Do you think WP8.1 is on par with IOS and ANDROID?

[A895]

no but google monitors everything you do to give you targetted ads. MS respects your info by not pulling ad info from it.

Well that is a lie. Microsoft just like Google uses ads based on your interests. Google only monitors what you give them. Google does not just pull info about you from the sky.

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[DavidinCT]

Add IR port

The new Samsung coming on Verizon (pre-order right now) does have a IR port....

I think it's starting to get closer, in the gap at least for OS features with 8.1. I still think we still have a problem with apps. The apps issue is one of those catch 22 things.... We cant get the apps because we don't sell the phones... Maybe 8.1 will change that.

I will admit one thing I have noticed over the last month, I have noticed a lot of Windows Phone users pining against Cut the Rope 2 with requests for WP on facebook....

 

[squire777]

I'd say it's on par with both, especially iOS. Android might have a few more customization features that WP doesn't have but I don't really care about things like animated backgrounds.

 

[chezm]

I know some may consider this silly or overkill, but i really wish the IE11 version on WP8.1 added buttons for back/forward dedicated for the App...or even added the ability to swipe back/forward much like iOS/W8. This little missing feature is keeping me from jumping back to windows since i use my phone to browse 90% of the time. Otherwise, 8.1 has closed the gap nicely and i want to see MS continuing support.

 

[A895]

I know some may consider this silly or overkill, but i really wish the IE11 version on WP8.1 added buttons for back/forward dedicated for the App...or even added the ability to swipe back/forward much like iOS/W8. This little missing feature is keeping me from jumping back to windows since i use my phone to browse 90% of the time. Otherwise, 8.1 has closed the gap nicely and i want to see MS continuing support.

If I remember correctly IE on WP8.1 allows a swipe in the browser to go back and forward.

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[chezm]

If I remember correctly IE on WP8.1 allows a swipe in the browser to go back and forward.

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Seriously?! I really hope so, its a feature many of my friends from iPhone were asking about and its a big deal to them too. I watched the IE11 demo video from BUILD but it didn't detail it, from what i remember.

 

[Coolaaron88]

Seriously?! I really hope so, its a feature many of my friends from iPhone were asking about and its a big deal to them too. I watched the IE11 demo video from BUILD but it didn't detail it, from what i remember.

It does, it's been confirmed via the emulator.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 Kit Katted

 

[chezm]

It does, it's been confirmed via the emulator.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 Kit Katted

Ok great news thanks for the confirmation! =)

 

[JJohnson1701]

It's almost on par. Feature-wise, it's almost there. But like others have said, Windows Phone has to be better. Especially to convince iPhone users, who are very often either religiously zealously attached to their iPhones to the point of praying to Steve Jobs at night before bed, too uninformed to know that there is another smartphone aside from iPhone, or won't switch until they believe it's 'cool' to do so.

From Build, we see that we have week view, Cortana, in-car integration being worked on, and lots of other little features. This is definitely good news. Though Windows Phone does need a few extra things, such as location-based reminders (Cortana might do this, but a Cortana-less way to do reminders should be available), HDR photos should be enabled on every Windows Phone, zoom-out with mini-thumbnails of your images (see iOS7) vs. the little bars you get by tapping the date, when sharing a pinned location, it should auto-open in the default mapping app on your WP (now it just sends a text with 'check out this place') when you click on it; now it's just a little text message with no difference from any other text message. I could go on, but just check out reviews of iOS7 and the most recent Android to see which features could be added.

I would still like to see some 'niceties' such as parallax motion backgrounds on the lock screen (look at Zune HD, which had this on its home screen), motion weather apps on the lock screen over the lock screen back ground, playlist editing in XBMusic, restoration of Zune in place of separate X-Box Music/Video/Podcasts (Hubs are much nicer than the separate apps. I've used both.), add 'places' in the Pictures hub to view pictures grouped by place (instead of getting rid of the picture hub concept like it appears we get), move Cortana to tap/hold Start and restore contextual search within apps, and add tap/hold search for Bing Search, alphabetized settings (what order are they in now?), and adding share-to to share an e-mail, song, album, video, tv show, website to a friend nearby (iPhone has this).

What I would like WP to avoid is the removal of the camera button, the lack of microSD, and the continued use of capacitive buttons. Capacitive buttons are always the cause of accidental presses, whereas if we had physical buttons, this wouldn't be an issue. OEMs continually give us limited memory (16GB in 2014? really?) instead of including microSD for expansion. A Camera button sets WP apart from the other two OSs, and should always be required.

The Windows Phone app in Windows 7/8 is still horrible, as is X-Box Music and X-Box Video. Zune and Windows Phone 7 was much much better. Using iTunes with iPhone is a better experience than what Windows users have today. I would like to see Microsoft restoring Zune, use that for purchasing apps in Windows Phone and restoring it, along with movie/tv/music/podcast/audiobook loading/browsing/listening.

Short version: It's really closing the gap. But the perception gap really needs work. A lot of people are terribly uninformed an even when you show them Windows Phone being better, they forget 5 minutes later. You need more advertisements to tout the new features.

 

[alukard]

Its not a household name, so in that sense its behind.

 

[Iridian]

Windows Phone is better than IOS and Android on many aspects. It's a revolutionary modern phone is that is both user friendly, fast and has a very responsive touch interface.

However I think it's still not on par. Still basic functions are missing. For example a way to easily switch between ringtone, vibrate and silence. Or a call log function that keeps track of how many minutes you have called. Also a lot of basic regional apps are still missing.

