Related
I am writing this now on a handset which has really not lived up to all its hype, for me anyway.
I received the Samsung Omnia 7 last Monday, and while it was amazing for the first couple of days, once the novelty factor of the UI wore off I've been getting more and more android withdrawal symptoms.
Don't get me wrong, its a very nice phone but for me let down by the OS. WP7 looked like the perfect OS but after a weeks use its just not right for me. I'll list my personal pros and cons:
PROS
•Keyboard is great
•Live tiles are a joy and really set your phone apart from the rest
•Internet Explorer is great
CONS
•Battery life is dreadful
•No flash support
•Lack of C&P
•Wifi connectivity issues, can't use FB without data connection on even with full WiFi lock, same issue with IE and twitter
•Lack of customisation options
•Not really practical, takes too long to get simple things done
•Lack of apps on marketplace (I know its only young) and the games just cost too much, i mean come on £5.99 for assassins creed?
I know some of the cons will be fixed with updates but I just can't see myself loving this phone like I did my previous one. I'll be phoning Orange tomorrow and hopefully exchanging this for the HTC Desire HD, which my friend has and is an amazing phone.
I might come back to WP7 or WP8 or whatever the update is called, as once the necessary functionality is there coupled with the lovely UI, it'll be and OS to be reckoned with.
Peace WP7 users. I may see you again some day
wwfc said:
I am writing this now on a handset which has really not lived up to all its hype, for me anyway.
I received the Samsung Omnia 7 last Monday, and while it was amazing for the first couple of days, once the novelty factor of the UI wore off I've been getting more and more android withdrawal symptoms.
Don't get me wrong, its a very nice phone but for me let down by the OS. WP7 looked like the perfect OS but after a weeks use its just not right for me. I'll list my personal pros and cons:
PROS
•Keyboard is great
•Live tiles are a joy and really set your phone apart from the rest
•Internet Explorer is great
CONS
•Battery life is dreadful
•No flash support
•Lack of C&P
•Wifi connectivity issues, can't use FB without data connection on even with full WiFi lock, same issue with IE and twitter
•Lack of customisation options
•Not really practical, takes too long to get simple things done
•Lack of apps on marketplace (I know its only young) and the games just cost too much, i mean come on £5.99 for assassins creed?
I know some of the cons will be fixed with updates but I just can't see myself loving this phone like I did my previous one. I'll be phoning Orange tomorrow and hopefully exchanging this for the HTC Desire HD, which my friend has and is an amazing phone.
I might come back to WP7 or WP8 or whatever the update is called, as once the necessary functionality is there coupled with the lovely UI, it'll be and OS to be reckoned with.
Peace WP7 users. I may see you again some day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I still find my HD7 an excellent WP7 phone, and still love WP7, your choice of alternatives is excellent. I'm using DesireHD on my HD2 and it is a sweet build. I love the skin feature. The "Wildflower" skin is one of my favorites followed by "Metal". The hardware looks sweet too.
good luck
especially with DesireHD
but beware of battery of it
it's much more dreadful compare to WP7 phone
Btw im planning on buying a 1500mah battery for the desire HD (fiver from eBay), hopefully the battery life won't be as awful as reviewers make out thanks for your comments
CONS
•Battery life is dreadful
Compared to what? My Samsung Focus gets better battery life than the HTC Fuze it replaced and I do a lot more with it.
•No flash support
It's coming
•Lack of C&P
It's coming
•Wifi connectivity issues, can't use FB without data connection on even with full WiFi lock, same issue with IE and twitter
•Lack of customisation options
What do you want to customize?
•Not really practical, takes too long to get simple things done
Is this a joke? Give examples.
•Lack of apps on marketplace (I know its only young) and the games just cost too much, i mean come on £5.99 for assassins creed?
Nothing Microsoft can do about pricing and has nothing to do with the platform.
Good luck. I can guarantee you the Desire HD has a worse display, worse battery life and is a lot slower due to HTC's android bloatware. I had one for a few weeks but couldnt stand it.
Anyway, if you like it better, then chances are WP7 isn't for you.
wwfc said:
Btw im planning on buying a 1500mah battery for the desire HD (fiver from eBay), hopefully the battery life won't be as awful as reviewers make out thanks for your comments
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If what the other posters are saying about the DesireHD is true, I highly recommend obtaining an HTC HD2 and using the DesireHD build with it instead of the actual DesireHD. You get all the goodness of DesireHD with better battery life and a better screen. Everything works on it too. Plus, if you get bored, you can make it into any of the other Android phones out which have a build made of them. You also get Nexus S Gingerbread goodness if you want.
The builds in my sig are pretty much perfection.
wwfc said:
•Not really practical, takes too long to get simple things done
•Lack of apps on marketplace (I know its only young) and the games just cost too much, i mean come on £5.99 for assassins creed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to say this is surprising. I find getting anything done is faster than any other platform.
There are already over 5000 apps!
Ren13B said:
•Lack of apps on marketplace (I know its only young) and the games just cost too much, i mean come on £5.99 for assassins creed?
Nothing Microsoft can do about pricing and has nothing to do with the platform.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's not entirely true. MS needs to open up the system a bit more by providing a lot more APIs for the different parts of the phone. PIM, Video recording, and Compass are just some examples where there are no current APIs yet, but when introduce open up a whole lot of new possibilities for apps.
