Every time I've used a WP device I've walked away disappointed. Haven't done an extended test just 10-15 minutes on various devices. If I had to point to any one thing that leaves me disappointed it's probably the excessive amount of scrolling and swiping required. Even on the larger display devices the amount of information I can see without scrolling/swiping is a fraction of what I'm used to from iOS/Android. It leaves me with kind of a stuck-in-the-mud feeling that I'm just doing a lot of extra work to access the same amount of information. The same type of problem pops up with apps in a different way. They tend to be fairly basic and lacking features. I guess this is to be expected for a relatively young platform but it's really difficult to step away from these iOS/Android apps that just have so much more functionality. Between the apps and UI style it almost just feels to me more like a glorified feature phone. People said the same thing about the iPhone but it had some really killer features. To get a real web browser I was happy to give up the unified messages system on my BlackBerry. I can't really find the killer features in WP that would justify the trade-offs. Honestly every interaction I've had with WP so far makes me very happy to return to iOS/Android where all my apps pack tons of information on the screen and have just about every feature I need.
I have used an iPhone for nearly four years. After playing with a Nokia Lumia 710 (WP7) for some weeks, I bought a WP8 last weak, and too be honest, I couldn't be happier.
The thing that I really like (besides the Metro interface) compared to iOS is the integration of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn et al in the People hub. It actually gives me more information density than the iPhone, where I have to switch between various applications to see what happened. If I want to zoom in to specific persons or groups, I just make a tile to get a subset of that information (e.g. I have a 'Family' tile for my parents, brother, etc.). Also, it comes with a lot of functionality out of the box, such as a lightweight versions of Office and OneNote, Skydrive integration, XBox Music Pass support (Spotify with a far larger catalogue), etc.
It's true that the number and breadth of applications is relatively small, but the Windows Phone OS is fairly complete, and most applications that I require are available (Whatsapp, Skype, etc.).
Between the apps and UI style it almost just feels to me more like a glorified feature phone.
To be honest, that's a bit troll-ish, given that WP8 uses the same kernel and user interface as Windows 8 and given the functionality of the pre-installed applications.
> To be honest, that's a bit troll-ish, given that WP8 uses the same kernel and user interface as Windows 8 and given the functionality of the pre-installed applications.
I don't see how it's "troll-ish". To an end-user, the fact that WP8 uses the same kernel as Windows 8 means nothing. It might be an exaggeration but given the rest of the comment was relatively constructive, it's forgivable.
On the UI side, his major complaint is about information density (a common complaint about WP7/WP8 apps). That's definitely valid; and I say that having used WP8 (briefly) and not minding it so much (a feeling that could change over extended use).
As an iOS user, Windows Phone's aesthetics are definitely appealing (and the Twitterrific app on iOS channels some of WP8, I feel), but the lack of stand-out apps and games is the real killer. No Reeder, no Instapaper, no Instagram or VSCO cam, no Byword, Sword & Swocery, etc.
Similarly, it's interesting to me that Microsoft users will tout things like hardware in their devices. No iphone user mentions hardware because they don't care.
Is the device and its ecosystem a great experience or not? That's ALL that matters.
We should distinguish between visible hardware and invisible hardware.
Apple fans will talk about build quality or screen quality, but rarely about CPU or GPU stats. Apple doesn't even publish these, and you have to wait for third parties to figure out what the numbers are.
I'm sure that some people will talk about how great the A6 CPU is or whatever, but few such people actually know what they're talking about when they do it.
Not trying to make a value judgment here, but this is what I have seen.
The build quality is good but the designs are rubbish. They put glass on impact points, mount everything on ribbon PCBs which pack in and do their best to thwart repairers with funny screws and what can only be described ad a rats nest assembly.
Oh and the hardware is just so damn slow and heavy.
I've repaired a couple of 4s's for people and owned a 4 and they're just not very nice. If you've never had another phone then I get your point but seriously take a look elsewhere when you consider your next handset.
