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Windows Phone 8.1 |OT| Update 1

B

brotkasten

Member
It's basically "yes, yes, we still care. Yeah, uh-huh. Now shut up about that crap and let us focus on the important things."

Seems like they learned from the Phil Spencer school of talk. Windows Phone is their new PC gaming initiative. Such importance, much commitment. Wow.
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
Also seems like GATT support is coming, might actually get me to buy a Fitbit Blaze if it works well.

Edit: Didn't someone post a screenshot of the notification center showing updated apps with the latest build? Can't seem to find any such option.
 
J

JaggedSac

Member
Paganmoon said:
Also seems like GATT support is coming, might actually get me to buy a Fitbit Blaze if it works well.

Edit: Didn't someone post a screenshot of the notification center showing updated apps with the latest build? Can't seem to find any such option.
Click to expand...

Not aware of an option, but yes, you do get toasts for app updates now.
 
V

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
A year is just about the amount of time that it will take for all our former Windows phone brothers who bought Android phones to hate them with a passion.
 
L

LostMyNarbles

Member
VanMardigan said:
Give it time, brot. I was buying, falling in love, then hating Android phones long before you bought your garbage ass, potato cam-having Nexus.
Click to expand...
What phones did you own? I mean, from what I can gather you bought an LG G4 which was a load of crap, and maybe a Samsung phone which are also pretty terrible. Maybe if you didn't buy crappy Android phones you would not have had such a negative experience.

I have owned a lot of Android Phones and the two that I have loved the most were my MotoX 2013 and my current MotoX 2014. Both have been smooth experiences and I never experience that "Android Slowdown" you seem to talk about all the time..

(Edit) In other news I waited too long thinking about the 950 XL/950 deal and now the education discount is dead. ;_;
 
BeforeU

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
brotkasten said:
It's basically "yes, yes, we still care. Yeah, uh-huh. Now shut up about that crap and let us focus on the important things."

Seems like they learned from the Phil Spencer school of talk. Windows Phone is their new PC gaming initiative. Such importance, much commitment. Wow.
Click to expand...

So you are saying Microsoft's commitment to PC gaming today is same as it was 2 years ago? Its just talks? lol
 
K

KageMaru

Member
JaggedSac said:
http://m.windowscentral.com/surface-phone-slated-april-2017

Thoughts? Rubbingis saying he is now hearing Surface phone April 2017 with Redstone 2 which will be heavily mobile focused. He is also hearing about a Redstone 3 that is mobile focused.
Click to expand...

I really hope they knock it out of the park and actually support their devices next year.

VanMardigan said:
A year is just about the amount of time that it will take for all our former Windows phone brothers who bought Android phones to hate them with a passion.
Click to expand...

Little over two weeks with the G5 and there are already things I miss on WP. I knew there would be some adjusting but stability and app situation aside, I believe now more than ever that WP is the best OS out there.

That said, the G5 is still a great phone. Pictures are beautiful, battery life has been awesome even without the camera attachment, and it's incredibly fast. The fingerprint sensor is nice and fast. While I haven't downloaded a lot of apps not available on WP, it is nice to know I won't be left out on most future releases.

Still surprised and confused on some things in Android land. The 820 is a blazing fast chip that runs games like a champ but this phone pauses and stutters scrolling through a text message thread? Disappointed there is no Microsoft TV & Video app on Android. I still haven't found a keyboard I like. Not to mention a bunch of little nagging omissions like not being able reply to texts from the notification shade.

Android is fine so far but it's just not WP.

LostMyNarbles said:
What phones did you own? I mean, from what I can gather you bought an LG G4 which was a load of crap, and maybe a Samsung phone which are also pretty terrible. Maybe if you didn't buy crappy Android phones you would not have had such a negative experience.

I have owned a lot of Android Phones and the two that I have loved the most were my MotoX 2013 and my current MotoX 2014. Both have been smooth experiences and I never experience that "Android Slowdown" you seem to talk about all the time..

