Who here uses Windows Phone?

[maevinj]

I think a lot of issues people cite will be fixed with the release of GDR3 sometime next month.
http://www.wpcentral.com/changelog-gdr3-windows-phone-8-bittersweet-shimmer

Support for 1080p display for new devices like the Lumia 1520.
• Support for new processors.
• 3 medium or 6 small tiles on a row for phones with screen resolution higher than WXGA (1280 x 768) including Lumia 920, 925, 928, 1020 and of course the Lumia 1520.
• Close apps by tapping on the X on top right in multitasking view. The icon of the app appears below.
• Custom tones for text or IM, voicemail, email and reminders (confirmed earlier by Windows Phone Central)
• Screen Rotation lock: When auto-rotate screen is off, your screen will stay in the current orientation when you rotate your phone.
• Driving Mode: Turns of all notifications except texts and phone calls when you're driving. You can also turn calls and texts off completely or set Driving Mode to text and automatic reply like "Hey, I am driving right now. I'll reply you later." Driving Mode can start automatically when your phone connects to a Bluetooth device.
• Connect to WiFi in OOBE when switching on your new phone for the first time or after you your reset your phone, so you can restore your data even before connecting to a cellular network.
• Attach Office files (.doc, .xls, .ppt) and .pdf files in email.

 

[Imaginer]

I think a lot of issues people cite will be fixed with the release of GDR3 sometime next month.
http://www.wpcentral.com/changelog-gdr3-windows-phone-8-bittersweet-shimmer

Support for 1080p display for new devices like the Lumia 1520.
• Support for new processors.
• 3 medium or 6 small tiles on a row for phones with screen resolution higher than WXGA (1280 x 768) including Lumia 920, 925, 928, 1020 and of course the Lumia 1520.
• Close apps by tapping on the X on top right in multitasking view. The icon of the app appears below.
• Custom tones for text or IM, voicemail, email and reminders (confirmed earlier by Windows Phone Central)
• Screen Rotation lock: When auto-rotate screen is off, your screen will stay in the current orientation when you rotate your phone.
• Driving Mode: Turns of all notifications except texts and phone calls when you're driving. You can also turn calls and texts off completely or set Driving Mode to text and automatic reply like "Hey, I am driving right now. I'll reply you later." Driving Mode can start automatically when your phone connects to a Bluetooth device.
• Connect to WiFi in OOBE when switching on your new phone for the first time or after you your reset your phone, so you can restore your data even before connecting to a cellular network.
• Attach Office files (.doc, .xls, .ppt) and .pdf files in email.

The first bold is what me and ALL users are waiting for. It is the TOP suggestion on their suggestion app, and at last gained resolution.

 

[RandomFool]

GDR3 is turning out to be a good update. Makes me wonder if MS threw a few extra features in there after all the complaining about GDR1 & 2 not addressing most of the big issues people had with WP8.

 

[ITHURTSWHENIP]

This is an honest question - do you write mobile apps, or do you get your information on how they work from The Verge and Android Central? It would appear that you don't really understand how it works. For starters, your information is incorrect (unless you're again being intentionally inflammatory). The Skype app for WP7 has not been "killed". You can still download it and it still works the same way it did before. Now, they have halted further development, but that's a different story. The features Microsoft is adding to Skype are all things that only work on WP8 anyway (things like deep integration with the OS), so it's a moot point.

Enough with the strawmen and appeal to authority arguments. Its irrelevant what i do or where i get my information from. Either debate the subject or dont but this is silly. Did i say the Skype app no longer works on WP7? What does killing software mean in the tech world?

Regarding in development in general, you're correct that native apps won't work, but the vast majority of apps are not native anyway. Does that mean that high performance 3D games will likely be WP8 only? Yes - but the majority of apps written for the platform are written in Silverlight or XNA, and those still work on both platforms..

The vast majority of apps are crap (on all platforms). All the top rated apps are often games and the WP7 hardware can handle most of those games at those resolutions.

Me = I cant play Halo or the latest Angry Birds that my friends have on WP8

Deeko = hey brah, you can still use the 43 different alternate dropbox apps or the 320 fart apps, WP7 is alive and kicking!!

Again - you are incorrect, and do not understand the way the Windows Phone SDK works. Unless it is a GPS app, a crappy app developer cannot write an app that runs in the background and therefore needs to be killed. It just can't happen. Microsoft is including the feature in 8.1 for the same reason they're including the start button in Windows 8.1 - to placate the ignorant who think they need something that they don't..

Are you going on record claiming that i cant use the GSP background agent for an app that is not designed to function as a GPS app? Up until recently Whatsapp was using the Music background agent for their app. And even now they still dont use the proper API so you cant send existing videos on your phone to your friends on Whatsapp

I know what you meant and you were still grossly exaggerating with your "four years" comment. I'm not going to get into a discussion about Android fragmentation here, because it has nothing to do with this thread, and again, you are showing you do not understand app development by thinking Google has fixed that problem with Play Services. .

Im pretty sure if we do get into a discussion about it, we find out you tried to misrepresent my position on it as usual. Do you actually have something to add that is not a logical fallacy?