Everyone loves Apple hardware. The iPhone hardware has always been the best, but I think the latest Nokia and even HTC phones for WP8 finally provide some great alternatives. I've never been very impressed with the hardware for Android from an aesthetical standpoint.
>To be honest, that's a bit troll-ish, given that
>WP8 uses the same kernel and user interface as
>Windows 8 and given the functionality of the
>pre-installed applications.
That doesn't matter. Microsoft had a quite good kernel with NT 4 already and Win7 has a fantastic stable kernel with many features. Win 8 has an even better kernel and yet the new metro store and start screen and all the other removed features and freedom make it a not a better OS to say the least.
Orders of magnitude better for navigation. Far more up to date data, faster, speed limits on it, proper accurate turn by turn and its 100% stand alone without a network connection for all features. I did try google maps on android but it was literally littered with mistakes, lag and shoots itself regularly.
Only thing it doesn't have is street view at destination but that's pretty useless to be honest at least in the UK as most of my destinations have no data availability.
You will only get this on a Nokia handset. The build in Bing maps is crap. I've got a lumia 710 and an 820 at hand (I'm testing the latter before i rely on it) and both map solutions are the same. You can get the 710 for literally nothing now - less than a galaxy ace, which is a hunk of crap compared to the 710.
I've used Nokia maps back in the Nokia 6303 days and its always been good. This is just a winphone port.
Ah, the People hub. Its integration with social networks I think is an awesome, awesome feature that is not talked about enough. I honestly don't remember the last time I used the Facebook app on the phone. You just really rarely ever need it.
The general public is mostly ambivalent towards windows phones because it's just too late for Microsoft to be involved. It's nice that they saw the light and now believe design and usability are important but everyone already thinks of the smart phone world as being owned by iOS and Android.
Microsoft is famous for saying, "developers, developers, developers", but no sensible developer will build for Microsoft when network effects are already so well established. Microsoft would have to build something at least an order of magnitude better than Apple to get the world's attention and they haven't been capable of that for many years now.
Any life left in Microsoft comes from the inertia of people depending on Office. Even their latest OS got little more than a shrug from the world.
There are 6 billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world of which 1 billion are smartphones, which leaves billions of smartphones coming online in the coming decade. The smartphone market has most of its growth ahead of it. That growth will not be on iOS because apple doesn't do low-budget.
That growth will be mostly on android, but there's plenty of opportunity for it to be on windows phone as well. Microsoft has made some smart moves here. They've used windows 8 as a foot in the door to get people used to metro. The pc market may be shrinking, but there are still a billion pc's out there which will gradually be replaced with windows 8. They've also made sure that windows phone runs well on low budget devices (better than android even). And they've made sure that developing apps for windows phone is easy and cheap.
At this point i would not count microsoft out yet. Android is going to be the dominant player, but google seems not to care as much about the app ecosystem as microsoft. If google doesn't fix the piracy issues it's not inconceivable that windows phone becomes a more attractive platform for app developers. I hope this will be a three-horse race, as neither android nor iOS are a great fit for me.
First, there seems to be a lot of agreement that the Metro interface is innovative. I think it's also a meaningful innovation, but each to his/her own.
Second, pretty much everyone would agree that the early Android versions were not really innovative and pretty much a copy of iOS (which is certainly not the case anymore). Also, history is littered with inferior systems with little innovation that eventually won. So, it doesn't seem to be the case that the consumer necessarily chooses for 'meaningful innovations'. There's also price, branding, luck, etc.
Third, it is very strange to compare RIM and Windows Phone. RIM is more like Apple: one operating system, one device vendor. Windows Phone is more like, erm... Windows ;) or perhaps even Android: one operating system, competing device vendors. The dynamics are completely different, e.g. a phone vendor might choose to push WP or Android more, depending on what is offered in terms of differentiation, royalties, patent licensing costs, etc. Also, like the grandparent says, Microsoft as quite a popular ecosystem to leverage WP (Windows, XBox 360, Office, etc.).
