Related
How has your experience been with windows mobile 6.5?
I used shepards ROM at first and it would crash sometimes when I opened the text message application and would require a soft reset. Now I have been using RRE and it has tended to be much more stable. Though it still locks up sometimes when I open the text messaging program and sometimes pressing the home button or opening comm manager through the PTT button gets it out of it...its just weird. Anyone else getting a lot of lockups with winmo and if not what rom are you using.
Code:
/rant
But on a more general note. I have mixed feelings about WM 6.5. I think WM 6.5 is definitely an improvement but it doesn't really go far enough. I mean I like all the features that were added and I do like the home screen better than touchflo and the start menu is pretty nice...but really did microsoft put enough effort into it.
Titanium is definitely a little thin and the start menu really isn't a big change. The start menu really is just a zoomed in version of the old start menu. But I will give a point to the honeycomb. It does kind of help you use your fingers because of the spacing and I've never really hit a wrong icon. The scrolling works pretty well so no complaints there.
I also do like what they did with the text messaging app. But really all they did was a few simple tweaks. It just doesn't show message sent...which is simply awesome because I used to hate that. It also marks all the messages as read when you open someone, which it didn't always do in WM 6.1.
PIE (pocket ie) is definitely getting better..although its still on the bottom of my list on the browser scale.
Overall I just feel like microsoft needs to do more to compete. I mean the iPhone is taking over the winmo market hand over fist and blackberry is also hitting them hard. They can't just get away with small UI tweaks in order to 1UP the competition. They didn't change anything from the OS at all. Its still the same windows CE that everyone hates and is as unreliable as ever.
I mean seriously microsoft...try a little harder. Microsoft has more resources than any company, certainly more resources than Apple and RIM. Apple has been putting out some crazy innovative changes and has done some about faces with their OS.
I mean as much as I don't like apple and as much as I am just not a fan of Mac or the whole sandbox "you don't have to worry about anything" mentality of apple products, apple does know how to innovate. I mean look at all the crazy changes they made. When the iPhone came out they didn't have any apps and apple was vehemently against customizing the iPhone because it would break the "it just works" mantra and make it more winmo like. They took a semi-passive stance towards jailbreaking and denounced it but didn't bother with it too much. Than they out of the blue released an official SDK and the app store, although the app store is super limited and jailbreaking is still popular thats still quite an about face.
Now they are coming out with MMS, a NSFW category, copy paste etc.
All I'm saying is microsoft shouldn't be so afraid to start from scratch. Give us something crazy that is just baffling. Put some creativity into it and just go all out. I mean look at windows 7, although my feeling are mixed on that too at least they were creative. They grouped tabs, added an XP mode, jump lists, etc. Although I'm not saying windows 7 is better than mac or anything, the stuff they put in it wasn't just stuff other OSes were already doing like in vista.
I mean why can't microsoft just toss the old winmo in the trash and get out their whiteboard and think of new stuff. You know...not make winmo so terrible. It really is clunky, slow, and rather outdated.
I just hope windows mobile 7 is going to be as game changing as microsoft claims it will be although I have huge doubts (as does every tech news site). Just prove us wrong and be different and radical...and stop ripping off other people's ideas.
Code:
/endrant
I vote for option #3
I vote 1.
I totally agree with everything you said, but 6.5 is only a "wait for 7" thing. it even wasn't on the roadmap first.
all the changes and improvements you're asking for will come with WM7. So I'm fully happy with 6.5 which is a good transition OS.
the only drawback being it seems we'll have to wait some more for wm7.
not a fan at all really just because of some simple problems ive run into on about 4 different builds.
Feels like an iphone sometimes it decides im not allowed to copy paste text of messages etc WTF?
i cant reply to text messages from OS i need to make a new message and select the contact.
sending messages longer than 160 letters don't seem to work.
i think there were some more big ones.
once theres fixed ill LOVE it
I read an article that pretty much clarified how Microsoft rushed through the design of 6.5 and it’s apparent. 6.5 is decent but the upgrade wasn’t significant enough to stir me away from TF3D2. I am currently using Energy Rom 3.0 and never use the Titanium home screen. I would more inclined to use Titanium if there was an option to maintain the classical start menu drop down but I guess I have to adapt to change. Or do I?
After waiting 3 months for my warranty claim I flash to Proven 4.2 with 6.5 and I can just say
1. ROM is faster then Stock 6.1 with TF and after tweaks and even Proven 2.4 version.
I like the home screen but miss some of the features of TF like Sound Profiles. Which I used constantlly. Finger control is great and I use my stylus less now almost never.
Hates:
When you close and application it always goes back to the home screen rather then the start screen you were in. This is painful like I pressed the wrong icon and I just want the app to close and go back one level not to the home screen.
