Very long time Android user thinking about trying out the Lumia 950 XL

[itguyjax8430]

No. The processing power needed for the live tiles isn't great., neither is there a great deal of data pushed with each update period (it's meant to be quick and concise).

That is great to know, I like the look of the live tiles.

 

[Pete]

Having said that, have a large number of live tiles on your start screen (over 50 or so) can degrade performance. I generally don't like to have so many tiles that I have to scroll down to see them all (some people do).

Windows 10 Mobile does give you the flexibility to choose which apps are allowed to work in the background and have live tiles. If I'm not using a Live tile for an app, I like to prevent it from working in the background (i.e. they only do something if I open the app).

 

[itguyjax8430]

Having said that, have a large number of live tiles on your start screen (over 50 or so) can degrade performance. I generally don't like to have so many tiles that I have to scroll down to see them all (some people do).

Windows 10 Mobile does give you the flexibility to choose which apps are allowed to work in the background and have live tiles. If I'm not using a Live tile for an app, I like to prevent it from working in the background (i.e. they only do something if I open the app).

Nice, that sounds like a great feature. Cuts down on data consumption and processes working in the background.

I will make sure not to over due it with the live tiles.

 

[tgp]

Unfortunately, Waze is lacking in features compared to its Android counterpart. It is very bare bones.

Does it tell you if there is a couch on the road along your route?

 

[klaw81]

itguyjax8430
When my phone finally arrives I am going to update it to 10 before I start to set it up. I'll make sure to reset it after the update just to clear out the cob webs.

I would still give Windows Phone 8.1 a try for a few days then move to Windows 10 Mobile - that way you can see the changes to UI etc..

 

[itguyjax8430]

itguyjax8430
When my phone finally arrives I am going to update it to 10 before I start to set it up. I'll make sure to reset it after the update just to clear out the cob webs.

I would still give Windows Phone 8.1 a try for a few days then move to Windows 10 Mobile - that way you can see the changes to UI etc..

I didn't even think about that. I just may do that. I know I did not like Windows 8.1 on my desktop very much. It was a solid OS don't get me wrong but the Metro UI on desktop with out touch was not fun at all. I booted directly to desktop on my gaming machine so it wasn't too bad. I like the look and feel of 10 better.

 

[Pete]

My advice would be to go right for Windows 10 Mobile, no reason not to really.

 

[itguyjax8430]

My advice would be to go right for Windows 10 Mobile, no reason not to really.

Yeah I was actually just sitting here pondering it and I think I am going to do just that. I have seen and messed with 8.1 briefly on my brothers phone. I don't remember what phone he has but it was a lower end Family Mobile phone that he got on Black Friday this year. It was OK for what he paid for it.

 

[Polychrome]

I suggest keeping an android device as an "app device" so that if you really need something, you can have it. Any cheap tablet without sim works, it's just apps afterall. It would help the transition. As Windows 10 seems a good OS, I am pretty sure universal apps will get more and more light so all the important apps will receive more attention in the upcoming months, whether in the form of better updates or new apps.

If a tablet is overkill, there are non-phone PDAs available in both Android and Apple flavors.

 

[itguyjax8430]

If a tablet is overkill, there are non-phone PDAs available in both Android and Apple flavors.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 for a tablet so I am good on the tablet front.

 

[chezm]

Did you see a big battery drain from all the live tiles?

The big battery drain i saw wasnt from the amount of live tiles, but the amount of live tile folders. The more i had on my start screen, the faster my battery was draining. However, this was the early days of 8.1 and couldve changed since then. Since Apps/live tiles check every 30 mins (if still today) i would imagine the drain not to be too bad (aside from the live folder tiles).

 

[chezm]

I will, I will probably write something up after a couple or few weeks of using it. Give my impressions and what not. I already know the app selection is not huge so I won't harp on that. Probably write about productivity and usability compared to my Android phones.

Look forward to your report/feedback, really interested to see your insight on the eco-system comparisons. I will refrain from adding my input on this thread as many will take it as a bias lol...but since you're using both it will receive more acceptance.

 

[itguyjax8430]

Look forward to your report/feedback, really interested to see your insight on the eco-system comparisons. I will refrain from adding my input on this thread as many will take it as a bias lol...but since you're using both it will receive more acceptance.

Absolutely, I can't wait to get the 640 XL in and start using it. I am going to keep and open mind about it. I have been reading around on the forums looking at the issues and the positives going on. I take most of the issues with a grain of salt with any device I use. I am going to compare it to my Nexus 6P on the productivity side not performance. Mainly because of the hardware differences. On the OS side, two devices not heavily bloated with carrier and manufacture bloat should be interesting to compare. I already know about the app gap so that won't bother me as much as someone who knows nothing about Windows Phone.