Second, Android's main innovation is being an open source OS available to anyone to use / adjust / distribute.
Third, the comparison to RIM is that the public doesn't expect meaningful innovation from Microsoft anymore. Even though Metro is a reasonable improvement, it's far from enough to make the public care.
When microsoft released IE everyone considered it a joke. It had no marketshare, nobody wanted to use it, and the common opinion was that microsoft was doomed beause netscape was going to make windows superfluous. What could be learned from what happened after were two lessons: (1) public opinion is not the end-all decider of a product's chances, and (2) when microsoft hooks something on the windows train it has incredible momentum, even when it doesn't seem like it. WP8 is hooked on that train in a way that previous windows mobile variants weren't.
> the excessive amount of scrolling and swiping required. Even on the larger display devices the amount of information I can see without scrolling/swiping is a fraction of what I'm used to from iOS/Android. It leaves me with kind of a stuck-in-the-mud feeling that I'm just doing a lot of extra work to access the same amount of information.
This isn't something that even remotely occurred to me, as someone who moved from an iPhone 4S to a Lumia 920. I never noticed any difference, but now that I think about it and how my workflow has changed since I got the new phone, what you said couldn't be more wrong.
Just by unlocking the phone (button press + one swipe, same as iPhone) I can see emails (subjects and sender), text messages (sender and message), calendar events, and notification text (not just a numerical count) for every social network I have an account on. And that's just from the start-screen, without opening any apps or scrolling at all. One additional swipe down and I can see stock live stock information and news feed.
Getting all that information on an iPhone would involve individually opening and checking around 7 different apps.
And even if you ignore the information from the start screen, just from within apps, I'm not seeing any additional scrolling needed, or where extra effort is required to access information. Especially to a level that makes it so arduous that it disappointed you so much that you were compelled to complain about it on the internet.
Can you give specific examples of where all this extra scrolling and swiping that you're talking about is required?
Can you give specific examples of where all this extra scrolling and swiping that you're talking about is required?
One quick example is the mail client. You can only see about 5 messages at a time and that's with only a one line preview of the body. On iOS with a 1 line preview I see 8 messages and I can usually see the entire from/subject line. May seem like a minor gripe but it just adds extra steps to everything I want to do. Is there an option to reduce the font sizes? I couldn't find it last time I looked.
Getting all that information on an iPhone would involve individually opening and checking around 7 different apps
Depends what type of notifications you have setup. I can just look at my lock-screen or Notification Center for most of this. This morning when I picked up my phone I had a few CNN news alerts, a bunch of FaceBook notifications, some text messages, a game reminding me it was my turn, weather, calendar events, etc.
Mail is a joke of an app on Windows. But unlike on iOS, the Windows Mail application can be replaced. If you were frustrated with the default Mail app, did you seek a replacement?
Do you have a better example of an epidemic WP UI fail? Anyone can build a terrible UI into an app, including the makers of an operating system.
> Mail is a joke of an app on Windows..
What windows are you talking about? I agree that windows 8 mail app sucks..
but mail app on windows phone 8 is one of the best mail app on a smart phone..
Yea, it's a shame that a comment from someone who has barely used WP is at the top of this thread, as opposed to the people who have actually used it and iOS or Android heavily.
If there was a cheap WP8 device available I would pick one up just to play around with but there's nothing at the price point of say the iPod Touch / Nexus 4. My original post is probably how a lot of people feel about WP at this point. It's just not appealing enough to replace the iOS/Android devices they are currently using. The number of people who are going to switch just for the sake of switching is very very low. Most people are going to need a damn good reason to switch. Microsoft's best bet is with first time SmartPhone buyers who aren't already invested into iOS/Android.
I got a Lumia 822 (Verizon-only offering) and I have mixed feelings about it. I love the Live Tiles but things like IE10 Mobile really frustrate me. There is no Flash support so I can't go to certain sites (like Beatport Sounds). There are sites that don't render properly and overall the text is rather small and I haven't figured out a way to increase the size yet (not sure if it is the smaller screen size to blame or there is just not a way to increase that size).
