Related
The Beezz Twitter app now caters for push notifications of Twitter updates direct to its live tile. Now you can pop its tile right up there on your start screen alongside your email and SMS tiles.
Now we just need the Facebook app to catch up.
I think its going to be a long time before we get a Facebook app that we are all happy with, if it ever happens at all!
The people at Facebook seem to concentrate their efforts on the IPhone with other platforms lagging behind. My previous device was a Sony Xperia X10, Facebook updated the app a number of times but it was always lagging behind the IPhone version, lacking Places and Chat....
drsqueggy said:
I think its going to be a long time before we get a Facebook app that we are all happy with, if it ever happens at all!
The people at Facebook seem to concentrate their efforts on the IPhone with other platforms lagging behind. My previous device was a Sony Xperia X10, Facebook updated the app a number of times but it was always lagging behind the IPhone version, lacking Places and Chat....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The annoying things about the Facebook app are...
When you get a notification that someone has commented on your status, you can't tap the word "status" to get to their comments!
There's no way to get any requests except friend requests. So if anyone sends you a request which is an event invite, you can't see it!
Friends' birthdays are a bit buried
Upcoming events list includes all the events you've said you're not attending, and you can't sift the ones you ARE attending from the ones you're not!
The problem is facebook have never sold to MS just imagine what they would of done had they not been so desporate to keep control. Though i say fair play to them for that.
I have also noticed every time i see mark zuckerburg he has a mac so i suspect some brand love.
drsqueggy said:
I think its going to be a long time before we get a Facebook app that we are all happy with, if it ever happens at all!
The people at Facebook seem to concentrate their efforts on the IPhone with other platforms lagging behind. My previous device was a Sony Xperia X10, Facebook updated the app a number of times but it was always lagging behind the IPhone version, lacking Places and Chat....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The explained the android version...
...They had 1 guy working on it and Google decided to hire him, leaving them with nobody.
haha yeah, i heard that too. the android facebook app compared to iOS is really, really bad. looking forward to a wp7 app that starts in under 10 seconds though
just so people are aware, MS actually made the Facebook app, not Facebook themselves. But I believe there is more to come for Windows Phone 7 in terms of Facebook... I read an article a couple of weeks back but i can't seem to find it anymore to provide as a source.
How did this turn into a thread about Facebook when it's about a Twitter app?
Good find on this app OP, I'm going to check it out. The regular Twitter app isn't bad but the lack of notifications does bother me.
y'all need to get birdsong for wp7. This is definitely the most complete twitter app to date.
1. Cache's your timeline so jumping back into twitter is quick.
2. Opens links in its own dedicated browser, so getting back into the app by pressing the back button is instant. The browser is nice, supports pinch to zoom, smooth scrolling, like IE without the address bar. You can open in IE as well but all links I have tested have worked very well.
3. Integrated twit pics, opens them right up in the app.
4. landscape support
5. threaded messaging, which can be useful if you carry on convo's on twitter.
6. Posting pics is as easy as starting a tweet then clicking on the camera soft button at the bottom. Pops it right in very quickly.
So far the only drawback I have heard of is that it doesn't geotag your pics/tweets, but I've never used that anyways. From what I've heard, great way for creeps to be able to know where you are (and where you aren't).
Great video here:
http://wpcentral.com/new-twitter-app-birdsong-first-look-video
I think beezz and seismic might be going away from my phone.
edit: found a little trick if you are towards the bottom of your timeline, tapping "home" at the top ("home" Mentions" "Messages"), brings you back to the top.
just downloaded this app, very nice,
I wish we had a twitter app for wp7 that would remember your place on the timeline, the good ones for iphone and android have that option
for example, if I don't check twitter for a day, when I check it I have 100+ new tweets, but the app starts at the top, with the newest tweet, and the only way to read them in order from oldest to newest is to guess where the spot is and scroll down down down
btw if you hit "home" it will take you to the top of the timeline
jmerrey said:
just downloaded this app, very nice,
I wish we had a twitter app for wp7 that would remember your place on the timeline, the good ones for iphone and android have that option
for example, if I don't check twitter for a day, when I check it I have 100+ new tweets, but the app starts at the top, with the newest tweet, and the only way to read them in order from oldest to newest is to guess where the spot is and scroll down down down
btw if you hit "home" it will take you to the top of the timeline
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, I just added that to my first post.
I've complained about the timeline thing for a while now. I don't think any of the winmo twitter apps did that as well. Now it just needs live tile integration.
I prefer original Twitter. Has everything needed and actually shows more on screen at once.
It's a nice twitter app and I bought it but list scrolling performance can get really bad at times but it's still better than the others I've tried so far.
doministry said:
I prefer original Twitter. Has everything needed and actually shows more on screen at once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Prefer the original too, plus it's confirmed to be working very fast with the upcoming WP7 update.
Peew971 said:
Prefer the original too, plus it's confirmed to be working very fast with the upcoming WP7 update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice to know!
If you must get Birdsong, it got a temporary massive cut price (£0.79 in the UK). I got it as an alternative to the official app just because their next update will include notifications but Twitter remains my favourite so far.
PS: moTweets is out and rubbish. Too bad, that was my favourite twitter app on winmo.
jmerrey said:
I wish we had a twitter app for wp7 that would remember your place on the timeline, the good ones for iphone and android have that option
for example, if I don't check twitter for a day, when I check it I have 100+ new tweets, but the app starts at the top, with the newest tweet, and the only way to read them in order from oldest to newest is to guess where the spot is and scroll down down down
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rowi does that. Try rowi, it's an awesome, no-frills Twitter app that just gets straight to the point with a pure Metro UI.
Tried Birdsong, and while it certainly has potential, its very slow to load tweets into the timeline, performance can dive sometimes for no reason, and that timeline counter along the top of the screen just looks really out of place and doesn't match the interface or the Metro UI.
