Related
I made this poll last time, but this was around when the news of WP7 was just getting out. I'm sure that from then and now, we've learned a lot more about the OS and MS has released a lot more info regarding the OS. So with that being said, I was just curious to see if there were any change of hearts.
Vote on!
I plan on buying a windows phone whenever some nice looking hardware comes to Verizon. I might have to wait a while since ill have to buy one at full price because my upgrade isn't until 2012.
Never will I ever choose anything besides Windows 7 or their webcam for my products.
Ad notifications? What kind of nonsense is this?
And here is the real nail in the coffin:
"At launch, Windows Phone 7 will not have the ability to cut, copy, and paste. It will recognize telephone numbers and addresses, but Microsoft says the majority of users don't need 'cut, copy, and paste'."
With that attitude, do I trust this company for phones? No. The iPhone 2G had more features than this!
I hope they die in the mobile arena. Their efforts have been haphazard and poor. If it does turn out to be good (doubtful since I've used Windows Mobile since the Blackjack) I don't see anything it offers that Android or iPhone doesn't already do, and better.
Fun phones are the iPhone and Android systems. They're also very good for work as well.
Blackberry handles business as usual.
And Microsoft, your best move was investing in Apple.
Dratini said:
Never will I ever choose anything besides Windows 7 or their webcam for my products.
Ad notifications? What kind of nonsense is this?
And here is the real nail in the coffin:
"At launch, Windows Phone 7 will not have the ability to cut, copy, and paste. It will recognize telephone numbers and addresses, but Microsoft says the majority of users don't need 'cut, copy, and paste'."
With that attitude, do I trust this company for phones? No. The iPhone 2G had more features than this!
I hope they die in the mobile arena. Their efforts have been haphazard and poor. If it does turn out to be good (doubtful since I've used Windows Mobile since the Blackjack) I don't see anything it offers that Android or iPhone doesn't already do, and better.
Fun phones are the iPhone and Android systems. They're also very good for work as well.
Blackberry handles business as usual.
And Microsoft, your best move was investing in Apple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a guy who is been around for a long time !!?. I respect your opinion but it is windows mobile what made this forum what it is today. So let it die?
It depends what kind of user you are, I have always been a fan of windows because its customizable, what is for me an added value. Now with the coming of mobile7, I dont know, but I´m sure we can support and make the OS better around here.
Iphone is in my opinion a hyped phone (especially the iphone4) and clearly is not as good as the previous versions because of its hardware malfunction.
Respecting Andriod, I like the phones and they are great but still I´m staying old fashioned and try and stick to WinMo.
As you can notice I will buy a phone with the new OS because I´m just curious and its flawless integrated with windows platforms in private and corporate perspective. What i believe is the advantage of Microsoft software.
I will buy a WP7 device in Germany as soon a device similar to the HD2 is released. For me are a display around 4 inch, arround 448 MB RAM, at least 16GB flash memory important. An amoled display is prefered.
Why WP7? As a developer I have with Silverlight much more fun and I have no fun to flash my device regularry to get the rom to a quality level that should be out of box. Is's a shame but big thanks to this board for making the good HD2 roms
Just waiting on what T-Mobile USA will bring us
Dratini said:
With that attitude, do I trust this company for phones? No. The iPhone 2G had more features than this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure it did.
Main difference between WP7 and other mobile OSes, that it is being complex. iOS has just core stuff - kernel, some core APIs and few built-in apps like mail or safari. Android adds some wannabe support for integrating facebook, today widgets. WP7 comes as latest one with around 2 year development as of now, including full facebook integration at launch, combining and integrating your contacts into facebook. This was just an example, that WP7 is way more complex system, than any other mobile OS we have now. It allows integration into hubs, ... while all you can do on iOS is just add your icon on app launcher. No integration into core apps.
Also the biggest fun will begin shortly. Possibility to develop for PC-Xbox360-WP7 with one source code (and just optimizing user input for mouse, joystick or touchscreen) is f...in promising. And Silverlight, C# and XNA are awesome to play and create with, compared to native coding.
I will be getting WP7 as soon as I get the opportunity. Love the UI (I'd just say more colors into icons in the applist). Love the possibilities. Love MS!
OndraSter said:
Sure it did.
Main difference between WP7 and other mobile OSes, that it is being complex. iOS has just core stuff - kernel, some core APIs and few built-in apps like mail or safari. Android adds some wannabe support for integrating facebook, today widgets. WP7 comes as latest one with around 2 year development as of now, including full facebook integration at launch, combining and integrating your contacts into facebook. This was just an example, that WP7 is way more complex system, than any other mobile OS we have now. It allows integration into hubs, ... while all you can do on iOS is just add your icon on app launcher. No integration into core apps.
Also the biggest fun will begin shortly. Possibility to develop for PC-Xbox360-WP7 with one source code (and just optimizing user input for mouse, joystick or touchscreen) is f...in promising. And Silverlight, C# and XNA are awesome to play and create with, compared to native coding.
I will be getting WP7 as soon as I get the opportunity. Love the UI (I'd just say more colors into icons in the applist). Love the possibilities. Love MS!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what?!!
xbox-wp7-pc game integration is a possibility? but how is a phone going to be as capable as the three cores plus graphics core of a 360?
As soon as Sprint gets a killer 4G enabled one. Bamn! I'm there.
Gota get on the leading edge again and start promoting the thing to my friends/family/co-workers/etc.
theomni said:
what?!!
xbox-wp7-pc game integration is a possibility? but how is a phone going to be as capable as the three cores plus graphics core of a 360?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, WP7 has a lower target resolution than XBox and PCs. You also can use a lower resolution than the native resolution of WP7 and the phone will resize the image "for free" using a dedicated chip. To target the different input formats, you have to tweak the code and use conditional compilation (like #If Xbox; #If WP7; #If Windows). If you want to utilize the full potential of each platform, there may be many conditional compilation instructions, but it is possible. Depending on the architecture, the main game logic can remain the same and does not need (many) changes.
Ima stick with it. WP7 is nice.
Yep, just as Reihnold described it.
The main logic and core is the same, you just optimalize it for different input and ofc slower HW (but with coming Hummingbird etc we will see reaching Xbox on WVGA screen in few years I bet). You disable some cool effects etc, but you do that with those #If Xbox360 fxRainbow.Enable = true; #Endif etc, so nothing huge. Compared to Linux-Android it is something quite easy. Mostly because of awesome IDE.
