I have a htc 8x, where my capasitive buttons stopped working. so when I needed a replacement phone I decided to get something really cheap before I decided what direction to take for the next few years. Since no store in town had the Lumia 520, I had to go with a samsung galaxy young for now. of course a cheap android won't take me anywhere, but it have given me some inside to what's happened with the platform since I last used it with android 2.x and briefly 3.x on a samsung tablet I sold quicker that you can say 'cheese'. I've had multiple WP for good or bad the last few years.
Here are some reasons why I am considering a top spec android, like maybe the sony z2.
1) restrictions on the os for background tasks on WP. Yes I get it, androids suck battery and lags, partly because all the apps are basically allowed to do what they want. But the result is that it feel more connected. when my friends does something on facebook, my android lets me know. And I know I can connect messaging to facebook, and have different facebook apps (official) + the m.facebook.com but somehow the tile-counters, the notifications / toasts, everything seem to be "behind". where as the android notification often comes in before i can see it on my pc browser. Nokia once marketed themselves as "Nokia - connecting people", but now I feel they are "Nokia - making you wait 30 minutes because of restrictions in the OS"
2) restrictions on the os for other tasks. When WP was launched I though developers will eventually flock to it. but I don't think they have done that. because they are not able to do the things they want here. sure, the api's are great and easy to work with. but that is not going to help if developers can't do what they want. example this interview about VLC for windows
Microsoft News | Interview: VideoLAN President Jean-Baptiste Kempf Talks to Us about the Win8 VLC App see question no4. This is WinRT for windows 8, but the same thing goes for WP I think. I once saw a video on youtube comparing speeds to develop a simple text+button=hello <name> app on iOs, android and WP. WP won by a landslide. the tools are there with visual studio, the coders with great knowledge are there, just let them create and innovate as you always say in those presentations.
3) google chrome! this is actually a huge point for me. after I got my galaxy young I thought, let me change from FF to chrome for a while and see how I like it. and the sync of browser-history, visited pages, open tabs on other units etc is just amazing compared to FF not to mention IE. Microsoft, you have the OneDrive cloud just sitting there, use it to make our webexperience better...!!!
4) The app-gap. Yes, I know that all the major apps are on WP. But that is not the issue. The issue is the NEXT big thing. Because we know it will launch on iOs and android first, and then users from this forum will have to approach the developer with "Hey, give WP some love too". If I am on android, I won't have to worry about that at all (unless the next big thing is iOs only first).
4.1) A bus-ticket app in my hometown is not on WP, and those who purchase tickets with that app instead of cash receive a 40% discount on the ticket. I doubt Rudy Huyn will reverse engineer that app and create one for WP. It's not excatly Los Angeles or New York...
5) If I am to buy a new phone now, if I opt for WP I will have to wait for BUILD to see new announcements. then wait 2-(X) months before that phone is released into the wild here in Norway. Why can't MS/Nokia have launches like Apple...? I remember Steve Jobs saying "This iPhone will be in stores in the next 2 weeks". Also remember the first surface-launch and that the first surface pro was available in norway about 9+? months later. They did better with the surface 2 though.
6) Some of the selling points for WP are STILL not available in Norway. Bing-stuff like local scout. I can see bing data on my pc, so I know they have it. My nearby restaurants and such. But you wont let me use that feature? Why? Maybe an announcement at BUILD that bing-features will open up to new markets? That would be.... ABOUT TIME!
7) better second hand value if treated well.
Now for some of the reasons I want to stay on WP:
1) the ability to buy a phone whose camera knocks everything out of the park. Lumia 1020 or some successor.
2) offline maps. now most of the time I know where I am. The times I don't I am usually abroad. And that is when I don't want to have roaming enabled. The offline maps on WP are AWESOME.
3) I love the people-hub. Since I am all-in with MS as a serviceprovider, it's not very elegant to save new contacts on my galaxy young. I am not able to choose outlook as an account there. maybe I can on other androids, but I want my contacts on my hotmail.
4) the snapchat app on WP (6snap) is so much better than on my galaxy young. and I suspect that is still the case if you compare with a android-phone with a decent screen.
5) the personalization of the start-screen. not perfect, but I see great rumors for WP 8.1.
6) beautiful and fluid os, with virtually no lag.
7) OneDrive, Office etc etc etc.
what do you think? I don't see my android point 1,2,3,4 and 7 changing any time soon. I am hesitent to buy a Lumia 1020 because I read that the camera is slow (SUPER GREAT and still the very very best on the market, but slow). well, since //build is before the Sony z2 is released I get the chance to see what MS think first...
//John
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