One thing that I have found to be an annoyance is the search button on the bottom of the phone. No matter what it will bring me to the Bing search, which is good unless it is hit by accident. There is an archery game that I enjoy that has you press and drag to aim and quite often I'm brought to the search screen because my finger goes out of the screen area and hits the search icon. My fault? Of course, but it is incredibly frustrating.
The other thing I hate is volume control. There are only two. One for in call volume and then one for the ring tone. That seems great, except that the ring tone volume also controls headphone/media volume. If I want my ringtone low then my volume for youtube will be low. If I want to my ringtone to be loud (which I haven't been able to get, even with the volume turned all the way up to 30 out of 30 I can still barely hear it) and so will all my media. I wasn't happy with my previous Android phone (HTC Evo 4G) but at least my volume for media was separate from my volume for ringtone.
Overall, I'm happy with it and some of the addons from Nokia are amazing; such as an app that uses augmented reality and shows various attractions (restaurants, gas stations, etc) in the area while you are holding up your camera. It will mark them on your screen as well as tell you how far you are from that location and the ability to get quick reviews. Plus it shows a compass in the upper right which allows you to know which direction it is in. While there are major issues, in my eyes, that need to be fixed, I still think the phone is better than the Android phone I had before and for only $30 with a new plan (due to $20 trade in credit and just Verizon slashing the price) you can't really go wrong.
Flash is the Legent on mobile devices. Even Adobe the builder they have dropped Flash on mobile platform, so let's forget about Flash. Even on my Web browsers, I can't tolerate without Flash Block add-on.
And, I think Nokia's phone is good, for in so short time left. They just need time to improve
I hear this time and time again. "Flash is dead" and it is, except when it isn't. Beatport Sounds use it for playing samples, which means that I cannot use that site on my phone. Since WP8 is so locked down, the only browser option is IE 10 Mobile, so locking me out of flash means that one of the sites I want to go to is not fully functional for me. As a user, that pisses me off.
=> contact them to have them fix/adjust their site for Windows Phone 8 and help us make Flash deader (yes, there is no honor in kicking a man who is down, but sometimes it just is the best for both parties involved) http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2012/... may be a helpful link for them.
I just had to try this. I navigated to that site on my phone (using this link) and when I click the play button it acts just as if I clicked any link with a "#" as the href. It brings me to the top and nothing. I guess I'll try and get in contact with Beatport to get their site to work on WP8.
"Flash is dead" means that few developers will allow it as a technology dependency for new long term projects. It doesn't mean that every web site you use will work fine without it.
I think the point jetti is trying to make though is not that Flash isn't dead as a platform, it clearly is for mobile. The point is that it may be dead for new projects, but there are still millions of existing ones that use it. So, if you don't support it with your mobile device, you're basically saying please have a difficult time using our device if you are a regular user of that service/site.
Thankfully this will likely only be a Problem for another year or so. A huge swell of interest and uptake into mobile platforms, (Pew shows north of 120 million smartphone and tablet owners in the US alone) means that very quickly a site that want to have a reasonably sized audience will have to adjust to the mobile platform. Regardless - it's a moot point as adobe communicated they will not be developing flash for mobile platforms.
not even IE, all the modern browsers for mobile OS, all shut the door to Flash. but than does'n mean you can't watch online videos on, like youtube.
as users, we should welcome the new technology, rather than the good old days stuff. Flash used to be master and excellent, but time changed. They can't manage at every time, they need to be replaced by other new comers.
One factor I also look at is what happens when you want to write some code on your computer and put it on your device (it does say "Hacker" at the top left).
Only Android scores well in this respect and it looks like none of the competition really cares.
