Related
After seeing iPhone apps and trying out a G1 for a while, I'd like to have some of the apps available on these phones on my Tilt. The problem is, I can't find some of the nicer ones available for Windows Mobile.
Netflix App - I'd love to have one of these but from all my searching I can't find one. I know you can browse their website with a browser, but it would be so much nicer to have an application that pulls up just the data I need quickly and easily.
Price Scanning App - I loved this app on the G1. You scan a bardcode and it tells you the product name, gives you reviews, and shows you a list of local prices and online prices for that product.
Yellowpages App - I saw this on on the G1 (and I think it's out for the iPhone too). It's just a yellowpages.com search interface inside an app.
Restaurant Search and Reviews App - Something that either uses GPS or something where I can enter my zip code. Allows me to narrow down restaurants by pricing and type of food. Reviews would be a nice plus.
Webcam App - I had this on my G1 and loved it. I was able to connect to my panasonic webcam and view it by simply launching the app.
Are any of the above available for Windows Mobile?
Windows Mobile has never had such complex apps.
Maybe buy an iPhone or a G1?
guitarlp said:
After seeing iPhone apps and trying out a G1 for a while, I'd like to have some of the apps available on these phones on my Tilt. The problem is, I can't find some of the nicer ones available for Windows Mobile.
Netflix App - I'd love to have one of these but from all my searching I can't find one. I know you can browse their website with a browser, but it would be so much nicer to have an application that pulls up just the data I need quickly and easily.
Price Scanning App - I loved this app on the G1. You scan a bardcode and it tells you the product name, gives you reviews, and shows you a list of local prices and online prices for that product.
Yellowpages App - I saw this on on the G1 (and I think it's out for the iPhone too). It's just a yellowpages.com search interface inside an app.
Restaurant Search and Reviews App - Something that either uses GPS or something where I can enter my zip code. Allows me to narrow down restaurants by pricing and type of food. Reviews would be a nice plus.
Webcam App - I had this on my G1 and loved it. I was able to connect to my panasonic webcam and view it by simply launching the app.
Are any of the above available for Windows Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, here is my contribution to the XDA society:
Barcorama was found in less than two minutes by using the googlized search option. Just click HERE!
As for your webcam app, you can use orb.com to access more than just your webcam from your PPC, or PDA.
The other ones, I didnt really get too far into looking at, because kidNamedAlbert is right, those are some uber complex precesses.
Remember, also search first and when you feel you just can't find it, search again. Chances are, it's out there.
hope this helps
I don't understand the want or need to have 10 different apps that all search for some very specific thing when one app that can do it all is much more convenient. what if I want to look up a restaurant's number, call them, make a reservation, and then get a map to their? should I have to use 4 different programs to accomplish that, or should I just use one (google maps)? heck, Live Search does all that, AND can also do it with voice recognition. and tell you the weather while you travel.
If you look hard enough you can find all this functionality with existing WM apps, as per above.
Try microsoft's free windows live for what you are looking fore and more. It's fee.
www.wls.live.com
Or even Google maps at www.google.com/mobile.
Enjoy it.
asrrin29 said:
I don't understand the want or need to have 10 different apps that all search for some very specific thing when one app that can do it all is much more convenient. what if I want to look up a restaurant's number, call them, make a reservation, and then get a map to their? should I have to use 4 different programs to accomplish that, or should I just use one (google maps)? heck, Live Search does all that, AND can also do it with voice recognition. and tell you the weather while you travel.
If you look hard enough you can find all this functionality with existing WM apps, as per above.
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Click to collapse
Totally agree!
In addition: GARMIN MOBILE XT in version 5.0 does it all too - has in addition even a CALL DESTINATION feature.
I just do not understand the need of people to have web application 'installed' in their devices! Well, maybe I am getting too old for all that, who knows?
<Damn, now I sound like a smart ass, LOL>
which apps so far have disappointed you?
For me so far its Opera Mini, Meebo, and Palringo
Opera Mini was just a direct port with little tweaking for the Android OS
Meebo just needs a few more bugs fixed and a few UI improvements and more settings, even without the last 2 it'd be great if it simply kept you signed in.