You can definitely look forward to all my noob questions about how to do certain things on Windows Phone that I can't figure out on my own. Its nice to be excited about something different for a change.

 

[itguyjax8430]

First question I have and I couldn't seem to find the answer for it. I use Gmail on my phone to store all my contacts. When I sign in to Outlook on the phone will all my contacts move over to the phone via Outlook syncing them? What about my calendar entries as well?

 

[david90531]

I am a long term Android tablet users but mobile wise I've only had Android for 2 months this past summer. I would say do it in a heartbeat because I've been a Windows Phone fan for a long time, but just keep in mind that you won't find all the apps you like. So if you're a big app/gaming person that has to follow the newest trends then think twice. Although personally I don't find there's much lack of apps present anymore, and there's plenty of good games of windows 10 mobile. Right now I have 15+ games on my phone and nearly 100 apps installed. I think that's quite "enough".

Other than that Windows 10 mobile is snappy, intuitive, personal, clean, and is only going to get better from here.

 

[david90531]

First question I have and I couldn't seem to find the answer for it. I use Gmail on my phone to store all my contacts. When I sign in to Outlook on the phone will all my contacts move over to the phone via Outlook syncing them? What about my calendar entries as well?

Yes, they can all be synced. Long-term gmail user here and using gmail on outlook I have no complaints. And there's some 3rd party apps out there for you to use gmail as well (although I think the newest outlook app beats them all). I use outlook for calendars but I do know that Google calendar will sync on windows 10 mobile. Also, Windows 10 has FAR better YouTube apps than on Android, I find that really weird and kind of shameful for Google, but I'm not complaining.

 

[jcar302]

IMO, find a 640 on sale for new for $40.
Take it home, slap a memory card in it, sign up for the insider preview install 10 and see what you like.
The last time I had it on the phone about 2 months ago, I liked it, but it wasn't daily driver ready yet.
Not sure any phone has ever been as much bang for your buck.
$40 is like throw away pricing.

I've used a lot of different phones and OS's over the years.
And while many complain about the "app gap" on windows, most of those complaints can really be squashed just by adding a tile for a favorite web page.

I personally find nothing really missing that I absolutely need.
It's like a new pair of sneakers, after a few days of breaking them in, they start to feel like the most comfortable pair you ever had.

What I will urge you not to do, is go t the store, play with it for 2 minutes, then go online and tell everyone how bad it sucks.
An acceptable opinion should only come from people that have used it for a fair period of time.

Edit: Guess i'm late to this party and I should have read all three pages.
Looks like you have a 640 coming, great plan, lol.

 

[hegemon13]

I am pretty flexible when it comes to change. I have been using Windows 10 since it was in beta and really like how it has developed. I am not super dependent on any Android app persay, I use Gmail the most but I am sure I could just as well use Outlook. I use it everyday at work so adjusting to a different email client wouldn't be very difficultly to me. I do use other apps like YouTube, Drive, Maps, and Chrome but I am sure I could use their alternatives just as well. Have they integrated Google Maps in to the Windows 10 mobile app store yet? What about Google Hangouts?

Possibly, but be forewarned that if you rely heavily on Gmail's categories (Personal, Promotions, Social, etc.) to filter your mail, you won't get that with Windows 10. Only the official Gmail app supports that Google-proprietary feature, and you'll be back to an inbox flooded with mostly junk when you use Outlook. There's an app called MetroMail that's supposed to support categories, but it's incredibly buggy based on reviews. Personally, I've tried it several times, and it errors out trying to connect to my Gmail account, so I've given up on it.

 

[newnews]

30 min that is very old story. The new one probably is 1 second if I am not wrong.

The start screen is fantastic no doubt, the problem with live tiles is the frequency they are updated. When I was last using WP they were updated every 30 mins or so, which is ok for some apps (ie news) and for others not so much (battery status, calendar, social). If the live tiles were instant live much like most midgets on Android that would be fantastic.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[cracgor]

In reply to 'Poirots Progeny'

Random reboots and apps crashing?? Yes have had the odd app (non-Microsoft) stall and then phone reboots. But this has happened extremely rarely for me. Have had Lumia 620, Lumia 1020 and now Lumia 930.

If having really bad issues then fully reload the Windows OS from recovery software tool, once installed then do a few hard resets, I usually do 2 then restore my phone backup on the 3rd hard reset.

If phone still acts up, then I would seriously consider speaking to Lumia Help and return your faulty handset.

Thats my 2 cents...

What? That is way too much work for any but the hardest core fan. Especially for a brand new device.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android