There are many people claiming that user's are not interested in this kind of stuff. I beg to differ. I find it fascinating how many apps on the Play Store require root permission and even more how many of them are in the Top 10 of their corresponding category.[0][1][2] With about 3.5M installations of Cyanogenmod[3] it still may only be a tiny fraction of the Android ecosystem and the mobile space in general, but it's certainly a large enough absolute number to care about.
To be fair, many of the folks on this site probably don't much care either. If you've got an Apple developer license, you can put rather a lot on your phone that Apple wouldn't let through the store.
... and of course, if you Jailbreak your phone you can put anything you damn well please on there.
> many of the folks on this site probably don't much care either.
Because most of the people on this site aren't actually hackers, they're businessmen who use technology to make money. The "hacker" label is just used to appear hip.
I don't know if it's selection bias at work but I've always felt that this community had a large group of influential and actual hackers. From low level stuff to language maintainers to people who worked on space shuttles. If anything, the fact that I rub e-elbows with these folks is a great feeling. In the company of giants, if you will.
Agree. There's a really special mix on this board that makes it what it is. I've seen quite a few legit hackers posting here, for many definitions of 'hacker'.
That may well be, but you can't dismiss someone as "not a hacker" simply because they make a different OS choice than you might. Even hackers have priorities.
I'm definitely not a businessman. I'm a rank-and-file engineer for Amazon, and part of the reason I stick with that is that it gives me spare time to hack on random shit or learn some random math.
I still use (and develop for) iOS for two reasons. First, when I'm not hacking I think it's a nicer OS than the competition. Second, when I am hacking on things, I think it's a nicer OS to develop for. As a hacker I can call all the private APIs I like, run in the background, fork of child processes, and really just generally make a mess of things. Oh, and I don't have to do any of it in Java (which after a day of work is a welcome relief).
I would say that this is incorrectly worded. People have priorities, and those priorities show whether they truly have the hacker spirit or not.
> First, when I'm not hacking I think it's a nicer OS than the competition.
This already exposes that you are not a hacker. If you were, you would value the increased hackability and customizability that Android gives you, rather than the my-way-or-the-highway approach taken by iOS. The fact that you think iOS is nicer than the competition means that you aren't a hacker (in the original sense of the word).
> when I am hacking on things, I think it's a nicer OS to develop for. As a hacker I can call all the private APIs I like, run in the background, fork of child processes, and really just generally make a mess of things.
Again, this shows you are not truly a hacker. Part of the hacker ethos is sharing, and iOS restricts how you can share by not allowing those "private" APIs to be used in apps published on the App Store.
> I don't have to do any of it in Java (which after a day of work is a welcome relief).
This is an issue, but I would consider it a minor one compared to the other, more important problems.
Or, someone just prefers the iPhone. One can "hack" without all the "requirements" posted by you. Do you drive a car you didn't build yourself? Then you're no hacker! Read books you didn't bind in the cover your prefer? Not a hacker! Write software in languages other than Brainf*ck? Sorry, turn in your hacker badge.
Any time you feel the temptation to claim that someone is "not an X" based on your own private criteria, I'd suggest rethinking it. Some labels have well defined requirements (a Baseball player is someone who plays baseball). However, many labels are entirely in the eye of the beholder, and pronouncing to someone "Hah! You're not an X" generally makes one look bitter and insecure.
> Do you drive a car you didn't build yourself? Then you're no hacker! Read books you didn't bind in the cover your prefer? Not a hacker!
I didn't know we were discussing car building or book binding. I thought this was a site primarily targeted at the technology community.
> Write software in languages other than Brainfuck? Sorry, turn in your hacker badge.
Now you're just being facetious. Please stop, it only helps to invalidate your own argument.
> Any time you feel the temptation to claim that someone is "not an X" based on your own private criteria, I'd suggest rethinking it.
I will, the next time I am basing it on private criteria. Since I have not done that in this case (as my criteria are well-accepted and long-existing), I'm not sure why you made this statement.
> pronouncing to someone "Hah! You're not an X" generally makes one look bitter and insecure.
