Planning to buy a WP, help needed!

[lilb1190]

I have been planning to get a Windows Phone whenever my Verizon contract expires. I want one for various reasons. I hate Android OS and I think iOS is pretty much the standard at this point, which means that just about every phone is either an iPhone or an iPhone imitator. I am a developer, but I dont really want to learn Objective C or buy a Mac, so thats is out of the question. XNA, on the other hand, I am down with.

I know there are other Windows Phones out there, but it pretty much comes down to the Titan II or the Lumia 900. Up until today I was very set on getting the Titan II, no regrets. The camera seemed to be amazing (at least for taking pictures, anyway) and the Lumia seemed to have a lot of bugs.

But after posting here for a few weeks, I cant help but notice the Titan II boards are totally dead. I would have expected a bunch of pics in the pic thread and people talking about whatever other phone stuff people talk about. I guess not that many people actually own the phone, which is a shame. At this rate will HTC just give up on WP?

The Lumia 900 looks a lot swankier. It will also continue to be heavily supported by Nokia, which is huge because I expect HTC to forget they ever developed the Titan II. I havent actually held either phone in my hand yet to determine which screen I like better. I know the Lumia is supposed to be a richer visual experience, but some people say the colors look weird. I also understand that the Titan II's larger screen makes things a little fuzzy.

So, despite the camera, I am kind of leaning toward the Lumia 900. The only things making this a tougher decision are the camera (Most of the pics I have seen here from the 900 are meh), and that this board is littered with people complaining about how their phone is broken. Some people had to return their phone 3 times to get a working one. I am not a person who has a lot of patience for electronics, so I dont see myself returning it 3 times.

Im also not a huge fane of the fact that you have to go through Zune to manage the content on your phone. I have a Palm Pre right now, and I like being able to plug my phone in to the computer and just access the files. I have always hated iTunes, and when I had a Zune back in the day I wasnt a huge fan of Zune Player. I am guessing there is no way around it, but it is certainly not something I am looking forward to.

Uh, getting to the point...

1. How much better is the camera on the Titan iI than the Lumia. I know megapixels are only half the battle here...
2. How many people here are currently using the first Lumia 900 that they bought?
3. How smooth is the Zune Player experience? Am I going to be fighting with it or is it pretty reliable?
4. Which phone has better speakers? I know the Titan II gets louder, but what about clarity?
5. Since I dont really use facebook or twitter, will the People hub be much more than a contact list?
6. Is it better to support a phone that nobody knows exists in order to convince the company to continue using WP7, or should I support the phone with the best chance of getting WP7 in to the game?
7. Do you ever notice lag from the relatively weak processor?

Thanks

 

[Verkunder]

Sounds like you should get the Titan II. As for your points:

1. Better in dark settings, that's for sure. I'd imagine it's better overall.
2. On my second, first had the data bug (which was patched, but I wanted a white one).
3. Seamless. Don't understand how you'd be fighting with it, but trust me, Zune is everything people don't know about, and then some.
4. Lumia's gets LOUD. Sure they're too close in terms of clarity to really tell a difference.
5. If you login with that stuff, it'll show up there, but that doesn't mean you have to use them.
6. Get the phone that appeals to you. Windows Phone will take off regardless.
8. Processor speed is irrelevant to Windows Phone. Smooth, through and through.

 

[lilb1190]

Yeah, for a long time I was leaning toward the Titan II. If HTC supported it anywhere near as much as Nokia is pushing the Lumia, I wouldnt even have to think about it. It also doenst help that HTC recently decided to start charging for their GPS app.

Does the Lumia get that loud? I watch a camparison of the 2 and it appeared that the Titan would drownd out the Lumia, but when it got that loud the sound clarity dropped a lot. Hopefully I can listen to them both in store and compare.