And as for games, you need to look at it in terms of age of the game. Acreed is an example where on the iOS it's a lot cheaper, but that's because it's been on the iOS market for 2+ years, and only just entered WP market. Give it 2 years and it will be the same price. probably less time.
Ren13B said:
What do you want to customize?[/COLOR]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Main screen. I want SPB Pocket plus style contact list, message and calendar right on my main screen without having to need to swipe and flip and tap 45 seconds to get to it.
I want pocket informant style calendar, not WP7 calendar because its not customizable, color coding and tons and tons of other things i could do in PI8 but not WP7 calendar.
I want ringtones customized.
I want many more customization which i dont want to write in detail because it will be 3-4 pages long for me.
Were you even a slight power user of WM?? Than you will have common sense to realize how much customization is lacking in WP7. Their is nothing to tweak in this phone, you have to swallow what they give you.
I am eager to see how much progress is made when the first update hits early next year. Maybe they give some details at CES or MWC.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Purple11 said:
Main screen. I want SPB Pocket plus style contact list, message and calendar right on my main screen without having to need to swipe and flip and tap 45 seconds to get to it.
I want pocket informant style calendar, not WP7 calendar because its not customizable, color coding and tons and tons of other things i could do in PI8 but not WP7 calendar.
I want ringtones customized.
I want many more customization which i dont want to write in detail because it will be 3-4 pages long for me.
Were you even a slight power user of WM?? Than you will have common sense to realize how much customization is lacking in WP7. Their is nothing to tweak in this phone, you have to swallow what they give you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder how many of us joined here out of necessity because, frankly, stock winmo is crap. we had to tweak and customize it just to use the damn thing. With wp7, the urge to tweak isn't there for me.
I'd rather be watching video on netflix, or slingplayer, or my videos, or playing any of the wp7 games that are 10x better than the winmo counterparts.
Purple11 said:
Main screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What, you mean the main screen which is infinitely customizable with your own live tiles from any app, arranged how you want them, including websites, contacts, bands, albums, notes and just about anything else you can think of?
I want SPB Pocket plus style contact list, message and calendar right on my main screen without having to need to swipe and flip and tap 45 seconds to get to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I'm sure if SPB were to write the apps, the live tiles you want would be made available on your nice customizable main screen. Talk to SPB, not to XDA. And what's this about <i>"need to swipe and flip and tap 45 seconds to get to it"</i>? I have no idea what you're talking about. Your main screen is one contiguous flowing block. Please explain.
I want pocket informant style calendar, not WP7 calendar because its not customizable, color coding and tons and tons of other things i could do in PI8 but not WP7 calendar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, talk to the app maker. There's no reason why they couldn't make an app that does what you want. Why are you blaming the OS?
I want ringtones customized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is coming in an update but I'm sure you can survive in the meantime - it you *want* to. But I think your mind is already made up *not* to.
I want many more customization which i dont want to write in detail because it will be 3-4 pages long for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ooh getting a bit vague now, maybe you ran out of stuff.
Were you even a slight power user of WM?? Than you will have common sense to realize how much customization is lacking in WP7. Their is nothing to tweak in this phone, you have to swallow what they give you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I've been a mammoth user of WM for years, and yes I cutomized it a lot, primarily because I had to to get it how I wanted it. Amazingly, WP7 is perfect for me out of the box. I really don't find any great need to customize it beyond installing the apps I want and arranging my tiles how I want them.
It sounds to me like you're addicted to customization for the sake of it, and I'd suggest you get yourself an Android phone which you can tinker with to your heart's content, while the rest of us get on with living our lives to the full.
After all, what could be better than an OS made by an advertising company?
Rofl @ last sentence/question. What an awesome way to end an awesome post. I think I woke up the neighbors, LOL.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
You know why they customized WM? To make it useable. WP7 doesn't need the customization because it is already useful.
The same argument can be applied to Android. Why do OEMs put skins on Android? Well, they think the UX and the UI are lacking, that's why.
Why fix what's not broken?
+1 to what these guys said. The reason customisation is limited is because - in the view of the vast majority of people that purchase a WP7 device - it's perfectly usable as is.
If you want a hobby phone you can flash, root, hardSPL, tweak, skin, tinker and waste literally tens of hours of your time on, an android phone is the way to go.
If you want a powerful smartphone that gets you "in, out and back where you need to be", WP7 is a good bet.
Ren13B said:
•Lack of apps on marketplace (I know its only young) and the games just cost too much, i mean come on £5.99 for assassins creed?
Nothing Microsoft can do about pricing and has nothing to do with the platform.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember when I first got my G1 and there only like 500 apps on it which might have been an overestimate at that point in time.
Personally, coming from a Tilt2, I found my Focus to be flat-out incredible. Yes, I did spend a lot of time tweaking the old Tilt2, and yes, a good bit of it was recreational and not just out of necessity. However, I would not have been pushed into rom flashing if the stock rom weren't so bad on it. It was a laggy, crashy beast, and required a ton of work to be something that was not embarrassingly slow.
