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Windows Phone 8.1 |OT| Update 1

ElNino

Member
It feels faster. Not sure if that is just some sort of new gadget placebo effect, but it has new firmware and optimizations so that has to help. Putting all my music on a class 10 sd card is great and loads fast.

There is some resuming, but some of it I think is down to apps not yet being optimized.

Even though the screen has a lower ppi than the 920 you can't tell and the screen seems closer to the glass. The bezel and design is much better.

It pretty much never gets warm which is great. The camera seems very good and it still needs to get the Lumia camera update.

Bottom line is that it does everything I need it to do very well, has a very good camera, tons of optional storage and a great form factor.

Edit: Getting around 20 hours battery life with moderate usage, 8+ background tasks and several email accounts getting pushed.
Thanks... I'm going to need to try it out in store somewhere to see how it feels. Sounds like it would fit my needs pretty well, and for a decent price.
 

maeh2k

Member
MS has Apple to thank. Apple seemed to have a lot of people hyped up about "wearables" but MS beat them to the market first, hahaha. I think by the time the Apple Watch does launch MS will have more refined versions of their Band. Perhaps also introduce another "smartwatch" model to go head to head against the Apple Watch.

I really think Cortana needs to go cross platform and steal the search engine market from Google. I know it won't have all the "personal assistant" functions on other platforms but it's a start. Selling people on "Cortana Lite" might get people to switch over to WP.

I don't think they can just introduce a smartwatch model. The key difference between iOS/Android smartwatches and the Band is that iOS and Android watches are platforms, whereas for Microsoft the health and fitness services are the platform. Other bands (and maybe someday also Android/iOS watches) can plug into those health services. But with Windows Phone losing, Microsoft just can't easily offer a platform that integrates with phones and enables apps to interact with it.

Microsoft made the right choice by not directly competing with Apple and Google. Better to have a moderately successful fitness band than to have losing smartwatch platform.
 

J. Bravo

Member
question about my emails and the notification center.

normally when i see the email notification on my lock screen, i can swipe the action center down and swipe the email away. this also clears the lock screen and the little number next to my email on the home screen. however, sometimes this doesn't work. and once it stops working, it doesn't start working again until i restart my phone. anyone else had this problem? and any way to fix it? it's kind of annoying.
 

joshschw

Member
question about my emails and the notification center.

normally when i see the email notification on my lock screen, i can swipe the action center down and swipe the email away. this also clears the lock screen and the little number next to my email on the home screen. however, sometimes this doesn't work. and once it stops working, it doesn't start working again until i restart my phone. anyone else had this problem? and any way to fix it? it's kind of annoying.

Okay, this just started for me the last few days as well!
I even formatted and reset the phone and it returned very quickly. It's hardly the end of the world but clearly it's something in the latest DP update, no?

1520 here.
 
I find the positive reaction to the MS Band highly unsettling.

The public was already pretty positive about SP3, but with this thing it's just strange. I've read hardly any negative comments at even the most anti MS places.

We've entered a bizarro world where MS products are not slagged off without any base.

I'm scared.

Everyone likes an underdog (in a particular field) and something different. The Band is competitively priced, not limited to one OS, and not entirely phone-dependent. I like the fact that you just need the Band (and an MP3 player) to go running: it's awkward bringing my phone with me all the time.
 
So guys, need help here. My old Sony LWW isn't working anymore and I've been thinking on changing to WP for a while now. The thing is I really need a new phone and I don't have the money for it so I might have to go with the cheaper one (I wasn't expecting the phone to die now :( ).

I've heard bad things about the Lumia 530 which really pushes me away from buying it but it's a cheap and cool Windows Phone. I'm pretty sure performance is not an issue and I feel that this phone could perform well for the things I usually do. I'm always listening to music, I intend to play Halo Spartan Assault and the new one coming out (it's coming to 512 mb ram phones right?), use MS Office here and there and I'm not an heavy camera user (I use Instagram for some casual shots).

So, anyone here with a 530 that could shed some opinions?


EDIT: Oh and that 4gb, I can extend it right?
 
I have a 530 at home and posted some impressions a while ago. I haven't really tested any apps, but I'd still get the 630 over the 530. The graphics chip should be a good bit better and the screen definitely is. I can try Spartan Assault later for you.
 
So guys, need help here. My old Sony LWW isn't working anymore and I've been thinking on changing to WP for a while now. The thing is I really need a new phone and I don't have the money for it so I might have to go with the cheaper one (I wasn't expecting the phone to die now :( ).

I've heard bad things about the Lumia 530 which really pushes me away from buying it but it's a cheap and cool Windows Phone. I'm pretty sure performance is not an issue and I feel that this phone could perform well for the things I usually do. I'm always listening to music, I intend to play Halo Spartan Assault and the new one coming out (it's coming to 512 mb ram phones right?), use MS Office here and there and I'm not an heavy camera user (I use Instagram for some casual shots).

So, anyone here with a 530 that could shed some opinions?


EDIT: Oh and that 4gb, I can extend it right?
If you live somewhere that you can get the Lumia 520/521 for cheaper than a 530, get that instead. They regularly go for $40-50 here in the US, not sure if it's the same in other countries.

Alternatively get a 630 if you can afford it?
 
I have a 530 at home and posted some impressions a while ago. I haven't really tested any apps, but I'd still get the 630 over the 530. The graphics chip should be a good bit better and the screen definitely is. I can try Spartan Assault later for you.
I know the 630 is a better choice when comparing prices. I'll see if I can stretch and buy it instead. It's a shame that it's locked to Vodafone :(


If you live somewhere that you can get the Lumia 520/521 for cheaper than a 530, get that instead. They regularly go for $40-50 here in the US, not sure if it's the same in other countries.

