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Windows Phone 8.1 |OT| Update 1

H

hadareud

The Translator
Yeah. Whatsapp is actually one of the more positive stories on WP. Obviously they're not releasing new features first on the platform, but they've been pretty good overall.
 
N

Nero3000

Member
hadareud said:
Yeah. Whatsapp is actually one of the more positive stories on WP. Obviously they're not releasing new features first on the platform, but they've been pretty good overall.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i remember in the early Mango days. Performance was terrible, notifications were unreliable. But they got better with every release. It's very polished now.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Doffen said:
You're alive??
Click to expand...

Very much so! I've just been a bit busier than usual and concentrated my internet consumption on Twitter.

SCHUEY F1 said:
Did you finish 6Brot?
Click to expand...

It's currently in testing and might go out to Insiders in the Fast Ring pretty soon. Stay tuned!

Paganmoon said:
Shrödinger's OS

you just killed it.
Click to expand...

If anything I gave it the deathblow. This wounded animal can't be saved anymore. Better to finish it off quickly than to let it suffer even more.

hadareud said:
6rot is back. Finally we'll see some positivity again!
Click to expand...

Checking the last few pages, I feel like I'm not even needed anymore. :lol
 
N

noquarter

Member
I currently have a Lumia 920 and am able to upgrade through AT&T and have been thinking about it. I really want to stay with WP, and do like my 920 so would also like to stay with Nokia, but there isn't anything really new from them that I would upgrade to through AT&T.

Is there a phone that is markedly better that I should upgrade to now, or wait a few more months and hopefully see a new Nokia flagship with WP 10? I was looking at the M8, but really don't know. Also was thinking about looking into the 930, if it is possible to get it to work in the states.

Thanks for any advice.
 
I

i plays game lol

Banned
So I think I might be parting ways with my Lumia 928 and Windows OS entirely… I actually feel sad about this, haha.

I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience except for the app support, which is obviously something everyone knows about. But I plan on ditching Verizon finally and giving T-Mobile a shot. Had some friends who switched over and are absolutely loving it. Far superior features and I’d be paying less. In doing so, I figured it was also time to stop restricting my mobile experience and move to something that’s more supported.

I think I’m also sad because I know the win10 update will be happening shortly and I was really eager to try it out. Guess I’ll just be visiting this thread to read some impressions. I hope it does well though, I’d love to see this OS explode and receive the support it deserves. I know I’d gladly return to Windows if that was the case.

Cheers, Windows :(
 
M

Magni

Member
There's a couple of other small changes in the WhatsApp update: new icon that feels more "native", and the notification for picture messages is now a camera emoji rather than "Picture".

I'd say that WhatsApp is best top chart first-party app on Windows Phone. The app has been getting consistently better, performance has always been slick for me (moved over from Kik roughly two years ago), the design is clean. As I said above I'm only missing more integration with the People App.
 
S

Steelyuhas

Member
noquarter said:
I currently have a Lumia 920 and am able to upgrade through AT&T and have been thinking about it. I really want to stay with WP, and do like my 920 so would also like to stay with Nokia, but there isn't anything really new from them that I would upgrade to through AT&T.

Is there a phone that is markedly better that I should upgrade to now, or wait a few more months and hopefully see a new Nokia flagship with WP 10? I was looking at the M8, but really don't know. Also was thinking about looking into the 930, if it is possible to get it to work in the states.

Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
930 doesn't work/can't get 4G on AT&T.

There should be new devices, including a couple new flagships before the end of the year.
 
n64coder

n64coder

Member
Lazaro said:
There's a Lumia 540 for $199 exclusive to Aldi in Australia. Is it ae good phone? Is it worth it.

This will probably be my first Windows Phone if I buy it.
Click to expand...

Is that a typo and you meant 640 instead of 540? I can't comment on the 540. My daughter has the 640 and she loves it. I would try the phone out in person though.

$199 AUD seems kind of high for a phone. What are your other Windows Phone options? How much do they cost? To have something to compare with, how much are the iPhone 6 in Australia?
 
L

LukasTaves

Member
Magni said:
There's a couple of other small changes in the WhatsApp update: new icon that feels more "native", and the notification for picture messages is now a camera emoji rather than "Picture".

I'd say that WhatsApp is best top chart first-party app on Windows Phone. The app has been getting consistently better, performance has always been slick for me (moved over from Kik roughly two years ago), the design is clean. As I said above I'm only missing more integration with the People App.
Click to expand...
It still lacks multiple message selection, and the player still crashes a lot (plus, it doesn't support skipping other than those terrible fixed 30s).

But I'm glad it's improving, even though at a slow pace.
 
