Microsoft fails again on Notification Center

[aceattorneymvp]

Notifications are huge for me. WP8 better make the lock screen useful.

 

[Judge_Daniel]

I thought custom hubs would allow you to create notification centers for different groups of apps...

 

[Mr_pither]

would it be so hard to have an app called "Notifications"? i'd pin it small to the homescreen, and hopefully it would have a live tile showing the # of notifications I missed. dammit...

 

[AngryNil]

Swiping to the left on the lock screen gives you the "Kids Corner" screen. Windows Phone 8 to get new “Kid’s Corner” parental control feature | LiveSide.net

So who seriously thinks "Kids Corner" deserves such priority? A tile would serve the exact same purpose, whereas notifications really do need the extra space.

 

[Reflexx]

The purpose of a "Kids Corner" is likely to give kids access to certain apps and games, while denying them access to most of the phone. The lock screen would still be active, denying kids access without a password. But a swipe would still let them have access to apps and games of the parent's choosing.

Having it as an app would remove that layer of protection.

So who seriously thinks "Kids Corner" deserves such priority? A tile would serve the exact same purpose, whereas notifications really do need the extra space.

 

[1jaxstate1]

I just think they should require a password for downloading apps after, say a hour of idle time. I don't think it's high priority.

 

[ncxcstud]

So who seriously thinks "Kids Corner" deserves such priority? A tile would serve the exact same purpose, whereas notifications really do need the extra space.

as a father of an almost 2 year old - the Kids Corner interests me greatly. I told my wife about it (who has a Skyrocket) and she too thought that it was a great idea.

My daughter, at this young age, knows exactly how to get to 'her' things on our phones, but it doesn't keep her from toddler dialing/pinning grandparents, our friends, relatives, etc... My biggest fear is that as she tries to 'figure out' my password on my Focus, she'll (and she has) go into the emergency call area and dial 911 at some point...

she learned pretty quickly to unlock our phones, teaching her to swipe to the left to get to a kid friendly netflix, her sesame books, and a few other educational apps would be pretty welcome in my book.

 

[ncxcstud]

I just think they should require a password for downloading apps after, say a hour of idle time. I don't think it's high priority.

That is the one feature on iOS that annoys the **** out of me. Why do I have to put my password in for a free app? I just gave you my password with the last 4 app downloads, why are you still asking me?

The constant password asking and the no physical back button are the reasons why I could never, ever go to an iOS device now after using WP for 2 years.

 

[Reflexx]

Downloading apps isn't the only thing you want to keep your kids from doing. As ncxcstud said, kids will pin things to the start screen, set appointments, update Facebook and Twitter status, etc...

When my son was 2 (he's 4 now), we'd see garbled letters on our Facebook walls. He'd also post pictures and he'd even send text messages to familiar names with attached pictures.

So yeah, a Kids Corner would be tremendously helpful.

 

[1jaxstate1]

Well, as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. I never had to input my password every time I downloaded a app. But after a few hours, I did.

SO if someone steals your phone and go on a downloading spree, there is nothing stopping them.

But I'm sure there is some middle ground that could solve most people's issue.

As for someone who had to pay $19.99 for a "space birds" pack on a Galaxy S2 while getting a haircut and letting my kid play with my phone, I think there should be some type of precaution for downloading apps.

That is the one feature on iOS that annoys the **** out of me. Why do I have to put my password in for a free app? I just gave you my password with the last 4 app downloads, why are you still asking me?

The constant password asking and the no physical back button are the reasons why I could never, ever go to an iOS device now after using WP for 2 years.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Swipe left opens up the app list from the start screen right? So, why not make a right swipe on either the lockscreen or the start screen open up the notification centre?

 

[power5]

My kids have bought versions of the free app I download for them to play. Very annoying. I did not want a $2.99 version of some ABC, 123 app or whatever it was. I notice myself checking on them every 10-15 seconds when they are playing games just to see if they are at the purchase page. Very distracting. All I wanted was to give them my phone to occupy them for a few minutes but instead I am also occupied watching them.

I actually like the live tile option. Would pull all notifications to a single alert tile at the top and after checking would disappear. And easy to disable as well.

 

[brmiller1976]

If a Notification Center is that important, Android is probably a better choice.

I prefer to put the notifications that matter up front on the home screen as a tile, and ignore the ones that don't matter, rather than sort through a cluttered screen loaded up with notifications that I don't care about mixed with ones that I do care about.

 

[1jaxstate1]

You do know that apps have the option yo turn notifications on or off.

If a Notification Center is that important, Android is probably a better choice.

I prefer to put the notifications that matter up front on the home screen as a tile, and ignore the ones that don't matter, rather than sort through a cluttered screen loaded up with notifications that I don't care about mixed with ones that I do care about.

 

[KingCrimson]

If a Notification Center is that important, Android is probably a better choice.

I prefer to put the notifications that matter up front on the home screen as a tile, and ignore the ones that don't matter, rather than sort through a cluttered screen loaded up with notifications that I don't care about mixed with ones that I do care about.

I use the Notification Center on iPad all the time and it's not confusing at all. Microsoft just doesn't want to implement it for whatever stubborn reasons.

 

[Elchicos]

Or how about a more detailed "me hub" (also as notification center) when you swipe right from the startscreen

 

[KingCrimson]

Or how about a more detailed "me hub" (also as notification center) when you swipe right from the startscreen

The problem is that the only way to get access is by first tapping the Windows key to get to the home screen and then swiping to the right. On iOS & Android the notification shade is pulled down from within ANY app. That's a killer feature right there.

 

[Dre325]

The problem is that the only way to get access is by first tapping the Windows key to get to the home screen and then swiping to the right. On iOS & Android the notification shade is pulled down from within ANY app. That's a killer feature right there.

I agree with this. I've had a Windows Phone for about a year now after coming from an iPhone. Notifications and toast notifications are my biggest gripe about this OS. I use an iPad2 at home and pulling down my list of notifications and quickly accessing/responding/viewing is extremely efficient. I'm sick and tired of toast notifications popping up from my CNN app stating "President Obama has just n" or "The Super Bowl title goes to the" or a Facebook toast that lists half of a comment. It's really ridiculous. It's also frustrating to only see my next appointment on my lock screen or calendar tile.

On the other hand, I'm also sick of looking at my live tiles and patiently waiting for them to flip over to see if there's something important, or having the tile flip over (such as my WPCentral live tile) and having it list the first few words of a post in letters so big I can't make out what the post is even about.

I love the idea of a notification center (expanded Me hub or swipe right to notifications center) and multiple calendar appointments listed on the home screen. We NEED this on Windows phone and hopefully we can get something like this on WP 7.8 in addition to WP8.

 

[astraith]

Sorry but lock screen indicators + toasts are something both iPhone & Android already have. I want a pull-down time-sorted list of missed toasts like they have. They lock screen + live tiles is not a substitute for that.

I like the idea of an app, having ask your notifications in one place. For it to work it needs to be a way to access the app from any location on the phone.

 

[hcoreyh]

They should make a swipe left to a notifications centre.