And Palringo is in the same boat as Meebo.
What about you?
i personally cant believe there are so many different fart apps.. even paid ones..
but as far as things ive tried that have disappointed me, meebo was a disappoint with the logging off.. it logs off and locks up as much as the actual aim im prog that came on the phone..
theres also been a couple of games that ive opened and they were just garbage, i cant remember any of them atm except battleship though
I have the same complaints about Skype as you do about Opera Mini. Skype Lite can't make free skype-to-skype calls and there is no integration with Android OS whatsoever. So if I want to see if I have received any new messages, I have to switch to the app and check it manually.
Also the game called eggs was disappointing. The beginning was good, but the author completely ignored users' comments.
My BackUp Pro was also a waste of money. I thought it did more than just copy apk files to SD card and zip it.
I just was disappointed with the introduction of paid apps. As much as I love many of the apps I have paid for, it destroyed the market. There are now thousands of horrible apps, and apps that once were free that now cost money.
Many apps deserved support and donations, but not forced. Apps like Power Manager. Works great, and I would have no problem donating to them, but to turn their app into a trial, forcing people to update to their now paid version is just wrong. Android was all about Open Source, helping fellow users. When a dev puts hours, days, weeks, even months into developing an app, most certainly should he be rewarded for his efforts. Charging $5 for a fart soundboard is ridiculous. The dev couldn't have spent more than 5 minutes on it and expects users to pay for a joke of an app.
tehseano said:
I just was disappointed with the introduction of paid apps. As much as I love many of the apps I have paid for, it destroyed the market. There are now thousands of horrible apps, and apps that once were free that now cost money.
Many apps deserved support and donations, but not forced. Apps like Power Manager. Works great, and I would have no problem donating to them, but to turn their app into a trial, forcing people to update to their now paid version is just wrong. Android was all about Open Source, helping fellow users. When a dev puts hours, days, weeks, even months into developing an app, most certainly should he be rewarded for his efforts. Charging $5 for a fart soundboard is ridiculous. The dev couldn't have spent more than 5 minutes on it and expects users to pay for a joke of an app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I have to agree with you. I was hoping paid apps will give more incentive for developers to create good stuff, but instead all it did was make free apps paid.
Also the game called eggs was disappointing. The beginning was good, but the author completely ignored users' comments.
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Click to collapse
I have to agree with you on that one... I just played it on Iphone and it's light years ahead of Androids version. It has sound, pause/resume option. It really bugs me when dev. puts out a game and doesn't bother to port it properly, even for a game as simple as that one.
I am also very disappointed in the apps that used to be completely free and now have been turned into trials and demos.
So far... the only app I don't regret paying for is BetterCut, everything else was junk.
Remote (RDP client) disappointed me so much, it continues to have connection issues.
Opera Mini was pure crap, I can't see why Opera didn't make an effort to port (truly) Opera Mobile instead. I might have paid for that if it was any good. Now I just wait for Fennec to be ported.
Barcode scanner for non-QR codes is disappointing. Other scanners, like SnapTell, can do so much more. All Barcode scanner can do is look it up on Google. I can do that myself by typing in the numbers below the barcode. The QR code reader is the only reason I keep that program.
FBook is disappointing. The interface has been mangled and it's more focused on uploading pictures than it is giving users the full Facebook experience. It's little more than a web-view portal for Mobile Facebook, and sometimes slower than using the browser.
jordanjay29 said:
Barcode scanner for non-QR codes is disappointing. Other scanners, like SnapTell, can do so much more. All Barcode scanner can do is look it up on Google. I can do that myself by typing in the numbers below the barcode. The QR code reader is the only reason I keep that program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you would like to try this usage: I'm developing an free online service to log purchases and see statistics. Also, I've implemented a shopping list feature I use all the time (my girlfriend too). The goal is to integrate it with Barcorama and use the barcodes to quickly log the purchases, e.g. right after returning from the supermarket.