Wouldn't consider anything else.
I will definitely buy one. Love MS products and services and using them all integrated on my phone is the biggest thing they could ever made!
Cloud is the future
I'd be more interested to know what percentage of people would switch to wp7 in an iphone and/or android forum really. That to me is a better indicator of how well wp7 will do at launch.
I eventually want to switch, but ill do it further down the line when the OS matures.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I voted for sticking with WP7, all the latest videos I've seen show how super smooth it is so I wont be switching to clunky Andriod anytime soon
I am waiting to actually see how well the office, RDP and other apps integrate into windows before I pull the trigger on one. I really could care less about facebook integration or twitter or any social networking. Sure I use facebook, but I want to keep my contacts seperate from my social networking. I want a business device first. Not to say I won't try one out, but I intend on keeping my Tilt2 around unless they release a WM6.5 handset with a keyboard and a faster processor and more RAM! like that will happen...
And if it comes to switching platforms, android is next in line. No apple products ever in my house.
kdj67f said:
No apple products ever in my house.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that
I am so ready to purchase one of Windows Phone 7 phones! Why? please... for those ppl who say WP7 is not as great as their beloved WM 6 series, you gotta let your ego go. And yes, i have HD2. So this is a customer with experiences with hacking my device and use cooked ROMs. And yes i hate using cooked ROMs. Althogh i use cooked ROMs that looks like stock version atm. But i am planning to purchase it in this holiday or wait for htc to announce HD3 the beast! I really want my phone to have 1.5ghz or something downgraded clocked duo cpu.
Just trying to bring some positivity to the forums.
I bought WP7 because it's got the best music player on the market, a smooth UI, xbox live integration, great games with the promise of even better which is completely believable after seeing such titles as ilomilo, xbox live integration, it's range of hardware selection which though it can't touch android beats out iphones selection, expandable memory, and because overall it's just got the most beautiful UI. It never feels like they took the best from another OS and just improved it.
I had a Zune HD and loved it so much that when i saw WP7 had taken the metro ui, Zune media and xbox live and put it on a phone that was it for me.
Zune is so far ahead of itunes it makes them look out of date (bar the remote control features this needs to be implemented asap)
Quality for me is so much more important than quantity. Other phones have a lot of cool stuff but none look and feel like WP7 or the quality of its media.
Then the cherry comes xbox live this is it for me, I am a huge gamer and xbox live is where it is at, period. All in all this is the greatest user phone ever it may lack high end features but it more than makes up for it by doing what it does better smoother and sexier then any other device you can buy today.
Loved the look of the UI, and Xbox live intergration. I bought a HD7 for the big screen, I was bored of my iPhone too
REason
I have tried all other OS and I am somewhat I would say loyal to Windows mobile. Honestly I sortof got tired of having to update my device bi-weekly or resetting device to do certain things, and for all the features it had build in I had purchased from someone for wm6.5. Like checking my friends online status on xbox live, I loved the zune interface I had a regular not an HD but my kid brother had one and loved it. I am optimistic they will enable more functions built and I am patiently waiting on the other things from 6.5 to be ported and more. And I was somewhat jealous of every other phones bigger screen (than my tp2)
Got pissed with Android, waiting for updates and the UI. I hated WP7 first, because I was in love with Android guy, but after some time I saw what **** it is and just started to get to know with WP7. And then I realised that this OS will be perfect for my needs and after some time, I sold my Desire Z, it had defect with keyboard (before I had desire, which had defects too) and bought Omnia7. It's perfect, I'm perfectionist and this phone is just awesome, no single flaw so far...
Also came from iOS (iPhone 3G, 3GS) Android (nexus one). Reasons why i switched to WP7:
1. Xbox live and also their promise of great games, as i also am a gamer
2. Metro UI, slick and smooth. It just works
3. Xbox live
4. Zune
5. Xbox live
It does what I need it to do and does it efficiently.
1) I liked how the UI looked
2) I want something fast
3) I wanted something that was standardized (with minimum system specs) so I could expect apps to work with it for a while
4) I wanted something different
5) I didn't want to have to spend time tweaking my phone in order to get it to work well.
6) XBOX Live
7) Fast camera
1. Its smooth and fast
2. Its different
3. Its v1.0 of an OS, something I hadn't had before
4. Got tired of tweaking the hell out of winmo
5. Tried android on the hd2 and it reminded me of IOS, just laggier, with no promise of device updates.
6. All the multimedia options: netflix, slingbox, bitbop, zune for music, zune for video, zune handles all my podcasts
7. It doesn't freeze up for me, ever! (OK once since US launch, but even then it soft reset itself)
8. Developers: the apps were are getting seem to be at least as good as IOS and look better and smoother than the same apps on android (if they even have them)
9. Games: once again, on par with IOS games, most android phones can't handle top games. Definitely better than Winmo games of the same name.
10. Notice how I didn't say enterprise or office integration, etc. My phone is a toy to keep me occupied at work, when out with the family and there is down time, at the gym on the treadmill, etc.
11. It's nice to show off a new feature/app of the phone to someone and not have the phone freeze on you!!!
Getting Older and Wiser ?
I came from a WM 6.5 environment where I tweaked, flashed new ROMs and Radios, and updated applications for several hours a week. What I wanted was:
. No more stylus, fingers only (I won't get into a fight over WM 6.5, no matter what I did, it was NEVER totally finger friendly).
. Larger screen (at least 4.0", my eyes aren't getting any better).
. Faster processor, more memory
. Fluid and fast OS/UI
. Something that just works and does not REQUIRE tweaking and endless flashing
. Apps that are updated automatically (some 6.5 ROMs and apps support this, but not integrated seamlessly)
. Something that let's ME use IT and doesn't use ME.
I am finished with tweaking and flashing. I did it in the beginning because I thought I had to in order to get a phone the way I liked it. After WP7, I understand there is no real need, I just got so used to it. I thought it was "normal". I now realize how much time I wasted and how the OS was driving me to waste time rather than save time.
JamesAllen said:
I came from a WM 6.5 environment where I tweaked, flashed new ROMs and Radios, and updated applications for several hours a week. What I wanted was:
. No more stylus, fingers only (I won't get into a fight over WM 6.5, no matter what I did, it was NEVER totally finger friendly).
. Larger screen (at least 4.0", my eyes aren't getting any better).
