Hope we made the right decision sticking with Windows Mobile

[Talldog]

My wife and I decided last spring that we would try to hang on to our three year old Verizon Lumia 822s for one more year in expectation of a 2017 Surface Phone. Here we are a year later, and now Surface Phone is 2018 (if ever) and our now four year old 822s were seriously needing to be replaced. We won't go back to Android because we have Surface Books and Office 365 (i.e. MS owns us) and I don't trust Google to not to screw over MS users again the way they did when we bought our first gen Surface Pros and found that Google had intentionally broken the ability to push GMail to the Surface Pro because of their feud with Microsoft. We got rid of our Android phones and GMail and swore we'd never go back.

So the only choice is iPhone, but once we go that route, we're gonna be locked in and we're just not ready to bail on Microsoft yet. Verizon is practically giving away the Lumia 735 ($120 new) so we decided to buy them outright with no contract, still hoping there's going to be a Surface Phone next year. If not, then...

Anyway, these 735s are much better than our old 822s, and Windows 10 is much nicer than 8.1. We're not big app users, so we hope we can plug along with LastPass, TuneIn, Pandora, Amazon, Fitbit and the few other apps we use. I can't believe I can't find a simple reusable checklist app, but I figured out a OneNote workaround. My wife is bummed out that PowerTasks is no longer available, but she'll make do with Outlook recurring tasks.

Anyway, we love the way these new phones integrate seamlessly with our Surface Books and here's hoping that there will actually be a Surface Phone that we can eventually move up to.

 

[Faisal Islam2]

I am not sure about surface phone! Microsoft first needs to develop full multitasking windows mobile ! I don't know how many more times I can stick with my Lumia 540! I am getting frustrated because I can't use social site peacefully due to outdated fb & messenger apps for windows mobile ! And most importantly multitasking facility rare to find in windows mobile! I don't want to shift to android or iPhone but if Microsoft continuously ignoring & abandoning its own mobile platform then I don't have choice to move on! I am not sure about you & your wife decision bro! I

 

[libra89]

My wife and I decided last spring that we would try to hang on to our three year old Verizon Lumia 822s for one more year in expectation of a 2017 Surface Phone. Here we are a year later, and now Surface Phone is 2018 (if ever) and our now four year old 822s were seriously needing to be replaced. We won't go back to Android because we have Surface Books and Office 365 (i.e. MS owns us) and I don't trust Google to not to screw over MS users again the way they did when we bought our first gen Surface Pros and found that Google had intentionally broken the ability to push GMail to the Surface Pro because of their feud with Microsoft. We got rid of our Android phones and GMail and swore we'd never go back.

So the only choice is iPhone, but once we go that route, we're gonna be locked in and we're just not ready to bail on Microsoft yet. Verizon is practically giving away the Lumia 735 ($120 new) so we decided to buy them outright with no contract, still hoping there's going to be a Surface Phone next year. If not, then...

Anyway, these 735s are much better than our old 822s, and Windows 10 is much nicer than 8.1. We're not big app users, so we hope we can plug along with LastPass, TuneIn, Pandora, Amazon, Fitbit and the few other apps we use. I can't believe I can't find a simple reusable checklist app, but I figured out a OneNote workaround. My wife is bummed out that PowerTasks is no longer available, but she'll make do with Outlook recurring tasks.

Anyway, we love the way these new phones integrate seamlessly with our Surface Books and here's hoping that there will actually be a Surface Phone that we can eventually move up to.

Nice upgrade choice! I hope that you two will enjoy your new 735s.

Sent from mTalk

 

[anon(50597)]

My wife and I decided last spring that we would try to hang on to our three year old Verizon Lumia 822s for one more year in expectation of a 2017 Surface Phone. Here we are a year later, and now Surface Phone is 2018 (if ever) and our now four year old 822s were seriously needing to be replaced. We won't go back to Android because we have Surface Books and Office 365 (i.e. MS owns us) and I don't trust Google to not to screw over MS users again the way they did when we bought our first gen Surface Pros and found that Google had intentionally broken the ability to push GMail to the Surface Pro because of their feud with Microsoft. We got rid of our Android phones and GMail and swore we'd never go back.

