Lumia 920

[Chrono]

I returned mine about 2 weeks ago. I just sold my one x and was about to bite on a black matte lumia 920 with charge plate for $360... but I snoozed and it was sold. Ah well. I guess SGS3 or note 2 then?

[dagamer34]

Originally Posted by Eug

Is there no way to sync to iCloud? Android can sync to iCloud through 3rd party software, which is why I felt comfortable enough to order the Nexus 4 (although it's a 2 month wait).

Also, what about syncing with Google's calendar and address book?

What about MKV with DTS playback?

Sorry, I haven't read the whole thread.

Er... why would Microsoft support iCloud?

Syncing with Google calendar and address book works fine.

MKV playback is best handled with a separate Plex server trascoding to a format a Windows Phone can easily digest.

[s44]

Originally Posted by dagamer34

Er... why would Microsoft support iCloud?

Well, that's the beauty of the app model instead of the "Microsoft makes the OS do everything you need" model.

Google doesn't have to include support for every service and format under the sun into Android proper... third party devs can do it, and the intent system can let you use it as if native.

Also, you could similarly ask "why would Microsoft support Dropbox"... which they, of course, didn't.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by dagamer34

Er... why would Microsoft support iCloud?

They wouldn't. I was wondering if a third party somehow could though, just like a 3rd party does for Android as I explained in my previous post.

MKV playback is best handled with a separate Plex server trascoding to a format a Windows Phone can easily digest.

Uh no it isn't. I generally don't carry Plex servers with me on the road.

[pchelica]

Lumia 920 or Nexus 4?

[finbarqs]

I really wanna try out the lumia... but lack of good apps has swayed me away. I mean come on. You have to PAY for the go pro hero app? iOS and Android are both free..

[Deeko]

Originally Posted by pchelica

Lumia 920 or Nexus 4?

Very different devices with distinct advantages. I carry around a Lumia 920 and HTC One which is a fairly similar comparison. Honestly - for the majority of tasks, I use the Lumia. I only pull out the HTC for apps that windows Phone doesn't have. What the Lumia does, it generally does better...it just doesn't do as much.

Oh, and if you care about camera, its no comparison. The Lumia had an amazing camera, whereas the nexus is quite sub par. So it really does depend on what you're doing.

[Reckoner]

Windows 8 is doomed with its lack of apps. I had the Lumia 920 and HTC 8x, which I both enjoyed however the lack of apps kills the platform. I also can't stand internet explorer.

[mkmitch]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Windows 8 is doomed with its lack of apps. I had the Lumia 920 and HTC 8x, which I both enjoyed however the lack of apps kills the platform. I also can't stand internet explorer.

150,000 apps are available, what a totally wrongheaded statement to post. I just dumped my android for a 928, much more dependable, easier to use and less crashers. The s3 drove me batty.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by mkmitch

150,000 apps are available, what a totally wrongheaded statement to post. I just dumped my android for a 928, much more dependable, easier to use and less crashers. The s3 drove me batty.

Most of those apps are garbage; completely inferior to their android and ios counterparts.

[Deeko]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Most of those apps are garbage; completely inferior to their android and ios counterparts.

Well that's really not true. There are certainly some apps that lack features of other platforms (Yelp comes to mind), some are very well done. For example, I would say the Pandora app on WP8 is the best of any platform.

[bearxor]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Most of those apps are garbage; completely inferior to their android and ios counterparts.

So, I've used a Lumia 521 for a couple of weeks, returned it and picked up a cherry Lumia 920 for $200 and have been using it as my main device for a solid week now. I'm going to totally echo this statement.

The WP store could have a million apps, but if I can't find functional equivalents to apps I use on iOS, then a number total is worthless. I have a dozen apps on my iPhone I use day to day that don't have a functional equivalent on WP. Another half dozen that the iOS app is way superior. And that's ignoring something that's a known deficiency on WP, games. I've got about 20 games installed I play on/off that I simply can't replace on a WP device. I still feel like I have to carry my iPhone with me in my pocket just to make it through a day, something I never felt like I had to do when I was using a GNex.