. Faster processor, more memory
. Fluid and fast OS/UI
. Something that just works and does not REQUIRE tweaking and endless flashing
. Apps that are updated automatically (some 6.5 ROMs and apps support this, but not integrated seamlessly)
. Something that let's ME use IT and doesn't use ME.
I am finished with tweaking and flashing. I did it in the beginning because I thought I had to in order to get a phone the way I liked it. After WP7, I understand there is no real need, I just got so used to it. I thought it was "normal". I now realize how much time I wasted and how the OS was driving me to waste time rather than save time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah yes, the number 1 reason I got wp7, to actually use the phone, instead of always tweaking/fixing it!
1/. I had a Zune HD which I enjoy immensely, WP7 is Zune HD+++
2/. I play my XBL games more than my actual XBOX games, +1 WP7 for fun games
3/. I hated tweaking my Touch Cruise and Symbian Phones
4/. I like smooth scrolling.
5/. I really didn't like the icon grid, which is why I sold my Ipod Touch and got a Zune HD in the first place.
6/. The animation speed of Bing Maps was ridiculous on the phone I played with at the T-Mo store.
7/. Not many people have it, not because it's a **** product, but because they just don't know what they're missing. I like quiet brilliance and WP7 is just that.
Quiet brilliance. I just hope for MS and our sakes that that turns into a smash hit for them somewhere down the line.
1. I wanted a different OS. Most of the other OS' seem a bit boring to me.
2. I like being an early adopter. I was with iOS (sort of) and having something that no one else has is pretty nice.
3. The apps are pretty good thus far. I can see myself getting more apps compared to Android.
4. I trust Microsoft more than Google. Mostly because my current laptop (running Windows 7) has not failed me and Google is, well, Google.
I was planning to get a Captivate but I realized that I would waste hours of my time hacking and flashing it and I didn't want to do that anymore. I wanted a phone that had great features and was just a great experience out of the box. The Focus did that for me.
1. Fluid and Intuituve UI
2. Zune
3. All the live stuff
4. Zune
5. UI
z33dev33l said:
Just trying to bring some positivity to the forums.
I bought WP7 because it's got the best music player on the market, a smooth UI, xbox live integration, great games with the promise of even better which is completely believable after seeing such titles as ilomilo, xbox live integration, it's range of hardware selection which though it can't touch android beats out iphones selection, expandable memory, and because overall it's just got the most beautiful UI. It never feels like they took the best from another OS and just improved it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you know, i really like it when folks are positive in starting a thread. even mentioning the competition, in a positive way. kudos to you for not stooping.
also, i could have almost bought an ATT product today, except there are so few choices besides the iphone over there. tmo is having terrible connectivity problems in my area, and if there were a non-contract alternative, i -may- just give it a shot (wp7).
again, thanks for the fresh air.
Coming from Winmo6.5 (HTC Touch HD)
1) Wanted something different/New compared to what's out there already. I believe this is the only smartphone OS that has actually been designed in an artistic/consistent kind of way. Other OS' resemble desktops too much and are either too messy/cheap looking and inconsistent (Android) or just look plain and static looking (iOS app-launcher UI). Though, the home and app screen on WP could be better if the background was customisable, as well as offer more themes.
2) Liked the closed ecosystem of iOS (where all apps just work, and no more tweaking required to get the phone to perform smoothly) but wanted hardware choice. Plus I've got the iPad already, and didn't want to buy what is basically the same device.
3) Wanted to adopt a new OS that could become a major player in the smartphone industry.
1. WM 6.5 was not supported anymore
2. UI made the way I like it - look, concept, homescreen, and unified across all of apps - something I hated on other platforms because of design fragmentation
3. Stable and fast
4. Intergrated with Hotmail
5. All the Office (email, docs, OneNote) however this needs to be improved
6. Hope for a great support by MS giant and their promised commitment
7. Integrated Maps, Music, Xbox, Marketplace
I just pointed things which I thought are better than on other OSes.
P.S. I also dream of some OFFLINE apps especially dictionaries.
1. Somehing new.
2. Wife has Android, mates have BB's and iPhones... wanted something different to tell them how much their phones suck compared to mine.
3. Cloud Sync
4. Office & Exchange
5. Beautifull UI design
was due for an upgrade and able to grab a samsung focus for $30 from wally world. i though, why not? i decided it was time to let my N1 go as well as many other google products/services i had been using because i don't like googles stance on net neutrality and them crawling in bed with the government.
surprisingly, i've really enjoyed my focus. the battery life is outstanding, the camera is quite good, the screen looks great, great games, the music player rocks and i love wireless syncing, it's very fast and smooth. i'm looking forward for the bugs to get ironed out, some very necessary features added and the app store to grow. one of the BEST features is that you can simply uninstall all the bloatware crap att or any other carrier puts on there.
i hope the gates clan keeps this os fresh and up to date with some thoughtful innovations.
It just hit me after today's HP WebOS event that Microsoft is the last big competitor without a real tablet OS (that isn't a thrown-together Windows 7).
Apple has the iPad with iOS.
RIM has the Playbook with QNX.
Google has the Xoom/G-Slate and more with Android 3.0
HP (formerly Palm) has the Touchpad with WebOS 3.0
I know everyone has been on Microsoft's case for tablets, but now they should be really panicking. I'm not sure it's enough to just have WP7 on smartphones anymore if it wants to build a competing ecosystem. The most frustrating part of all of this is that Microsoft really has nailed it better than the rest of these with really deep multimedia features from Zune, Xbox Live services, and a genuinely unique UI.
A couple of months ago, people kept saying Microsoft needs to make WP7 for tablets right that moment. I didn't believe them back then but now I think Microsoft is seriously in trouble. Tablets are going to cannibalize laptop/netbook sales soon and one of the top PC manufacturers, HP, is even pushing WebOS on to laptops later this year. Unless they have an ace up their sleeve with Windows 8 and cross-compatibility with WP7, I am beginning to worry about the long term plan here.
Wait... WebOS is a major OS?
and, Windows has tablets, just because their phone OS isnt tablet based doesnt mean they don't have tablets. Windows xp on my tablet is much more enjoyable.
z33dev33l said:
Wait... WebOS is a major OS?
and, Windows has tablets, just because their phone OS isnt tablet based doesnt mean they don't have tablets. Windows xp on my tablet is much more enjoyable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well since Palm got bought out by the colossal HP and since WebOS has managed to survive these past few months and still somehow stay relevant, I'd say that yeah they can be considered one of the major OS' now. HP is being pretty damn aggressive with WebOS (the Pre 3 and Touchpad look fantastic) and has finally made the hardware to match the software.