When I had a Zune back in the day, the Zune back in the day I was always annoyed by the software. It was functional, and great when it worked, but a lot of times it wasnt able to sync correctly. Sometimes I would plug in my Zune and it wouldnt recognize that I had it plugged in. Other times it would tell me my device was full when I tried to copy music to it, even though the indicator showed it at 50%. Nothing is easier than just being able to copy the files. Syncing isnt really a big bonus to me. I wrote a service on my computer that would copy any files from a certain folder to my palm pre if I didnt already have that file on the phone. It wasnt super sexy or anything, but worked pretty well.

I would be surprised if AT&T even had the Titan II out on display when I go next week. Will they bust one out and let me mess with it? I havent purchased a new phone in 2 years, I forgot how this works!

 

[freestaterocker]

Ironically, I think the bugs in the original Titan soured a lot of people on the 2... Of course they key here is that HTC never bothered to address them, whereas Nokia has been swift to act on issues and make it good.

 

[scottcraft]

I would love to have a titan 2. I really need to go by and play with a Nokia and a titan. A cyan titan would be perfect!

Sent from my Windows 7 phone using Board Express

 

[jimski]

Still enjoying my "first" L900. Would be using it right now, but I have been running some overnight tests for push vs. timed email, and how it affects battery life. Last night of testing.

Anyway, back on topic. Ultimately the choice is yours. Most of what you have read about the L900 have been little software nits (purple screen,camera button not responding, etc) or real nits, like a different sounding vibration buzzer (different, not better or worse), or one corner of the Lumia screen being 0.02MM higher than the other. I am confident Nokia will clear up the software bugs in short order. The other stuff will be up to your level of OCD.

As you have already observed. When you sell a whole bunch of something, more people will have issues. Its just statistics.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[lilb1190]

Still enjoying my "first" L900. Would be using it right now, but I have been running some overnight tests for push vs. timed email, and how it affects battery life. Last night of testing.

Anyway, back on topic. Ultimately the choice is yours. Most of what you have read about the L900 have been little software nits (purple screen,camera button not responding, etc) or real nits, like a different sounding vibration buzzer (different, not better or worse), or one corner of the Lumia screen being 0.02MM higher than the other. I am confident Nokia will clear up the software bugs in short order. The other stuff will be up to your level of OCD.

As you have already observed. When you sell a whole bunch of something, more people will have issues. Its just statistics.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

I think a lot of those "little" nits would certainly annoy me. When I buy an expesive piece of hardware (though $100 isnt really that expensive), I expect it to work as planned. Sadly, I have learned that NOTHING works as planned. When I got an HP Laptop (last time ever) shipped to me, the monitor didnt work. The power supply on my PS3 craps out after 30 minutes. My girlfriend camera will take pictures, but it wont show you what you are taking a picture of. Electronics seems to be getting buggier these days. I dont remember ever buying a TI-86 that didnt work (which may be why they still cost $129?).

Actually when I first bought my Palm Pre I had to return it. Someone called me on it and it wouldnt stop ringing. I couldnt answer the call and I couldnt shut it off.

I can accept that I may have to return the phone once, but I dont want to be one of those people who has to return it several times to get a working one. I cant imagine that made a good impression on the people who used a different OS and decided to give WP a try.

I guess another question is how does the Lumia feel? I have heard that texture wise, it feels pretty high quality, but the phone as a whole doesnt feel like a high end phone. The Titan II, on the other hand, is pretty robust.

Yeah, I wish I could just buy the phone but I have to wait until Monday =(

 

[jimski]

Can't comment much on the Titan Ii feel, as I have only held it with a security dongle attached. Most HTC phones feel solid (vs. Samsung). Actually, the L900 is my first non-HTC device in more than 7 years (phones and PocketPCs). Never had a hardware problem, but plenty of bugs, some of which have never been resolved.