So perhaps you want to start logging stuff with costpad.com
sorry for the offtopic post...
have fun,
hypest
Karolis said:
I have the same complaints about Skype as you do about Opera Mini. Skype Lite can't make free skype-to-skype calls and there is no integration with Android OS whatsoever. So if I want to see if I have received any new messages, I have to switch to the app and check it manually.
Also the game called eggs was disappointing. The beginning was good, but the author completely ignored users' comments.
My BackUp Pro was also a waste of money. I thought it did more than just copy apk files to SD card and zip it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mybackup Pro also backs up AK Notepad, your call logs, your system settings, text messages, and something else I'm forgetting.
I don't use it to back up apps at all, just data.
My Backup Pro limitation (???)
thecolorifix said:
Mybackup Pro also backs up AK Notepad, your call logs, your system settings, text messages, and something else I'm forgetting.
I don't use it to back up apps at all, just data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YEAH - it's great to backup & restore call logs, MMS, SMS's and phone setting and homepages (although the widgets for some reason does not load during recovery!)
But before I forget. You cannot save a backup filename that contains the character '-' ...How weird is that?
When I contacted the app-dev, this was the response:
"These characters are not allwed due to file system"
On Tuesday, February 23, 2010, i wrote:
> Hi
> When I try to save a data backup file with a filename that contains a '-', this '-' gets removed. Can this please be fixed. Like : LastBackup-phone gets saved as LastBackupphone.
> Thank you
Weird huh? I think it's a lazy dev!
I find it hard to be disappointed by free apps, but of the apps I've paid for the biggest disappointment has been the Mediafly app. When I first downloaded this app, I used the free version regularly and daily to subscribe and listen to all my favorite podcasts. I used it so much that I decided to purchase the app and within a week the app was completely broken.
It still downloads podcasts fine, but it makes it impossible to actually listen to the downloaded files. The streaming only works about half the time. It won't resume playing a file in the middle (I was once amazed at how I could resume playing a streaming podcast flawlessly upon initial release - no more; it doesn't resume anything now.) It will seemingly randomly delete podcasts that I haven't even listened to for no reason, even though I have it set to never delete anything. Bottom line, what was once the perfect app is now junk.
Tomorrow (August 1st) marks the first day that applications submitted and made available on the Market will be eligible for consideration for the ADC2. Maybe this will open the floodgate for a bunch of quality apps as developers release early in order to build up hype for their product. Or conversely, perhaps apps will slowly trickle out, peaking before the submission deadline as developers feverishly fine-tune away and deny their competitors the ability to copy their ideas. Regardless, it's going to be an interesting three to four months for Android users.
Cool, anyone on xda planning to enter?
I have a Mind Mapping application I'm going to be entering..
It's been a bit of race to get it ready in the couple of months since the compo was announced, but almost there!
bakachu said:
I have a Mind Mapping application I'm going to be entering..
It's been a bit of race to get it ready in the couple of months since the compo was announced, but almost there!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck! Excuse my retardedness but what's ah mind mapping?
alritewhadeva said:
what's ah mind mapping?
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Click to collapse
Mind mapping is a mental exercise/organizational aid using a freeform visual tree. Its often used as a prewriting aid to help organize and group individual ideas/points before drafting essays, reports, the like.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
jashsu said:
Mind mapping is a mental exercise/organizational aid using a freeform visual tree. Its often used as a prewriting aid to help organize and group individual ideas/points before drafting essays, reports, the like.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mm...Interesting. Would be good to file reports and for school
bakachu said:
I have a Mind Mapping application I'm going to be entering..
It's been a bit of race to get it ready in the couple of months since the compo was announced, but almost there!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that sounds interesting. I wonder how you will manage to handle the small screen for a readable mind map. Good luck!