E

ElNino

Member
brotkasten said:
How is Spotify these days on Windows Phone? I know they put out that big update some time ago, but have they done anything after that?
Click to expand...
Is it good anywhere? I try it every once in a while but I always get frustrated by it's terrible UI and go back to Xbox Music or MixRadio.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
ElNino said:
Is it good anywhere? I try it every once in a while but I always get frustrated by it's terrible UI and go back to Xbox Music or MixRadio.
Click to expand...

I actually like it on Android and iOS. I'm not a huge fan of the UI, but never understood people calling it terrible or awful. Spotify Connect works also really well for me. I honestly haven't had an issue at all.

Xbox Music, on the other hand, is pretty much the worst you can have, if you're not on Windows Phone. That makes it an easy choice for me.
 
M

Magni

Member
LukasTaves said:
It still lacks multiple message selection, and the player still crashes a lot (plus, it doesn't support skipping other than those terrible fixed 30s).

But I'm glad it's improving, even though at a slow pace.
Click to expand...

The video player? I haven't had any issues.

Oh forgot it also needs to support better video messaging (compress rather than trim large videos).
 
M

Milchjon

Member
brotkasten said:
How is Spotify these days on Windows Phone? I know they put out that big update some time ago, but have they done anything after that?
Click to expand...

Works for my needs. Dumb UI that needs too many taps and makes me fear hamburger future and some small quirks aside, I don't see any major problems with it.
 
BeforeU

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
brotkasten said:
How is Spotify these days on Windows Phone? I know they put out that big update some time ago, but have they done anything after that?
Click to expand...

Not great. It sometimes just deletes my offline songs, and makes it stream only. wtf. And many times its buggy.
 
J

José Mourinho

cocknose
So maybe I'm being dumb. But there's no call settings in WhatsApp. Can't get calls unless I'm in the app and it doesn't ring.

Edit: Nevermind. It was just being weird. Working now.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Funky Papa said:
I just made a thread in praise of Microsoft's clear minded strategies.

I'm just kidding, I can't let a grudge go and I'm still bitter over that Zune software bullshit.
Click to expand...

To quote flowers from your thread.

"Sorry, IIRC this was primarily due to people's outrage over not having drag and drop. It was like the number one requested feature for a long time."

It's probably unfair to say this, but it's such a ... Microsoft move. Why's the decision making process always so binary? Why not add that capability to the software instead of throwing the whole thing out of the window (sorry)? "You don't like the software, because it can't do that one thing? Fine! Then you can't have it at all! Here's some barely working replacement that does that exact thing you want. And only that. Now fuck off". It's really so fucking frustrating. To think that music management on Windows Phone was so much better four years ago than it is now. I really can't process this thought.

"Sorry, but I don't want to maintain that codebase. It was written by these Zune assholes in that other building and it's in XML and what is this Iris framework anyway? Eww, that is not inline with our corporate strategy".

Stuff like this is exactly why it's so hard to get invested into any of Microsoft's products these days. Be it hardware or software.

e: Sorry, I'm still a bit mad about that stuff.
 
MrGreencastle

MrGreencastle

Member
brotkasten said:
To quote flowers from your thread.

"Sorry, IIRC this was primarily due to people's outrage over not having drag and drop. It was like the number one requested feature for a long time."

It's probably unfair to say this, but it's such a ... Microsoft move. Why's the decision making process always so binary? Why not add that capability to the software instead of throwing the whole thing out of the window (sorry)? "You don't like the software, because it can't do that one thing? Fine! Then you can't have it at all! Here's some barely working replacement that does that exact thing you want. And only that. Now fuck off". It's really so fucking frustrating. To think that music management on Windows Phone was so much better four years ago than it is now. I really can't process this thought.

"Sorry, but I don't want to maintain that codebase. It was written by these Zune assholes in that other building and it's in XML and what is this Iris framework anyway? Eww, that is not inline with our corporate strategy".

Stuff like this is exactly why it's so hard to get invested into any of Microsoft's products these days. Be it hardware or software.

e: Sorry, I'm still a bit mad about that stuff.
Click to expand...

Preach. I feel the same way about Zune. Lots of my friends too who used it. And we were Canadian Zune users. We had to import the HD.

hadareud said:
http://www.windowscentral.com/leake...enshots-show-improvements-microsoft-edge-more

Good.
Click to expand...

URL bar on bottom!

Flashlight and data toggle for notification quick actions!

Default app chooser!

--

Pretty much all I want to see now is DPI adjustment slider for Microsoft Edge. Neogaf is way too big by default on my 920. 75% would be just swell.
 
D

dLMN8R

Member
dLMN8R said:
zip-lips.jpg
Click to expand...

2758771_300.jpg
 
L

lastflowers

Banned
brotkasten said:
To quote flowers from your thread.

"Sorry, IIRC this was primarily due to people's outrage over not having drag and drop. It was like the number one requested feature for a long time."