(Edit) In other news I waited too long thinking about the 950 XL/950 deal and now the education discount is dead. ;_;
Click to expand...

The G4 is hardly a crappy phone. It was one of the best phones last year in fact.

I'm the mobile admin/expert at the company I work for and have had A LOT of experience with a lot of phones over the last couple months and I agree with the android performance talk.
 
NeOak

NeOak

Member
I kinda wanted to get that 950XL and split the cost with someone for the 950. But I realized that the Snapdragon 810 is not going to be quite the jump in performance from my 1520 vs going for a SD820 later on or even waiting for the SD830.

Plus, no moneis at the moment, sooooooo RIP.
 
L

LostMyNarbles

Member
KageMaru said:
I really hope they knock it out of the park and actually support their devices next year.



Little over two weeks with the G5 and there are already things I miss on WP. I knew there would be some adjusting but stability and app situation aside, I believe now more than ever that WP is the best OS out there.

That said, the G5 is still a great phone. Pictures are beautiful, battery life has been awesome even without the camera attachment, and it's incredibly fast. The fingerprint sensor is nice and fast. While I haven't downloaded a lot of apps not available on WP, it is nice to know I won't be left out on most future releases.

Still surprised and confused on some things in Android land. The 820 is a blazing fast chip that runs games like a champ but this phone pauses and stutters scrolling through a text message thread? Disappointed there is no Microsoft TV & Video app on Android. I still haven't found a keyboard I like. Not to mention a bunch of little nagging omissions like not being able reply to texts from the notification shade.

Android is fine so far but it's just not WP.



The G4 is hardly a crappy phone. It was one of the best phones last year in fact.

I'm the mobile admin/expert at the company I work for and have had A LOT of experience with a lot of phones over the last couple months and I agree with the android performance talk.
Click to expand...
The G4 was a crappy phone. The battery life was abysmal which continued the abysmal battery life the G3 got and that gets somewhat repeated in the G5. The software package was/is the worst of any Android flagship because LG can't make a good Android skin to save their lives. Finally it suffered from a defect issue that has plagued a phenomenal amount of phones and I think I remember reading something that every G4 before the fix was implemented will likely suffer from the bootloop issue at one point or another.

The only thing good about the phone was the camera which is not a big saving grace because the S6 and a few other choice phones had better or equal cameras.
 
A

Astral/H3X

Member
You know what would be cool? If MS took their 1020's devotion to the camera, TO THE EXTREEEME and just gave us like an APSC sensor camera that ran WP10 and had a good battery and

I should stop dreaming.
 
L

LostMyNarbles

Member
VanMardigan said:
HTC M8, S5, S6E (two of them), Note 4, LG G4.

I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...
Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to say you are a liar or anything since Android experiences vary wildly, but your list of phones pretty much matches exactly what I said. You bought four crappy Samsung phones which age horribly for "some reason" and offer the second worst software experience on Android, the LG G4 which was a disappointment particularly due to the horrible battery life it got and offered the worst software experience period, and the HTC One M8 which I recall you saying was the best Android experience you had and it held up beautifully.
 
K

KageMaru

Member
LostMyNarbles said:
The G4 was a crappy phone. The battery life was abysmal which continued the abysmal battery life the G3 got and that gets somewhat repeated in the G5. The software package was/is the worst of any Android flagship because LG can't make a good Android skin to save their lives. Finally it suffered from a defect issue that has plagued a phenomenal amount of phones and I think I remember reading something that every G4 before the fix was implemented will likely suffer from the bootloop issue at one point or another.

The only thing good about the phone was the camera which is not a big saving grace because the S6 and a few other choice phones had better or equal cameras.
Click to expand...

I can agree that the LG skins haven't been the most visually appealing but it's not bad at all. The G5 has been good with the battery life so far on moderate use. You can't be speaking from experience on that phone. I agree that the hardware defect in the G4 was shitty but they fixed it. You're kind of reaching if you're going to hold that one defect over the company.

