All Things Windows Phone - Apps, Phones, and Discussion

Nokia sold 2.2 million Lumia smartphones in Q1, analysts say - GSMArena.com news

 

Maybe everyone will stop complaining now.

 

Hey look, it's Windows Phone 8! Similar concept, better execution. I like that they're getting rid of the side gutter (to more fully use all the screen) and giving more options for resizing tiles.

Windows Phone 8 in detail: new Start Screen, multi-core support, VoIP integration, and NFC | The Verge

Nokia Drive for everyone! It replaces the Bing navigation app.

Owners of current WP7 hardware won't be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8, but they WILL get WP 7.8, which will bring them a lot of the UI and app improvements of WP8. But some of the under-the-skin improvements require new hardware, which is why WP7 owners won't be able to install full WP8.

 

What wasn't detailed was settings which annoys me. everything else makes sense

 

Microsoft brings true, background multitasking to Windows Phone 8 -- Engadget

All they did was add two additional services to the handful of "multitasking services" that Windows Phone already had.

Nothing to see here, but definetly not true background multitasking. It's still like iOS in that regard...great for battery life.

 

Wonder whether software releases for 'old' phones will extend beyond 7.8. If it doesn't I can see a lot of angry Lumia owners resolving never to buy Microsoft / Nokia again.

Also I have a major beef with that tile arrangement: Mixing small and large tiles, it destroys the visual appeal of WP7. Sure, I can switch to medium tiles but in WP7, whatever your tile arrangement it looked great. The new layout allows for quasi-Android (oh all right, not that bad but still) chaos in the wrong hands.

 

WP 7.8 will be supported in the sense that it'd get bug fixes and security updates. But it's not like a WP 7.8 phone will be able to upgrade to 8.5 when 8.5 is released. If first-generation WP hardware can't run 8.0, it won't be able to run 8.5 either.

Over at WP Central, owners of Lumia 900s are a bit resigned but not outraged. They still get the new user interface, just not all the under-the-hood improvenets that wouldn't work with their hardware anyway. The real question they're asking is whether new apps released after WP8 will be backward-compatible with WP7. Frankly, I suspect most people won't be able to tell the difference between 7.8 and 8.0 in day-to-day use, so most people who aren't registered for forums won't know the difference.

And over at WP Central, owners of older WP hardware (HTC 7 Pro/Arrive, HTC Trophy, Samsung Focus Flash, etc) are ecstatic. I wasn't expecting any upgrade at all with my dated hardware. Getting the new user interface and most of the new apps is excellent.

Personally, having three tiles sizes instead of two (remember not all tiles were the same size in WP7 either...like the calendar app) doesn't bother me. But if you don't like the mini-tiles, you can always just use the medium and large tiles and get something that looks much like WP7 (only without that annoying right-side gutter).

And I think being able to choose the size of the tile is great. I don't need my photos tile to be double-width, and it is. I would like my New York Times tile to be double-width, and it isn't. Now I can fix both.

 

I guess you're right. I was resigned to it as well but it does mean I need a clearly defined roadmap as to how my device will be supported with meaningful updates for two years. I just hope they don't also screw up the speed of the OS like Apple did (probably deliberately) with the 3G.

 

Microsoft has reached out to Blackberry (who is in an increasingly-rapid decline toward bankruptcy) encouraging them to abandon having their own OS and instead become a hardware manufacturer for Windows Phone 8. Along with Nokia, they'd be a WP8 exclusive manufacturer, not letting WP play second-fiddle to Android like with Samsung and HTC.

Anyone else think this sounds promising? Ton of brand name recognition with the Blackberry name, particularly in the white-collar market that WP8 is courting with its new enterprise-oriented security features.

Rumor: RIM Considering Team-Up With Microsoft, Selling Network Business

 

Although I didn't much like a touch version of RIM's OS (tried it on my sisters BB, found it a bit lacking some functionality) I think they should stick with their OS. At least for now.

 

Not really.

All MS are doing is surrounding themselves with companies that couldn't hack it/didn't have the sense or vision to adapt to changes in the market.
I mean, if the comments in this article are true, RIM sounds like a liability more than an asset.

