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Testing a Windows 8 Phone

T

Tiger8

macrumors 68020
Original poster
May 23, 2011
2,479
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I had the chance to play with a Windows 8 phone, signed in hotmail, added googled, facebook, linkedin, etc.. and I have to tell you, it's not that bad. I am so used to iOS I guess, and it's still my first choice, but Windows phone definitely comes second, much better in my opinion than Android.

One feature I particularily liked, which I guess you won't appreciate unless you actually setup the phone with your Ids, is the 'People' tile. It is smart enough to match contacts from my phonebook (Google Contacts) to Hotmail to Facebook to Linkedin. This is great because in one location, you can lookup a person, see their facebook updates, tweets, linkedin updates, etc... It is really much more people centric than any other mobile system.

Another feature is the ability to create a 'tile' for entities, not only apps. For example, I have a favorite Pandora station, I can create a tile for it. You can even create a tile for a person (i.e. your significant other) for one click access to them.

All joking aside, not as bad as I expected it to be. I think the biggest problem Windows 8 has is that it's 6 years too late.
 
I don't think it is bad, but the one thing stopping me from using it is no notification center. It really is a shame b.c I love nokia's hardware and camera.
 
mattopotamus said:
I don't think it is bad, but the one thing stopping me from using it is no notification center. It really is a shame b.c I love nokia's hardware and camera.
Click to expand...

True. Remember we got a proper notification center in iOS 5 (I think), it took Apple a couple of iterations to workout the process in their system. MS needs a similar approach.

I personally think of all three (Windows 8, Windows 8 RT, Windows 8 Phone) - Phone is the one were tiles and 'metro' makes most sense
 
Yeah in terms of "premiumness" and easy usability factor, Ios feels best, then windows and lastly android. Android sometimes feels crude due to lag/ugly scrolling mechanics
 
Tiger8 said:
I had the chance to play with a Windows 8 phone, signed in hotmail, added googled, facebook, linkedin, etc.. and I have to tell you, it's not that bad. I am so used to iOS I guess, and it's still my first choice, but Windows phone definitely comes second, much better in my opinion than Android.

One feature I particularily liked, which I guess you won't appreciate unless you actually setup the phone with your Ids, is the 'People' tile. It is smart enough to match contacts from my phonebook (Google Contacts) to Hotmail to Facebook to Linkedin. This is great because in one location, you can lookup a person, see their facebook updates, tweets, linkedin updates, etc... It is really much more people centric than any other mobile system.

Another feature is the ability to create a 'tile' for entities, not only apps. For example, I have a favorite Pandora station, I can create a tile for it. You can even create a tile for a person (i.e. your significant other) for one click access to them.

All joking aside, not as bad as I expected it to be. I think the biggest problem Windows 8 has is that it's 6 years too late.
Click to expand...

That's just the "shiny, new, and different" talking. Use it for about 2 weeks, then get back to us. I guarantee you'll have changed your tune by then.

Then again, it's probably easier for someone that uses iOS exclusively to move to WP8 than someone that's used Android for a while. Once you know the freedom that an OS like Android affords you, going back to a closed ecosystem is almost impossible. Since iOS and WP8 are so closed, therefore so much alike, the difference is more aesthetic than anything.

Your opinion on Android is your opinion, and I respect that. I, however, feel quite the opposite. I've got my iPhone 5 that I use from time to time, but inevitably I go back to my Moto X or S4. And after having the Lumia 920 earlier this year, it'll be a least a couple of years before I give WP another try (because that's how far out I feel it is from being a mature OS).
 
KentuckyHouse said:
That's just the "shiny, new, and different" talking. Use it for about 2 weeks, then get back to us. I guarantee you'll have changed your tune by then.
Click to expand...

You are right, a friend of mine got Lumia 1020, and after the noverly wore off he is looking into way to go back to iPhone, this explains why WP8 phones dropped so much in value, I got an HTC 8x, used for one month, for less than $200, and like I said, I am testing it - I'm still using my iPhone.
 
Last edited:
Tiger8 said:
You are right, a friend of mine got Lumia 1020, and after the noverly wore off he is looking into way to go back to iPhone, this explains why WP8 phones dropped so much in value, I got an HTC 8x, used for one month, for less than $200, and like I said, I am testing it - I'm still using my iPhone.
Click to expand...

Yep. The 1020's camera is amazing, but that's the sort of tricks WP8 devices have to resort to in order to draw in customers. Once that "Ohh, I've got a 41 megapixel camera!" feeling wears off, you suddenly realize you're using WP8 and that camera doesn't seem to pull it's weight like it did right after you got the phone.

And it's funny you mention the 8X, as I almost got one of those months ago instead of the 920. Now there's one sitting on Swappa for $130 and the poor guy can't GIVE it away. And it's in decent condition, too. It's just that no one wants a WP. Once you've used it, you quickly figure out why.
 
I'm actually waiting for my Nokia 1020 to arrive :D
switched from the 4s to Lumia 920 earlier this year but didn't really give it a chance on had it for 2 days and returned it for lack of apps. Went with Android (LGOG) for about 7 month and back to iPhone 5. Going to give Lumia 1020 another try. I personally like IOS>WP8>Android. iOS has the app selections but a little stale in looks, WP8 looks nice, but lack the apps, Android is actually the best of both worlds except it gets laggy and buggy after awhile. That could just be the devices that I use (Samsung Tab2 and LG Optimus G)
 
i used to have a LG Optimus l9 and loved it but after 6 months of owning it ... mid call it locked up so i forced powered it down and it just stopped working so i went with a lower model w8 phone and i fell in love with the os i have a lumina 521 and i must say that i love this more then i ever loved my android:)
 
This thread is too civilized to be discussing Windows Phone 8. :p

With my job new, I have the possibility to get a work phone, so I'm going to see if I can get a Windows Phone instead of the recently approved Galaxy S3 Mini.
 
watchthisspace said:
This thread is too civilized to be discussing Windows Phone 8. :p

With my job new, I have the possibility to get a work phone, so I'm going to see if I can get a Windows Phone instead of the recently approved Galaxy S3 Mini.
Click to expand...