Once again, resorting to ad hominem attacks only makes you look desperate and helps to invalidate your other statements. I would advise that you not use them if you want to be taken seriously.
The irony of discussing the importance of openness in the things you own with such a closed-minded worldview about the people you interact with is palpable.
I am merely applying the long-accepted definition of a well-known term to a new situation that is relatively straightforward. The only thing that is palpable here is the cognitive dissonance you are attempting to ignore as you reconcile your love of Apple products with your desire to be considered a hacker.
Note that I am not saying there is anything inherently wrong with liking or using Apple products. They clearly appeal to a significant number of people. Just don't delude yourself into believing that that makes you a hacker, because it's not fooling most of the rest of us.
Just don't delude yourself into believing that that makes you a hacker, because it's not fooling most of the rest of us.
From The New Hacker's Dictionary:
1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming. 3. A person capable of appreciating hack value. 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. 5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in `a Unix hacker'. (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example. 7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.
You must really be drinking the Apple Kool-aid if you think that one who prefers iOS to Android has the hacker spirit. This isn't a complicated concept which requires people to "spot" real hackers.
You're being an ass and for some reason basing all your comments on a non-rooted version of iOS, when one of the first things a hacker will do is get root.
Why in the world has anyone upvoted your baseless attempt at discrediting. Stop being such an insufferable fanboy.
The biggest question for me is, can you develop to WP8 with Linux, vim, etc? I just have no plans to install Windows (or OSX) to any of my computers and I don't like to work with any other setup than my customized Linux desktop. But still WP8 looks very exciting.
But all in all, every phone OS (except maybe Firefox OS) puts me down on this. With iOS it's OSX and Xcode and with Android you're better to use some IDE like Eclipse.
If you do a Linux dev environment then you are pretty much stuck with Android. (BTW I'm an Android developer who uses Linux dev environments). You can compile apps from the command line (ant is supported). There are command line tools to do all the device interoperability (eg accessing filesystem, getting logs, installing apps). However it would be unproductive to not use an IDE especially to manage the source files, their contents and locations, and debugging. Java is also very nitpicky due to static typing and the normal Java API paradigm is to never make decisions and always put layers of indirection in front of things. I joke that about half the code I "write" is actually written by Eclipse as I put in what I want and it then doubles the size putting in all the missing pieces, extra syntax, finding completions etc. Such is life with Java. The layout editing tools etc are quite nice especially being able to see previews. Eclipse sucks but it is the least worst solution and you can make working apps with it. You could use vim but you will create a lot of extra work for yourself.
For the iOS work I do I use Xcode. Unbelievably it is slightly less usable than Eclipse (this is not praising Eclipse!). I am constantly astonished at things it does. Presumably eventually Stockholm Syndrome sets in and you train yourself to not do the things that hurt. For a library I am working on that has no gui elements I am actually editing the code on my Linux box using emacs with sshfs access to the files on the mac, and a ssh terminal connection in to build/run/test from the command line. To access the Mac desktop I use Remote Desktop (VNC under the hood). One thing I praise Apple for is that their VNC server implementation is excellent - very snappy especially compared to the dismal Linux experience. Chrome Remote Desktop also works although it sometimes has problems with special keys. I have the Mac sitting in the back of a cupboard with nothing connected except a USB cable that ends up on my desk where I plugin the devices. You can do some things from the command line such as building (xcode-build). I have no idea if you can install apps, get their logs etc using command line tools.
If you don't want to write native apps then you can use PhoneGap. It is essentially a web shell (html widget and javascript) with various extra APIs (eg contacts access) and you provide your code as HTML+javascript. There is much debate about pure HTML5 webapps, solutions like PhoneGap, cross platform tools like MonoTouch versus native apps. Non-native approaches tend to be quicker to initially develop and port, but can have some rough edges and take longer to work at the "edges" of functionality.
