Who has a windows phone?

[wholesalestunna]

Who here has a windows phone? What do you think of it? What model do you have? What phone did you have before (android or iOS?). I don't know anything about them but getting a new windows 8 laptop has peaked my interest.

 

[WT]

I currently have an HTC 8X as my work phone. I have always disliked Apple's restrictive products, back when you couldn't even change the background, so unlike my co-workers, I have no Apple Iphone history and would not be interested in buying one*

There is not the wealth of apps for the Windows phones, but I am not an app guy. I just want a freakin' phone, and very much enjoy the home screen customization of the Win8 phones. Even the Iphone co-workers think the live tiles are a cool feature. Battery life is around 20+ hours, obviously depending on what you do with it. Watch Netflix with it and see it drop to 5+ hours in a hurry.

Like I mentioned, I am not a phone guy (I don't own a personal cell phone - I use my work phone) so my last phone before the Iphone trial was a Blackberry (Whoa !!) and I only gave up on that due to it causing a hassle at work as they wanted to retire the BB server, as it only supported 2 (!!!) users at that time, myself included.


* I tried one for a week due to co-worker pressure to at least 'try' it. I hated it, and returned it for the 8X after a week.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Windows Phone is pretty forward thinking. It started the flat interface trend that even iOS copied. It balances efficiency with hardware choice. It has one of the best phone makers (Nokia) making devices for it.

The problem is that MS won't put the resources it needs to put into it. The OS is far enough behind it needs biannual updates to catch up to Android/iOS, and MS needs to bribe app makers with like a billion dollars to get app parity.

Honestly I wonder what would have happened if MS took the billion they wasted on Surface and dumped that into their phones instead.

 

[wholesalestunna]

That's very true... I hear about windows phone catching on more in other countries, especially where the iPhone is not sold, but don't really hear much at all about it here in the US.

 

[s44]

I hear about windows phone catching on more in other countries, especially where the iPhone is not sold, but don't really hear much at all about it here in the US.

That's because its main competitive niche is people who, like the first replier here, haven't had much time with mature smartphone OSes (Android/iOS). It's just not developed enough on the whole (apps+features) to satisfy people who expect it to do at least all the things their previous Android/iPhone did. (Yes, there are exceptions, but this is overall.) And there isn't synergy with other Windows products (you can't share apps or anything).

 

[wholesalestunna]

That's because its main competitive niche is people who, like the first replier here, haven't had much time with mature smartphone OSes (Android/iOS). It's just not developed enough on the whole (apps+features) to satisfy people who expect it to do at least all the things their previous Android/iPhone did. (Yes, there are exceptions, but this is overall.) And there isn't synergy with other Windows products (you can't share apps or anything).

No sharing apps sucks... I'm not a huge app user but if I did buy an app I would want it available cross platform like the iPad/iPhone

 

[zerogear]

Lumia 920 here.

 

[wholesalestunna]

Lumia 920 here.

I watched a YouTube video review of that model and it looks pretty cool. I like how simple the Windows phone OS is

 

[IamDavid]

Currently running the 1020. Best device ever made by any vendor hands down. Yes, I do like the camera a lot.

I've used every OS now and can't see me ever going back to Apple, maybe Android.

SkyDrive integration is perfect.
XBMusic is the best. 9.99 a month for unlimited music. Sync's existing music great too.
Apps aren't nearly as big of deal as people make them out to be. Especially now that Instagram, Vine and Snapchap released apps.
Nokia maps = best anywhere.

The one annoying piece to the Windows platform is the sh#$^ Windows Phone to Windows PC/Tablet app. A couple of half idiot 1st year programmers could've released a better app already. COME ON MS!

 

[notposting]

No sharing apps sucks... I'm not a huge app user but if I did buy an app I would want it available cross platform like the iPad/iPhone

Yeah...they've started towards a merge, but nothing yet (dev accounts are good for both W8/WP now). Seems inevitable, but waiting on MS can take a long time.

 

[s44]

XBMusic is the best. 9.99 a month for unlimited music. Sync's existing music great too.

If only some other major company offered this for Android, desktop, and iOS!

 

[notposting]

Oh, Lumia 928 here. Had an HTC Trophy (WP7) for 2 years previously.

 

[openwheel]

Can't argue with Lumia 1020, awesome camera. It can replace dedicated cameras like DSLR for 98% of travelers.