Every windows phone comes with Microsoft office :D
 
ichii said:
Every windows phone comes with Microsoft office :D
Click to expand...

And hopefully good Outlook/Exchange support! It's not like the phone will be used or consuming apps and Instagramming either.

I'll have my iPhone as my personal phone, Nexus 7 as my tablet, Windows Phone as my work phone, Windows gaming desktop and Mac laptop :D One happy family.
 
This is mostly just honeymoon phase talk with a new OS.

I tried WP7 last year as my primary for six months.

Yes, it is very smooth and tiles are not as static. Yes, it has cool transitional animations that sometimes feels like overkill. Yes, it can do some better things than Android and iOS.

I enjoyed it up until my phone got stolen. But I never went back to it. Eye candy with lack of apps and iOS-like restrictions.

I would rather have Android that might be visually less appealing or less smooth than have an OS restrict me to do alot of things like what WP and iOS do.
 
I had the Lumia 520 - it was only $100 at Wal-Mart, but I returned it. It had the latest Windows Phone 8 OS on it, but hopefully in 8.1 they get a notification center. I mean, seriously, Microsoft.
 
Well apparently 8.1 will bring a much needed notification centre. Its a shame because it is a nice OS to use but I certainly wouldn't consider using it as my daily phone. Great UI though which seems like both Apple and Google are moving towards with thinner fonts and "flatness"
 
Hey, let's try to pry open Apple & Google's stronghold with a product that's just not too bad. If at first this strategy does not succeed, we'll just keep pouring more & more money into it. If it drags down our partners, we'll buy them too. What could possibly go wrong?
 
watchthisspace said:
This thread is too civilized to be discussing Windows Phone 8. :p

With my job new, I have the possibility to get a work phone, so I'm going to see if I can get a Windows Phone instead of the recently approved Galaxy S3 Mini.
Click to expand...






LOL. I haven't been this happy with a phone since iPhone 4. It's just as restrictive as iOS, but the UI is just as enjoyable. Whether you come from Android or iOS, you will find some familiarly in WP.



You just have to have an open mind going in.



I never used the notifications in Android or iOS. Either do my parents actually. I prefer badges and the banners/ribbons, which a majority of WP apps do have.
 
Microsoft really needs to stop dragging ass, and put some muscle behind Windows Phone.

Update the software more often for one.

And two, get a real mobile strategy that well attract developers which in turn will entice users.
 
One of the things I liked about Windows Phone was that when I opened my People Tile, the pictures show up instantly similar to when I open the Photo gallery app on iOS. Android is not very good at caching. You still see the photos being loaded onto the screen.

Back as late-2011, I used iOS, WP, and Android concurrently. Android was my LEAST fav. WP was visually more impressive and iOS was the best all-around esp with apps and smoothness. Then Android matured with Ice Cream Sandwich and got even better with Jelly Bean's Project Butter. It took me about a year to actually like Android.

WP is just tough for me to go back to since it lacks the useful apps and is just as restrictive and closed as iOS. I guess it is like Google Search vs Bing. The latter is more visually impressive but the former is more useful for me and I can get far more searches. Just no fan of Microsoft's ecosystem trying to copy Apple's way. No fan of Bing or Internet Explorer or even Xbox. I do like the Metro UI on their music app which I can still get with Android using UberMusic w/ Metro UI skin. Back in 2009, I was pretty much impressed with that Zune HD.

WP came out like 2 years too late. Even Windows 8 is not hit as most folks are content with W7. And I find it to be ALL STYLE, NO SUBSTANCE. Windows Mobile was uglier but far more customizable and useful.
 
As an IT professional and Microsoft engineer for various technologies, I can’t wait to try out Windows Phone, but I am going to wait for next major release and perhaps first Microsoft phone – if one exists.

I am also hoping that once Microsoft starts making its own phones, they will unify the line up across all the carriers, just like Apple does. The whole exclusivity is soo stupid that I’am surprised that governments hasn’t stepped in yet to abolish it.
 
Tiger8 said:
You are right, a friend of mine got Lumia 1020, and after the noverly wore off he is looking into way to go back to iPhone, this explains why WP8 phones dropped so much in value, I got an HTC 8x, used for one month, for less than $200, and like I said, I am testing it - I'm still using my iPhone.
Click to expand...

I'm the opposite of you guys. Ditched the iPhone, got an 8X, now on a Moto X, which is an awesome phone, but I would go to a 1020 if Verizon offered it

Android and WP8 rank equal to me. I love widgets and launchers as well as Assist and Touchless Control. WP8 people hub is great though and camera implementation is superb. Both are next generation datacentric OS's - Android with the widgets and WP8 with the LiveTiles. This is where iOS should've gone but they're stuck on the old static icon grid paradigm.

Not feeling iOS 7 at all. Only thing I like about it is the transitions
 
I got a Nokia 620 to use as a development test phone and it's a decent little phone - solid as a rock and very small.

I don't like WP8 as much as Android and some of the transitions are overdone to the point of being annoying, but it's a decent backup phone and I take it with me when I want to "travel light", or when I'm taking the dogs for a walk in the field and don't want to risk damaging my S4
 
Love my Lumia 620. I think Windows Phone 8 is a very nice OS with plenty of great features.
 
I find the 8 interface (across all of MS products) to be far and away too busy. Even turning live tiles off everything is just too much.
 
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