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[PG2G]

The M8 and Gs5 have better battery life than their predecessors, and are among the best non-phablet phones in terms of battery life. The Anandtech M8 review in particular points out the generational leap in battery life from chips of a year ago, and how it extends even beyond the battery life gains of the 800 chip. But, let's suppose for a second that the 801 was ONLY a clock boost and a slightly improved process.........SO WHAT?!? I still want that on my next phone rather than last year's chip. Why is that so hard to understand?

Why do we even put up with that crap! First, it was the CE architecture that held us to single core chips, then WP8 allowed for dual core and quad core, and I don't understand why the architecture won't support whatever chip the OEM wants. The argument used to be that the chips were specifically optimized for the OS, but my wife's 1520 running on a 800 is not significantly faster than the 400 on my 1020, so whatever optimizations are there are horsecrap. Those same gains can be found if you go from the Android phones running SD400's vs. the ones running SD800's and the OS just supported it. The OEM's didn't have to wait for the OS to be "optimized" for those chips.

The predecessors to the M8 and SGS5 ran on the Snapdragon 600, not the 800. Looking at your own referenced Anandtech M8 review, the M8 (801) battery life is negligibly better than the LG G2 (800)

I understand why you want the latest, i'm just pointing out that it shouldn't be a deal breaker in this case because the difference really is negligible this time. You should consider the end result instead of just wanting the latest and greatest.

Having not used an Icon or 1520 I can't comment on the perceived improvements in performance, I will say that the benchmarks blow the previous generation out of the water though.

I'm not sure what Microsoft has to do for each SoC, but it sounds like the difference between an open platform vs a closed platform. You can't expect a closed platform to run on whatever you want to throw at it.

 

[VanMardigan]

Having not used an Icon or 1520 I can't comment on the perceived improvements in performance, I will say that the benchmarks blow the previous generation out of the water though.

I'm not sure what Microsoft has to do for each SoC, but it sounds like the difference between an open platform vs a closed platform. You can't expect a closed platform to run on whatever you want to throw at it.

The difference in performance is disappointingly small between the 1020 and the 1520. Like I said, the supposedly unoptimized Android phones show performance gains between processor changes, so what's the wait time for "optimizations" good for? And what's the closed vs. open debate about now? MS is clearly moving towards the Google model in terms of decoupling apps into standalones and giving away the OS, so the obvious next step is to open it up so that OEM's can use whatever chipset and resolution they want. It will happen, but of course they will take forever to get there.

 

[JaggedSac]

Then get an android phone?

 

[PG2G]

My point is that OEMs are free to modify, add to, and remove from Android. As a result, they can do damn near anything they want with it. That benefit will never exist on Windows

Having never worked on something like this (or even ARM) I can't speak at lengths to what it takes. I do know that just the other day a vendor complained that their system crashes in our demo because the embedded Windows they had did not fully support the CPU they were using yet

 

[hadareud]

It's not like those new chips are game-changers in the slightest. Better battery life is nice, sure. But since nobody knows what battery life on the 930 is like it's hardly of interest.

A moderate performance jump? Why exactly should anyone give a shit about that? Will there be any real world benefits? Will apps open faster, will the OS run smoother, are there any games that will benefit? Doubtful, to say the least.

WP flagship phones used to be several generations behind Android ones. Now they're a (very) minor upgrade away. So I'm still not sure why anyone would care. Especially not why they'd care now. They'll enable it with an update when new hardware is out. It takes a few months? So what.

Phones are not PC's. This spec war thing is just really silly - especially since we're talking about only one small side of the "specs" that matter for a phone.

I'm still on the 1020 and the spec that matters to me is the camera. No other phone comes even close. No amount of Android customisation (which btw is not a positive thing, unlike you also enjoy the "customisation" that the Dell's and Asus' of this world do to your laptop) can help with that.

When the 1030 comes out (it better come this year) I couldn't give the slighest of fucks whether it sports the 800, 801, 805 chipset. Being 2 years behind didn't hold back the 1020, so being behind by less than a year won't hold back the 1030.

