Folks who make up the 1% - why are you holding on?

[rocketboy]

I love the design philosophy behind Windows Phone. Have since I first saw WP7. I've been with it from the beginning. That MS hasn't done right by it doesn't diminish the fact that WP is unique in it's vision for how a mobile OS should work and look. WP is as much a revolution in UI as the original iPhone was in phone hardware (but mediocre in its software). The last thing I saw that was as intriguing to me as WP7 was the 1985 Amiga 1000.

It's hard to make a case for WM nowadays. If you're not a fan or all in on MS there's really no point in trying to convert someone. But I've always been intrigued by unique (if not downright oddball) tech. I don't mind being the only one using something. I loved the idea of colourful phones. When I see everyone using the same iPhone or Galaxy it just seems so boring even if the app selection did allow me a few more capabilities.

This L950 may be my last WP. If it weren't for the $300 ATT sale I may have given up already. But it's not quite time yet. There's still enough life left in the platform for me I'm certainly not willing to pay $600-800 for a flagship running an OS I'm not excited about. We WP fans are famous for holding out hope for the next big thing. I think the next 12 months will decide it all. But even if WM10 AU is the last big thing then I'll have had the satisfaction of seeing something through from the beginnings of WP7 to the end at WM10.

 

[anon(50597)]

I was on the road the other day with some guys, outside our country and I wanted to share some pictures with them. One of them had an iPhone, and guess what - he could neither receive nor send us with windows phones and androids anything - the only option being bluetooth sharing, since we were without internet on the road...
Oh, not to mention how messed up mp3s get with iPhone. I'd never use such a phone. And this is not just because of no sharing with others when you don't have access to internet - I share stuff from my phone, almost on daily basis with my PC. If I had an iphone I would have to connect with the PC with a cable every single time. Now that's another hassle I would not take...

Very well said.

I currently own a 640, 950, a Moto G3, and a Blackberry Classic. Recently sold my iPhone 6 because it didn't fit my needs and was frustrating to use. Well made but locked down and doesn't do things as easily as my other devices.
I own a Lincoln MKZ and a Ford Escape. Guess which one I drive the most? The Escape because I'm tall and it's easier to get in and out of for me.
Thinking you have to spend top dollar or you are cheap is a joke.

 

[Jimmie Lee]

I was always using android/ios. I only decided to give windows phone a try when I saw the lumia 520 was dirt cheap. I was merely curious and went for it. At first I didn't like it that much, then when windows 8.1 came out I started liking it a lot more. I especially liked the start screen more than anything. I ended up getting a lumia 830 to test out a more powerful phone as a daily driver using a prepaid card. Part of it was I didn't want to keep paying the carrier fees for something I barely used outside of texting/chatting. I never really used the phone much for calls. So I was pretty pleased with it. It wasn't till I started testing out windows 10 preview builds that I really started liking windows mobile. The Start screen enhancements and customization were great. The settings enhancements, action center, everything was really appealing to me. I would say though that 90% of my like for windows mobile is the start screen. And it's not really the live tiles. I find them useful for some things like weather or just knowing the number of unseen items. It's about being able to customize the look to my needs, make it more efficient/organized and differentiate myself with the look I find most appealing. Android did allow for it to some extent with a lot of hacks. But this was straight out of the box. And it just looked better in my opinion. And to this day I have my android/ios phones and I still prefer windows 10 mobile. The start screen is a big part of windows 10 mobile and it's the least understood part too. No one really knows much about the Start screen because MS doesn't educate people. They don't make any ads that show off how unique start screens can be made. People just know it as the boring default. That's how I knew it till I started playing around. That's how my friends knew it till they saw my start screen. That's how people all over the world know it. MS ignores its best feature go figure.

What Kristianpants said! However, I've never used an Android phone. Mainly, for me, it's the WP start screen, the look, and the awesome customization that attracted me to the phone in the first place. I'm an organized person and Windows Phones seem to fit my character and style. Love the OS as well.

 

[Shamshi-Adad]

I don't like anything else, more.
Hehehe...
JJ

That's me too. 'Bout as succinct as you can get.

Peace. Alan
MS Lumia ICON 929 "Little Jewel" [Win10 M, Insider Preview, Redstone 14393.67]

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Money? I'm not spending any money. My iPhone simply just works. No matter what country, what app or service I want, it's THERE. That certainly wasn't happening in the 5 years I spent on WP. iOS has full support on every place on earth, and the majority of developers will develop their services for it FIRST.

If WP "worked", this thread wouldn't exist.

ios has full support everywhere in the world? how did you come to that conclusion? The number of iphones I've seen in my city in the last 2 years has numbered to less than 30 while windows phones are 100s of times as many

A country with over a billion people (India) has less than single digit percentage of their smartphone users on iphone. What kind of support do you think they have?

