Comments from a recovering Android User

[lancguy]

So, my smart phone odyssey has been interesting. Two years ago, I really wanted a WP phone. But I was stuck on T-Mobile. They were really slow bringing out WP devices -- I knew something was coming, but I didn't know when. I was so fed up with my Behold, I knew I couldn't wait. So I went with the G2 running Jelly Bean by HTC.

At first I loved it. It had 4 screens to customize, and allowed for more aps to be installed versus iOS. But soon, the random reboot issue started to hit me. I hated having only a few links I could put on a screen. Then, I started to notice that my app icons disappeared from the screens. And don't get me wrong, at first I loved having five screens to customize, but it quickly became a real pain to find the app I was looking for. And then there was the whole update issue. I waited for what seemed like forever for ICS to hit my device, and then I found out that that would be the last update the G2 would get.

I never had the option for an iPhone, but I was never impressed by it. As a die hard PC geek, I hated the interface for iOS. I had an iPod, and found it a pain. Where did I put that ap? Yeah, I only had two screens for aps, and I could create folders to nest icons in, it seemed so yesterday like Windows XP. Yeah, it may have simply worked, but only in the environment Apple imposed. And apple devices are so overpriced to begin with.

So, I got my Lumina 920 last week and it's now been 4 days. I got to say I love this phone. I love how I can pin the aps to my start screen for constant updates. I also love how I can quickly find other aps I have installed. I also love how updates and information is shared across aps and updates me accordingly. And I love how I can customize the start screen. All my important stuff is right where I need it.

I really like how my start screen shows my calendar information; and the bing image is awesome. I actually look forward to getting up in the morning and looking to see what the image is. And that people ap is just incredible. Android and iOS have nothing to compare to it. It pulls all the updates from facebook, twitter, and other sites together into one app. Just incredible!

So far, nothing has simply disappeared from my screen. And information is shared on both my phone and my desktop and laptop computers through Hotmail and skydrive. The operating system is very fast and responsive and I have had few problems with websites - unlike my android device.

I don't know if it's just an HTC issue, but I haven't had a single random reboot since I powered on this phone. And while yeah, there aren't as many apps, and some of the aps I really want aren't available yet, I truly don't regret switching over. I'm a die hard WP fan boy now. I'm always showing off my new phone and it's OS. and I already have a few converts looking to move over!

So what are your conversion stories?

 

[InnocuousScreenname]

Welcome to the fold. I owned the iPhone 3G for a couple of years, had it jailbroken, and called it "the best device I've ever owned". Even though, I really hated the way iOS handled email attachments, and the stale grid interface. And the handling of text messages....and, and, and.

I then decided to try Android. I was eligible for an upgrade and the Samsung Captivate was going for some ridiculous price on Amazon. My girlfriend at the time purchased it for me as a Christmas present.

I was so eager to say Android is better than iOS because it was so "customizable". I got heavy into flashing custom ROMS, that I soon found myself addicted to the Android equivalent of "chasing the dragon". Constantly flashing ROMS, kernels, and modems, forever searching for the perfect combination. Not to mention that the Captivate was a sub-par piece of hardware.

The Android interface is clunky, there are a crap ton of options, and you need to download an app to figure out exactly what app is doing what and when.

I can get geeky with the best of 'em, but I'd rather set up a network, or build a new PC, and overclock my processor on my actual desktop computer, instead of spending hours worrying about voltage settings on my custom Android Kernel.

I then bought the Samsung Focus S with Windows Phone 7.5 after messing with a display model for about thirty minutes. I really didn't know much about Windows Phone at the time, but I was very lucky because I stumbled upon the best OS for me.

I don't do social media at all. I want my mobile phone to be minimalistic, work smoothly and have a responsive touchscreen, handle emails the way they should be handled, and have decent call quality. Windows Phone 7.5 did all that for me.

Believe it or not, I prefer the notification screen not showing many details. I like the lack of signal bar, battery percentage, etc. The less clutter, the better. And I enjoyed the Metro UI, big buttons and all, even though I don't use live tiles much. I'm more than willing to go into an app to find out the weather.

I liked that about Windows Phone 7.5. You can have a whole lot of activity and flickering images going with live tiles, or you can turn them off. Simple, clean, no frills.

The Samsung Focus S was considered close to top of the line for Windows Phone 7.5.

I purchased the Lumia 920 on launch day. Windows Phone 8 coupled with the Nokia Lumia 920 blows my Samsung away. GPS, call quality, overall speed is vastly improved. LTE data is amazingly fast.

And the Windows 8 Ecosystem is amazing. My laptop and desktop both run Windows 8 Pro. Imagine my surprise when I logged into my Lumia for the first time with my Windows Live ID and saw all my saved numbers and contacts already loaded, along with all my photos.

I'm not sure if I'm a ******. I just know that right now, Microsoft and Windows/Windows Phone 8 is providing me with the best overall experience in personal and mobile computing I've ever had.