Wanting to move to WP 1520, but need some objective help

[SmudgeInWestNYNJ]

Ok Everyone: i need a bit of help (hopefully objective) here:
i have owned all iPhone variants since 2008: starting from 3G all the way to iPhone 5. i am sick of Apple, and i can understand why they have never made it big, and will never make it big again.
So, my next smart phone will NOT be the stupid iPhone (why pay $600.00 for a technology that is more than 4 years old?).
My next phone will be a phablet. i am considering Galaxy Note 3, or the Nokia 1520. If i go to Google, it will be kicking and screaming: :angry: for i do not like either Samsung (el-Chepo hardware) or Google (intrusive and hypocrite corporation).
That leaves me with 1520. but i am not sure for the following reasons:
1-The infamous 'app' situation. i NEED the following apps: NYTimes, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Garfield (daily comics! sorry i can't start my day without Garfield), foursquare, Kindle, Citibank, Fidelity, solid media center, and solid Comics reader.
2-A 100% reliable synchronization with my PC (i used to own Windows Trio, and synchronizing it to my PC was nightmare. That was what drove me away to the stupid iPhone.
3-simple and reliable porting of my music, video, and book libraries from Apple to Windows phone.
Can someone tell me if what i am looking for is available on WP 8?
if this is not the right thread, i apologize. Please tell me where is an appropriate forum to post this note on this site.
Thanks.

 

[SwimSwim]

I'll try and respond to each of your concerns to the best of my ability. Please note I'm not the most knowledgeable in all aspects, so bare with me.

1) The Bing News app is great, and it pulls news information for dozens of sources. I've not used it much, but I'm fairly sure all your news sources are covered with it. We've got Foursquare and Kindle, however, Citibank is unfortunately not on board with Windows Phone. Not sure about a comics reader, I've heard of a couple, but seeing as I don't read comics, I've not explored any.

2) What exactly is it you're trying to sync? I warn thee, when I first got my Lumia 900, it was a little jarring trying to move my data. Windows Phone places a lot of emphasis on the cloud. I did have a few quirks with trying to migrate all my data to the cloud so it would land on my Lumia, but boy, am I glad I made the switch! Initial set-up was somewhat painful, but it's been smooth sailing since, and now all my contacts easily follow me thanks to my Outlook account.

3) The Windows Phone App for Desktop give you the option to utilize iTunes to sync and manage your content. So long as your content isn't protected by DRM, it should work fine.

That's all I know, hopefully other users will be able to come along and help you out further. I also hope Windows Phone provides a stable enough foundation for you to switch, it's a great OS. We've got some growing pains, but it's overall solid, fast, fluid and modern. Plus, you stand out from the crowd, which I personally love.

Take care. :wink:

 

[DBDev]

It seems like SwimSwim has answered all your questions, but I'm gonna say welcome to WPCentral and hopefully soon Windows Phone! :excited:

 

[pmhgeneral]

Welcome aboard to WP central forum's and soon Windows Phone 8 good luck with your choice.

 

[rdubmu]

The iphone tech isn't 4 years old, they make some of the best phones on the market and they make updates like any OS, you could say android is also 4 years and even Windows Phone is 3 years old now starting with WP7, and if you want to go back since WP8 is based off of Windows 8 which is based off Windows NT, could go back to 1996

The biggest change for you will be moving to the Microsoft Ecosystem if you are not already in the Ecosystem. You could move to the ecosystem on your current iPhone. I wouldn't upgrade an Iphone 5 to the 5s. It is only an incremental upgrade. If you had a 4s or a 4 I would highly suggest it.

I had an iphone 3gs, it was a great little phone than I moved to Windows Phone in 2010 with the HTC HD7 which in my opinion was the best launch WP along with the Dell Venue Pro. I later upgraded to the Titan 2 which again my opinion was the best of the Launch Mango Devices. Now with the 920. Ensure you have the apps. I would look into www.windowsphone.com and start search for apps. There is an app gap.

SwimSwim already covered what you asked for the most part. Bing News is the best news app along with USA Today. The issue with bing news is that you can't share stories within the app. It does pull articles from a number of places including tech sites like theverge.com.

I use my iMAC 2011 to sync all my music to my Lumia 920 from ITunes via WIndows Phone connector. It works the same on a PC as well.

For the wp1520, there are reports that this is actually a mid tier device with a larger screen. I would wait for something flagship. We will know more once it is officially announced.

 

[SmudgeInWestNYNJ]

Thanks a million for the fine reply. The iPhone-is-a-4-years-old-technology was / is more of a fell than anything else. For me, i have an iPhone 5 (bought it within 4 days of launch last year) Then it suddenly hit me: Apple is not a company i like or i want to spend my $$$ to enrich. Same for Google or Samsung. I realize that MS has lots of warts too, all big companies do. However, let us call it the least of all evil.

Anyhow: i think you made a fine suggestion to wait and see how things develop in the coming few months, which i will do. Meanwhile, i am keeping all my option open, and watching this 'battle royal' with great deal of interest.

Thanks again and all the best.