It's probably unfair to say this, but it's such a ... Microsoft move. Why's the decision making process always so binary? Why not add that capability to the software instead of throwing the whole thing out of the window (sorry)? "You don't like the software, because it can't do that one thing? Fine! Then you can't have it at all! Here's some barely working replacement that does that exact thing you want. And only that. Now fuck off". It's really so fucking frustrating. To think that music management on Windows Phone was so much better four years ago than it is now. I really can't process this thought.

"Sorry, but I don't want to maintain that codebase. It was written by these Zune assholes in that other building and it's in XML and what is this Iris framework anyway? Eww, that is not inline with our corporate strategy".

Stuff like this is exactly why it's so hard to get invested into any of Microsoft's products these days. Be it hardware or software.

e: Sorry, I'm still a bit mad about that stuff.
Click to expand...


The same group made phone and Zune iirc. I'm still not even positive that was the reason the decision was made, but for some reason I remember seeing it at the top of the uservoice list forever and the decision being bandied around as such in the public sphere.


I still don't really agree regarding music management now. It's perfectly fine for me, and I have 50gbs of music on my phone. Drag and drop is simply easier for me to simply erase and replace items on the device. And I don't have to reset my phone like the iPhone because it corrupts a database due to syncing software--which I've had to do three times in less than 6 months. Yes the music app was a cluster at launch, but its far superior to ios now (imo). I haven't really used an android phone for music, so I could t really comment on it.

Overpromising and underdelivering is a problem. It seems like that Xbox music app was a dump truck for a good four months longer than it should have been. And that sync app was and still is a disaster, though I haven't used it since the first couple of months it was out. However, I don't think it was ever meant to be a Zune replacement--only a stopgap.

Again, take all of this with 100 million grains of salt and as the opinion of a duder only tangentially touching those areas.
 
C

clav

Member
Browsed through Android phones the past few days.

I'm disappointed.

Seriously contemplated on picking up a 640, but I will wait.
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Windows phone apps that are actually good are few and far between.

Here Drive+ is excellent though. Everyone should have a Nokia Lumia 520 just for it as a backup gps. Just enough onboard memory to download the US set of maps.
 
C

clav

Member
Man God said:
Windows phone apps that are actually good are few and far between.

Here Drive+ is excellent though. Everyone should have a Nokia Lumia 520 just for it as a backup gps. Just enough onboard memory to download the US set of maps.
Click to expand...

Here Drive is also on Android.
 
N

noquarter

Member
Steelyuhas said:
930 doesn't work/can't get 4G on AT&T.

There should be new devices, including a couple new flagships before the end of the year.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Really want to get a phone soon, since it is a contract plan and I'm 'paying' for a phone anyways, but will continue to hold out. Really hope they announce something for the states with AT&T.
 
M

Milchjon

Member
I still can't quite get over parts of the Windows 10 design. Stuff like this is just so... messy.
Is it all designed by engineers these days?

w10mobile-10149-leak5.jpg

w10mobile-10149-leak6.jpg
Click to expand...

Edit: Oh hey, they kinda fixed the toggles! Much prefer that dot over the previous ellipse thing.
 
D

derFeef

Member
Milchjon said:
I still can't quite get over parts of the Windows 10 design. Stuff like this is just so... messy.
Is it all designed by engineers these days?


Edit: Oh hey, they kinda fixed the toggles! Much prefer that dot over the previous ellipse thing.
Click to expand...

My SO will hate this, I can already tell. I partly hate it too.
 
H

hwalker84

Member
lastflowers said:
The same group made phone and Zune iirc. I'm still not even positive that was the reason the decision was made, but for some reason I remember seeing it at the top of the uservoice list forever and the decision being bandied around as such in the public sphere.


I still don't really agree regarding music management now. It's perfectly fine for me, and I have 50gbs of music on my phone. Drag and drop is simply easier for me to simply erase and replace items on the device. And I don't have to reset my phone like the iPhone because it corrupts a database due to syncing software--which I've had to do three times in less than 6 months. Yes the music app was a cluster at launch, but its far superior to ios now (imo). I haven't really used an android phone for music, so I could t really comment on it.

Overpromising and underdelivering is a problem. It seems like that Xbox music app was a dump truck for a good four months longer than it should have been. And that sync app was and still is a disaster, though I haven't used it since the first couple of months it was out. However, I don't think it was ever meant to be a Zune replacement--only a stopgap.

Again, take all of this with 100 million grains of salt and as the opinion of a duder only tangentially touching those areas.
Click to expand...
Drag and drop is a cool option for some people but I'm not to fond of it. Most people I know don't have a clue where their music resides. They think it's actually in iTunes not on their computer. At work I'd guess if we switched to Windows Phones no one outside of IT would be able to put music on it.

Also it would be nice to have album art in the Music App. To this day that still pisses me off. Art is attached in Windows Media Player and iTunes. Sync to the phone.... No Art 75% of the time.
 
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