TLDR: I have no clue about developing WP8 apps using Linux dev environment
I'm not so sure. Granted, I have a .Net past (I currently am a full stack javascript engineer), but I really enjoy the developer experience for Windows Phone - much nicer (IMO) than with Apple and iOS, from a language, ecosystem, and tooling perspective.
My Lumia 920 got here today, and the two gripes I had before - lack of 4g and a pitiful browser - have both been nicely addressed.
The competition doesn't care because people don't care. Seriously. People could not care less.
I got a free developer program membership and got my phone unlocked through that, but I've never used it to sideload code onto my phone and never plan on doing that. It's just not something I need to do.
I agree, this is what got me hooked on Android in the first place. Now that I understand the Android SDK and have made a few apps, any problem (even something pretty low-level) on my phone can be fixed if I'm willing to take the time to code up a solution.
I find myself most interested in the OP's point that Microsoft should offer a flagship Windows phone ala the Google Nexus line.
The app situation is meager by comparison to the two big boys in mobile, but I've been able to get by well enough.
Like the OP, I really like the default mail client. It's way better in my opinion than the Android client. For one thing, it doesn't Base64 encode everything [1]. I also prefer Bing maps to Google maps. The virtual keyboard is really solid, and the predictive text beats what I've dealt with on my wife's Galaxy Nexus. If you're interested, I wrote up a mini review at my blog a month back [2].
Given Microsoft's relationship with Nokia, doesn't that make the Lumia 920 the defacto flagship Winodws Phone? I agree with the author of the article that I would prefer it to come without all of the carrier garbage, but it's easily removed.
I think that this article basically his the nail on the head in most respects. I agree with his complaints as well as his thoughts on why it's good. I currently own a WP7 device but am looking to pick up a 920 or 8X in February when I get an upgrade available.
In the end I think he really nails it in the last paragraph: overall this is a solid offering that is hindered by lack of apps which is due to a lack of consumers (...which is largely due to a lack of apps?). If more people take the plunge, then the apps will come and this will become a non issue.
I also just gave up my iPhone 5 for a week to test the HTC 8x I am using to dev with. I have been very pleasantly surprised with how much I like it. I'm sticking with the iPhone for now, but I really like wp8. I'd put it at a close second just ahead of android. Dev'ing for it has been nice as well. First app is in review as we speak.
It's a GPS tracking app for skiers (with running and biking skinned versions to come later). Sadly it's still in review with Microsoft, I was hoping it would get released by Christmas. Here are links to the Android and iOS versions:
Last December I purchased an HTC Titan running 7.5 from a Microsoft Store. A couple months later, HTC released the Titan II, and not long after that, Microsoft announced my new phone was incapable of running WP8. I have never experienced such rapid technological obsolescence with any purchase.
Six months after purchasing my phone, AT&T still hadn't enabled visual voicemail, and numerous WP fixes (including several security patches) were never made available to my device. I'll blame AT&T for that, as well.
I was so disgusted by the experience that I went back to iOS, spending nearly $1300 on two mobile phones over a period of six months.
WP is a fantastic operating system, and for many reasons I do prefer it over iOS. What I did not like was the third and fourth tier app ecosystem, AT&T's interference with service upgrades and patches, and how MS sold me hardware when they knew it essentially would be EOLed with their WP8 announcement.
and how MS sold me hardware when they knew it essentially would be EOLed with their WP8 announcement.
I thought this too (as a former WP 7.5 owner), but most applications still seem to support WP 7.5, and WP 7.5 phones are still being sold. I get the impression that 7.5/8 will be kept alive for quite a while for low-budget telephones. Which may not be surprising in the end, since WP 7.5 provides a good experience on pretty arcane hardware.
Pretty sure the folks at the MS store that sold you the thing didn't know the WP8 announcement would end support for new features for your device. In fact, I'd bet that very few folks at AT&T or HTC knew. If you expect that level of "every device gets every new feature", you probably will be happier on iOS.