The L900 feels well built. It's a little slippery so I added a black gel case to my black phone. Cyan gel case should be here tomorrow for some variety. Screen look beautiful. Super AMOLED on re original Focus looked over saturated, but the L900 is just right. And make sure you get to view the screen in sunlight. Happy hunting.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[lilb1190]

If I get the Cyan Lumia 900, will the case detract from the Cyan-ness of it? I guess you said there was a Cyan case, so maybe any lumia can be Cyan?

 

[Laura Knotek]

The L900 is the first mobile phone that I've been able to use while outdoors in bright sunlight. Every other device I've had needed to be shielded from the sun in order to see what was on the screen. I've had no issues with the L900 in direct sunlight, even when I wear sunglasses.

I am using the original device I got. I have no issues with uneven corners, purple screen, or rattling vibration like some people mentioned.

 

[naplesbill]

Well, I am one of the people who returned 3 Lumias. I wanted to support Nokia and there were many things I liked about the device. Most of the bundled software did not appeal to me. The Drive and Creative Studio (or whatever it was called) were the only ones I really liked. The fact that Nokia showed support for the device was nice, but the amount of support it needed was not. I decided after the third return that I would go back to HTC and get the Titan II. I had the original WP7 Titan and did not have the issues that some seemed to have.

The Titan II looks and feels more high-end to me. The Lumia has a nice industrial look and feel but the Titan has a more elegant look and feel. I prefer the latter in most cases.

I get more use out of the HTC add-ons than Nokia as well. Attentive Phone, Camera modes, Connected Media, Flashlight, and HTC Hub all see regular use from me. These things are what really draw me to the HTC WP7 experience. From my perspective, HTC has not yet had a need for any updates on the Titan II. Any issues that may be present are relatively minor. Also, the original Titan received attention from HTC, just not the AT&T version.

The Lumia camera had such major focus issues it felt like a phone camera from 2-3 years ago. I am sure that Nokia can mostly resolve this with a software update. However, I doubt even then that the Lumia camera could really compare to the Titan I or Titan II. The original Titan produced outstanding low-light images for a phone. The II is even better. I love the camera on the Titan II.

 

[lowfibass]

This is my first WP. I came via iOS>Android. Gotta tell ya Im loving it. I occasionally get a little app envy but it fades because the ones I use mostly are there. Netflix, tunein, etc.
So let me answer these as best as I can...

How much better is the camera on the Titan iI than the Lumia. I know megapixels are only half the battle here...
Unfortunately here, I have nothing to compare it to. The pics are fine for me but I dont expect pro quality out of my phone.

How many people here are currently using the first Lumia 900 that they bought?
I did return my first white one due to the loose screen. I wanted the blue one initially and they didnt have any in stock at the time so I took the white one. I now have the blue and its great.

How smooth is the Zune Player experience? Am I going to be fighting with it or is it pretty reliable?
I love Zune. I had a Zune player a few years back and loved it. Used it all the time til I got my first iPhone. Always wished back then that they made a Zune phone.
Took a few years but here it is! I myself have run into no bugs with it.


Which phone has better speakers? I know the Titan II gets louder, but what about clarity?
No titan to compare it to.

Since I dont really use facebook or twitter, will the People hub be much more than a contact list?Well...probably not much more if you dont use those. I think linkedin is either available or will be though? Seems like I read that.

Is it better to support a phone that nobody knows exists in order to convince the company to continue using WP7, or should I support the phone with the best chance of getting WP7 in to the game? The only thing that will make people take notice is a gain in market share. If you like the platform...buy it. You can always sell the phone if you dont like it and get a droid or whatever.

Do you ever notice lag from the relatively weak processor?
Smooth as butter. Never owned an android that ran as smooth as my Lumia900.

 

[Hypnopottamus]

I have been planning to get a Windows Phone whenever my Verizon contract expires. I want one for various reasons. I hate Android OS and I think iOS is pretty much the standard at this point, which means that just about every phone is either an iPhone or an iPhone imitator. I am a developer, but I dont really want to learn Objective C or buy a Mac, so thats is out of the question. XNA, on the other hand, I am down with.

