Rant : What is your Plan B?

RobWuu

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My 'choice' would be Android, but reading up on all the (non)security stories on Android makes me feel really hesitant to move.

I don't like the Apple workflow, or prices for that matter. My phones always have been appr. 200-250 euros, and my Lumias always served me well. Not sure if a Android phone would do the same. Also the data hoarding Google is doing with your account is making me a bit uneasy.
Yes, I know the rest is doing it too, but for Google it's their main source of income.

So, Android is a plan B, but only in a very last resort..... ;-)
 

N_LaRUE

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My 'choice' would be Android, but reading up on all the (non)security stories on Android makes me feel really hesitant to move.

I don't like the Apple workflow, or prices for that matter. My phones always have been appr. 200-250 euros, and my Lumias always served me well. Not sure if a Android phone would do the same. Also the data hoarding Google is doing with your account is making me a bit uneasy.
Yes, I know the rest is doing it too, but for Google it's their main source of income.

So, Android is a plan B, but only in a very last resort..... ;-)

Security is only an issue if you intend to use unapproved apps. It's no different than going to dodgy sites using your PC or downloading dodgy software or opening attachments in emails from people you don't know.

I'm hoping, hoping, that Android N will eliminate this issue once and for all if they are going to the two layer OS.

I've had absolutely no issues with Android since I started using it over 2 years ago with my tablet and 1 1/2 years ago with my phone.

To answer the obvious question as to why I am still on this site, to answer that, this is WC - Windows Central. It's a site for Windows, not just mobile. I own a Surface Pro and two W10 laptops. I still use MS software on my phone as well.
 

libra89

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To answer the obvious question as to why I am still on this site, to answer that, this is WC - Windows Central. It's a site for Windows, not just mobile. I own a Surface Pro and two W10 laptops. I still use MS software on my phone as well.
I hate when people ask that. This is so not Windows Phone central. I don't see people on iMore saying that since you use Android, you shouldn't be here. I find tech to be SO interesting. It's fun to not only read about stuff but also try it. I find it easier to dabble into the phone/mobile side. Computers on the other hand, I can't afford a surface book so I just imagine how cool it is.

I haven't used Windows Phone as my daily since, eh, very early February. I have a phone that I use for media that is a wp (my 435) but the sound on it is very disappointing. Not an audiophile, but I feel like I have to turn it up loud to really hear music and general media. I chose it because of the size of it.
 

N_LaRUE

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I find tech to be SO interesting.

This is what people forget. It's just tech. It's fun, it's interesting, it truly amazing (especially if you grew up before it was like this).

Just because I'm not using a Window Mobile doesn't mean I'm not interested in it.

I think the market is a bit saturated at the moment and we're all wondering 'what's next' but we should appreciate what we have. It is revolutionary in many ways.
 

MSFTisMIA

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Do I have a plan B? No. I'm using my Plan A - being a dual user of Windows and Android. I own a 950 XL and an Asus T100 both on Windows 10. I own a Moto 360 2014, LG G4 and Z3 tablet compact.

Very satisfied with my gear. Android is more of my daily driver these days, but I use both interchangeably enough where it doesn't matter for me. I'm too platform agnostic to be fully locked into one ecosystem anyways...
 

Z80_Man

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I've been a Windows Mobile user from the start. Just two months ago, I was still using my good old realiable HTC HD2 with a self-made WM 6.5.3 Professional ROM with all I would ever need on it.

However, since MS announced they would stop WM6 and announced WP7, and even though it was just a project, then a half-finished product, then a very incomplete OS (it didn't even have copy and paste not Office when it was first released), most software editors immediately dropped Windows Mobile, sometime in the middle of incurring development (such as the awaited Adobe Flash plugin for Opera Mobile, etc.)

But even then, I've been going on with Windows Mobile, for two reasons : 1) as I said, it did all I was needing as my mobile office, and 2) I could do all I wanted with it : registry editing, full customization, self-made CABs, scripting with MortScript allowing to program almost any task with a simple text file, etc. Using it under HTC Sense 2.5 + Co0kie Home Tab 2 made it the most advanced, handy and pleasant all purpose OS in the world.

But software editors had really decided to kill Windows Mobile. Twitter and Facebook (though I'm not using the latter, but still) changed their login process so the existing apps couldn't work (you could still save your login information for Twitter if you knew where to find them), auto located weather information from Accuweather started to stop working (we could earn another year by modifying the registry, then they changed something again), Skype was threatening not to work anymore...

So though 95% was still up and running and the HD2 was virtually indesctructible, you would become more and more isolated. In additon, the phone was limited to 3G, so of course, even the tehnology was ageing.