All RIM have is name recognition really, their handsets aren't that great ( if I had a quid for every faulty optical trackpad I've seen...), features like BBM, push e-mail and BES are great but they're no longer the selling points they were, there are either practical alternatives or people have simply learned to live without them in favour of the multitudinous advantages OSs like Android and iOS offer.

 

I also dont think that Windows Phone's UI works with blackberry's famous portrait keyboard design...that would be a lotttt of thumb scrolling...

 

RIM just publicly rejected the possibility of ever switching to WP8 or Android. Given that they apparently lack the capital to finish BB10 in the near future, and given that they can't possible continue to compete selling BB7 devices against iOS 6, ICS/Jellybean, and WP8 devices, that's the equivalent of nailing the flag to the mast. They're saying they'd rather sink as an independent than survive via takeover.

I don't agree.

B&N was a visionary, unlike Borders and the like. They survived and even helped drive the transition to e-books. Amazon has been hitting them (and everyone else in the book business) hard, but being #2 isn't exactly failing, even though right now only the top company is seriously profitable.

As for Nokia, they were top of the heap for years, they just made one or two bad decisions (read: sticking with Symbian) in an utterly ruthless cell phone market where a single mis-step can send a company into a downard spiral.

 

Yes, but they probably have a mountain of patents that MS can wield. I doubt there's much technologically RIM can bring to the table handset and OS-wise, but there's a ton of great back-end stuff which they still do best - and which is, on the business side, aligned with Exchange. The question is at which point that becomes economically viable to acquire.

 

Hey look, Nokia has spent time developing a contingency plan in case it out-lasts Microsoft!

Nokia has a Windows Phone contingency plan, doesn't specify what it is | The Verge

In other news, I've developed a contingency plan in case I out-last the Rocky Mountains.

 

I just picked up a Lumia 710. I need some good games for it. The games in the marketplace seem more expensive than the iPhone games, so I don't want to waste my money. I like card and board games. Letter games like text twist are good too. Thanks for any help.

 

Bejeweled LIVE has been a good buy for me.

Also geoDefense Swarm, which is a tower defense game with a big twist: it takes place on a hex map, and your towers not only attack the enemy, but they also define what path the enemy takes. In other words, the path isn't predetermined. You can't completely block a path, but the longer and more circuitous you make the path to the exit, the better off you are. So you have to (1) figure out what path you want to make given the obstacles on that map, and (2) balance the need for powerful, expensive towers with the need to map out as much of your path as possible with cheap towers. The game looks good too, with a Tron-esque style that makes it easy to view and understand even on a 3.6" screen.

 

Thanks for the reply, but looks a little too involved for me. What I'm looking for is some quick time killers that don't require much thought.

 

If you want a classic time killer without much thinking try Dash Games like, Diner Dash, Hotel Dash, Parking Dash. Fun crazy games when you want to kill time and put your brain in low power mode.

 

Bejeweled Live is great for that. You can quit out with one tap by pressing the Win key and then continue where you were whenever you re-open the program, even a month later.

 

Angry Birds?

 

Angry birds is good, but I already played the first versions and space isn't available WP7. I'm really looking for some card and board games, maybe a word scramble too. I did find a decent free solitaire game yesterday.

 

So what do you guys think of all the Nokia news this morning?

IMO, 600k is a bit disappointing.

 

It is. I've been thinking about this for a while....ever since a non techie coworker got a HTC One S...she had the Lumia 710 for like..2 days before returning it. Her general reaction to the device was this:

"ya know, i picked the nokia because its nokia and they usually make good stuff...this wasnt good"

She loves the One S, is head over heels for it actually.

Now us here know that, fundamentally, there's nothing wrong per say about windows phone 7....but why isnt it resonating with the average consumer?

I honestly think the problems start at the marketplace....that's going to be a pain point for months to come unless microsoft does something.

As far as nokia goes...when Elop says random stuff like this: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/19/nokia-wants-to-become-the-where-company/

it proves they're on a similar, deluded, death spiral as RIM. How can someone be THAT out of touch? No one wants to buy a phone for the navigation and maps anymore...especially that iOS 6 will have that. Yes Nokia Maps and Drive are revered apps that arguably are best in class, but that's not the only thing that one can rely on to sell handsets. Ugh.

