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Windows Phone |OT3| Apollo has landed
- Thread starter Anton Sugar
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VanMardigan
has calmed down a bit.
That's why I couldn't consider a windows phone that wasn't a Nokia. Too many good, exclusive apps.
frontieruk
Member
Its also the reason MS are building their own phone... stupid waste of money imho they could of either paid Nokia to bolster the whole eco system or actually used the hardware R&D too you know develop windows phone specific apps that weren't on other OSes
antiquegamer
Member
I think that's the biggest failing of Windows Phone and Windows RT launch, the lack of apps to start. It's chicken and egg in this case Microsoft should have spend some money to buy chickens to hatch the egg and not wait for dev to come. On Xbox they spend tons of money to get the devs to come to the platform and make it friendly and profitable which in turn drive up user base.
I am reading Bloomberg article on Sinofsky and it seems the blame for the lack of integration between Microsoft and the lack of participation by outside party is because Sinofsky.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-12/microsoft-shows-its-windows-chief-the-door#r=hp-ls
It might be just speculation but the launch of both Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 seems to point to that this is the fact.
As for Surface Windows Phone, I think that is just Microsoft way of protecting their OS. Nokia could switch camp if Windows Phone 8 fail to catch on or Nokia just simply go bankrupt. Same with HTC. Also they are working on Surface Xbox.
To me their vision just got very confusing with so many OS all running on slightly difference version of Windows. Will Surface Xbox run Windows Phone or Windows RT ? Where is the line between the two? The biggest problem with Windows RT is unlike Apple iPad which allow the iPhone app to run even in small box initially to help bolster the eco system.
VanMardigan
has calmed down a bit.
Yeah, an MS phone is a complete waste of resources at this point. I could understand them doing this last year when the phones all sucked compared to android, but this year's most desirable hardware is on the windows phone side. Arguably.
brotkasten
Member
I don't see quad-core and 1080p Windows Phones.
frontieruk
Member
They're protecting their OS from Nokia, it doesn't matter how many apps are available if the community have the attitude I'll only buy Nokia, that filters to people coming into the community just look at the recommendations made here.
Also Nokia does its best to promote the Lumia brand over windows phone, last year two women my fiancée dances with were shocked to see my titan running the same OS as their Lumia 800's as they thought it was Nokia exclusive, and you can see MS worry with their late partnership with HTC for the signature handset.
frontieruk
Member
I don't see any nexus 4s except on ebay... *runs*
We will see when/if the xbox surface launches but I could see it being different than both and to tell you the truth kinda hope it is. The gaming prospects on both wp8 and win8 have failed to meet my expectations for what a "portable xbox" should and could be.
Hopefully hardware/software designed by the xbox team would have the full backing of xbox devs and have hardware capable of running more full featured games than what we currently see and hopefully adopt a buy once get everywhere approach and use smartglass to let us take the game with us on the go.
820 isn't a cheap phone though, it's basically on par price wise with the 8X.
8S is the only 'cheap' one around but the date for it seems to be constantly being pushed back, Amazon are reporting Dec. 5 for it http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009HQAR56/
VanMardigan
has calmed down a bit.
I wasn't talking raw specs, but I don't see any android phones with a better camera than the 920, its not all processors and dpi. That LG phone will never be beautiful.
edit: the Lumia has a better screen, better camera, better build quality, and better looks than the Nexus 4. So there
frontieruk
Member
The Xbox surface is going to be RT, why RT? As its the metro default for apps, it may not have the surface RT support for desktop (which tbh is pointless), but it will be RT, why do I say that? Its where they want to be, the current Xbox is metro but not RT, it'd make sense the nextbox would inherit the touch interface of windows 8 and bring their whole system together (except winpho8 which though shares the bulk of the kernel isn't as easy to port to as x86 to Arm) so the idea will be the games made for live arcade / indie just require a small interface change to add controls for pc/touch opening a bigger market to them, at the same time apps for pc/touch could make it to the Xbox if Ms think there's a requirement for it.
yeah it's pretty cool
antiquegamer
Member
This is my fear about Windows as a whole. I really don't understand the need for Surface Xbox. What is this device suppose to cater to? Is it suppose to be like WiiU but with option to run independently of the Xbox console then that would be awesome but can you imagine the cost of the next Xbox.? If they sell it as add-on, supplement to Xbox then you will have problem with support for it. I can see a small 5" or 7" Surface with built in control pad like WiiU would be the mobile gaming best of both world. You have Vita but with full 7" tablet functionality along with WiiU like Smartglass 2.0 integration. Again confusing.