The Focus is, out of the box, incredibly and effortlessly fast. I don't care that I can't tweak more things in it because, frankly, it is so fast at doing everything that a couple extra swipes here or there doesn't bug me. Yes, it really does take the hobby aspect out of my phone. If you want that in your primary device, then Android (or as has been mentioned, an HD2) is the gizmo for you. I'm personally tempted to pick up a Streak, now that the unlocked ones have had a price dip, just to play around with it. However, my WP7 device will remain as my primary phone for my day-to-day usage.
Btw, just checked, facebook works on wifi only with data connection turned off, just checked this on my hd7
I did think about a HD2, but I can only change to what phones I was offered when I initially upgraded, my options were :
-HTC Desire HD
-Samsung Omnia 7 (obviously)
-HTC Mozart
-Samsung galaxy s
-Blackberry Torch
-Nokia N8
I want android, so really its between the desire HD or the galaxy s, But the galaxy s has 2.1 out of the box while the desire HD has 2.2 and sense which I loved on my HTC hero and looks even better on the desire HD. And I want to root and install a custom oc'able kernel to boost the performance.
For me the screen is nicer on the desire HD than it is on my Omnia 7, which may sound wrong but even though the res is the same due to the squareness of the Omnia 7 The pixels seem more visible and the samoled screen is too saturated.
There's been a lot of negativity lately, I thought I would start a thread about the things I love about wp7. The things that make it the obvious choice for me.
I know I've been one of the ones being loudly vocal about negative stuff, so I thought I would try and balance it a bit.
Interface
Let's get this one out of the way cause it's kind of obvious.
I think wp7's interface is the next gen of smartphones. It's what initially attracted me to the platform. I believe above ALL else, UI is most important.
Above apps, above features, above anything... UI matters the most. Because it's how you will be interacting with your device while using those features.
And Microsoft absolutely nailed this one. Homer'd it out of the park. There is nothing like it right now on the market. It won't be like that forever cause competition breeds great product, but right now, it's top of the line.
People hub
I just pulled up a college buddy of mine. Under his name it says:
text mobile
call mobile
call home
write on wall
send email
map home address
view website
I can't get over how it just takes everything and gathers it into one spot. It's sooo easy. A perk that always impresses me, no matter how many times I use it. Again, next-gen thinking.
Remote locking/messaging/ringing/tracking
This one is the top seller. I don't think I'll ever switch mainly just for this reason.
I can, at any time, log into a website and make my phone ring, flash a message on the screen, lock it, erase it, and most importantly, GPS track it. Amazing.
And it actually concerns me that my wife's iPhone doesn't have that.
Then of course there was the story about the golfer who tracked his phone when it was in fact stolen, and got it back. Fantastic. These are features that are innovative and should be stock.
Just in case MS has some media-watchers reading forums, I just wanted to show them a little love.
what brought me to wp7 is multimedia functionality:
1. slingbox
2. netflix
3. zune
4. slacker
5. podcasts including video podcasts autosynced
6. Bitbop is interesting
7. More internet videos play for me than on winmo
Also of course it the interesting UI.
I also like the fact that there are devs willing to develop for it unlike on winmo.
Games are much better than on winmo and having all programs/apps in one centralized place is great. I have no problems throwing a couple bucks at games and apps that I want.
sure haven't said:
I can, at any time, log into a website and make my phone ring, flash a message on the screen, lock it, erase it, and most importantly, GPS track it. Amazing.
And it actually concerns me that my wife's iPhone doesn't have that.
Then of course there was the story about the golfer who tracked his phone when it was in fact stolen, and got it back. Fantastic. These are features that are innovative and should be stock.
Just in case MS has some media-watchers reading forums, I just wanted to show them a little love.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you need to talk with your wife because you can definitely do all that with the iPhone. As of one of the newest firmwares (not sure which one maybe 4.2.1) you can download a free app from the marketplace to set it up, or just do it through iTunes and the MobileMe website both for free. When I was setting my new iPhone up the other day it prompted me to set up the feature and it took like 2 seconds. Now I can log into a website, track my iPhone, wipe it, etc just like I could on WP7 (this has actually been a feature of the iPhone for awhile, but you had to pay a subscription for MobileMe to use it so it was kinda of a downer).
As for the rest of your points I agree 100%. WP7 UI is beautiful (as long as the developers create their icons to take advantage of the theming) and Facebook integration is amazing. I think WP7 is a strong contender for the smartphone market with its new acquisition of 10,000 apps just as long as Microsoft gets over these current update woes and delivers some good useful features.
ErikWithNoC said:
I think you need to talk with your wife because you can definitely do all that with the iPhone. As of one of the newest firmwares (not sure which one maybe 4.2.1) you can download a free app from the marketplace to set it up, or just do it through iTunes and the MobileMe website both for free. When I was setting my new iPhone up the other day it prompted me to set up the feature and it took like 2 seconds. Now I can log into a website, track my iPhone, wipe it, etc just like I could on WP7 (this has actually been a feature of the iPhone for awhile, but you had to pay a subscription for MobileMe to use it so it was kinda of a downer).
As for the rest of your points I agree 100%. WP7 UI is beautiful (as long as the developers create their icons to take advantage of the theming) and Facebook integration is amazing. I think WP7 is a strong contender for the smartphone market with its new acquisition of 10,000 apps just as long as Microsoft gets over these current update woes and delivers some good useful features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is fairly new though. My mom got suckered into paying 100 bucks for mobile me and they are not giving refunds for hosing people.
