All Things Windows Phone - Apps, Phones, and Discussion

They changed this in Windows 8.1. Its now a long press, and organizing/ grouping tiles has also been made much easier.

 

Being that I finally got a job, I need a new phone as the battery life on my HD7 is more or less shot and it's unusable without an external battery. I was thinking of picking up a 8X new off ebay for ~300, but then the 925 I could possibly try getting using T-Mobile's new plan structure and pay for it month by month for a bit and then pay it off somewhere around the end of the year. I was thinking I'd get the 925 since it's still new and I intend on keeping it for at least 2 years, if not more. Which would be a better option?

Also, I'd probably be picking it up somewhere around the end of the month.

 

Having owned pretty much every single Windows Phone 8 device, I would say definitely skip the 8x and go with the 925. Battery life, build quality, performance, camera quality and overall support is just so much better than the 8x. I absolutely love my 925... almost as much as my 1020.

 

And even beyond the superior hardware, HTC has basically ignored WP8 except for the 8X. If a bug were to need fixing, Nokia has proven itself to be extremely responsive to customers. Maybe the best in the business. HTC is known for being unresponsive with fixes and updates even on their Android flagships...how do you think they'd be with a platform they've already demonstrated they're all-but-ignoring?

 

Good points... I forgot I had to install 7.8 on the HD7 myself actually. I'll pick up a 925 then, and hand the HD7 to my grandmother; she needs a new phone as her old nokia brick is becoming hard to use because the screen is so dim... even though the rest of it still works... original battery and charger and all...

 

I actually managed to get a 925 earlier than I thought I would, my job paid for it outright for me (though I still have to pay them back); I can't tell if it's the hardware or software that makes everything faster, but WP8 flies on the 925.

My only annoyance for the moment is Skype keeps being silly and telling me my phone numbers are invalid when I try to call out from the app.

 

I've been loving my Lumia 1020... saw this picture online.. pretty funny

 

They might change their tune when this comes out...

(SR5) Hot! First images of the new DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 lens-cameras! | sonyalpharumors
I actually like this idea better, since I rarely need a 'proper camera' out of a mobile. Carrying a compact attachment for serious pictures that outputs stuff way better than a 1020 appeals to me. However it probably won't sell because of course costs of cameraphones is artificially distorted by subsidies, and these attachments aren't subsidised.

 

I want the Honami so bad...

 

Whatever it is it runs Android and just that for me means a giant Meh. However I'm almost ready to give up on WP8 altogether so it's that or nothing as my iPhone alternate.

And yeah - I guess I'm going to have to get the Hohummeh. The Xprune Z has been probably one of my least disliked Android phone as of late. People fawn over the Number One but I ditched it in a matter of days.

 

I do have to admit, I like WP8. Very simplistic and the UI is overall nice!

The HTC One is my favourite device now, but the GNote 3/Honami may change that. You'd be happy if you get a Sony, they're acquiring a lot of love form everyone, consumer and developer alike.

 

Details on Nokia's first phablet. Unfortunately, I worry that it (1) is still many months away, and (2) will start its life as an AT&T exclusive. Regardless, sounds like good hardware:

Nokia Bandit: a 6-inch giant Windows Phone coming soon | The Verge

 

Finally got GDR2 on my 8X (Bell Canada) and oh yeah! dat fm radio.

 

Well, I'm out of WP8. Will be keeping WP7 around until I fully transition all of my media stuff to MTP & on-device sync.

Last straw came recently when I needed to repeatedly tether my tablet to the WP, while inbetween using Bluetooth for audio. I had to reboot the handset ten times in two days because either it lost data connection, lost wifi or wouldn't send audio over bluetooth anymore. Switched to WP7 handset, same thing, zero reboots. Similar lack of progress in many other areas - what WP8 added to WP7 was stuff that was chronically lacking in any modern OS anyway, nothing more. I half thought about continuing to rock WP7 for another year but why should a person in my position do so was the question. So I'm done.