 

[jimhsu]

Lumia 920. Live tiles is the best home screen implementation I've used, camera is outstanding (though not as good as 1020), skydrive integration is fabulous. App support is still mediocre, especially from the larger companies (banks, non-social media businesses, etc).

 

[crashtestdummy]

Lumia 521. I really like it. It definitely doesn't have the app infrastructure that Android and iOS do, but I don't find myself really missing it, either. Even though it's a low-spec phone, it runs quite smooth. The interface is simple, clean, and sparse. The ability to make the apps I use more often larger on the screen is big for me, as I find the app icons in the other two OSes to be too uniform. I'm definitely not a power user when it comes to smartphones, though, so take my opinion with a deserved grain of salt. I don't play games or use much social media, so I'm not so hung up on having all the latest apps that everyone else uses.

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

Lumia 521 here, I love it and for the price its really appealing. I checked out the Lumia 1520 recently and I fell in love with it instantly, although I always buy my phones up front and don't want to spend that kind of money on a phone. I think my next phone will be a Lumia 1320. I've had a Google Nexus 7 and I understand what people mean about Windows not having apps, because their are a few that its frustrating when WP8 doesn't have them - but 90% of apps out there are pretty worthless. A lot of other ones are also available on the browser - like Facebook for example - so I don't really think WP8 misses out on that much.

The ones that bother me are apps like a remote control for my camera that Canon makes for iOS and Android but not for Windows.

 

[Nebor]

Nokia 920 here. It's pretty great. I also had a Samsung Focus before this, and a Sony Xperia (Windows Mobile 6.1) before that...

I wish I could map the search button to google search, because bing search sucks.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

I just picked up a Lumia 1520 to replace my aging iPhone 4S. I've had it for about 4 hours now and I think I'm in love. I had a little hesitation about migrating because I probably have spent a few hundred on iPhone apps in the three years I've had an iPhone. That hesitation was alleviated with the offers from the Microsoft Store for a free $50 gift card and Nokia's offer for a $20 gift card for the Windows phone app store.

Starting off with $70 in free app credit made the switch pretty darn easy. Also, I love the phone. The integration with everything is incredible.

 

[sequoia464]

Lumia 521, pretty happy with it, 2nd windows phone for me.

My wife likes it well enough that her next phone will be a Nokia 1020.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

Lumia 520 here. For such a cheap phone, it's pretty awesome. I will be upgrading to 920 though, for the camera. It's a year old phone, but the price is pretty good.

 

[sgrinavi]

Lumia 920 - I've had it about 2 months along side my ip5 - I prefer to carry the iphone as the Nokia is pretty heavy and somewhat large considering the screen size. It has a nice camera, smooth action. It takes some getting used to, but I like it. I'm waiting for the 8.1 upgrade to decide if I want to burn an upgrade on it and get the next gen.

 

[wholesalestunna]

Sounds like everyone likes their windows phone

 

[notposting]

Sounds like everyone likes their windows phone

If you go into with the understanding that it is the distant 3rd place ecosystem (though gaining), and make sure any mission critical features or apps are available first, it can be pretty good.

If you need VPN and an app for you bank that isn't available and the latest iOS game...you will be disappointed. Maybe some day those will be available...but not today.

Otherwise, yeah.

 

[bearxor]

^ This is pretty much spot on. WP is great. It gives a great balance between iOS and Android.

BUT, there are still several functional and application gaps. These will (likely) be fixed over time, hopefully within the next year. As long as you go in knowing the limitations and being able to work around them, not need them or ignore them, then I don't think you can really go wrong.

I used a L520 earlier this year when they came out and loved it. So much so, that I returned it and bought a L920 because I wanted the 1GB of RAM, which is required for some apps, and the better camera, which is important to me as well. While I loved the L920, the size was a bit on the large side for me and I never felt like I could leave my iPhone at home and use the L920 as my daily phone like I can when I switch off to Android. There's simply too much missing on WP8 for me right now. But, again, if you're fine with that going in, it's pretty awesome.

The L525 looks like a great replacement for the L520. If you don't really need a flash, the L525 should be more than sufficient for you, when it's officially announced anyways.

 

[RandomFool]

I've got a Lumia 920. Previously had a Galaxy Nexus and iPhone 3GS. I'm a big fan of Windows Phone, I don't download tons of apps and most of the big names (or a good alternative) are there.

The biggest missing apps for me are:
Amazon Cloud Player
Google Hangouts (alternative) - I've got IM+ now, it's passable but not great.