I really wish they'd fix the official Twitter application. It definitely has potential to be awesome as well. Till then, rowi is my Twitter application.
Peew971 said:
PS: moTweets is out and rubbish. Too bad, that was my favourite twitter app on winmo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I loved moTweets on WinMo. Just checked it out here, and its terrible and ugly. It's got some good ideas and potential, but my god it looks like they tried to bring the WinMo look to WP7, which means they have totally missed the point of WP7 and Metro.
It'll be Beezz for me until any of the other clients get push live tile updates. At that time, I'll rate the features and compare.
thesecondsfade said:
It'll be Beezz for me until any of the other clients get push live tile updates. At that time, I'll rate the features and compare.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beezz's live tile updates don't work, nor does its toast notifications.
Jim Coleman said:
Beezz's live tile updates don't work, nor does its toast notifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works for me. It sometimes stops working, but if you just log out and log back in it starts working again.
The only good WP7 apps that exist are:
1. Games
2. Apps that do not require vertical list scrolling
List scrolling is so bad, that I think WP7 devices should come with Epilepsy warnings. That's how bad it is.
Lists stall, jump, you end up selecting items you never wanted to select, etc.
Also, the Horizontal scrollign needs a threshold to trigger pane switches. If you tap up to scroll up a bit in a list and your finger moves from side to side, it can trigger horizontal pane switches and in some applications that means you lose your place in a list. That's terrible.
I brought BirdSong because it was cheap (0.99). Seesmic's UI is terrible. I don't want to have to tab an icon to go to Twitter. I want an option to take me there automatically. The official Twitter app has terrible performance and poor reaction to taps. Sometimes you have to tap on a link 3-4 times to get it to register - that may just be the application lagging like hell, though...
I prefer the Official App to BirdSong, but at the moment BirdSong outperforms it and is alreasy talking about adding Live Tiles in the next release. Facebook and twitter seem to be extremely slow adding features to their Official Apps unless you're talking about the iOS version.
I've already uninstalled 90% of the third party apps on my phone due to performing issues (list scrolling, painfully slow resuming, Live Tiles that don't work, Ads at the top of the screen - destroying the Metra Look and Feel of the App [And adds on the top on one screen, and on the bottom on the other to try to make you misclick them... i.e. AlphaJax]).
The Marketplace app freezes and crashes all the time, making you have to reboot the entire phone for it to work correctly.
The stock apps perform well, but that probably has a lot to do with Microsoft using Native Code Interop to maximize performance. Third Party applications 85% of the time have performance issues.
Oh, and Board Express... The slowest app I've ever used on any mobile platform. Wish I hadn't paid for that piece of ****.
But on topic... Yes, Birdsong is a good Twitter client. I think the Official Twitter client looks better, but the performance gains using birdsong (Raw Speed, Cached Tweets, Integrated browser so no constant resuming when viewing links, integrated picture viewer) far outweight the deficit.
N8ter said:
The only good WP7 apps that exist are:
1. Games
2. Apps that do not require vertical list scrolling
List scrolling is so bad, that I think WP7 devices should come with Epilepsy warnings. That's how bad it is.
Lists stall, jump, you end up selecting items you never wanted to select, etc.
Also, the Horizontal scrollign needs a threshold to trigger pane switches. If you tap up to scroll up a bit in a list and your finger moves from side to side, it can trigger horizontal pane switches and in some applications that means you lose your place in a list. That's terrible.
I brought BirdSong because it was cheap (0.99). Seesmic's UI is terrible. I don't want to have to tab an icon to go to Twitter. I want an option to take me there automatically. The official Twitter app has terrible performance and poor reaction to taps. Sometimes you have to tap on a link 3-4 times to get it to register - that may just be the application lagging like hell, though...
I prefer the Official App to BirdSong, but at the moment BirdSong outperforms it and is alreasy talking about adding Live Tiles in the next release. Facebook and twitter seem to be extremely slow adding features to their Official Apps unless you're talking about the iOS version.
I've already uninstalled 90% of the third party apps on my phone due to performing issues (list scrolling, painfully slow resuming, Live Tiles that don't work, Ads at the top of the screen - destroying the Metra Look and Feel of the App [And adds on the top on one screen, and on the bottom on the other to try to make you misclick them... i.e. AlphaJax]).
The Marketplace app freezes and crashes all the time, making you have to reboot the entire phone for it to work correctly.
The stock apps perform well, but that probably has a lot to do with Microsoft using Native Code Interop to maximize performance. Third Party applications 85% of the time have performance issues.
Oh, and Board Express... The slowest app I've ever used on any mobile platform. Wish I hadn't paid for that piece of ****.
But on topic... Yes, Birdsong is a good Twitter client. I think the Official Twitter client looks better, but the performance gains using birdsong (Raw Speed, Cached Tweets, Integrated browser so no constant resuming when viewing links, integrated picture viewer) far outweight the deficit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why are you complaining about scrolling issues here on a Birdsong thread? I have a TMOUS HD7 and have not experienced 1 of the issues you're complaining about. Why don't you just sell your HD7 if you really believe there's nothing good about it other than games? iOS and Android have more games, much of the same games, etc.
Every time I see your username in a thread I'm prepared to read a bunch of complaining. How old are you?
I've bought the latest version from the market, enabled push & tile notification but nothing is working ... am I the only one ?
Read 'Hey Microsoft, what’s up with those Live Tiles?' here:
http://mobilitydigest.com/hey-microsoft-whats-up-with-those-live-tiles/
Sjuust said:
Read 'Hey Microsoft, what’s up with those Live Tiles?' here:
http://mobilitydigest.com/hey-microsoft-whats-up-with-those-live-tiles/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx but I've alread read that article.. endpoints it's not my problem, beacuse other apps tiles are working... birdsong doesn't...
Prefer Motweets pro,I bought it when the price is low.I think it is the twitter app with most features currently.
