Would you still buy a L950?

[mattiasnyc]

So it's fun and customizable live tiles and good camera performance vs. "app gap" and lack of prestige. The answer to the original question will depend on which of these you value more. There are no wrong answers, only individual ones.

The "universal agreement" though doesn't apply to all users, so the things you pit against each other may not apply. If I felt I suffered from an "app gap" then I would as you point out weigh that against the benefits, but since I don't perceive an app gap yet because I currently have the apps I need that is not even a starting point for me. It might become one in the future, but it currently isn't. Similarly, it's absolutely not an issue that the phone has a "lack of 'wow factor'", because I don't really care if you or someone else is 'wowed' by my phone. It does what I need and suffices for me.

 

[mattiasnyc]

To me, sometimes updates can come with additional issues. On 8.1, I don't recall ever having to hard reset or be concerned about random restarts (for some reason, I have only had this issue with the 950, no other native W10M phone). The difference in stability between the two is something that cannot be denied. I kind of see it the same with iOS 10. iOS 9 has been just fine to me, so I downgraded my iPhone back there.

Right, I don't disagree at all.

Within the context of this thread I think that if we (you and I) agree that there are sometimes issues that arise that are important, we should consider just what we get for how much money. How much is an unlocked 950 vs an iPhone, and is it then worth it? That's really the question of the thread if we want to bring up iPhones. I'd say the 950 is totally worth it, assuming one likes the GUI.

 

[mark233]

...need more butter.

 

[Byrese]

I just got mine in today. Gonna set it up and play with it a bit. So far very smooth. MUCH faster then the Lumia 650 I just returned.

 

[mweflen]

The "universal agreement" though doesn't apply to all users, so the things you pit against each other may not apply. If I felt I suffered from an "app gap" then I would as you point out weigh that against the benefits, but since I don't perceive an app gap yet because I currently have the apps I need that is not even a starting point for me. It might become one in the future, but it currently isn't. Similarly, it's absolutely not an issue that the phone has a "lack of 'wow factor'", because I don't really care if you or someone else is 'wowed' by my phone. It does what I need and suffices for me.

I don't think we are disagreeing here. Please read the last line of my post again.

 

[mattiasnyc]

I just thought you were a bit categorical in the way you expressed yourself.

 

[victorbblanco]

Well, yes. I have a Lumia 930. Gonna buy the Lumia 950 this month.

 

[P4geD0wn]

will probably buy 950 or xl (haven't decided yet) for GF soon. Her 925 still runs fine but it is a bit old now.

 

[sidtek50]

To me, sometimes updates can come with additional issues. On 8.1, I don't recall ever having to hard reset or be concerned about random restarts (for some reason, I have only had this issue with the 950, no other native W10M phone). The difference in stability between the two is something that cannot be denied. I kind of see it the same with iOS 10. iOS 9 has been just fine to me, so I downgraded my iPhone back there.

You see, this right here is the thing. With iOS, 9 times out of 10, if you get an issue, you can resolve it via the menus or via a simple turn off and turn back on. With W10M, my issues couldn't be resolved that easily. And bug reporting via Microsoft is good but even then they don't listen. The number of people asking for specific features that had long since been ignored. Microsoft really dug their own grave with this one.

I was hard resetting the phone every week! I even had one day where I had to hard reset the phone twice in a single day. I mean, come on, I know there are some W10M fanboys in this thread but no-one can sit on their high-horse and say W10M is a competitive, fantastic OS when the advice that comes back from the net is: "hard reset it", "soft reset it", "re-install W10M".

And this is precisely why I got rid of my 950. Bug hunting / searching for fixes became a full time job. Seriously. For every issue I solved, I found another problem. And when I installed the Anniversary update, I encountered a few more problems. Using Edge for example, the only browser on W10M (excluding the crappy alternative in the store which is said to be malware in disguise!) would consume so much battery life.... I had to sit next to my desktop computer, search for guides on how to fix it... ugh. No. It's just simply not practical.

I can personally say that I didn't get random reboots like some people have. One guy on this forum said he gets at least 1 reboot per day. If that was me, the phone would have been sent back within the first few days. The mobile phone market is so difficult to break into now and we're seeing Apple and Samsung at the top - other manufacturers don't get a look in. To beat Apple and Samsung, you need something not just as good, but much better.

Anyway. I don't really check this forum now for obvious reasons but I will absolutely keep an eye on W10M and see if anything changes. If it does, i'd consider returning. But there would need to be colossal changes for me to even consider it. Outlook's app on iOS is damn near perfection and a joy to use. If W10M had the same app (look, feel, fluidity, reliability etc) W10M would be a better experience for that alone.

 

[mattiasnyc]

I was hard resetting the phone every week! I even had one day where I had to hard reset the phone twice in a single day. I mean, come on, I know there are some W10M fanboys in this thread but no-one can sit on their high-horse and say W10M is a competitive, fantastic OS when the advice that comes back from the net is: "hard reset it", "soft reset it", "re-install W10M".

But the truth is that if you had tremendous issues with your device, and you had to do the above to fix it, and the issues were inherent in either the OS or the device models, then it stands to reason that pretty much every user would be in the same position. If the cause(s) that create your issues are things that your and my phone have in common then it stands to reason I would have had the same experience. I have not. Which leaves me to believe it's NOT the OS (only) and NOT the phone (only), and NOT those two together (only). Pretty much the only two remaining options are a) hardware malfunction and b) poorly programmed apps that break your device somehow.

I work on about 2-3 softwares regularly in media production environments, in several different studios. I can tell pretty quickly if an issue appears to be linked to the OS, the software in general or a specific version, or a hardware defect/incompatibility. So, again, if the cause of an issue is a specific parameter or set of parameters then everyone with the same parameters should suffer pretty much equally. That doesn't appear to be the case here.

