Thinking of Ditching iPhone for Icon

[Larrybeo]

Group textin works fine on WindowsPhone 8 lumia 925.

 

[maflynn]

the one thing I do miss as a prior iPhone user is the ability to use iMessage on my Mac. I'd get text messages, and they'd come over on that for those who use iMessage and its easier to type on a computer keyboard then a phone keyboard.

With switching to a new phone there is a level of give and take, I knew I'd be giving this up and an app or two but overall I have no regrets and I recommend the switch

 

[OccupyTheJake22]

I think I'm gonna wait till 8.1 drops and see what everyone thinks then. As long as 8.1 is everything it's saying it is then I'm prolly making the switch.

Cortana, notification center and the swipe texting are what I'm excited for.

 

[jimbotron]

I registered with this site just to reply to you, do the smart thing and wait. My wife and I had the iPhone 5s (x2) and switched from Sprint to VZW about 2 weeks ago. The service is really what we wanted but brushing up on the phones available I saw the Icon and immediately liked it. I had the HTC Arrive with Sprint and like the OS but hated the hardware. Now, after some time with the phone, I'd be hard pressed to recommend the same path. The camera is the main reason my wife and I both got the phone and it's NOWHERE what I expected. My iPhone 4s from 3 years ago takes faster and more useable pictures. I still can't figure out how to export the full quality pictures, even hooking up the phone to my Mac and using the Windows Phone app only yields the 5mp copies. What the hell is the point of such a high resolution if you can't export them easily? My wife and I had a baby boy 3/26 so having the high resolution photos available for emails to share was a major point of contention for the device. Without question, the pictures I've emailed from my 5s look far greater than what I've sent from the Icon so far. I hope this will change without some bootleg method or having to download another app. Just as an FYI for those who loathe iOS, if you're sending a picture in an email it will automatically ask you what size do you want to send it (full resolution or two smaller options); would that be so impossible to replicate?

You questioned the apps, I do as well. There is little consistency in the app store. There are countless "copy cat" apps that are worthless rip offs of popular games/apps on other platforms. Quality apps like Tweetbot, Alien Blue, Paper, etc will never make their way to WP. Look around this website and the web for "best" apps for WP and tell me if your impressed. When I had my Arrive 2 years ago, I expected that. The store and crummy apps within it have not changed. Searching for apps is also a mess. Type in "Twitter" and you'll get the official app and some other related Twitter crap. To find some of the better items, you need to know exactly what you're looking for. It's annoying to have to do a google search for what you want and then go back to the store to type it in and attempt to find it. Your search also must be perfectly spelled. I remembered reading that Peregrine was a good twitter app. Took a bit to track it down as even google had no idea what the hell I was trying to spell at first. I assume the store is something being worked on but at the moment it's a mess.

The phone's construction is nice, as Nokia's typically are. Solid with no squeaks or rattles. Solid also means heavy, the phone is certainly substantial. The screen is lovely in resolution but over saturated in color. It took a few days to get used to the inaccurate colors. There is a way to play with that as well but I've left it as it shipped from the factory for the time being. A good test you can do yourself is compare Temple Run 2, which is available for free on both platforms, side by side. On the iPhone, it looks crisp and the gold is truly gold right from the loading screen. On the Icon, the gold is more orange and everything looks almost like a different color palette. Another aspect is the phone scratches very easily. It has Gorilla Glass 3 but just sliding the phone in an out of my pocket yield quite a few little scratches on the top of the phone. I refuse to use a screen protector (I do have a case) as I hate the plastic feel. Even if there was one that was like glass, I'm not interested. I've dropped my iDevices more times than I can count and never had anything like this. Pretty lame if the consensus is just to get a screen protector to eliminate this, borderline unacceptable for a "flagship" device.

If I had to do it again I'm unsure if I would pull the Icon trigger. My return date is this Saturday and with the supposed 8.1 update coming Monday on the preview, I'm torn on what I should do. I'm sure the official VZW one won't be updated to 8.1 until it's official so you will need to find somebody with the phone and update to truly compare. You really have to believe in what MS is doing to jump on this train. I took a gamble just to try something different and I'm unsure what I'll do quite honestly.

 

[deejohdumb]

Have your wife try out this app for Pinterest. It's awesome! Pin.it for Windows Phone 8 - the superb Pinterest client you have been waiting for | Windows Phone Central

That is the one she is using and is happy with it. I guess it is more like instagram than pinterest. Not perfect but completely usable and of high quality.

 

[nasellok]

I registered with this site just to reply to you, do the smart thing and wait. My wife and I had the iPhone 5s (x2) and switched from Sprint to VZW about 2 weeks ago. The service is really what we wanted but brushing up on the phones available I saw the Icon and immediately liked it. I had the HTC Arrive with Sprint and like the OS but hated the hardware. Now, after some time with the phone, I'd be hard pressed to recommend the same path. The camera is the main reason my wife and I both got the phone and it's NOWHERE what I expected. My iPhone 4s from 3 years ago takes faster and more useable pictures. I still can't figure out how to export the full quality pictures, even hooking up the phone to my Mac and using the Windows Phone app only yields the 5mp copies. What the hell is the point of such a high resolution if you can't export them easily? My wife and I had a baby boy 3/26 so having the high resolution photos available for emails to share was a major point of contention for the device. Without question, the pictures I've emailed from my 5s look far greater than what I've sent from the Icon so far. I hope this will change without some bootleg method or having to download another app. Just as an FYI for those who loathe iOS, if you're sending a picture in an email it will automatically ask you what size do you want to send it (full resolution or two smaller options); would that be so impossible to replicate?

