Please Help Frustrated & Losing Hope!!

[carlosrdd]

I've had the 1020 for 8 days today (coming from the 920) and in that time I have read & watched over 30 articles/tutorial videos on how to take pictures.

I mainly take pictures indoors (home,bars,restaurants,etc) so I need to use the flash. The main problem I have is with the yellow tint I know there's ways around it but for a phone that's supposed to have the best camera phone ever you would think it would at least do the point and shoot better than everything else.

Most of my friends, coworkers, & family have the iPhone 5s and when comparing it to the 1020 it's shameful. I have never been so embarrassed... Before anyone says anything I am the most pro Microsoft person I know! I own and use 0 Apple or Google products but seeing how easy the iPhone can just point and shoot. There's definitely something to be said about the being able just grab your phone and capture moments with friends without making them stand around or hold poses while you fix WB settings.

I can honestly say if it were just the camera I could deal with it but after what feels like years of fighting a losing battle (trying to convince everyone I know that WP is not a joke and it's better than iPhone in many ways) I feel like at the end of the day I'm just missing out on moments with friends and family.

For example: a couple weeks ago WP got Subway Surfers, I was excited because I remembered my friends playing it almost everyday and when I finally got it. I asked them to play most said they were over it and I should play Flappy Bird. (and of course it's not on WP yet) This is just one of many examples I could go on but you get the idea.

At this very moment I am contemplating selling my 1020 and getting an iPhone 5s. (Never thought I would ever say that sentence) I have been with Windows mobile/WP since 2006 and everyone tells me my problem is I am too loyal.

I want to ask the WP Community, is there really any reason to stay with WP besides blind loyalty? Also, I'm tired of people asking me what phone is that and making jokes about it... Maybe I've been around too many isheep (I don't know anyone with a WP in rl) I was planning on waiting to see Cortana and WP8.1 but idk anymore. So I'm asking please tell me why WP is worth sticking around for because I can't see it anymore....

Thank you so much for reading.

 

[rockstarzzz]

I would say 920 and 925 are great point and shoot devices. 41 mega pixel camera is worth more than just point and shoot, I would have thought.

 

[Jazmac]

The best advice I could give you is to do one thing, "Stay in your lane." This is when you get to focus on what you have and all that it is. If you have not seen the pictures from that camera, you are simply not paying attention to WP. Nokia takes beautiful photographs and you know this which is probably one of the reasons you got it. But you have to stay in your lane and go at your own speed. This is when you grow in WP the quickest. You won't be successful when you allow those that don't own a WP to define WP to you. If you allow that you'll lose every time.

 

[carlosrdd]

@Jazmac thanks for the encouraging words.

 

[Markham Ranja]

@carlosrdd: YOU are the customer, the user. YOUR needs and wants mean more than 'loyalty' or 'persistence'. If your need is a quick point-and-shoot capability, while losing the power of the 1020's camera, then by all means go for the iPhone. It seems like it does what you need it to do, and that is all that matters.

 

[Markham Ranja]

The best advice I could give you is to do one thing, "Stay in your lane." This is when you get to focus on what you have and all that it is. If you have not seen the pictures from that camera, you are simply not paying attention to WP. Nokia takes beautiful photographs and you know this which is probably one of the reasons you got it. But you have to stay in your lane and go at your own speed. This is when you grow in WP the quickest. You won't be successful when you allow those that don't own a WP to define WP to you. If you allow that you'll lose every time.

Empirical evidence from OP shows otherwise. The user's needs and wants matter more than "staying in a lane". This is a race, not a 9-5 commute. Staying in your lane and looking only there means a) tunnel vision, lack of awareness about what is going on around you and b) getting overtaken and passed by everyone else. Though that sounds like a perfect description of MS' mobile strategy at this time, not considering what they may or may not bring to the platform in the future.

 

[PureView]

If apps are bothering you, and if you think it will continue to bother you, then get a 5S. The app situation will not get better on WP, ever. Microsoft can force big developers to get their apps on the platform (even if they don't update these apps, ever), but they cannot force a random indie developer, like the developer of Flappy Bird, to port his app on Windows Phone.

 

[carlosrdd]

@pureview the hope was that one day soon WP would be on par in new apps. I mean I don't see why new games and apps don't come out at the same time. I understand old ones take time to be ported but no excuse for new ones.

 

[Markham Ranja]

@pureview the hope was that one day soon WP would be on par in new apps. I mean I don't see why new games and apps don't come out at the same time. I understand old ones take time to be ported but no excuse for new ones.

Because all three major platforms use different programming languages and UI paradigms, not considering that the platform's capabilities itself vary wildly, plus also considering that hardware varies wildly across them. Android uses Java compiled to run in Dalvik, iOS uses Objective C++ and WP needs apps written in .Net. Also, iOS and Android use OpenGL ES for 3D game development while WP8 uses D3D/DX which makes it that much harder.

edit: to make it easier to understand, ask yourself why all new books written are not simultaneously available in all languages spoken throughout the world, then consider that "translating" an app between these platforms is logarithmically more complex than human language translation.