Also based on everything I've seen, the G5 has one of the best cameras on Android (if not the best), especially when using manual mode.

H3XAntiStyle said:
I'd get the 950 deal.

If I wasn't on Verizon.
Click to expand...

Switched to AT&T when I upgraded, I get 2 more GBs of data a month for only $10 more a month and that includes the device payment. No regrets at all. Fuck Verizon.
 
M

MCD

Junior Member
Van

I already miss my cheap ass 640 but after the latest surface/redstone news I think i can wait a year or so with this S7.
 
H

hadareud

The Translator
I do believe that Microsoft will make a genuine push for the Surface phone when it's out and that they will attempt to generate some hype for it.

I get that they wanted to wait for having an OS that actually brought something new to the table, but what I don't understand is why the sent the 950's completely out to die. No marketing, no nothing. No pride in the device? It's a great phone and if they felt it didn't look the part they could have simply added a fancier back cover to it to make it more appealing. If Mozo can, so can Microsoft.
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
hadareud said:
I do believe that Microsoft will make a genuine push for the Surface phone when it's out and that they will attempt to generate some hype for it.

I get that they wanted to wait for having an OS that actually brought something new to the table, but what I don't understand is why the sent the 950's completely out to die. No marketing, no nothing. No pride in the device? It's a great phone and if they felt it didn't look the part they could have simply added a fancier back cover to it to make it more appealing. If Mozo can, so can Microsoft.
Click to expand...

Think the 950 was a minimal effort device to get us fans that have wanted a new high end device for some time to shut the hell up for a bit.
 
M

MCD

Junior Member
hadareud said:
I do believe that Microsoft will make a genuine push for the Surface phone when it's out and that they will attempt to generate some hype for it.

I get that they wanted to wait for having an OS that actually brought something new to the table, but what I don't understand is why the sent the 950's completely out to die. No marketing, no nothing. No pride in the device? It's a great phone and if they felt it didn't look the part they could have simply added a fancier back cover to it to make it more appealing. If Mozo can, so can Microsoft.
Click to expand...

It was probably a relic from the old Nokia days.
 
H

hadareud

The Translator
Paganmoon said:
Think the 950 was a minimal effort device to get us fans that have wanted a new high end device for some time to shut the hell up for a bit.
Click to expand...

MCD said:
It was probably a relic from the old Nokia days.
Click to expand...

Probably correct on both counts, but I don't see why they should not push something only because it's a relict of old Nokia, after all they bought the bloody place and spent a lot of money on it.

Their half arsed approach in mobile hardware is really baffling and the result is that their sales have gone down by like 70% year-on-year.
 
F

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Nokia didn't get to work with the 950's chipset nor it probably had designs for USB-C, so I doubt it.

I feel like the 950 is just another half-assed transitional product in Microsoft's long history of half-assed transitional products.
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
derFeef said:
Is the Surface fixed yet? If not, I am not terribly excited about a Surface Phone either.
Click to expand...

What problem with the Surface are you talking about?

In other news, in Sweden we have an mobile ID system, which all banks are connected to, also pretty much all government services with logins use it, so the latest update (on iOS) for the app accepts touchID, instead of the pincode. Would've love for this to be adopted in the Windows Phone version. (they're actually pretty good with updates on the WP version of the app). Does Microsoft allow other programs to use the Windows Hello API yet?
 
B

brotkasten

Member
VanMardigan said:
Give it time, brot. I was buying, falling in love, then hating Android phones long before you bought your garbage ass, potato cam-having Nexus.
Click to expand...

It's not my fault that you bought shitty phones!