Again where will that leave Windows Phone. As a gaming platform it's really is terrible. Xbox support is limit to just gamertag and achievement. The promise of deep integration with 7.5 never really materialized. All I can see now with Windows RT and Surface Xbox, Windows Phone gaming app will be even more marginalized. Shared app for all three platforms would be the best ideal and app scale according to screen size with all app build for Windows 8 RT then scale down. Not sure how feasible that is as I know nothing about developing.
I'm still not so sure even if the core is winRT it will function anything like the winRT we know (even with desktop removed). I could see it be as locked down as the xbox is now (no access to the windows store) and their tablet would work solely with the console. The current setup (smartglass/games) are pretty much the worst possible case in terms of integration. I would hope a tablet designed specifically to work with xbox would provide a much better experience.
I would throw win8 and windows phone into the same category.... both are terrible when it comes to gaming imo. And that is where the xbox surface would fit in as something designed by the xbox team to work with xbox as a real gaming tablet. The surface just can't run their better games at max settings such as hydro thunder and the ones there now aren't even the most high powered games. As you alluded to the question becomes how do you sell it. I think it has to be part of the package otherwise it gets no traction (a la wp8/win8) but I could see it included and not be priced too high but a big part of that would be the contract stuff they have been testing.
A few scenarios:
All xbla games are playable on both the console and tablet without any modification (I don't see more than xbla level of games working on a tablet).... this would require the tablet to have controller hardware and enough horsepower to run xbox graphics at 720p.
The AAA games leverage smartglass 2.0 to install a xbla like offline experience that you can play on the go. When you put in the game disc and turn on smartglass you get prompted to install the offline version (so its a buy once model).
Leverage the existing music/video services with the push/pull aspect with xbox (that stuff already works pretty well)
Microsoft did A LOT of what you described for Windows Phone.
VanMardigan
has calmed down a bit.
I wonder when we'll see the fruits of this alleged uptick in developers. As it is, the outcome of the absolutely moronic decision to withhold the SDK even though there were no surprises left meant that we still have gaps in games and apps from WP7, and really not much in the way of awesome new WP8 apps.
The Faceless Master
Member
most desirable front camera... the other stuff... yeah, no.
still though, an MS device should keep OEMs on their toes.
Picked up a 920 a few days ago and am really impressed with it. There are a few things I hope get fixed/options patched in.
I don't know if there are any fixes to these things, well not what I have found. But I am happy to give it time, it's a new OS. Aside from these little gripes I really like the phone and the OS.
- High Contrast mode, allow me to put a picture on the lock screen
- Let me lock the screen to a certain orientation (e.g. when lying on side in bed don't rotate)
- Podcast support in Australia (the Podcasts! app is ok but a bit buggy)
- Show battery % on lock screen, I was using Battery Meter but it was destroying my battery
- Bluetooth car kit options. I have a bluetooth adapter in the car that turnes with the radio. When I turn the car off the podcast/music continues playing on the phone. With my iPhone it stopped, funnily, when I start the car my 920 will start podcast/music I was listening to automatically whereas the iphone did not
- Give options when sending an MMS to automatically re-size a photo so it can be sent.
- Native VPN support for Cisco VPN solutions (probably require an app from Cisco or MS)
I don't know if there are any fixes to these things, well not what I have found. But I am happy to give it time, it's a new OS. Aside from these little gripes I really like the phone and the OS.
Unknown Soldier
Member
I wasn't talking raw specs, but I don't see any android phones with a better camera than the 920, its not all processors and dpi. That LG phone will never be beautiful.
edit: the Lumia has a better screen, better camera, better build quality, and better looks than the Nexus 4. So there
The Nexus 4 isn't a hero phone by any stretch of the imagination. Considering you can get it for $400 unlocked and off contract, it's not hard to see why compromises had to be made to hit that price point.