 

This particular Lumia 1020 is a bit erratic with battery life. Some days it can last an entire day off a charge and occasionally it can't make it to the end of the work day after a full charge in the morning. I've caught it completely empty four times already and I very rarely let a phone drain to that point.

 

Holy ****. Microsoft just bought the devices and services parts of Nokia.

Does anyone see any WP devices other than Nokia in the future? HTC, which was admittedly making an effort, is probably done with WP. Samsung probably doesn't care one way or another. LG has been done for a while.

My prediction: Nothing but Nokia Windows Phones.

 

Huawei and ZTE have made WP devices and they may continue to do so. I do think you're right that HTC and particularly Samsung are going to drop WP soon.

Speaking of doing well overseas, WP is now double-digit market shares in France and Mexico, with overall dramatic gains in western Europe. China and the US remain weak points though.

Windows Phone hitting 8% sales across Europe and explosive growth in Mexico, but still struggles in the US | Windows Phone Central

 

Going by PhoneArena's article, it sounds like a full blown acquisition, so the Nokia brand name would likely be completely dissolved by the end of 2014 for future Lumia products.

I still wish Microsoft would bring back the Zune HD's aesthetics for their phone lineup.

 

Microsoft to acquire Nokia's Devices & Services for $5 billion

Holy ***!~!

Well, there goes Nokia phones. They were starting to get good, but now...

 

Find me an article that complains about hardware quality on the Surface and Surface Pro. A lot of people don't like Windows RT, but I have yet to hear complaints about the Surfaces' hardware quality.

And that's even assuming that they wouldn't continue with the same hardware and design philosophy Nokia has been using. And I bet they will, since it ties in so well with the aesthetic of WP8.

 

I'm not complaining about the hardware quality of the Surface or Surface Pro.

But now you need to remember Microsoft has entered the mobile device market. Before today, Nokia was a competitor, albeit one who licensed Windows mobile OS from them. Now, (and here's the $5 Billion question) how many companies do you know whom bought out their competitors in order to improve said purchased competitor's devices and designs, so the competing devices can supersede their own?

 

I'm pretty certain Vogelbung on here has had a number of issues with Surfaces.

 

They only bought the Lumia branding, Nokia still has the autonomy as before, and the possibility of going Android.

 

Hopefully it'll be (non-)managed like Skype and Nokia left to get on with doing their stuff. I say hopefully but since I'm out of WP for now (though I'll keep an 8 set lying around) I guess it's moot.

Surface-wise, ironically for me the experience has been the opposite in the end. I do actually think RT OS has legs, still, and I still think it's what they should be putting on their subnotebook-level mobile products - but obviously it (and the Office version paired with it) needs HUGE amounts of work, which I'm not sure they've addressed with 8.1 (I have not tried the previews as I don't beta test production PC OS's). I also like the Surface hardware in terms of visual design (less emasculated than Apple's gear) and the innovations it brought (well, they aren't real innovations IMNHO but are a damn sight more innovation than what Apple brings to the table and dresses up in RDF) but the build quality has been kind of ropey, especially among the small deluge of fully reshrinkwrapped but obvious refurbs (then new units when I complained) I got in place of my initial unit.

There are also some dumb decisions in terms of the hardware engineering itself which really looked like beginner's errors. It's clear therefore to me that Nokia is a better hardware partner for mobile devices. And the service... oy; Helpful but in a pathetically ineffective way.

My big worry is that this ties Nokia - which still carries cachet in many places, and WP helped re-bolster that - irrevocably with Microsoft. MS is not a cool or even cachet-laden brand in many, many places. It raises a huge spectre of if handled badly, it really will be 'two turkeys won't make an eagle' (even if that was said by the employee of a glorified pigeon).

They clearly need more focus on the details yet also joined-up thinking going forwards, and hopefully - that's a big hopefully - under Larsen-Green's leadership (presumably... or does Elop assume that role? Again, confusion) of the Devices unit it might get something in that regard. Huge job for JLG though, and I don't think she has the charisma to carry it off in terms of the perception that she invokes.

