I called it! CNET has already written a trolly headline that still has to make fun of WP 8.1

[Jas00555]

Windows Phone 8.1 review - CNET

 

[neo158]

Windows Phone 8.1 review - CNET

CNET is good for tech news but that's if you can get past the Android and iOS trolls and fanboys.

 

[pLUSpISTOL]

I've never been on CNET in my entire puff.

 

[erzhik]

CNET used to be good for TV reviews...about 5 years ago.

 

[Vikram Dinesh]

And they're still crying about apps. Lol.

 

[cadaov]

They're still waiting for Google Maps for sure....lame CNET

 

[savagelizards]

Windows Phone 8.1 review - CNET

I understand that folks in this forum love their WPs, and there are many things I like about mine. High up the list is that I have finally - nearly - unwound my relationship with Google. They are getting a lot less data about my life. And I love my Icon's big screen and roomy keyboard. And the Bing Newsreader is excellent, particularly with that crisp screen.

Having switched to WP for the first time Feb. 20th when the Icon was released, I agree with just about everything that the reviewer said about the WP experience. The OS was simply lacking a few really important features it needs to be competitive. Before someone posts me back saying they love their WP as is and no one needs anything more out of a phone, by competitive I mean 30% market share, not just the 3% who don't need some of these more advanced but commonplace smartphone features.

Overall, I think this is a pretty solid review, and I don't understand all the fuss. It points out the new features coming to 8.1 and reviews them positively. I thought Cortana got an especially positive review.

If, however, you don't like the reviewer saying that WP still trails in apps or that most of what 8.1 is adding are catch up features, it's time to face the facts.

Cortana? Catch-up feature. Cortana may one day turn out to be a category-leading personal assistant, but that judgment will come down the road. Notification Center? Huge catch-up feature. I have been missing one every day since I got my Icon. Apps? Even Microsoft admits they trail in apps.

Let's talk about WP apps for a minute. There are certainly fewer holes than their were in the WP app catalog, but they are still significant. And even when there is an official WP app, they are often buggy and seldom updated regularly. For example, I am constantly restarting my phone because of some problem with the Audible app. The paid Words with Friends app crashes frequently and lacks features (like auto-calculation of scoring before you submit your word, or a leaderboard that even the free Android version has had for a year). And the Linked In app is worthless because clicking a link to Linked In from an email doesn't launch the app - it launches the Linked in home page (not the article you wanted) in the IE browser.

Don't get me wrong. I am a daily user of IE 11 on my Surface Pro, and it is the fastest, most web-standards-compliant browser available. The WP version? Quite frankly it's awful. IE on WP lacks the functionality of other systems, so you need an app to do some of the things that you can do in Android browser or Safari, and there are some tasks you simply cannot do with a WP 8 smartphone (and before you say UC browser, I have that, but it cannot fully integrate with the system, so you still end up in IE). Hopefully IE 11 on WP 8.1 will not disappoint.

That said, I think C-Net summed up the state of WP nicely. If you are looking for your first smartphone, WP, especially WP 8.1, is a great choice. It's good looking, relatively easy to use and generally pretty stable (apps aside). That said, if you are a veteran smartphone user, you will notice an app deficit with either iOS or Android, and also some reduced functionality compared to Android.

WP 8.1 will narrow that gap dramatically.

Which returns me to why I got a WP in the first place - to get away from Google. If WP 8.1 delivers as promised, I get a nearly Android experience without Google knowing all my innermost thoughts. I will make that trade every day, and I bet a lot of other folks will too.

 

[matty032]

Agree 100%!

 

[squire777]

Same old tired arguments from CNET. Stop giving them attention.

 

[drelewis]

Its not just the lack of apps but the quality that's hurting WP.I don't think the review was bad. I think the issue people have on here is that the bar is set so high now that you have to make a very strong argument to ask someone to switch away from the safety and non compromise of droid or apple.

 

[anon(8504076)]

Yeah CNET as usual But still comments are quite unbiased

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

It wasn't as bad as it usually is. So...they're improving?

 

[narv]

It seems the commenters are actually defending WP for the most part... and it's not FILLED with hate and only 2-3 people defending it.. people who say they don't use WP are defending it. Means more to me than what CNET says.

 

[BobLobIaw]

Obviously, CNET will continue to say this ad nauseum. Every review is the same, regardless of whether it is reviewing a phone or the OS upgrades. They just point out the most prominent missing app or feature and casually dismiss WP because of it. The biggest smartphone hoax created by the tech writing community is that apps are the be-all and end-all criterion for selection of an ecosystem. In my opinion, there are so many other important things when it comes to one's OS choice. The question is, does the phone and OS accomplish one's individual goals? Obviously for a lot of WP people, the answer is yes. How does some clown at CNET know what my goals are? At this point of the game, it is irresponsible for journalists to attempt to dissuade a consumer from considering WP, but they will no doubt continue to do so.

 

[herbertsnow]

CNET hasn't gone under yet?

 

[valeriolucciola]

I usually bypass CNET and go straight to their sister site ZDNet with Mary Jo Foley. That's about the only place I expect Microsoft to get a fair shake.

 

[fonix232]

Its not just the lack of apps but the quality that's hurting WP.I don't think the review was bad. I think the issue people have on here is that the bar is set so high now that you have to make a very strong argument to ask someone to switch away from the safety and non compromise of droid or apple.

The quality of most of the apps is actually better than on iOS/Android, as the infrastructure is better (both the design language implementation and the IDEs available. Tried my hand at Android development, after using Visual Studio for years, and believe me, it's UGLY. The frontend looks nice, but all the elements, e.g. navigational drawer, are so hard to implement properly that you simply give up. Of course, they provide more flexibility (you can fill a nav drawer with your own custom list items, for example), but the overall developer experience is not that good).

For Windows Phone, we have a few clearly set design guidelines, which are incredibly easy to implement (especially with the MVVM patterns and Data Binding), and that's actually the reason why there are so many crappy apps on the Store. Seriously, if I did not run into at least 5 "Features"/"Specials" apps (which detail the upcoming/existing features of bigshot apps, e.g. Instagram, Windows Phone 8.1, Facebook, etcetera) for each big name, then I haven't seen any. Now, when Microsoft accepts such apps, that does say something about the platform and its app store. Don't misunderstand me please, I love WP - but this thing truly disgusts me.

And CNET can go s*ck it. A few years back they were one of the most reliable tech sites, now they just feed on the fame they collected back then. They've been at their Appleballs-licking for the past two-three years, bashing any other platform, no matter how good those are doing.

 

[JerseySal]

CNET is full of a bunch of know-nothing tools who wish their peepees were smaller so they can make love to their iPhone and Android usb ports.

 

[Seketh]

All the biased sites have the same argument: Apps. The Verge did it too, as usual, with some other bull**** criticism.

But the thing is, the reception to 8.1 is very positive, even in those websites.I guess that behind the bias, what they really wanted to say is:

"Windows Phone is better than ever, developers no longer have excuses to avoid it."

 

[henry.gray]

To me its not the lack of apps, its the lack of companies not coding for WP, I mean looked at how long it took for Instgram for instance. Its ok for the media to spout of about lack of apps, but they need to look at the ones refusing to make these apps and the excuse there isn't a demand for WP's

If companies start making these apps for WP as they are done for Android and iOS maybe there wont be as much to talk about.