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Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
The app isn't strictly in the background. It is on Windows servers. I am not sure how this is handled on WP7.x, but I do know the apps are different than in WP8. Hope that makes sense. :)

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It really is very good. And to be available on all three major smartphone OS is awesome. I believe it is unavailable, as an app, on OSX currently, though you can still access things by logging in online. Being that it is available on iOS, I am sure it is coming to OSX.

No it is. I downloaded it to my GS3 from the Play Store but i dont have a Microsoft account so i didnt keep it. Dont need it right now so ill do it again later if i do need it.
 

b166er

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 17, 2010
2,062
18
Philly
Well I returned the 920 today. I have to work late tomorrow, Thursday is a holiday, and Friday is not a day I want to be anywhere near a retail store, so I brought it back a few days before my trial.

Things I will miss:

-The hardware. All of it, it's beautiful.
-Screen size/quality
-camera and "lenses"
-the way Skype runs (yes initially I complained there was no skype, but now there is and the way they integrate it is awesome)
-The basic UI- I really like live tiles a lot
-having MS Office in my pocket.

Things I will be keeping my eye out for in future updates that might make me switch back again:

-Better notifications
-blackboard app for school
-an app (official or not) that will let you google video chat
-overall more stability/cleaning out of the bugs
-better/more intuitive multitasking
-A larger presence in general from Google to acces the Google ecosystem. Right now it's virtually nonexistent on WP8.

Thanks to everyone for their input while I test drove a 920. Sadly it wasn't meant to be for me just yet, but I will keep my eye on the platform. With some simple improvements it could become exactly what I am looking for.
 

weespeed

macrumors 6502
Jul 9, 2010
430
0
Well I returned the 920 today. I have to work late tomorrow, Thursday is a holiday, and Friday is not a day I want to be anywhere near a retail store, so I brought it back a few days before my trial.

Things I will miss:

-The hardware. All of it, it's beautiful.
-Screen size/quality
-camera and "lenses"
-the way Skype runs (yes initially I complained there was no skype, but now there is and the way they integrate it is awesome)
-The basic UI- I really like live tiles a lot
-having MS Office in my pocket.

Things I will be keeping my eye out for in future updates that might make me switch back again:

-Better notifications
-blackboard app for school
-an app (official or not) that will let you google video chat
-overall more stability/cleaning out of the bugs
-better/more intuitive multitasking
-A larger presence in general from Google to acces the Google ecosystem. Right now it's virtually nonexistent on WP8.

Thanks to everyone for their input while I test drove a 920. Sadly it wasn't meant to be for me just yet, but I will keep my eye on the platform. With some simple improvements it could become exactly what I am looking for.

I am in the same boat. I had all iPhones, tried the iPhone5 out for 30 days, returned it. Still have my iPhone4 and my Galaxy Nexus.
I like both platforms, but hate the tiny iPhone screen. It was between the Note 2 or 920, but for 99.99 and free charging plate, I went and got the Lumia 920.

It really is a pretty phone, a little bit on the chunky and heavy side, but manageable.
The screen is very nice. Better than the iPhone and the nexus. The size is also great.

But, like you said, the notifications is so.. not there. I'm so used to Android notifications and WP8 needs some work.
I'm not an app guy. Use several, maybe 5 max. But the five I do use I use alot. And WP8 lacks there. Even alternatives to apps are very light on functionality. Even major apps like PayPal are not the same. I had to send some money and after trying several times on my 920 I gave up and grabbed my Nexus to send money.

Still torn if I should return it or not and get the Note 2. But earlier I got 50 credit on the Lumia from ATT, bringing the cost down to 49.99 and with a free charging plate, makes it so much harder to make my decision.

One thing is for sure, I will not go back to the iPhone until they get a bigger screen. 4" tall and skinny is just lame to me.
 

Cod3rror

macrumors 68000
Apr 18, 2010
1,809
151
Responses in bold, plus I would like to add a few.

