Thoughts on Windows Phone Cyan?

[k12000lt]

Hello.
These are just my first impression about WP8.1/Lumia Cyan on my L925. I installed it yesterday. I did a factory reset after taking a full back up (Contacts and calender only) of my phone, before updating to Lumia Cyan. It took around 90 minutes for the whole process before my phone was all set up and ready to go. Following are the things I noticed:

The good:
1: Nice visual overhaul
2: Good action center, still needs some improvement though.
3: Toggle keys for WiFi, Location etc.
4: Nice default camera interface.
5. Nice transition effect while opening action center, browsing through menus etc.
6: Improved calender interface.
7: Very good IE. Can store passwords. Pages are much faster to load, rendered better.
8: Excellent battery life. Way improved. ( you need to restrict a lot many apps from running in background from new 'batter saver' app though. By default too many useless app are allowed.)
9: Changes in call history are welcome. Now calls from single number are consolidated and show number of calls in front of it instead of very long list like in WP8.

The bad:
1: Still no smart dialing
2: Can toggle WiFi on from the top drop down menu but can't toggle off. It goes to WiFi settings from where I need to slide it off.
3: No toggle for GPRS/Data connection.
4: No USB OTG.
5: No Powerpoint editor.
6: Calender and Battery saver keep running in background when I close them with back key. I always have to go to task manager and shut them down.
7: Still a lot of restricted implementation:
a:For Whatsapp
still can't send audio files in whatsapp.
can't find and replay/delete saved audio clips which I receive in whatsapp.

can't send custom ringtone, apart from all those few default ones.​

b:Security apps
like photo lock, private lite, 360 photo vault are severely restricted and crippled.
8: No native support to password protect gallery (Photos/videos) or certain apps.
9: Still can not create albums in gallery (Photos)
10: Store: can't remove uninstalled apps from 'My Apps' list.
11: Can not view or download/save any attachment (pdf/docx/jpg etc) from an email when viewing in Internet Explorer. Only png images can be saved.
12: Can not create birthdays in calender, in phone itself, like online account.
13: In IE, when multiple tabs are open. when you open each tab in succession. the arrangement of tabs in 'Tab' menu keeps on changing. I mean the location of tab of opened page.
14: Can't delete single notification in action center. Also it gets extremely overwhelming when there are a lot of notifications form single or multiple apps.

Indifferent:
1: Unnecessary addition of things like Travel, health & fitness, food & drink.
2: Little more storage usage for phones with no expandable memory (L925).
3: No change in overall speed of OS. It was faster already with WP8. (Doesn't "seem faster" :winktongue
4: Unnecessary change in call menu.
5: Wrodflow keyboard. May be useful to many others, ofcourse.

One more thing
Can any one tell me how can I change theme of my lock screen to ?
I have seen it on many websites reviewing or discussing about WP8.1

Anyone is welcome for additions/deletions/corrections.
These are just my points. Many have already been pointed out on a lot of websites/reviews/posts.
Thank you all for you patient time.

 

[jojoe42]

Hello.
These are just my first impression about WP8.1/Lumia Cyan on my L925. I installed it yesterday. I did a factory reset after taking a full back up (Contacts and calender only) of my phone, before updating to Lumia Cyan. It took around 90 minutes for the whole process before my phone was all set up and ready to go. Following are the things I noticed:

The good:
1: Nice visual overhaul
2: Good action centre, still needs some improvement tough.
3: Toggle keys for WiFi, Location etc.
4: Nice default camera interface.
5. Nice transition effect while opening action center, browsing through menus etc.
6: Improved calender interface.
7: Very good IE. Can store passwords. Pages are much faster to load, rendered better.
8: Excellent battery life. Way improved. ( you need to restrict a lot many apps from running in background from new 'batter saver' app though. By default too many useless app are allowed.)
9: Changes in call history are welcome. Now calls from single number are consolidated and show number of calls in front of it instead of very long list like in WP8.

