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Windows Phone 8.1 |OT| Update 1

Klocker

Member
I agree that W10 is a step backwards in many regards:

Pivots and controls on the bottom are the biggest ones that made windows phone, windows phone.

I can accept the loss of hubs/panoramas - but the hamburger menu is just awful and in the wrong place. (and Spartan url bar at the top).

One example that really annoys me is the the listen to music button is at the top of the screen, vs the bottom where its easier to just hit after pressing the search button.

W10 is an inconsistent mess in its current preview state, and the worst thing is that the new stuff is terrible.

The things which were positive that have stayed are the lock screen and start screen.

controls on the top of phones (especially as screens are getting larger) is a huge friggin mistake... do they not realize that most people use their phones one handed? Christ, just move controls to bottom for the phone os... and loss of pivots sounds awful
 
loss of pivots sounds awful

It really is. It makes SO much sense for a lot of apps compared to the traditional hamburger menu, especially given the poor implementation of the hamburger in W10 so far.

It doesn't really make total sense that they removed it to help with universal apps, either. We don't have any W10 universal apps on the phone yet, but at least in the Alarms or Phone app, they could absolutely have options for pivot OR just tapping icons. In those apps, you HAVE to touch the buttons at the top of the screen to access that page, where pivots absolutely still make sense.
 

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
In Android, you don't have to actually reach up and tap the hamburger button, you can just swipe from the left. That's a lot better in theory, though it can be frustrating when it doesn't register. Pivots are better, but that ship has sailed.
 

kazinova

Member
Definitely not worth forcing onto an unsupported phone.

Not worth installing on a supported daily driver unless you're willing to accept a lot of jank.

It is totally worth installing on a secondary phone.
 

derFeef

Member
Definitely not worth forcing onto an unsupported phone.

Not worth installing on a supported daily driver unless you're willing to accept a lot of jank.

It is totally worth installing on a secondary phone.

Yep, gonna roll back too and wait for further advancements. If you can call W10 like that...
 

hwalker84

Member
Anyone's 1520 slowing down and having issues? My reboots seem to hang on the windows logo for about 1 full minute if not longer. Also my bluetooth is having issues. Voice flat out doesn't work anymore. I doubt it's my car but I'll need to test that one with my Lumia 1020.
 

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
Anyone's 1520 slowing down and having issues? My reboots seem to hang on the windows logo for about 1 full minute if not longer. Also my bluetooth is having issues. Voice flat out doesn't work anymore. I doubt it's my car but I'll need to test that one with my Lumia 1020.

Dont know about Blutooth but the boot up has been slow. I also noticed that today morning.
 

dLMN8R

Member
The arrogance of some sites thinking they know better than Microsoft about which devices can support Windows 10 so far.

Ugh.

Why the fuck would Microsoft not release the preview on certain devices if it was as simple as some web site suggested to work around it?



Don't be stupid. Don't do it.
 

kazinova

Member
Is the hamburger button this iteration's "loss of the gutter" debate? People are really angry about this before it's even official.
 
Is the hamburger button this iteration's "loss of the gutter" debate? People are really angry about this before it's even official.

The gutter was a UI change that really wasn't a loss at all, in terms of functionality Was Brot the only one who lamented it?

Hamburger/loss of pivots is an actual change for the worse in terms of functionality AND accessibility. I think everyone here understands W10 is extremely early, but that doesn't make it any less worrisome that a cornerstone of Windows Phone/Modern design is currently missing in exchange for an inferior alternative.

With any luck, they'll find a compromise akin to the OneDrive app. Still has pivot navigation AND has a hamburger icon/option.
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
I never liked using the light before, but I like using it now since I can have a full image in the background.

Also in Windows 10 Cortana gives me weather un Celsius even though my region is set to US which is nice.
 

derFeef

Member
I never liked using the light before, but I like using it now since I can have a full image in the background.

Also in Windows 10 Cortana gives me weather un Celsius even though my region is set to US which is nice.

Yeah, I'm running light theme as well now.

I don't like that the white or black is shining through background and tiles, makes the whole screen look either washed out or grey. Hopefully they improve that.
 
Just got an email from MS: "Rooms" support ending March 2015.

EDIT: Oh, beaten. Shame--I actually used that feature quite a lot with my roommate.
 

derFeef

Member
My parents use it a lot.

w5WEeJ1.png
 

ElNino

Member
They use it for grocery shopping and syncing the huge ass OneNote list they have.
I got the email, and it sounds like all of that will still work. The only thing that you won't be able to do is use chat (which makes sense since it runs on Messenger) and create new rooms.

Shared calendars, OneNote notebooks and shared photo albums in OneDrive should continue to work.
 
I got the email, and it sounds like all of that will still work. The only thing that you won't be able to do is use chat (which makes sense since it runs on Messenger) and create new rooms.

Shared calendars, OneNote notebooks and shared photo albums in OneDrive should continue to work.