I know there are other Windows Phones out there, but it pretty much comes down to the Titan II or the Lumia 900. Up until today I was very set on getting the Titan II, no regrets. The camera seemed to be amazing (at least for taking pictures, anyway) and the Lumia seemed to have a lot of bugs.

But after posting here for a few weeks, I cant help but notice the Titan II boards are totally dead. I would have expected a bunch of pics in the pic thread and people talking about whatever other phone stuff people talk about. I guess not that many people actually own the phone, which is a shame. At this rate will HTC just give up on WP?

The Lumia 900 looks a lot swankier. It will also continue to be heavily supported by Nokia, which is huge because I expect HTC to forget they ever developed the Titan II. I havent actually held either phone in my hand yet to determine which screen I like better. I know the Lumia is supposed to be a richer visual experience, but some people say the colors look weird. I also understand that the Titan II's larger screen makes things a little fuzzy.

So, despite the camera, I am kind of leaning toward the Lumia 900. The only things making this a tougher decision are the camera (Most of the pics I have seen here from the 900 are meh), and that this board is littered with people complaining about how their phone is broken. Some people had to return their phone 3 times to get a working one. I am not a person who has a lot of patience for electronics, so I dont see myself returning it 3 times.

Im also not a huge fane of the fact that you have to go through Zune to manage the content on your phone. I have a Palm Pre right now, and I like being able to plug my phone in to the computer and just access the files. I have always hated iTunes, and when I had a Zune back in the day I wasnt a huge fan of Zune Player. I am guessing there is no way around it, but it is certainly not something I am looking forward to.

Uh, getting to the point...

1. How much better is the camera on the Titan iI than the Lumia. I know megapixels are only half the battle here...
2. How many people here are currently using the first Lumia 900 that they bought?
3. How smooth is the Zune Player experience? Am I going to be fighting with it or is it pretty reliable?
4. Which phone has better speakers? I know the Titan II gets louder, but what about clarity?
5. Since I dont really use facebook or twitter, will the People hub be much more than a contact list?
6. Is it better to support a phone that nobody knows exists in order to convince the company to continue using WP7, or should I support the phone with the best chance of getting WP7 in to the game?
7. Do you ever notice lag from the relatively weak processor?

Thanks

1. The Titan II camera is much better. Although Nokia is known for their cameras, the one on the Lumia is only okay. You still can take pretty decent pictures with it if you do some tweaking.

2. I'm still using the same Lumia from day 1. I've had ZERO issues. All the bugs listed don't seem to be happening on my phone. I'm thinking that there was a bad batch of phones made. Also, you're really going to here mostly negatives on a forum because a forum is one of the 1st places people go for help on issues. People with positive experiences generally tend to just use their devices and not post.

3. Zune player on the desktop is not very easy or enjoyable to use as a daily multimedia center (I personally use WinAmp). It is, however, VERY reliable as far as syncing to your device. It just works. My advice is to just use it as a means to sync and transfer stuff to your phone. You can continue to use any other Media center you have been using for your own multimedia player.

4. Since I don't have a Titan, I can't/won't comment.

5. The People Hub is really just a 1 stop place to communicate to your contacts (call, text, chat, email, even navigate to). You can also filter out things you don't want (facebook, twitter, Linkedin) so you'll just basically have a "phone book" with contact #'s and email addresses. The social networking part really isn't that intrusive.

6. Heavy question. I guess if you want to keep diversity withing the WP ecosystem, you should support "other" OEMs like HTC, Samsung, etc.. But if you want a device that you KNOW will continue to get further support and future updates, get Nokia as they are HEAVILY invested in the WP strategy.

