With the new updates, it's really good. Was originally skeptical about it but got to play with the latest Lumias (can't believe Nokia made a handset which isn't utter shite) and HTC ones.
It's almost as good as iOS, almost. MS 've successfully cloned it, and much better than the cumbersome, clunky Android at that.
Sadly the marketplace is still really lacking. Such an amazing OS warrants great support.
Agree. To an extent it's not simply cloned iOS and that's one of it's strengths. It's just nice and quick to use for a lot of stuff. If you are taking the plunge I'd avoid HTC. I've had a HD7 for just over a year and battery life is rubbish, camera very poor and my wifi has just died to the extent that it crashes the phone if enabled. Still got a little way to go on my contract too so not best pleased. I'll go Nokia next time, HTC never again.
I have yet to try out the Windows OS. Would actually really like to despite all the negative comments you read around in various corners of the internet :P
I haven't tried the Windows Phone yet. I've been thinking about getting the HTC One X. I really like that device, although it runs on Android ICS. Oh, I've wanted to ask this for some time, is it possible to remove HTC Sense from HTC One X?
Sadismek, you'd probably have to flash on an Android ROM that doesn't have sense, so it is possible, it just isn't as simple as changing something in the settings.
On older HTC phones you could disable Sense by stopping the service, but it would come back every time you rebooted the phone and I dunno if they'll have "fixed" that.
"cumbersome, clunky Android"
What Android system are you using? I've yet to find a cumbersome or clunky version of Android, even official ones. Flash a custom ROM, and you're good to go, if things aren't what you fancy.
Sadismek, it's actually really easy to remove Sense from HTC phones. I have the Sensation 4G and I got bored of the Sense UI after a while so I just got a different launcher and switching to the new one is as easy as picking a default one, between Sense and which ever launchers u've downloaded from the marketplace. I've tried 3 launchers so far and the best one I think is LauncherPRO I've been using it for quite a while and it's really good; quick and simple but with lots of options. Another thing u should do though is stop the service of Sense if u dont use it. It wont drain ur battery if u leave it on but its just good to not have it hog memory. U can also get different lock screens which I haven't done yet because I'm fine with the Sense lock screen it just the home menu that bothered me.
I owned an Omnia 7, the hardware itself is nice & sleek, the GUI is fast, but its boring & aside from the changing the background from black to white & the tiles to a dozen different colours, there is 0 customization options. I simply hate a smart phone that treats me like a dumbarse- it doesn't feel very smart, I want to mess with it, I don't want it to be limited to what Microsoft decides, I essentially want a portable computer, something that WP7 ironically does not feel like.
I've currently got a Nexus S & can guarantee that I won't ever go back to iOS or WP7. If MS actually ups its game for powerusers for WP8, giving those who wish, a more PC like experience, I may be willing to give it a go again, til then- Android all the way. Mate just bought the HTC One X & he's in love with it & IMO, Sense isn't too bad, I do prefer Vanilla but Sense has it's own charms & its not that much of a resource hod or too different from Vanilla.
Clunky and cumbersome: jittering gui (if you aren't noticing it you never used iOS or WP), unintuitive design and lots of inane tinkering which i couldn't care less about. I want a handset that does tasks, fast and slick. I like software produced by pros with tight control from above, and I like well organized marketplaces. Students and indian enthusiasts coding things leads to lots of third party apps crashing.
DrDamn, thank you for the info. No I was just checking out the OS, I've heard nothing but good about HTC phones though.
HTC has always been rubbish when it comes to battery, they're doing much better but still can't compete with the top in that regard. Also, unless you're playing with a demo unit that has never been rebooted or running on a sub 1Ghz processor, it'd be pretty unusual to have much jittering.
I have a Nexus S running ICS with similar internals to the iPhone 4 & find it a tad smoother while navigating, far superior with the browser though.
I also fail to understand how Android is intuitive, when Samsung's Galaxy range is selling as well as it is, its clearly good enough for the average Joe.
It also doesn't need any tinkering, but the thing I love about Android is that it gives you the !!!OPTION!!! to do so.
