The Verge review of the Lumia 900

[Seketh]

...is unbelievable unfair and biased.

Lumia 900 review | The Verge

Some of the things I've noticed:

No mention of Nokia apps.

OS and ecosystem scores below Blackberry OS.

Overall score lower than the Lumia 800.

Windows Phone doesn't do anything better than the competition ("I struggled to find a single thing this platform could do better than Android 4.0 or iOS 5.1")

A video review that shows absolutely nothing, not even the bad stuff he wrote.

Not a single, specific, good thing about Windows Phone.


WPCentral, please do an editorial about this review. It deserves nothing less.

 

[bear_lx]

every tech site under the sun is reviewing this masterpiece. some good some not so good. over all, people love it. also check out cnets review, surpisingly they loved it to. listed no cons!!!

 

[Seketh]

every tech site under the sun is reviewing this masterpiece. some good some not so good. over all, people love it. also check out cnets review, surpisingly they loved it to. listed no cons!!!

Yeah, but The Verge doesn't even give a single example of a good thing about Windows Phone.

It just bashes it over and over. No other review did that!

 

[Frenzytom]

He obviously has higher standards towards WP and I can see it go both ways; 1) making WP a stronger platform by addressing its shortcomings and 2) having complete bias toward the platform.

I think he hits a few good points but overall, he was expecting mature features that some platforms have taken years to implement. WP is still in infancy in a super high speed world. In my opinion, stating that we should no longer give a "pass" to the OS is both short-sided and unfair.

 

[mparker]

It's what you expect from Topolsky. There was never any chance of this phone getting a good review from him, not unless it had already been canceled or otherwise not a threat to his beloved iphone.

Edit:
I think his "it's time to stop giving Windows Phone a pass" comment is quite correct, however. Nokia, Microsoft, and AT&T are giving this one a major push into the market. If they want to play with the big boys then they need to be capable of playing with the big boys, which means iOS 5.x and Android 4.x. As long as WP7 was a bit player in the market then the details didn't matter (same reason that the N9/Meego could get rave reviews). But the Lumia 900 isn't likely to be a bit player, it's going to move a lot of units to a lot of people, who are going to notice the missing features and complain.

That said, Topolsky is clearly only superficially familiar with the WP7 platform. Android and iOS are like C# and Java, they do the same things in roughly the same way so that if you know one you can pick up the other very quickly. But iOS and WP7 are like Java and Lisp, you can get the same things done but you go about if very differently, and a Java user will thrash around quite awhile in Lisp getting frustrated and griping about the parentheses. So a lot of his griping seems pretty baseless to somebody that's been using if for awhile and have figured out the "flow" of the system.

 

[JPDVM2014]

There was some mention of good things in the review. like Josh said that the OS feels snappyand could handle anything thrown at it, but then he came right back and contradicted by saying the specs make it feel outdated. It's like he wanted to correct the "mistake" of saying something positive. Overall, it was a pretty horrible review. I even thought the engadget one was better. There were even some android users in the comments saying it was biased. When that happens, you know something is wrong. Lol.

 

[Seketh]

I think he hits a few good points

He does.

But this is a review, not an editorial! Reviews must be balanced, bring out the negative and positive aspects of the product!

What strikes me is that he only focused on the *negative* aspects of WP.

 

[trazer]

I really like TheVerge too, but this kind of reporting makes me rethink any other reviews they do. There were some good points he made that I totally agreed with, but the overall picture painted was unfair in my opinion.

 

[Welve]

To me the whole article reads like he is someone that expected Windows Phone to be a copy of iOS and Android: if you can use one, you can use the others. The problem with that theory is that WP7 is truly different, which is the point of the Metro style right? Everything is going to be different and it takes some getting used to before you fully understand what you are working with.

Example: my brother has an iPhone 4S and the other day we were looking to try a different restaurant. We had already left home though and didn't want to drive too far, he asked Siri to find restaurants around us and she pointed us to places as far as 5 miles! I pulled out my Windows Phone and tapped local scout and brough up multiple restaurants that I could see from my car and several others less than a mile away!

The point being that both of these are integrated features of the OS, not even third party apps and Windows Phone simply did the job better. No mention of Local Scout in the review, I did a search.

Example 2: No mention of built-in QR code reader or music identification, something WP7 does extremely well, better than my Android phone ever did. Simply put it is a great feature that is overlooked in the review because this guy knows nothing about WP7 other than playing around with it for a minute.