7. The "relatively weak processor" is not laggy whatsoever because the Windows Phone OS is very optimised. There was a video comparison not too long ago on Pocket Lint (I think) comparing the Quad Core HTC ONE X (Android) and the single core Lumia 900. If you watch the video, you'll notice a couple of places (particularly when they are showing off the mapping capabilities)the ONE X experiences lag. You don't see that at all coming from the "relatively weak processor" of the Lumia. If that's not enough to convince you, then let me tell you from personal experience. The Lumia (windows phone) is the smoothest, most lag free device I've ever owned. No stuttering, no lag, every thing just works seamlessly.

 

[socialcarpet]

1. How much better is the camera on the Titan iI than the Lumia. I know megapixels are only half the battle here...
2. How many people here are currently using the first Lumia 900 that they bought?
3. How smooth is the Zune Player experience? Am I going to be fighting with it or is it pretty reliable?
4. Which phone has better speakers? I know the Titan II gets louder, but what about clarity?
5. Since I dont really use facebook or twitter, will the People hub be much more than a contact list?
6. Is it better to support a phone that nobody knows exists in order to convince the company to continue using WP7, or should I support the phone with the best chance of getting WP7 in to the game?
7. Do you ever notice lag from the relatively weak processor?

Thanks

1.) The camera on the Titan II does a much better job of producing a clear, less noisy picture in low light conditions. In daylight, or normal light I can't tell much of a difference. The camera on the Lumia could be better, but it's more than adequate, it's just not exceptional.

2.) I'm still using the first Lumia 900 that I pre-ordered. I have not had a SINGLE issue with my phone. Bear in mind, every phone has issues and people don't go to forums to post about how their phone has no problems, they come to complain when it does. I firmly believe the perception by some that the Lumia has "a lot of bugs" has more to do with the fact that Nokia is selling more than 10 times as many Lumia's as any other company is selling Windows Phones. There are just a lot more of them out there, so you are going to see more complaints on forums. Rest assured, it's a great phone and Nokia is extremely invested in it's success and has already demonstrated they will go above and beyond to make their customers happy.

3.) I'm not sure what you mean buy Zune player... I don't use the Zune software on my computer, because my primary machine is a Mac, and I haven't had any need to install the Zune software on my PC, the Mac client works great. The music player on the phone itself works great too.

4.) I wasn't aware that the Titan 2 got louder. One of the contractors I work with has a Titan 2 and I can't really tell a difference in the max volume, if anything I'd say the Lumia seemed to have a tiny bit more bass. Overall the sound quality from the speakers seem about equal to me.

5.) If you don't use social networks like Facebook or Twitter, then the People Hub will basically just be like a really slick and polished contact list.

6.) I'd say buy the phone you like the most. For me, that was the Lumia 900. I also feel better about supporting a company that truly supports Windows Phone, rather than a company that is heavily invested in Android and only does a Windows Phone as an afterthought.

7.) I don't notice any lag, no. The processors are not "relatively weak" anyway. They are not as powerful as the bleeding edge of dual core chips in the fastest Android phones, no, but they are more than enough for an OS that's not a clusterfunk like Android.

Both are great phones though and it's kind of a tough choice...

The Lumia beats the Titan II when it comes to:
* Screen quality and visibility in outside light.
* Battery life
* Exclusive apps (Nokia apps and the best 3rd party app exclusives)
* Nokia Drive which gives you a great FREE navigation app forever.
* Price- The Lumia is $100 cheaper on contract than the Titan II.

The Titan II beats the Lumia when it comes to:
* Picture quality, especially in low light
* Sound quality with headphones in (comes with SRS)
* Slightly faster CPU clock speed
* Lighter weight
* Bigger screen, at 4.7" it's one of the biggest phone screens out there

My preference is the Lumia 900, because of the reasons listed above, but also because of some more subjective reason. I think the polycarbonate body is much more attractive than the Titan's more traditional gray plastics. I suspect it will be more durable too. I trust Nokia to provide excellent support and software updates wherever practical and possible because they are 100% invested in Windows Phone. I don't have the same faith in HTC to roll out bug fixes in a timely way. I like having the best phone navigation app out there and I LOVE having it for FREE instead of paying $10+ a month subscription fee like I would with the Titan. I like supporting a company who truly supports Windows Phone with it's heart and soul.