Then after a very unconvincing WP7, then 8, then 8.1, WM10 finally started to look like something. At least it was possible to use transparent tiles so you could have a start screen looking like somehting better than a colorblind Lego set, the OS was finally able to manage an SD card at last (though it could already from WP 8.1 - I can't believe it had regressed so much from my first HP iPaq using both a mini and and full size SD cards and everyone seemed to have felt OK with this !), and the "universal" apps promised to offer more choice in software, with cross-compatibility with desktop and tablet Windows 10.

So I felt I could finally take the plunge and replace the good old faithful HD2...

For now I feel highly frustrated with not being able to access the registry and system folders, (just to be able to sort the "all apps" list in subfolder like on desktop Win10, to start with) but I'll install the SDKs and try to do what's possible. The problem with being forced to install apps without being able to fix them like I was used to with Windows Mobile 6 is you have to live with unfinished or missing features and bugs. I used to correct problems with registry keys and to modify DLLs and scripts with a variety of tools : unsigning, uncompiling, modifying, signing back, rebuilding CABs, correcting translations or errors in SQL Lite tables, and of course enhancing graphics in resources files.

Now I have to wait for hypothetic fixes. Fortunately, and maybe it's thanks to the cross platform thingy that opens them to more users than just phone users, fixes come fast enough. From yesterday, Word is able to open RTF files, for instance, meaning most of my old notes became usable again (though they're opened in read only mode and need to be rewritten, but it's better than nothing). Defnitely a progress anyway since at least Word opens immediately : I can't believe how people are writing apps that take several minutes to launch ??? How the hell do they even do that ??? Are they crappy .NET VB apps ??? And they dare to sell that ?

So, a plan B ?

You know, when I read comments about an hypothetic Surface Phone, and the 950 and 950XL were launched... I thought "Nah. A Surface Phone will either never come out, or not before at least two years". The facts are : regular Windows needs faster, more current greedy processors. And where the dreaded and hated Windows 8 tiles menu felt totally out of place on a desktop PC (I've even upgraded my tablet to Windows 10 before having even used it just a mere second, and using it in "tablet mode" is totally out of the question), it totally makes sense on a (maybe not so, but still ^^) tiny phone screen.

Where it's totally nonsensical on a desktop (and even on a touchscreen tablet PC, though possibly less), it's rather a very pleasant start screen on a Windows Phone. Though honestly, I was very happy with the Windows Mobile 6.5 start screen, that could at least use subfolders (whose icons you could personalize at will - you just had to put a nice set of icons in a DLL. I made them with the help a friend who's a graphics designer). I could even MortScript to directly open selected favorite folders from the Sense home screen ! As a result, I had put all my documents, programs, install, etc. folders directly in the Start menu. The last floor launched the file explorer. :) Just try to get this with Windows Phone and come back. :p Though maybe pinning a subfolder to the home screen could be done from Total Commander or similar tool, I didn't try yet. Fortunately, such tools exist... It's the only one (with Root Explorer probably, but I haven't rooted the 950 yet) allowing to display the file extensions. How the hell could anybody live without seeing the damn file extensions ??????

Hey, another feature missing : you apparently can't associate an app to a file type. Having donwloaded like crazy (seriously, the so called Windows Phone app gap looks like an urban legend to me : I could find almost anything : OBD II readers, dB meters, ssh terminals, even an AutoCad reader and a Team Viewer client, so, seriously, app gap ??? What do Android and iOS have more ? 1000 variants each of the same app ? Who cares ???) , I have sometime 1 1/2 page of apps to chose from when clicking on some files... :p If I could access to the registry, it would have been done in a snap.

Well... So, plan B ?

Then answer is easy. THIS is plan B. I've kept my HD2 for years, I'll keep the Lumia for years. Seriously, who can throw money through the windows and change phone every month ? What for anyway ???

I'll just be keeping on using it until it can't connect to anything anymore because the whole world would have changed around. And meanwhile, I'll be happily enjoying what I have, with all that will be working on it. Question easily answered, then. :)

When it will become almost unusable, then I'll get a new flagship and keep it for years in turn. And the 950 will join the HD2 (HD2s, actually, as I've bought several used and cheap ones to try different ROMs and different OSes - so I know Android is dull and unattractive) in my museum of (few : I've been using pocket PCs for over a decade and had only 4 of them, the 950 included) beloved and trusty phones.

By the time the Lumia becomes obsolete, what choice will there be ? Honestly, I doubt there won't be any evolution of Windows Mobile.

