear). Long story short. Android > WP except when it comes to SD card support. Android is awful when it comes to storing apps on SD.

 

[Auric Jarrel]

I'm interested in switching after a stint with my (Windows) HTC One. My question is how does Microsoft's suite of apps (OneDrive, Groove, et al) fare on it? I don't mind switching platforms as long as Microsoft's ecosystem is there to make the transition smoother. I do enjoy being able to stream my music collection from my OneDrive.

 

[garak0410]

Android is awful when it comes to storing apps on SD.

Agreed...you have to manually move things to SD card.

 

[Grodelj]

I'm interested in switching after a stint with my (Windows) HTC One. My question is how does Microsoft's suite of apps (OneDrive, Groove, et al) fare on it? I don't mind switching platforms as long as Microsoft's ecosystem is there to make the transition smoother. I do enjoy being able to stream my music collection from my OneDrive.

I have similar question because I have been playing with this idea lately, to switch from 950xl to galaxy S7. Since S7 or S7 edge camera are comparable to 950/XL (and you can even make panoramic photos (LOL@MS)), I think that only onedrive and cortana are keeping me from doing that.

 

[garak0410]

I'm interested in switching after a stint with my (Windows) HTC One. My question is how does Microsoft's suite of apps (OneDrive, Groove, et al) fare on it? I don't mind switching platforms as long as Microsoft's ecosystem is there to make the transition smoother. I do enjoy being able to stream my music collection from my OneDrive.

All of the Microsoft apps are excellent and equal to or better than the Windows Phone apps. Outlook for sure is better. Groove, however, on Android at least, is bad. Very archaic with no fast forward or music scrubbing and no updates since September. I've had to move to Google Music/Spotify for now (especially since Spotify works on Amazon Echo.)

 

[garak0410]

I have similar question because I have been playing with this idea lately, to switch from 950xl to galaxy S7. Since S7 or S7 edge camera are comparable to 950/XL (and you can even make panoramic photos (LOL@MS)), I think that only onedrive and cortana are keeping me from doing that.

I have the Note 5, coming from Lumia ICON. I was so concerned about the camera but have no worries. It is amazing and I am sure the S7 is even better.

OneDrive is nice and works well. Cortana is surprisingly good though they removed "Hey Cortana" for now (or it could be fixed) because it interfered with the microphone. I am a huge Cortana fan but I've succumbed to Google Now.

 

[wgs84]

Android > WP except when it comes to SD card support. Android is awful when it comes to storing apps on SD.

I use a mix of Android and Windows, mostly Android, and I find Android a real pleasure to use, but I have to agree with this. I don't have good experiences moving apps to the SD card on Android. Usually apps start to exhibit issues running, so I don't even do it that way anymore. Instead, I find that rooting your phone and using Link2SD with an SD formatted with an ext4 partition works better. But it's still kind of a hassle to be honest. I haven't had a chance to check out Marshmallow's SD card adoption feature yet, but I'm really interested in it.

And all that's just to say how impressed I am with how hassle-free it is to install and run apps on the SD card in my Windows phone. It works really well for me.