Example 3: No mention of Live Tiles: a cornerstone of the OS and part of what makes the software unique, updating weather information, social networking and other factors, no mention in his "software" section.

Example 4: No mention of Nokia Drive: free GPS software...where is that missing? Oh that's right, iOS has no free turn-by-turn direction software and Google's barely holds a Candle to Nokia Drive. Additionally, Bing Maps turn-by-turn isn't perfect, but it is on par with iOS and Android for sure.

I could go on and on and before you say it was a phone review, I point you to comments like this, made in the review:

"In some ways, I feel like I'm reviewing a webOS device again (but with much, much nicer hardware). There are all these wonderful ideas at play, but it's impossible to look past the nagging bugs and missing features."

I mean come on, you really explored those "wonderful ideas." You didn't mention half of the integrated features, ignored 90% of what makes the phone unique and slapped it with label right out of the bin. People hate to give Microsoft their due when it comes to functionality, they are the "enemy" for some reason and I am getting tired of it. People are so influenced by what they think they know that they aren't even trying anything new! This is the poorest case in journalism I have ever seen.

 

[jfa1]

There was some mention of good things in the review. like Josh said that the OS feels snappyand could handle anything thrown at it, but then he came right back and contradicted by saying the specs make it feel outdated. It's like he wanted to correct the "mistake" of saying something positive. Overall, it was a pretty horrible review. I even thought the engadget one was better. There were even some android users in the comments saying it was biased. When that happens, you know something is wrong. Lol.

The specs may appear to be outdated but the performance belies that assumption.

 

[bear_lx]

people who are infatuated with their iphones shouldnt be writing reviews on wp anyways, of course they are going to be biased. it should be balanced, given pros and cons... this is a joke. i am more impressed with cnets and phone arenas reviews, and cnet especially is very apple biased.

 

[Kahuna Cowboy]

Ummm... Josh does not use an iPhone, he has carried a Galaxy Nexus since October as his daily driver. Nilay Patel of The Verge is the resident iPhone lover.

... And the reason he scored the Lumia 900 lower than the 800 and some Blackberry devices is the time factor. They were reviewed some time ago, had the 900 been reviewed alongside of the 800 it would have scored higher, but 6 months later and no significant improvements from 800 specs (LTE and FFC not withstanding) it is going to cause a lower score. The tech market is always changing, and the benchmark is always being raised. A phone that scores a 9 in 2011 is not going to score a 9 again in 2012 with the same processor, RAM, camera, mediocre resolution, and the same lacking ecosystem some 6 months later. I have watched him nail many droids too with older specs being introduced. At The Verge if you're just rehashing last gen specs they will call you out to the floor for it.

People act like a 7 is the end of the world! Sheesh!

 

[doublebullout]

I thought the review was pretty well done, actually. Welve, there's a very good reason why Topolsky didn't discuss Live Tiles and other unique features of WP7 in this review: this was a review of a new device, not a new OS. These are not new features of the Lumia 900, but features that have already been covered pretty thoroughly in other reviews. He is right -- it's time to stop referring to WP7 as being "in its infancy." It isn't. Microsoft needs to move with more urgency. In fact, Microsoft ought to take a look at how Nokia is launching the Lumia line. Nokia is acting as if they're only days away from bankruptcy. Nokia gets it. I'm not sure Microsoft does.


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[Welve]

I thought the review was pretty well done, actually. Welve, there's a very good reason why Topolsky didn't discuss Live Tiles and other unique features of WP7 in this review: this was a review of a new device, not a new OS. These are not new features of the Lumia 900, but features that have already been covered pretty thoroughly in other reviews. He is right -- it's time to stop referring to WP7 as being "in its infancy." It isn't. Microsoft needs to move with more urgency. In fact, Microsoft ought to take a look at how Nokia is launching the Lumia line. Nokia is acting as if they're only days away from bankruptcy. Nokia gets it. I'm not sure Microsoft does.


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yeah, but it is garbage to say that it does nothing better than the competition, simply untrue if you look at what I said about Local Scout.

He has a few legitimate gripes and there are reasons that Windows Phone isn't right for everyone, but when you start talking OS's in a broad sense there are multiple aspects of the Windows Phone that can and are unique and arguably superior to their competition. Refusing or failing to mention redeeming factors of the OS is just bound to annoy fans of the device that feel their eco-system is being short sold.

