W10M is dying right in front of my eyes :-(

[Rosebank]

The OS. Ah, I should clarified that originally. Hopefully the workaround will continue to work. For this particular app, there's either a workaround in whatever OS or it's dead to me.

I hear you and Thanks, PdaNet was a big App for me as it allowed me to tether my data allowance (pay as you go) from the Mobile to the Laptop, this single app literally saved me Hundreds of pounds in home Broadband and I reluctantly left it behind to switch to W10m and an unlimited data connection, I miss that App so much and there are no tethering apps that can do the same Job as it did. :-(
If I switch back to Android that App will be top of my list.

 

[Polychrome]

I imagine this is yet more panic induced by the whole Minecraft thing... which is stupid as it's obvious they're converting to UWP.

The way I see it, Windows "phone" is in a transitional state now. We're basically "paying-to-beta" while Microsoft consolidates their operating system. While that personally doesn't bother me (I've always been the type who loves an experiment), I think the problem is that fans are easily frustrated by ANY change in something that they like. IMO, there is nothing in the tech world that is worth getting frustrated over, but people allow this to happen all the time. If it isn't windows's app gap, it's exploding samsungs, self-bricking LGs, underpowered kyoceras, iphones bricking their own modems... and a yell and a scream for each and every one. It doesn't matter the OS or the platform, you'd think the world was ending every other day.

Lemmie take a recent example from a company that's definitely not failing: I've been a big Nintendo fan for years. The new Switch is looking like an exciting piece of hardware, the games coming out for it look fantastic. But the way fans are talking you'd think this 100+ yeared company was on the verge of a horrible death. "What? We need an app for online? What? You don't have an i9 processor with the latest Nvidia crammed into that tiny little tablet? The WiiU is terrible! Nobody ever bought it! Blah blah blah blah blah...." Forget the fact that the WiiU got more of my attention the last few years than the Xbox One. You'd think Nintendo wasn't a company that always manages to turn a profit, the way fans talk about it. Heck, this guy at work was ranting yesterday that the switch was Nintendo's "last chance". Last chance for what exactly? To print more money?

And then I look at what Microsoft is attempting to do with "Windows ARM", I see the obvious growing pains that will come with it...but the benefits. Holy crap the benefits. Imagine running any PC software on a phone. Imagine just installing bluestacks....With decades of PC software available in your pocket ON TOP OF whatever is available for Android, the app gap would quite simply REVERSE. There would be no defense against an attack like this. None at all.

I remember back before WP7... how we were literally years without an OS update for windows mobile. I compare it to today, where we get updates every few months. Instead of abandoning us entirely as they did back then, they're allowing us to take part in the adventure.

Is it crazy? Might it fail? Yes to both. But if it succeeds, it will be glorious.

 

[final_fantasy781]

Great app, I use it daily. There are other apps, too, like Candy Crush or Yummly. At least I think Yummly is a UWA, but Grover Pro is great.

However, I don't know if its an issue with the latest build, but any app in the Store that gets updated doesn't get installed. And one app is Grover Pro. I uninstalled the app because of the last build (15007) and now I can't install anything.

 

[Team Corsair]

I am whole heartedly saddened by the prospect. I bought a Elite x3 a few days ago and haven't had a single issue. I started off way back in 2011 with a Samsung Focus, to a Nokia 900 in the glorious Mango days. Then progressed to a slightly flawed 1520. 3 faulty pieces of hardware for that sucker, the worst is when the screen detached. Thankfully I was under warranty every time ha.

I switched to a Note 4 just before going on active duty, and hated every moment of it. I used Android back when it was 2.2 and 2.4 before my Focus, and hoped they had changed. Apps were excessive, to get anything done productively you had to install over 100+ apps. Preinstalled were excessive as well, and you had tl micromanage EVERYTHING. What I love about Windows, and still do is that it's like a butler. It does everything for you without you noticing. I spent 2 years on my Note 4, signed into my microsoft and google accounts on my Elite and honest to god, it was like I had my windows phone just yesterday before I belly flopped into Android. I was astonished that everything was already set. Minor changes and getting MetroPCS going was a little tricky with APN settings, but I got there.

What bothers me was today announcement of Microsoft dropping support for Minecraft mobile. Like...really?

I use my x3 for light business and love it. I'm in the "honeymoon" stages of this phone, but the interface is beautiful. I have large hands and miss the feel like my 1520. The Notes have always been too small and this is a beautiful fit. Hardware quality is remarkable. Noting that it is plastic, but it feels like it could really take a beating. Doesn't feel cheap. Difficult to explain.

The Snapdragon 820 really shines, along with the 4gb of RAM, I was using continuum with 12 running applications change swiftly and printing all at the same time. Absolutely remarkable! And the desk dock was getting warm, not the phone! I think Hp really nailed the proper hardware for some good multitasking on WM10, but it does need that support. If people didn't keep jumping off this band wagon, we'd have lots of support.

My wife even switched to my old 1520 because she was fed up with iOS and loving it. Doesn't like the lack of Snapchat, but oh well.