Loving the plugins that are becomming available just makes the touch PRo easier to use.
I absolutely love it.
aussieak said:
After waiting 3 months for my warranty claim I flash to Proven 4.2 with 6.5 and I can just say
1. ROM is faster then Stock 6.1 with TF and after tweaks and even Proven 2.4 version.
I like the home screen but miss some of the features of TF like Sound Profiles. Which I used constantlly. Finger control is great and I use my stylus less now almost never.
Hates:
When you close and application it always goes back to the home screen rather then the start screen you were in. This is painful like I pressed the wrong icon and I just want the app to close and go back one level not to the home screen.
Loving the plugins that are becomming available just makes the touch PRo easier to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well cool thing about the Titanium homescreen is that is supports plugins and can be completely customizable. Already there are Audio Profile pages, Analog Clocks, Twitter, facebook, etc.
I just find HTC TouchFlo 3D homescreen far too "clunky" and kills the overall speed of the phone just to use it. When I use that I find myself launching apps and starting tasks I didn't want to do.
I really like the WM6.5 upgrade. The biggest thing I wish they finished was an updated dialer and their 1990's SIP keyboard. I mean the keyboard was the original keyboard from their original versions. They shoulda even threw in an updated volume app while they were at it.
When everything is said and done, WM6.5 just allows for less reliance on 3rd party apps. With the speed boosts and awesome finger friendly upgrades... it is a welcome addition to my Fuze.
aceofspades1217 said:
...and stop ripping off other people's ideas.
Code:
/endrant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6.5 is just that. .5
They did enough to release a .5 and not another .1 in my opinion. And I want them to rip off other peoples ideas, why would you not? You said yourself apple and RIM are beating them [although I honestly doubt that, RIM is business oriented, apple is idiot oriented, and winmo is general user oriented] so why would you not want MS to pull together the best of the best and give it to us? 7 is going to be just as much of a landmark as desktop 7. I dont know if you used it, but the beta was leaps better than vista and ready to go 99% out of the box. I had a few software issues, but nothing deal-breaking. 7 is running on eeePCs, that says something for it. It is running better than XP on older machines, another good thing. 7 is just great. I have no doubts that winmo 7 will be great. They will take winmo 6, overhaul it, create something prettier, more efficient, and faster, and the betas are going to be damn near stable. I for one am looking forward to MS version of the app store which will be part of 7.
Winmo still holds the market, like I said above:
RIM - business users
Apple - idiots
winmo - General users.....IE----the most
votum said:
6.5 is just that. .5
They did enough to release a .5 and not another .1 in my opinion. And I want them to rip off other peoples ideas, why would you not? You said yourself apple and RIM are beating them [although I honestly doubt that, RIM is business oriented, apple is idiot oriented, and winmo is general user oriented] so why would you not want MS to pull together the best of the best and give it to us? 7 is going to be just as much of a landmark as desktop 7. I dont know if you used it, but the beta was leaps better than vista and ready to go 99% out of the box. I had a few software issues, but nothing deal-breaking. 7 is running on eeePCs, that says something for it. It is running better than XP on older machines, another good thing. 7 is just great. I have no doubts that winmo 7 will be great. They will take winmo 6, overhaul it, create something prettier, more efficient, and faster, and the betas are going to be damn near stable. I for one am looking forward to MS version of the app store which will be part of 7.
Winmo still holds the market, like I said above:
RIM - business users
Apple - idiots
winmo - General users.....IE----the most
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well nothing wrong with ripping off of other people's ideas a little bit...after all thats convergent evolution. You aren't going to say a dolphin is bad because it ripped off a fish's idea.
But ripping off other people's ideas is no replacement for innovation. If microsoft stays one step behind apple and RIM then winmo will always be an outdated OS. And you can't just mash a bunch of random ideas and hope it sticks. Thats what vista was...it was ideas mashed up from Linux and Mac and it turned out to be even worse.
And Apple and RIM are taking over winmo marketshare hand over fist...when will HTC and microsoft put out some damn conductive screen phones...i mean...seriously!
absolutely hated it at first because it made me feel like i was using an htc s621, not to say that is a bad device or anything but the feel is too basic.
However, chefs started taking a liking towards it and I personally cannot make a rom that is satisfying enough to keep it on my device more than a few hours. Therefore, considering the chefs started utilizing it more in their builds, developers began creating programs and widgets for it. Overall, like m2d and tf3d, I hated both of them at first (so used to the simplicity of HTC Home) but eventually you start to notice creative people on XDA changing a mediocre OS into a work of art.
So cheers
EDIT: But then again, this poll/thread should not even be in the Rom development section.
