To switch or not to switch

[nasellok]

So - I have been on android for going on (2) two year contracts (Droid X, and Galaxy Nexus). I have gotten into Android, rooting my phone, installing custom ROM's, and tweaking the device. At one point I was slightly obsessed with doing this, installing nightly ROM's, and Kernals, etc. The entire experience has since waned on me, - why should i have to download custom versions to customize my phone os experience. I have been really interested in WP8 since it's release, and have been a cautious observer for quite some time now. I have been waiting on the apps to come to WP8, and it seems that the windows app store is a lot further along. I have MS Surface RT, and love the whole windows 8 experience, albeit with a lack of some applications, but i find that the full web browser more than makes up for the app store deficiencies.

There are only a few things that i know i can do with my Android phone that I dont see an option with WP8:
Screen mirror to HDTV - although now that Nokia has released its "Play To" app - but I dont own a smart TV, or Xbox, so wouldnt really work for me.
Play Real Racing
Play Grand Theft Auto 3
Play EA sports games

I do have a few questions for some of the Apps
Dropbox - can you auto upload photos taken?
Gmail - can I use WP8 with my Gmail, Google Calendar?
Is there a suitable Google music app
spotify, pandora - hows the wp8 apps
flipboard - i know its not there - any suitable alternatives?
finance tracking app, whats best?
is there a paypal app?
is there flash support in browser?
is there remote desktop app, teamviewer on wp8?
any good golf gps apps?
will .avi files play in video player?
Is there Direct TV NFL ticket app?
Is there Time Warner Cable app?
Are there any torrent apps?

Im sure i can do research on these forums, and the web to find out these questions, but i find it helpful to get real advise from real users such as the others on this forum. I am seriously contemplating switching, and need some nudging.

Thanks!

 

[Nakazul]

Wow, many questions! I currently dont have time to answer em all, but let me give you a hint. And I mean it all friendly. Windows (phone,PC, Xbox) is a Microsoft product and thou you may like Gmail, a switch might benefit you a lot, just like Gmail is a benefit on Android, Microsoft accounts have come along way and is a deep part of the system.
That said, a lot of the Gmail services is working fine, but once again, since Google "declared war" on Microsoft we have been having a hard time with the Google services and therefore many made the switch and have up Google services. There are good export/import options to move contacts /calendar.
Sooo, to wrap this up. Changing OS is changing ecosystems. Use an account for respectively services and you get the most of it. Its a mind set. To make it easy for you with the Google services, you can assume nothing works and be positively surprised when they do. Its all mind set. There is strength in WP and there is strength in Android, but many are to used to the Apple or Android way they never understand WP. Oh, and one more thing. Nobody needs to get payed on Android Play so apps are free a lot of the times Not much is free in Marketplace, but we have "try before you buy" as opposed to Apple where it is pay or get nothing.

Shorts:
? No flash in browser
? Yes we have PayPal (can even be used in "Wallet" function)
? No TeamViewer
? Yes we have Pandora U.S, Spotify, WiMP, Nokia Music, Xbox Music.
? Yes we have several Remote desktop alternatives.
? We have the official remote of MyTorrent. Control your Torrents on PC.
I been typing way to long so I'll wrap this up and say that you have a bit of a road left to understand WP, that is what your questions are telling me.
Like, is there a BT client? No, it won't work because the OS would never allow it.
Look at it like this:
? Android = Free to do what ever
? Windows Phone =Somewhere in the middle
? Apple = Strict rules.
I hope my English isn't to horrible and that you find enlightenment.

(I used to have O.R.D. till WP. It was scary at first but man what a relief to not flash roms all the time) ORD = Obsessive Rom Disorder.

 

[nasellok]

ORD - hahahaha - yes, i defanitely had that for about 6 months, and now have tired of it, and just want my phone to do what i tell it when i tell it, not to freeze, and force me to pull the battery, or reboot, or wait for it to tell me that "SYSTEM UI is not responding, what would you like to do" and based on some reviews of the GS4 (the only other Verizon phone i would be interested in), and how the thing has 80 core, million ghz processor, and still laaaa....laa...laggggssss.

No flash in mobile seems where we are headed anyways, so I guess I am not surprised by that. I know that the newer Android phones have dropped flash support also, so I guess that isnt a deal breaker for me.

How about the .avi files - will WP8 play them?

Wow, many questions! I currently dont have time to answer em all, but let me give you a hint. And I mean it all friendly. Windows (phone,PC, Xbox) is a Microsoft product and thou you may like Gmail, a switch might benefit you a lot, just like Gmail is a benefit on Android, Microsoft accounts have come along way and is a deep part of the system.
That said, a lot of the Gmail services is working fine, but once again, since Google "declared war" on Microsoft we have been having a hard time with the Google services and therefore many made the switch and have up Google services. There are good export/import options to move contacts /calendar.
Sooo, to wrap this up. Changing OS is changing ecosystems. Use an account for respectively services and you get the most of it. Its a mind set. To make it easy for you with the Google services, you can assume nothing works and be positively surprised when they do. Its all mind set. There is strength in WP and there is strength in Android, but many are to used to the Apple or Android way they never understand WP. Oh, and one more thing. Nobody needs to get payed on Android Play so apps are free a lot of the times Not much is free in Marketplace, but we have "try before you buy" as opposed to Apple where it is pay or get nothing.

Shorts:
• No flash in browser
• Yes we have PayPal (can even be used in "Wallet" function)
• No TeamViewer
• Yes we have Pandora U.S, Spotify, WiMP, Nokia Music, Xbox Music.
• Yes we have several Remote desktop alternatives.
• We have the official remote of MyTorrent. Control your Torrents on PC.
I been typing way to long so I'll wrap this up and say that you have a bit of a road left to understand WP, that is what your questions are telling me.
Like, is there a BT client? No, it won't work because the OS would never allow it.
Look at it like this:
• Android = Free to do what ever
• Windows Phone =Somewhere in the middle
• Apple = Strict rules.
I hope my English isn't to horrible and that you find enlightenment.

(I used to have O.R.D. till WP. It was scary at first but man what a relief to not flash roms all the time) ORD = Obsessive Rom Disorder.

 

[Nakazul]

Hi again, sorry for not replying. The AVI question is one i havent tryed out extensive. If I understand it correct, AVI can have a mp4 codec and will definitely work. Now I believe there is some converting magic involved so I hope some other forum member could help you here. So does AVI work? Yes, some of it at least I can confirm. If you used Zune you be familiar of the mp4 thing im talking of. Now, I hope somebody else knows your other questions.

When i learned how WP really was thinking i was struck by how genius the Idea behind WP is. Now this is only me, One person, but when i started out, it was hard not To have a file browser. Then i learned that its not needed. A picture is a picture, music is music etc and should therefore just be there and available. I realized that file browsers may be useful on a PC, but on a phone? No, not when you understand why there is some restrictions and how that actually creates a steady, easy browsed OS. You may be giving away some freedom of Android and go in to a more closed down OS, but when you get used to WP, you understand that maybe full freedom isn't always the right way.
Well, enough of my ranting, I only trying to tell you some of the mindsets one might have before using the new Metro design and, functionality. If you like W8 Metro, you shouldn't go wrong with WP because W8 was built in inspiration of what the phone team had achieved.
Now, any other forum members have to step in. I hope you be satisfied what ever route you go. Go for a WP device with a lot work memory, 1GB is optimal currently.