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Windows Phone |OT3| Apollo has landed

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A

Anton Sugar

Member
Commodore said:
Heh, I just switched to Amazing Weather after using Weather Flow for a long time, and now with the new update I'm back to Weather Flow. The upgraded HD tile is nice, plus I like the way Weather Flow shows information via the live tile, now we've got weather getting dynamically updated from the lock screen. Cool stuff. There's some seriously interesting things that some developers can do with the lockscreen. Another I saw recently was Hello Friends, an app that gives you the option of a lockscreen populated by your contact list pictures, which it updates periodically.

Going to be interesting what sort of apps show up once more and more apps are updated and created using the new APIs. And just to keep the tone of the thread lately thematically apt, stupid Microsoft releasing the latest SDK so late, so many low res, WP7 apps that make for a really bad first impression. They should have been ready and released it months in advance.

Humbug!
Click to expand...

It's hard to not have a screen full of wide tiles when they look so damned good.
 
T

thirty

Banned
Weather Flow got an update. Customizable lock screen options including the ability to use your own picture with forecast overlay. Very nice. $2 with a trial option available.
 
C

Commodore

Member
antiquegamer said:
Low light image is just godly.
Click to expand...

I work in an electronics dept at a local retailer, and a bunch of my co-workers just updated their phones to the Note II. One was bragging he beat an iPhone 5's camera. We have two Android guys and a big Apple guy. I told him he didn't want me to bring my phone out. He scoffed, and laughed at the idea of a Windows Phone beating his new Android phone. Brought my 920 out and told him to shake his phone and take a picture. His came out a blurry mess. I got this.

GBA8z.jpg
Click to expand...

He was honestly stunned. He had no idea what he was up against. Then I took him to take a low light shot. Got this in a pitch dark corner between some high end home theater equipment.

XeJIt.jpg
Click to expand...

His was just black. By that time he was telling his other Android friend, and showing off shots side by side. They were both pretty impressed. If anything, despite some early bird problems with WP8, playlist and sync software disaster, at least with the 920, damn its great to have an excellent camera.
 
D

derFeef

Member
Commodore said:
I work in an electronics dept at a local retailer, and a bunch of my co-workers just updated their phones to the Note II. One was bragging he beat an iPhone 5's camera. We have two Android guys and a big Apple guy. I told him he didn't want me to bring my phone out. He scoffed, and laughed at the idea of a Windows Phone beating his new Android phone. Brought my 920 out and told him to shake his phone and take a picture. His came out a blurry mess. I got this.



He was honestly stunned. He had no idea what he was up against. Then I took him to take a low light shot. Got this in a pitch dark corner between some high end home theater equipment.



His was just black. By that time he was telling his other Android friend, and showing off shots side by side. They were both pretty impressed. If anything, despite some early bird problems with WP8, playlist and sync software disaster, at least with the 920, damn its great to have an excellent camera.
Click to expand...

So they had no idea the 920 exists and that it has a good camera? Man, that tells us so many things about so much.
 
A

antiquegamer

Member
TheBryanJZX90 said:
Man that looked fine in the preview. SkyDrive is fairly incomprehensible.
Click to expand...
It is annoying and only work if you sign in, I just use imgur, that that lately have been problematic too.

Ew5b5.jpg
Click to expand...

I usually set thing to auto and shoot with camera button. Picture just need minor touch up with build in Nokia picture editor. (usually to sharpen and give image more colors)
 
Fjolle

Fjolle

Member
Sigh.. Where's the 7.8 update?...

Maybe Nokia will announce some super awesome 4" 111.9g pureview phone at CES... Please?
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Tom Warren reviewed the HTC Windows Phone 8S.

Wrap-up

HTC Windows Phone 8S
7.0 Verge Score

Good Stuff
  • Unique design
  • Lightweight
  • Solid build quality

Bad Stuff
  • Low resolution display
  • No forward facing camera / poor rear camera
  • Some performance issues


A solid entry-level device with great design and a lightweight chassis

HTC has done a great job with the 8S aesthetically. I've tested a variety of Windows Phone 8 devices recently and this is easily the best looking of the bunch. The lightweight frame makes this especially appealing, and a 4-inch display is a sweet spot for one handed use on this device as well as making it generally comfortable to use. The two-tone color scheme is a unique and welcomed twist to this particular device and it's something I'd like to see on other HTC devices in the future. HTC has now proved it can make some great looking Windows Phone 8 devices.

