Only 1 week with WP8 and .... disappointed.....????

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pstern

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I just left BB ( last Torch 9860) after 8 years.. I considered myself almost an expert all the tricks and possibilities BB offers with OS 7.1 ...
My daily technology use...:
Office (travel agency owner):Outlook exchange: fully using mails, contacts, calendar, tasks (to control projects and assignments to my travel advisers) and notes
As a hobby a do have other activities that require full use of the calendar to record rehearsals and concerts.
All my needs where covered by my blackberry.... Using a simple program like BB Desktop manager I just plugged my device to my PC every day and all the new info in my contacts, calendar, tasks and notes passed from one devise to the other (bidirectional).. with no hassle... no problem... I just invested a couple of minutes and all the info was updated in both. Plus, once a week a complete backup of the device + the normal backup we do at the office of all our computers, servers etc...
After so many years I was a little bored of the same "icons" and the lack of new technological possibilities like cloud synchronization, skype to see and speak with my family, and a more interesting, interactive OS made me start to browse around and see some other possibilities in the market. So I saw for the first time WP7 on a Lumia and I fell in love with the new "look and feell". I read about it a lot (but not enough I think..) and although I knew there where not so many apps in the market, I bought an HTC 8X a week ago.... I was very excited when Fedex delivered the package......
I was sure that being outlook a very important product for Microsoft, its cloud and sync operations where going to be a "piece of cake"....fast and clean.... HOW WRONG I WAS.....
After spending hours and hours reading blogs and watching MS videos I was able to sync only my calendar and my contacts installing the outlook connector in my PC... but...no notes...no tasks where synchronized.
Yesterday I had to look up for a concert I will have in June but I was not sure the exact date.... I found out that there is no "search" capabilities in the calendar...WHAT ???? I had to add an app the does a general search in the phone (calendar and contacts)... These 2 capabilities are normal in BB long time ago....
I will have to use the tasks that synchronize from the phone to my calendar in outlook.com in order to work with them... there is no way I could transfer my outlook (exchange tasks) to the cloud --> to my WP ..
Other details... font size are only possible for SMS and mails... But I would love to have a bigger fonts in whatsapps, facebook and Twitter.....not possible
Great that you can change the color of your tiles in your start screen... but you have to have that same color in your whatsapps conversations...... the texts in my mail (first screen)... etc..why...?????

The phone I got HTC 8X... very nice... fast...the Beats audio system is outstanding...camera....much better than the one in my BB...but after loading the apps + my data + a very few videos, less music that I had before... I have only 5GB remaining ..... in my BB I had a 16Gb SD card... There is no expansion possibilities in the Lumia nor in the HTC..only in ATIV S (but it was suppose to be out beginning of December..and ...nothing...also a little big for my taste)

I hope there will be interesting news in CES 2013...but I really thought my life was going to be much easier and exiting using my new phone with the new WP8..... so far.... it has NOT.....

Happy new year to all... I hope this will change soon....

Regards

PS
 

spaulagain

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I've had no problems syncing either my Outlook.com or my Outlook Exchange from work on my Lumia 920. In fact, its been quite seamless, simple, and impressive. Everything from tasks at work, to meeting request is fully integrated and easy to use.

Other than a lack of calendar search which would come in handy maybe once every 3 months or so I think WP8 and Outlook integration is very impressive.

If you were looking for expandable space why didn't you get the Lumia 820?

Not sure what your problems are...?
 

AngryNil

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Here's the problem with your thread: almost all your complaints could have been easily discovered online before your purchase. I personally cannot stand these "one hour/day/week and already disappointed" threads, not because there aren't valid points being made or because I'm a ****** and can't stand criticism, but because they imply Windows Phone is so deeply flawed that you found even more problems than you knew you were getting into and they are so severe that you're pissed off about it within a few days. That's simply not true, half the problems are well documented and the other half aren't even a problem with WP8 itself. You need a device to replace your BB with an SD card slot? Get an Ativ S, or heck, the Lumia 920 with 32GB of storage. Don't buy the 16GB phone without an SD slot then realise that's not good enough after the fact, you wouldn't blame the furniture maker when you purchase a cabinet that doesn't fit your belongings.

On to apps: it would be incredibly hard for Microsoft to enforce system-wide font sizing options, and the ways they could do it would either make validation of that option tedious, or simply hurt apps with custom layouts. Similarly, Microsoft cannot say to developers that their apps must conform to the accent colour. Services have their brands and they can be tied to colour. So, you have a problem with the Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter apps. Go contact their respective support teams to implement the said changes, or in the case of Twitter, go look for an alternative client with font options.
 

Gaichuke

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For the love of Zeus.... stop writing like this.... it does not make.... sense............

