Smartphone platform with best battery life? *UPDATE* WinPhone FTW!

[slackerinabox]

*Update*
Pricing for a used iPhone was way up there so I gambled on a Windows Phone (Samsung Focus - $100 shipped, used)- I love the phone so much that I want to make out with it. Battery life seems fine (4 hours into my day and still at 90% under 'I just got a new toy!' heavy usage) and the phone is smoother than any Android phone I've used. I'm also absolutely in love with Zune unlimited music - quit spotify and find Zune easier to use (vs builidng offline playlists). I still prefer iTunes to Zune since I had weird driver issues that required some hotfixes before my phone was recognized (and my main desktop is a mac, which is not supported) but I'd rank the experience up there with my first foray into iOs. Fast (near instant app launching), great notification system, works perfectly with my work's exchange server (had some minor issues with my old droid), and visually interesting to boot! I may go back to iOs in the future but I'm absolutely done with Android and Blackberry (unless BBOS 10 is game changing, of course).

The app situation is kinda goofy - lots of clones of popular apps with similar sounding names and not a lot of tier 1 developers, but pinning sites to my homescreen works very well for the few things I need and can't find an app for. I also miss free turn by turn navigation and Android's got them all beat on that front, but I can live with that since I don't have to worry about force closes anymore!

 

[MrX8503]

WP7 is a fine OS. Good to hear that you're happy with it.

The app situation is kinda goofy - lots of clones of popular apps with similar sounding names and not a lot of tier 1 developers, but pinning sites to my homescreen works very well for the few things I need and can't find an app for. I also miss free turn by turn navigation and Android's got them all beat on that front, but I can live with that since I don't have to worry about force closes anymore!

The app cloning is a problem on WP7, there's a few articles about it online. There's also the problem of developers tricking consumers into thinking that their app is the "official" app. Not sure if this is something that MS will address.

 

[shortylickens]

The BEST battery life, is found in a Blackberry with a small screen, not the Torch or Storm.

I am very happy with my HD7 which runs WP7, and with the Mango update has the ability to automatically go into low power mode.
But I think of the mainstream choices iphone is still the best. Only businesses who absolutely require BB Exchange still use black berry's. And sometimes college students, for the easy texting. But mostly businesses.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

*Update*
I may go back to iOs in the future but I'm absolutely done with Android and Blackberry (unless BBOS 10 is game changing, of course).

To be fair to Android it's evolved substantially since the Droid was released so you can't really compare that to WP7. A new Galaxy S2 or Galaxy Nexus will easily keep up with WP7 while still offering far more features, apps, and customization.

I upgraded from a Samsung Captivate to a Galaxy S2 and was blown away by the difference in performance. To be honest as nice as ICS is I'm not that worried about how long it will take for my SGS2 to get an upgrade since the phone is nearly perfect on Gingerbread. Since the Captivate had considerably faster hardware than the Droid the performance difference should be even more surprising.

 

[shortylickens]

I still like my Droid as a media player, especially cuz it came with a 16gb card. But I have to admit this generations equipment is far superior. Am going to keep WP7 as my connectivity device, and use a no-contract Atrix 2 for games, movies, and music. When I go to school that sucker will stay tucked in the bag unless I'm waiting for something and have the time to listen to music or maybe watch part of a movie (or perhaps one episode of TV?).

 

[Deeko]

*Update*
Pricing for a used iPhone was way up there so I gambled on a Windows Phone (Samsung Focus - $100 shipped, used)- I love the phone so much that I want to make out with it. Battery life seems fine (4 hours into my day and still at 90% under 'I just got a new toy!' heavy usage) and the phone is smoother than any Android phone I've used. I'm also absolutely in love with Zune unlimited music - quit spotify and find Zune easier to use (vs builidng offline playlists). I still prefer iTunes to Zune since I had weird driver issues that required some hotsyncing before my phone was recognized (and my main desktop is a mac, which is not supported) but I'd rank the experience up there with my first foray into iOs. Fast (near instant app launching), great notification system, works perfectly with my work's exchange server (had some minor issues with my old droid), and visually interesting to boot! I may go back to iOs in the future but I'm absolutely done with Android and Blackberry (unless BBOS 10 is game changing, of course).