 

[jmerrey]

Get an iPhone, it will complete you.

...and if that doesn't work, get a new flat screen tv.

 

[broar94]

If apps are a priority, i would change to iphone/android very soon. Im happy with my wp cause it has all the apps i need.

You don't have to stay with wp just because of loyalty to wp forum

 

[crystal_planet]

I feel like at the end of the day I'm just missing out on moments with friends and family.

For example: a couple weeks ago WP got Subway Surfers, I was excited because I remembered my friends playing it almost everyday and when I finally got it. I asked them to play most said they were over it and I should play Flappy Bird. (and of course it's not on WP yet) This is just one of many examples I could go on but you get the idea.

You are letting a phone define you. You need to step back and think about it. If the lack of apps and complexity of the camera causes your quality of life to go down, then you need to reexamine your priorities.

 

[IystFuteig]

Hey bro I was just hanging around in WPCentral but when I saw your post.... I decided to get registered and say something I'm from China and I'm a 1020 owner. So I can understand everything you are complaining about this phone, especially the APP part 'cause sometimes it's even harder to find an alternative to some useful APP in Chinese market.

As for the camera, I have to say that 41MP doesn't mean this phone will surely present you a perfect picture, especially when you are taking pictures using auto settings. My solving plan is to turn on the mannual adjustment, first adjust the color, then the focus and EV. This will cost A LOT more time but it will give you much better results, and that's why 1020 seems so good for me: to handel the photography is just like taking pictures over a professional camera! But if someone (like you, maybe) prefers much easier and quicker shooting, my suggestion is that you should get an IPhone. I'm also an IPhone user so I know how user friendly it is when taking daily pictures.
And the APPs. Yeah this is headache really....But this is actually the same issue. Everyone who stays with WP system is suffering from the defficiencies from time to time because the advantages the system owns (to the users' aspect) are more important. So if you feel that they are not so valuable anymore, you should go and try something better. It's nothing to feel bad about!

This is nothing to do with "blind loyalty". It is just like "OK I think that phone suits me better so I just choose that one". This is your phone, and you know what you want. Like me, I can't explain how but I just love this far-from-perfect system so that's why I'm staying with my WP phones. I cannot convince others (and I don't have to) but I know this system is my type. Don't judge yourself. If you can't see any point in keeping using WP phones you can just go ahead and find what suits you better. No one will blame you for that (or should I say.... no resonable person will). You can even be a WP supporter and observer when using an IPhone! Why not? You have your own reason and that's all!

Hope this long and boring speech may make you feel better. Good luck! PS. Everyone around me now knows the name of the phone I'm holding because I'm always showing off the pictures I got...

 

[Janda45]

What a bunch of non-sense. The WP either compares or it doesn't! I enjoy my 1020 but it takes longer to get better pictures out of it under many circumstances than it does with an iPhone 5S. The app selection pales in comparison but there's enough to do what you need to depending on your usage preferences. The ease of using it is easier in many circumstances but not so easy in others. The battery blows! That's an outright fact compared to an iPhone. Oh well, I just wish some things were different with my 1020 but giving up on it won't help make WP's better now will it? :shocked:

 

[anon(5329748)]

Phones are a personal preference. A person should use what they're comfortable with and what works best for them in their own social circle.

My brother-in-law kept asking me about my phone, and I kept telling him how much I loved it. I think he was trying to get me to say he needed to get a Windows Phone. I flat out told him that I will never tell anyone they should get a particular phone. I will tell them about my positive and negative experiences with Windows Phone as well as the pros and cons of all three ecosystems: WP, iPhone and Android. In the end, he went with a Droid MAXX because it was the safe choice coming from an Android HTC Thunderbolt. He's not completely happy with the new phone, but it was a choice he had to make.

To put it a different way, I might love cherry pie, but that doesn't mean you will; you might like pumpkin pie, but I don't. If my friends all order pumpkin pie with whipped cream, I'm not going to order pumpkin pie just so I can get whipped cream. I may not be able to join in the conversation afterwards about how great the whipped cream was, but I didn't eat a piece of pie that I didn't care for, either. Just as people have different tastes for desserts, so it is with phones.

If you're using the Nokia camera app, it's going to take longer to load because it's a different camera; if it's too slow, change the default to the Windows Phone app, and then manually launch the Nokia app when you want the high-res photo. If you're getting bad picture quality, reset the camera settings to default. Make sure you have enough light and that the focusing is using the correct spot.

 

[carlosrdd]

Thanks Iystfuteig, Janda45 and everyone else who took the time to answer. I have to say I almost lost all hope in WP (kinda hard to keep hope when everyone is drinking the Apple kool aid and telling me to switch) but after reading all your replies (and seeing the new WP8.1 leaks) it reminded me why I chose WP to begin with. I guess I needed to hear all that from people who have Windows phone's and have an understanding of it. It's amazing what a couple of comments can do, I was wavering there for a while (almost ended up on the dark side) but you guys brought me back to the light.

I cannot express my gratitude enough! Thank you so much!