The things I like about the phone are:
The large fonts. Great for people like me that have failing eye-sight.
A clean, uncluttered user interface.
Zune music/video. Love the bio on the music groups when it has it.
Xbox 360 access. Sending a message to my son to his Xbox 360 acct. is priceless.
Partial Excel and Word feature usage (something is better than nothing).
FAST and responsive menus.
Love the PEOPLE tile option. I like that Facebook is integrated with it.
Netflix and Youtube usage is great too.
Voice commands for phoning people or doing lookups is really terrific.
WP7 UI experience is just plain AWESOME. If only MS gets Mango on all current and future WP7 devices before this year end, its gonna be a real threat to Android and iOS.
-proud owner of a Samsung Focus (7.0.7004.0)
update::
Ok so why do I think WP7 is awesome compared to Android? Well for starters the concept of Hubs is amazing. The Music Hub has all my songs, videos and even links to 3rd party Music/Video Apps right in one place. The Android Music Player seems like junk compared to the Zune player, it even automatically finds the currently playing songs Artist image and sets it as the background for the entire Zune Hub which although seems trivial but it really adds a nice touch.
The Office Hub does not even have a comparable application on Android. The mango update is gonna make it even better with skydrive integration built rt into the hub.
Xbox live integration with its achievements and gamer points really increases the replay value of games. Although one thing which i currently find annoying is the high minimum price of the xbox live games, some of which cost $2 more than their iPhone counterparts. This may be due in part becoz WP7 is a newer platform so as it matures and the adoption rate increases prices will reduce.
overall the UI really seems to be built for the consumer and is really easy to use. from what I have seen of Android it just seems like a marriage between Symbian/WinMo. Sure you can customize the hell out of it and currently it has a lot of features which WP7 lacks but IMO only features do not determine the success of a platform coz Symbian/WMO had most of these features half a decade ago. And frankly the average consumer does not give a damn about modding/ ROMS/ features etc.
.....hmm have to get back to work now, will update this asap ....unless the thread gets locked
Well, I recommend you get your NoDo fix now...it is super easy, and works using either the data method or wifi...
kapanak said:
Well, I recommend you get your NoDo fix now...it is super easy, and works using either the data method or wifi...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup I'm aware of the Hungarian VPN hack, but am not that desperate for NoDo right now so will wait for ATT to get its act together.
Tried Android emulator on amazon.com and decided that WP7 UI is awesome?
I'm not sure how this works.
vangrieg said:
Tried Android emulator on amazon.com and decided that WP7 UI is awesome?
I'm not sure how this works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something like humping an ugly fat neighbour to appreciate your slim, beautiful wife even more ?!
Avandor said:
Something like humping an ugly fat neighbour to appreciate your slim, beautiful wife even more ?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jesus!
vangrieg said:
Tried Android emulator on amazon.com and decided that WP7 UI is awesome?
I'm not sure how this works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I was a former Symbian user and had never used an Android device before, so this was my first time with the Android UI which I must say offers nothing compared to WP7.
Avandor said:
Something like humping an ugly fat neighbour to appreciate your slim, beautiful wife even more ?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol rofl
fat girls need loving too
but they gotta pay!!!
As for android, best to go look at a device. Sadly, it functions quite similarly to amazon's test...sometimes fast, most times slow
And what does text based WP7 offers, thad android doesn`t?
balance
non fragmented hardware
driver specific code to run at optimum
me thinks that's enough
UbiMaiden said:
And what does text based WP7 offers, thad android doesn`t?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Text based? At least WP7 doesn't use any terminal emulator
UbiMaiden said:
And what does text based WP7 offers, thad android doesn`t?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A clean, smooth, fast interface?
This thread should be closed before it gets out of control.
I have used Windows Mobile before moving to Android.
here is what I feel about Android...
Android is the new Windows Mobile 6.X
very powerful...but lacks cohesiveness. Unusable without custom ROMs
I am thinking of giving Windows phone 7 a try. Perhaps I am getting too old to keep flashing my phone every week.
Anyways... don't completely ignore Android. UI can be improved at any time. Next few years will be interesting to watch.
arkavat said:
Android is the new Windows Mobile 6.X
very powerful...but lacks cohesiveness. Unusable without custom ROMs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^^My thoughts exactly. Maybe those Microsoft WM developers jumped ship to Google
If you ever played with the Windows Mobile emulator before, it's the same experience. Very plain and boring. That's why OEMs spent so much time skin it and customize it.
What you see on the emulator is not the same on devices.
What's hilarious is that someone starts a thread like this, then some WP7 denizens wonder why there is "negativity" about WP7. What is the OP even saying? Such valuable information that will surely help someone out, the forums are better for it that's for sure. Pretty sad actually.
as per the topic (whatever it actually is), the problem with the WP7 UI is that it can't be changed. So you either love Metro forever, or you best get a phone where you can theme it a little or at least change the wallpaper. I'm not going to sit here and bash WP7 because even though it is missing essential features that I need as a power-user, it is still a nice OS and I can see that it might be right for some people. For me It's going to be Android, iOS, and WM6.5.x for at least a couple more years till WP7 matures.
arkavat said:
I have used Windows Mobile before moving to Android.
here is what I feel about Android...