However,got birdsong free trial in my device too,just seldom use it,because I can't see all the Nearby tweets or locating the people i following.
Furthermore,I found out that some major issues with all current twitter apps in the marketplace.
firstly,when exiting from the built-in browser will bring you into blank screen for at least 2 second.
second,it'll randomly crash, if you scroll through pages when it is loading app.
not sure why these problems occur,maybe it is due to the WP7 developer tool.
I use motweets, birdsong & tweetcaster.. but overall I prefer birdsong with motweets as #2
is there a fix already for birdsong crash when clicking links in mango b2?
So I've finally joined the club and boy am I stoked. So, what are the first things one should do e.g. apps to get, slight customisation, games etc, help your fellow comrade.
I don't know if this thread has been done before, if not, maybe it could be a sticky?
the first advice i could give to you is: read the forums
That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M
APPS?
download OEM apps.
download what you need. Marketplace got almost everything
customization? you mean changing the color of the tiles? LOL
radeon_x said:
That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.
z33dev33l said:
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess the problem is that the more you feed the trolls , they keep coming back for more.
i just realize that he is using a sgs...
eww.
saldawop said:
I guess the problem is that the more you feed the trolls , they keep coming back for more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's pretty much a greek tragedy how incompetent these android users are "LOL my phone OS is better than yours *tap 3 times before an app finally pulls up then swipe left or right and watch the lag roll in* Yup, totally better, I troll you."
Ha. That wasn't really a troll. I just meant there's no setup or critical apps you need to get the phone running. Just grab whatever catches your eye from the market and you're golden. I like that aspect of the platform compared to Android. Until you want your phone to do something a specific way, it's bliss.
Sent from my GT-I9000M
kappo78 said:
So I've finally joined the club and boy am I stoked. So, what are the first things one should do e.g. apps to get, slight customisation, games etc, help your fellow comrade.
I don't know if this thread has been done before, if not, maybe it could be a sticky?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of WP7. Care to share which device you acquired?
MartyLK said:
Welcome to the world of WP7. Care to share which device you acquired?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't get it, aren't you the one who was pushing the WebOS users to outvote everything on that poll?
If you only get two games, get...
Ilomilo
Aphajax
Both will blow your mind into little wobbly pieces of grey blancmange and raspberry sauce. And all will be well in the world.
Wait! Someone's just put QUORUM down on a TW! Bastard!
radeon_x said:
That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on how you look at it.
Lacking the need for customization at a low level is good (Rooting to uninstall bloatware, etc.), but there are tons of instances where you have to hack the system up just to achieve trivial tasks. Adding Ringtons to you phone, accessing Camera Shutter options, changing the default Search Engine in the Browser (T-Mobile sets it to Google, and some Euro Carrier sets it to Yahoo!). Things like that. You can't even set a home page in the browser (so even though I can't stand searching through Google, there's no way to Set Bing as the home page and just open a new tab and search from there). The OS is literally devoid of options/settings that matter. Can't even toggle between EDGE and 3G to save battery without hacking the phone (and that hack doesn't even work for some phones).
These aren't deep customizations on any other smartphone platform, but for WP7 it requires going beyond rooting or jailbreaking an Android phone. It makes Android a bit easier to use than WP7 when you factor in OneClick Root apps and the ability to sideload applications without scouring threads/the internet for information to get this done (and installing a ridiculously big SDK on your computer - nevermind the fact that it requires a Windows PC as well).
Microsoft got it wrong.
The issue with Android settigs is not that there were too many. It's the way they are presented to the user. They're generally (especially in third party applications from independent devs) just thrown in the user face on one huge page. Decently organized options in groups or tabs... there's nothing wrong with that. They need to add tons of options for the system and stock applications, because making even trivial changes to some behaviors is impossible without going through more work than loading a custom ROM on an Android phone is right now.
Minimalistic is good if you do it right (iOS). Microsoft took it to the extreme and all it does is create a ton of usability faux pas.
z33dev33l said:
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, you're trolling him.
He means that the stock functionality in the WP7 system is above and beyond Android and iOS. And it is. Everything comes from Microsoft, integrates nicely, and performs well. Aside from Microsoft and Manufacturer Apps (i.e. HTC, LG, Samsung Apps), there aren't that many apps that you need on a WP7 device to be functional - besides games. Twitter is missing in the People Hub, so that's a biggie, and the Facebook integration doesn't include all functionality, so you need that.
I suggest Twitter, Seesmic, Facebook (Seesmic because it includes both and is a nice hub to use when you don't need heavy duty FB/Twitter functionality). Microsoft has a ton of free apps that are useful. Your manufacturer (especially if HTC) will fill in many of the other gaps. Foursquare is in the Market.
Adobe Reader is in the market. Amazon and Amazon Kindle is there. eBay has a very nice App in the market. Messenger by Miyowa sadly I have to recommend it because it's the best of any Messenger app in the market at the moment.
If you have an HTC phone you don't need a weather app. The HTC Hub Tile is Live for Weather. If not, I recommend Weather bug or Microsoft's little weather app. Weather Channel is a 9MB app and I can't see how that ridiculous size is justified given how WeatherBug and Microsoft's weather app are both < 2MB (if not 1 or below).
Microsoft has a few free games to try out. AlphaJacks is like Words With Friends for Windows Mobile ("Try It" version is free forever, but Ad Supported). Haypi Kingdom is a nice strategy game that is multi-player (also available for iOS and Android, so there is no shortage of people to play with/against).
Office Apps aren't needed (Office Mobile)
NoteTaking Apps aren't needed (OneNote Mobile)
Exchange Clients aren't needed (In-Built Functionality)
Music Players aren't needed (Zune)
Radio Apps aren't needed (Zune)
Slacker and Last.FM exist for Internet Radio.
Shazam is available with Unlimited Tagging.