That's what I mean though. The average consumer has proved that time and again they do not want normal bloated desktop Windows on a tablet. It's not nearly as intuitive as iOS or even Android, and since Microsoft has to compete with those desktop Windows is not enough anymore.
Makes sense, I guess it's kinda the old WP7 vs iOS, mass market versus us tech geeks who like to play. The question is will they follow the money on this as they have with their phones. As for the new WebOS I can't really act impressed, I mean if they used a rigged poll as their keynote they can't have much to offer. I've played with the OS and it felt a lot like a dolled up blackberry to me and blackberry was just unenjoyable.
the thing that doesn't impress me about the hardware for webOS is how they still use such a low resolution. that would of been the first thing i would have improved on those devices...
z33dev33l said:
Makes sense, I guess it's kinda the old WP7 vs iOS, mass market versus us tech geeks who like to play. The question is will they follow the money on this as they have with their phones. As for the new WebOS I can't really act impressed, I mean if they used a rigged poll as their keynote they can't have much to offer. I've played with the OS and it felt a lot like a dolled up blackberry to me and blackberry was just unenjoyable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I was always pretty impressed by WebOS and thought it was far and away better looking and easier to use than Android or Blackberry. I always considered it "the grown up version of iOS" because the gestures and dynamic UI elements are just so much more advanced yet Palm kept things so simple and intuitive.
But I still drool every time I turn on my Focus
The Gate Keeper said:
the thing that doesn't impress me about the hardware for webOS is how they still use such a low resolution. that would of been the first thing i would have improved on those devices...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not true after today. The only phone that has the old low resolution is the Veer but since it's on such a small screen it actually increases the overall ppi. The new Pre 3 has a 800x480 screen and the new Touchpad has 1024x768.
If CES 2011 didn't give you enough hints, here it is:
MS Tablet = Windows 8 running on Arm-based SoC demonstrated at CES.
My expectation is we'll see Windows Phone, tablets running Windows 8 on ARM, and Xbox all running Silverlight and a metro-like interface. You can already begin to see some synergy between Windows Phone and Windows tablets by looking at recent applications like Flickr and Mosaic.
There is a good chance that as the tablet matures, they will be less gadget and more laptop/desktop replacement. I honestly don't know if something like iOS is going to do a good job with that.
foxbat121 said:
If CES 2011 didn't give you enough hints, here it is:
MS Tablet = Windows 8 running on Arm-based SoC demonstrated at CES.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I'm hoping for and it seems pretty obvious that's where MS is headed.
But I'm still worried about the touch experience of the major competing tablets versus Windows. I'm really praying that MS introduces a Windows 8 that scales to whatever platform its on--for example you'd see a complex and traditional looking Windows on your desktop PC but if you had Windows 8 on your tablet it would have a Metro-based UI like WP7.
PG2G said:
My expectation is we'll see Windows Phone, tablets running Windows 8 on ARM, and Xbox all running Silverlight and a metro-like interface. You can already begin to see some synergy between Windows Phone and Windows tablets by looking at recent applications like Flickr and Mosaic.
There is a good chance that as the tablet matures, they will be less gadget and more laptop/desktop replacement. I honestly don't know if something like iOS is going to do a good job with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with your first point completely and that is definitely the direction MS needs to go.
You're also right about iOS. I own an iPad and despite being pretty powerful it also looks downright primitive compared to Android 3.0, Rim's QNX, and WebOS 3.0. But tablets honestly make a lot of sense as a laptop or at least a netbook replacement--it's easier to use, almost instant-on, and an overall more entertaining experience.
OGCF said:
It just hit me after today's HP WebOS event that Microsoft is the last big competitor without a real tablet OS (that isn't a thrown-together Windows 7).
....
A couple of months ago, people kept saying Microsoft needs to make WP7 for tablets right that moment. I didn't believe them back then but now I think Microsoft is seriously in trouble. Tablets are going to cannibalize laptop/netbook sales soon and one of the top PC manufacturers, HP, is even pushing WebOS on to laptops later this year. Unless they have an ace up their sleeve with Windows 8 and cross-compatibility with WP7, I am beginning to worry about the long term plan here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MS may be doing the right thing in using their desktop OS as the tablet platform instead of WP7. This will inherently make their tablets more powerful with the largest ecosystem (Windows). I think we'll have to wait and see what's in store for Windows 8 to see how it works out. MS has been doing tablets far longer than the other's. They just never got the UE together in the way Apple did. Push come to shove, they can make an emulator to run WP7 apps on the Windows 8 tablet
WhyBe said:
MS may be doing the right thing in using their desktop OS as the tablet platform instead of WP7. This will inherently make their tablets more powerful with the largest ecosystem (Windows). I think we'll have to wait and see what's in store for Windows 8 to see how it works out. MS has been doing tablets far longer than the other's. They just never got the UE together in the way Apple did. Push come to shove, they can make an emulator to run WP7 apps on the Windows 8 tablet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, their tablets should theoretically be more powerful. But I don't want my shiny new Windows-powered tablet to only last 4 hours on a charge and I especially don't want to deal with all of the Windows programs that all look and function differently. The result is a completely inconsistent experience. I love Windows 7 as a desktop OS, but I don't think I could stand it on a tablet.
And just because Microsoft has been making tablets for longer than anyone else doesn't exactly mean they did a good job. Apple showed them that and now everyone is scrambling to come out with a competitor and--surprise surprise--they're not running Windows 7.
I have high hopes pinned to the inevitable release of Windows 8 and if they can make the Metro UI a universal design theme that developers should stick to only then will a Windows-powered tablet be able to provide an experience as consistent as iOS.
OGCF said:
I have high hopes pinned to the inevitable release of Windows 8 and if they can make the Metro UI a universal design theme that developers should stick to only then will a Windows-powered tablet be able to provide an experience as consistent as iOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A windows 8 tablet that could run WP7 apps would be the best solution and not at all impossible.
But if MS delivers on the UE and UI enhancements purported for Windows 8, there probably will be little need for WP7 apps. I'm guessing power consumption would improve with the newer mobile chipsets and OS enhancements.