I am not unreasonable and don't feel it is perfect, but he makes it sound broken and non-competitive which is absolute grade A BS.

You also have a point, but also remember that Microsoft is late to the game and it takes time to develop software, that is a card I will let Microsoft hold until September 2012. A year after Mango, if Apollo isn't with us, my patience will be thin.

 

[SmoothDog]

He gave the WP OS a "Pass" in the Past

How am I as a reader suppose to take that? Does it mean that he "should" of given a Software rating for WP much less in previous reviews? Does that mean that other devices he's given "Passes" to even though he should of given them a much lower score. We'll never know. All I know is that this simple comment just made me lose any respect or credibility for his reviews and the Verge.

As for the review, he did seem to focus on the negatives and spoke in generalities without getting into details. Seemed like he couldn't put down his opinion with real examples and just threw out something to justify himself. I agree, however, on most of his rating with the exception of the Software "5" and the Ecosystem "4". An overall score of an 8 would of been acceptable IMO. 7 is OK, but obviously MANY feel he either gave it low score for clickbait (buzz), bias, or not being as familiar with WP as he should be.

Peace out.

 

[doublebullout]

Everyone, Microsoft more than most, knew that the day would eventually come when WP7 would have to stand on its own merits, without the umbrella of "it's a new OS" to deflect criticism. What Topolsky is saying in this review is that day is here. Like you, though, I think many people will still cut Microsoft some slack until Apollo. Just don't expect all of the tech blogs to do the same.


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[Seketh]

Everyone, Microsoft more than most, knew that the day would eventually come when WP7 would have to stand on its own merits, without the umbrella of "it's a new OS" to deflect criticism. What Topolsky is saying in this review is that day is here. Like you, though, I think many people will still cut Microsoft some slack until Apollo. Just don't expect all of the tech blogs to do the same.


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But shouldn't that opinion be placed in an editorial, and not a review?

I agree with him in most of his criticism, but it's a product being reviewed, and he just bashes the OS with pretty big claims (like WP not doing anything better than the competition). It's not a balanced review.

 

[bear_lx]

Ummm... Josh does not use an iPhone, he has carried a Galaxy Nexus since October as his daily driver. Nilay Patel of The Verge is the resident iPhone lover.

... And the reason he scored the Lumia 900 lower than the 800 and some Blackberry devices is the time factor. They were reviewed some time ago, had the 900 been reviewed alongside of the 800 it would have scored higher, but 6 months later and no significant improvements from 800 specs (LTE and FFC not withstanding) it is going to cause a lower score. The tech market is always changing, and the benchmark is always being raised. A phone that scores a 9 in 2011 is not going to score a 9 again in 2012 with the same processor, RAM, camera, mediocre resolution, and the same lacking ecosystem some 6 months later. I have watched him nail many droids too with older specs being introduced. At The Verge if you're just rehashing last gen specs they will call you out to the floor for it.

People act like a 7 is the end of the world! Sheesh!

a review shouldnt be based on specs alone! we need to get away from specs so much, its crazy! this is an amazing phone, and doesnt need high end specs to run like ios. our reviews should be based off of user experience, functionality, and reliabilty. based on that, the moto atrix should rate higher than the 900, because it has higher specs... we all know what happened with that paper weight... c'mon

this is clearly a biased review. in fact the only one i have seen, out of at least 10, that rates it so poorly. even cnet, which clearly loves apple, rates this thing 4 stars... lots of pros..... and cons.... NONE. that came straight from the horses mouth!

 

[doublebullout]

WP7 is not all sunshine and rainbows. Acknowledging this is not a crime, nor evidence of an anti-WP7 bias. If all y'all want is a cheerleader, then read a different blog, or stay here in the comfy, safe walls of wpcentral. Topolsky's review, warts and all, should be a wake-up call.


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[jimski]

WP7 is not all sunshine and rainbows. Acknowledging this is not a crime, nor evidence of an anti-WP7 bias. If all y'all want is a cheerleader, then read a different blog, or stay here in the comfy, safe walls of wpcentral. Topolsky's review, warts and all, should be a wake-up call.


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Really glad that about 98% of the 104M current Smartphone users, and most likely 99.9% of non-Smartphone users, don't read these BS reviews from obviously biased non-objective reporters. As long as Nokia pays AT&T reps to sell the Lumia 900, it will do very well. Money talks, you know the rest.

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