So to me it looks like you got a really bad app or broken phone and should have either uninstalled the app or gotten the phone fixed.

 

[sidtek50]

But the truth is that if you had tremendous issues with your device, and you had to do the above to fix it, and the issues were inherent in either the OS or the device models, then it stands to reason that pretty much every user would be in the same position. If the cause(s) that create your issues are things that your and my phone have in common then it stands to reason I would have had the same experience. I have not. Which leaves me to believe it's NOT the OS (only) and NOT the phone (only), and NOT those two together (only). Pretty much the only two remaining options are a) hardware malfunction and b) poorly programmed apps that break your device somehow.

I work on about 2-3 softwares regularly in media production environments, in several different studios. I can tell pretty quickly if an issue appears to be linked to the OS, the software in general or a specific version, or a hardware defect/incompatibility. So, again, if the cause of an issue is a specific parameter or set of parameters then everyone with the same parameters should suffer pretty much equally. That doesn't appear to be the case here.

So to me it looks like you got a really bad app or broken phone and should have either uninstalled the app or gotten the phone fixed.

Well this is what i've been saying since I got the phone. Apps seem to be generally much more unstable on W10M. Even professional apps such as instagram. It crashed often on my W10M. On my DTEK50 and my iPhone SE, it hasn't crashed once. I loved the camera on the 950 but that was the best thing about it. And yes, I agree that everyone should suffer similar issues, but with that being said, there are a number of threads reporting app crashing etc etc And often the advice is: "hard reset it". I've seen that with my own eyes.

Again, i'm interested to see what Microsoft do with W10M. It has the best potential - I think it could be better than android with some very serious work and a huge overhaul, but it has potential. Whether Microsoft will realise this is anyone's guess.

 

[mattiasnyc]

Right, but if your problem is poorly coded apps why are you laying the blame at MS' feet? What's MS going to do to the OS to make Instagram program the app better?

 

[sidtek50]

Right, but if your problem is poorly coded apps why are you laying the blame at MS' feet? What's MS going to do to the OS to make Instagram program the app better?

That was just one example of a bad app. Outlook would crash. Edge would crash. Sometimes i'd be typing a URL or an email and the app would crash to the home screen. It wasn't just the insta app.

 

[mattiasnyc]

Ok, fine, but here I am, another day another Continuum morning session, writing a post in this forum using Edge, having checked my Outlook about 10 minutes ago. No crashes. I get to my websites by typing part of the address in the URL field.... no crashes... and as I said, I'm not the only one. If the issue was truly W10M and the Lumia 950 I would have the same problems you were having. There's just no way around that.

So again, something else was clearly wrong with your phone, or you did something to it that caused some instability (like install some app that affected the MS ones maybe). Troubleshooting 101 is doing the same thing several times and writing down the steps one takes to reproduce the behavior. Then offer those steps to others to verify the error. There recently was a problem with sending an image that was just captured via email. Pretty clear steps on how to reproduce the error. Verified. That's how we as users need to proceed to verify errors so we can then constructively bring criticism to officials at MS.

 

[KefKef]

Your suggested method is way to difficult, it's much easier to whine...

 

[Byrese]

Almost a week with my new 950 and I really like it. I was a bit skeptical about the plastic backing, but man... This feels really premium. Ok... Maybe not as premium as the new Alcatel phone but premium nonetheless. Feels very solid in the hand.

The camera is amazing... But What else is new, it's a high end Lumia?! The processor is very snappy. So getting around to the various apps is breeze.
And the screen is really amazing too. Skype preview is pretty cool, as i can finally text from my SP4 when I make skype the default messenger on the Lumia. I don't know if I like it on the phone yet that much though.

I know all about the app problem, as I'm an experienced W10M user. My only real challenge maybe Uber. It's terrible on W10 but perhaps suitable doable. We'll see.

All in all...this is a great phone. I'm very satisfied with my purchase. Especially for an unlocked MS version at $200.

 

[fatclue_98]

Ok, fine, but here I am, another day another Continuum morning session, writing a post in this forum using Edge, having checked my Outlook about 10 minutes ago. No crashes. I get to my websites by typing part of the address in the URL field.... no crashes... and as I said, I'm not the only one. If the issue was truly W10M and the Lumia 950 I would have the same problems you were having. There's just no way around that.

So again, something else was clearly wrong with your phone, or you did something to it that caused some instability (like install some app that affected the MS ones maybe). Troubleshooting 101 is doing the same thing several times and writing down the steps one takes to reproduce the behavior. Then offer those steps to others to verify the error. There recently was a problem with sending an image that was just captured via email. Pretty clear steps on how to reproduce the error. Verified. That's how we as users need to proceed to verify errors so we can then constructively bring criticism to officials at MS.

I couldn't agree more with your assessment. However, your ZIP code must be in Utopia if you think for one minute that users are going to use standard deductive reasoning measures to isolate their issues. The law firm of B!tch, Whine and Complain rules this roost.

Sent from Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows via mTalk

 

[Byrese]

how do you like your Alcatel? I've been skeptical of non-Lumia devices. But obviously there getting much better (think HTC).

 

[fatclue_98]

how do you like your Alcatel? I've been skeptical of non-Lumia devices. But obviously there getting much better (think HTC).

Except for the camera, I think it's the best Windows phone right now.

Sent from Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows via mTalk

 

[anon(50597)]

Except for the camera, I think it's the best Windows phone right now.

Sent from Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows via mTalk

Its getting a lot of attention. I haven't held one myself but from what I'm reading, it sounds like they're making nice products.