Android is the new Windows Mobile 6.X
very powerful...but lacks cohesiveness. Unusable without custom ROMs
I am thinking of giving Windows phone 7 a try. Perhaps I am getting too old to keep flashing my phone every week.
Anyways... don't completely ignore Android. UI can be improved at any time. Next few years will be interesting to watch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not true.
That being said, to some people the ability to load a custom rom is an advantage. If you want to "customize" WP7 you're SoL. If you don't like your manufacturer's Andorid skin, but love the hardware (as many Galaxy S users do), it's not hard to load a stock custom ROM on it and get on with your life.
In many cases people don't even need custom roms. They just install something like ADW or LauncherPro and that's good enough for them.
That being said, no software differences will make up for the huge gap in hadware between WP7 and Android phones. The WP7 hardware is just not... attractive... these days. Even normal consumers are asking about specs these days, because the tech press and even the normal press have been conditioning them to expect these things to improve over time, not drop back (as WP7 has... going from late 2010 hardware to late 2009 hardware if you "upgraded" from Android to WP7).
Another thing Anddoid has going for it is Apps. AmEx just came out with Serve.com and there's only an App for iOS and Android, for example. No WhatsApp for WP7. No Trillian for WP7. RIM is supposed to be releasing BBM for iOS and Android. There are tons of apps that either aren't available for WP7, or will never be available in the forseeable future due to API lockdown by Microsoft.
It's a terrible platform for an App-o-holic and moving form Android to WP7 I find myself carrying around both phones pretty much 100% of the time because there are lots of apps that simply aren't available on WP7. There still isn't an IM client. No HTML5 browser. No SP-to-SP messaging app, no Turn-by-Turn Navigation, still cannot attach videos to MMS or Email, etc.
Like I said in another thread. Looks only get you so far. A dumb blond may be hot as hell, but she's still dumb.
but then this leads to the question, what do you want to change? besides putting background image and font changing, much of the wp7 is extremely theme friendly. Now, granted, haven't found a way to change the square tiles but even then that's a wip...
And even with the tile shape not being able to be changed, there are plenty of options to create something amazing
domineus said:
but then this leads to the question, what do you want to change? besides putting background image and font changing, much of the wp7 is extremely theme friendly. Now, granted, haven't found a way to change the square tiles but even then that's a wip...
And even with the tile shape not being able to be changed, there are plenty of options to create something amazing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The size of the tiles? Make the App List a a grid instead of a list?
Change the default search provider in the browser?
Lower the touchscreen sensitivity and/or threshold for panning so that moving my finger 1 millimeter won't make the phone switch panes.
A lot of stuff people would want to change are impossible becuase Microsoft has crafted the OS in such a way that even skilled developers cannot compete with their stock apps (better browsers, other music players, better email clients (with conversation view and unified inbox, e.g.).
Hi,
I am tired of my current WP7, its almost 4 months now and their has been no major development in the APP market scene.. everyone just release initial app and than forget about it with no updates and no improvements.. the Gaming market scene of Xbox is pretty much dead too with no new fun game, I had pretty bad experience with Sonic which is practically unplayable and other boring games which have started coming out recently.. it seems Xbox is releasing games just for the heck of it.. ex: geodefence and tentacles.. boring not worth paying which are like free in android market..
I am really getting inclined to give up my WP7 and switch to Android now and buy Galaxy S2.. its has some plus points and some minus points:
Plus:
I can expand my memory.
Looks better.
Its Smoled 'Plus'.
It might have better battery? I am not sure about this.
Established Android market.
Minus:
Its too big for my pocket.
No ZUNE Pass like service.
I have to give up my Achievements Score and I dont know if they have anything similar to this.
I have never used Android and have never seen one ever before.. its completely new to me and I dont even know where is the settings option, I dont know if I will like it after using WM6.5 and now WP7 for last 7 years. I have seen Iphone before and used it for like a week, but never spend even 20 secs with an Android phone.
With all the hype surround MANGO which I am waiting for, I dont think Microsoft will release any major update after that for a really long time.. If this MANGO dosent work and the APP and GAMES Marketplace dosent become more vibrant than it is right now.. than I am thinking this WP7 could just become a device for people could not afford phones like Iphone and GALAXY S2, like a second option, a second choice market, which I am scared of.. I want to own the best and not the second choice.. and right now it seems GALAXY S2 with its ANDROID thing is the best phone in market.
Hmm. Not sure if I quite get where you're coming from with the apps and games thing. Over the last month, a ton of apps, big names and small, have come to the platform. A ton more coming and updated post-Mango. I mean, the market will most likely hit 30k apps soon. I don't have, nor do I use, 30k apps on my phone, not to mention the 100k+ or 400k+ of android and iphone, respectively.
Also, I'm pretty sure that every installed app, or almost every installed app, on my phone has seen an update... several at that. So, I missed you on the "no updates and no improvements" part. Are there specific apps that YOU are missing, or need that you can't find in the windows marketplace?