Sorry. I had to say something, that was driving me nuts.
 

pstern

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Thank you for your answer spaulagain.. The decision was made also because of phone design etc... I am aware that I will have to manage my info and use skydrive in order to complement my storage space.. as I said ..the phone is great.. great design....and at the end I think I will be happy but I need things to work fine...so would it be possible for you to tell me what did you do to sync all you outlook exchange info to you WP8 ? Did you use outlook connector..? As I said ...Tasks and notes did not sync.....

Thank you ....
 

Villain

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I'm coming from a blackberry as well and I can agree that this OS is missing a billion of small options/settings that I'm accustom to. (hard to explain to someone who has never used a bb)


that being said... the WP OS has a lot of other advantages.



as far as your BB and space... you could up your storage BUT the app storage wasn't expandable and pretty low (not that bb had very many good apps at all)
 

ttsoldier

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I'm coming from a blackberry as well and I can agree that this OS is missing a billion of small options/settings that I'm accustom to. (hard to explain to someone who has never used a bb)

+1
Coming from a BB myself, there are many minor things that you are accustom too. It takes some getting used to.

I hate the fact that I have to pin email sub folders to the start screen so I can get notifications for them.
 

Gergolos

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+1 as well.

loved the huge search-option... you could search for stuff just in every little spot on your phone...

this being said: i love WP and all it's advantages! Using the Arrive gives me my beloved keyboard, so I really don't miss much...
 

ohgood

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1) I personally cannot stand these "one hour/day/week and already disappointed" threads...

2)... they imply Windows Phone is so deeply flawed that you found even more problems than you knew you were getting into and they are so severe that you're pissed off about it within a few days.

3) That's simply not true, half the problems are well documented and the other half aren't even a problem with WP8 itself.

1 real people finding problems/questions and posting them show flaws in hard/software

2 its impossible to know all the idiosyncrasies of different os's beforehand. The only way to find all the shortcomings of a device are to use them for some time. Features and options a person is accustomed to on one platform are taken for granted until another platform is used.

3 confuzzled, are you saying:
there are only 50% of real problems reported ?
there are only 50% of real problems documented ?
there are no problems at all, given you've dismissed both halves ?

Ignoring user input is not a good idea
 

haydt1

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I agree with the OP. I moved from a BB 9800 in November and have been pretty disappointed so far. I bought a SIM adapter and now find myself carrying my old 9800 more than my L820. As the OP said it's a lot of little setting and customization's that are lacking. I expected much more from a new OS and hardware. I was very excited about the built in MS office and Onenote as that's something I need on a daily basis but found I can't even open a password protected spreadsheet and I also needed to upgrade my desktop office software from 2007 to 2010 which is really poor. I have 7 different PC's and a tablet I use that have office loaded on them and I'm supposed to upgrade everyone of them just so I can open a doc on my phone.Cmon.

Battery life sucks, BT is so-so,Media player is subpar, doesn't work with Zune so I can't sync music and podcasts over my home home wifi. Yes I did do alot of homework on WP8 and Nokia before I bought my phone but you can't research every little setting and feature. Some of the functions on the 820 are about the capability I had years ago with other phones. Multitasking is a real joke compared to even my old BB.

I got tired of waiting for RIM to get off there ass and bring out BB10 and I know MS is updating the OS so hopefully alot of these deficiencies get fixed. otherwise, I'll give the 820 to my kid and check out the new RIM BB10 phones that are getting released this month.
 

phirefly

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Thank you for your answer spaulagain.. The decision was made also because of phone design etc... I am aware that I will have to manage my info and use skydrive in order to complement my storage space.. as I said ..the phone is great.. great design....and at the end I think I will be happy but I need things to work fine...so would it be possible for you to tell me what did you do to sync all you outlook exchange info to you WP8 ? Did you use outlook connector..? As I said ...Tasks and notes did not sync.....

Thank you ....

If your exchange server is setup for external access you can use active sync to directly sync everything from it. No need for a connector app.
 

spaulagain

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Thank you for your answer spaulagain.. The decision was made also because of phone design etc... I am aware that I will have to manage my info and use skydrive in order to complement my storage space.. as I said ..the phone is great.. great design....and at the end I think I will be happy but I need things to work fine...so would it be possible for you to tell me what did you do to sync all you outlook exchange info to you WP8 ? Did you use outlook connector..? As I said ...Tasks and notes did not sync.....

Thank you ....


In the email+account section in WP8 settings there is an option for Outlook (Outlook.com, Exchange, Office 365). Click that and add your email credentials. If your company has some custom settings, you may have to enter in some additional data after you attempt to add the account. It will then allow you to enter a specific domain and server details.

Once the account is set up (and I think while you set it up) there are options for how frequently to download new email, how far back to sync, and what you would like to sync (email, contacts, calendar, tasks).

I've set up Outlook.com and Exchange with no problems and our company has heavy security standards/settings. We are just in the process of switching to Office 365, so I will be updating it soon for that and see how it goes.

This is all native/embedded in the OS. If you were using some other service, that was probably the source of your issues.