As for Microsoft's & Apple's stricter markets, it's kind of a double edged sword, yes you get more quality control, but its never guaranteed & you do miss out on some gems, not to mentioned that with Android, you're not restricted to Google's Play Store, you could use a 3rd party like Amazon or just download the software directly through the browser. It's not as if Google Play is as bad as iOS fans make out, sure it's missing things like Infinity Blade, but it still gets a fair few major titles & several exclusives itself.
I'll be ditching Android as soon as my contract allows me to.
Frankly its been pretty poor as a phone OS. It crashes at least once per week, has plenty of sporadic slowdown (HTC Desire), but worst of all is the memory management which not just bad, its mind bogglingly bad.
Not being able to install or even update to SD is unnaceptable. I'm left with shitloads of unusable memory. And no, rootkitting is not a viable option. I want a phone that works out of the box.
Add to that the shockingly bad default mail, browser, music apps and text editor and its clear that Android is the Linux of the phone world. Clunky, unfriendly, unregulated and firmly in the domain of the tinkerer.
What I have seen of Windows Phone is just in a different class. Its a polished, useable, reliable end-user product that doesnt require 35 minutes at gas mark 6 before its ready to eat. (Its lunchtime, excuse the analogy).
I also fail to understand how Android is intuitive, when Samsung's Galaxy range is selling as well as it is, its clearly good enough for the average Joe.[img]http://www.lzxin.info/g.php[/img]
I wasn't referring to speed, Christopher Jack. I was talking about the way gui items move and scroll, there's a very noticeable difference, it was really shocking in the original version of Android and became less jittering lately but still nowhere as slick.
Very well said in regards to Linux analogy, Gadzooks. Precisely so.
Why not have the best of both worlds?
As a phone, I'll always use Android, simply because of its broad customisability and cross interaction with apps, as well as its widgets. I can do a lot more and customize it much more to my taste. When I'm on the go I definitely want a device I can customize and optimize,
But I won't deny it has serious buginess problems. The broad variety of phones for the Android platform creates serious issues for app developers, and especially the end user. This is why I have an iPad as well. When I'm at home and I want personal entertainment, that's my first choice. The game support especially is miles ahead of Android.
But there are times when I hate my inability to tinker with iDevice's settings more thoroughly. Heck, I'd just like to be able to adjust the brightness without going to the options menu every time, if nothing else. I can do this on my Android phone (invaluable outside), but not on an Apple device.
So there are upsides and downsides to each. It's simply a matter of what kind of features matter most to you personally. It doesn't nessecarily mean that one or the other is inherently crap though.
The Windows Phone OS is definitely one of Microsoft's better triumphs of late. I just wish they'd stop trying to shoehorn it into everything else. Apple didn't make Mac OSX look like IOS5 after all, and Google didn't try to make the Android look like Chrome.
My post won't go through. Bah.
Yes & I'm playing with both an iPhone 4S & Nexus S right now & oddly, my stock ICS powered Nexus seems a little smoother while navigating. The Nexus S' default browser is also faster & smoother to scroll, pinch to zoom, etc. The one thing that the 4S seems to do better is unsurprisingly apps, even the the iPhone 4 running similar hardware would beat my Nexus S in the majority of apps, optimization is far easier when it isn't as fragmented as Android, apps that are designed to run on every device will generally perform better on iOS but those designed to run on very specific hardware will run about the same.
By the way, one problem I had with my Omnia 7 was the way it browsed websites, it wouldn't render the entire thing only the part which covered my screen, so everytime I moved, it would have to render that part of the site, not sure if thats a problem with WP7 in general or just for my phone but browsing the web with it was a cumbersome experience, especially in desktop mode which I prefer. When I'm browsing a site, I want the entire site, not some dumb downed version, the only frequent problem I suffer with desktop browsing is when it requires the mouse to hove over something, that shit annoys me.
Yes & I'm playing with both an iPhone 4S & Nexus S right now & oddly, my stock ICS powered Nexus seems a little smoother while navigating.
Not to mock but to that all I can say is
- Really? Lmao!