 

[antiquegamer]

It's not like those new chips are game-changers in the slightest. Better battery life is nice, sure. But since nobody knows what battery life on the 930 is like it's hardly of interest.

A moderate performance jump? Why exactly should anyone give a shit about that? Will there be any real world benefits? Will apps open faster, will the OS run smoother, are there any games that will benefit? Doubtful, to say the least.

WP flagship phones used to be several generations behind Android ones. Now they're a (very) minor upgrade away. So I'm still not sure why anyone would care. Especially not why they'd care now. They'll enable it with an update when new hardware is out. It takes a few months? So what.

Phones are not PC's. This spec war thing is just really silly - especially since we're talking about only one small side of the "specs" that matter for a phone.

I'm still on the 1020 and the spec that matters to me is the camera. No other phone comes even close. No amount of Android customisation (which btw is not a positive thing, unlike you also enjoy the "customisation" that the Dell's and Asus' of this world do to your laptop) can help with that.

When the 1030 comes out (it better come this year) I couldn't give the slighest of fucks whether it sports the 800, 801, 805 chipset. Being 2 years behind didn't hold back the 1020, so being behind by less than a year won't hold back the 1030.

I have to disagree with you somewhat about the chipset not making the difference. I love my 1020, I love the camera, I love the video recording. I recently record my daughter concert and everyone I show it to was impress at both the sound and video. That said, phone like 1020 could really benefit from a faster chips and more memory there are time I get so frustrate at how slow the camera app is and how terrible the new photo album work.

I am really hoping 1030 is in the work.

Then get an android phone?

Many of us are thinking about it, why do you think we are having this discussion about lack of new Windows Phone hardware. I know I am looking closely at that LG G3.

 

[hadareud]

No that's not what I meant, sorry for expressing myself poorly there.

Of course it matters, a lot. Especially for the 1020 with the processing time (though iirc the processing time for pictures on the 1520 is less than stellar too, so it may not be entirely down to the chip).

I definitely want a 1030 with a much faster processor and a better (ie higher res) screen.

What I meant was that it doesn't really make a difference to me whether it's an 800, 801 etc. chipset that they'll use. Anything will be a massive upgrade on what we currently have and either way it won't be significantly behind the "industry leading" phones that will be out at the time.

I genuinely feel the upset about all this is about absolutely nothing and just a sign that people are a bit bored with their current phones and upset that there's no WP to upgrade to right now.

 

[JaggedSac]

Many of us are thinking about it, why do you think we are having this discussion about lack of new Windows Phone hardware. I know I am looking closely at that LG G3.

There really is no reason to stick with Windows Phone now unless you enjoy the home screen more than the other OS's. I personally used WP because of the design behind the UI. Now that development for applications is getting to the point where it is too costly to maintain 3 or 4 separate UI designs, applications adhering to the design language of WP is getting less and less. And lets be honest, 3rd party attempts at using this design has not turned out great anyway.

So basically, at this point, what is keeping you from going somewhere else? What is it about WP that differentiates it from the other OSs? If it isn't software, it has to be hardware. And that will never be up to snuff with Android's hundred manufacturers and Apple's monolithic devices.

Even if you were to say you were in the MS ecosystem in some way, there is nothing about WP that hooks into that ecosystem any better than the other OSs. It is rather annoying that even after 4 years on the market, barely anything supports WP via applications. I would love to get some Sonos speakers for my new house, but guess what...

 

[antiquegamer]

I am no longer knees deep in MS eco system and I stated many times it was Nokia phone that keep me in now that they are gone I am opened to jump ship.

 

[KageMaru]

I completely agree that there should have been more phones. We've had the 1520, Icon, and Ativ SE. All carrier exclusives which hurts any potential sales. It would be one thing if these carriers would promote these exclusive phones, but they just don't. It's obvious that MS recognized this issue and that's why they made efforts to bring on more OEMs. Problem is, these changes and efforts should have been made during the launch of WP8. After two years with WP7, they had to know that sales wouldn't suddenly blow up with the launch of WP8. Now we're seeing actual effort and change from MS, but it's late as usual. Still with all this said, I'm willing and curious to see how things go with the reorg and Nokia acquisition. Depending on how things go, I may go to Android next upgrade.