The bad:
1: Still no smart dialing
2: Can toggle WiFi on from the top drop down menu but can't toggle off. It goes to WiFi settings from where I need to slide it off.
3: No toggle for GPRS/Data connection.
4: No USB OTG.
5: No Powerpoint editor.
6: Calender and Battery saver keep running in background when I close them with back key. I always have to go to task manager and shut them down.
7: Still a lot of resticted implimentation:
a:For Whatsapp
still can't send audio files in whatsapp.
can't find and replay/delete saved audio clips which I receive in whatsapp.
b:Secury apps
like photo lock, private lite, 360 photo valut are severly restricted and crippled.
8: No native support to password protect gallery (Photos/videos) or certain apps.
9: Still can not create albums in gallert (Photos)
10: Store: can't remove uninstalled apps from 'My Apps' list.
11: Can not view or download/save any attachment (pdf/docx/jpg etc) from an email when viewing in Internet Explorer. Only png images can be saved.
12: Can not create birthdays in calender, in phone itself, like online account.
13: In IE, when multiple tabs are open. when you open each tab in succession. the arrangement of tabs in 'Tab' menu keeps on changing. I mean the location of tab of opened page.
14: Can't delete single notification in action center. Also it gets extremely overwhelming when there are a lot of notifications form single or multiple apps.

Indifferent:
1: Unnecessary addition of things like Travel, health & fitness, food & drink.
2: Little more storage usage for phones with no expandable memory (L925).
3: No change in overall speed of OS. It was faster already with WP8. (Doesn't "seem faster" :winktongue
4: Unnecessary change in call menu.

One more thing
Can any one tell me how can I change theme of my lock screen to View attachment 72381?
I have seen it on many websites reviewing or discussing about WP8.1

Anyone is welcome for additions/deletions/corrections.
These are just my points.
Thank you all for you patient time.

Thanks for the review!!! Helpful to know
In regard to the last thing about the lockscreen, customised lockscreens were announced at Build - the last update we got was from Rudy, stating that the dynamic lockscreen app will be ready by the time WP8.1 is released globally. Shouldn't be long...

 

[k12000lt]

Thanks buddy. Hope dynamic lockscreen app becomes available soon.

 

[Jan Tomsic]

Can toggle WiFi on from the top drop down menu but can't toggle off. It goes to WiFi settings from where I need to slide it off.

I was confused about this too at first, but think about it: how often do you actually turn wifi off, and how often do you switch between access points? Sure if you just stay at home an go to work it connects to them automatically, but if you're traveling, you change between them a lot, or if you don't switch APs more than turn wifi off, at least you do it equally (I do, anyway), so I actually prefer it this way. Someone though about this a lot, and they were probably deciding between both sides, and I'm glad they made it like they did.
Bluetooth does only toggle though, and I'm sure they went trough the same thought process, and I think you use less different BT devices than wireless APs, so it kinda makes sense (plus there's so many NFC enabled bluetooth devices that you rarely have to pair manually)

9: Still can not create albums in gallery (Photos)

but you can make folders with Files, and move photos around there. It will show up as an album in the Photos app.

 

[Hamza Waseem]

Hey guys! Based on this review and the comments above, I guess I'm right in my decision to get a 925. The cons described above are minor points in my opinion. So should i get a 925 now? I really need to replace my 620!

 

[anon8649069]

Hey guys! Based on this review and the comments above, I guess I'm right in my decision to get a 925. The cons described above are minor points in my opinion. So should i get a 925 now? I really need to replace my 620!

Cons described above are about OS not lumia 925.
It's a great phone and you should get one if you like it but FYI it lacks SD card support.

 

[Darren Walsh]

You can clear a single notification! You just swipe it to the right!!!

 

[jojoe42]

Also the beta for the dynamic lock screen app was tweeted by Joe Belfiore to be released in around a week. Woot!!

 

[k12000lt]

Hey guys! Based on this review and the comments above, I guess I'm right in my decision to get a 925. The cons described above are minor points in my opinion. So should i get a 925 now? I really need to replace my 620!

You can definitely go ahead with L925. I have been using it for about a year. Excellent phone. Very lightweight, thin, no lags what so ever (never were there in wp8 already). It's an exact copy of L920 without wireless charging, with a new, slim design. All specs are same. So some might say it's outdated now.

There are few points though
1: Has storage limited to 16GB. After installing WP8.1, Maps for India (932 MB), Camera 360 and Asphalt 8, my usable storage is about 8.5 GB for all other things like photos, videos and songs. There is no expandable memory and WP8.1 doesn't even support USB OTG. You'll need to keep backing up your data more often or depend on Cloud, if you like.