Unfortunately, this beautiful body is let down behind the brains of the operation. A lack of forward facing camera will be disappointing for those wishing to capture photos on this device, as will the existing 5-megapixel rear shooter. Coupled with such a small amount of storage space, these specifications make the 8S more disappointing than at first glance. There are also some odd touch / performance issues here that HTC and Microsoft will need to address as soon as possible.

Although it has its faults, the price of the 8S makes this device particularly compelling to those considering a budget smartphone this holiday season. Disappointingly, the 8S is "not currently planned" for the US market according to HTC. In the UK it's available in contract form or as a pay as you go device for just £180 ($290). Similarly priced phones include Samsung’s Galaxy Ace 2, HTC’s Desire X, and Sony’s Xperia P. At this price it's easy for me to recommend this as a device for people who don’t need much from their phone, but want the functionality of a smartphone. If you're after a decent camera phone, though, then there's plenty of other options out there and HTC's 8X would serve you well. The apps might be lacking on Windows Phone, but it’s a solid OS for those that don’t care about them and the 8S is a great companion in that sense.
Click to expand...
http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/11/3750886/htc-windows-phone-8s-review

And Windows Phone 7.8 features.

ISosk.png
 
D

derFeef

Member
HTC support is kinda worthless. My problem sorted itself out after another factory reset, but not in all cases, which does not help especially to solve this mystery.
 
G

Glorious Ownage

Member
Does anyone know if windows 7.8 will have the new ease of access options that include text size? My mother has an HTC arrive and her vision is poor and she struggles to read the text
 
V

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
So, a few short impressions from going WP7.5 to WP8 and back to WP7.5:

-WP 7.5 is damn smooth and stable. I'm just saying, my OG Samsung Focus phone hasn't crashed, frozen, or rebooted. The 1st party apps are butter, just feels great to be back in a stable, smooth, fast, reliable environment.

-3rd party apps are a disaster. Doesn't help that I went back to a Gen1 phone, but 3rd party apps suck so bad I haven't bothered to download a lot of apps. One thing about WP8 apps, they are gorgeous, fast, and as much fun to use as iOS apps when done right. Too bad there are so few of them.

-On a 4 inch screen, the resolution downgrade isn't a big deal.

-I miss the speed and rendering of IE10.

-Going back to all big tiles and losing the ability to re-size all apps is a huge downgrade, I'm convinced 7.8 will breathe a lot of life into WP7.5 devices.

-Going back to Zune from the WP8 sync apps is like reuniting with an old friend I should never have left behind in the first place. The heck was MS thinking? Add in Zune support pronto, you goofballs!
 
H

hwalker84

Member
VanMardigan said:
-Going back to Zune from the WP8 sync apps is like reuniting with an old friend I should never have left behind in the first place. The heck was MS thinking? Add in Zune support pronto, you goofballs!
Click to expand...

It still blows my mind they didn't just trim Zune down and repackage it as the WP8 app? What we have now is absolute shit.
 
Z

zorbsie

Member
Got an update for the windows phone tool in windows 8. Not sure what it adds/fixes.

Also the updated weatherflow is fantastic. Custom lockscreen and wide tile has the weekly forecast.
 
H

Haklong

Member
VanMardigan said:
-Going back to Zune from the WP8 sync apps is like reuniting with an old friend I should never have left behind in the first place. The heck was MS thinking? Add in Zune support pronto, you goofballs!
Click to expand...

It drives me nuts that they don't just take the Zune software from version 4.8 to version 5.0, rename it to Xbox music, and add support for windows phone 8.
 
M

MCD

Junior Member
http://windowsphone.uservoice.com/f...5-should-be-the-jellybean-of-the-windows-phon

Reading the list, I keep thinking...

Why did we wait for WP8? Shit only brought stuff to devs who also got fucked by MS delivering the SDK late into the game.

2 years and still missing features found in my Nokia 6600.

Edit: about the Zune software, I am not a music guy so I won't comment on that front but Zune was too bloaty. This sync app, while it is basic and shit, is still much cleaner/faster to the casual guy like me.
 
Fjolle

Fjolle

Member
MCD said:
http://windowsphone.uservoice.com/f...5-should-be-the-jellybean-of-the-windows-phon

Reading the list, I keep thinking...

Why did we wait for WP8? Shit only brought stuff to devs who also got fucked by MS delivering the SDK late into the game.

2 years and still missing features found in my Nokia 6600.

Edit: about the Zune software, I am not a music guy so I won't comment on that front but Zune was too bloaty. This sync app, while it is basic and shit, is still much cleaner/faster to the casual guy like me.
Click to expand...