Games-wise, well that's a matter of preference. Games you find boring, others may find greatly exciting. For example, one recent game which has come to the platform that I like is Arcane Tower Defense. It's a fantasy version of the classic tower defense genre with some twists.
I also like little games like Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix and her Nightmare. But, after Mango there will be many games including multiplayer fighting games, RPGs, you name it, real time and turn-based.
As to the GS2. I haven't used it personally. I do know you can't get xbox live benefits like achievments, however. I'm sure somebody else here is more informed on the phone than I. I hear it's a killer phone, though. And, there may also be a WP7 version of the phone as well.
But, dig around a bit and check out the apps that have hit the marketplace in the last month or so as well as the games. I think you may be pleasantly surprised. Then again...
Purple11 said:
With all the hype surround MANGO which I am waiting for, I dont think Microsoft will release any major update after that for a really long time..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are on a yearly cycle for major updates, like pretty much everyone else.
I am finding it increasingly difficult to do business with this phone, its been so long and yet their is no decent Calendar App like Pocket Informant. The built in calendar app is very basic, I want to create recurring appointment on every first Tuesday of a month which was possible on PI8 but not here.
I miss Apps like SPB Diary which let me scroll my entire contacts and entire days appointments right from the front screen, and SPB Pocket Plus which basically was what Android is right now, a choice of multiple home screens with one app, thats what SPB Pocket Plus was.
I want Resco Audio Recorder which auto recorded all my incoming and outgoing calls, not because I want to spy but because if someone tells me large reference number on phone I dont have to tap and write at that moment, I could just say go ahead i am writing it down, and later I would just play back that call and note down what was that number.
I want the missing file explorer which is their present in android right now.
Metratrader 4 app for real time live trading execution in currency and stocks right from your phone, nothing like that exists in WP7, I know we have it for Iphone I dont know about android..
We say we have so many number of apps and things like that, but look at the top 10 PAID apps in each of the categories..
Business:
6 are language learning, 3 are business cards, 2 are time tracker and one to tie knots...
Tools and Productivity:
2 flashlights, 1 night clock, 1 air horn, 1, dog whistle, 1 that saves pic in pdf format and calls itself 'scanner' (very poor scanning my direct camera photo is better than their PDF it include handy scan app too), 2 remote desktop (10 USD each)..
Personal Finance:
7 budget software (all exactly same, just store your spending, nothing else, useless, nothing like SPB Finance), remaninf 4 are market watch apps which all just does the same thing which is stream rates of top 10 cos from yahoo or google.. , no decent wallet app like CODEwallet Pro where we could create nice cards from desktop and sync it to wallet on phone, no actual trading app.. nothing..
Sounds like Android is a better fit for you.
PG2G said:
Sounds like Android is a better fit for you.
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Click to collapse
Yep. Agreed.
In this kind of needs and preferences better try Android. WP7 is not really meant for this type of usage. This is what I have found for myself and while WP7 started to be frustrating after few months, Android solved everything for me in every respect.
I also want to see Mango and keep my Optimus 7 however some things are still not in the pipeline, like file explorers, USB docs/email sync and some apps like Opera Mini... And I'm afraid there won't by alternatives for core apps of WP7 either.
I understand your points well. I would also suggest that
Android is the right choise.
Just another way to look at things i would like to mention is, maybe most of the things you miss is just ways you USED to work with your phone? What ever WP is, its a new way to interact with your phone. For a old WM user like me, it was very wierd in the start, and i felt naked. I got used to it thou and currently having a replacment Android phone, while my current device is in for service. And now i miss my WP. It's strange how you miss the cow's afterwards.
Im staying with WP.
Just some thoughts from another side.
um..
I was thinking the same thing about switching to android, but I wont abandon wp all together. I'll give it a good year to mature
We have omnia7 and galaxy s. Of course the galaxy s fits better to my hardcore needs because it has al lot more options and you have a lot of custom roms and so on. BUT sometimes I'm really jealous about Omnia 7 perfect materials. And android is never as perfect designed as wp7. Android and its tons of different launchers is looking like an evolution of symbian and iOS. WP7 is something fresh and easy. Its what a phone is ment to be: a very easy and fast (internet) communication device. Not an overfilled little laptop.
So it's your choice: easy to use and well designed Omnia7 or a powerful plastic (gaming-)device with childish looking interface.
By the way: mango is awesome!
The galaxy s II is one of the finest android phones available. If you're looking for a feature set more similar to the old windows mobile ( and it sounds like you are), then Android is truly your best option.
Microsoft doesn't want a "complicated" phone platform anymore. They want consumer-facing, easy to use, social media and entertainment oriented with the ability to handle corporate e-mail, calendar and document editing if you need it in a pinch.
I doubt we're going to see anything like file managers or similar anytime soon, if at all.
I owned a Galaxy s II before selling it to a friend who needed a new phone, and I would purchase the device again in a heartbeat if I decided I wanted to use android.
Andrmgic said:
I doubt we're going to see anything like file managers or similar anytime soon, if at all.
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Click to collapse
Yeah I'm pretty sure we won't. Hell, even desktop operating systems may be moving away from file managers.
PG2G said:
Yeah I'm pretty sure we won't. Hell, even desktop operating systems may be moving away from file managers.