Sent from mTalk

 

[PerfectReign]

While I have NFC on my 950xl, IPhone 6s, and Galaxy S6, I've not ever used it.

That said, it is tough. Even the Starbucks app on WM10 is marginal.

The past few days, I've tried to use my Iphone (work supplied) as a primary device. Total fail. While the app selection is huge compared to WM, and the apps load faster - there is a serious issue with the UI. It just doesn't make sense. Things which should be easy are very challenging. (Try deleting an email or attaching a document to an email, for examples.)

Oddly, two of my Microsoft account managers have switched to Iphone recently. They each love the device.

I'll be taking the SIM out of the Iphone and putting it into my Galaxy S6 this weekend to see what I feel using that.

Sent from mTalk

 

[Kerry2112]

I don't get how people can say Outlook is better on Android than W10M. I have a 950XL and a Nexus 6P. Outlook sucks on the 6P compared to 950XL because:

1) No live tile. Have to use a widget (taking up home screen space) and it doesn't always update promptly.

2) When I click on an email in the notification shade, half the time I get an error "The message failed to load". I have to click the widget to open Outlook mail and view the message that way.

3) You can only edit Outlook calendar entries if you created them on the phone.

4) You cannot snooze calendar reminders. And they don't always appear on time anyway.

But Live Tiles are Windows' mobile masterstroke and the thing I like the most W10M vs. Android (even if, on Fast Ring builds, they didn't always work properly).

 

[MichalR]

Ok, maybe there is some future for mobile Windows, but currently, especially on the older Lumias, it's mostly unusable. When I switched to Android Marshmallow, I was really surprised of how it works. It's smooth, not messy, works without lags and crashes. I have all my fitness trackers on the board, I don't need to beg for this, don't have to ask developers whether they are going to release the app and support it, everything is in place. I don't bother that camera crashes on HDR mode or Endomondo crashes while listening FLAC files in the same time, even on a budget phone. I don't need to wait ages for my Gmail to get emails and don't need to wait for devs to fix bugs in unofficial Flickr client, because I have the native client there. And the keyboard and dictionary - I used SwiftKey for a while, but tried recently released GBoard - it's a magic. Windows keyboard in comparison is a crap. Beer for those who tell me why MS didn't include the same dictionary as we had in Windows Phone 8.1.

Speaking about the future I see some potential in Windows ARM, but it will work well only in Continuum mode when we speak about x32 apps. Nobody will develop new apps with mobile interface, can't see any chance for that.

 

[Team Corsair]

I never found a single keyboard for 6.0 that deserved the courtesy of calling it a keyboard. They were all bogus. Not to mention TouchWiz was god-awful. Any and all other launchers stacked on top constantly crashed apps. Arrow Launcher was the only decent one, even then it bogged itself down because there is no built in way to shut down apps. You, yet again, have to download another app to manage all the other apps you have to have to make android reasonable to handle.

Sent from mTalk

 

[beman39]

it MUST be dying if MS's most popular game minecraft mobile is no longer getting updates on WM!!! that's REALLY SAD! lol

 

[Greywolf1967]

"And they all lived happily ever after" it's how my parents used to finish a bedtime story like that

You may think as you wish, but the ground work is already there if you know what to look at.

2 things to think about that have come out of the Surface line, have Mobile application written all over them.......

Surface Book and it's ability to go from Tablet to Laptop. When apart It's a good tablet, but click together and it gets a boost in Horsepower.
This not only works with GPU, but can indeed work for CPU.

Surface Studio and all the moaning about "Why can't I just buy the screen, and use my own CPU?"..............a question ahead of the software development!!!!!

You are going to have a range of options based off of what you need and when.

It's all there in one form or another, you just have to take the bits and lay them out to see what is coming. However the focus has to be Business for now, as that is where the money is for things to advance.

Am I happy that Mobile Windows as it is now may soon pass into memory like Windows RT......No not at all.....but I do see it as a step that has to happen for the future to form into something better.
So if your need is Snapchat and other forms of social kids stuff....iPhone and Android await you. Yes it's sad but this is what has to happen.

Just as a side note...apart from my first Nokia back in the day ( A Ten Ton Brick), all my phones have been Windows Based Starting with my Casio E125 and Casio BE 300, many many many Moons before Mr. Jobs "invented" the cell phone and sliced bread. So I don't see the death of Mobile and Windows......I see Microsoft putting Mobile into a cocoon for it to change into something new.

 

[mattiasnyc]

I get the feeling that a lot of the sentiment that the platform is dying is because people are looking for negativity and live in a bubble. Obviously, if you gravitate towards that type of information your fears will be confirmed and you too will switch, thus furthering the spiral downwards that otherwise might not have existed.

 

[MichalR]

I never found a single keyboard for 6.0 that deserved the courtesy of calling it a keyboard. They were all bogus. Not to mention TouchWiz was god-awful. Any and all other launchers stacked on top constantly crashed apps. Arrow Launcher was the only decent one, even then it bogged itself down because there is no built in way to shut down apps. You, yet again, have to download another app to manage all the other apps you have to have to make android reasonable to handle.