2: Some heating issues when playing Asphalt 8 or Camera 360 but doesn't heat too much. It's bearable and never caused any issues with the phone's operation.

3: Aluminum rim can get damaged easily (dented mostly).

Hope this clarifies most of the things.

 

[k12000lt]

You can clear a single notification! You just swipe it to the right!!!

I tried it, but it clears all notifications from a single app, and not just that single notification. Suppose I have notifications from Whatsapp, Mail, Message and facebook, if I swipe to right on a notification from whatsapp, it clears all notifications of whatsapp. Rest stay.

 

[k12000lt]

I was confused about this too at first, but think about it: how often do you actually turn wifi off, and how often do you switch between access points? Sure if you just stay at home an go to work it connects to them automatically, but if you're traveling, you change between them a lot, or if you don't switch APs more than turn wifi off, at least you do it equally (I do, anyway), so I actually prefer it this way. Someone though about this a lot, and they were probably deciding between both sides, and I'm glad they made it like they did.
Bluetooth does only toggle though, and I'm sure they went trough the same thought process, and I think you use less different BT devices than wireless APs, so it kinda makes sense (plus there's so many NFC enabled bluetooth devices that you rarely have to pair manually)



but you can make folders with Files, and move photos around there. It will show up as an album in the Photos app.

1: About Wifi, I do frequently turn it off and on as I travel frequently. And as such for me, it makes no sense, to follow so many steps just for a simple task.
2. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll try it. I was used to the 'Symbin belle' thing-making folders in the gallery itself. Hope they make is as simple with future updates.

 

[Conan143]

Hello.
These are just my first impression about WP8.1/Lumia Cyan on my L925. I installed it yesterday. I did a factory reset after taking a full back up (Contacts and calender only) of my phone, before updating to Lumia Cyan. It took around 90 minutes for the whole process before my phone was all set up and ready to go. Following are the things I noticed:

The good:
1: Nice visual overhaul
2: Good action center, still needs some improvement though.
3: Toggle keys for WiFi, Location etc.
4: Nice default camera interface.
5. Nice transition effect while opening action center, browsing through menus etc.
6: Improved calender interface.
7: Very good IE. Can store passwords. Pages are much faster to load, rendered better.
8: Excellent battery life. Way improved. ( you need to restrict a lot many apps from running in background from new 'batter saver' app though. By default too many useless app are allowed.)
9: Changes in call history are welcome. Now calls from single number are consolidated and show number of calls in front of it instead of very long list like in WP8.

The bad:
1: Still no smart dialing
2: Can toggle WiFi on from the top drop down menu but can't toggle off. It goes to WiFi settings from where I need to slide it off.
3: No toggle for GPRS/Data connection.
4: No USB OTG.
5: No Powerpoint editor.
6: Calender and Battery saver keep running in background when I close them with back key. I always have to go to task manager and shut them down.
7: Still a lot of restricted implementation:
a:For Whatsapp
still can't send audio files in whatsapp.
can't find and replay/delete saved audio clips which I receive in whatsapp.

can't send custom ringtone, apart from all those few default ones.​

b:Security apps
like photo lock, private lite, 360 photo vault are severely restricted and crippled.
8: No native support to password protect gallery (Photos/videos) or certain apps.
9: Still can not create albums in gallery (Photos)
10: Store: can't remove uninstalled apps from 'My Apps' list.
11: Can not view or download/save any attachment (pdf/docx/jpg etc) from an email when viewing in Internet Explorer. Only png images can be saved.
12: Can not create birthdays in calender, in phone itself, like online account.
13: In IE, when multiple tabs are open. when you open each tab in succession. the arrangement of tabs in 'Tab' menu keeps on changing. I mean the location of tab of opened page.
14: Can't delete single notification in action center. Also it gets extremely overwhelming when there are a lot of notifications form single or multiple apps.

Indifferent:
1: Unnecessary addition of things like Travel, health & fitness, food & drink.
2: Little more storage usage for phones with no expandable memory (L925).
3: No change in overall speed of OS. It was faster already with WP8. (Doesn't "seem faster" :winktongue
4: Unnecessary change in call menu.
5: Wrodflow keyboard. May be useful to many others, ofcourse.