But seriously, I tried Android in 2012, bought a Galaxy Nexus. Hated the whole experience, bought a 920 a year later. Android just wasn't ready yet. It was a disgusting mess and I couldn't understand how anyone could put up with that shit. The phone itself made everything even worse. One of the worst displays I've ever had one a phone. Totally horrendous pentile OLED garbage. 720p, my ass. The incredibly slow storage nearly brought the phone to a halt, as soon as you installed an app. Total and utter gutter trash.

Fast forward two years and it has completely changed for me, when Google unveiled 5.0. Android is beautiful and the Nexus 5 is the longest I've had a phone since I had smartphones (have it for almost two years now!) and if it wasn't for the battery or the overall wear on the device, I'd keep it even longer. I really, really love this phone and at no point could I see myself abandoning it for Windows Phone again. It looks great in red, specs are good, form-factor is perfect for me, it supports wireless charging. If Google and LG hadn't fucked up the 5X so badly, I would've already bought one. Even then, if my 5 breaks tomorrow, the 5X is phone I'd get immediately.

I'm a bit wary of the Galaxy S7, not because of the skin and the problems it might bring, but because I don't want to miss out on timely OS updates and Android N is looking really good. So good, that Google convinced me they haven't "abandoned" Android quite yet (in the sense that they deemed it "good enough" and 5.1 and 6.0 were really small updates).

And you know me, Van. I'm a super casual phone user and I really don't believe that Android deterioration would be a thing for me. I've updated my N5 from 4.4.2 all the way up to 6.0.1 without a hard-reset and the phone has no issues. It slows down, when I have WhatsApp open for too long, but that's it. So it's not that you're wrong (only in terms of market trends), but your standards don't apply to my non-existent ones and perhaps I'm not the only one.
 
H

hadareud

The Translator
You may say I have no standards, but perhaps I'm not the only one, I hope one day you'll join us, and the world will live as one.
 
BeforeU

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
The guy I found on kijiji left me hanging and teamed up with someone else and bought the device. Only because I was busy for one day :( fuck

nubbe said:
The GUI has started to get much better
and it feels like 550 has a performance boost
Click to expand...

I agree. Gosh this OS is beautiful.
 
N

nubbe

Member
Paganmoon said:
Brot, Android wasn't ready in 2012? 5 years after it's release?
Click to expand...

I don't think so.
I went from an Acro S 4.1.2 to WP8 and it felt like a big upgrade in performance and functionality
WP10 feels like and downgrade from 8.1 and is buggy

Now going from 8.1 and the WP10 beta to Android 6 is a big upgrade
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
They broke something with Bluetooth in latest update. My Charge HR connects to Bluetooth, and you can see it in the Notification Center, but the Fitbit app cannot find it.
Worked this morning, after update, it can no longer find it.
 
O

OhNoDangerItsaPentagonRun

Banned
MCD said:
It's time to say goodbye to Windows Phone. I love this OS. I love Live Tiles. I love the community. But it's time to leave.

My reasons are simple. I don't see myself paying $600 or whatever for what's essentially another Lumia. Lumia 950 is a great looking phone, great hardware but I am already using Win 10 on my 640 so what's the benefit? Speed? Camera? Not worth it. Android devices have already caught up in Camera and Android is no longer laggy (maybe after a year as Van once mentioned but I will manage by then). MS is also to blame because Lumia is no longer pursuing cutting-edge crazy camera tech like the legendary 1020. And I don't need to mention the sorry beta state of Win10. It's tiring seeing the OS I love turned into an afterthought by the current management. Joe Belfiore left for a reason and I bet you it's not a simple vacation. That's what I believe anyway.

I will be frank. It's heartbreaking hearing your new ride got an app that can do X stuff but you need iOS or Android. Or your bank got an app that can do everything as humanly simple as possible but again, you need a real OS. Another reason is me trying to get all social and posting pics over Instagram. Oh boy, 6tag, Instagram beta...they all suck.

Now I can see myself returning next year with whatever Panos is currently cooking for mobile. If someone can turn the current situation around, it's him. Intel chip, x86 blah blah, anything headed by the top tier team at MS is certainly gonna be more interesting than the 950.