Sent from mTalk

SwiftKey is decent but Gboard is just perfect. I'm using two languages simultaneously and I don't even have to change language manually like in Windows, the keyboard changes it fluently and automatically.

Speaking about launchers, I'm using Arrow, it's pretty fine. Double tap on the right Android button opens multitasking window and there you can close all apps with a single tap.

 

[Greywolf1967]

Just one last thing to think about.........

None of the major players in SMS style message apps have left ( WeChat, WhatsApp,ect), if they were to close up and dump Windows Support that is when you can start to SMASH the Panic button !!!!!!!!!!!

If Skype ever shows up in a WC Title saying " Skype to End Support for Windows".......watch for huge rocks to fall from the sky, as we will be heading back to the stone age !!!!!!

 

[Shamshi-Adad]

Build 15014 is out.

Peace. Alan
Galaxy S7Edge [MM6.0.1] Full Dresser
Lumia ICON [Win10M 15007.1000] Sportster
Even when I lose, I win.

 

[anon(50597)]

Build 15014 is out.

Peace. Alan
Galaxy S7Edge [MM6.0.1] Full Dresser
Lumia ICON [Win10M 15007.1000] Sportster
Even when I lose, I win.

They put out an awful lot of updates for such a dying platform!

Sent from mTalk

 

[John Wolf1]

Ok, maybe there is some future for mobile Windows, but currently, especially on the older Lumias, it's mostly unusable. When I switched to Android Marshmallow, I was really surprised of how it works. It's smooth, not messy, works without lags and crashes. I have all my fitness trackers on the board, I don't need to beg for this, don't have to ask developers whether they are going to release the app and support it, everything is in place. I don't bother that camera crashes on HDR mode or Endomondo crashes while listening FLAC files in the same time, even on a budget phone. I don't need to wait ages for my Gmail to get emails and don't need to wait for devs to fix bugs in unofficial Flickr client, because I have the native client there. And the keyboard and dictionary - I used SwiftKey for a while, but tried recently released GBoard - it's a magic. Windows keyboard in comparison is a crap. Beer for those who tell me why MS didn't include the same dictionary as we had in Windows Phone 8.1.

Speaking about the future I see some potential in Windows ARM, but it will work well only in Continuum mode when we speak about x32 apps. Nobody will develop new apps with mobile interface, can't see any chance for that.

I can't see anyone wanting to use x86 programs on a 5 inch screen. It's hard to use it on my Surface Pro with touch and that's a 12 inch screen. Continum has done nothing to inspire people to use a Windows phone and I don't see it doing so in the future.

 

[EspHack]

It's not just tech news and online reading that gives me cause for concern, although that is a big factor in my original forum posting, its the app issue and first hand experience of the device failing to do basic tasks, sometimes I cant even get past the lock screen and I am having issues, I have had 3 or 4 reboots just trying to unlock the device or accessing the camera from the phone being locked (a feature of the phone). That aside I know there are things planned for the future but as so many people are leaving I struggle to understand the strategy of this side of the company. I don't like to be negative but more realistic. If Microsoft are aiming for business customers then they need to get it right for the public everyday user first, set an example of efficiency, they are not doing that imho.

it seems even my spoofed 928 runs better than your 950

such a drastic departure from the early days when all they said about wp was:

-just works!
-smooth AF!!
-apps? it has every feature built in!
-buttery smooth!
-smoother than smooth!
-2 years of use and it still works and performs exactly as day 1!

 

[MichalR]

I can't see anyone wanting to use x86 programs on a 5 inch screen. It's hard to use it on my Surface Pro with touch and that's a 12 inch screen. Continum has done nothing to inspire people to use a Windows phone and I don't see it doing so in the future.

That's why I said those apps need mobile interface. With standard Windows interface it does not make any sense. Continuum has done nothing due to lack of devices, but it's a good idea for which I see some hope if MS will start working on it seriously.

 

[Shamshi-Adad]

They put out an awful lot of updates for such a dying platform! ??????

Sent from mTalk

Give it 12 hours and the advanced obituaries will be back. An update is like a pacifier to a baby - after awhile it quits workin' :winktongue:

Peace. Alan
Galaxy S7Edge [MM6.0.1] Full Dresser
Lumia ICON [Win10M 15007.1000] Sportster
Even when I lose, I win.

 

[mc_razza]

I hate to put this out there but I really do feel this platform is dying and fast too, every day I am hearing about apps no longer supported, phone faults, and update issues, I really wanted to back this platform but I feel (after only 3 months) that things are going from bad to worse, I am even reading that loyal windows phone fans are leaving in large numbers and this is very concerning, I am beginning to regret my purchase (L950).
The platform seems static and no further phones from MS, suspected surface phone in the future but still nothing concreate, anyone else feeling this way? Its like watching a ship sink and being a part of it is not a good feeling. When I first joined W10M I was happy and optimistic but I don't feel that way now. What's more my L950 that cost £250 is now practically worthless as it wont sell as nobody demands the platform and if it did sell it would be for pennies.

Wait for MWC this Feb. 27 to Mar. 2. Microsoft will make a comeback in mobile this year. Keep the faith.