One more thing
Can any one tell me how can I change theme of my lock screen to View attachment 72381?
I have seen it on many websites reviewing or discussing about WP8.1

Anyone is welcome for additions/deletions/corrections.
These are just my points. Many have already been pointed out on a lot of websites/reviews/posts.
Thank you all for you patient time.

According to Joe..
Lockscreen app will be made available in the next week under the tag beta...So it won't be too late and hang on until it rolls out..

 

[wpinfected]

1.Downloaded games can be seen in the second screen
2. Videos streaming support in IE

 

[Laura Knotek]

Thoughts on Windows Phone Cyan

What are your thoughts on Windows Phone Cyan?

What features do you like?

What features do you dislike?

Please let us know.

 

[lum5]

1: About Wifi, I do frequently turn it off and on as I travel frequently. And as such for me, it makes no sense, to follow so many steps just for a simple task.
2. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll try it. I was used to the 'Symbin belle' thing-making folders in the gallery itself. Hope they make is as simple with future updates.

i think other storage issue also solved in wp8.1 ...is it correct ? How much was the size of update ? Is it a single one ?

 

[James8561]

Re: Thoughts on Windows Phone Cyan

well except for the new stuffs on Snapdragon 800 devices, Cyan is just official WP8.1 right?
WP8.1 is just awesome. I simply cannot live without it. Things such as action center, Cortana, start background, and data sense are so good that I wonder how I survived 1.5 years of 8.0. Swype typing is simply awesome and allows WP to really excel over iOS.
Story teller is a really cool app that eliminates laborious picture videos. Living Images is a really cool idea that reminds me of those "magic" newspapers in Harry Potter (hm I wonder if the developers got their inspiration from those movies)

now I just need to wait for Cyan to come to AT&T L920
also, why is WP8.1 still under "upcoming & rumored OS" ? it's official! helloo!

 

[ven07]

Re: Thoughts on Windows Phone Cyan

Unfortunately im sporting a 925 so I can't say much :shocked:

 

[Hamza Waseem]

You can definitely go ahead with L925. I have been using it for about a year. Excellent phone. Very lightweight, thin, no lags what so ever (never were there in wp8 already). It's an exact copy of L920 without wireless charging, with a new, slim design. All specs are same. So some might say it's outdated now.

There are few points though
1: Has storage limited to 16GB. After installing WP8.1, Maps for India (932 MB), Camera 360 and Asphalt 8, my usable storage is about 8.5 GB for all other things like photos, videos and songs. There is no expandable memory and WP8.1 doesn't even support USB OTG. You'll need to keep backing up your data more often or depend on Cloud, if you like.

2: Some heating issues when playing Asphalt 8 or Camera 360 but doesn't heat too much. It's bearable and never caused any issues with the phone's operation.

3: Aluminum rim can get damaged easily (dented mostly).

Hope this clarifies most of the things.

1. The 16 GB limitation is no problem for me. I currently use only 7 GB of memory out of the 16 GB available on my 620 ( 8 internal + 8 SD Card). My app and media usage is minimal. Would have downloaded maps if they were available for my country (Pakistan....sigh) but hey.

2. As long angry birds and other small games don't cause the issue, its not a problem, right?

3. I intend to use a cover for that.

Any more useful tips , please?

 

[anon8649069]

1. The 16 GB limitation is no problem for me. I currently use only 7 GB of memory out of the 16 GB available on my 620 ( 8 internal + 8 SD Card). My app and media usage is minimal. Would have downloaded maps if they were available for my country (Pakistan....sigh) but hey.

2. As long angry birds and other small games don't cause the issue, its not a problem, right?
I
3. I intend to use a cover for that.

Any more useful tips , please?

You are Pakistani? Hmm me too bro
If storage is no issue for you then Lumia 925 is perfect for you.
And it also lacks wireless charging.Otherwise it's best WP out there. It's lightweight,thin and has gorgeous design.

 

[scgf]

The bad:
1: Still no smart dialing

You have to think different with WP - pin a contact to your start screen. Would that not do?