OGCF said:
It just hit me after today's HP WebOS event that Microsoft is the last big competitor without a real tablet OS (that isn't a thrown-together Windows 7).
Apple has the iPad with iOS.
RIM has the Playbook with QNX.
Google has the Xoom/G-Slate and more with Android 3.0
HP (formerly Palm) has the Touchpad with WebOS 3.0
I know everyone has been on Microsoft's case for tablets, but now they should be really panicking. I'm not sure it's enough to just have WP7 on smartphones anymore if it wants to build a competing ecosystem. The most frustrating part of all of this is that Microsoft really has nailed it better than the rest of these with really deep multimedia features from Zune, Xbox Live services, and a genuinely unique UI.
A couple of months ago, people kept saying Microsoft needs to make WP7 for tablets right that moment. I didn't believe them back then but now I think Microsoft is seriously in trouble. Tablets are going to cannibalize laptop/netbook sales soon and one of the top PC manufacturers, HP, is even pushing WebOS on to laptops later this year. Unless they have an ace up their sleeve with Windows 8 and cross-compatibility with WP7, I am beginning to worry about the long term plan here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I consider Win7 to be the perfect tablet OS. I would rather use Win7 on any tablet than any of the tablet-specific OS currently available, even the iPad's iOS. In fact, it is one reason I'm considering a netbook, because of Win7. The way I look at it, a netbook, to me, is a supercharged tablet with a physical keyboard....lack of touchscreen, no consequence.
put on a physical keyboard and Win7 becomes usable. For a proper touchscreen tablet I think Win7 (or any Win for that matter) really blows. Not touch friendly at all.
I have 2 Android tablets and 1 Win7 tablet. The Win7 tablet is a 10.2" capacitive. If I need to do something Win specific then I use the Win tablet, otherwise Android is first choice. If MS could give Win7 a touch friendly UI they would have a winner IMO.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk
I've got an HP TM2 which is basically is a laptop with a touchscreen. The screen turns through 180 degrees and folds flat over the keyboard and turns the machine into a Windows 7 tablet.
I bought it to see how much I would use it as a tablet, compared to how much I'd use it as a normal laptop.
My conclusion after several months is that I use it as a laptop 90% of the time. The main reasons for this are;
1) As a tablet you have to hold it, or rest it against something. In laptop mode I just place it on a table or my lap and I have both hands free for typing, and I can still use the touchscreen.
2) Typing anything on a touchscreen is a pain - you have to grasp the machine with one hand and type with the other, or find a way to prop it up on something if you want to use two fingers. Frankly it's a pain and I always ended up swapping back to laptop mode and using the hardware keyboard
In conclusion I don't personally rate tablets at all - like netbooks I think they're a fad that we will eventually get over and go back to laptops.
I for one will stick with my TM2 - I do like being able to use the touchscreen aspects of Windows 7 and occasionally flip it into tablet mode if the whim takes me, but tablet mode in no way replaces the laptop mode. Just no way.
An iPad would drive me mad!
I've been using WP7 on my HD7 since October.
On an almost daily basis, I think to myself that this OS would be magnificent on a larger (7 or 10 inch screen), with panaramas expanded out to a widescreen format.
With WP7, the lines are so clean and the text so large and clear that it seems ideal for a tablet. App developers would not need to dramatically re-engineer their apps for the different resolution. WP7, as a platform, does not require dual processors, TEGRA and all of that, so they could easily build a light and long-battery-life tablet with WP7 as the platform.
I would imagine there is major friction at MS regarding the future of MS tablets; the Windows team want to see Windows 7 (or some flavour of it) running on a tablet, whereas I'm sure the WP7 team can see the immediate advantages of upscaling WP7 to a tablet OS (finger-friendly out of the box, app store already established etc.
To be perfectly honest, I couldn't see myself enjoying Windows 7 on a tablet. Installing apps, arsing around with disk cleanup every few months, constantly installing Windows Updates, dealing with legacy apps specifically designed for a mouse and definitely not a finger... would totally take the fun out of a tablet. WP7 is fun! Put that on a tablet! Think of the following apps, modified slightly to take advantage of the widescreen format, running on a WP7 tablet:
Netflix
Cocktail Flow
Amazon Kindle Reader
IMDB app
Twitter
Facebook
Flickr from Yahoo
Pictures app
Messaging
Microsoft seriously seem to be missing a trick here.
the actual reason windows phone apps would work so well on tablets is because it is silverlight. and silverlight was initially designed for a desktop, meaning it was designed with varied resolution in mind. then it was ported to the phone, so really silverlight is the ideal solution for any screen size, big or small.
Microsoft has been doing tablets for 10 years. They just never really tweaked it for touch friendliness. Plus they've been expensive as hell.
This stuff is old to Microsoft , but somehow they seem to be playing catch up as usual.
Windows running on ARM sounds interesting in theory, but what about applications? Adobe will have to release Photoshop for ARM as well if you want to use it there.
And if it will be limited to managed code (Silverlight/XNA/whatever/.Net) then there's no point in having the "big" version there.
There are enough tablets on this planet already. We don't need more, it's not a big deal if MS does not have a tablet. MS has a lot of things most of its competitors don't have and they are not crying about it. God
I am thinkingabout buying a Windowsphone 7 device from at&t in December when I can upgrade. My inspire 4g may not be able to run jellybean this year and I am tired of androidbeing sluggish and fragmented. I love the simplicity I can see in videos of windows phone and with the titan 2 starting up the ne let featurein windows phones I think it would be a good idea for some change. !*BUT*! I am worried about when Apollo comes out my phone MIGHT not be upgraded and I would be stuck with an old outdated phone for a year. I was also wondering what kind of hacking community there is and what kind of hacks there are. If somebody could post all of the pros and cons of windowsphone compared to android and the hacking comunity
To restate my questions I want to.know:
1)what are the pros and cons of windows phone compare to android
2) what kind of hacking community is there for windows phone and what hacks and mods are there
3) will it be upgraded to Apollo(I know that no one can say for sure but there are some sources I'm sure that have an idea)
Thanks in advance for any replies
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
Well the hacking community on android is much larger than the one for windows phone, and plus there are not quite as many things that you can change in windows phone as you can in android. Another problem is that if you get a second gen windows phone you will not be able to unlock it unless you get a Microsoft developer account, I think it is called an "app hub" account. Even then there will not be many things that you could side load onto your phone. The only gen 2 windows phones that can be unlocked are the Samsung ones, from this one opening called "windows break". The pros with windows phones are simplicity, no lag over time(my android experience, fast in the beginning slow over time) but the cons are the customization of the phone and things like that. Well there is a large chance that all windows phone will get upgraded to Apollo, but they wont have all of the features that the Apollo devices will have.