Like most sane tech guys out there I sincerely believe it is the right time to jump out. It's time to enjoy my mobile phone like any other human out there. And thanks to Microsoft, almost every app I use is available on iOS and Android and I don't have to worry about Here Drive leaving my ass any time soon.

For new comers, Win10 might be interesting. But for an old timer like me? Gabe and co. at the mobile division should try harder. I'm not gonna be your guinea pig this time around.

Now the only question is what Android to get. I love the Galaxy S7 screen size and I believe it got an excellent camera comparable to Lumias so that would probably be my phone. I'd get an iPhone but I just HATE using iTunes to transfer files. Fuck no to that.
Click to expand...

The fact you think Windows 10 on a device it wasn't build for means you don't need the 950 really makes me wonder if you were ever a windows phone user at all beacust that statement is ludicrous.

Win 10 on any Lumia or other Phone that isn't Lumia, that wasn't built with WIndows 10 is the same as updating your previous android phones to Lolipop. It's filled with issues that will make your life miserable, though not as much as lolipop.

Lolipop has been one of the reasons android sales have been down, it's a buggy, crashy, security breaking, virus inducing, broken piece of crap. You would be amazed ant how many complaints you find about lolipop. Lolipop wasn't even finished when they released the update or the phones with it built in way more than any other "new" os has been. Mashmellow was supposed to fix Lolipops problems, it doesn't.

If you are using Android than G7 is your best bet as you need a high end phone with a good skin ui to really run Lolipop or Marshmellow at a decent rate. Android doesn't work below that. At least not since the last two updates. Of course over time, like a few months, you'll start having issues just like most android users.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Paganmoon said:
Brot, Android wasn't ready in 2012? 5 years after it's release?
Click to expand...

It was outright hideous. Do you remember the Holo design nightmare? Sure, it was a step up from the Gingerbread garbage, but that's not an achievement. They even tried to mitigate it with Holo Light, but they foundation was still horrible. Not to mention the performance inconsistencies. No, Android was definitely not ready for me.
 
O

OhNoDangerItsaPentagonRun

Banned
brotkasten said:
Android is a great OS and even if you're not an "app person" (whatever that means), it's nice to simply have the option instead of being forced into the situation.

You could be happy with the Galaxy S7, with all it's bells and whistles you know from Lumia (great camera, glance, double-tap to wake, wireless charging) and it even supports VR. There's also the HTC 10, for a more Stock Android-like experience (jury is still out on the benefits). Or the LG G5, if you like weird camera add-on shit that's going to be abandoned a year from now. Or maybe a Huawei. The Nexus 6P has great reviews, including the camera and Stock Android is great for fast and reliable OS and security updates (being first in line to get the next OS update is great). You could even go as low as $300 and still get a great experience. The point is, it's great to have options.
Click to expand...

What is this? You have choices on WIndows, the only choice you don't have is software (outside of apps exclusive to the OEM) and that's it. Your hardware rant makes zero sense. You have choices for hardware. You can choose from HTC Sense, Stock Android, Touchwiz, that's the extend of your choice. Which all have the same issues.

camajise said:
yeah, android experience is better than the experience with these W10 builds. too many broken basic functions like cortana, SMS messaging, store, etc, in WP.
Click to expand...

This only really applies to the preview programs, also ANdroid has the same issues.

hwalker84 said:
Man please drop the 950 XL to $300 and I'll grab on tomorrow. I don't need no stinking BOGO.
Click to expand...

LOl, The 950xl is already cheap for a high end phone. You';re lucky some places have it for five hundred something.

camajise said:
really odd that the 1520, 830, 930/icon aren't included.
Click to expand...

No it isn't, they are only taking in the phones that still have value or are not being sold for $200-$300 on Ebay because they know they won't give out that much. You'd be amazed at what the Icon is going for, if you can find it.