Well, you can THEORETICALLY get it for $400, if Google and LG would manufacture and sell any. :3
cityhunter
Banned
Just scan this with the Bing vision
Nokia Photo Beamer:
Got it! Thank you ^__^)v
yeah there's some crazy decisions that they made in wp8 that needed options that I hope would come with the next update soon:
1.) if I chose the US layout, I will have english display for date. But then the telephone numbers will be formatted (xxx) xxx-xxxx
but if I chose the HK layout, the telephone numbers will be xxxx-xxxx. But then the date will be in chinese, and that my time is changed from 12hr to 24hr... with no option to change them =___=;;;
2.) music volume, button sound, and ringer volume is the same and not seperated. so if one is loud, everything is loud
3.) A better way to close or manage multitasking instead of relying solely on the back button.
4.) More options and settings for the lockscreen infos or notification area.
5.) Just in general more setting options for the phone =x
But even with these flaws, I still love the WP8 system. I really see there's potentials. But for now it definitely needs more work
Curious about the bolded. I was under the impression it automatically resized. I guess I've only tried pics taken with the phone (~2 megs). Are you trying something larger?
I don't think it was posted, but the Deal of the Week for games isn't coming back until the new year. If that wasn't ridiculous enough, we didn't even get Alphajax last week. If they try to pass off Alphajax as the game for Wednesday and give us nothing else, I'll be so pissed off.
At a time where Apple will offer massive discounts on a ton of games, we get none. Brilliant.
At a time where Apple will offer massive discounts on a ton of games, we get none. Brilliant.
Nitpick: Apple doesn't offer discounts on games; iOS developers do. Google does for Play apps. Amazon does for apps in their store. Microsoft does too. Apple doesn't.
345triangle
Member
apple does run the odd promotion itself, to be fair. there's a christmas one that often has good stuff.
Apple promotes those apps with a section in their Store page but that's no different than the Featured app sections in the Windows Phone market or the Google Play Store. There is nothing stopping those app developers from even raising their prices once they've been featured by Apple. Microsoft and Google run actual sales.
The reason a lot more games go on sale on iOS is because there is a lot more competition in that App Store, no refunds on purchases, and a race to the bottom for developers.
Which weather app has this double-wide live tile (with a five day forecast)? http://mytil.es/tile/50b77892e004136f12000005/original
Any other good apps that make use of the double-wide tiles yet?
Any other good apps that make use of the double-wide tiles yet?
PaulSancheezzee
Neo Member
I'm using Nextgen Reader. It's free to try and has live tiles in the free version. As for the twitter app, I'm using the official twitter one. Gets the job done.
That kinda looks like Amazing Weather, which I use, but it hasn't been updated yet for double wide tiles.
TV Show has a really nice double wide tile.
ArsTechnica and The Verge coming out with their catch-all smartphone guides.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/the-state-of-the-smartphone/
http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/16/2565102/smartphone-buyers-guide
Well it's not bad, though you can see how the same thing is rated differently by both sides.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/the-state-of-the-smartphone/
http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/16/2565102/smartphone-buyers-guide
Well it's not bad, though you can see how the same thing is rated differently by both sides.
710 is pretty decent little phone and is pretty inexpensive.
Anton Sugar
Member
Hm, not sure. It's not Amazing Weather, Weather Channel, Weather Master, or Weather Flow.
brotkasten
Member
I think it was a cheap pre-paid phone in the UK. Read some posts about it in the old thread.
frontieruk
Member
T'was £99 unlocked which for a phone with the same soc as a Lumia 800 was silly money. Thus me owning one, and am currently using as my daily driver, its been really hard going back to winpho7
Damon Bennet
Member
the 710 is still a fantastic phone. It is small, light and cheap. It can run whatsapp and has a fast browser and free offline navigation. It is still pretty recommendable for people who want a sub 200 smartphone for basic browsing and whatsapp.
Amazing Weather has a WP8 update hitting soon that fixes the live tiles.
Yep I'm waiting on that to make the switch from Weather Flow.
Souldriver
Member
I reject the notion that a 710 is a small phone. Perhaps in comparison to bricks like the 920 or Galaxy SIII, but it still is pretty damn bulky. In volume the 710 is almost twice the size of an iPhone 5.
show me your skeleton
Member
anyone been able to figure out the trick to live tile notifications, namely facebook? mine had 10 notifications on there for a while & wouldn't change/disappear despite checking them out both on the phone and on the website. they then disappeared suddenly & now a new notification won't go away.
what am i doing wrong?
what am i doing wrong?
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