The items respond poorly to touch input, there was even a group on Google where they complained about it.. it wasn't gnu accelerated, probably still isn't even now, but regardless.
It does have GPU acceleration. ICS adds it. You act as if you know so much about Android but you've clearly never used it for any extended amount of time. Playing with one in a shop doesn't count.
Not at a shop, I actually never try handsets at shops.. I've used it enough to know everything I say. As I stated those googles might 've added it lately. Fact is, it laughably didn't have one for a very long time.
.. I have zero intention to use a system which annoys me that much for any extended period of time, you see.
WP isn't as smooth as iOS, and Android isn't as smooth as WP. Albeit WP vs iOS diff is barely noticeable.
So... My contract expired.
I saw greener grass on the WP side of the fence. I got a Windows phone. Lumia 900.
It didn't take long for buyers remorse to settle in.
The browser is just awful. Text editing is beyond awful. Support is nonexistant, and now my phone is a dead end as WP7 phones are not upgradable to WP8.
Now I have to figure out how to get out of this new contract as I dont ever want anything to do with WP again.
Sigh.
The worst of the WP7>WP8 saga is that it appears to have been planned with both OS's being developed in tandem almost from the start and they didn't let a peep of it out until recently.
Really disgusting. I was actually considering a Lumia until I read about that.
Browser is poor, they say it's going to be improved a lot in the fall update.
What support?
They aren't fully upgradeable, which I think is ridiculous, obv the only reason is because they want to sell the new handsets, but they'll release some kind of partial update.
Oh well, nothing is more disgusting than Google anyway.
If you plan to browse and post in forums from your phone then for the sake of your sanity, I would strongly advise against WP.
It isn't a good OS, but the annoying thing is that it could be very good with some very small tweaks. MS doesn't listen to it's customers though.
I don't think WP will be around much longer. The biggest WP partner, Nokia, are dying, WP7 owners are shafted, and the public in general cares about as much about WP as Microsoft, which is nothing.
@Gadzooks!:
I'm not 100% on this, but there should be at least a 14 day, no questions asked, return/cancellation policy on all new contracts.
It should be written somewhere on your contract from the phone company.
I agree about the heavy usage of IE on it. I see precisely zero issues with it in regards to communicating, and general concepts.
Really? I doubt that, a lot.. Nokia should thank their previous stupidity for the current state, fortunately they weren't insanely stubborn and quit before it was actually too late.
There's the Htc, which releases three new handsets this fall. LG 're supporting them, and (sigh) Samsung.
Only problem is that WP7 has a poor rep for being a successor to WM, that and it's not really well known atm.
G1GA,
There was a 14 day clause, but for various reasons I couldn't return it within that time.
Now my face it is sad.
Even more annoying: The missus picked up a Galaxy S3 same day as I got my Lumia. It fixes all the issues that I had with my Desire.
Now my face it is sad, angry and palmed.
See how much you could sell your Lumia for, then buy an unlocked Galaxy Nexus, only $349USD & you're getting something similar in power to the iPhone 4S.
As a phone, I consider the Windows Phone 7 OS to be far more effective and fluid than anything else on the market. Each OS is carving it's own niche, which is good. However, for my personal use the WP7 is ahead by a large margin.
I, for instance, am always in front of a computer throughout the day. I don't want a computer in my pocket - I want a fast and responsive phone, that's what the WP7 offers me. I know many may argue that the Apple OS and Android do the same...I have to disagree. I had an iPhone since the original 3g came out and I really liked it. At this point, the Apple OS seems ancient! The android OS is cluttered and...in all honesty, disgusting.
Not one time in the almost two years I've owned my WP7 have I ever had to restart it. It just works, and it works well.
The Marketplace is also finally becoming viable with quite a few Xbox Live Arcade games but is still not much use to me as I don't consider my phone to be a gaming device. The integration into Xbox Live is a great feature, however that is finally seeing the light of day.
On mobile phones I actually prefer Metro to icons.. when taken in isolation.
And the OS is very responsive and intuitive indeed.
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