 

[Verkunder]

3. Zune player on the desktop is not very easy or enjoyable to use as a daily multimedia center

See below.

 

[Hypnopottamus]

See below.

Huh?

 

[scottcraft]

I played with a Lumia and Titan 2 today. The Nokia is more attractive but I preferred the Titan. Both seem like solid phones. Definitely better than my Trophy.

Sent from my Windows 7 phone using Board Express

 

[lilb1190]

Thanks for all of the good info, everyone. I guess ill just have to go in to AT&T one day during my lunch break, play around with both with the time I have, panic and get the one I am holding when I run out of time, and forever wish that I had gotten whatever phone I didnt get while in the store. Yeah, that sounds like how it will pan out.

One thing that really bothers me about the Titan II is that the turn-by-turn directions app now costs money, where as nokia's is free. I do have a separate GPS, so it isnt the end of the world, but it would be nice to be able to use something on my phone for when I am not in my car. Are there other similar apps in the marketplace?

Also, how noticable is the resolution on the Titan II? Its strange to me that HTC went with such a big screen size on a phone with a low pre-set resolution.

 

[socialcarpet]

Thanks for all of the good info, everyone. I guess ill just have to go in to AT&T one day during my lunch break, play around with both with the time I have, panic and get the one I am holding when I run out of time, and forever wish that I had gotten whatever phone I didnt get while in the store. Yeah, that sounds like how it will pan out.

One thing that really bothers me about the Titan II is that the turn-by-turn directions app now costs money, where as nokia's is free. I do have a separate GPS, so it isnt the end of the world, but it would be nice to be able to use something on my phone for when I am not in my car. Are there other similar apps in the marketplace?

Also, how noticable is the resolution on the Titan II? Its strange to me that HTC went with such a big screen size on a phone with a low pre-set resolution.

Nokia Drive is the only free GPS app of it's type that I'm aware of for Windows Phone. That said, you do have Bing Maps built-in which would probably suffice for just maps and basic directions when you're not in your car, then use the GPS you already have in your car.

The Titan's screen is very nice. The pixels are a little more noticeable than the Lumia due to it being so large and not SuperAMOLED+, but it's really not enough of a difference to matter. The nice thing about the Titan is you get that extra screen size without the phone really being much bigger. The nice thing about the Lumia is that it's much easier to see the screen in sunlight and the colors are richer and deeper.

It shouldn't be any one thing that makes the decision for you IMO, you want to look at the whole picture, and decide what your priorities are.

If you're someone who takes a lot of pictures with their phone (I mean keeper pics, like vacation, family, your kids etc) and that is a top 3 priority for you then you should think seriously about going with the Titan.

If you're more of an app/gadget type guy and you want access to the maximum number of apps, the best of what's out there as soon as it's released and to have the OS updates on a timely basis etc, then the Lumia should be in the lead.

Both are great and I can't see you regretting either one. They are the two best Windows Phones out there right now.

 

[Verkunder]

The pixels are a little more noticeable than the Lumia due to it being so large and not SuperAMOLED+, but it's really not enough of a difference to matter. The nice thing about the Titan is you get that extra screen size without the phone really being much bigger. The nice thing about the Lumia is that it's much easier to see the screen in sunlight and the colors are richer and deeper.

I'll have to disagree here, a little. The screen on my Titan I showed pixels all day. I could definitely see the jaggies on text. But maybe that's just me.

I will concur, however, that the Lumia is a monster in sunlight. Had lunch at this deli and sat outside, reading my feeds and whatnot, and I saw this table of trophy wives holding their hands over their iPhones so they could look at them. I smiled an evil smile.