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Click to collapse
Yeah maybe in 2050. You must be kidding. For any profi usage these are the basics.
I will give this phone a try till December, if nothing comes up in the APP scene better than what it is at present than I will switch to Android perm for good.. I am not the one who keeps two phones or keep migrating from one to another OS frequently.. I just choose the best and stay with it for a long time..
i desperately need a better calendar app for appointments.. this whole wide calendar tile is just a wasteful eye candy which i have come to realize.. auto call recording which i guess with the absence of file explorer will never come to wp7.. i want to make my phone a USB on the Go like thing, a pen drive... 16 GB of total storage is too small..
I dont know how microsoft thinks they make a 3 horse race with these features missing.. its basically a two horse race, racing in front and a 3rd horse limping behind to catch the bets by people made by error ...
Purple11 said:
I dont know how microsoft thinks they make a 3 horse race with these features missing.. its basically a two horse race, racing in front and a 3rd horse limping behind to catch the bets by people made by error ...
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You have very specific requirements that the average user doesn't care about. Recording phone calls without consent isn't even legal in many states.
PG2G said:
You have very specific requirements that the average user doesn't care about. Recording phone calls without consent isn't even legal in many states.
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Click to collapse
Yep. Microsoft isn't gearing this phone toward the likes of the geeks and tech nerds that frequent this forum. The average user makes up the majority of users, thus the demographic Microsoft seeks to lure to WP7.
As far as what you need, you will find that some of these things will come to WP7 like various calendar apps due to the vast number of APIs made available by MS.
You may also find that some of these things may never come or may not come for quite some time. I, for one, hope to never see a file explorer on WP7.
The fact is, this isn't android and that's a good thing. Each has its own role to play and fits in where they fit in. If WP7 had been around back in 2008 as the alternative to ATT and the iphone, android would most likely be a niche device for the above geeks and tech nerds.
That being said, only Android will fully fill your present and perhaps future needs.
Good luck. Whichever direction ya go.
Wyn6 said:
As far as what you need, you will find that some of these things will come to WP7 like various calendar apps due to the vast number of APIs made available by MS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's one of the things that I was thinking about as I read what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, Mango only allows for read-only access to the Contacts and Appointments. The only way to create an app like that (that actually integrates with the existing calendar app) would be to make the changes in the cloud and let the phone sync like normal. I guess you could always have a 100% standalone calendar app though.
I also want to say that the inability to expand memory using SDHC card will restrict many companies to bring their larger good graphics game to WP7... I have 16GB but I know their are people with only 8GB memory and they cannot expand it..
Now checkout this game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CwSedSzckE&feature=relmfu
It looks a very heavy game by memory wise , if we want games like this on WP7 than 8GB device is a very small handset to have several of this kind of game.. I dont think gameloft can bring such games to WP7 with current restrictions on expandable memory..
****ty textures.. probably fits into the 400-500mb range.
The iphone version weighs in at 511MB..
You should probably get the SGS II and be done with it. You're not likely to find a better android device this year, and android will serve your purposes better than WP7.
It'll play 1080p h264 video in a mkv container without re-encoding.. and supports HDMI out using a MHL adapter.
Even with Mango's new APIs, you're not going to get the same level of functionality that you're looking for.
1. WP7 apps are not written using native code, they use silverlight, XNA or a combination of the two
2. There will never be a file manager or a task manager
3. There is no bluetooth file transfer
4. No Expandable storage
5. Small number of applications (this will be less of an issue as time goes by.. the marketplace is growing fairly rapidly)
6. Limited hardware options
7. No true multitasking (applications don't run constantly in the background until they are exited.. they do on android)
8. No Usb mass storage
I have both devices.
Maybe i can help you a bit.
I do have both devices (+ I have some more). It was part of the benefits of my last job and also part ( almost a requirement) of my actual one.
- If you switch to Android from Wp7 you feel like going back to WinMO a bit. Tons of Rom's,tons of walpapers but milligrams if you need help.
- The greatest benefit of WP7 is the unified platform. Maybe you don't realize it atm, but for 99% of people I've spoken to, it's a deal breaker.
- Not, I repeat, not my solely opinion: everything onscreen with Omnia7 looks better than on SGS2. People always want to tinker with the Omnia7 when I put both phones on the table (sometimes I carry the IPhone 4 with me also).
- SGS2 is literally bloated with redundant crapware. If you guys have ever bought a Sony Vaio in 2008-2010, this is worse.
- SGS2 takes mindblowing photos and FullHD videos (that they don't look like shot through a fishbowl).
-there are some neat tricks bundled on SGS2 but nothing you can't dl from market for free.
-battery is on par.
-voice commands are better on WP7.
-SGS2 feels like under development. 16bit graphics + wake up lag...for amoled+ and dual core? WTF?
- WP7 is more on the legal side, harder to sideload stolen/cracked apps. On android, on the other hand, you get hundreds of forums just for that.
If you have more questions I'd be happy to answer.