As for performance on newer chips, I wouldn't expect the same kind of improvement we see on Android because the WP UI hasn't really ran as poorly on older hardware. I do notice a difference with loading and app/game performance.

 

[Kinky John]

So, yeah "Microsoft Mobile Oy" - wtf is the "Oy"?

Edit: Here we go http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osakeyhtiö

Spoiler

(I'm looking forward to finding neat apps in the "Microsoft Mobile Oy Collection")

 

[Nero3000]

So the 630 has launched, where is the new OT?

 

[JaggedSac]

I am no longer knees deep in MS eco system and I stated many times it was Nokia phone that keep me in now that they are gone I am opened to jump ship.

That whole post wasn't really targeted at you, not sure why I even quoted you. But yes, if hardware is what drew you to WP, you should definitely jump ship. There are no indications that Nokia will dazzle us with future hardware, and it is even less likely now that they have been absorbed into the Borg. Only hope for hardware is if MS's change in requirements(no shutter button, etc) allows manufacturers to just use the same phones as Android counterparts with little work needed, but even then, why would someone choose the ecosystem with less applications and compatibilities with external hardware.

 

[José Mourinho]

Does the official Twitter app take stupidly long times to pull down data or is it just me? It's been like this for ages now and it's really starting to get annoying.

 

[Nero3000]

Does the official Twitter app take stupidly long times to pull down data or is it just me? It's been like this for ages now and it's really starting to get annoying.

Seems fine for me. Most of the time i have a delay is due to network conditions while on a train.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I will definitely wait till the fall for a new high end phone. The other issue is that if it will come to Canada. If the 930 was out here I would probably get that.

If I was to leave I had no idea what I would get.

 

[José Mourinho]

Seems fine for me. Most of the time i have a delay is due to network conditions while on a train.

On my home WiFi I sit waiting for 10+ seconds waiting for images to load be it in the tweet or other peoples profile pictures. It's really bad.

 

[hadareud]

Definitely don't have that problem.

 

[juliushandle]

Dammit when is the 630 gonna be released in the US?

 

[Milchmann]

On my home WiFi I sit waiting for 10+ seconds waiting for images to load be it in the tweet or other peoples profile pictures. It's really bad.

Is the app installed on the sd card? Move it to the phone.

 

[Doffen]

Dammit when is the 630 gonna be released in the US?

The real problem with Nokia/Microsoft. Extremely scattered releases for their products.

 

[PG2G]

Dammit when is the 630 gonna be released in the US?

Hopefully soon, wouldn't mind picking one up instead of a 520. Especially if it comes in the $100 price range

 

[brotkasten]

So the 630 has launched, where is the new OT?

It will be published once Microsoft fixes the Xbox Music app.

Promised!

 

[killer rin]

The real problem with Nokia/Microsoft. Extremely scattered releases for their products.

This really is the first thing I want them to deal with in regards to their acquisition. Also since come carriers are showing little to no interest in the platforms to begin with, it might be better if they just drop the whole exclusivity thing in most instances and try to get all devices on all carriers minus the 'exclusive carrier advertising'

It will be published once Microsoft fixes the Xbox Music app.
Promised!

Brot confirmed to never release a new OT.

 

[NeOak]

It will be published once Microsoft fixes the Xbox Music app.

Promised!

Will it be in French?

 

[brotkasten]

Will it be in French?

Sure. I'll let Bing do the translation.

 

[runningjoke]

So with 8.1 Here Drive sends the navigation instructions over bluetooth to my car. Can this be disabled anywhere? I'd rather just hear the voice from the phone speaker so it doesn't interrupt music but I do like to be able to make/receive calls

Spoiler

not that anyone makes calls anymore

 

[hwalker84]

So with 8.1 Here Drive sends the navigation instructions over bluetooth to my car. Can this be disabled anywhere? I'd rather just hear the voice from the phone speaker so it doesn't interrupt music but I do like to be able to make/receive calls

Spoiler

not that anyone makes calls anymore

I'd love to know this as well. I just turned off voice navigation.

