I have always liked the ease of my friend's Windows Phone, but Ive only owned Android. Now I need a phone and am thinking about the 520 through ATT. What will i miss about Android? Anything? Im sure some of you have converted to WP8 and had both good and bad experiences. I know a Windows forums will be bias, but I still want some feedback on what will be different and what I may miss. Maybe nothing. Also is the 520 going to be supported for awhile. I dont know how long MS supports phones. Thanks guys.
Android user thinking of switching to 520. How will life be different?
- Thread starter barbaro123
- Start date
N_LaRUE
New member
Give us some insight as to what you use your phone for currently and we'll let you know if you'll have any issues. We're pretty honest here with the limitations of WP.
MS currently plans to support the phones for awhile Microsoft increases Windows Phone 8 support lifecycle, teases upcoming enterprise update | Windows Phone Central
MS currently plans to support the phones for awhile Microsoft increases Windows Phone 8 support lifecycle, teases upcoming enterprise update | Windows Phone Central
welcome to wpcentral barbaro123 
its worth if you consider Lumia 525 (1gb phone ) which can run almost anything available on store, if you love playing games then Lumia 520 is not a good option,525 clearly wins, you will surely miss YouTube application; but there are many third party apps like metrotube which for me is better than official one.
why not post some of your most used apps here on this forum,will let you know if the app is available or any alternatives
else go to The Smartphone Reinvented Around You | Windows Phone (United States) and try exploring the apps section.
its worth if you consider Lumia 525 (1gb phone ) which can run almost anything available on store, if you love playing games then Lumia 520 is not a good option,525 clearly wins, you will surely miss YouTube application; but there are many third party apps like metrotube which for me is better than official one.
why not post some of your most used apps here on this forum,will let you know if the app is available or any alternatives
else go to The Smartphone Reinvented Around You | Windows Phone (United States) and try exploring the apps section.
I guess I should have clarified. Im not a "power user". I really like listening to music and radio stations. Apps for me are mainly weather. sports, news and Face book or Twitter. Of course I check email. Movie apps like Fandango are a favorite as well. I may play paper toss or some other mindless games but my Xbox one is really what I play games on. Words with Friends and yeah You Tube. Thats all that comes to mind. Thanks
great; windowsphone have plenty of weather, news and sports applications ; my favourite are Bing sports, Bing news and Bing weather;
Facebook is deeply integrated in people hub and you can also download Facebook application ; same applies for twitter;
fandango ,flixter are available, words with friends is too available.
you can try metrotube,its amazing(you can also download videos in HD and play them on the go ).
you are good to go with your first windowsphone
Facebook is deeply integrated in people hub and you can also download Facebook application ; same applies for twitter;
fandango ,flixter are available, words with friends is too available.
you can try metrotube,its amazing(you can also download videos in HD and play them on the go ).
you are good to go with your first windowsphone
Nokia mix radio is fantastic! There is also a tunein radio app and radioplayer if your in the uk! Obviously there's a Spotify app or you could get a subscription to xbox music!
you have nokia mix radio/xbox music or built in radio.
you can try Pandora, Spotify,tune in radio, etc.
you can try Pandora, Spotify,tune in radio, etc.
So it sounds like the 520 will be a great phone for me. Any downsides or things that may surprise me in a negative way?
unnatixlr8
New member
As Himanshu has stated Lumia 525 would be perfect for you. Because 512 mb devices are having less apps.
Now to your question, Windows Phones are good only when you are not dependent on Google Services. Apps likes Google plus, Hangout, official gmail or any other G apps are missing. Only google search is available(although I don't use it as we have Bing).
So if you are happy with not having them, then you would be loving the experience WP is gonna offer.
Another thing is that app developers usually ignore this platform, So let's say BBM is still not available. But it's improving with good momemtum.
So if you are an app addict and love to test new apps, then you've got to increase your patience. The wait could be of 1 week, 1 month or even 1 year.
But apart from all these problems, You will soon find the platform very well developed and love its uniqueness. If you want to get into Microsoft ecosytem then it's a good time to start.
Extra Note- IMO Google is really going down in wrong path. They have changed their privacy policy and seems like they are becoming real real adsellers. So, forget about any kind of privacy you would have.
Now to your question, Windows Phones are good only when you are not dependent on Google Services. Apps likes Google plus, Hangout, official gmail or any other G apps are missing. Only google search is available(although I don't use it as we have Bing).
So if you are happy with not having them, then you would be loving the experience WP is gonna offer.