No idea if the timing was for ADC2 qualification or not, but Shapewriter has finally released their shapewriting IME for Android. Unfortunately, its ringing in at a pretty crazy $20.
http://www.cyrket.com/package/com.shapewriter.android.softkeyboard
Youtube demo of shapewriter prototype:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBOyGp25sSg
jashsu said:
No idea if the timing was for ADC2 qualification or not, but Shapewriter has finally released their shapewriting IME for Android. Unfortunately, its ringing in at a pretty crazy $20.
http://www.cyrket.com/package/com.shapewriter.android.softkeyboard
Youtube demo of shapewriter prototype:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBOyGp25sSg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was waiting for this but I was not waiting for a $20 cell phone app. Christ.
uberingram said:
I was waiting for this but I was not waiting for a $20 cell phone app. Christ.
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Click to collapse
The shapewriter apk can be downloaded from their site as well.
http://www.shapewriter.com/apk
Two things of note:
1) They are using an unlock key system, so this version will only allow a 30 day demonstration. Makes me wonder if the Market version operates similarly (or is even the same app) given that generally apps submitted to the market that use unlocking keys generally have a free download for the app proper and a premium dummy download that just contains the unlocking key.
2) It is not a true Android 1.5 integrated IME. Rather, when you want to type using Shapewriter, you pull down the window shade and press a persistent notification that pops up a Shapewriter dialog. It's cumbersome and seems dated. Of course it's entirely possible that the Market version is updated to use the true IME framework.
Bonus) This app asks for the following permissions:
- Full network access
- Location (coarse and fine)
- Phone calls (read phone state)
- System tools (modify global system settings)
- Services that cost you money (send sms)
- Your personal data (read contact info)
- System tools (install shortcuts)
- Hardware controls (control vibrator)
Kinda overboard for a keyboard imo...
Edit: From the Market description "Enable this system-wide input method from Settings -> Locale & text." it would appear that the Market version is a true framework IME.
jashsu said:
Bonus) This app asks for the following permissions:
- Full network access
- Location (coarse and fine)
- Phone calls (read phone state)
- System tools (modify global system settings)
- Services that cost you money (send sms)
- Your personal data (read contact info)
- System tools (install shortcuts)
- Hardware controls (control vibrator)
Kinda overboard for a keyboard imo...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I double checked HTC's Touch Input and they only have Phone Calls, System Tools, Google Accounts and Hardware Controls. Weird and definitely overboard for an IME.
the key thing that i like about the second round is that it requires the apps to be available on the market. there were so many promising apps from adc1 that never made it to the market (presumably because the devs behind them didnt win anything, so they gave up). this will be interesting to watch.
http://www.cyrket.com/package/com.shapewriter.android
Looks like the earlier pricing was a mistake. Now at $3.95. Still on the pricey side but tolerable now.
Edit: Interesting, apparently I was wrong. Shapewriter released two separate apps. The $4 app is a notepad (package com.shapewriter.android) with shapewriter built in. The actual shapewriter IME (package com.shapewriter.android.softkeyboard) itself is still $20. Doh. I guess they really don't want people using this technology.
jashsu said:
I guess they really don't want people using this technology.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With a price like that, no joke.
jashsu said:
No idea if the timing was for ADC2 qualification or not, but Shapewriter has finally released their shapewriting IME for Android. Unfortunately, its ringing in at a pretty crazy $20.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should not be eligible for ADC2 since it was already submitted to ADC1.
cedricberger said:
Should not be eligible for ADC2 since it was already submitted to ADC1.
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Click to collapse
hm was it? looks like you may be right.
As the title suggests, I'm considering jumping from my HTC One to the Nokia Lumia 1020, and I have some questions. If this is the wrong forum, I'm sorry.
1. Is it possible (even through a hack) to set a homescreen background? I used to do this on the WP 7 themes on my iPhone, and it looked great with transparent tiles.
2. Has Google gotten into WP8? Voice, Gmail, Play Music?
3. Photo editing. What sort of post-processing options are there? I must have had 10gb of just photo apps on my iPhone, and I'm kinda struggling now on Android.
4. Keyboards? I've become a Swiftkey addict. Is there anything comparable to this in Redmond's garden?
5. Twitter and Facebook? My fiance has a Lumia 900, however her Facebook and Twitter apps look awful. Tweetbot was the best Twitter client I've ever used, so my standards are high.
