Thoughts on Windows Phone 8 on this forum?

[saintforlife]

What is the general consensus of Windows Phone 8 on this forum? Is it looked at positively overall? I just bought a Nokia Lumia 521 for less than $130 (contract-free) to play with and understand WP8. I thought it was a cheap way to try out a new OS. Been with iOS since 2008 and it was a good time to try something new. I still have my iPhone 5 though, not giving that up.

So any tips on making the most out of my Windows phone experience is welcome. I am particularly excited about the off-line navigation (HERE Maps) and off-line music (Nokia Music) capabilities of the Nokia Lumia line.

 

[MacDawg]

You asked for our thoughts... and I have never really given it much thought
The appeal to me was never strong since I don't care for Windows as an OS anyway
If I was a big Windows user, perhaps it would be different, but I prefer the Apple world

From what I can tell, the Lumia line is pretty solid and the Windows Phone experience isn't that bad
Different, but not bad

It is all in personal preferences these days
Most phones do pretty much the same basic things
The apps on the Windows Phone may be limited, but you should be able to find most everything you definitely need

 

[TacticalDesire]

It would be great if Microsoft hadn't become so half assed with everything they do lately. They've left nokia out to dry with a stagnant OS.

 

[fredaroony]

I bought a Lumia 920 about 3 weeks ago and quite like it but the OS is missing fundamental things.

Notifications are poor, unless they are a live tile on the front screen you don't get any.

All the volumes are tied into the one setting so you can't have your in-call volume and your notification/alarm volume set differently.

The OS itself is very very smooth though compared to anything else I have tried. This is a zero lag device, at least from my experience. The app selection is light years away from Android or iOS.

 

[maxosx]

I'd like to see Microsoft wake up and really focus on Windows Phone 8. If for no other reason than good competition to keep everyone on their toes. In the month long stint I put in on one, it was just disappointing. Too many annoyances to list. It amazes me that Balmer still has his job. They need to replace this guy before he does further damage to Microsoft.

 

[scott craft]

I bought a Lumia 920 about 3 weeks ago and quite like it but the OS is missing fundamental things.

Notifications are poor, unless they are a live tile on the front screen you don't get any.

All the volumes are tied into the one setting so you can't have your in-call volume and your notification/alarm volume set differently.

The OS itself is very very smooth though compared to anything else I have tried. This is a zero lag device, at least from my experience. The app selection is light years away from Android or iOS.

A notification center is long overdue, one of the main things I miss from android.

I think Windows Phone is a solid base, but Microsoft is really dragging their heels bringing necessary features to the platform. Notification center, separate volume settings, rotation lock, folders and improved voice action functionality are the things I'm looking for. I'm satisfied with the app selection. Most of the big ones are available, even if via a third party. I don't expect a platform with 3% market share to have the developer support of android or iOS. I will say in the last three months there have been a lot of new apps coming in, probably the biggest influx of popular apps in the two years I've been on Windows Phone.

 

[0dev]

It has a lot of potential but Microsoft can't be assed to let the OS reach it. This is literally an OS that still doesn't even have a rotation lock. The notifications are crap as others have said. There's no VPN support either. And it's just as locked down as iOS.

 

[MuffCabbage]

Ive owned an HTC 8X Windows Phone for about 7 months. I think WIndows Phone is a great start and has lots of great things about it, but like everyone above said, they are updating an early product very slowly compared to the competition so its hard to recommend. Apps are enough for me and the experience is better than Android, but it does lack in some areas that aren't getting updated quickly enough.

 

[ChazUK]

On my Lumia 620:


Pros:

• Fantastic value for money.
• Great performance on low-end internals.
• Memory expansion via SD card.
• Some great features.

1. Nokia Here Drive
2. Nokia Music
3. SkyDrive integration
4. Social integration
5. Live tiles.

Cons:

• Limited app choice.
• Reliance on third parties for apps that are available from first parties on iOS/Android.
• Muti-tasking is wonky on most apps.
• Some MS services are limited outside the U.S (Bing is rather poor I find over here in the UK)
• No universal notification centre, unless you have a live tile or email alert set up you may miss something.

Here Maps on my 620 is utterly fantastic. Worldwide offline navigation for free with the device is something neither Apple or Google really offer and the app is well done (on the 520/521 it is limited to a single country).

It is a real shame it's lacking in some departments but I will say I've not seen any Android phone perform as well as Windows Phone does on the 620 considering the specs.

 

[Jessica Lares]

My godfather showed me his 8X a few months ago. The photos are really vivid. When it comes to Mac support, it is a lot better than Android considering that Microsoft has their sync app in the Mac App Store. However, I haven't used any Microsoft services in YEARS, and it would be really weird to go back to that. While the interface is pretty good, it would get old really quickly too, lots of wasted space in that regard.

Basically, while the quality is good, I find Windows Phone too toyish. But then, that's me coming from having used Windows Mobile, which was the best thing at the time when it was around. It would have been great to see that UI evolve into a touch based interface, kinda in the sense of Palm's WebOS.

 

[TSE]

Windows Phone, as it stands right now, is the best choice for people who want the best value for the money in terms of hardware, or for people who just use the basic smartphone features. I am in the second boat. I love Windows Phone, mainly for the Nokia Hardware and the UI.

 

[egoistaxx9]

windows 8 has some great features, my favorite is the "live tiles". nokia is doing a great job, they are bringing out the best windows phones but the biggest drawback of windows phones is that there aren't enough apps (at least not enough for me).