Microsoft has a List App in the market (and HTC has one in their Marketplace).
Poynt, AP Mobile, IMDb, Fandango are all there.
But there aren't many needed apps, TBQH. Most apps are slower to use than the web browser because they tend to take excessive amounts of time "Updating..." Loading a web browser or performing a voice search often outperforms them, IME.
I'd get the biggies. Personally I'd avoid crap that you don't necessarily need and use the space for stuff that matters (Music, Pictures, Documents, etc.).
You can save documents from SkyDrive to your computer by opening them up from the Office.Live.com website and saving them to your Office Hub in Office Mobile. OneNote Mobile Syncs perfectly. There is an option to keep your Camera Roll in Sync with SkyDrive (this can use a lot of data if you take lots of pictures).
N8ter said:
Actually, you're trolling him.
He means that the stock functionality in the WP7 system is above and beyond Android and iOS. And it is. Everything comes from Microsoft, integrates nicely, and performs well. Aside from Microsoft and Manufacturer Apps (i.e. HTC, LG, Samsung Apps), there aren't that many apps that you need on a WP7 device to be functional - besides games. Twitter is missing in the People Hub, so that's a biggie, and the Facebook integration doesn't include all functionality, so you need that.
I suggest Twitter, Seesmic, Facebook (Seesmic because it includes both and is a nice hub to use when you don't need heavy duty FB/Twitter functionality). Microsoft has a ton of free apps that are useful. Your manufacturer (especially if HTC) will fill in many of the other gaps. Foursquare is in the Market.
Adobe Reader is in the market. Amazon and Amazon Kindle is there. eBay has a very nice App in the market. Messenger by Miyowa sadly I have to recommend it because it's the best of any Messenger app in the market at the moment.
If you have an HTC phone you don't need a weather app. The HTC Hub Tile is Live for Weather. If not, I recommend Weather bug or Microsoft's little weather app. Weather Channel is a 9MB app and I can't see how that ridiculous size is justified given how WeatherBug and Microsoft's weather app are both < 2MB (if not 1 or below).
Microsoft has a few free games to try out. AlphaJacks is like Words With Friends for Windows Mobile ("Try It" version is free forever, but Ad Supported). Haypi Kingdom is a nice strategy game that is multi-player (also available for iOS and Android, so there is no shortage of people to play with/against).
Office Apps aren't needed (Office Mobile)
NoteTaking Apps aren't needed (OneNote Mobile)
Exchange Clients aren't needed (In-Built Functionality)
Music Players aren't needed (Zune)
Radio Apps aren't needed (Zune)
Slacker and Last.FM exist for Internet Radio.
Shazam is available with Unlimited Tagging.
Microsoft has a List App in the market (and HTC has one in their Marketplace).
Poynt, AP Mobile, IMDb, Fandango are all there.
But there aren't many needed apps, TBQH. Most apps are slower to use than the web browser because they tend to take excessive amounts of time "Updating..." Loading a web browser or performing a voice search often outperforms them, IME.
I'd get the biggies. Personally I'd avoid crap that you don't necessarily need and use the space for stuff that matters (Music, Pictures, Documents, etc.).
You can save documents from SkyDrive to your computer by opening them up from the Office.Live.com website and saving them to your Office Hub in Office Mobile. OneNote Mobile Syncs perfectly. There is an option to keep your Camera Roll in Sync with SkyDrive (this can use a lot of data if you take lots of pictures).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh, no real apps to get doesn't exactly sound right. It makes it sound like anything released on this platform is bad.
To OP though, Ilomilo and Twin Blades are the only games I have that live up to my XBL expectations (and sadly I have most of them) there are other good games but Ilomilo overall. other than that Netflix is the only other one I'd deem necessary.
I knew exactly what he means when I read the post. Perhaps English isn't his first language, but it wasn't a hard statement to decipher...
Netflix is useless if you're not a subscriber, so I wouldn't deem it necessary at all. No one is going to subscribe to Netflix just to watch movies on a phone. Just doesn't make sense, IMO. If you're a subscriber, though, have it's nice to have...
The only necessary apps are those for social networking, and XBox Live Extras.
The Manufacturer Hub Apps (some/most of them) are a given.
TBQH, most smartphone OSes are like this. If the platform is missing something, like Android is, the Manufacturers usually add it in (ThinkFree Office, Amazon MP3, MobiTV, Exchange support, etc.).
One thing most of us forgot is Navigation Software. At this point if you want decent navigation with Turn-By-Turn directions, you're basically required to pay a subscription fee for TeleNav or whatever the phone comes with.
I've tried A-to-B Navigation. It's useless for all practical purposes.
Social Networking and Navigation Software are the only ones I'd say are necessary.
Also the Carriers are allowed to change the default search provider in Internet Explorer, so if you're a Bing user like me the usability of in-browser search is... terrible. T-Mobile Maps the Search button (and address bar search) in IE to Google and some Euro Carriers change it to Yahoo. Severely inconsistent and bad considering most people use the address bar to perform searches.
There is no option to change the default search provider. And performing that hack requires more manual labor than rooting and installing a custom ROM on an Android computer (and involves making registry changes, etc. on your Windows PC).
N8ter said:
I knew exactly what he means when I read the post. Perhaps English isn't his first language, but it wasn't a hard statement to decipher...
Netflix is useless if you're not a subscriber, so I wouldn't deem it necessary at all. No one is going to subscribe to Netflix just to watch movies on a phone. Just doesn't make sense, IMO. If you're a subscriber, though, have it's nice to have...
The only necessary apps are those for social networking, and XBox Live Extras.
The Manufacturer Hub Apps (some/most of them) are a given.
TBQH, most smartphone OSes are like this. If the platform is missing something, like Android is, the Manufacturers usually add it in (ThinkFree Office, Amazon MP3, MobiTV, Exchange support, etc.).