Thank you in advance for any insight.
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
GoodDayToDie said:
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the responses. With regards to music, I had a 64gb iPhone 4S and still have an active subscription to iTunes in the Cloud. So I could store most of my music on my phone, and have access to the rest as needed. My One is only 32gb, so I keep some music on it, and the rest I stream via Google Play.
As for Google, does WP8 integrate with Google Voice at all? Or is there at least an app?
With photos, there are some apps from iOS that I truely miss, and haven't seen any alternatives on Android as of yet. I fear my pickings will be even slimmer on WP8.
Does the built in keyboard have anything akin to Swype? I'm fairly certain my girls WP7 does not.
As my girl does have WP7, she can't upgrade to the newest Facebook and is thus stuck with the awful one she currently has.
Thanks again.
As I mentioned, there are apps for streaming music from Google. Nothing official, but the reviews say they work.
There's one app I can find in the store, "Spare Phone", which claims to integrate somewhat (and has the WP8-specific app capability to do so). However, it looks like it can't recieve GV calls directly (forward to your mobile number or take voicemail notifications only) when it's in the background. I'm pretty sure the dev could fix this with enough effort. The app costs $3.49 USD, so I can't easily test if for you. There's no OS-level integration with GV, which doesn't surprise me in the least. Google is Microsoft's biggest competitor in this space...
I have no real idea what the photo app situation is like. There are tons of them, some well-rated, plus some built-in features of the OS. I still prefer to do my photo editing with the power and precision of a PC, though, so I haven't tried. The photos are overcompressed as is (all smartphone photos are), so manipulating them tends to produce artifacts anyhow.
Nothing like Swype, sorry. Microsoft really needs to get with the picture there. It's especially sad/funny, considering that Swype was originally for Windows Mobile and (according to a guy I know who works there) they'd be happy to bring it to WP, but MS hasn't allowed it yet.
Most of my FB on the phone is just done using the built-in integration (People hub, Messaging hub. etc.), but the new WP8 app really is excellent.
1. No you can't set homescreen background. I hope it will be coming in WP Blue update.
2.Gmail works fine, Xbox music is very much better option.
3. WP store is full of lots of photo editing apps, 1020 itself has proshot app. I think you would be very happy in this department.
4.No, unfortunately but you can expect it in updates.
5. Both official apps are very very good. FB just got updated and it's very good. You can also have beta app which updates continuously so FB support from MS is very much active. Official twitter app has everything you want, same as its iOS & Android counter part.
Instagram has 3rd party app instance which is very good, even you can save photo in it. Official Vine app is coming till then 6 sec is available.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Google Voice is handled quite nicely by Metrotalk. It takes some work to get setup properly, but once setup works very seamlessly.
Google has no official apps (aside from a poor Google search app) on Windows Phone, and the only thing known on the horizon is an official YouTube app (a joint project between Microsoft and Google). Otherwise Google has been pretty anti-Windows Phone. If you want the quality and selection of Google apps and services that you find on an Android phone, you simply won't get it anywhere except Android. Windows Phone and even iPhone don't compare to what Google offers on it's own platform. There are third party apps, and some of them are decent.
The Twitter and Facebook apps for WP8 now very closely match the functionality and look/feel of their official counterparts on iOS and Android. They still aren't as awesome, but thankfully, because of the tight OS integration, they aren't necessarily needed as much as you would need them on iOS or Android.
Nothing close to Swype and I'm gonna take a guess and say that it won't be coming anytime soon. There just isn't a demand for it. Clearly there is one here on this site (and other enthusiast sites), but this is a site made up of hardcore tweakers and enthusiasts. In the real world, most people do not know what Swype is and simply don't bother to learn it even if it is available to them. The Windows Phone keyboard is an excellent stock keyboard, and with some of the improvements being seen in Windows 8.1, you can expect it to get better as time goes on.