 

Agreed. On all points.

I think everyone here knows that I'm not against any platform... WP7, BB Tablet OS, BB10, Android, iOS, etc. I've had just about everything but BB10 and I've even USED that.

My one complaint is that nobody at Microsoft seems motivated enough to get behind WP7. They have crappy advertising, they don't communicate software roadmaps with anyone, their mandated hardware is SUPER stale (even though it arguably DOES run the OS very smoothly) and a laundry list of other things I could go on with. Hell, Microsoft is handling the Surface tablet ads and marketing correctly... why is this not being done for WP7?

I think if they could get some things rolling with the Marketplace, poste haste, it would really help their image. Everyday that they don't have big name apps, like Angry Birds Space for instance, it's a negative impact on how the general consumer views WP as a platform.

THAT SAID... I actually firmly believe that Nokia is trying it's damndest to uphold their end of the deal. They have awesomely designed hardware and excellent brand-name recognition, but they're being let down by Microsoft's poor execution.

 

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/c0a48b35-48ce-472b-9707-94ea62ed4244
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/df4abd67-abd9-df11-a844-00237de2db9e

 

Personally I think Nokia's prowess as a maker of handsets is hugely overblown. I think they've always been biased towards making their cell radios work properly which is a major plus for me (and isn't like e.g. Apple) but I find the Lumia 800 rather "meh". The only reason I have it (and came back to it after abandoning others) is that all the other makers are either releasing more compelling / better put together handsets have crippled their sets - mainly in terms of memory (8Gb is a joke. 16Gb is still not sufficient in some cases but WP7 doesn't go higher).

And that's what pees me off to be honest - that Nokia's supposed A-game is Samsung's B/C-game (with, once again, the exception of the radios - the L800's radio is among the best I've come across in capacitive-touch smartphones, if not the best). I can also take or leave the design. It's attractive and all but I don't get breathless about it as some - I actually prefer the no-nonsense look/feel of e.g. the Omnia 7.

I would like to see a genuine attempt at an A-game handset from Nokia.

(Though I don't like handsets the size of sandals (something that is confirmed with the Titan and the One X), so the L900 would be out of contention in any case)

 

The 710 is a cheap-o entry-level smartphone. The One S is one of the two nicest flagship Android devices in the US. Of course she likes it better. That's like saying someone returned their Civic, got a BMW M3, and like it much better.

Bad comparison aside, the 710 isn't a nice phone. The physical buttons instead of capacitative buttons in particular feel cheap. For a while, the HTC Trophy was on sale for $29 with a contract from Verizon, and that's a MUCH nicer entry-level WP7 device.

 

That makes 0 sense. The Lumia 710 has a 1.4GHz Snapdragon S2 just like all the other 2nd generation Windows Phone devices. It is most assuredly near the top of the WP heap, it's just small. It has Snapdragon S2, a 3.7" ClearBlack AMOLED screen, 8GB of internal storage... and all the Nokia software.

 

The 710 is free with a T-Mobile contract; the Titan II is $200 with an AT&T contract. The 710 has a godawful-quality 5 megapixel camera; the Titan II has an excellent 16 megapixel camera. 8 gb of interal storage is most definitely entry-level for WP7; most phones have 16 gb.

And yes, the fact that the screen is 3.7" does help make it entry-level once you combine that with cheap-feeling physical buttons, a cruddy camera, minimal onboard storage, and a case that both looks and feels unremarkable. I'm not saying it's a bad purchase for its price range; but it's definitely an entry-level smartphone and not a high-end device (and it's priced like an entry-level smartphone).

I'm not making this this categorization up myself. Engadget referred to the Lumia 710 as "low-end." There's nothing wrong with that, but when I think of high-end WP7 phones, I think of the Lumia 900 and the Titan II, not the Lumia 710 or the Focus 2.

 

Maybe it's just my opinion but the leap from low-end to high-end with Windows phone only involves a physically larger screen (with the same low-res) and a camera upgrade. To me, buying the 710 would be like buying any other Windows Phone, aside from the camera resolution.