There are some things I like about WP, but the shortcomings are adding up quickly. What was intended to be at least a three month run with the Lumia 920 may end up a lot shorter. I don't think I'm that needy, but WP needs a lot of work. If I were Microsoft, I would start offering a bounty. Buy an iPod Touch, go through the top 100 apps in each category and offer the developer manpower, a dev phone and cold hard cash to get those apps ported over. I think there's still room here for a three dog fight, but heaven forbid Microsoft waits around so long that BlackBerry gets its Android App process all works out.

I do like the two stage camera button and camera on the 920. It's not so much that I thinknl its significantly better than the iPhone 5 camera but it just feels like it is. If the released a 808 equivalent with WP8, I would be pretty tempted to switch.

[s44]

Originally Posted by bearxor

If the released a 808 equivalent with WP8, I would be pretty tempted to switch.

It actually looks like Sony may do this on Android before any WP alternative.

[darkewaffle]

Originally Posted by bearxor

I have a dozen apps on my iPhone I use day to day that don't have a functional equivalent on WP. Another half dozen that the iOS app is way superior.

If I were Microsoft, I would start offering a bounty. Buy an iPod Touch, go through the top 100 apps in each category and offer the developer manpower, a dev phone and cold hard cash to get those apps ported over.

That's roughly how they've gotten the big apps they've already got lol.

Personally I'll never understand the app obsession. I'm much more interested in a platform that looks good and feels good than one that's app heavy, it just isn't important to me.

[bearxor]

Originally Posted by s44

It actually looks like Sony may do this on Android before any WP alternative.

That'll be a definite pass for me, thanks though.

Originally Posted by darkewaffle

Personally I'll never understand the app obsession. I'm much more interested in a platform that looks good and feels good than one that's app heavy, it just isn't important to me.

Well, if stock applications work great for you then that's terrific, but then I'd honestly have to question why you'd even choose Windows Phone, when iOS looks perfectly good the way it is and I couldn't name a single stock app that's better than something that comes with an iPhone, unless you had to have Office or something.

I'm finding the entire idea of Live Tiles to be quite pointless. If I take one of my email tiles and make it 4x2, then I get a preview of the last email I received. If I make it 2x2, I get no preview and just a label of what the account is with a count. Make it 1x1, and all i get is an icon and a count. That makes it particularly confusing if you have multiple email accounts. Now I have three icons on my start page with no indication of what is what.

But the catch for me is that this is nothing that isn't impossible to replicate on iOS. I can set the mail client to send a notification to the lock screen that tells me who its from and gives me a small preview, and even lets me go right to it from the lock screen, something you couldn't do on WP unless you were there right when the mail came in.

Similar thing with the CNN app. If I put it in 4x2 mode, I get a headline and then a picture, just rotating. 2x2 is just a picture and the CNN logo rotating. 1x1 is just the CNN logo. If I install the CNN app on the iPhone, I can set it so that I get a notification of breaking news alerts that collect on my lock screen if I'm away. And since I can choose to have the notifications show up on the lock screen and not collect in the notification center, I never have to pull the NC down and dismiss anything. I can just walk away from my device and come back 10 minutes later, quickly see anything I missed that might be important, and get on with my life. Windows Phone seems to be made to have you constantly look at it.

I could probably go on and on, but WP's problems have been detailed numerous times by people more versed in the subject than myself. Suffice it to say, I won't be using this device very long before I look to offload it. WP just screams "unfinished" to me. The problem is that I like it more than Android, but would never choose a WP device over an Android device at this point simply because I don't feel like I could get anything done on WP.

Originally Posted by darkewaffle

That's roughly how they've gotten the big apps they've already got lol.

When's the last time they did this, 2010?