Almost any kind of configuring, tweaking, or hacking you may be used to on Android goes out the window with Windows Phone 8. For the most part, the operating system just works, so you don't always need it (like iOS), but some people still have that itch to tweak, and if that's you, Windows Phone 8 may not make you happy. But then again, I used to be that type of person, but once I got used to a platform that just worked and didn't need me to go ROM hunting every week, its just became so much better. The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
As with any upgrade, new line, or purchase, you should have an opportunity to try it for a bit before you go past the point of no return. So your best bet is to try it as your main driver for a week and see how it works for you.
prjkthack said:
The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
GoodDayToDie said:
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether the product is yours or not does not matter much here. At its base level, all the platforms are "locked down" to a certain extent, some more than others, and what you can do is limited by what the OEMs (Microsoft, Apple, or Google) say you can do. Now you can go ahead and throw hacks at it, tear it apart, or throw money at it to completely change it, but that's going beyond the scope of this discussion. They choose what permissions you may alter or ask for. Finding loopholes to get around permissions or authorization goes beyond what the original manufacturer intended, but its pretty fair to say that its far easier to circumvent security on Android than on any other platform. Android's inherently more "open" platform allows for greater risk at times because it isn't as locked down as iOS or Windows Phone.
That being said, being more locked down inherently offers more security or at the very least, piece of mind, whether that be protection from scripts or hacks, viruses, financial security, or just preventing errors/crashes. Denying or granting access to certain activities, or just flat out not having the option to deny/grant certain activities can be the base for a safer, more reliable, more secure operating environment. "Security" and being "locked down", in some cases, go hand in hand. Of course it can mean many different things to many people.
Now you could also be referring to other "security" features like corporate encryption policies or secure NFC or stuff like that, but that wasn't part of the original discussion, so my use of the word security does not include any of that, but I understand that certainly those types of security features may or may not exist between platforms.
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
OGhoul said:
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
mcosmin222 said:
Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
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Click to collapse
I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
OGhoul said:
I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
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I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
There are apps which can stream from Google Music.
Alternatively, get a phone that has a microSD slot; my ATIV S has 80GB of total local storage, never mind the amount I have in my butt.
mcosmin222 said:
I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
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iCloud.
OGhoul said:
iCloud.
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so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
mcosmin222 said:
so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
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The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
OGhoul said:
The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
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Yes windows phone will upload full res images to skydrive. Great feature actually. BTW have you looked at Xbox music? Its similar to Google play music and iTunes streaming. Take a look, it might be what your looking for: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/music
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Xbox music, Pandora, Nokia Music all work great on my 1020. And something new in WP8, it can sync from your iTunes library. (new WP8 desktop app, no more Zune app like used for WP7)
Did you ever get the 1020 and what were your thoughts?
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4
Looking at the Nokia 640 on metro PCs , what are you guys opinions on this phone?I had a Nokia 521 quiet awhile back but switched to android because of the lack of SD card use back then.
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
In my opinion windows phones are always better and safe than android phones. You can also read about technology public relations.
Play Apps?
GoodDayToDie said:
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
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Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
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They will not enable android apps to run directly on the phone like in an emulator, they developed a tool so android developers can recompile their existing app code so it can be used in windows, see the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qgajY4An1I
I'm really looking forward to making the switch from Android. I've always been a Windows PC enthusiast, and Windows 10 is shaping up nicely.
So, a phone to match will be nice. As for apps for phones, I hardly use any nowadays.
The biggest disadvantage of WP is the low market share of under 10% .
This means that most of the useful apps or games will not be available to WP.
But if as you say you dont use apps and you like the windows style you should go for it!
My experience switching over
I picked up a 640 on T-Mobile the other day as a new "daily driver" - my S4 went swimming once upon a time and reception was never quite the same after that, and I've been thinking about app development and the possible advantages of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond - particularly if MS manages to be successful going forward with Windows Phone. I'm sure I won't have anything available by the time Windows 10 Mobile comes out, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out in the end - perhaps Android development would be a better choice after all? But my experience with the phone overall hasn't been bad so far, particularly not for $100.