It has always been there since 2002. Back then it had found its customers base, pofessional users. Then Apple came to try and mimic Windows CE/Mobile and aimed at home users. With $1,000 phones, and the worst is it worked ! But they were mostly toys that could phone. What do most iPhone users do ? Lose their lives on Facebook ? You won't ever see me there, so I don't care. Of course they opened a brand new market. Apparently, we're living a crisis, but people have still money to throw in new iPhones twice a year... Well, it's still a mystery to me.

Anyway, Microsoft thought they could drop their trusty and faithful professional base and mimic Apple... They have partly succeeded, but this treason has been their worse decision. However, Windows Mobile 10 should be able to drag some of them back, because of its qualities. That's the reason I won't be using anything else anyway. I'll stay with an old phone doing what I need rather than going elsewhere. If MS would understand this, they would always keep a steady and reliable base of users.

Then the other aspects of the OS should be enough to drag some of the consumer users. After all the OS qualities are obvious. It's intuitive and you always find what you're looking for in the right place. Just this should make all the difference, provided people would just dare trying. I'm selling computers, tablets and phones, absolutely not less than the previous years as I read everywhere (mostly because it's not my main activity), but exactly the same as before : companies always need to replace devices or to equip new recruits. Those so called drops in sales are compltely normal and actually sane : let's stop wasting, let's buy sturdy hardware and use it for a reasonable duration, let's replace it only when needed, and let's evolve software until it can't be anymore.

And about Windows Mobile 10, and Windows 10 on tablets, all I have to do is to show mine to sell one. They're perfectly convincing products, and I've always wondered why there hadn't been more sales in the past. Probably for marketing and advertising reasons, if you ask me.

So I'm not so pessimistic about WM10 future nor successors. It's actually a necessity, considering MS involvement into cross-platform OSes, and I think the decision to do so was good. I really doubt WM10 will disappear soon. It will evolve, yes, but not die. And if it does, then I'll use it as long as I can, as I always did. Maybe I'll even die first, in the end. :p

It would take a true revolution to get anything better anyway. Something nobody can imagine yet... HTC had been thinking about developping their own OS, but considering how most of the Sense add-ons were bugged (I know, I've fixed lots of them ^^) and hastily finished, and their current financial problems, we shouldn't hope for a miracle from them. Google made a reasonable choice : they took an existing Debian Linux base and they embroided around. Neat, efficient, but so boring ! Same for Apple (quite the champion for buying other people's patents and piling them up). But where's the creativity ?

What's currently announced is more about hardware (with a bit of associated software, we could call drivers) : flexible screens, 3D gestures, faster processors... But not much innovation in OSes. MS is innovating much more (maybe not always for the best - the tiles menu on desktops is a perfect example) and is truly trying to offer new user interfaces. I don't think they'll just stop now. It would just make no sense. It's in the company's genes.

Anyway, what suddenly got WM10 some wordlwide attention was the rumor they would be back to target professional users and provide a real productivity OS. This is the only thing we were all waiting for and even if it doesn't meet a large consumer audience, at least professional should be back, and they'll necessarily drag other users in their path. I'm sure of it. I'm quite confident about it. :)

Professionals made Windows Mobile success since 2002, far before anybody had ever heard of smarthones (I'm pretty sure there was a big marketing lack there), and aiming at them again is vowed to give results. Dropping them was MS worst move. They thought they could overpower Apple on the toys market, but it was a ridiculous idea. They thought bing able to be better in this segment, and couldn't. They'd rather stick to what they did the best, and just add some more bells and whistles to drag some new users, instead of rushing to the kiddies and snobs market without being able to compete.
 
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Jeddic

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Welcome to 2016. I think you're the last person who misses having all the convenience and user-friendly features of Linux in your phone. Although I'm sure if there's another, they'll find this post and reply to me.
 

daftpunklover

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Well, I got myself a Xiaomi Mi4 LTE and I can switch back to Android every time I want. Actually I've been rocking W10M on it since January (when I bought it) but I'm thinking of switching to Android until the Anniversary Update comes.

Filippo

Sent from Xiaomi Mi4 running Windows 10
 

egold70

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The only manufacturer which maintains support and updates even 3 or more year old phones is Xiaomi, every line(entry, mid or high end) is updated on regular basis
This gave me the option for plan B and Mi4 LTE was chosen as the only device on the market with official W10M and MIUI(android based) roms. Using it almost 6 months now and had several switches between the OS-es
As of my experience MIUI(on KK or MM) is by far superior in terms of performance on the same 2 year old hardware.
The 14XXX redstone builds were a nightmare in many aspects especially battery life(up to unusable state) so I`m staying with MIUI for the time being, there are weekly updates mostly and custom roms if one prefers
Will check probably W10 again some day to see how the OS matures(or not)
 

cracgor

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I would be giving up these things, moving from Windows 10 to iOS

