Would anyone here dump their WP8 device for a true Windows 8 phone?

[MDboyz]

Well I still need VPN on my WP8. Not sure when we will have that. If Windows 8 Phone can give me VPN, I would move to it.

 

[a5cent]

Well I still need VPN on my WP8. Not sure when we will have that. If Windows 8 Phone can give me VPN, I would move to it.

MS is working on VPN for WP8 as we speak. It's coming with the first big update... when that may be I have no clue.

 

[Sam Sabri]

An Intel device wouldn't run Windows 8 for a phone, it would run Windows Phone 8. One is for tablets/PCs/etc, the other is...for phones.

 

[a5cent]

An Intel device wouldn't run Windows 8 for a phone, it would run Windows Phone 8. One is for tablets/PCs/etc, the other is...for phones.

Exactly.

 

[Padmasali]

yes... but if it made by nokia....

 

[fiveodano]

I have an Atom based tablet running Windows 8, it has a 10.1" screen. If it were 9.1" I would say desktop mode would be unusable. Because of this I think there would be no use for such a device. Unless, It was a phone running in startup only, like an RT device. I think that would have been a good strategy.
On another note, I can't wait for the next big update. I love what Microsoft has done over the past year and I want more!

 

[SnailUK]

I wouldn't.

Just because you can have 1080p on a phone, and a PC, doesn't mean the user interface is anything alike. In theory a phone could run PC apps, but they'd be completely unusable on even a 6" screen.

Lets also not forget, a mobile may have dual core, 1.5ghz, which sounds similar to an older PC, but i'm sure theres far more to it.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Personally I would rather not. WP8 feels properly optimised to the phones. And this includes designs, UI, etc. Not sure how well you could bring Windows 8 to the phone.

 

[GoodThings2Life]

In theory, an Intel Atom could achieve the desired effect of being a good mobile OS, but I really see more of a Windows RT opportunity rather than full blown W8.

Personally, I would love the task management gestures of W8, like left swipe for app switch or top to bottom for app close.

 

[crystal_planet]

Ya, I bet those apps are designed to work really well on a 4.5" screen.

/sarcasm

True, but my screen on my Ativ is 4.8" so I'm good to go.

 

[socialcarpet]

No thanks. I have no interest in the compromised battery life and needless complexity that would come along with a "true Windows 8 phone". Windows 8 is a desktop OS. Windows Phone 8 is a phone OS. I believe in using the right tool for the job. In fact, if and when I buy a Windows tablet, I'd rather have an ARM powered Windows RT tablet than a Windows 8 tablet, assuming Microsoft figures out a way to make a Windows RT tablet that doesn't use 16 GB out of 32 for system files and they have a good selection of apps.

 

[uselessrobot]

That would be a huge mistake for a few reasons.

1) It would cause platform fragmentation. Even if a Windows 8 phone were running a version of Windows RT, it would still require customization to run as a phone and to be usable on a smaller display.

Imagine if Microsoft releases yet another mobile OS which could potentially offer a more direct path to porting apps. Except that then developers would have account for a mobile version in addition to the tablet. Plus there's an existing Windows mobile OS already on the market. Do they bother with that version or abandon it because Windows Phone RT might be easier to develop for? We already complain about the apparent lack of support for Windows Phone 8.


2) It would cause confusion. This is tied to the first problem. People are already thrown off by the fact that Windows RT is essentially a limited version of Windows 8; it looks the same but you can't quite use it the same way. So toss into the mix a Windows Phone RT which is the same, but different. And worse, it's dramatically more different than Windows Phone 8, their other mobile OS.

Windows 8/RT is not designed for a smartphone environment. The irony would be that they'd end up making the OS look like Windows Phone 8, except that it's not compatible in any way.


3) The press would excoriate Microsoft. Imagine the mockery the company would face for creating such confusion. And imagine Windows Phone RT retaining the useless desktop mode. It would be like going back to the era of Windows XP tablets. It would essentially be a rehash of Windows Mobile. But in the minds of many people this would be typical of Microsoft and a sign that things haven't really changed.