BTW, I really like the 8X too but agree the storage options were pretty minimal for it. Also, you can play music from SkyDrive. MS allows for cloud music now.
 

crystal_planet

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1 real people finding problems/questions and posting them show flaws in hard/software

2 its impossible to know all the idiosyncrasies of different os's beforehand. The only way to find all the shortcomings of a device are to use them for some time. Features and options a person is accustomed to on one platform are taken for granted until another platform is used.

3 confuzzled, are you saying:
there are only 50% of real problems reported ?
there are only 50% of real problems documented ?
there are no problems at all, given you've dismissed both halves ?

Ignoring user input is not a good idea
1) No it isn't. People get bored of what they have. The OP said as much. Like most that become disappointed after a short time, it's not because o/s falls short, it's because the person is enamored with the sparkly newness and live tiles until he finds out: a) it doesn't do things like his old device. or b)his favorite apps are missing.

2)Orrrrrrrrr....you could research the product before taking the plunge. It's really not that difficult a concept. I did - I was well aware of the differences and shortfalls of this o/s before I put my money down. I came from BlackBerry and I knew that I'd never see those awesome notifications in Windows Phone, but I also have never had to do a batt pull either. I wish for once someone would make a damn list of what's important to them and pick the o/s and device based on that instead of being bedazzled by a case colour or some blinking lights.

3) He's saying 50% of problems people face may be the result of errant apps, the device hardware, even user error.

Are you being deliberately obtuse, or do you just enjoy stirring the pot?
 

thekonger

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pstern, try Android or iOS if you are looking for an alternative to BB. My wife went from a BB to an iPhone as she has to do QA and troubleshooting of an IOS app within out company. My wife hated her BB and loves her iPhone. Personally I find WP8 superior to iOS and Android but you may find otherwise, it can all be personal choice.

Just go with the one that fits you the best. But I would also do as others have suggested and do some homework. For example, if you're concerned with storage don't grab a non-expandable device with one of the smallest storage capacities.
 

ohgood

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1) No it isn't. People get bored of what they have. The OP said as much. Like most that become disappointed after a short time, it's not because o/s falls short, it's because the person is enamored with the sparkly newness and live tiles until he finds out: a) it doesn't do things like his old device. or b)his favorite apps are missing.

2)Orrrrrrrrr....you could research the product before taking the plunge. It's really not that difficult a concept. I did - I was well aware of the differences and shortfalls of this o/s before I put my money down. I came from BlackBerry and I knew that I'd never see those awesome notifications in Windows Phone, but I also have never had to do a batt pull either. I wish for once someone would make a damn list of what's important to them and pick the o/s and device based on that instead of being bedazzled by a case colour or some blinking lights.

3) He's saying 50% of problems people face may be the result of errant apps, the device hardware, even user error.

Are you being deliberately obtuse, or do you just enjoy stirring the pot?

1 mmm
2 no, it is not possible to know all the differences without trying a device, period. Reading an encylopedias worth of information on two devices, then cross referencing would be close. I don't think you, or anyone, has ever done that for a phone.
3 and the other 50% is the device ?
 

crystal_planet

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1 mmm
2 no, it is not possible to know all the differences without trying a device, period. Reading an encylopedias worth of information on two devices, then cross referencing would be close. I don't think you, or anyone, has ever done that for a phone.
3 and the other 50% is the device ?

2) Yes, you won't get a true feel for the device until you try it. But, if for example, you want the most apps you'll go for iOS, tweakability? Android, and so on... In the op's case he loved his notification system and BIS functionality. All it would take is for him to read just a few threads to see WP is not what he needs. You don't need to cross reference with laser precision here. It's a smart phone - your not comparing two brands of cyclotrons - bold brush strokes was enough.

3) Sure. Why not? Or any other piece I mentioned. If you're trying to goad me into saying the o/s is not at fault for anything, it won't work. I know WP8 is a work in progress. It's not complete to where I'd like it and it needs more features added, but the core and the philosophy behind it is truly excellent.

The bottom line is we're supposed to be supportive because the OP thought that WP was BlackBerry deluxe when it wasn't. We get a lot of those types here, and it's pretty difficult to be sympathetic towards them. The posts that bum me the most, are the guys that have had a high post count, a few WP devices and have tried to love the o/s "but just can't do it anymore". It's for those guys I want WP to go beyond.
 

AngryNil

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real people finding problems/questions and posting them show flaws in hard/software
So, what is new here? The 8X has, surprise, 16GB of storage? Font sizing options and accent colours aren't reflected in third party apps? Outlook sucks? All these are well documented (or, in the case of a few, can be logically deduced) and don't bring anything new to the table. The only thing I'd apologise here for is for ranting at an innocent user - pstern, of course you have the right to vent, I'm sorry for stepping on your toes. It was directed at the many like threads, but this is one of the better ones.

there are only 50% of real problems reported ?
there are only 50% of real problems documented ?
Roughly half are OS problems that others have already picked up on and posted around, the other half are issues with apps and the hardware.
 
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