Have they fixed the back button? I had a wp7 phone for a while and this userflow breaks the back button:
1. Open IE and browse the web a little
2. Press the home button, read your text messages or some bullshit
3. Press the home button again, open IE. Now try and browse back one page in your history (e.g., you're returning to hacker news after reading a story). The physical back button takes you back to the home page. There is no "soft" back button, so I have to pull up my history and use that.
Horrible!!!!!! Maybe Android is this way but it seems horrendously stupid to not even give me the option of a soft button.
Yes, the back button is broken because it forces the user to think how things work.
In your example, if you left IE, instead of starting it again from the home screen you should hold the back button to enter task switcher and jump into running IE instance from there. After that the back button will work ok.
Which is counter-intuitive - tapping tile on the start screen should either give you the same experience like jumping in the app from task switcher, or start new application instance.
the back button issue in IE10 mobile has still not been solved in WP8. It's one of the first things I noticed is the lack of a back and forward button. The back button definitely does not behave in the manner described unless resumed by holding down the back button and then going into the app but that's just confusing.
I currently own an Android phone (Galaxy Nexus). I've always been fascinated by the WP UI. It's a refreshingly new style that allows enough customization while maintaining a consistent look for the OS across devices. I've been telling myself that I want to make the jump when I'm eligible for my next upgrade, using Launcher7 and Launcher8 in the meanwhile to satisfy my Metro craving.
With that being said, the one thing that's been keeping me from making the jump is the Google integration that Android gives me. For people like me that are so dependent on Google services, Android's native support for Google Talk, Google Docs, Gmail, Google Calendar (and Tasks), and Google Chrome (since 4.2) has become essential.
If there's a way to be able to use these services on Windows Phone, I will almost immediately switch over, as I am very impressed with Redmond's offering, and look forward to seeing how they continue to tell the Windows Phone story.
I played with a Lumina 920 when I was in the store a few days ago. It demoed very well and the phone itself was very nice.
I was willing to buy one for my collection of smartphones for research and development purposes, however in the UK its currently only available on the high street as an exclusive with EE and the phone is locked to that network. Sad but true.
Clearly Microsoft didn't learn from the mistake Palm made as when you aren't the market leader, going with an exclusive carrier deal only prevents people buying into your platform. Apple learned that, and clearly Microsoft feels necessary to mimic even Apple's mistakes before it gets it. I'm sure RIM will make the same mistake when they launch BB10 next month this leading to their demise. All this has happened before and all this will happen again.
That's Nokia's decision to go with an EE exclusive, not Microsoft's. The other carriers are going to get the Lumia 920 in January. Other Windows Phones are not carrier exclusive, for example HTC's flagship 8x is available on all carriers in the US.
I had an HTC Arrive running Windows Phone 7.5 which I loved except for one thing: the lack of apps. The OP mentions this too. I wonder if they'll be able to wait this problem out like they did with the Xbox?
I must admit as an Apple device wielding individual that the Windows Phone UI has always intrigued me. I was put off however by a colleague who at the time of writing is on his 4th Lumina 920. I know that this is anecdotal, but the hassle the guy had getting faulty phones replaced was poor. Nokia weren't interested. Which is why I'll stick with Apple. My own experience of their customer service has been second to none, and ultimately it's a big decider for me. It is a lovely device though, when it works.
Having tested Window 8 Desktop with a view to deployment in the enterprise space, all I can say is that as things stand, not a chance. The metaphor just doesn't translate to the desktop.
As another anecdote: I had to get my 920 replaced, and it couldn't have been easier. I went into an AT&T store that specialized in device support, they looked at it for a few seconds, and immediately ordered a new one with free overnight priority shipping to my home.
I just don't think this is going to happen. Look how late it was before MS considered getting serious in the smartphone game!
Now despite all the praise on WP8 and the Nokia devices (HTC as well), they still seem to be making very little headway. The reason why Samsung have fared so well is because they could focus on hardware (copying bits of the IPhone design initially) while Google's Android team polished the software. I don't believe they have what it takes to make a great mobile OS. This is not their forte.