Not to mention, none of those are getting Windows 10 so it's a good incentive to upgrade.

hadareud said:
I do believe that Microsoft will make a genuine push for the Surface phone when it's out and that they will attempt to generate some hype for it.

I get that they wanted to wait for having an OS that actually brought something new to the table, but what I don't understand is why the sent the 950's completely out to die. No marketing, no nothing. No pride in the device? It's a great phone and if they felt it didn't look the part they could have simply added a fancier back cover to it to make it more appealing. If Mozo can, so can Microsoft.
Click to expand...

I don't eve, it was advertised, the issue was the 950 was only on AT&T. Also at this point there is no use pushing it, they had to make room fro the OEMs and the 650.

brotkasten said:
It's not my fault that you bought shitty phones!

But seriously, I tried Android in 2012, bought a Galaxy Nexus. Hated the whole experience, bought a 920 a year later. Android just wasn't ready yet. It was a disgusting mess and I couldn't understand how anyone could put up with that shit. The phone itself made everything even worse. One of the worst displays I've ever had one a phone. Totally horrendous pentile OLED garbage. 720p, my ass. The incredibly slow storage nearly brought the phone to a halt, as soon as you installed an app. Total and utter gutter trash.

Fast forward two years and it has completely changed for me, when Google unveiled 5.0. Android is beautiful and the Nexus 5 is the longest I've had a phone since I had smartphones (have it for almost two years now!) and if it wasn't for the battery or the overall wear on the device, I'd keep it even longer. I really, really love this phone and at no point could I see myself abandoning it for Windows Phone again. It looks great in red, specs are good, form-factor is perfect for me, it supports wireless charging. If Google and LG hadn't fucked up the 5X so badly, I would've already bought one. Even then, if my 5 breaks tomorrow, the 5X is phone I'd get immediately.

I'm a bit wary of the Galaxy S7, not because of the skin and the problems it might bring, but because I don't want to miss out on timely OS updates and Android N is looking really good. So good, that Google convinced me they haven't "abandoned" Android quite yet (in the sense that they deemed it "good enough" and 5.1 and 6.0 were really small updates).

And you know me, Van. I'm a super casual phone user and I really don't believe that Android deterioration would be a thing for me. I've updated my N5 from 4.4.2 all the way up to 6.0.1 without a hard-reset and the phone has no issues. It slows down, when I have WhatsApp open for too long, but that's it. So it's not that you're wrong (only in terms of market trends), but your standards don't apply to my non-existent ones and perhaps I'm not the only one.
Click to expand...


Only Android user who thinks Lolipop is not a disaster OS. I mean did he just say 5.0 was good?
 
J

jstripes

Banned
H3XAntiStyle said:
You know what would be cool? If MS took their 1020's devotion to the camera, TO THE EXTREEEME and just gave us like an APSC sensor camera that ran WP10 and had a good battery and

I should stop dreaming.
Click to expand...

I doubt we're going to see any bold Nokia insanity like that from Microsoft. They're just gonna play it safe and see how many times they can stuff the word "premium" into a keynote speech.

It'll have a decent camera, but nothing's gonna top the "WTF?!" factor of the 1020's camera.
 
H

hadareud

The Translator
OhNoDangerItsaPentagonRun said:
I don't eve, it was advertised, the issue was the 950 was only on AT&T. Also at this point there is no use pushing it, they had to make room fro the OEMs and the 650.
Click to expand...

I don't remember seeing a single commercial on television in the UK. Magazine adverts? I don't think so. As far as I can see, they invested close to fuck all in marketing these phones.
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
brotkasten said:
It was outright hideous. Do you remember the Holo design nightmare? Sure, it was a step up from the Gingerbread garbage, but that's not an achievement. They even tried to mitigate it with Holo Light, but they foundation was still horrible. Not to mention the performance inconsistencies. No, Android was definitely not ready for me.
Click to expand...
In other words, you'll be back in a few years when Windows mobile is ready?:)
 
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