  1. Superb OneDrive integration-Seamless auto-upload of images and deleting images from the phone as well as OneDrive at the same time. iCloud is pathetic in comparison, I regularly share OneDrive albums with people via the web, you can't do that on iCloud
  2. Outlook - Windows 10's stock email app is better than the stock iOS email app any day. Yes, I can use the Outlook Mail client on iOS, but using an app is not the same thing. It doesn't do background sync of emails as well
  3. Live Tiles - I think this is the area where iOS is most lacking. The Home screen is useless and a waste of space on big screen phones.
  4. Wireless Charging - I have three wireless chargers at home, one in my car and one at office. All that investment would go to waste
  5. Glance - Unlocking your phone each time to check for notifications is such a waste of time and battery
  6. Money - I have a 950XL. To replace it with an iPhone (Plus variant) with at least 64Gb of memory would cost almost twice as much
  7. Loss if integration with Windows 10 on the desktop and iPhone

What I would be gaining

  1. Much better camera app with true burst. No, picking frames from videos or that horrible implementation of burst on W10 Mobile cannot even come close to iOS
  2. Apps - Even though I don't use many apps, maybe once I am able to use them, I would?

Do the rest of you have a Plan B?

I implemented my Plan B already. I went to LG/Android when my 1520 broke and I did not like the 950xl.

To your points above:

  1. Google Drive does everything One Drive does. One drive can also work on Android, but it has less file space.
  2. I like the standard mail app better than the Outlook one, but the app does background syncing just fine. You can pretty much decide what default app you want for any task (browser, text messages, email, calendar, contacts, etc)
  3. I am ok with my implementation of widgets (having gotten a little tired of the potential messy look to live tiles), but I noticed if you really want, you can easily install a WP8 or W10M launcher that for the most part will bring back the look of much of this.
  4. I have whireless charging.
  5. I have a second screen that functions well enough for my glance screen needs...though it is much smaller than what I was used to.
  6. Money...buying a phone is an investment. I would have a hard time spending that kind of money and then not using it for at least 2 years.
  7. Integration is fine. I could sort of get cortana to even do the messaging thing on my computer, but it would sometimes duplicate the message and ended up being more annoying than texting on my phone.

I don't think that Plan B is the end of the world. If Windows Mobile stopped working then there would be another option. Just like I am pretty entrenched in Windows 10 on my PC, but if it really stopped existing tomorrow, I would probably even be able to make some Linux Distribution suit my needs.
 

RayWP7

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I did leave. For two days. I bought a Galaxy S6. I've been an ardent Windows Phone user since the Samsung Focus days. I've owned nearly every model produced (and sold) for ATT. That said, I recently bought a home and was finally feeling what people complained about for years... "app gap." I implemented some smart home and automation stuffs and it was hard to get apps on WP. Now that is more or less resolved (after I returned the S6 for a 950). I hope that choice doesn't come by force. I couldn't stand Androids waste of space and UI (even playing with different theme managers, or whatever they call them). iOS isn't much different. I'll really miss my Start screen and Live Tiles. Even so, I'm not sure I'd go back to Apple after years of owning iPhones (pre WP debut) the one thing I know is that they break easy and they are expensive to replace. For now, at least I gave an Android device a try. It was a beautiful phone, no doubt, but just not my cup of tea. I won't "hope" or "wish" anything for Windows 10 Mobile and Microsoft's endeavors, but I'm also not going to abandon the platform just yet. Analysts are just that. Microsoft loves to disappoint, confuse, but also surprise people from time to time. :)
 

cracgor

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I did leave. For two days. I bought a Galaxy S6. I've been an ardent Windows Phone user since the Samsung Focus days. I've owned nearly every model produced (and sold) for ATT. That said, I recently bought a home and was finally feeling what people complained about for years... "app gap." I implemented some smart home and automation stuffs and it was hard to get apps on WP. Now that is more or less resolved (after I returned the S6 for a 950). I hope that choice doesn't come by force. I couldn't stand Androids waste of space and UI (even playing with different theme managers, or whatever they call them). iOS isn't much different. I'll really miss my Start screen and Live Tiles. Even so, I'm not sure I'd go back to Apple after years of owning iPhones (pre WP debut) the one thing I know is that they break easy and they are expensive to replace. For now, at least I gave an Android device a try. It was a beautiful phone, no doubt, but just not my cup of tea. I won't "hope" or "wish" anything for Windows 10 Mobile and Microsoft's endeavors, but I'm also not going to abandon the platform just yet. Analysts are just that. Microsoft loves to disappoint, confuse, but also surprise people from time to time. :)

This is the only Windows Phone Launcher I like. There's a free version without all the features available too.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lx.launcher8pro2
 

TLRtheory

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I guess you could say I have a plan B... and C for that matter.