No "Do Not Disturb" function. I know iOS just got this, and it was long overdue. I still get alerts at night. What's worse is I cannot put my phone on JUST silent. It's either vie or ring+vibe.

No custom text sounds to contacts. Also cannot add your own text sounds. You get a list of maybe ten, and that's all you get to work with. Huge bummer for those who text a lot.

Multitasker is lacking. There is no real intuitive way to kill an app. You basically just have to "bak out" of it. It also seems limited to maybe 7-8 apps before it starts killing the oldest app. When you are hopping from music, to browsing, to notes, etc. this fills up pretty fast. Conversely, IOS keeps going until the end of time. I wish there was a happy medium, or perhaps a user definable medium. That would be neat.

That's all for now. :cool:

Thanks for the comprehensive reply and for being civil about it.

Regarding the start screen position being remembered, have you tried this: Go into an app and then tap on the start button on the phone.

I've tried it and it resets to the top each time.
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,721
Boston, MA
Thanks for the comprehensive reply and for being civil about it.

Regarding the start screen position being remembered, have you tried this: Go into an app and then tap on the start button on the phone.

I've tried it and it resets to the top each time.

Yes, it does do that. I thought you were referring to the start screen when locking the phone. Hitting the back button, while in the app, will take you back to where you last were on the screen as well. Unfortunately this kills the app too.

I am hoping MS addresses multitasking here in the near future. It really isn't very good at all, compared to the alternatives. I feel like multitasking was better handles on iOS when it was a third party addition back in 3.0 (or whenever that was).

----------

Well I returned the 920 today. I have to work late tomorrow, Thursday is a holiday, and Friday is not a day I want to be anywhere near a retail store, so I brought it back a few days before my trial.

Things I will miss:

-The hardware. All of it, it's beautiful.
-Screen size/quality
-camera and "lenses"
-the way Skype runs (yes initially I complained there was no skype, but now there is and the way they integrate it is awesome)
-The basic UI- I really like live tiles a lot
-having MS Office in my pocket.

Things I will be keeping my eye out for in future updates that might make me switch back again:

-Better notifications
-blackboard app for school
-an app (official or not) that will let you google video chat
-overall more stability/cleaning out of the bugs
-better/more intuitive multitasking
-A larger presence in general from Google to acces the Google ecosystem. Right now it's virtually nonexistent on WP8.

Thanks to everyone for their input while I test drove a 920. Sadly it wasn't meant to be for me just yet, but I will keep my eye on the platform. With some simple improvements it could become exactly what I am looking for.

Sorry to see you go. The list you created, minus maybe google video chat, are all things I am waiting for as well. MS is doing a big push with their windows 8 and WP 8 SDK being (virtually) identical. I have high hopes for the platform (far more than I ever had when it was just WP7).

The platform is going through the same growing pains that iOS and Android went through, allbeit at a slightly faster rate (due to necessity to stay relevant in this already dominated market). Not being an apologist, but I am a realist. Unless MS decides to drop this thing all together, which at this point seems unlikely, we are going to see some awesome things coming around the bend.
 

KentuckyHouse

macrumors 68030
Jan 29, 2010
2,723
998
Lexington, KY.
Thanks to everyone in this thread for all the information. I've been eying the 920 for a few days now and this thread has been a great source of real-world information.

I'm still using my trusty S3 and just returned the Note 2 after giving it a test run. For me, it was just too big. And frankly, it's basically my S3 on steroids. It's an amazing phone if you haven't used the S3, but if you've got one, I wouldn't worry about getting a Note 2.

That leads me to the 920. The Windows phone UI really intrigues me and I've nearly purchased the 900 on a few occasions, but after the MS cut off the 900 from being updated to WP8, I decided to wait. It sounds like it might be a good idea to wait a bit longer and let the platform mature.

This thread has been a big help. Thanks again!
 
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