One thing most of us forgot is Navigation Software. At this point if you want decent navigation with Turn-By-Turn directions, you're basically required to pay a subscription fee for TeleNav or whatever the phone comes with.
I've tried A-to-B Navigation. It's useless for all practical purposes.
Social Networking and Navigation Software are the only ones I'd say are necessary.
Also the Carriers are allowed to change the default search provider in Internet Explorer, so if you're a Bing user like me the usability of in-browser search is... terrible. T-Mobile Maps the Search button (and address bar search) in IE to Google and some Euro Carriers change it to Yahoo. Severely inconsistent and bad considering most people use the address bar to perform searches.
There is no option to change the default search provider. And performing that hack requires more manual labor than rooting and installing a custom ROM on an Android computer (and involves making registry changes, etc. on your Windows PC).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only that, but I wouldn't subscribe to any version of Netflix because of the cost. I watch maybe 2 to 4 rented movies a month. And some months, none. To have to pay a fee just to use Netflix is wasteful. Yet that's how NF works. I would, however, subscribe to NF if there was no fee. The only cost would be the rental charge.
I have to say the best game for Xbox Live is the Harvest. Feels like diablo with a sci fi twist. The bad thing though is if your a typical Xbox console gamer, you won't find much that will interest you on WP7.
I swear its a new puzzle or tower defense game ever week.
you can of course customise your lock screen, you could also install "pin to start" which apparently offers customised live tile (don't have it myself, not my type of thing". Apps wise, get the HTC You tube app if you have an HTC device, would also recommend pdf reader and the amazon kindle app (if you like books) beyond that, there are nearly 9000 apps to choose from - I think there are even a couple of "fart" apps if that floats your boat...........
I've already mentioned Adobe Acrobat Reader X and Amazon Kindle.
Not all applications have Live Tiles, and TBH without a Live Tile an app would have to be very important to merit a spot on you home screen (no one wants a home screen that scrolls for miles). I have issues keeping Seesmic/Twitter/Facebook on the Home Screen, for example, without a Live Tile. Games like AlphaJax are good cause the Tile is Live (tells you when it's your turn and how many games you have waiting on you, for example).
The HTC YouTube app is good, but it's only for HTC devices (I already said the Manufacturer apps were a given since they fill in obvious gaps in functionality i.e. YouTube, NotePad/List App, Flashlight, Attentive Phone, Live Weather Tile (HTC), Sound Enhancer, etc.).
The customization that I say is missing isn't really "customization" in the XDA-Developers sense.
Setting a Home Page in the Browser, Setting the Default Search Engine in the Browser, and Options for things like how long you want Toast Notifications to stay on the screen aren't any type of deep customization. It's simply a trivial setting that Microsoft needs to add. These things are missing all over the OS and need to be added in ASAP. It acually makes the OS a chore to use in many instances.
They also need to make carriers unable to alter the default search engine. It sucks for people who use a certain search engine, and makes it take 3x longer to perform searches if you don't want to go through Google. There just need to be an option for the three biggies (Bing, Yahoo, Google) or the ability to allow the bing homepage to set itself as the default search engine (or Yahoo, or Google).
So the subject says it all. I'm new to WP7 (not new to tech by any means)... Maybe I missed something obvious but I can't find it.
I had two notifications. But- my phone told me of neither of them by itself. I had to open the app to see them.
We're talking they were a good 45 minutes old, too.
TexUs said:
So the subject says it all. I'm new to WP7 (not new to tech by any means)... Maybe I missed something obvious but I can't find it.
I had two notifications. But- my phone told me of neither of them by itself. I had to open the app to see them.
We're talking they were a good 45 minutes old, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The FB app does not support live tiles and push notifications and neither does the people hub, so yeah u need to open the FB app to check out updates.
You can turn on email notifications in your FB Account. Than you will get an email for New Messages or something Else.
Sent from my HD7 T9292 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Yeah its very lame. BB and Android have notifications.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
goldenpipes said:
Yeah its very lame. BB and Android have notifications.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iPhone does as well but my experience with them has always been sporadic at best
thank a lot of
No .........................................
hjx .....................................
I note on the Facebook for Windows Phone Facebook page, they've promised a new version with "features that [we've] been asking for".
It seems it has gotten delayed, probably owing to the recent messages bug, but maybe - just maybe - this may support notifications through the OS or a live tile?
The notifications issue, along with support for FB chat, seems to be the biggest request on there, so we might be in luck.
Casey
Casey_boy said:
I note on the Facebook for Windows Phone Facebook page, they've promised a new version with "features that [we've] been asking for".
It seems it has gotten delayed, probably owing to the recent messages bug, but maybe - just maybe - this may support notifications through the OS or a live tile?
The notifications issue, along with support for FB chat, seems to be the biggest request on there, so we might be in luck.
Casey
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah the App is definitely gonna support chat, toast notifications and live tiles for sure. Its just a matter of when.
goldenpipes said:
Yeah its very lame. BB and Android have notifications.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BB and Android OS have been around for longer than 5 months.
It should be supported natively with the rest of the Facebook features.
Sent using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
DatDereX1 said:
BB and Android OS have been around for longer than 5 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your point being?
Live tiles, or rather "at a glance" was the big selling point for WP7. Sure, you get "at a glance" information galore for the people pinned to start but not being notified about messages on FB is weak - should definitely have been in the app from day one. Not to mention they still need to sort out the scrolling issues.
emigrating said:
Your point being?
Live tiles, or rather "at a glance" was the big selling point for WP7. Sure, you get "at a glance" information galore for the people pinned to start but not being notified about messages on FB is weak - should definitely have been in the app from day one. Not to mention they still need to sort out the scrolling issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
need I remind you that fb push notifications didn't come till last august on android? Let's be real, android's FB before last summer was a piece of crap compared to the apple platform..and even then there were some bugs till fall of last year...and android's been around since 08...and it still doesn't go without bugs...with toasting or push notifications
I mean i admit the facebook xap is paltry and has a lot of issues in coding which should be corrected but I say give it time
I can't believe that the Microsoft-coded stuff (even Facebook app) wouldn't have Live Tiles or push support. That one surprises me more than anything on WP.