lovenokia said:
Well the hacking community on android is much larger than the one for windows phone, and plus there are not quite as many things that you can change in windows phone as you can in android. Another problem is that if you get a second gen windows phone you will not be able to unlock it unless you get a Microsoft developer account, I think it is called an "app hub" account. Even then there will not be many things that you could side load onto your phone. The only gen 2 windows phones that can be unlocked are the Samsung ones, from this one opening called "windows break". The pros with windows phones are simplicity, no lag over time(my android experience, fast in the beginning slow over time) but the cons are the customization of the phone and things like that. Well there is a large chance that all windows phone will get upgraded to Apollo, but they wont have all of the features that the Apollo devices will have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know the development community is small but would you mind giving an example or two of the changesyou can make...it seems good enough jump right? Would you recommend switc? And thanks a bu.ch for the help!
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
I think it's too early for you to post if it's 1 year from now on.
You really mean December?
As far as I understand, latest gen WPs will have the highest possiblity up upgrade, Lumia 800-900, Titan II
---------- Post added at 09:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 AM ----------
1)what are the pros and cons of windows phone compare to android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hated android up to 4.0 and it still sucks for me, too much lag, fragmentation, piracy concerns over Google, etc. Yes, not a fan of Android in general so hard to not be biased.
I think WP is the new king of innovation, it was Apple with the original iPhone first but not they just sue and copy.
http://www.winrumors.com/microsoft-flattered-with-apples-ios-5-windows-phone-features/
TL;DR WP is simply beautiful, snappy and intuitive
If it's hacking and modding you're looking for, Windows Phone isn't your ideal OS--you want Android. You're not going to get custom ROMs and a wide selection of homebrew root-user apps on Windows Phone. That stuff doesn't exist.
If, however, you're looking for a cohesive, refined, "authentically digital" user experience and interface, Windows Phone is the place to be. It's beautiful and fluid in ways that Android will never be.
And if you're looking to develop, Windows Phone is a great place to start. It doesn't have the horrendous up-front cost of developing for iPhone, and it doesn't have the fragmentation/emulator problems of developing for Android. The emulator works great, and if you want to publish to the market or sideload onto your phone, it's only $100--free if you're a student!
well the cons for windows phone are simply that it isn't as customizable as android is and also currently does not support USB mass storage ,this has been a problem for some and may be a problem for you but I haven't really missed it because of SkyDrive and how it's integrated into the phone. Mass storage will be even more unnecessary with win8.
The pros are that it has more integrated services than Android does out the box and that it doesn't need 4 cores to run smooth and stable. It also provides a top notch, innovative and beautiful experience. All phones especially the ones that shipped with mango will be updated to Apollo. But since you won't be upgrading till December I'm sure there will be phones around that time with Apollo pre installed.
Why is this the new chant "4 cores to run smooth"? It is not even true.
trh1341, would you be able to run through what exactly you use your phone for now? What apps do you use? Features? Are you looking to buy out of contract or on a plan?
nicksti said:
Why is this the new chant "4 cores to run smooth"? It is not even true.
trh1341, would you be able to run through what exactly you use your phone for now? What apps do you use? Features? Are you looking to buy out of contract or on a plan?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I don't do to much...I have a couple games but other than that I really only listen to music and look aroundon the internet I sometimes stream music...I really just. Need a phone that runs smooth and can get me throughthe day when listeningto music with SOME web browsing...can windows pho.e do that well you think?
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
trh1341 said:
Well I don't do to much...I have a couple games but other than that I really only listen to music and look aroundon the internet I sometimes stream music...I really just. Need a phone that runs smooth and can get me throughthe day when listeningto music with SOME web browsing...can windows pho.e do that well you think?
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For that? Yes, WP is perfect for that. Internet browsing is fluid and quick- there's no lag in scrolling or zooming, the download speeds for pages are pretty equivalent, and IE is actually a stunningly good mobile browser.
For music streaming, you can stream from Google Music with an app, from Skydrive, or - if you want a real premium service, Zune's streaming is the best out of all the mobile ecosystems.
fleon888 said:
For that? Yes, WP is perfect for that. Internet browsing is fluid and quick- there's no lag in scrolling or zooming, the download speeds for pages are pretty equivalent, and IE is actually a stunningly good mobile browser.
For music streaming, you can stream from Google Music with an app, from Skydrive, or - if you want a real premium service, Zune's streaming is the best out of all the mobile ecosystems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much is skydive and zine? Sorry for all these dumb questions
I am hopingthe titan 2 will be out by December
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
SkyDrive gives you 25GB for free with 50 (or maybe 100MB) file size limitations. I believe this is free and you will be able to access your content and stream this way.
Zune's Music pass is $9.99 subscription based service for streaming music. I have never used it but I hear good things from users.
The Titan 2 seems like quite a large phone for that purpose. And I am not sure what kind of battery life that phone will achieve.
I have a titan 1 and get about 17 hours life out of it. That is using the internet, texting, exchange mail, hotmail (both pushed), Comcast, and 2 other email accounts checking every hour.
For streaming. There is also a pandora client although not official, tune in radio is simply awesome as it will find all your local radio stations for any city, it includes an fm radio in every windows phone, don't have to subscribe to zune, you can also just purchase music which also syncs to your pc, slacker radio, iheartradio. Lots of music choices.
For fun, - I lol'd, that's what she said, the chive, and urban dictionary rock + all have live tiles.
For weather - i am now using a paid app called amazing weather which has animations. Weather channel is really good for free and so is accuweather. all have live tiles to show you current weather on home screen without opening app.
Games - where to start. Yeti sports is fun. Splinter cell. Need for speed undercover and hot pursuit. For free - titan rocks. I still haven't completed it.
Windows phone has trials for most games so check them out.
Messenger . Video chat - facebook is built in along with windows live, twitter and link'nd in
IM+ is pretty good as a multimessenger. Skype although it's beta and contacts must be loaded from the pc version. Tango works pretty well also.
Facebook also has a seperate client.
Forward contact is cool. It changes your business card into a QR code that any phone can scan in using a qr reader.