My mains are my Lumia 950 and Core i5 dGPU Surface Book, and I don't see anything changing that. Sure I do have a Nexus 5, gaming laptop that I have Fedora Xfce Spin loaded on, iPhone 5 and a Core i5 MacBook Pro... but they just don't give me anything anywhere near comparable to the experience I get on my Lumia+Surface combo.

News outlets can spread all the doom and gloom they like, but Windows Phone hasn't stopped gaining apps, the number of apps keeps getting higher, the quality of apps keeps improving, UWP continues to become more and more appealing... and I doubt that trend's gonna stop.
 

zhris

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I'm constantly swapping my SIM between my 640 and my Note 4.... love WinMo10, but then miss the apps, so I switch, but then love WinMo, so I switch, etc, etc
 

sf49ers

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I'm not sure I understand your hatred for Google. Microsoft and Apple aren't any more or less good or "evil".

With that said, I feel like all your "cons" list would be addressed by an Android device more than an Apple one.

I ultimately moved to an Android phone (Sony Xpetia Z1C) after my Lumia 1020. Microsoft's apps in general work well on Android. From my experience, if anything, iOS is the most restrictive in customization, service choices, and lock in.

Each to their own though.
Actually IOS has come a long way from being wall gardened to some what open to other sevices. Since IPhone 6 I haven't looked back or used my android device as my primary device. Since the first iphone I have hated nothing but the email, calendar contacts apps etc. atleast now my biggest issue is solved with outlook email app, google hangouts for my google voice account.

Stability, 2gb of ram on my iPhone 6s means no more slow downs. I have had used atleast 20-25 android handsets until my last ones samsung s5 and nexus 6, IMO biggest issue about android vendors is they use cheap components to drive costs down like sd ram or flash memory(they deplete after few million reads unlike apples proprietary and high quality ram/flash memory and battery). Thats one reason why android phones crawl or have battery woes after a years usage. Try IOS 9.x and you will never go back to any other device. Smoothness, stability, camera, apps, tight integration with various services, some neat features like safari ad blocker and night shift are welcome additions
 

Mad Cabbie

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I use Windows 10 Mobile. Windows Phone / Windows mobile is effectively dead anyway. We all have our opinions, but, the only one that matters is the one expressed in the MSFT boardroom.

Why would third parties invest in a Market where Windows has never been a big player? Why would Vaio take the plunge if things were 'dead'?

With the advent of W10M, OEM's can now flash the OS onto what is effectively, an Android device. One OEM offers the choice, and will proceed if the interest is there. Why would Acer get involved? They are a large tech company, and I can't see them jumping on something that is dead. Then we have HP with a device that many people are awaiting with baited breath. Why would HP get involved? They must be certain that the enterprise market will accept this device.

OK, they aren't Samsung etc, but at least the interest is there. Just because MSFT say they are taking a step back from the mobile market, doesn't mean it's dead. MSFT even admit that the 'new' devices weren't satisfactory and not up to MSFT standards. To me, it makes sense to step back, and develop your next generation devices as a whole, from Surface to Phone. Maybe add some asthetic similarities so they can be identified as MSFT surface products. A year out allows time for continuum to be developed further. At present it's in it's embryonic stage, and with development, it could be something special. You will soon be able to buy an Android tablet with a projector built in!!

So, in answer to the original post, I haven't got a plan B. I'm going to sit back and enjoy the ride. I don't like the iPhone, but love the iPad (??), and android has security issues, performance issues and is still running the same OS it was 3 years ago, just updated with bug fixes that create even more bugs and of course lot's of bloatware. OK you can root them, I have, and cooked roms, but many of the apps I use wont work on a rooted device. I know you can 'hide' or 'disguise' root, but when I'm taking credit card payments in the taxi, I am in a large pool of excrement if a random check is performed on equipment used to process banking details.
 

patcherd

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No plan B for me. I too swap out my sim card between my 650, Alcatel one touch XL and now my latest acquisition the BLU HD LTE running win 10 current release build.
Had the 950 but gave it to a good buddy after 5 months.

Also tried an Moto X for about a week or so, but something about android makes me miss windows all the more. Windows overall is just better integrated.
Now if they can get more banking apps and a few other minor things it would be complete for my uses
 

Iain_S

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I keep hearing folk say microsofts apps are better on other platforms, that simply is not true. Outlook, onedrive and all the rest of the office apps are far superior on windows 10 mobile.
 

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