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Wrong.

It won't be "decent" - it'll barely scratch the surface, and by the time the next release of your chosen OS comes out, it'll be like being stuck in mud.

You want a great device which will go the distance, do everything, then you need to expect to pay some money for it. Stop being cheap scabs.

Buying a cheap phone is sometimes the only choice people have. Not everyone can afford to spend over 500USD on a phone when their salaries is the same and university fees are even higher. The 100USD Windows phone is just right for basic work

 

[Kimmo Toivanen]

Buying a cheap phone is sometimes the only choice people have. Not everyone can afford to spend over 500USD on a phone when their salaries is the same and university fees are even higher. The 100USD Windows phone is just right for basic work

I don't see value in buying more expensive phone than needed While I could afford almost any phone except Vertu, I went for a cheapest one which had all the necessary things.

Wrong.

It won't be "decent" - it'll barely scratch the surface, and by the time the next release of your chosen OS comes out, it'll be like being stuck in mud.

You want a great device which will go the distance, do everything, then you need to expect to pay some money for it. Stop being cheap scabs.

I spent almost 3 years with L820, so it went a distance. And almost 1 year with L640. Before those, I had feature phones, Symbian and cheap android. Currently I have "$200-$300 cheap scab" Chinese android with specs somewhere between L650 and L950. And it's more than decent, thank you

I don't crave for bling, status or ultimate power. I don't need a phone that could navigate in hyperspace. I couldn't care less about 2K, 4K or 8K display in 5+ inch form factor. OIS would be nice but my digital P&S camera has it + long zoom. I'm more comfortable dropping a cheap phone than an expensive one to asphalt.
I'm buying my phones, like my cars, based on what I need. Not based on what could be possible in 1 or 2 years. Not based on the impact it makes to other people. Not based on what "some bloke on the forum" told without arguments, if you don't mind

In the same time I don't tell you what to buy. It's your money and your device.

OS updates? Apple: checked. Android: if you are on Lollipop or better, you'll be covered with apps even without OS update for years (late KitKat seems to be the bottom line today). Windows: well... Some models will get RS2, so maybe you are referring to decent and long going Windows phone

 

[koolassme]

The 1%ters are loyal fans thts why we still hold on how can ppl not like Windows Phones they are the best and not plain like os or android who else gives u live tiles NOBODY where else can you change the tiles the color theme or even put ur favorite pic on it and still see the whole picture thts the sugar honey iced t is the best
I looked at android tht sucked looked at os tht sucked how can u not like Windows plz tell me

 

[koolassme]

How can u not like Windows Phones try putting ur fav picture on os or droid and tell me Wht u get it wont be a Windows look trust me who else have live tiles who else can change the color of tiles ummmm....let me think nobody how can u not like tht are y'all serious stop playing

 

[koolassme]

Windows should have a higher rating bigger than 1% if they step their game up they could be the #1 seed in the industry all the ppl tht use droid and os are just plain I guess there are more plain ppl in the world then live tiles ppl in the world are u serious I never want to be plain
and hope they don't make me plain I want to stay live all day everyday shout out to all the live ppl in the world help keep it alive ppl....

 

[Joe920]

Still holding on.. Here's my logic, point by point, mostly as a 'note to self'

- I only want a 'first party' phone for security, so a Nexus, iPhone, or Lumia
- I want more than 64GB
- I want to pay less than $600 (so no iPhone, maybe iPhone SE?)
- I want a screen size between 5" and 6" (so no iPhone SE)
- I want easy media transfer between PC and phone (so no iPhone. I guess iPhone is really out!)
- I want OIS (optical image stabilization, rules out the Nexus 5X)

So it's between a WP phone and a Nexus 6P or a future Nexus model.

On the Lumia front:
- I enjoy the wireless charging
- I enjoy dual sim support, especially now that I can use WhatsApp Beta for a second account
- I love the UI on WP
- Cortana works pretty well
- The camera is still amazing. Just crazy good. This is one thing I'd hate to lose

On the Nexus front:
- I want to join Google's Project Fi: amazing international support, good and transparent pricing
- I want Google Maps back. The POI database is just so much better than on WP, as is navigation.
- I want more frequent app updates, and better quality apps
- I'd prefer a fingerprint scanner over the iris scanner
- I prefer Google's accidental damage protection plan

Long story short, I still like my 950XL a lot, but I'll definitely be taking a close look at the upcoming nexus device.

Part of the reason for staying used to be "rooting for the underdog" as the OP mentioned, but since Joe Belfiore went on hiatus WP no longer has that cool upstart feel, the Skype/messaging situation has been an absolute mess, and the OS has been buggy for so long that most of my goodwill has evaporated. So, I'm hanging on, but by a thread!