 

[SAM 77]

It was on par for me a while back but I'm not a power/hardcore phone user.

However the 8.1 update is so comprehensive I couldnt wait for it and signed up for the preview.

I'm more excited now then when I bought my Lumia 820 13 months ago.

As Macklemore said "This is F@$%ing Awesome"

 

[AndyM72]

​It doesn't need to be on par. I've never thought the totally open way of being that you get with Android was a good idea for a device that's connected to a billable service (your SIM), and likewise the iOS way of having absolutely everything locked down can be frustrating.

Windows Phone has always taken "the middle way". Just look at Cortana - as useful as Google Now, but a lot of the automated data monitoring only happens on the phone so Microsoft get no more data about you than Siri collects.

For me, a curated app store is a must. So iOS or Windows Phone are the only platforms I'd consider.

The only thing that put me off WP8 were little niggly things (like a single volume control, no "scrub bar" on audio, no HLS support in IE, half baked cloud backup, poor geofencing support in 1st party apps and for 3rd party apps). I don't need WP8.1 to be "on par" with iOS, I just need the few niggles here and there to be fixed.

 

[LillWicke]

Still basic functions are missing. For example a way to easily switch between ringtone, vibrate and silence. Or a call log function that keeps track of how many minutes you have called.

For the first part just swipe down and tap.
For the second part, if I remember it right, there will be a call log with minutes.

:smile:

 

[anon(5408816)]

I find it interesting that feature lists are devised on the basis of what Windows Phone DOESN'T have but it rarely discusses what it has that other platforms don't. When I show the People hub to iOS users, their eyes widen as they think about all the contact apps they had to go through to find the right one. That, "feature" is really a part of the core philosophy that permeates many of Microsoft's products. While there are consumers who do feature to feature comparisons to determine which product to buy, that isn't the only criteria that people use. As more and more people move onto their 2nd or 3rd smartphone, their tastes and needs change. When I originally bought into the Android ecosystem, it was specifically because of the 3rd party support. As I used it more and more, it occurred to me that 3rd party apps weren't that useful to me. When Microsoft began to converge the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 platform, switching was a no brainer. The, "App" ecosystem has a weakness when many aspects of the phone's capabilities are based on it. The end user experience can suffer due to poor development and worse support. Everyone knows that it's a crap shoot if it isn't built into the OS but very few technophiles are willing to admit it. 3rd party extensibility is a good thing but when it becomes central to the model, it could actually do more harm than good. Many consumers are inclined to follow market trends but that doesn't mean that they are stupid. In terms of the overall experience, I personally qualify Windows Phone as being the best for me.

 

[A895]

I find it interesting that feature lists are devised on the basis of what Windows Phone DOESN'T have but it rarely discusses what it has that other platforms don't. When I show the People hub to iOS users, their eyes widen as they think about all the contact apps they had to go through to find the right one. That, "feature" is really a part of the core philosophy that permeates many of Microsoft's products. While there are consumers who do feature to feature comparisons to determine which product to buy, that isn't the only criteria that people use. As more and more people move onto their 2nd or 3rd smartphone, their tastes and needs change. When I originally bought into the Android ecosystem, it was specifically because of the 3rd party support. As I used it more and more, it occurred to me that 3rd party apps weren't that useful to me. When Microsoft began to converge the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 platform, switching was a no brainer. The, "App" ecosystem has a weakness when many aspects of the phone's capabilities are based on it. The end user experience can suffer due to poor development and worse support. Everyone knows that it's a crap shoot if it isn't built into the OS but very few technophiles are willing to admit it. 3rd party extensibility is a good thing but when it becomes central to the model, it could actually do more harm than good. Many consumers are inclined to follow market trends but that doesn't mean that they are stupid. In terms of the overall experience, I personally qualify Windows Phone as being the best for me.

As android matured, of has become less about third part and more about what is available out of the box. Which is of course Google. With manufacturers that mat change slightly buy first and foremost is Google. Apple may have that "snob" factor but even got have to admit they make the best jack of all trades mobile devices. The only phone that came close on the android side was the Moto X. For windows phone it wasn't exactly the first party stuff that was the problem it was mainly third party. And while it has caught up mostly for the stuff that is being used now. The main concern is whatever comes out next may not be on WP and that's what is the problem with consumers along with poor marketing. How can I recommend someone who owns an iPhone to get a WP if the apps and games they like to play may not be there. There's also the question of does the person even use Microsoft services in the first place.

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[Saksham Sharma]

Windows Phone is better than IOS and Android on many aspects. It's a revolutionary modern phone is that is both user friendly, fast and has a very responsive touch interface.

However I think it's still not on par. Still basic functions are missing. For example a way to easily switch between ringtone, vibrate and silence. Or a call log function that keeps track of how many minutes you have called. Also a lot of basic regional apps are still missing.

call duration is coming in 8.1 !

 

[j rr]

I think i will have to wait to test it out first to decide. On paper it looks sweet, i have recently purchased a 1020, was really looking forward but after seeing how limited i am compared to IOS im really grateful i havent sold my idevice. I consider myself a power user, so i really want 8.1 to deliver and keep this phone... If and only IF i really like 8.1 and it meets my expectations im selling my 1020 and buying a 930 in June since i really wanted a higher resolution wp.

 

[TheRotfler]

UI: much better
Features: worse
Dev platform: a lot worse (too few API available to devs)

 

[revfast]

Windows Phone 8.1 being free will lure more OEMs, my guess is that they won't need to pay all the fees that android OEMs pay (patents). If that's the case they just need to lure more developers to adopt the platform.