Thinking about going back to WP7 from 8.1

[Squachy]

You don't use apps, you don't use email, you don't use camera...
it sounds like you don't even need a smartphone,
you can get by with any kind of feature phone or any kind of old smartphone that can play music.

 

[ronaldme]

music is just one thing, (although a main one for me).

did you miss the part about a HARDWARE KEYBOARD?

windows phone 8/8.1 don't even support bluetooth keyboards.

later
-1

Windows Phone 8 is worse because OEM don't build phones with keyboard?... Lol...

I can tell a lot of "WP7 can't do this", and things more important than hardware keyboard.

 

[negative1ne]

You don't use apps, you don't use email, you don't use camera...
it sounds like you don't even need a smartphone,
you can get by with any kind of feature phone or any kind of old smartphone that can play music.

i have a few xbox live games.

also, i use browser, and some office features which are good
with the keyboard.

all the extra stuff, like camera, gps, are just a bonus.

finally, for $75 total cost, i own the phone, which does a lot
more than my zune hd, which was more expensive.

i have a surface pro, and use windows and microsoft products,
which integrates with a windows phone better than a feature phone.

i have no real complaints with windows phone 7.x so i dont
see the need in upgrading, until they can make something equally as good.

if they keep eliminating and degrading key features,
what incentive do i have to upgrade to an inferior experience.

later
-1

 

[Squachy]

What features are you referring to that are broken? Aside from Xbox music not quite on par with Zune ( I despised Zune btw, just like I hate iTunes. And it's not that it's horrible, it works. At least its working the same way I've used it. But I don't go playlist crazy and whatnot. Just play music, make it shuffle, done) every thing wp7 did is the same as wp8.1 as far as I can tell.

 

[JamesPTao]

What features are you referring to that are broken? Aside from Xbox music not quite on par with Zune ( I despised Zune btw, just like I hate iTunes. And it's not that it's horrible, it works. At least its working the same way I've used it. But I don't go playlist crazy and whatnot. Just play music, make it shuffle, done) every thing wp7 did is the same as wp8.1 as far as I can tell.

Also important to note is that users running windows 7 on their desktop or computer have a different experience then those running windows 8. 7 has no Xbox music app to sync to we are left with a horridly basic sync app to sync music and pics to our phone. So without Zune synching you're stuck using the pathetic sync app or windows media player.

 

[negative1ne]

What features are you referring to that are broken? Aside from Xbox music not quite on par with Zune ( I despised Zune btw, just like I hate iTunes. And it's not that it's horrible, it works. At least its working the same way I've used it. But I don't go playlist crazy and whatnot. Just play music, make it shuffle, done) every thing wp7 did is the same as wp8.1 as far as I can tell.

too many to name,
start here:
===========================
http://forums.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-8-1/299673-wp-8-1-bugs-defects.html

later
-1

 

[NeilPeart]

It really depends on one's needs and perspective. I find Windows Phone 8.1 is a more complete smartphone package overall, but some features of WP7.8 are more mature in some aspects (or at least the UI is preferable in some ways for things like the Music and Hub features). It's not hard to get the best of both worlds if one doesn't mind carrying 2 devices at times. For example my main phone is the Lumia 928 and that is all I carry usually. However, on long trips I will take my old HTC Trophy to save on battery and enjoy the improved music functionality. My wife uses the HTC 8x but when we travel she'll also carry the Lumia 520 with a 64GB microSD for her large collection (she doesn't care about the differences in the WP7.8 music feature vs the WP8.1 music features).

A note for those still using the HTC Trophy: even though WP7 can be updated to 7.10.8862.144 there is still another firmware update that is available. Even after installing the latest WP7.8 updates I was using the Zune software and happened to check for updates - there is a newer firmware update that was loaded (I don't recall what the versions were nor any changes that resulted). Sorry if that is old news but it may help some folk that hold onto the WP7 dinosaurs (like me).

 

[ronaldme]

too many to name,
start here:
===========================
http://forums.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-8-1/299673-wp-8-1-bugs-defects.html

later
-1

Lol.. some time ago, there were similar threads for WP7.

 

[JamesPTao]

What features are you referring to that are broken? Aside from Xbox music not quite on par with Zune ( I despised Zune btw, just like I hate iTunes. And it's not that it's horrible, it works. At least its working the same way I've used it. But I don't go playlist crazy and whatnot. Just play music, make it shuffle, done) every thing wp7 did is the same as wp8.1 as far as I can tell.

Can't rate music on the phone, a very handy way to organize ones music collection. When I try to shuffle my playlist it continues to shuffle through the same 30-40 songs in similar order even though the playlist has 1500 songs! Isn't shuffle supposed to be random?

 

[negative1ne]

the thing is, the 7.x has stabilized, so that everything works
as it did with final fixes. which is fine.

also this phone has a replaceable battery, unlike newer ones.



later
-1

 

[tapehead]

I love Windows Phone, but I will admit that WP7 had a charm that WP 8.1 certainly lacks. I would be interested in exactly how obsolete Windows Phone 7 is in today's market.

 

[a5cent]

I share some of that sentiment. Half of me wishes MS had stayed with the hyper efficient Windows CE (currently known as Windows Embedded Compact).

I still have my L800 lying around, but at this point it's pretty much over and done for. App updates are rare. Even some of MS services have been completely shut down, like Skype for WP7. Other apps that I use on a weekly basis, like the time tables for national public transport, no longer have access to the servers required to provide that information, making them completely useless...

 

[tapehead]

When I think to what apps I use on a consistant basis, a good deal of them still work for WP7:

WhatsApp
Spotify
Scrobble Me

But then there's stuff like Instagram, a working Facebook app that isn't horrible, and Music Drop.