The one thing that I hate about the phone is that I can't put it on WiFi at home - something about the WiFi config puts it into a boot loop when it tries to kick in the voice over WiFi piece. Seems like it's similar to the "no iOS zone" problem that turned up for Apple back in April, except that since (relatively) nobody is using Windows Phone nobody really cares. The "fix" recommended is "reset your router to factory defaults" which might be an issue since I'm running OpenWRT..... I'm thinking about putting the Windows 10 preview on so this may go away - even if it's only due to lack of support for T-Mobile's WiFi calling. At least I have LTE coverage in most of my house and an "unlimited" data plan.
The main thing I'm really missing is browser choice - I REALLY miss having Firefox and Dolphin, because I do a lot of long-form reading in my browser and the readability view in FF is much more usable. LastPass in Dolphin is also nice to have, though it never worked for me in Firefox. I'm also missing the addon ecosystems of both browsers. Surfy is at least a nice addition, but browsers on WP seem to be at least 2-3 years behind what's on Android. Both IE and Surfy "feel" kind of like the built-in browser in Gingerbread (2.3) or maybe in the early days of Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) before Google started pushing Chrome as the default browser. Having relatively weak browser(s) is a problem because with the lack of apps at least I can use mobile websites..... when they don't simply crash out the IE tab/window/whatever since it's not a tabbed or windowed interface.
I'm also hoping that Pocket Casts will work correctly for me after their next update (currently it hangs if I turn on sync to pull in my podcasts, then dies on app startup), but I'll survive for a while. I'm also feeling the lack of good ebook readers, I've been spoiled by Cool Reader and Moon+ Reader Pro on the Android side.
The only things besides browsers that I'm really missing:
Things tied in with Google's ecosystem - I use Google Voice for my voicemail, I've been using Location History for a long time to help me track when I arrive at and leave customer locations, and there's a group of us that uses Google Hangouts for group chat. I can get Voice notifications in email with the transcriptions then listen to the messages via URL. The Location History bit I may be able to replace with Phone Tracker, but I'm not sure what to do about Hangouts yet.
Replacement keyboards! I've been a big Swiftkey user for years and would love to have it back even without the voice recognition link (which launches Google's service). I hate having to do 4-6 extra keystrokes to enter passwords because of the switches to get to numbers/punctuation and extended punctuation (via the numbers page). There are places where Hacker's Keyboard (a much more full keyboard nice for terminal emulations) was also nice to have.
A GOOD text editor (e.g. DroidEdit which has syntax highlighting, etc.) or really even an adequate text editor. Maybe a mediocre one? Please? I've seen mention of Code Editor but was unimpressed by the "Free" version (first thing it does is throw you to the store page for the paid version, free version can't even see the "advanced" editor that's the only reason to actually consider it). The only other option that at least looks good in screenshots ("HTML+JS+CSS IDE") hasn't been updated since 2013 and has a total of 3 reviews - and the two with text are both 1-star.
CallTrack (which adds all of my phone calls to my Google Calendar, tagged appropriately and with start and end times) and SMS Backup (which uploads my sent/received SMS to GMail, tagged appropriately). CallTrack is great for going back and "Who did I talk to that day?" and SMS Backup is great for tracking down things received in old messages. I WILL be working on finding replacements for these.
And a few less-important things that I can either do without or still need to find replacements for:
My auto mileage/service tracking app - if there's something comparable to aCar then I haven't seen it yet.
OpenVPN, though the VPN service I use allows IPSEC as well so I'll need to set that up.
Lyft, though I've not actually needed to use it. I know Uber's on there, I just like what I know of Lyft better (and there's one area where my wife may need it that's on the edge of the areas for both but Lyft covers it and Uber doesn't).
KeePass - I believe I saw one implementation in the Store, but I'd want to check into the background of it given the number of scam apps I've come across.
