TL;DR This is an experiment on how much has Android progressed and if it can replace Windows Phone.
If you went beyond that first line, cool. I'll tell you why I have ordered an Android phone. You see, I've been using Windows Phone for around four years after moving off Android (which was horrible at the time), and Blackberry (which was...boring as hell). I started out with a tiny (cool) Samsung Focus. Always faithful, always waiting for Microsoft to deliver. Things started to get better. I bought a Nokia Lumia 900. Two, actually. Then I got shafted by the WP8 change. I remained faithful, because I saw the potential in the OS. Convinced my family (wife and two kids) to use WP.
Eventually got myself and my wife a set of 920's. Eventually both got smashed, and I was in for a replacement with AT&T Next. What did I pick? A glorious 1520, while my wife got herself a 1020. Gotta add here that since I have 5 lines, I kinda play around with renewals and stuff, in case you were wondering how I do this.
The thing is, I had been keeping my faith in Windows Phone. I got into the Dev Preview. I see signals of good things, and yet... We're still lacking. We're still being treated like 2nd class citizens.
And the worse thing, we're being treated like that by Microsoft itself.
The Office releases, one of the distinguishing features of WP, are the straw that broke the camel's back. Not only are other platforms getting Office, they're getting a vastly superior experience. How do I know?
About a month ago, I bought a Nexus 7 2013 32GB in pristine condition from a coworker, for a ridiculously cheap price. I got it because I wanted a small tablet with a good screen for writing on the go with a keyboard (something I can't do with my 1520), plus I was honestly curious about Android.
My experience with Android has been nothing short of fantastic. Quick, no lag, and the quality and integration of applications is so damn good. A simple example: Click on a link in the Facebook app, and it opens a browser frame inside the app. When you're done, tap the top of the screen and it takes you exactly where your feed was at. Smooth, slick, efficient.
So it's not only the amount of apps available, it's the quality of said apps. Feedly, Flipboard, I could go on and on. But what about the ecosystem?
Well, I still prefer Microsoft services. And guess what? I get OneDrive, Outlook, OneNote, and now, Word and Excel (PowerPoint is available but I don't use it). The experience with these apps is above and beyond what we get in WP, even in Preview mode. No Office? Well, I can use WPS Office, which integrates directly with OneDrive too.
See what I mean?
The reasons for "suffering" with WP and being in the waiting game are not valid anymore. Cortana is the only thing that's not matched yet, although Google Now is pretty darn robust even if it has zero personality. Well, also Live Tiles, but you can find widgets that actually look good that have even more functionality.
So I ordered a nice Motorola Moto X, white with bamboo back that should be home on Monday. I'm planning on comparing it with the 1520. This will be an interesting experiment for me. If I find out that I get the same effectiveness and enjoyment from the Moto X, or better, I might bide Windows Phone goodbye.
I'm still keeping the 1520, though. I'm curious about Windows 10. But I have the feeling that we'll go back into the waiting game ("wait for the next update, then it'll be awesome").
We'll see.
If you went beyond that first line, cool. I'll tell you why I have ordered an Android phone. You see, I've been using Windows Phone for around four years after moving off Android (which was horrible at the time), and Blackberry (which was...boring as hell). I started out with a tiny (cool) Samsung Focus. Always faithful, always waiting for Microsoft to deliver. Things started to get better. I bought a Nokia Lumia 900. Two, actually. Then I got shafted by the WP8 change. I remained faithful, because I saw the potential in the OS. Convinced my family (wife and two kids) to use WP.
Eventually got myself and my wife a set of 920's. Eventually both got smashed, and I was in for a replacement with AT&T Next. What did I pick? A glorious 1520, while my wife got herself a 1020. Gotta add here that since I have 5 lines, I kinda play around with renewals and stuff, in case you were wondering how I do this.
The thing is, I had been keeping my faith in Windows Phone. I got into the Dev Preview. I see signals of good things, and yet... We're still lacking. We're still being treated like 2nd class citizens.
And the worse thing, we're being treated like that by Microsoft itself.
The Office releases, one of the distinguishing features of WP, are the straw that broke the camel's back. Not only are other platforms getting Office, they're getting a vastly superior experience. How do I know?
About a month ago, I bought a Nexus 7 2013 32GB in pristine condition from a coworker, for a ridiculously cheap price. I got it because I wanted a small tablet with a good screen for writing on the go with a keyboard (something I can't do with my 1520), plus I was honestly curious about Android.
My experience with Android has been nothing short of fantastic. Quick, no lag, and the quality and integration of applications is so damn good. A simple example: Click on a link in the Facebook app, and it opens a browser frame inside the app. When you're done, tap the top of the screen and it takes you exactly where your feed was at. Smooth, slick, efficient.
So it's not only the amount of apps available, it's the quality of said apps. Feedly, Flipboard, I could go on and on. But what about the ecosystem?
Well, I still prefer Microsoft services. And guess what? I get OneDrive, Outlook, OneNote, and now, Word and Excel (PowerPoint is available but I don't use it). The experience with these apps is above and beyond what we get in WP, even in Preview mode. No Office? Well, I can use WPS Office, which integrates directly with OneDrive too.
See what I mean?
The reasons for "suffering" with WP and being in the waiting game are not valid anymore. Cortana is the only thing that's not matched yet, although Google Now is pretty darn robust even if it has zero personality. Well, also Live Tiles, but you can find widgets that actually look good that have even more functionality.
So I ordered a nice Motorola Moto X, white with bamboo back that should be home on Monday. I'm planning on comparing it with the 1520. This will be an interesting experiment for me. If I find out that I get the same effectiveness and enjoyment from the Moto X, or better, I might bide Windows Phone goodbye.
I'm still keeping the 1520, though. I'm curious about Windows 10. But I have the feeling that we'll go back into the waiting game ("wait for the next update, then it'll be awesome").
We'll see.
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