I just wanted to share a video of the Chameleon Launcher. Overall the Launcher is nice but in its Beta form it is limited in wallpaper and widgets. Couple points listed below but watch the video to see in action
Only Chameleon Widgets Allowed (Limited Right Now 5)
No Folder Support
No Apps Shortcuts in the Main Screen
Works in Landscape and Portrait
Home dock selected based on Time of Day, Location, and/or Connected Network
Overall Appealing and Smooth Design
I feel it has great potential
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUI2oPNqBW4&hd=1
I just got an email from the Chameleon team saying that I should be receiving instructions on how to activate my pre-order of the Chameleon launcher this week. It's different from any other launcher that I've seen and I'm really excited to finally be able to load it up on my N7.
Just got my beta invite.
Activated and launched.
So far I like it. It will take some getting used.
Definitely has some great potential.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
I personally didn't like it much. Too limited ATM, but it has some great potential.
rohan32 said:
I personally didn't like it much. Too limited ATM, but it has some great potential.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will wait for the official pack then purchase.
So Far so Good
I got my invite and install today and I can gladly say that I am pleased with it! For a pre-beta I only had it crash once or twice while pushing it through a lot. It has so much potential and is going to get so very great! I would say by mid-September this will be complete and ready for a full release. My only problem with it right now is that it is a little odd having only 6 spots on a 7in device for my widgets (other users, you will understand). But my N7 is rooted and Parandroid is looking good, so with more time and tablet ui really expanding I can't wait to force the app into a larger dpi! That should give us more options!
Cheers,
Vanka
Just installed it and played around with it for a bit. It's too buggy and crashes all the time. And every time it crashes, my widgets mess up so I have to redo them.
Twitter widget only let's you read them or click links in tweets. Can't reply or do anything. Email widget only shows NEW email instead of all email.
I'm sure they'll iron out the kinks.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Wraith91 said:
I just got an email from the Chameleon team saying that I should be receiving instructions on how to activate my pre-order of the Chameleon launcher this week. It's different from any other launcher that I've seen and I'm really excited to finally be able to load it up on my N7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. I'll give it a shot once I get the the activation email, but I don't expect much since it's in beta. However I hope they frequently update, I'd be happy to see improvements every few days.
as stated above, not much use at the moment, but has potential
Where, exactly, is the potential benefit you guys are seeing beyond already available launchers and modifications?
Just looks to me like they figured out how to get $10 out of people for something they could do for infinitely less and about the same time commitment.
The beta launcher is nice,.. but i dont want to buy 8$ for a beta launcher
dakkie said:
The beta launcher is nice,.. but i dont want to buy 8$ for a beta launcher
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Unlike Minecraft, which costs 7 bucks and has been in beta for about a year now, teknision stated the official version of Chameleon will be released in late Sept. So backers and preorders are getting the beta a month early. I have a feeling they are going to charge more once it's officially released.
arrjaytea said:
Where, exactly, is the potential benefit you guys are seeing beyond already available launchers and modifications?
Just looks to me like they figured out how to get $10 out of people for something they could do for infinitely less and about the same time commitment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kind of view the potential like Google Now. Which learns basic things and aggregates some information that it thinks useful for you, whether it be baseball, directions getting home, or the weather. If they can effectively achieve a user interface that can evolve to your day, and present the information that matters most to you on the homescreen, it could be really neat. Right now it doesn't really show that and is limited.
The other thing that really interested me and they showed in one of their concept demo but it seems was removed (anyone confirm?) that you could have multiple user profiles and have a login screen. Which especially on a tablet that is used by myself and others, I would love to have. The other thing they showed is to stream media from your tablet to your tv, but while this is streaming you can still use your tablet, the streaming is in the background. Again it seems this feature is not going to be included, but perhaps enough friendly :angel: nudges from the community can put them back on track
arrjaytea said:
Where, exactly, is the potential benefit you guys are seeing beyond already available launchers and modifications?
Just looks to me like they figured out how to get $10 out of people for something they could do for infinitely less and about the same time commitment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THe widgets are HTML5. So if you can code HTML, you can make a widget for it when the API is released. People who haven't developed for Android in the past will be able to develop widgets for this without having to know Android code. Plus with the way the app and widgets are designed, you won't have those funky size widgets that don't fill the space, so you end up with the edges of the widgets not matcng up and it doesn't look too good.
---------- Post added at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:11 PM ----------
arrjaytea said:
Where, exactly, is the potential benefit you guys are seeing beyond already available launchers and modifications?
Just looks to me like they figured out how to get $10 out of people for something they could do for infinitely less and about the same time commitment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sleeplessninja said:
I kind of view the potential like Google Now. Which learns basic things and aggregates some information that it thinks useful for you, whether it be baseball, directions getting home, or the weather. If they can effectively achieve a user interface that can evolve to your day, and present the information that matters most to you on the homescreen, it could be really neat. Right now it doesn't really show that and is limited.
The other thing that really interested me and they showed in one of their concept demo but it seems was removed (anyone confirm?) that you could have multiple user profiles and have a login screen. Which especially on a tablet that is used by myself and others, I would love to have. The other thing they showed is to stream media from your tablet to your tv, but while this is streaming you can still use your tablet, the streaming is in the background. Again it seems this feature is not going to be included, but perhaps enough friendly :angel: nudges from the community can put them back on track
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can have multiple screens that the app can automatically switch to depending on various factors. Like you can have a morning screen, ten when you go to work, it can switch to a work screen. There was never multiple "profiles" unless that is what you consider a profile to be.