 

[Trader05]

The twitter app updated today, looks pretty sweet with the dark theme.

 

[Lil Frier]

My wife's best friend came over the day with her new Windows Phone. As a Windows user since Ver. 2.0 (1988), I was eager to try it out. After 10 min. I handed it back to her, very disappointed. I found it completely unintuitive and clunky. Neither of us could figure out how to send a text. I later looked that task up online, and the explanation sounded easy enough, but with the phone in hand, not so much. In contrast, the first time I used an Android phone, I could text, call or email with ease. My sense is that interface is really meant for tablet devices.

Here is either the best troll ever or the dumbest person to ever hold a phone. If you couldn't figure out that the Messaging app was for text messaging, then there is NO WAY ON EARTH you figured out Android.

Seriously, what is "clunky" about Windows Phone? The only thing that MIGHT qualify as clunky would be setting up live tiles at the start of ownership.

 

[Lil Frier]

The first bold is what me and ALL users are waiting for. It is the TOP suggestion on their suggestion app, and at last gained resolution.

Really? I honestly didn't even know that custom text tones and such wasn't possible. I just never wanted to make/use a custom one, so I never found out that I couldn't.

 

[desura]

Some observations about Windows Phone --

1. Scrolling is very good. Better than Android. Actually a little better than iOS 7 and about as good as iOS 6 and before (which was better than 7).

2. my device at least is pretty good for text reading despite having a lower resolution (800x480) than the retina ipod touch I've used.

3. "People" app is extremely good. Like, it combed through my email and facebook accounts to find people's phone numbers, email addresses, and even personal websites. Put it all in one place.

4. Search button kind of crap. Just takes you to a Bing search. I wish that instead it would do a local search of the phone itself.

5. not so good google voice integration (obviously). Best Google voice app I've found so far is called "spare phone". Pretty good skype integration it looks like.

6. Calendar is again very good. Better than iOS's calendar in my experience. Also, some apps will actually schedule workouts for you, like a workout app for instance.

I mean, it's more than good enough.

 

[Lil Frier]

See, I'm not sure about the Search thing. People want the contextualized search, but I'm not sure I'd like the tradeoff. I don't really ever need to search anything, other than a general Bing search. I'd hate it if contextualized search meant I had to press Home, then Search, any time I wanted to do a Bing search. I'm not sure how Android's search works, so IDK if there's a way around that concern, but it's the one I'd have.

I also don't know about the People hub. I hate Facebook, and I hate sharing private information. Because of that, I don't link my phone to Facebook. I get the usefulness of the feature, but I'd be leery on allowing the phone to comb through my Facebook info. I'd also be very wary of letting Facebook get ANY kind of information about me.

 

[RandomFool]

I really like the search button. Between my Galaxy Nexus and Lumia 920, I've found the Bing app to be faster than Google now and the information is better organized. Although Google is better at voice recognition and searches my phone.

 

[desura]

I really like the search button. Between my Galaxy Nexus and Lumia 920, I've found the Bing app to be faster than Google now and the information is better organized. Although Google is better at voice recognition and searches my phone.

There are times when I get frustrated with Bing and fire up google. though, generally it is good enough that I haven't bothered with changing the default to google. Never though do I turn to Bing from Google. So at best...Bing seems like 80-90% as good as google.

Elaborate more on why you feel bing is better?

 

[RandomFool]

There are times when I get frustrated with Bing and fire up google. though, generally it is good enough that I haven't bothered with changing the default to google. Never though do I turn to Bing from Google. So at best...Bing seems like 80-90% as good as google.

Elaborate more on why you feel bing is better?

I totally agree with you in terms of the search results. My comments were only comparing the WP8 Bing experience vs. Google Now on Android.

After I posted that yesterday I decided to play around with both apps since they phones were sitting right here.

Bing removed the "local" pivot from the app which was one of the best features. It still does local searches but combines the results under the "web" heading. I wasn't able to get a decent local search returned, possibly because I'm only using WiFi. I still think the pivots are a better way to organize the searches but I'd call this a bit of a draw since Google has a news search button and Bing has video pivot.

Bing still launches faster for the initial search. After that Google and Bing are about the same in terms of speed with Google having the edge in recognizing speech. Scrolling in WP is better than Android as well so that's a bonus.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

I played with the 1020 at the MSFT store the other day.

I really love the WP8 UI. It's simply stunning in person and easily blows away the static row of icons you get with stock Android and iOS. I can understand the ecosystem problem people have, but frankly if you're someone that doesn't necessarily use that many apps and you are not tied into Google's ecosystem then WP8 is a great choice.

With the upcoming GDR3 and 8.1 improvements MSFT is really bolstering the platform. Once they unify the app store across RT and converge on the programming API I suspect we'll see much more development across all MSFT's mobile platforms.

 

[Lil Frier]

Elaborate more on why you feel bing is better?

For general use, I don't find one more usable than the other. however, Bing Rewards (which only affects desktop searches, not mobile) seals the deal for me. Free money for gift cards for using Bing? Sold. I've bought a few Xbox games on Windows Phone, yet I've never had to actually spend money because of it.