Luvin 6.5
I'm one, of what seems to be a minority of people that really just doesn't like TF3D.
My personal opinion is that TF3D is gimmicky, lacks consistency & sucks when it comes to flexibility - unless you're willing to jump in and start hacking away (not something the average person wants to do).
The new interface in 6.5 is more consistent (menus, colors, tabs ...) and is pretty easy to plug Titanium apps into. I'm really luvin what feels to be the UI we should have gotten in the 1st place. A classic example of 'different tastes for different people'.
Can't wait for WM7
---Rob
Well TF3D2 did have me, because honestly WMP sucks when trying to use it without a stylus, plus its a gigantic memory hog. Where the media player in TF3D was very finger friendly and didnt use not very much ram at all.
However, I discovered pocket player 4 and lets just say that I dont use TF3d anymore and I throughly enjoy chrome.
Honestly if I wanted microsoft to fix anything it would be WMP, they either need to seriously update and optimize it or replace it with a optimized finger friendly zune application "which would fit right in with chrome imo".
Then again if chrome had a plugin that had basic swip controls "play, next song, previous, past, ect" then had a finger friendly media library in the softkey, they could even use the htc media manager to play it. Basically this would be porting the TF3D music tab to chrome....
crlowryjr said:
I'm one, of what seems to be a minority of people that really just doesn't like TF3D.
My personal opinion is that TF3D is gimmicky, lacks consistency & sucks when it comes to flexibility - unless you're willing to jump in and start hacking away (not something the average person wants to do).
The new interface in 6.5 is more consistent (menus, colors, tabs ...) and is pretty easy to plug Titanium apps into. I'm really luvin what feels to be the UI we should have gotten in the 1st place. A classic example of 'different tastes for different people'.
Can't wait for WM7
---Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yah you and me both. TF3D also takes up an ass load of memory and sucks down battery like a mofo.
Much improved for me on my Fuze. 6.1 was pretty good, I had to tweak the video, interface etc to get the "snap" out of it, but 6.5 out of the box (RRE's 6.5), faster than 6.1. After a couple minor tweaks, faster than that!
Chrome taking a little getting use to because i used TF3D for over a year, but,
chrome is a little nicer, less closing windows after you get done doing something.
aceofspades1217 said:
yah you and me both. TF3D also takes up an ass load of memory and sucks down battery like a mofo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
right there with you
tf3d was and still is the first thing i disable whenever i flash a new rom
my first experience with it lasted for 10 mins and it didn't impress me with it's sluggish speed
ms today screen ftw!
hahaha
Offcourse its better, who said its not. Moreover yes we do like to have always more no matter even if they are going to release WM9
But I am worried they being inefficient in power consumption.
I have definitely enjoyed 6.5 over 6.1 by a long shot. I agree with most people that MS still has a ways to go though, and hopefully will get close with windows mobile 7. 6.5 was a good hold over until that point though. I do hope that MS gets very creative with 7 because I am tired of incremental updates when you can almost taste how good your Windows phone could be. I will be a windows phone user for life because I don't fall for gimmicks from Apple, and obviously with this great community there will be plenty of innovation to come.
I don't like it at all. WM 6.5 just seems like it should be made for a smart phones.
really now , why even post this when 6.5 is not officially released lol . we don even know what the real 6.5 is like !
anyways i voted for the first option because if you try NRG's roms then youd see what a rom is supposed to be like . ive not had one of these random text message problems or soft reseting problems or hard reseting problems atall . maybe you should widen your search of which cabs are good .
I know a lot of ppl have had trouble with their WinMo phone, bugginess and other factors but, after delving deep into alternative OSes for my HD2, I have come to the conclusion that WinMo is the best you can get for your HD2. Mine is supremely more useful than any of the Android ROMs I've used. And HTC-Sense really makes WinMo a top-notch OS. I am able with just a quick flick or tap get to whatever homescreen tab I need to show me all I need to know instantly. No need to scroll through homescreens or activate apps just to see at a glance what's happening. The Sense slider is brilliant.
The markets for WinMo aren't nearly as bad as some would have you believe. I find the WinMo Marketplace to be functionally as good as the Android market. That isn't saying it has all of the apps, it has plenty apps, though. The games lack severely, but even among those, there are gems to be had. But, after playing with the iOS market, Android market and even the WP7 market, WinMo market is just a pure pleasure.
There is so much WinMo can do that it is a shame it didn't receive the market share it deserves. I know it can be buggy, but with proper and simplistic maintenance, it can be a sweet ride. I never had any issues with the OEM ROM, but I'm using a custom ROM. As long as I keep it managed, it is a sweetheart. WinMo isn't the smoothest or fastest mobile OS around, but it is more than smooth and fast enough to be a pure pleasure. It, in fact, is smoother than a lot of Androids. Plus the GPS and Bing voice nav works better than Android. It boots quicker and locks quicker.