Alternatively get a 630 if you can afford it?
Yeah, I've been doing that but the 520 is more expensive than the 530. My brother has the 520 and it's quite a nice phone.


Thank you to both of you ;)
 
Saw the Icon/930 for the first time. Really impressed with it. I love the precision machined look of the aluminum frame and buttons.

How does the 830 compare to this as far as build quality and detail?
 

Milchjon

Member
Saw the Icon/930 for the first time. Really impressed with it. I love the precision machined look of the aluminum frame and buttons.

How does the 830 compare to this as far as build quality and detail?

Better, I'd say, at least at first glance. 930 looks impossibly chunky next to it.
 

frontieruk

Member
I know the 630 is a better choice when comparing prices. I'll see if I can stretch and buy it instead. It's a shame that it's locked to Vodafone :(



Yeah, I've been doing that but the 520 is more expensive than the 530. My brother has the 520 and it's quite a nice phone.


Thank you to both of you ;)

Check the price at carphone, they usually replicate the carriers deals but with unlocked handsets
 
Check the price at carphone, they usually replicate the carriers deals but with unlocked handsets
I was like "carphone? Wtf is that? Oh Phone House... oh".

But yeah, probably going with the Lumia 630.


EDIT: So I decided to wait until Christmas to buy one. I've been watching the Lumia 735 and the Sony Xperia E3 and I really don't know which one I really want so I'll wait until the holidays to decide which one is best for me.
 

kharma45

Member
Carphone Warehouse has the 735 for £130 again. Really tempted to ditch my OPO and get it. Only real issues would be it'd make my Chromecast useless and I am not that keen on the on-screen buttons.
 

Milchjon

Member
microsoftlumialeak.0.0_standard_800.0.jpg


Booooooooring.
 
Must really suck for 920 owners looking to upgrade. It's either the 920 which has the same screen, performance, or the HTC One which is superior in all areas except the camera.
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
Screen size, weight, form factor are all better than the 920. You also get MicroSD support, sensor core, G-glass 3 and FFC free of dust :)
 
I'll hold on until they announce their Windows 10 devices.

I'm super pumped about windows
[phone]
10. While the certain disappointment in hardware will show up, I can't help but hope for a 1020 successor or a super-slim 930 device. imo, split the thickness of iPhone 6 and 930 would be perfect.

He's also pretty down on the Band, but I didn't wanna spoil the fun by posti g his article.

taking a look at the actual device on people's hands tempered my excitement. If I hadn't bought the jawbone up a little while ago it might have been a purchase. It is the device I desired when buying one of these things, but the display's thickness/bezel indicates that the v2 is going to be much nicer. At 200$, it isn't something to sneeze at. I'm really hoping that the teams create an sdk that enables further functionality over time. This is the end-game for using the NT Kernel and sharing the core libraries. Make it sync to the xbox fitness apps on xbox one. Have a similar Metro app on your tablet, or simply sync to the phone. The benefit of windows should be cross compatibility with everything, and the benefit of services that play better with windows OSes.
 
It's alright. Like I said, Brot negativity is a core WP feature by now.

"Paul Thurrott ‏@thurrott 21 Min.Vor 21 Minuten
Will write for food."

Dude's hurting.

it's been baked into the boot.

bootmgr.c:


BCDEditBootSequenceOnUser(
LPWSTR user
)

BOOLEAN DoSlowAnimations = FALSE;
BOOLEAN ShowLoadingScreens = FALSE;
BOOLEAN ComicSansFont = FALSE;

If (user == USER_BROTKASTEN)
{
sleep(30 * c_second);

DoSlowAnimations = TRUE;
ShowLoadingScreens = TRUE;
ComicSansFont = TRUE;

winload(
DoSlowAnimations,
ShowLoadingScreens,
ComicSansFont);

}
else
{
winload(
DoSlowAnimations,
ShowLoadingScreens,
ComicSansFont);
}

}
 

AnkitT

Member
you know, with all the 'affordable flagship' malarkey that they had going with the 830, you'd expect them to hit a decent pricepoint. I was looking to get back into WP recently but looks like nothing much has changed since the WP7 days.
 

Magni

Member
I was really hoping for a Nexus-style (pre-6) pricing of $350, expecting to be disappointed and it being $399, but $449? :(

Hoping for a Black Friday deal on an unlocked RM-985... I've been waiting to buy this phone for two months now MS!
 

Nero3000

Member
Cortana in the UK is now using train routes in its commute section. Better. Although it says 36 minutes to home. best ive clocked is 46.
 
I've got an App, but I'd love 8.2 to allow you to lock photos within a folder.

It's hard to show someone a photo, when you're afraid they'll keep swiping and find some homemade porn :)
 

Magni

Member
I've got an App, but I'd love 8.2 to allow you to lock photos within a folder.

It's hard to show someone a photo, when you're afraid they'll keep swiping and find some homemade porn :)

Yes please. Lock individual folder/apps, move photos WITHIN the photos app (clunky having to go through Files), choose OneDrive backup per folder, allow maunally setting folder pictures, etc

So much that can be improved on that front.
 
Yes please. Lock individual folder/apps, move photos WITHIN the photos app (clunky having to go through Files), choose OneDrive backup per folder, allow maunally setting folder pictures, etc

So much that can be improved on that front.

Yes! Not every folder I want to backup to OneDrive either. Especially things like the screenshot folder. Also if I delete a photo from the phone, why can't it delete the backup from OneDrive.

So annoying going through really old photos I've deleted months ago!
 
Not sure about that one though. Maybe an option, but it definitely shouldn't be the default IMO.
Queue 'I was trying to just delete the local photos of my baby's first steps, not the backups too!!!


There should certainly be an easy way to specify deleting both or just local, though
 
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