 

[frontieruk]

The difference in performance is disappointingly small between the 1020 and the 1520. Like I said, the supposedly unoptimized Android phones show performance gains between processor changes, so what's the wait time for "optimizations" good for? And what's the closed vs. open debate about now? MS is clearly moving towards the Google model in terms of decoupling apps into standalones and giving away the OS, so the obvious next step is to open it up so that OEM's can use whatever chipset and resolution they want. It will happen, but of course they will take forever to get there.

Not wanting to be "that Guy" but performance gains on Android through extra power is because it's unoptimised, so the extra CPU/GPU shows more, where MS optimise on low end hardware you don't see any major gains in OS performance which is how it should be, rather than having to know your devices to know what's going to run like a POS.

 

[José Mourinho]

Is the app installed on the sd card? Move it to the phone.

It was and I had swapped it over. So I'll see if it improves.

 

[hwalker84]

Not wanting to be "that Guy" but performance gains on Android through extra power is because it's unoptimised, so the extra CPU/GPU shows more, where MS optimise on low end hardware you don't see any major gains in OS performance which is how it should be, rather than having to know your devices to know what's going to run like a POS.

That doesn't make sense.

If something is incredible optimized for the low end the higher end should show significant improvement.

 

[NeOak]

That doesn't make sense.

If something is incredible optimized for the low end the higher end should show significant improvement.

It does on apps and browsing the web. Head to head vs the 920, the 1520 is a lot faster.

I eat twice the data I used to consume on my 920.

 

[hwalker84]

Official File Manager is available

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/files/762e837f-461d-4847-8399-3526f54fc25e

 

[Kinky John]

Whatsapp's back, with some new features.

 

[juliushandle]

Cyan update, I can feel it coming.

 

[Razdek]

There really doesn't seem to be anything exciting coming up on the WP front. No new phones, no new big apps to fill the gaps, no dates when the final build is release. We get news of all these new OEM's yet they don't show crap or even hint when new phones are going to come out.

I thought that WP8.1 was supposed to build excitement and get some momentum for the platform but here we are just waiting for basic apps to be fixed so that it works properly like Xbox Music or get back the same functionality that we had before. It's pretty sad times I'd say.

 

[KageMaru]

That doesn't make sense.

If something is incredible optimized for the low end the higher end should show significant improvement.

If there's less room for improvement, I don't think we'll see significant increase in speed. I've been messing around with my friend's 520 and it definitely doesn't seem as quick as my Icon. The real improvements are in load times and app performance. GTA:SA for example runs and looks MUCH better on my Icon than it did on my 928.

There really doesn't seem to be anything exciting coming up on the WP front. No new phones, no new big apps to fill the gaps, no dates when the final build is release. We get news of all these new OEM's yet they don't show crap or even hint when new phones are going to come out.

I thought that WP8.1 was supposed to build excitement and get some momentum for the platform but here we are just waiting for basic apps to be fixed so that it works properly like Xbox Music or get back the same functionality that we had before. It's pretty sad times I'd say.

It's a preview for a reason. I agree that the recent silence after the 8.1 media coverage is disconcerting but things will hopefully pick up soon. We're still supposed to see new phones like goldfinger this year, we'll hopefully see some app announcements too.

8.1 is meant to bring excitement, but it's not even officially out yet. Any momentum it brings would be a slow burn. Building awareness around the OS improvements and new partners (both hardware and software) will take time. I just hope MS is actually aggressive with their marketing for once.

They have a lot of ground to still make up on, but their recent moves have been great, so I'm willing to hang around for a little bit longer to see how things develop.

 

[MCD]

Is there an official Whatsapp ring tone? I'm tired of the default WP one.

 

[kharma45]

So with 8.1 Here Drive sends the navigation instructions over bluetooth to my car. Can this be disabled anywhere? I'd rather just hear the voice from the phone speaker so it doesn't interrupt music but I do like to be able to make/receive calls

Spoiler

not that anyone makes calls anymore

Not so far as I can see. Pretty annoying, as I've my phone connected through Bluetooth to the car for calls but since I listen to music off a USB drive I don't get to hear the voice guidance at all.