However- I never recall my iPhone not supporting Push and doing it well.
Android was certainly sketchy, even after running 2.3.
Right now my best "solution" seems to be as suggested and setting up email notifications.
emigrating said:
Your point being?
Live tiles, or rather "at a glance" was the big selling point for WP7. Sure, you get "at a glance" information galore for the people pinned to start but not being notified about messages on FB is weak - should definitely have been in the app from day one. Not to mention they still need to sort out the scrolling issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My point is that this is not a mature OS and I think (hope lol) MS will add that feature in the future. There's a lot of things that could have been added from day one, but MS wanted to focus on the most important features and making sure they work perfectly before implementing them.
TexUs said:
I can't believe that the Microsoft-coded stuff (even Facebook app) wouldn't have Live Tiles or push support. That one surprises me more than anything on WP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really suprising. They didn't even launch with Copy and Paste...
However- I never recall my iPhone not supporting Push and doing it well.
Android was certainly sketchy, even after running 2.3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android supports PUSH well. All of Google's services are pushed, and let's get real... Google didn't add C2DM (their PUSH service) until Android 2.2.
Facebook Chat is pushed on Android, and it's as fast as ever. I know because my Vibrant is going off everytime I'm having a Facebook Chat conversation in Widnows Live Messenger/Facebook.com . I also get all of my Facebook Notifications (Posts/Replies/Messages) really fast.
Flory on WP7 has fast Push/Toast/Live Tile notifications, but the application takes so long to load and/or resume that it's virtually useless. Since the first day I've installed it, I've never gotten it to load my contact list for GTalk or Facebook again... So I uninstalled...
I have my Facebook Background Sync interval (Both in the App, and in TouchWiz/SocialHub) set to 12 hours so I know it's not polling, BTW...
Right now my best "solution" seems to be as suggested and setting up email notifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The biggest issue I have is that it's clunky, waste data and battery life (downloading emails uses way more battery power than getting a Push Notification) and is simply impractical for people with busy Social Networks. Do you REALLY want 30+ Facebook emails a day? 1 Hour or more less battery life (these smartphones are already working overtime trying to provide decent battery life)? People with low data plans won't want to do that, either...
Also, on other platforms you get to set different Notification Ringtones for Different Applications, which let you know whether or not you need to even bother looking at the phone when something comes in.
Microsoft needs to implement this.
For me, personally, the Push Notifications isn't that big of an issue (Toast), but a Live Ticker on People Tile would be good.
The biggest issue is that People Hub is a gimmick. It's nothing but a glorified RSS feed for social networks. It doesn't support Facebook Messaging or any of that, only posting and replying... That's why if you are a Facebook user you still need the Facebook application installed on your phone. People Hub barely passes for an alternative, if it does at all... It is too functionally thin to be truly useful and the fact that it doesn't update its information in the background makes it not really worth using over the Facebook application which does much more and has a better user experience.
WP7 has really good voice recognition (at least for English) and Bing is good now, so there's hardly a need to open the People Hub when you can just "Call PersonX Mobile/Work/etc." and the phone gets it done faster than you could if you went through the contact list (if it is of factorable length/size). Hell, the other day I just said "Call Pizza Hut" and it got the city right and everything. One less number in my contact list
domineus said:
need I remind you that fb push notifications didn't come till last august on android? Let's be real, android's FB before last summer was a piece of crap compared to the apple platform..and even then there were some bugs till fall of last year...and android's been around since 08...and it still doesn't go without bugs...with toasting or push notifications
I mean i admit the facebook xap is paltry and has a lot of issues in coding which should be corrected but I say give it time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google didn't implement C2DM on Android until FroYo.
Facebook Getting Push on Android in August means they were very fast in implementing it after Google added C2DM, which destroys your argument/excuse/justification.
When you cut through the spin, Facebook was fast as hell at getting Push Notifications to Android, and Launched Facebook chat in that client as well.
I simply don't think they wanted to implement their own Push Solution, with 500+ million users... It't just too much. Better to use a native solution and and allow Android/iOS/WP7/BB users get their stuff pushed through Google/Apple/MS/RIM instead...
DatDereX1 said:
My point is that this is not a mature OS and I think (hope lol) MS will add that feature in the future. There's a lot of things that could have been added from day one, but MS wanted to focus on the most important features and making sure they work perfectly before implementing them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Facebook integration was, according to MS, a very important feature. Since the FB app is a MS commissioned app you would expect them to have taken full advantage of their, so called, killer features.
My point here isn't so much that it's a missing feature but rather that it's a missing feature which has all the necessary building blocks available for use - and they decided not to utilize them.
Maybe I'm wrong but I swear that WeatherBug Live Tile is updating itself. I'm going to consciously not open it and see if it updates again this morning. If this is true: why can't other apps do this?
As far as the people hub, I don't use it much. Alot of it is as I've already said... None of the apps cache data. That sucks. These apps should be able to poll and cache in the background, but they don't. The People Hub is one such app. I might as well use the Facebook app.
I can see the People Hub having some use but as you said, it seems more like a replacement to Facebook... And unless it has the full functionality of the Facebook app, why use it?
I also agree with your statements on Flory. It never loads my contact list. Maybe I'm not patient enough- but it doesn't even matter... If it takes more than 15 seconds to load it, it's useless.
I must say one thing I miss from Custom ROMs... Headphone amp. I listen to a podcast that, when I'm driving 75mph- you can't freaking hear it with the volume on the radio and phone all the way up. On a Custom ROM I had a headphone amp that I was able to crank it up and hear it with plenty of extra volume. I sorely miss this.