When you get tired of the battery drains and bugginess of Android, or the non-permanent nature of WP7 on HD2, come home to a nice WinMo w/HTC-Sense ROM.
I'm selling my Leo after using it for a week or so with Android. The buyer is getting it for his father because the screen is so large. I told him that I was very impressed with the Sense interface that HTC put on this phone and that his father should be able to use it easily and that with the replaced digitizer, it should do him well for a long time.
There's a lot to be said for software designed to work on the hardware. It's why, 14 months on, my Nexus One remains un-rooted. Why bother?
kampf said:
I'm selling my Leo after using it for a week or so with Android. The buyer is getting it for his father because the screen is so large. I told him that I was very impressed with the Sense interface that HTC put on this phone and that his father should be able to use it easily and that with the replaced digitizer, it should do him well for a long time.
There's a lot to be said for software designed to work on the hardware. It's why, 14 months on, my Nexus One remains un-rooted. Why bother?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's how I feel. As good as the Android devs did with their ROMs, they just didn't feel right. They were like a mask over the hardware and not the real deal. I suppose if the ROMs weren't so battery hungry or buggy, they would be acceptable. But, like you said, there's something to be said for a native ROM.
Try SPB MobileShell 3.5 and it's even better
First android rom I tried just had the android interface, and frankly it sucked balls, clunky with a horrible keyboard (like WP7's, it's the 21st century so why should i have to go to a different overlay just to get numbers?) and a really basic email client.
The only good things about it were kindle and the ability to access more than one exchange account (work and personal).
Then I found one of Dandiest's android builds, with sense, and it was actually usable, HTC have done a good job improving android with sense.
It's still not as good as WM with SPB MS (haven't tried version 5 for android yet), but it's bearable. Unfortunately as I need access to two exchange accounts I find myself using android most of the time, but I won't ditch WM, being able to dual boot gives me the best of both worlds, so when I need a decent navigation tool, I can flip to WM and run TomTom.
Wish someone would reengineer WM so that it can handle a second exchange account, then I'd go back to it pretty much all the time.
Hi there
Im currently a windows 6.5.5 user on an HD2 with custom ROM.
However my upgrade is due in a few weeks and i have been eyeing up the Titan.
Im aware WP7 is a different OS to win mo 6.5.5 but how different? Ive played with Android and it just doesnt do what i want it to so felt the need to stick with the Windows OS.
does the app store for WP7 have enough in it to keep you amused or is it still a bit bare?
Symondo said:
Hi there
Im currently a windows 6.5.5 user on an HD2 with custom ROM.
However my upgrade is due in a few weeks and i have been eyeing up the Titan.
Im aware WP7 is a different OS to win mo 6.5.5 but how different? Ive played with Android and it just doesnt do what i want it to so felt the need to stick with the Windows OS.
does the app store for WP7 have enough in it to keep you amused or is it still a bit bare?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you din't find satisfaction from Android Market, I highly doubt Windows Market is yet ready for you. The key features missing right now in my opinion are:
-system back up
-sms back up
-few major apps (I don't care about apps, I've got all that I need)
-customization (we will have unlock hopefully soon!)
Other than this, I think it looks much more professional that Android at most stages. Communication, social networking - is integrated like no other OS and it will only get better with 2 updates in 2012!
If you are someone who has patience for atleast next 6-8 months - Buy titan, you will love it!
If you are someone who has patience but has huge surge of apps daily and huge need to customize things - Get Android. By the time you finish your 2 year long contract, we will surely have Windows Phone 9 which I can bet will be the most amazing OS ever! (here is to wishful thinking!)
In a nutshell I can say, I've gone from WM6- WM6.5- WM6.5.5- Android2.2 -Android2.3- Android2.3.5- WP7.5 and I thought this was the most amazing thing I held in my hand since a long long time! - "It just works"
How you like Windows Phone 7 is really going to depend on how you currently use your Windows Mobile and/or Android phone.
Windows Mobile (and Android) let you go crazy with customization, mods, ROMs, etc. Windows Phone 7 is very locked down. Not a whole lot of customization. But because its so locked down, its incredibly stable (does not crash or slow down as often, if at all). The number one thing about Windows Phone 7 is that it just works. No tweaking, or hacking the registry, or installing modification on top of modification. You turn it on, 15 seconds later, it just works, flawlessly.
If you use Outlook and a USB cable to sync your information (contacts, email, etc.) to your phone, then you can't do that anymore. Windows Phone 7 only lets you sync media (pictures, music, videos) to your phone via the Zune software. Everything else is in the cloud and tied to your Windows Live account.