 

[libra89]

<snip>
Part of the reason for staying used to be "rooting for the underdog" as the OP mentioned, but since the departure of Joe Belfiore WP no longer has that cool upstart feel, the Skype/messaging situation has been an absolute mess, and the OS has been buggy for so long that most of my goodwill has evaporated. So, I'm hanging on, but by a thread!

Wait he left altogether or do you mean the travel thing?

 

[Joe920]

Wait he left altogether or do you mean the travel thing?

Sorry, I just meant the travel thing. I actually just looked up his twitter account to make sure. Turns out right now he's testing / spying on a Galaxy S7.

 

[PGrey]

Still holding on.. Here's my logic, point by point, mostly as a 'note to self'

So it's between a WP phone and a Nexus 6P or a future Nexus model.

Long story short, I still like my 950XL a lot, but I'll definitely be taking a close look at the upcoming nexus device.

Part of the reason for staying used to be "rooting for the underdog" as the OP mentioned, but since Joe Belfiore went on hiatus WP no longer has that cool upstart feel, the Skype/messaging situation has been an absolute mess, and the OS has been buggy for so long that most of my goodwill has evaporated. So, I'm hanging on, but by a thread!

Yeah, I'm on the same page, I used to be more solid, but the buggy issues, particularly since RS, are sort of doing me in. The battery one is HUGE for me, I don't feel like I can trust my phone anymore. I pedal, a lot, and often go out for 4-6 hour rides on the weekends, and my phone is my bailout device. Right now, on the .82 build, I have to turn off my phone, in order to be assured I can use it if I need it, which means I can't get calls/texts, or anything really. Bluetooth not working (mostly) is big too, I can't really reliably make calls from my car anymore either.
Sure, I could do (another, this would be my 4th since AU) full-reset, but at some point, should't you just be able to USE your phone?

I'm waiting for the new Nexus model too, or the corresponding price-drop on the 6P. I really want wireless charging, so if the new model had this, I would probably go that route.

If things get more reliable in the meantime, maybe I'll stick around, but between the disappearance of the few apps I had, and the battery thing, I just don't see myself staying with the platform (I've been here since day1 too, more or less). I've dealt with all kinds of buggy, but un-reliable just does me in...

 

[Bittah Pupil]

I suppose I'm sticking around just because my 640 works for me. Sends and receives calls & texts, plays music, does GPS with offline maps, takes pictures, updates me on weather and sports and amuses me apps & games like 6tag, Bejeweled and now just recently Vinci (not really much into photography or filters but it has surprised me on how fun it is).

 

[tgp]

I'm waiting for the new Nexus model too, or the corresponding price-drop on the 6P. I really want wireless charging, so if the new model had this, I would probably go that route.

As much as I like the Nexus line, I'm afraid that lack of wireless charging is going to drive me away from them. From all appearances, this years devices won't have it either, although we do not yet know for sure. I had wireless charging for 3 years, and after getting the Nexus 6P a few months ago and going without it, I realize how much I loved it!

 

[colinkiama]

Simple, I want to see what all this will look like when all the issues are ironed out. They've come such a long way from the first insider builds.

 

[PGrey]

I ordered a 5x, and a USB Qi loop, just going to put that on the back, since I like to have a case anyway.
I did the same thing with my HTC One M8 (Win), and it worked, mostly fine. Sometimes I really wanted the USB port, but I was mostly able to work around it, with a WiFi sharing app, and some other tools.

If I like the 5x, and can get it to work okay with AT&T, at least VVM, and maybe VoLTE and WiFi calling, then I'll look at the 6P successor, and pass the 5X to my wife (she's insanely sick of the Bluetooth issues on her 950, so she's very game anyway), and get the new phone, and sell the 950XL and 950.

It's weird, feel like I'm closing a chapter or something, but who knows, maybe the Surface will become something real, and things will turn around in a couple of years.
Or, I may hate Android on a phone (I've mostly used it on tablets until now, except for some dev. work on Android), and just try to patch up the 950XL and see what happens there.
Sort of keeping my options open, for a couple of weeks, anyway, wife says we have to recoup one or the other by then ;-]
Have to sort out my daughter's phone too, she had an Android phone a ways back, but hated it, and I hated admining it, on our mostly Windows/Live environment, so she's on my old 1020, not sure what we'll do there.

 

[LumiaGuy]

First smartphone was a Lumia 520 then retired that to MP3 player duty after I bought a Lumia 640 for $30. Have since updated my 640 to W10 and am just happy with everything. I'm no Power User so am good for the most part with the Apps that are available. I'm pretty frugal too so for the $30 I'm into the phone, really have no reason to look at any other phones or OS's.

 

[anon(50597)]

Simple, I want to see what all this will look like when all the issues are ironed out. They've come such a long way from the first insider builds.

Good point. There is something important feeling about being able to be part of the changes and improvements. Want to see how it turns out.