A question... How do I voice dial/search? I realize if I go into the search- I can hit the mic button and do it from there. However from the main screen, holding search does nothing. ????????????
Also... On large contact lists, how do I scroll to say, the M's? I cannot figure this out at all. On Android/iPhone you have a alphabet on the right and you slide your finger down it to the letter you want.
Hello,
I have a sincere and honest question. I came to a conclusion but I hope I am wrong...
- I notice that several months after WP7's launch there is still no official Google Maps app, still no official YouTube app, still no Google Earth app, almost no GPS navigation apps with offline maps.
- All the non official Google Maps alternatives created by third party developers are pretty slow. I asked some developers why, and have been replied that the main reason is that Microsoft forces them to use the apparently sophisticated but very slow Bing map system based on Silverlight (for zooming). As a result the map image takes between 30 seconds to 1 full minute to display on my phone (what a shame). I tested and compared with two iPhone and Android phones using Google Maps, same place, same network, the map image appear in less than 10 seconds.
- Today Shape Services, the developer of IM+ announced that it will not have Windows Live Messenger support because Microsoft doesn’t allow it.
http://www.wpcentral.com/im-will-not-support-windows-live-messenger
Therefore I am starting to wonder why I cannot have Google Maps on my phone. Why so many GPS developers (such as CoPilot or Tom Tom) refuse to join WP7. Or why IM+ cannot have Windows Live Messenger support.... ??
And unfortunately my conclusion is that MS are maybe taking this terrible approach:
* MS refuse to allow apps that they think will duplicate functionality,
* Mainly MS actually want to impose their own services, such as Live Messenger, Skydrive, Bing and Bing Map, despite such services are either not available or mediocre in certain territories. In particular I am thinking of Bing Map which is so bad that it is almost unusable outside UK and US.
Microsoft have the right to take this kind of Apple's approach, ok. But then, as a customer, I would like to know it as soon as possible.
--> Practically does it mean that if I am using WP7 I will be forced to use Bing Map instead of Google Maps, MSN videos instead of YouTube, Bing instead of Google search, etc?
--> Practically does it mean that, as a customer, I will not have the choice between several alternative apps having similar functionality, just because MS will not allow them? For instance, does it mean I will never have the right to use an alternative Keyboard (Swype for instance) instead of the keyboard MS force me to use?
For instance does it mean that there will be no alternative player than Zune? (which also means no DivX|avi, the customer being bound to the only codecs MS will allow)
If so, I would like to know, because it's a weird philosophy, and a philosophy which I am definitely not ready to accept anytime soon... I don't want WP7 to be a new IPhone, even more locked down, with no freedom of choice at all...
Especially if I am totally not satisfied with the quality and efficiency of the various MS services such as Bing.
I probably made the wrong choice after WinMo and was maybe silly to stay loyal to MS.
Am I wrong?
Any clue?
It is google blocking its services from microsoft. They want android to succeed so they dont even give us the code for a youtube app (they gave it to apple for the origional iphone) let alone a google maps. Half of that is pure speculation so don't quote me on it but u try to watch a video in the stock YouTube app (the one in the market made by microsoft) and tell me how it looks.
Not sure why you are surprised, MS has made it clear that WP7 is going to be more tightly controlled than WM was but even then, they are not as draconian as you think. There is a gps program with offline maps available in Germany, Navigon. They have been asked several times if/when their program would be available elsewhere and their response seemed to indicate they were waiting for more users to come on board before releasing it.
As for youtube, MS recently filed a complaint in Europe against google claiming they are not allowing MS the proper access to deliver a better youtube experience. Even then, you have Supertube and Lazytube so I'm not sure what else is needed.
As for google maps, thats a google product and unless it is required that all mapping programs use bing (which is not the case, check GPS Navigator aSpass http://wmpoweruser.com/gps-navigator-aspass-provides-off-like-gps-map-caching/) that is up to google to make available. Swype wont be happening, been said a few time if I recall correctly.
Seems this time around MS it keeping a tight reign on certain categories of applications to ensure WP7 gives a consistent user experience. Just another factor to consider before purchasing a WP7 device.
Thanks for your replies,
So, i understand that WP7 will never have any official YouTube app or any official Google Maps app in the near future.
I can deal with LazyTube/SuperTube to replace YouTube
I cannot deal without the official Google Maps app, as all the other maps are too slow and too basic (no PoI, no Street View, etc).
And what about the fact that Microsoft refuses that Shape Services includes Windows Live Messenger support in IM+
And mainly, what about the fact that it seems almost impossible on WP7 to have:
- an alternative keyboard
- an alternative browser
- an alternative media player?
Whatever IE mobile is ok, whatever the WP7 keyboard is correct, it is a question of choice.
What about if people would like to use Swype instead of the regular WP7 keyboard, or Opera instead of IE?
At least would it be just possible to use such alternative programs? Or is MS' approach to forbid any alternative app?
efjay said:
Seems this time around MS it keeping a tight reign on certain categories of applications to ensure WP7 gives a consistent user experience. Just another factor to consider before purchasing a WP7 device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be fine only if services proposed by Microsoft were available worldwide (which is not the case) and were decent (which is not the case).
Well about the browser, I can't remember where I read it, but MS said that they are not blocking any browser application (Surfcube is a example)
Newness and Nokia
Hi all
I think that the problems and limitations of WP7 are to do with the fact that it is a new OS. The Mango update will bring a lot of APIs which developers will use to make better applications.
Also, I don't think Microsoft will let WP7, or any of it's main products, fall far behind the competition and I think that part of the deal with Nokia is to bring better mapping/navigation software to WP7 specifically.
Android has clearly had a lot more investment but in a couple of years WP7 will be a serious competitor.