Windows Phone 7 offers unparalleled connectivity and integration with Microsoft services (Hotmail, Zune, Bing, Xbox Live, etc. etc.).
If you are living alright with the Marketplace currently on Windows Mobile, then the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace easily beats that one easily. Only difference is that without some kind of developer unlocking of your phone, you can load apps from your PC like you could with Windows Mobile.
Really you just have to try it before you really commit. Most people love it, fewer hate it. Coming from Windows Mobile, and depending on your current view of Windows Mobile, you may see it as a giant leap forward, or a big step backwards.
I came from Windows Mobile 6.5, and then Android, and now Windows Phone 7, and I just can't go back to anything else. My phone, just works, and its fast, and fluid, and beautiful, and its got the apps that I need, and the integration with Microsoft stuff that I use.
prjkthack said:
If you use Outlook and a USB cable to sync your information (contacts, email, etc.) to your phone, then you can't do that anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't load your contacts via USB cable as a USB device, but you surely can sync your Outlook contacts, emails, tasks, calender wirelessly flawlessly too!
Symondo said:
Hi there
Im currently a windows 6.5.5 user on an HD2 with custom ROM.
However my upgrade is due in a few weeks and i have been eyeing up the Titan.
Im aware WP7 is a different OS to win mo 6.5.5 but how different? Ive played with Android and it just doesnt do what i want it to so felt the need to stick with the Windows OS.
does the app store for WP7 have enough in it to keep you amused or is it still a bit bare?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you've got a HD2 I'd recommend using Yuki's Win 7 ROM. I did and that convinced me to move onto the Titan (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1250869).
As for the other comments on WP7, I agree WP7 is locked down however I'm quite happy with what's available on the Marketplace and I'm convinced that the experts at XDA will find ways of allowing us to mod as with WP 6.5.
Symondo said:
Hi there
Im currently a windows 6.5.5 user on an HD2 with custom ROM.
However my upgrade is due in a few weeks and i have been eyeing up the Titan.
Im aware WP7 is a different OS to win mo 6.5.5 but how different? Ive played with Android and it just doesnt do what i want it to so felt the need to stick with the Windows OS.
does the app store for WP7 have enough in it to keep you amused or is it still a bit bare?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well WP7 is designed with a different mindset... Namely, that you get all your information as fast and efficiently as possible, and therefore you spend less time playing with the phone and OS itself, and more time using it (as a tool). For example, you wouldn't spend hours a day playing with your screwdriver =D.
When you adapt to this mindset, you'll find Android and especially iOS just cannot compare.
Of course the exception is WP7 has excellent media functions and games. The XNA developer tool allows for beautiful games to be created much easier for WP7, and as XNA is already used for Xbox arcade games, many of those Xbox titles can be and have already been ported to WP7.
Sent from my PI39100 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Cheers for the input
I'm looking forward to a new device!
im really debating on whether i should switch from an GS3 to a lumia 920? i just worry about the app store. are the apps really that limited on lumia 920?
it depends....
If you're talking about applications I would say that the ones that are there are as good or better than Android and for those few that are missing, there are alternatives or 3rd party apps that do the job and in some cases exceed those original apps still missing. So if you're talking about functionality with respect to apps, I would say you'll be perfectly fine with making the switch.
However, if you are a heavy phone gamer and want the latest games and have them for free with ads etc, Google Play is much more ahead of Windows Phone. If you just want light gaming like Angry Birds Star War's, Cut The Rope etc.....you'll be perfectly satisfied.
I made the switch to Windows Phone. I'm not a big gamer, don't really care about gaming on the phone (I prefer a tablet even for light gaming). What I would argue though is that the functionality out of the box, the consistency of the UI1 and the consistency of the apps, and the speed of Windows Phone seriously makes it a better phone than either Android or iPhone.
If you want to drive your car with your phone, or are a heavy gamer and love to tweak your phone over and over and over I would say get Android. If you want a dumb but safe OS with a phone that has a high resale value and you don't mind paying through your nose for an overpriced product which has serious limitations like small screen and proprietary accessories etc, iPhone is for you.
I chose the Lumia 920 and have no regrets whatsoever. Seriously, if you use Google services and you switch to Windows Phone, just get gMaps & Metrotube and that covers pretty much everything (Skydrive is better than Google's offering anyways). I had gMail and switched to Outlook and only use my Google account for Youtube when I'm on the PC. People who say "But with an Android I can get Google Services" are seriously not realizing that there is really not much there, if anything, compared to Windows Phone. Hope this helps you make your choice.