 

[Razdek]

If there's less room for improvement, I don't think we'll see significant increase in speed. I've been messing around with my friend's 520 and it definitely doesn't seem as quick as my Icon. The real improvements are in load times and app performance. GTA:SA for example runs and looks MUCH better on my Icon than it did on my 928.



It's a preview for a reason. I agree that the recent silence after the 8.1 media coverage is disconcerting but things will hopefully pick up soon. We're still supposed to see new phones like goldfinger this year, we'll hopefully see some app announcements too.

8.1 is meant to bring excitement, but it's not even officially out yet. Any momentum it brings would be a slow burn. Building awareness around the OS improvements and new partners (both hardware and software) will take time. I just hope MS is actually aggressive with their marketing for once.

They have a lot of ground to still make up on, but their recent moves have been great, so I'm willing to hang around for a little bit longer to see how things develop.

I have no faith in their marketing as up to now it hasn't been good especially up here in Canada. You go into an electronics or phone store and WP is nowhere to be seen and I don't think it's going to change with 8.1. My WP has been relegated to a Wi-Fi device at the moment and I don't even switch back and forth between my Nexus 5 and 8X anymore.

 

[condompickle]

had the nokia icon. loved it. camera was amazing, easy to navigate, and yea that camera.
had to swap it for an 5s. wanna know why? because i can't deal with big phones. will nokia ever release a phone the size of an iphone 5? if so goodbye pos apple.

 

[JaggedSac]

I have no faith in their marketing as up to now it hasn't been good especially up here in Canada. You go into an electronics or phone store and WP is nowhere to be seen and I don't think it's going to change with 8.1. My WP has been relegated to a Wi-Fi device at the moment and I don't even switch back and forth between my Nexus 5 and 8X anymore.

Why do you even need a WP WiFi only device?

 

[antiquegamer]

had the nokia icon. loved it. camera was amazing, easy to navigate, and yea that camera.
had to swap it for an 5s. wanna know why? because i can't deal with big phones. will nokia ever release a phone the size of an iphone 5? if so goodbye pos apple.

Only lower end phone which mean you won't get the good camera. I doubt that they will as market is moving toward big phone even Apple next phones are rumor to be bigger. I think 4.5-5 is a good size, iPhones are current way too small for browsing.

 

[Razdek]

Why do you even need a WP WiFi only device?

It's my back up phone and I usually like to switch back and forth from my Nexus 5 but not lately. I like choice and not married to an ecosystem or OEM.

 

[VanMardigan]

Android has been stagnant on the OS side but blowing up on the device side, while Windows phone is getting a major software overhaul while remaining stagnant on the devices side. I would be so happy if I got an android flagship running Windows phone. So happy.

 

[condompickle]

Only lower end phone which mean you won't get the good camera. I doubt that they will as market is moving toward big phone even Apple next phones are rumor to be bigger. I think 4.5-5 is a good size, iPhones are current way too small for browsing.

i just use my phone for gps,photos,spotify,and endomondo. that's it, no browsing. i really wish i kept the icon, but i just couldn't put it in my pocket and go mtn biking with it, or go for a hike. just too big. not mega big, just uncomfortable for my outdoor lifestyle. now i'm stuck with a kids phone. awesome.

my love

 

[Rushersauce]

Are there replacements for Lumia 720's screen? Or do I have to change the whole cellphone? I dropped it by accident and now the screen has a little crack.

 

[Bob Dobalina]

I started using a Lumia 521 full time this week. Is multitasking this bad on higher specced devices? These "resuming..." screens when switching between apps are killing my vibe.

 

[catmincer]

Nope. I have the 1520 and never see resuming screens outside of the shitty music app. I blame the app though.

 

[DonMigs85]

I started using a Lumia 521 full time this week. Is multitasking this bad on higher specced devices? These "resuming..." screens when switching between apps are killing my vibe.

Suspending is more aggressive on the 512MB RAM devices.