Cheers
andrew-in-woking
arturobandini said:
Hello...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've expressed your issues with Bing Maps a lot here but as I said before Microsoft is probably waiting on Ovi Maps to integrate into the OS to make the services useful outside of the US/UK. So I think your frustration will last a little while.
As for Google services I would guess it's more about Google not being interested in WP7 at the moment and Microsoft being happy to have that pretext to promote Bing. It's a new OS so I'm sure that will change eventually. Also remember Microsoft filed a complaint about Google so I might not be too far off.
Copilot, Tom Tom, etc. not being there is just about them not seeing the point with a small user base, that should change too eventually.
Now choice I'm afraid will stay limited. I think clearly WP7 wants to be somewhere between Android and iOS but much closer to iOS (for now at least). I think they will want the OS to mature before allowing alternative solutions (Opera and Skyfire came a while later on iOS). So yes I think you bought the wrong phone as I doubt all this will change in the short term and maybe Android is what you need until WP7 is a strong player.
Personally I'm happy the way things are as WP7 aims to be an OS about integration and that's harder to make when there's too much choice. I'm annoyed about IM+ not having WLM messenger but after Mango that would have been redundant (I would have preferred to have it until Mango, they could have removed it later). Ideally they should be aiming to integrate all IM services to messaging (a huge task). Same goes for other services.
gremmmy said:
Well about the browser, I can't remember where I read it, but MS said that they are not blocking any browser application (Surfcube is a example)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surfcube is still IE at its core though.
gremmmy said:
Well about the browser, I can't remember where I read it, but MS said that they are not blocking any browser application (Surfcube is a example)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not completely correct. Surfcube - just like other browsers available on the marketplace - is built upon the IE engine. So all that's different from IE is the UI on top of the engine. Currently it's impossible to provide browsers with other engines like Opera for example due to the lack of APIs. I don't know whether this will change with mango or not.
As a matter of fact, Microsoft is at least partly going a way Apple has been going with their products for years. If you want a mobile device with an OS that you can tweak to your personal desires, you should go for an Android.
Remember, APIs for wp are in their infancy, mango will extend them, who knows how much. But a company like Microsoft push out they first party app and services first is fine with me. If they work right, I won't have to look for an app that does the exact same thing. I love the fact that I don't have to load a crappy Facebook app just to post one thing, or having a built-in upload to Facebook in the camera. And now with the new APIs with integrating apps into different hubs and apps, should "save us from our phones" more.
And for IM+ it could be API isn't available for Live messager.
I'm afraid we won't see any Google Maps before Ovi integration with Bing.
As for browsers all available now are just IE with different UI.
I remember Opera saying they are not interested in making a browser right now.
no loss there, who uses windows live anyway? I spent an hour on the phone a couple of days ago trying to explain to one of my computer illiterate friends how to use it. I eventually had to install it with him and discovered the incredibly horrible and terrible UI.. won't miss it one bit.
pillsburydoughman said:
no loss there, who uses windows live anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the most used IM client worldwide.
pillsburydoughman said:
no loss there, who uses windows live anyway? I spent an hour on the phone a couple of days ago trying to explain to one of my computer illiterate friends how to use it. I eventually had to install it with him and discovered the incredibly horrible and terrible UI.. won't miss it one bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why didn't you just have him go to www.live.com?
And as stated, its the most used IM in the world. Skype is second.
pillsburydoughman said:
no loss there, who uses windows live anyway? I spent an hour on the phone a couple of days ago trying to explain to one of my computer illiterate friends how to use it. I eventually had to install it with him and discovered the incredibly horrible and terrible UI.. won't miss it one bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
skype will have Microsoft logo soon..... and it will be on WP7 included in the OS...
and as someone said Windows live massanger is the most used IM in the world..
if the idea is to impose their own services they wouldnt have allowed flory (gtalk) and they would reject im+ (for using icq, gtalk, and many other non ms services).
if this was the idea they would have rejected shazam encore, since they are going to implement the same service.
unfourtunately i suspect that the issue with wlm is the deal they made with miyowa
as you can see they talk about a a "deal" between miyowa and microsoft for wlm
http://blog.miyowa.com/?p=1118
just search more posts and you can see they mention multiple times have some sort of agreement...
i know its far fetched but i think its more likely that the agreement they made included exclusivity until ms made their own native app. IMO this sounds more reasonable than not allowing duplicated functionality
edit:
personally i hate this, i would like to uninstall the miyowa app (its crap) and use im+ while we wait for native wlm.
revrak said:
if the idea is to impose their own services they wouldnt have allowed flory (gtalk) and they would reject im+ (for using icq, gtalk, and many other non ms services).
if this was the idea they would have rejected shazam encore, since they are going to implement the same service.
unfourtunately i suspect that the issue with wlm is the deal they made with miyowa
as you can see they talk about a a "deal" between miyowa and microsoft for wlm
http://blog.miyowa.com/?p=1118
just search more posts and you can see they mention multiple times have some sort of agreement...
i know its far fetched but i think its more likely that the agreement they made included exclusivity until ms made their own native app. IMO this sounds more reasonable than not allowing duplicated functionality
edit:
personally i hate this, i would like to uninstall the miyowa app (its crap) and use im+ while we wait for native wlm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might have a point there as everything gets dropped except Miyoma Messenger which is so crap I'd rather not have WLM rather than using it. They should be banned from making another app ever again.
revrak said:
unfourtunately i suspect that the issue with wlm is the deal they made with miyowa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or it may be with the way IM+ implemented WLM functionality. This could've taken some reverse engineering.
revrak said:
if the idea is to impose their own services they wouldnt have allowed flory (gtalk) and they would reject im+ (for using icq, gtalk, and many other non ms services).
if this was the idea they would have rejected shazam encore, since they are going to implement the same service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And don't forget that just-added official Evernote app, which kind of directly competes with the OneNote/SkyDrive/Mesh combo (and currently beats it, IMO).