It's almost like Rooms were some kind of "hub", if you will, that collected all of that information into one place.
 

joshschw

Member
Wow, I never really realized it was the Cortana tile that causes all the start screen jerkiness when you hit the home button...
Guess because it's animated?

Using 1520
 

ElNino

Member
Good. Virtually no one uses them anyway. Features that only really work well when everyone uses Windows Phone are pointless.
Other than chat... what features needed WP?

I created a room for my family on my 1020, but I never use the "room". The shared calendar, photo album and OneNote notebook are used often by my wife and son with their iPhone, iPod Touch and Surface devices. Nothing changes now either as far as I can tell.
 

f0lken

Member
I used rooms extensively with my gf for like 2 weeks, but given that we were on whatsapp Little by little we started to use that for everything we used rooms for
 
Rooms was a hub, and useful.

So of course they killed it.

Sorry, just a bitter ex-LG Optimus 7, Lumia 920 and Lumia 1020 owner, Can't stand how they've been dismantling the OS, piece by piece. It beggars belief. When I bought my Optimum 7 in what, 2010, Windows Phone was truly exciting. It had design principles that it stuck to, and it resulted in gorgeous apps. Now? Hamburgers and confusing UI. It ran silky smooth, even on the lowest hardware (Lumia 600 had 256MB RAM) - my Lumia 920 and 1020 stutter with 1GB and 2GB. Music was awesome, wireless sync, beautiful desktop client. Now, even making a playlist is arduous, and forget about trying to make it interact with your PC. Integrated messaging all in one place, now it's all over the place. Contextual search was a thing! All the phones had dedicated camera buttons!

I just give up with Windows Phone. Microsoft have only been paying it lip service since 2013. I really, really wanted it to do well. At least I'm happy with what I've got right now, even if it is a step back in some areas.
 
What do you have now?

Went with a Jolla, running Sailfish OS. Lots of parallels between what that is now, and what Windows Phone 7 was.

Brilliant UI, logical, runs extremely well on relatively weak hardware, I love that it's gesture based, the battery life is brilliant for a smartphone (I get up to 4 days from a full charge). The card based multitasking is wonderful, and the cards themselves offer useful information and controls (think interactive live tiles). It's definitely lacking in some areas - Windows Phone has the browser beaten all ends up, music isn't handled all that well, the app situation isn't good (though it can run Android apps and I have installed the Amazon App Store), there aren't many games, and there's no voice assistant.... but it's moving in the right direction. It gets regular updates, not slowed down by any carriers, and those updates bring tangible improvements (the browser improved a ton in the last one).

And the community is incredible - very positive and forward thinking. All about doing. One person is developing a personal assistant for Sailfish, having reached his funding goal on his Indiegogo page. Other apps I use are extremely well-made, and you can get a direct dialogue with developers (normally through talk.memo.org). When there are app gaps, revs look to plug it - again, reminding me of the early days of Windows Phone.

For me, it works. For others, probably not so much. But I'm genuinely enjoying using the phone.

If Jolla never made another phone (a real possibility), BlackBerry would trump Windows Phone at the moment still, and even iOS. They have coherent designs, that means a lot to me. And this is coming from someone who bought a launch Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8, and owns an Xbox One and Surface Pro. Windows Phone offers very little right now, and even less going forward.
 

kharma45

Member
I have no idea what I would get if I were to leave WP.

I tried with the OnePlus One but that didn't work out too well. Tried the Xperia Z2 as well and wasn't overly taken by it.

If I had the pick of any device it'd either be the iPhone or the HTC One. I like the Note line in theory but TouchWiz's aesthetic puts me off. LG's top end devices aren't bad either.
 

Pooya

Member
I have no idea what I would get if I were to leave WP.

I would just get iPhone. I'm kinda tired of android overall and how everything feels like is in beta, (yeah like iOS8 lolz) but iOS will get better, with android there is always something. iOS would be closer to WP experience I think. You get good camera, great battery life now too and iOS has comparable features right now, with day 1 OS updates like no one else can manage. #itjustworks whatever, I'm no Apple shill but iPhone has its merits.
 
I tried with the OnePlus One but that didn't work out too well. Tried the Xperia Z2 as well and wasn't overly taken by it.

If I had the pick of any device it'd either be the iPhone or the HTC One. I like the Note line in theory but TouchWiz's aesthetic puts me off. LG's top end devices aren't bad either.

I'd say BlackBerry 10 is the most similar. I enjoyed my time with a Z10.
 

kazinova

Member
I've been wrestling with the feeling that the 1520 might be the last Windows phone I use but I hold out hope that Windows 10 will change things. I mean, I've got a little while before I feel the need to replace the 1520, at least a year.

I would have absolutely no clue what phone to get instead of a Windows phone. I'm not going to jump back on expensive contracts again, so I'm limited to stuff I can purchase outright. Which would mean an old iPhone or whatever the then current Nexus will be. Both terrible options.

So this is why Windows 10 has to make a huge difference. I don't want to have to make that shit sandwich choice.
 
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