Imagine the long term implications. In that scenario the likelihood is good that Microsoft would kill Windows Phone. That would be a travesty as that's probably the best of the operating systems they currently offer. If anything, the Surface RT should have been equipped with a variant of Windows Phone.

I'd say a more likely scenario is that Microsoft is going to offer a Surface RT tablet with 4G/LTE support.

 

[supereddzz]

Give me a liquid cooled phone and we're good to go. I don't even care if I have to carry it around in a holster.

 

[Angry_Mushroom]

I think I'd prefer MS supports WP8 more than look for a way out with PRO on phones. While a full OS on a phone sounds cool... I don't need it. I need my phone to do phone things... not PC things. On the other hand I'd love to see more messaging options available for windows. YIM, AOL, and other chats. Yes their popularity is decreasing, but no need to ignore. To be honest I see no need for WinRT. Last time I checked Apple and Android tablets/phones share operating systems. To be honest... I'm not really sure where RT falls exactly. Slightly more resolution, larger screen... ummm... Not much else going for it.

So... rant aside. No. I would not "dump" my lovely WP8 device for a Win8 phone.

 

[sentimentGX4]

You guys are confusing yourselves and making it sound like Intel is trying to put Windows 8 on a phone when it isn't.

Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 share the NT kernel so Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 are technically the same operating system. Windows Phone 8 with an x86 core should theoretically be able to handle full fledged Windows 8 programs while using the Windows Phone 8 OS. Furthermore, you DON'T need the Windows 8 UI to run Windows 8 programs on Windows Phone 8. I don't think most of you guys understand this.

Windows 8 is ALREADY on your phone. Now someone just needs to unleash its power!!!



(Yes, I would buy an x86 Windows Phone; but, first, Microsoft needs to loosen up its grip on the platform so that I can run all the programs that I want on my phone on my phone. That means give us unlocked bootloaders... everything. No more of this locked down smartphone business every major OS is partaking in.)

 

[AngryNil]

Trillian would work great on a 4.5" screen. So would Filezilla. I'm sure VLC wouldn't have any problems on 4.5 screen either.

Apps should be rewritten for the phone (and the phone isn't just 4.5" - it's as low as 3.5"), having compatibility with tablet/PC apps just because the developer can't be bothered porting is a hacky workaround and not the solution to the problem. No one is saying that services should be ruled out for the phone, it's that the phone is a different form factor and interface and developers need to specifically target it.

 

[a5cent]

Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 share the NT kernel so Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 are technically the same operating system.

There is a LOT more to an OS than just its kernel. Although the NT kernel does do more than just map OS instructions to a CPU architecture, it is still but a small part of the entire OS. In no way can W8 and WP8 be considered the same OS, neither technically nor in any other way. They just happen to share some of the same components (kernel, driver model and the .NET runtime)

Windows Phone 8 with an x86 core should theoretically be able to handle full fledged Windows 8 programs while using the Windows Phone 8 OS.

You've been bamboozled by someone. WP8 lacks a huge part of the Win32 API which is what basically defines what W8 can and can't do. WP8 has almost none of that. In effect, this statement is just completely utterly false in every possible way.

Furthermore, you DON'T need the Windows 8 UI to run Windows 8 programs on Windows Phone 8. I don't think most of you guys understand this.

This is true, since you can run the same drivers on W8RT and WP8, but it is quite irrelevant to end users as you can't run much else.

 

[uberlaff]

Why? What's the benefit?

 

[power5]

Yes. Not sure what the problem is here. The OS would be win8 not the interface. MS could write W8 to look exactly like WP8 if they wanted. Just disable the desktop side functions in W8P when mobile. Then create desktop cradles or tablet cradles, a la: Padphone, that open the full OS for use on larger format screens. Not resolution. Surface and windows phone already have the same resolution. Docking your W8P unlocks the CPU/GPU into high power mode to give more horsepower. When undocked it deactivates cores and lowers clocks to use less power.

 

[Panu16]

I think that Windows and Windows Phone will merge eventually. Maybe as early as Windows 10 as Microsoft seems to be laying the groundwork on going there.