I've contemplated switching myself. My wife has a new lumia 920 and it's a beautiful phone. She's been a Windows phone user for a year and a half now and absolutely loves it. We also picked up a new lumia 920 for my 19yr. old son for Christmas and being an avid xbox guy, he was extremely happy. At least for the twelve hours he had the phone before it got knocked off the table onto our tile floor and cracked the screen. It should be back from the repair shop next week.
I do have to admit that with Windows 8 on all our computers, the integration with my wifes Lumia 920 and her LIVE account is pretty cool. To a large extent, google has the same sort of integration, but it seems quite a bit more scattered with multiple different google apps for different things, where WP8 just seems to sync/integrate everything quietly in the background.
I've always enjoyed "tweaking" my phone. Started with a Nokia e71 and Symbian, moved to an iPhone 3GS and Jailbreaking, then finally to Android where pretty much anything is possible. I'm worried that moving to WP8 would feel a little too restrictive.
That being said, my contract is up for renewal in a couple months and I'm actually thinking of going with a Lumia 920 just to see how I like it. I figure I can always sell it and go back to my i9300 SG3 if things don't workout.
so this is the thing
bigkahuna111 said:
If you're talking about applications I would say that the ones that are there are as good or better than Android and for those few that are missing, there are alternatives or 3rd party apps that do the job and in some cases exceed those original apps still missing. So if you're talking about functionality with respect to apps, I would say you'll be perfectly fine with making the switch.
However, if you are a heavy phone gamer and want the latest games and have them for free with ads etc, Google Play is much more ahead of Windows Phone. If you just want light gaming like Angry Birds Star War's, Cut The Rope etc.....you'll be perfectly satisfied.
I made the switch to Windows Phone. I'm not a big gamer, don't really care about gaming on the phone (I prefer a tablet even for light gaming). What I would argue though is that the functionality out of the box, the consistency of the UI1 and the consistency of the apps, and the speed of Windows Phone seriously makes it a better phone than either Android or iPhone.
If you want to drive your car with your phone, or are a heavy gamer and love to tweak your phone over and over and over I would say get Android. If you want a dumb but safe OS with a phone that has a high resale value and you don't mind paying through your nose for an overpriced product which has serious limitations like small screen and proprietary accessories etc, iPhone is for you.
I chose the Lumia 920 and have no regrets whatsoever. Seriously, if you use Google services and you switch to Windows Phone, just get gMaps & Metrotube and that covers pretty much everything (Skydrive is better than Google's offering anyways). I had gMail and switched to Outlook and only use my Google account for Youtube when I'm on the PC. People who say "But with an Android I can get Google Services" are seriously not realizing that there is really not much there, if anything, compared to Windows Phone. Hope this helps you make your choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been a windows phone user for two years now and I will say this much, if you are looking for customizability and playing with the look of your phone, windows phone will bore you to tears. The truth is that once you setup your layout on the homescreen, there isn't much else you can do or will do since it is already setup to your needs and how you use the phone. Like I add tracking packages to the bottom of the screen and once they get delivered I delete them, same goes for games once I finish playing them. So once the screen is setup I would argue that you do get bored after a while and go through different colours depending on your mood or even depending on the Bing wallpaper which is showing that day (if you use that lockscreen feature) etc. There really isn't any other customizability you can do or really will do after a bit because the phone is perfect for a lack of a better term, its perfectly setup for your needs.
I would argue that's a good thing, even though I do wish I can see some animations on the lockscreen etc. At the end of the day the added functionality I get with a Windows Phone and the way it integrates with everything I use, is just too good to give up to get some more freedom with respect to tweaking icons, text, wallpapers, animations etc.
Hope this helps you in your decision....
If you can live with the out of the box WP functionality & experience for the majority of your needs then you will be happy. If the stock apps don't cover the majority of your needs then stick with Android. Of course WP has some great 3rd party apps that add functionality/fill in the gaps, but you may not be able to count on them always working or the program being around in the future. A good example are YouTube apps which may stop working because Google has made a change, until the developers make the necessary changes.
For the best WP experience you are basically going to use Microsoft services Outlook.com/Hotmail/Live. If you have all your info in GMail,Google Docs etc. then you should decide if your willing to migrate it to the MS ecosystem, before moving to WP IMO
Hi. Coming from SGS3, I wanted to know if i could find an apk like Gstrings and Musical lite?
acruxksa said:
I've contemplated switching myself. My wife has a new lumia 920 and it's a beautiful phone. She's been a Windows phone user for a year and a half now and absolutely loves it. We also picked up a new lumia 920 for my 19yr. old son for Christmas and being an avid xbox guy, he was extremely happy. At least for the twelve hours he had the phone before it got knocked off the table onto our tile floor and cracked the screen. It should be back from the repair shop next week.