 

[Lil Frier]

With the upcoming GDR3 and 8.1 improvements MSFT is really bolstering the platform.

Just a bit of a mini-rant here on that:

So, apparently, 8.1 is going to kill the Back button for Windows Phone? The claim is that users don't "get" the purpose of the button, which I think is moronic. If someone can't figure out what "Back" is for, that person couldn't handle mobile gestures either. I really hope that rumor is false, because I love having the Back button. some think it's to bring a sense of unity between WP and RT, for a possible merging of the platforms in the future, but I still want my Back buttons to remain. I like physical buttons more than having games and apps and browser pages give up screen real estate to it. Oh, and multitasking management becomes a question, since the current means of getting to the multitasking windows is to hold the Back button.

Also, GDR2 is supposed to hit AT&T devices tomorrow...FINALLY. Of course, It's AT&T GDR2, meaning it's GDR2 without DataSense. That's garbage. Oh, and it's 2 weeks later than it was supposed to be. AT&T irritates the heck out of me at times, but at the same time, they got GDR1 out first, along with the Lumia 920. The trade-offs are tough. Here's hoping the GDR3 release (and especially the 8.1 release) isn't hindered much by AT&T.

 

[maevinj]

I just scored a good used 928 off of ebay. going to give it a test run and if I really like it (which I think I will) I'm going to be all in for a 929.
Also twitter just updated their official app for WP and accidentally or maybe on purpose let it be known that vine is coming to WP soon.
Now if I could just get Animoog on WP I would be in heaven!

 

[Canbacon]

Just a bit of a mini-rant here on that:

So, apparently, 8.1 is going to kill the Back button for Windows Phone? The claim is that users don't "get" the purpose of the button, which I think is moronic. If someone can't figure out what "Back" is for, that person couldn't handle mobile gestures either. I really hope that rumor is false, because I love having the Back button. some think it's to bring a sense of unity between WP and RT, for a possible merging of the platforms in the future, but I still want my Back buttons to remain. I like physical buttons more than having games and apps and browser pages give up screen real estate to it. Oh, and multitasking management becomes a question, since the current means of getting to the multitasking windows is to hold the Back button.

If I recall correctly, they are not removing the back button functionality within 8.1. They are just removing the requirement for it for manufactures to include it on devices.

 

[notposting]

If I recall correctly, they are not removing the back button functionality within 8.1. They are just removing the requirement for it for manufactures to include it on devices.

Well, yeah, but that means bye bye back button.

I prefer having the hardware buttons, myself. Not sure if going by the lowest common denominator (ie those without 2 neurons to rub together who can't figure out the back button) is the best idea.

 

[RandomFool]

If I recall correctly, they are not removing the back button functionality within 8.1. They are just removing the requirement for it for manufactures to include it on devices.

My guess is they're planning on turning the back button into the charms button.

 

[AllGoodNamesAreTaken]

A shame that there is no dead live tiles fix in that list.

I think a lot of issues people cite will be fixed with the release of GDR3 sometime next month.
http://www.wpcentral.com/changelog-gdr3-windows-phone-8-bittersweet-shimmer

Support for 1080p display for new devices like the Lumia 1520.
• Support for new processors.
• 3 medium or 6 small tiles on a row for phones with screen resolution higher than WXGA (1280 x 768) including Lumia 920, 925, 928, 1020 and of course the Lumia 1520.
• Close apps by tapping on the X on top right in multitasking view. The icon of the app appears below.
• Custom tones for text or IM, voicemail, email and reminders (confirmed earlier by Windows Phone Central)
• Screen Rotation lock: When auto-rotate screen is off, your screen will stay in the current orientation when you rotate your phone.
• Driving Mode: Turns of all notifications except texts and phone calls when you're driving. You can also turn calls and texts off completely or set Driving Mode to text and automatic reply like "Hey, I am driving right now. I'll reply you later." Driving Mode can start automatically when your phone connects to a Bluetooth device.
• Connect to WiFi in OOBE when switching on your new phone for the first time or after you your reset your phone, so you can restore your data even before connecting to a cellular network.
• Attach Office files (.doc, .xls, .ppt) and .pdf files in email.

 

[RandomFool]

A shame that there is no dead live tiles fix in that list.

Apparently that's not the full change log so there's still hope. I'm still waiting on that fix as well as the one lets me know when apps are updates.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

I miss some things from the W8 phone and wish my note 3 could dual boot android / W8...how cool would that be....:awe:

 

[notposting]

Apparently that's not the full change log so there's still hope. I'm still waiting on that fix as well as the one lets me know when apps are updates.

Weird. I thankfully haven't been hit with either problem on 3 (2 WP7, 1 WP8) different phones. Would think they would sort it out. Then again, would think they would fix a lot of things.

 

[Deeko]

A shame that there is no dead live tiles fix in that list.

Yes I would like that fix as well, so people would stop giving me low reviews when their tile in Battery Widget stops updating..

 

[el-Capitan]

GDR2 update in now being pushed for ATT and TMO in the US. Long overdue.