You questioned the apps, I do as well. There is little consistency in the app store. There are countless "copy cat" apps that are worthless rip offs of popular games/apps on other platforms. Quality apps like Tweetbot, Alien Blue, Paper, etc will never make their way to WP. Look around this website and the web for "best" apps for WP and tell me if your impressed. When I had my Arrive 2 years ago, I expected that. The store and crummy apps within it have not changed. Searching for apps is also a mess. Type in "Twitter" and you'll get the official app and some other related Twitter crap. To find some of the better items, you need to know exactly what you're looking for. It's annoying to have to do a google search for what you want and then go back to the store to type it in and attempt to find it. Your search also must be perfectly spelled. I remembered reading that Peregrine was a good twitter app. Took a bit to track it down as even google had no idea what the hell I was trying to spell at first. I assume the store is something being worked on but at the moment it's a mess.

The phone's construction is nice, as Nokia's typically are. Solid with no squeaks or rattles. Solid also means heavy, the phone is certainly substantial. The screen is lovely in resolution but over saturated in color. It took a few days to get used to the inaccurate colors. There is a way to play with that as well but I've left it as it shipped from the factory for the time being. A good test you can do yourself is compare Temple Run 2, which is available for free on both platforms, side by side. On the iPhone, it looks crisp and the gold is truly gold right from the loading screen. On the Icon, the gold is more orange and everything looks almost like a different color palette. Another aspect is the phone scratches very easily. It has Gorilla Glass 3 but just sliding the phone in an out of my pocket yield quite a few little scratches on the top of the phone. I refuse to use a screen protector (I do have a case) as I hate the plastic feel. Even if there was one that was like glass, I'm not interested. I've dropped my iDevices more times than I can count and never had anything like this. Pretty lame if the consensus is just to get a screen protector to eliminate this, borderline unacceptable for a "flagship" device.

If I had to do it again I'm unsure if I would pull the Icon trigger. My return date is this Saturday and with the supposed 8.1 update coming Monday on the preview, I'm torn on what I should do. I'm sure the official VZW one won't be updated to 8.1 until it's official so you will need to find somebody with the phone and update to truly compare. You really have to believe in what MS is doing to jump on this train. I took a gamble just to try something different and I'm unsure what I'll do quite honestly.

Are you taking JPG (5mp) + DNG (16mp) photos - if you are, you need the proper software to view the DNG files (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc). If you want just JPG files, make sure to go into the settings and select the 5mp + 16mp JPG setting. It is a bit frustrating that there are limits to what you can and cannot do with the 16mp files. That being said, to move the 16mp jpg files around, you can use Pocket File Manager, it is a file browser that will allow you to email, or transfer to any cloud service available. I wish I could just take 16mp jpg photos only, but unfortunately it is not an option. My wife has the 5s, and I have the Icon, and the same photo taken with both phones is far superior on my Icon, than on her 5s. Holding the Icon next to the 5S and comparing their screen resolutions and saturations is like night and day - the colors just pop on the bigger screen of the Icon, to me its a better screen. I do agree though, the parabolic nature of the glass on the Icon has made it susceptible to scratches. Ive gone screen protector free since gorilla glass came out, and my screen has a bunch of hairline scratches on it.

Really, I just am bored with IOS, and Andoid - its the same thing, there was nothing keeping me away from WP - I use a winodows 8 tablet, and PC, so it was a natural decision to go with WP. The apps are fine with me, I don't use anything crazy anyways, do I wish the selection was on par with IOS and Android, sure, but was the lesser amount of apps available a deal breaker - no.

Whatever you decide - I wish you luck. But IMHO, every time I pick up my wifes 5S, I just get bored - static icons, static background.....at least android has widgets. I don't know, different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

[jimbotron]

You hit the nail on the head, boredom is what sent me to the Icon as well. The iPhone has been great and durable for me, I just wanted something different. Android wasn't really an option, had quite a few different handsets (last would be a GS2) and they always develop issues over time. Even rooting the phones and putting on different ROMs made no difference to me. I know WP would be as steady as iOS and felt the screen and camera would be worth it. Thanks for the tip with the camera settings, I had the phone set on the other 5+16 setting so I will give the latter a try. All in all, I think I'll keep the phone and just cross my fingers some new devs take to 8.1 and release some killer apps down the road.

 

[bayanii]

I had a lumia 928 before and loved the build quality.

Question tho, 99 percent of my friends have iPhones, how will the icon handle group texts. Will they all be in one thread?

Yes it will. I have friends from different carriers and have iPhones. The threads are the same.

 

[csiguy1]

I left my iPhone and couldn't decide which Lumia to buy, the Icon or the 1520. I bought them both. WOW what great phones. Cant wait for 8.1.

 

[maflynn]

I left my iPhone and couldn't decide which Lumia to buy, the Icon or the 1520. I bought them both. WOW what great phones. Cant wait for 8.1.

You're on two carriers or is the 1520 available on VZW?

 

[Indistinguishable]

You're on two carriers or is the 1520 available on VZW?