This also brings back up intriguing questions and problems though about the future of Surface. Will Surface 2 RT be Nokia and Surface Pro 2 be MS? Either way, I think it raises issues with the Surface brand - and that in turn given recent history (Zune, Kin, etc) raises huge alarm bells over whether Microsoft is a 'forever flailer' when it comes to anything other than core Windows/Office software.

 

Microsoft CEO candidate Elop confirmed as insider | BGR

 

Negative. All of the hardware team is officially Microsoft's and Microsoft's alone. The only thing Nokia proper has left is the development of the here apps for MS (contracted for four years IIRC), their legacy telecom networking business, and one other thing I can't remember off hand.

They may downplay the Microsoft connection like they have done with Skype. The Nokia brand has cachet for sure, dumping it would be a mistake.

Elop will remain in charge of the Nokia devices while Larson-Green will manage everything else according to various news sources.

Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk 2

 

It's not like Samsung or HTC were putting any effort into their WP8 offerings anyway. It's entirely possible that this will make WP8 a one-hardware-maker company, like Apple and Blackberry.

That said, Google buying Motorola didn't dissuade Samsung from continuing to sell (and dominate with) Android devices. So if another OEM wants to actually make a real effort with WP8, there is precedent for them being successful doing so.

 

Which is really a shame because Windows Phone looks REALLY good on AMOLED. It's like WP was made for AMOLED devices. Plus, I really do think that the hardware quality of the Samsung ATIV devices was markedly better than HTC's WP devices. The 8X had some issues, if I recall correctly.

 

Wasn't my point. I was posting with one eye open - hence my convoluted reply.

My reasoning was: Microsoft is planning bringing out Windows Mobile devices. Nokia dedicated their entire phone lineup to Windows Mobile. There are other OEMs who offer Windows Mobile, but Nokia was the only one who offered it inclusively (I might have the wrong adj there) for their phones. Sooo, by buying Nokia's mobile division, MS gets rid of a competitor. And make no mistake, that will be MS's hidden agenda. Cause why would MS want to continue to develop the Lumia line when it can *scrape* and pillage the best parts of Nokia's mobile line and add it to their own MS branded mobile devices, whilst letting their newly acquired Nokia lineups to corrode all to hell on the shelf...quietly?

 

That's got to be the dumbest/most Conspiracy Brother thing I've read in a while.

 

Interestingly from what I read since it looks like the branding will be strongly Microsoft-focused - I guess MS thought the Lumia brand was strong enough to stand on it's own. I can't help feeling that's a bad idea, as I said above.

 

Nokia has approximately 10% market share in Mexico and in several western European companies. They're not buying Nokia to damage that brand equity; they're buying Nokia to take advantage of that brand equity and build upon it. Doesn't matter whether you think Microsoft are saints or demons; that's just basic business strategy.

FYI, Microsoft has leased the Nokia name for phones for ten years (Nokia retains the name for other matters, such as telecom services). The only reason they'd do that is if they were going to continue to use the name recognition of Nokia phones as they build upon the lineup.

 

We'll see. I still think MS will take all the valuable tech out of the Nokia line and put into Microsoft brand mobile devices and then let the Nokia line die a slow death.

 

I could see them try to push the Lumia name forward compared to Nokia and then maybe phase out Nokia slowly, but giving up on the Lumia brand would be stupid if you ask me, it's already established as the Windows Phone flagship brand after all.

 

Extra-large Nokia Lumia 1520 surfaces in press image



6" Windows Phone 8 handset anyone?

 

Hey Samsung, THIS is how you make a phablet attractive. Not by shaping greasy hard plastic to look like Rich Corinthian Leather...

 

I have an aversion to the plastics Samsung uses in some of their devices, it just doesn't feel good. I've had that feeling with the Galaxy phones and tablets and the Ativ phones and tablets. Regardless of how solid it may be, it doesn't feel premium.