So the only choice is iPhone, but once we go that route, we're gonna be locked in and we're just not ready to bail on Microsoft yet. Verizon is practically giving away the Lumia 735 ($120 new) so we decided to buy them outright with no contract, still hoping there's going to be a Surface Phone next year. If not, then...

Anyway, these 735s are much better than our old 822s, and Windows 10 is much nicer than 8.1. We're not big app users, so we hope we can plug along with LastPass, TuneIn, Pandora, Amazon, Fitbit and the few other apps we use. I can't believe I can't find a simple reusable checklist app, but I figured out a OneNote workaround. My wife is bummed out that PowerTasks is no longer available, but she'll make do with Outlook recurring tasks.

Anyway, we love the way these new phones integrate seamlessly with our Surface Books and here's hoping that there will actually be a Surface Phone that we can eventually move up to.

Have you tried Wunderlist?

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S

 

[petvas72]

It depends. If you are not interested in having the best apps, and you have solutions for everything you do with your smartphones, then it is ok for a year. If you want something better though, then just make the switch to Android or iOS. You can still run most of the Microsoft applications. Especially on Android you can buy an app called Nine and it is the best PIM ever, for Exchange ActiveSync. It is amazing, like the desktop Outlook 2016. There is absolutely no comparison to the UWP mail and calendar apps. With Android you get all Microsoft apps plus a modern platform that has all the apps. If you get a premium device then you will have no issues whatsoever with security. You can customize an Android device with almost no Google integration.

 

[Neill Baldwin]

I am not sure about surface phone! Microsoft first needs to develop full multitasking windows mobile ! I don't know how many more times I can stick with my Lumia 540! I am getting frustrated because I can't use social site peacefully due to outdated fb & messenger apps for windows mobile ! And most importantly multitasking facility rare to find in windows mobile! I don't want to shift to android or iPhone but if Microsoft continuously ignoring & abandoning its own mobile platform then I don't have choice to move on! I am not sure about you & your wife decision bro! I

Right now using Slim Social for Facebook. Not sure it would suit your needs but it's light weight and has dark theme.

 

[slivy58]

Congrats on your recent purchases!

Can't say whether you've made the right decision or not but if you are happy with the 735s/W10M then I suppose that's what counts, right?

In my opinion you SHOULD be good for another 1-1.5 years but then that depends, the OS may improve but if apps keep biting the dust that could result in a smartphone which becomes considerably dumbed down in turn making it a simple MS app device.

I'm not confident MS will pull through with anything substantial for well over a year if at all, but especially not a Surface Phone. IMO their "change of directions" are digging a hole so big that there will be no way of getting out if it isn't already. I can't help not look at BB, even though they took a different path to get where they are I'm afraid the end results will be similar if or when it happens.

 

[Mark F24]

As long as your happy it is the right choice. Three years locked into an iPhone is a long time if you don't like it. Personally I dislike IOS and Android. I am not crazy for a Surface Device, I have none now, maybe someday. My work demands I use Toughbooks (not my boss but the type of work) so the PC budget is usually spent there. I am not a huge app person either, so another year will be fine, I will do it using W10M, not the other guys.

 

[Talldog]

Have you tried Wunderlist?

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S

I looked at Wunderlist, but it looks like way more than I need, and I didn't like the idea of being tied to their servers. I just want a simple checklist app where you can easily uncheck all items and reuse the list. I had Ultimate Checklist in Windows 8.1, but it's gone now. It's actually easy to create a checklist in OneNote, then to reuse it, you just select the entire list, click Tags to remove the checked boxes, then click Tags again to attach empty checkboxes to the list. It's somewhat more cumbersome to do that on the phone though because select all is much more of a pain than on the SB. It's much better than nothing, and I'll manage.

I have to say that other than the app gap <sigh...> Windows 10 Mobile is pretty sweet, and we don't want to have to switch.

 

[garisa]

Maybe this could do?

Perfect Note

Sent from mTalk on Windows 10 phone

 

[travis_valkyrie]

I know I did, just came back from iPhone that I had for about 4 months. It wasn't much of a pleasant experience, it felt claustrophobic while at the same time there was app support.