Well.... Skype?

That, tiles and a dnd mode and i would be happy with 7.5.
 
H

Haklong

Member
MCD said:
Edit: about the Zune software, I am not a music guy so I won't comment on that front but Zune was too bloaty. This sync app, while it is basic and shit, is still much cleaner/faster to the casual guy like me.
Click to expand...

The Zune software had a ton of great features. I loved the fact that if I added a new album to my music library it would show up in software immediately. I also liked that I can right click on an album and add it to any playlist without having to drag and drop. I can even do it to an individual song. Right click could also be used to sync and if you kept adding albums for Zune to sync it would just cue them up unlike iTunes which would cancel the previous sync command. Can the new app even make or see a playlist?
 
D

derFeef

Member
Some colleagues wanted to see my 8X. They were impressed by weigth and size the most, which happened to me too the first time I picked it up with my own hands. Slick device.
 
dorkimoe

dorkimoe

Member
derFeef said:
Some colleagues wanted to see my 8X. They were impressed by weigth and size the most, which happened to me too the first time I picked it up with my own hands. Slick device.
Click to expand...

I miss my lumia900. The fact I could voice text through bluetooth on my car (my iphone wont do this ) :( I may end up breaking down and going for a 920
 
G

Gav

Member
Got the software update for my 8X yesterday.
The new text features are nice, as is auto connect to Wifi hotspots.

But ALWAYS ON WIFI. Im so happy this is now an option. Nice little software update!
 
D

derFeef

Member
Gav said:
Got the software update for my 8X yesterday.
The new text features are nice, as is auto connect to Wifi hotspots.

But ALWAYS ON WIFI. Im so happy this is now an option. Nice little software update!
Click to expand...

Did you get the new Firmware too? Nothing for me yet.
 
H

hwalker84

Member
Woke up this morning and my 920 was dead. Had to soft reset. Come on Nokia push out Portico and a new firmware. Glad I use two alarm clocks.
 
K

kazinova

Member
Man, I've been lucky with my 920, no random resets yet. Every app that updates to WP8 makes me so much happier. Weather Flow has not hurt my battery life at all and is such a nice implementation for lock screen weather.

But the game situation is so sad. other than Cut The Rope all the high profile games they showed at the launch presser have yet to show up and the single most interesting Windows Phone game (Skulls of the Shogun) is silently delaying potentially into next year, though I can hope against hope for a Xmas release...

This games situation needs to be handled. Dump cash on developers, assist them in getting ports working, release them when they are done, don't hold back. Arg...
 
S

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
I haven't had anymore freezes since I did the 3 button factory reset (I also uninstalled Facebook after reading it may cause problems). Getting at least 12-14 hours with moderate use (with Weather Flow, WPcentral and TV Show running in the background also 1 push email).
 
A

Anton Sugar

Member
Seriously though, when the fuck are we getting the far superior artist/album mosaic as the Music tile? I like the scrolling text/art while an album is playing, but no way in hell am I using that ugly green tile.

Also, I really like WeatherFlow, but don't really like the mismatch in font style on the lock screen and I'd still like the option of having temperature occupying one of the five notification blocks. Especially since WeatherFlow's implementation limits your lock screen selection and the weather disappears if you are listening to music.
 
S

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
Anton Sugar said:
Seriously though, when the fuck are we getting the far superior artist/album mosaic as the Music tile? I like the scrolling text/art while an album is playing, but no way in hell am I using that ugly green tile.

Also, I really like WeatherFlow, but don't really like the mismatch in font style on the lock screen and I'd still like the option of having temperature occupying one of the five notification blocks. Especially since WeatherFlow's implementation limits your lock screen selection and the weather disappears if you are listening to music.
Click to expand...

I wish they would do something with the music tile as well. It's weird, if you use the high contrast mode the Music+Video will always scroll across the tile. I would be nice if it did that all the time.
 
J

jossueinacoma

Member
Anton Sugar said:
Seriously though, when the fuck are we getting the far superior artist/album mosaic as the Music tile? I like the scrolling text/art while an album is playing, but no way in hell am I using that ugly green tile.

Also, I really like WeatherFlow, but don't really like the mismatch in font style on the lock screen and I'd still like the option of having temperature occupying one of the five notification blocks. Especially since WeatherFlow's implementation limits your lock screen selection and the weather disappears if you are listening to music.
Click to expand...

this. I hope they fix it.
 
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