 

For the most part, their plastics, while they feel slimy and "cheap," have an engineering-over-design ethos that makes it forgiveable. But with the Note 3, they have a back that's textured to look like leather (complete with "stitching" around the edges) that's actually just the same hard, slimy plastic they always use. It's an aesthetic atrocity. The Note 3 was unveiled about the same time that the Lumia 1520 was leaked, and the distinction was striking.

 

WP8.1 may be getting a Siri-esque personal assistant named Cortana.

Windows Phone 8.1 rumors hint at personal assistant and notifications tile

Why "Cortana"? Well, the good news is, it ties with other Microsoft products. Cortana is the digital assistant of Master Chief in Halo 4 (projected as a translucent blue projection of a woman). The bad news is, if you actually know anything about Halo 4, Cortana is both glitchy and borderline insane. Not an auspicious reference for WP8.1's digital assistant...

There's much discussion of Cortana (the Halo version, not the Windows Phone version) in IGN's video review of Halo 4:

 

Actually, from a pure engineering combined with bad design point of view, the leather finish does make sense as the texture allows you to get a better purchase on the unit. I remember any number of electronic personal organisers I had in the 80's which came with a faux-leather finish for that very purpose. The stitching... well, I guess they thought 'might well go the whole hog'

 

So, anyone here had a long Nokia Lumia 920 experience?
So far beneath all those good reviews I've gathered a lot of angry forum posts complaining about a number of issues (gets very hot (I've experienced it once in the shop as well), screen flickering, dust gets into the FCC, constructional issues, etc.). I want my next phone to last me at least 2 years, but by all these negative comments on the Internet I'm afraid it won't.
On the other hand, it might be a bit exaggerated, because people who have no issues usually don't write stuff on the Internet.
So far it's really a tie for me between 920 and HTC One X+ (64GB would come in handy for me).

 

Had both.

Screen quality: One X+
Camera: Lumia 920
Heat dissipation: Lumia 920
Battery life: Lumia 920
Apps: One X+
User Interface: Lumia 920

If you plan on using a lot of apps, the One X+ will pull ahead, otherwise as a plain jane phone with some enhanced built-in features, the Lumia 920 is better.

 

Handsets get hot with use. If the 920 hotness is an issue, then I'd hate to think what they'd make of e.g. the XPrune Z, or indeed practically any anywhere near flagship-level Android. And build quality is better than almost anyone. HTC has superior out-of-the box factor especially in the tactile element of their stuff, but it fades quickly - my One (and not the one I bought first time around to try, but the one I bought much more recently as one of the handsets to move off WP8) is looking a tad worse than my thoroughly abused OG Lumia 800 after minimal drops.

Perhaps there are more issues because more people use the 920 uncased as opposed to some Android piece of junk - on the other hand I use most of my phones uncased because - well, I want the size the phone is, not with a giant case on it - and I often get to see just how much they don't hold up like a Nokia.

I do think the 920 is on the too-heavy side though, some might disagree but it couldn't be my first-string handset because it was too unwieldy.

 

I had a different opinion on X+'s screen, it felt a bit bland comparing to 920's more vivid colours, but then again, WP8 is a more colourful OS. Applications don't bother me at all, as long as there are PDF reader and Sudoku, I'm pretty much set. Also for once it's nice that user can delete useless preinstalled crap from the system.

The size and weight really bothered me at first too, but then I had an opportunity to hold the real deal and it felt kinda nice. To be honest I don't remember any other phone feeling so right in my hands before (and I have small hands). Even those crap cables in the shops didn't make it worse for me. So luckily size and weight won't be a problem for me.

Well, I guess I'll make one more trip to the store and then decide what to get for sure. Currently 289EUR for a 920 and X+ for 379EUR. Both prices seem reasonable to me.

 

GDR2 has turned up on my handset...

*keels over in shock*

 

I take it Amber is your favorite color?

 

Too bad... Looks like he won't be complimenting your green eyes .

 

Saw'll right. He's not my type anyway.

 

You're shocked by GDR2 or that it was finally pushed to your phone?

 

That's one of those words that I've always wondered how it's correctly spelled. Kind of like breeches (pants). I live in Alabama, and these still confuse me.