 

Given that all WP7 phones have single-core processors and 512 mb of RAM and the same resolution, the only differences between low-end and high-end are:

Speed of processor
Screen size
Screen quality
Onboard storage
Case build quality
Case materials
Camera quality

The Lumia 710 falls far short of higher-end WP7 phones in terms of 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, even though it does well on 1 and 3. The Lumia 710 was meant to be a lower-end device; the Lumia 900 was meant to be a higher-end device.

There will be more differentiation between low-end and high-end in WP8 with the availability of multi-core processors and multiple screen resolutions.

 

Every single incoming freshman at Seton Hall University (over 1,000 freshman) are being issued a Lumia 900 and a Samsung Windows 8 tablet. The school had previously done similar stuff with iOS and Android, but incompatibilities with MS Office convinced the university to go Team Redmond instead for this year's class.

Seton Hall University handing out Lumia 900s and Samsung Windows 8 tablets to freshmen | wpcentral | Windows Phone News, Forums, and Reviews

Thoughts?

 

Makes sense from an ecosystem perspective...even in college you CAN'T beat office...there's always something that requires it and alternatives even on mobile don't cut it in terms of preserving document fidelity.

If the Windows 8 tablets dont have good battery life it'll be a problem.

 

Absolutely. The MS Office compatibility that WP phones and Windows tablets will offer is a big advantage for both work and school environments.

If these "Windows 8" tablets are actually Windows RT tablets, battery life should be fine. If they're Windows 8 Pro tablets...we'll see.

 

my girlfriend just picked up the lumia 900 despite the recent news on windows 8. she likes it so far, but there are a couple things she doesn't like (she can't seem to send an MMS when connected to Wi-fi). depending on how much that bothers her, we'll see if she keeps it.

 

thats not unique to the lumia. mms is a cellular service.

 

Seriously? If all Windows phones are like that... ?

If you have a cellular signal, it doesn't matter if you're connected to WiFi or not. It should concurrently connect to the cellular network to send the MMS then resume the WiFi connection.

If you're only connected to WiFi and have your cellular radio off, then yea.

 

Of course. I'm assuming it's when his girlfriend turns off the cellular radio to save on data caps or something like that (or no signal).

 

WP7 is already pretty frugal with data... I can't imagine.

Does WP7 disable WiFi in standby? Resuming on wake?

 

Cell data stays on when WI-fi is on. She has a good solid 4g connection. Just unable to send with both turned on.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

Perhaps we're getting the wrong end of the stick here.

Burner said that his GF's Lumia doesn't send MMS's with Wifi. No phone will - as MMS is a cellular service. Just like no phone will send an SMS with the cell radio off or out of range.
I am assuming in this instance that his GF either switched off the cell radio to save on data caps, or was out of range but assumed that a wifi signal in the house was sufficient for all services to work.

EDIT: Didn't see above post. Hmmm. Maybe MMS settings are out of whack?

 

Finally. FINALLY. DECENT HARDWARE!

Samsung planning dual-core 'Odyssey' and 'Marco' Windows Phone 8 devices | The Verge

 

Nokia and HTC have already leaked specs of WP8 phones that look at least that good. It was WP7's hardware limitations, not manufacturer choice, that held back WP7 hardware, and everybody is ready to release WP8 phones with hardware that'll rival the Galaxy S III and the One X.

 

Everyone is saying that about those HTC phones... I must have missed that memo. This is the first leak of "modern" WP devices I've seen. lol.

 

I'd settle for a good case for my Lumia 710. Anyone know of a good thin durable case that works with the 710? Thanks.

 

Amazon.com: BarelyThere Case for Nokia Lumia 710 - Black: Electronics

The barely there cases are awesome. I've had several of them on different phones and they always impress.

 

HTC's Windows Phone 8 roadmap: 'Zenith' flagship, 'Accord' midrange, and 'Rio' entry-level models | The Verge

 

Thanks! IDK how I missed that.

BTW, we have "Like" buttons now?

 

It better be good cause I just spent $20 on one.