Barcode reading is built in although there was a few it couldnt find. Shop savy makes up for it and is free.
Keyring - scan all your grocerie cards in so you don't have to carry them
HTC flashlight - Since windows phone voice opens apps, this rocks. press the windows button and say start flashlight and it will come on. Great for finding your keys when you forget to turn porch light on.
ROCOAFZ said:
I have a titan 1 and get about 17 hours life out of it. That is using the internet, texting, exchange mail, hotmail (both pushed), Comcast, and 2 other email accounts checking every hour.
For streaming. There is also a pandora client although not official, tune in radio is simply awesome as it will find all your local radio stations for any city, it includes an fm radio in every windows phone, don't have to subscribe to zune, you can also just purchase music which also syncs to your pc, slacker radio, iheartradio. Lots of music choices.
For fun, - I lol'd, that's what she said, the chive, and urban dictionary rock + all have live tiles.
For weather - i am now using a paid app called amazing weather which has animations. Weather channel is really good for free and so is accuweather. all have live tiles to show you current weather on home screen without opening app.
Games - where to start. Yeti sports is fun. Splinter cell. Need for speed undercover and hot pursuit. For free - titan rocks. I still haven't completed it.
Windows phone has trials for most games so check them out.
Messenger . Video chat - facebook is built in along with windows live, twitter and link'nd in
IM+ is pretty good as a multimessenger. Skype although it's beta and contacts must be loaded from the pc version. Tango works pretty well also.
Facebook also has a seperate client.
Forward contact is cool. It changes your business card into a QR code that any phone can scan in using a qr reader.
Barcode reading is built in although there was a few it couldnt find. Shop savy makes up for it and is free.
Keyring - scan all your grocerie cards in so you don't have to carry them
HTC flashlight - Since windows phone voice opens apps, this rocks. press the windows button and say start flashlight and it will come on. Great for finding your keys when you forget to turn porch light on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is probablyone of the most complete answers I have ever seen! Thanks very much! I want the titan 2 becauseof the lte
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
Perhaps I've missed something but: if you're waiting until December, then Apollo should be out by then.
In which case you'll know whether or not the current phones are being upgraded and you'll know what newly released phones with Apollo pre-installed are available.
Casey
trh1341 said:
This is probablyone of the most complete answers I have ever seen! Thanks very much! I want the titan 2 becauseof the lte
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ty
The titan is my 2nd windows phone. I have been using windows phone since pre nodo when it was released. My original phone was a surround which i still have. My wife sold her iphone because she was trying to cut our bill down and since i got my titan for a penny, she has been using my surround to play games and check facebook - She doesn't like technology though so she still won't stick her sim card in it and use it as a phone (without a data plan) but windows phone is slowly winning her over with the ease of use and games that are the style she likes (she plays the simple ones)
If you are waiting on the titan 2 though ... i would suggest getting the nokia 900 instead. Screen is a little smaller... but Nokia is top notch in quality. I love my titan, but if i could get a Nokia 900 with front facing camera and clear black technology (look up what that does and you will see why) I'd trade my titan in, in a heartbeat.
i agree with the guy above me, nokia is the way to go and their phones are just beautiful, plus on a biased note i cannot stand tablet sized screens.
i was in the same boat as you back in october, but i knew it was time to switch because i just didnt have time to hack and mod to have android run smoother. android is such a hassle, i regret ever wasting time with it. wp7 is so convenient and smooth. zune pass is great if you want to find great music haha, i find like 2 new artists a day.
so based on your daily uses i would definitely suggest wp u wont regret it. and go for a nokia device not htc, they have started to make crappy phones over the past 2 years.
I actually get great battery life out of my Titan too. At the end of business day, I have about 70+% battery life remaining. Thats heavy texting, mid to heavy calls, mild games and mid to heavy use of music.
Originally Posted by trh1341
This is probablyone of the most complete answers I have ever seen! Thanks very much! I want the titan 2 becauseof the lte
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ty
The titan is my 2nd windows phone. I have been using windows phone since pre nodo when it was released. My original phone was a surround which i still have. My wife sold her iphone because she was trying to cut our bill down and since i got my titan for a penny, she has been using my surround to play games and check facebook - She doesn't like technology though so she still won't stick her sim card in it and use it as a phone (without a data plan) but windows phone is slowly winning her over with the ease of use and games that are the style she likes (she plays the simple ones)
If you are waiting on the titan 2 though ... i would suggest getting the nokia 900 instead. Screen is a little smaller... but Nokia is top notch in quality. I love my titan, but if i could get a Nokia 900 with front facing camera and clear black technology (look up what that does and you will see why) I'd trade my titan in, in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Titan really has no front facing camera?? Thanks again all of you! I will probably go for the Nokia....same size screen ad my inspire
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA
trh1341 said:
The Titan really has no front facing camera?? Thanks again all of you! I will probably go for the Nokia....same size screen ad my inspire
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you got him wrong. The Titan sports a 1.3mp front facing camera.
Get a HTC trophy.
I am a long time android "fanboy" but work in a Microsoft world! . I have to admit I have really liked the surface...I am selling my nexus 10 to get one, I did see that staples will be selling them for 350ish in a week or so, but should in wait until the surface 2?
Will it come out this year? Rumors say yes, but you know how that goes... Anyways just looking for input.. Get one at the price drop or wait?
Are they dropping the price to thin out the stock?
Thanks
Cdrshm
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
They didn't mention a Surface 2 at Build, which would have been the obvious time to do it. Plus I think they gave the Build attendees Surface Pros. In the past they've gotten prerelease stuff. If there was a Surface 2 coming out anytime soon it would have gotten some attention. I think you're getting a Surface now.
Tk
I'd buy one all day at that price - best thin client tablet available. Only thing lacking is in games - if your a tablet gamer, there are no gameloft, or EA games to speak of - all the other stuff is there (angry birds, fruit ninja, temple run, pinball, etc), but for me, the gameloft and EA games are the only ones id pay for, and they are non-existent.
I was hoping to sell mine for 400, and get the Surface 2 when it comes out, but looks like you can get one for less brand new. Plus no one knows when the 2 will be out, could possibly have to wait till holiday season, which is months away.
UBNAS81 said:
I'd buy one all day at that price - best thin client tablet available. Only thing lacking is in games - if your a tablet gamer, there are no gameloft, or EA games to speak of - all the other stuff is there (angry birds, fruit ninja, temple run, pinball, etc), but for me, the gameloft and EA games are the only ones id pay for, and they are non-existent.