@fencepost: Good list of stuff, there. I don't really have a good solution to much of it - I mean, Microsoft has alternatives to a lot of Google's stuff, but they are mutually incompatible so everybody you hang out with would need to switch too - but those are some good problems to list. The problem with WiFi calling is probably a T-Mobile bug, sadly; I don't have it myself but WiFi Calling on WP8.x isn't really as good as it could be. My biggest personal complaint with WiFi is that the OS is too damn desperate to stay on (unusably weak) WiFi signals even when it has cellular data; if I'm actively using my phone when I leave the apartment (for example, checking a bus schedule) it's faster to manually disable WiFi than to rely on the phone to notice that the WiFi signal is much too weak to use and fail over to cellular. Ideally I'd be able to tell the phone to use cellular by *default* and only use WiFi for stuff that it can't get ont he WAN (LAN servers, etc.), but the OS wasn't really designed to provide an optimal experience for people with unlimited data plans.
The custom keyboard thing may be fixable soon - at least, I really hope so - but for now it is indeed a problem. WP8.1 has the best *built-in* keyboard of the three leading mobile OSes, IMO, but it's not better than all the Android options.
As for a text editor, I generally avoid writing anything longer than notes or minor document edits (or emails, but usually only plain text) on the phone, so I haven't really looked. You might be able to use SSH or Remote Desktop, though; there's a number of decent apps for each (including a MS-authored one for RDP) and with unlimited data they should work. You may even find them more useful than a local editor. It might be worth setting up a Remote App server (so you'd *just* get an editor, rather than a whole desktop) for this.
OpenVPN *should* be possible to port, but it needs a driver (TUN/TAP) and MS would need to approve or provide that even more than they would need to approve a new VPN app (which I think requires a capability not normally available to third-party devs). I'm tempted to say that they really *should* allow it, but I'm also painfully aware that OpenVPN on Windows (and, possibly, other platforms) is sort of crap. I can usually beat it into submission on a machine where I have admin, but on a phone it could simply just sit there being unusable until the phone gets rebooted or something.
WP8 in general seems to have a lower risk of scam apps than Android, but it's definitely a good idea to look into any password keeper utility's trustworthiness.
EDIT: As for browsers, as far as I know there's not actually any rule against third-party browsers. Opera Mini does exist for WP8, which is cool, but so far as I know nobody has ported a Gecko or WebKit/Blink-based browser. Ideally, somebody should fix this, although getting them to work within WP8's application model might mean rebuilding a lot of the browser as well as just porting the rendering engine.
Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
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Click to collapse
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Let ms make a toolkit for the android devs
A toolkit to one click port it to MS ecosystem
Then the threshold to port it would be lower and a real mony maker for the devs
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Free mobile app
NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
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Click to collapse
I don't want Android apps as such, but Android and IOS devs in the wp game.
I've had a lot of Apple and Andy devices the last eight years and have grown to like the variety of developers and want they put out for us.
WP is a good ecosystem, but the app gap is way bigger than I expected. There are just to many everyday apps I had on my other phones, which I cannot get in WP (yet).
I feel like I've walked into a grossery store and most of the shelfes are empty... I have to buy my oj and milk in another store, simply because MS can't get those dev's on board.
...And that's just a crying shame.
The 640 has a baked in WiFi calling feature rather than a separate app like almost every other Lumia device. I think it may be the only Lumia to have Wi-Fi calling baked into the SIM settings rather than running as a separate app.
Be careful if you are using any Google apps with it - Google is scared of Windows phone and they are doing everything they can to prevent app development. Any app they have taken over will never see another Windows phone release, and they are kind of crazy about it. For example Microsoft made their own YouTube app because Google wouldn't ,Google forced them to take it down. Now the YouTube app on the WP is just a link to YouTube - not because no one wants to make one for WP, but because Google won't let anyone make one.
---------- Post added at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
I should add though - I have the 640 and it's awesome, extremely fast, well built, solid screen, expandable SD card slot, decent cameras for a phone and an ok flash. It's also neat the way the apps tie together with your windows 10 computer
NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
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Click to collapse
I have tried both Windows as well as Android Phone but everyone will agree that Android is anytime the best coz of features or benefits it has to offer. I used to be a Windows Mobile fan but now I love Android.
I would not switch to Windows again for now atleast