Another thing is that app developers usually ignore this platform, So let's say BBM is still not available. But it's improving with good momemtum.
So if you are an app addict and love to test new apps, then you've got to increase your patience. The wait could be of 1 week, 1 month or even 1 year.
But apart from all these problems, You will soon find the platform very well developed and love its uniqueness. If you want to get into Microsoft ecosytem then it's a good time to start.
Extra Note- IMO Google is really going down in wrong path. They have changed their privacy policy and seems like they are becoming real real adsellers. So, forget about any kind of privacy you would have.
volume controls :/ they are not separate, but I get used to it. hopefully windows phone 8.1 update will change this with notification centre, you can not install apps on SD card as of now but in future maybe you can .
And oh yes no file manager, windowsphone is a close source operating system just like ios but its going to be changed hopefully in coming months (April 2014 )
my mom used to have nokia 1100, I finally made her switch to an affordable Lumia 520, she actually love it, she is nob in technology, she actually hate touchscreen phone but after using Lumia 520 she loved it, she is on whatsapp now , can chat with her old friends and we share a calendar ,notes in family group.now its time for dad for switch to windowsphone from Symbian
And oh yes no file manager, windowsphone is a close source operating system just like ios but its going to be changed hopefully in coming months (April 2014
)my mom used to have nokia 1100, I finally made her switch to an affordable Lumia 520, she actually love it, she is nob in technology, she actually hate touchscreen phone but after using Lumia 520 she loved it, she is on whatsapp now , can chat with her old friends and we share a calendar ,notes in family group.now its time for dad for switch to windowsphone from Symbian
Yeah Im sure the 525 is better but Im on a budget and the 520 or a Virgin Mobile Android is what I can afford now. So thats what Ive really narrowed it down to.
HaibaneReki
New member
Shawn Magm
New member
I have a Nexus 5 and L520. I'm heavily invested in Google apps, such as Google Voice and Gmail. For now, MetroTalk and MetroMail are good alternatives, but that will change in May. I also have a lot of music/audio stored on Google Play. If a person finds these Google apps important, going to Windows may be an issue.
With the 520, one nice thing is the expandable micro SD slot to store up to 64 gb of music. The 520 has lots of good radio apps (Nokia Mix, Pandora, Tune In, Iheartradio) plus an FM tuner (something rare in Android phones).
With the 520, one nice thing is the expandable micro SD slot to store up to 64 gb of music. The 520 has lots of good radio apps (Nokia Mix, Pandora, Tune In, Iheartradio) plus an FM tuner (something rare in Android phones).
radmanvr
New member
TLDR By switching to WP you will miss out on viruses and random charges to your account.
Before when I had android I had a virus after getting AVG I was able to get rid of the virus but then I got another virus from downloading an app from the app store. To think Google would allow these malicious apps to get published on the app store.
After I got another virus I started getting random charges to my account saying it was for games at first it was $20 then it moved up to $500
I didnt noticed the $20 dollar but I did noticed the $500 I called Tmobile to dispute it with them. They said I had encounter a virus that automatically sign me up for monthly "Goodies" except I wasnt receiving any "Goodies" I was just paying for it.
Before when I had android I had a virus after getting AVG I was able to get rid of the virus but then I got another virus from downloading an app from the app store. To think Google would allow these malicious apps to get published on the app store.
After I got another virus I started getting random charges to my account saying it was for games at first it was $20 then it moved up to $500
I didnt noticed the $20 dollar but I did noticed the $500 I called Tmobile to dispute it with them. They said I had encounter a virus that automatically sign me up for monthly "Goodies" except I wasnt receiving any "Goodies" I was just paying for it.
fdalbor
New member
As both an ANdroid user (my 3 tablets) and a WP8 user (my 3 smartphones) I live with both OS's all the time. For you I would go with the 520 as it runs WP8 much better than the cheaper Android phones run Android. I have a Nokia 820 and love it but I bought a 520 as a backup for my 820. I did not have it long as my wife decided she wanted it to replace her cheap Android phone, especially after I bought one of those snazzy red backcovers for it. No problem I just ordered another (Microsoft store at 59.99). It lasted about a week when my daughter decided she wanted it to replace her ANdroid phone. So here I am with no backup again. One thing nice besides how much smoother the 520 is on WP8 compared to an inexpensive Android on Android is both of the inexpensive Android phones whould only work on 3G while the 520 works on 4G. Another good reason to go with the 520.
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