Tag: windows phone

Guide Me, O Phone Gods

It’s been about a year and a half since I switched from Windows Phone 7 to Android. I was happy with Windows Phone, but I felt like I was missing out on a big part of the smartphone experience: the apps. WP7 was so new that there weren’t a lot of apps. The biggest and most popular apps generally came out for iOS first, followed by Android, and then, sometimes, they’d make their way into the Windows Phone store. I switched to Android, and I felt like I was joining the rest of the world in terms of apps.

In addition to the apps, it was the ability to “unlock” features like mobile hotspot by installing custom ROMs that drew me to Android. The free mobile hotspot is the main reason I’m considering sticking with Android, too. I know that other carriers give you free mobile hotspot with a metered data plan, but I’m sticking with Sprint’s unlimited data for the foreseeable future.

Upon making my switch, I had been running a very stable, very good Gingerbread ROM, and I ran it for over a year. It started to feel stale, and I upgraded to Jelly Bean. I love the updated look and feel of JB, but I’ve had unreliable GPS, poor battery life, and other assorted problems as I’ve hopped from ROM to ROM in search of stability. It’s a tough spot to be in. On one hand, I’m free to upgrade as quickly and frequently as I like. On the other hand, there are always defects, and the quality is ultimately at the mercy of the development community for my specific phone. My phone’s not getting any younger, either, so that community that I depend on is shrinking each day. Getting back to a stock ROM isn’t an option. The phone–a Galaxy SII–is too old, so there won’t be any updates coming from Sprint, and I can’t go back to Gingerbread or even Ice Cream Sandwich after getting a taste of Jelly Bean. And there’s no way I’m going to exchange my mobile hotspot for a bunch of Sprint bloat.

Windows Phone and iPhone are looking like better and better options. I’ve been really happy with my Surface, and I liked my Windows Phone 7. But will I again be dissatisfied with the amount of apps available to me? My wife has an iPhone, and it always seems to “just work.” There aren’t a lot of people that I know who don’t like their iPhones, but what if iPhone has peaked? Is joining in the post-Jobs era a bad move?

My friend that originally convinced me to move to Android tells me that I just need a new phone, and maybe that’s the case. And, to his credit, I’d be pretty happy if everything always worked on my Jelly Bean phone. If I stick with Android, I’ll probably keep it stock–I’m just not interested in keeping up with custom ROMs and the defects that come with them. I’m worried that I’ll be happy out of the gate but grow frustrated with the lack of updates over time.

I’ve still got a few more months before I’m eligible for a new phone, so I have time to sort it out. I’m confused, vulnerable, and directionless. Maybe I’ll just get a BlackBerry.

Dear WP7, I’m in love with Android

Ever since the 2010 PDC when I got my first Windows Phone 7, I’d been in love with it. I was coming from a Blackberry and was thrilled with everything I was getting–Zune, local scout, a decent camera, the UI.

Buuuut there were some things that I wasn’t so happy with, too. The biggest thing for me was the availability and quality of apps. Sure, there are some great apps. But there’s a lot of essential apps that aren’t available, like Pandora and Google+. The “standard” apps that were available–like Facebook and Twitter–were glorified bookmarks and didn’t have nearly the functionality that my wife had with her Android. The thing that finally pushed me over the edge was seeing a co-worker use Android’s mobile hotspot while on the road at a customer site. That justified a new phone platform right then and there.

So I’ve switched from my Samsung Focus to Samsung Epic 4g Touch, and I must say, I’m thrilled! What do I love about it? All the apps are great. I have two GPS solutions (Google Navigation & TeleNav) that are WAY better than what I had with WP7. I have unlimited data, which is incredible. (I know this isn’t a WP7 flaw, but it’s something that I didn’t have with AT&T that I now enjoy with Sprint.) I love having access to Pandora again. Oh, and MOBILE HOTSPOT!!

Is there anything I miss about my Windows Phone? Not a lot, but there are some things. The integration with SkyDrive and Office was nice. I love OneNote, so I liked having it as an app that would sync automatically to the web. The battery life was great. Battery life is what I was worried most about before switching. My wife’s EVO 4g has pretty sad battery life, but my E4GT seems decent.

So, WP7, we had a good run together, but my heart now belongs to Android. The E4GT is the everything I’ve ever wanted in a phone, and I plan on sticking with Android for the foreseeable future.

Bright Future for WP7

Microsoft has come out with a list of new features that will be coming with the Mango update later this year. I gotta say, I’m really excited. I’m happy with the phone exactly how it is now, but it’s getting so much better. You can find feature/update lists all over the internet, or you can browse the What’s next | Windows Phone 7 page at Microsoft.

These are the features that I’m most excited about:

  • IE9
  • Voice turn-by-turn navigation
  • Bing Vision
  • Local Scout
  • Better integration with Twitter & support for Facebook chat
  • Improved multitasking (alt+tab-like behavior)

The only feature that I was really missing from the BlackBerry Curve that I had with Sprint is the Sprint Navigation app. It was nice to always have a GPS in my pocket. WP7 has Bing maps with directions, but it’s not the best for figuring out where to go while driving since you need to scroll through and read the steps. So I’m definitely happy to see that voice-guided turn-by-turn directions are coming. I’m also looking forward to trying out Bing Vision.

Also, the check out PC Magazine’s 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards for mobile phones here. The Samsung Focus on AT&T (my phone) had a sparking 9.1 rating. I agree with it–I love this phone!

‘Must Have Games’ for Windows Phone 7 Schedule

The schedule has been announced for Microsoft’s ‘Must Have Games’ promotion that will bring popular games like Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies to Windows Phone 7.

Here’s the schedule:
* May 25: Hydro Thunder GO! – $4.99
* June 1: Doodle Jump – $2.99
* June 8: geoDefense – $2.99
* June 15: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 – $6.99
* June 22: Plants vs. Zombies – $4.99
* June 29: Angry Birds – $2.99

Really looking forward to getting Sonic & Plants vs. Zombies! Hooray!!

More info here.

Where’s My Windows Phone Update?

I have been a Windows Phone user since WP7 was released at the end of last year. From the very beginning, there have been rumors of updates coming in Janurary, February, March… but now, on the brink of April, I’m still yet to get any updates.

I’m not upset about the delay because I really don’t have any major gripes and am generally happy with my phone. At the same time, I want them updates!

Last week, I was excited to see Microsoft introduce a “Where’s my phone update?” site where you can check on the status of the phone updates by region and phone model. This is great because I can check the website periodically to see when it moves out of Testing, to Scheduling, and finally to Delivering Update.

Here’s the link: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/features/update-schedules.aspx