 

[Allen Rhodes]

OP, you'll be fine for a bit with the new phones. I don't get the still persistent doom and gloom on this damn forum. It is so blatantly obvious that MS has something bigger cooking that ISNT going to be called a phone. Whatever it is, it's going to be premium and new.... thus big bucks too. Their continued improvement/work on to continuum should be about all the proof these doom and gloomers need. We haven't had any flagship consumer phones for a while, and while irritating, just shows how fickle "fans" are. It's a phone, does it make calls, texts, basic social media requests, yes to all. We can't snap chat, but we all aren't 12yrs old. Would love to see the new Surface device slogan be "Be productive, not popular".

 

[Talldog]

Maybe this could do?

Perfect Note

Sent from mTalk on Windows 10 phone

I checked it out and unless I'm missing something, the only way to reset the checklist is to go into each individual task and uncheck it. I have checklists with more than 30 items that I need to be able to reset.

 

[Talldog]

It is so blatantly obvious that MS has something bigger cooking that ISNT going to be called a phone. Whatever it is, it's going to be premium and new.... thus big bucks too.

Yeah, I hope it's full Windows 10 on ARM in a phone sized form factor.

 

[Tim-ANC]

I just entered the WP world for the first time. Bought a used 950XL in pristine condition a couple weeks ago. Was exclusively BlackBerry for the last 12 years. My bet is on MS's next big thing.

 

[Allen Rhodes]

I just entered the WP world for the first time. Bought a used 950XL in pristine condition a couple weeks ago. Was exclusively BlackBerry for the last 12 years. My bet is on MS's next big thing.

Just don't fall in love. As long as it is capable of performing the tasks YOU need it to perform, it's the right choice. And I agree, Talldog, the smaller form factor Surface device is the next release. The writing is so on the wall.... it's something to something else. I couldn't think of anything, but it's surely a DUUHHH thing.

 

[Tim-ANC]

Just don't fall in love. As long as it is capable of performing the tasks YOU need it to perform, it's the right choice. And I agree, Talldog, the smaller form factor Surface device is the next release. The writing is so on the wall.... it's something to something else. I couldn't think of anything, but it's surely a DUUHHH thing.

Love is Evol. I won't fall for that again. I'm having a messy breakup with an east coast Canadian after a long term relationship. I was born in WA. MS feels like home.

 

[garisa]

I checked it out and unless I'm missing something, the only way to reset the checklist is to go into each individual task and uncheck it. I have checklists with more than 30 items that I need to be able to reset.

Yes, it did have it's downsides when I tried it too.

I haven't used WunderList myself, but it does seem it would be the best for you. The fact that they have their service and sync everything is actually a plus here.

Sent from mTalk on Windows 10 phone

 

[anthonyng]

And most importantly multitasking facility rare to find in windows mobile!

You keep spamming this, so now I'm curious, what are you trying to multitask on your 540? Cause I don't feel limited doing stuff on my 950XL.


And @Talldog , in the end it's wasn't a really costly decision and you'll still get a year or two of actual use from the phones So it's not really a bad decision either way right?

 

[madcursor]

I looked at Wunderlist, but it looks like way more than I need, and I didn't like the idea of being tied to their servers. I just want a simple checklist app where you can easily uncheck all items and reuse the list. I had Ultimate Checklist in Windows 8.1, but it's gone now. It's actually easy to create a checklist in OneNote, then to reuse it, you just select the entire list, click Tags to remove the checked boxes, then click Tags again to attach empty checkboxes to the list. It's somewhat more cumbersome to do that on the phone though because select all is much more of a pain than on the SB. It's much better than nothing, and I'll manage.

I have to say that other than the app gap <sigh...> Windows 10 Mobile is pretty sweet, and we don't want to have to switch.

I know it's not the same, but although wunderlist doesn't support batch unchecking/ reusing items, you can always add items as recurring so that they keep reappearing in your list after you check them off. I think it might be what you are looking for in your list, maybe it will be helpful. Also your items will be viewable offline too so, cloud syncing is just an added bonus.
And as far as the phones go, Lumia 735 is one of the best mid rangers in my opinion and they should serve you well for the next couple of years. Hopefully Microsoft will release the next big thing by then