The app situation is kinda goofy - lots of clones of popular apps with similar sounding names and not a lot of tier 1 developers, but pinning sites to my homescreen works very well for the few things I need and can't find an app for. I also miss free turn by turn navigation and Android's got them all beat on that front, but I can live with that since I don't have to worry about force closes anymore!

Glad you like it. By the way, there is WP7 software for Mac, just not the official Zune client - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/apps/mac-connector.aspx

 

[Belegost]

Good to see someone else enjoying their WinPhone. I agree, the zine pass integration is awesome, I want a song, I goto the marketplace do a search and 9/10 times I can start listening to it immediately.

I think the more people like yourself who pick up the phone and realize how nice it is to use, the more the top apps will be available. MS just needs to get them into people's hands.

 

[slackerinabox]

To be fair to Android it's evolved substantially since the Droid was released so you can't really compare that to WP7. A new Galaxy S2 or Galaxy Nexus will easily keep up with WP7 while still offering far more features, apps, and customization.

I upgraded from a Samsung Captivate to a Galaxy S2 and was blown away by the difference in performance. To be honest as nice as ICS is I'm not that worried about how long it will take for my SGS2 to get an upgrade since the phone is nearly perfect on Gingerbread. Since the Captivate had considerably faster hardware than the Droid the performance difference should be even more surprising.

I hear ya, my wife's Samsung (Verizon version of the Galaxy S) was a nice phone that was definitely smoother than my droid after all the crapware was removed, and everything I've read about the SII seems great. Battery life, however, meant that she had to charge up every 6 hours or so which is something I can't do. I considered the SII but $100 vs $400, well, $100 won and I don't regret it at all

I think what I like the most about Windows Phone is, ironically, the lack of customization and the "it just works" side of it. I loved romming up my Droid but inconsistent battery life and force closes was something I just can't deal with anymore since I have a client facing job and need my phone to be reliable and on. WinPhone's slick, fast enough, efficient battery wise, and offers a ton of unique features that I find very appealing as a work phone. Zune's just that little extra that seals the deal for me. And, god, I love the interface! It's an absolute joy to use. Shocking, since I had a samsung omnia running Win Mobile 6 and it was absolutely dreadful interface wise.

 

[slackerinabox]

Glad you like it. By the way, there is WP7 software for Mac, just not the official Zune client - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/apps/mac-connector.aspx

Cool- I'll look into that!

 

[Trader05]

Good to see you like it. I think once WP7 gets most of the top apps on Android and iOS most people will be more comfortable to at least try it out.

 

[sygyzy]

It looks like a used Focus S will be my goto phone for traveling abroad.

 

[slackerinabox]

It looks like a used Focus S will be my goto phone for traveling abroad.

You won't be disappointed, unless you're app hungry. I wish Microsoft would step up to the plate and just develop killer apps themselves (much like google does for android)!

 

[shortylickens]

You won't be disappointed, unless you're app hungry. I wish Microsoft would step up to the plate and just develop killer apps themselves (much like google does for android)!

Yeah their lack of core apps coupled with a small market is not a good selling point.
Having said that, Mango has plenty of capability as is, and I havent needed many extra apps besides games to keep me from getting bored.

 

[TheStu]

Cool- I'll look into that!

Just so you know, that does not allow you to access the Zune Marketplace except via the device. It will pull iTunes music and playlists and all that jazz through the Connector, which actually makes it a nice pure syncing system as opposed to iTunes and Zune. But the lack of marketplace access is a little annoying.

 

[Deeko]

You won't be disappointed, unless you're app hungry. I wish Microsoft would step up to the plate and just develop killer apps themselves (much like google does for android)!

Well, a lot of things that are separate apps for other platforms are built in to Mango. The Facebook and Twitter integration, Office/SkyDrive, etc.

The app situation is improving...I mean, these eight in particular are top notch! http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/p...ce51-9894-4b63-a3d5-1d570eae539f&name=DeekFit

 

[Mopetar]

The iPhone will probably have the best battery life stock, but if you want another Android phone you can look into models that have larger battery packs. It makes the phone thicker and heavier, but you do get a lot of extra life out of it. A friend who picked up a Thunderbolt said his battery life was pretty awful, but after getting a bigger battery for it it's significantly better.