I do have to admit that with Windows 8 on all our computers, the integration with my wifes Lumia 920 and her LIVE account is pretty cool. To a large extent, google has the same sort of integration, but it seems quite a bit more scattered with multiple different google apps for different things, where WP8 just seems to sync/integrate everything quietly in the background.
I've always enjoyed "tweaking" my phone. Started with a Nokia e71 and Symbian, moved to an iPhone 3GS and Jailbreaking, then finally to Android where pretty much anything is possible. I'm worried that moving to WP8 would feel a little too restrictive.
That being said, my contract is up for renewal in a couple months and I'm actually thinking of going with a Lumia 920 just to see how I like it. I figure I can always sell it and go back to my i9300 SG3 if things don't workout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 same thoughts here....
Haha you'll suffer
Sent From My Galaxy S3
I did a switch and am unhapppy.
Its just been 18 hrs since i switched from S3 to 920 and am already missing it very much. Its nothing to do with the phone as such. The major thing am missing is the android. If you happen to be an android user for over a year and if you like to play (Not just games but roms etc etc.) then i seriously suggest you NOT to switch.
kaladhar.r said:
Its just been 18 hrs since i switched from S3 to 920 and am already missing it very much. Its nothing to do with the phone as such. The major thing am missing is the android. If you happen to be an android user for over a year and if you like to play (Not just games but roms etc etc.) then i seriously suggest you NOT to switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
I had a Lumia 920 for 2 weeks. Fantastic little machine, but I just found myself constantly looking on enviously at my friends' Android phones. Once I got the Nexus 4 it felt like I was back home.
For me, WP8 is too limited and has too many things that drove me up the wall. Type quickly? Forget about the auto-correct working properly, it couldn't keep up (and I'm by no means the quickest typist on a touch screen). Just little things such as the time not being displayed in certain screens at the top, and connectivity icons always being hidden used to irritate me. No notification was another irritant. Yes OK, the tiles would display unread texts etc, but I found sometimes I wouldn't notice them. The Android solution is so much better.
Overall, I just felt like I didn't have the same level of control as I do on Android. If I want to kill a task, how do you do that on Windows?
This can be a good or a bad thing, but I suspect many on XDA will not like it, being that most XDA members are very technically able people.
I thought I would enjoy having less choices and just getting on and using it, but you know what, it had the opposite effect.
exactly my same thoughts..^^^^^.
I switched to 920 at Christmas time. I love my new phone, Windows phone 8 is great, i can modify the home screen as much as I want and I love the live tiles. the only bug bear I had was the wifi switching of when asleep, but that has been fixed in the update I just received
one of the major reasons I switched was the slow uptake of Samsung to update it's phones, if I had not manually updated the firmware my s11 would still be sitting on gingerbread, the fragmentation of Android is hopeless. I only hope the same thing does not happen with Windows.
can you download files from the internet like you can with an android? I download a ton of torrents while i'm at work.
squarebobspongepants said:
can you download files from the internet like you can with an android? I download a ton of torrents while i'm at work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe nobody here downloads file ?
I not used torrent application myself but I did a search to see what apps in the store from my Lumia 920. I found a dozen so apps that manage and control torrent server software that you would have on your home computer. Some are free and some are paid .99 to 1.99. So at least you can control and manage your torrent server. I would suspect if you had a router based on tomato firmware that has torrent you could control/manage that as well in theory as well.
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
tameracingdriver said:
Agreed.
I had a Lumia 920 for 2 weeks. Fantastic little machine, but I just found myself constantly looking on enviously at my friends' Android phones. Once I got the Nexus 4 it felt like I was back home.
For me, WP8 is too limited and has too many things that drove me up the wall. Type quickly? Forget about the auto-correct working properly, it couldn't keep up (and I'm by no means the quickest typist on a touch screen). Just little things such as the time not being displayed in certain screens at the top, and connectivity icons always being hidden used to irritate me. No notification was another irritant. Yes OK, the tiles would display unread texts etc, but I found sometimes I wouldn't notice them. The Android solution is so much better.
Overall, I just felt like I didn't have the same level of control as I do on Android. If I want to kill a task, how do you do that on Windows?
This can be a good or a bad thing, but I suspect many on XDA will not like it, being that most XDA members are very technically able people.
I thought I would enjoy having less choices and just getting on and using it, but you know what, it had the opposite effect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience is the opposite many of yours. I have had Android phones since T-Mobiles G1 (I still have it) and I loved all the tinkering I could do with them. I've had Moto, HTC and Samsung. But there was always 'something' that didn't work quite right. Maybe the bluetooth stack wasn't that great or the GPS would show me blocks from where I am. Even the compass on one of them would have me twirling in circles as I sat at a traffic light. Some hardware issues, some software. An update would occur to fix something then another thing would suffer. Many ROMs built here were phenomenal pieces of work and way beyond my skill set. However a fgreat deal of the time even they were not quite done 'baking', for lack of a better term.