I was hoping to sell mine for 400, and get the Surface 2 when it comes out, but looks like you can get one for less brand new. Plus no one knows when the 2 will be out, could possibly have to wait till holiday season, which is months away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I play some games, but primarily I use it for web surfing, forums, email... that kind of stuff... I love my nexus 10, but would like a better web browsing experience. I don't want to constantly have to change it to desktop mode.... would like desktop web browsing experience (FLASH) on a tablet.... that is clean and fast!
I don't think I can go wrong picking one up for $350, I think they are only doing it for one week, so if after a few weeks im hoping I could still get 400 for it.... i wish they had more info on a release date for the surface 2... I would definitely hold out for one if they were coming this year... Thanks for you input...
cdrshm said:
I play some games, but primarily I use it for web surfing, forums, email... that kind of stuff... I love my nexus 10, but would like a better web browsing experience. I don't want to constantly have to change it to desktop mode.... would like desktop web browsing experience (FLASH) on a tablet.... that is clean and fast!
I don't think I can go wrong picking one up for $350, I think they are only doing it for one week, so if after a few weeks im hoping I could still get 400 for it.... i wish they had more info on a release date for the surface 2... I would definitely hold out for one if they were coming this year... Thanks for you input...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that's all your using it for, then RT is your device - flash support built in, and with 8.1 you get outlook - but to be honest, I actually prefer the modern mail app because it is more touch friendly - that being said, when im sitting at my desk doing work, having outlook is great.
I have an Android phone - and had the original Asus Transformer - I felt that it was kind of bulky with the keyboard attachment, and when detached, it was literally the same as my phone, albeit with a much larger screen. I was running the same apps, and the same games on my phone as my tablet, so it didn't really feel like a necessary device to me. I felt more comfortable holding my phone for gaming, and would occasionally use teamviewer, or Logmein to do work on my laptop remotely (which was much slower than RT's native RDP). I honestly felt that the apps ran better on the phone than on the tablet - there was considerable lag in everything I was doing, both on my phone and tablet, which drives me crazy. It was basically a pointless device for me.
The Surface RT on the other hand, feels like a real computer. I got it on launch, and was a bit disappointed at first, but the wave of updates made it more stable, and it has been great. Since ive gotten it, I sold my transformer, and even my wife who typically used my Ipad2 for web browsing prefers the RT. I am not App crazy person, I really only use the basics, and the full web browser sold me on RT. When i read people bash the thing because it has no legacy support for windows applications i just lmao.......you never hear someone say, why doesn't my ipad run photoshop - point is, there are a lot of idiots out there. The only app i use on my phone / ipad (besides the occasional game) that is not available on the Surface is Flipboard, and that is coming out shortly.
UBNAS81 said:
If that's all your using it for, then RT is your device - flash support built in, and with 8.1 you get outlook - but to be honest, I actually prefer the modern mail app because it is more touch friendly - that being said, when im sitting at my desk doing work, having outlook is great.
I have an Android phone - and had the original Asus Transformer - I felt that it was kind of bulky with the keyboard attachment, and when detached, it was literally the same as my phone, albeit with a much larger screen. I was running the same apps, and the same games on my phone as my tablet, so it didn't really feel like a necessary device to me. I felt more comfortable holding my phone for gaming, and would occasionally use teamviewer, or Logmein to do work on my laptop remotely (which was much slower than RT's native RDP). I honestly felt that the apps ran better on the phone than on the tablet - there was considerable lag in everything I was doing, both on my phone and tablet, which drives me crazy. It was basically a pointless device for me.
The Surface RT on the other hand, feels like a real computer. I got it on launch, and was a bit disappointed at first, but the wave of updates made it more stable, and it has been great. Since ive gotten it, I sold my transformer, and even my wife who typically used my Ipad2 for web browsing prefers the RT. I am not App crazy person, I really only use the basics, and the full web browser sold me on RT. When i read people bash the thing because it has no legacy support for windows applications i just lmao.......you never hear someone say, why doesn't my ipad run photoshop - point is, there are a lot of idiots out there. The only app i use on my phone / ipad (besides the occasional game) that is not available on the Surface is Flipboard, and that is coming out shortly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I did take the plunge and purchased one! I have to say I love it... I am still running 8 but did just a few tweak's, like disabling defender.
I agree with the transformers lag. I had the TF300 and it was terrible, especially at web surfing, or downloading multiple apps.. the I/O was awful...
I would usually download the "News" apps because it was better than the website/or mobile site.. but with the RT I just go to the website...
I agree with you 100% with everything you mentioned. I have talked to a few people that "complain" that it doesn't x86 apps... but that's not the point of it... I have laptops and computers and all that...I don't want another one... I really like the 8 interface on a tablet... I would be ok with no Desktop at all... I loved my google nexus and its beautiful screen...but I really like the RT. "I really only use the basics, and the full web browser sold me on RT. " -- Couldn't agree with you More .. no changing to desktop mode, or flash issues.... I have noticed that this site on the RT is a little slow...not sure cause of all the data on one page and ads and the such...
I ran 8.1 for a little bit, it was nice, but I will wait for it to be a little more refined...or final release...
The Pro is a great machine, I just can't justify the price.... love the speed..... They are smoking fast. At work we purchased a thinkpad helix... This thing is a monster. HD Screen, I7, 8GB memory, 250 SSD.....but heavy, I didn't really enjoy it as a tablet, it got very warm, battery life sucked, and you could hear the fans running....
With the rap Microsoft gets about windows 8 and all the hate, they put out a mobile tablet device that runs "APPS, and Office Productivity) and then get beat up over it... I don't understand...
The only thing I wish I could get is: 1. A Cheap touch cover... 20-30 bucks( Wishful Thinking - I know...) ..or just a smart cover like they make for the ipad but locks into place like the touch cover.
Anyways thanks again for your feed back!
cdrshm
I have no problem using tablet with windows 8 RT, and the MS office for home and students are good enough for me to use. I have 4 windows 8 RT tablets for my family. One of my family members uses one of these tablets at graduate school. Three of our family members use Android phones but two android tablets at home are put aside now. It is great to hear that MS starts cutting down the price of Surface RT. The price of windows 8 RT tablet is within the upper range of the price of a netbook ($275 to $375 with keyboard dock) is reasonable enough to purchase.