I saw the demo of my 920 while shopping for a new phone for my girlfriend. I had my One X for about 8 months. I HAD to have this phone. I've been using it for about 6 weeks now and it just works. That's all I can say. Everything on mine just simply works. GPS, compass, BT, mail services, WiFi...even phone calls! I've embraced the UI so much that I bought a windows 8 tablet and sold my iPad. (I sold the iPad for more reasons than just Windows 8 but that's for a different forum)
The seamless integration between the two is great and, for my purposes, I couldn't be happier with my decision to make this move. Is the app store lacking? Absolutely. But not to the point that I miss my Android phone(s). Don't misunderstand. I really do get why you would miss the flexibility of that OS. If I had time I'd keep one just for messing with. But it's so much easier now that when I want to do something I just do it and the phone cooperates completely.
My 920 from my perspective. Thanks for listening. Now back to your regularly scheduled browsing already in progress.
Hello. Inspired by some blog posts I decided I'm going to try work from an Android tablet and make the city my office. I'm a web developer, the code editing I can handle with terminal emulator and vim. The problem is with the developer tools - there are simply none on Chrome for Android. Yes, I know I could try something like Surface Pro, but for some reason an Android tablet seems more appealing to me, and it's cheaper.
I saw some cases where people got working a Linux distro running on top of Android with chroot, and the graphical interface was made possible with VNC connection. It appeared a little laggy, but the video was from 2012. I imagine one of the most beefed up Android tablets of today should handle it better.
So if I bought one and rooted it successfully, would I be able to run Linux on top of it? Anyone has done it on this tablet? I didn't find anything on the, probably because it's a new one.
P.s. sorry for the strange username, I created this account some long time ago apparently.
I imagine it might be possible, but I presume that remote desktop would be a better, easier solution.
Also, there are more browsers than Chrome available on the Android platform. Firefox is really resource intensive on Android, but it is impressively desktop-like in its capabilities. And it runs OK on my 8.4" M5 (though I use Dolphin Express as my primary browser).
You are a web developer and would even consider Surface Pro? Man, Microsoft decided to self implode some time ago.
thref23 said:
I imagine it might be possible, but I presume that remote desktop would be a better, easier solution.
Also, there are more browsers than Chrome available on the Android platform. Firefox is really resource intensive on Android, but it is impressively desktop-like in its capabilities. And it runs OK on my 8.4" M5 (though I use Dolphin Express as my primary browser).
You are a web developer and would even consider Surface Pro? Man, Microsoft decided to self implode some time ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean setting up Linux on a VPS? I think that a connection to a remote server miles away would result in a very bad performance, but I haven't really tried it, so it's just a guess.
As far as I know, Firefox for Android doesn't have dev tools either.
What's wrong with Surface Pro? I would seriously consider using it, but the price tag is really high compared to an Android device. The thing is also that Android tablet feels kinda more mobile, and I don't like Windows too much.
usernamenotavailabe said:
Do you mean setting up Linux on a VPS? I think that a connection to a remote server miles away would result in a very bad performance, but I haven't really tried it, so it's just a guess.
What's wrong with Surface Pro? I would seriously consider using it, but the price tag is really high compared to an Android device. The thing is also that Android tablet feels kinda more mobile, and I don't like Windows too much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically, you would have a PC set up at home, and you would access your PC via a remote desktop app like Teamviewer or Splashtop. I presume you have a PC at home?
Honestly, I am not that knowledgeable regarding Surface Pro. I'm just reluctant to trust anything Microsoft nowadays, and I don't look forward to the day I have to upgrade from Windows 7 (although I'm sure I could configure Windows 10 like Windows 7). And the whole Surface concept is a little gimmicky, bluetooth keyboards, mice, and tablet stands can be purchased cheap and will probably give you a better laptop/PC like experience (with any tablet) than Surface Pro will. My gut is that you are better off going for an Android tablet, or if you need better specs, a Windows laptop.
thref23 said:
Basically, you would have a PC set up at home, and you would access your PC via a remote desktop app like Teamviewer or Splashtop. I presume you have a PC at home?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really one that could run 24h/7. But you know what, I will try to spin up a server on DigitalOcean server with a graphical interface and try to connect to it from my laptop, and then Android phone and I will see about the performance.
I have also found a detailed article on running Linux on Android: https://www.androidauthority.com/install-ubuntu-on-your-android-smartphone-765408/ so I might also give it a try if I get the tablet