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About HD7 and WP7, quick review.
Positive HTC HD7:
. The device is awesome, fast, slim, the 4.3” high resolution screen is really epic and it feels really good when holding it in your hands. It makes you wanna have sex with it.
. The device materials quality is over my expectations
. Auto focus and dual LED flash working great
. Gsensor, proximity, and ambient light Sensor fast and reliable
Negative HTC HD7:
. Internal storage: 8 GB (Europe), I just hope we can upgrate it soon
. Battery drains a lot. it seems that battery manufacters are not keeping the pace. I recommend to disable all automatic updates and dont use 3G.
Positive Microsoft WP7:
. Really a clean OS fast and very responsive.
. The Hubs and animated tiles layout is very simple and fun to use.
. Social integration is a awesome feature and well worked by Microsoft (but it may be a little confusing for newbs.
. The boot sequence is the faster I ever seen.
Negative Microsoft WP7:
. Marketplace and Zune not available for all regions (you need to create a windows live account in a Region like UK for example).
. Lack of Customization
Bottom line:
WP7 is a kind of fresh air in the mobile world, a different approach with easy-to-use interface focused in integration of features and social network. Its fast, clean, intuitive, full of people-centric features with memory management like no other OS. Overall is has unbeatable perfomance.
Metro UI it is not just a app launcher, it has live tiles and not that sea of the same old and boring icons. The touch responsiveness is awesome and the short transitions between applications is the best experience I ever had.
The WP7 keyboard is clean , the mail experience is solid, IE9 is fast, the Office integration make WP7 impossible to ignore for serious business users, terrific Zune and Xbox Live integration with beautiful and useful user interface. All of these features are as simple and clean as the rest of the OS.
A kid can use it, a grown up can use it, a elderly can use it.
WP7 its still a work in progress and yes there is a lot of features missing but since it is just one year old, you can wait and live without it. The most important is that what we have now does not break, crash or lag. It works perfectly and smooth. Bottom line, you love it or you hate it.
In my case, I Love Windows Phone.
EDIT:
My Rate so far: 8.5/10
Thats all.
dot
Hm, have not had any issue with the hubs. Agree on battery life, it is pretty weak so far. I've done multiple drains as well.
I'm pretty torn on the HD7 myself. On the one hand it's probably the best-looking handheld device I've ever owned. Hardware is just excellent and feels great in the hand. But the more I look at the screen the more I realize how poor it is. Colors are very washed out. My 1st gen iPod touch has better brightness, contrast and saturation than this screen. HTC could have done better here.
Would you say the battery last longer same or shorter then HD2?
I find the HD7 to be the best looking of all the WP7 phones yet released. I love the black chrome surround and the silver mesh inserts at each end of the front face. I also found ou t those mesh inserts conduct sound from the rear speaker. That is a plus, rather than just being there for looks.I love the high quality kickstand also. The HD7 combines all the best elements of the HD2 and Evo in a much prettier package.
My HD7 works flawlessly...signal and fit and finish as well. The screen is unblemished and the display is colorful and bright. I love the chrome buttons and I especially love the dual level camera button.
WP7 is, to me, the best mobile OS ever released. It is superbly smooth, uncluttered and efficient. It lacks features right now but, similar to the iPhone's lack of features, WP7 will evolve into the most successful mobile OS ever produced...my opinion.
Taking into consideration the nature of the system and how it will evolve, I give WP7 a 9 out of 10. I have experienced some minor bugs. Otherwise I would give it a 10/10
I love my hd7 to , real good build quality and O2 German version has 16 GB in it
I hate sound quality in HD7. There is absolute no bass if you use the included headphones or buildin speaker. As far as I know there is also no other headphones that have compatible control. Also the mic should be at the level of mouth or a little lower, but not at the chest level.
nesher said:
I hate sound quality in HD7. There is absolute no bass if you use the included headphones or buildin speaker. As far as I know there is also no other headphones that have compatible control. Also the mic should be at the level of mouth or a little lower, but not at the chest level.
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Yeah, the HD2 included head set also has the mouth piece way low, like they designed it for the indigenous people who stretch out their necks, never made sense to me on that one.
Nice thread, I will wait for more comments before I buy mine.
My HD7
Me and MY HD7 it's a love hate relationship I guess.
A bit of history:
I've owned the HD1 (****ing loved it), The HD2 (was an okay device) Now the HD7 (still testing it). I'm a smartphone FANATIC! I have devices ranging from the Nexus One, to the Blue Angel (favorite phone of all time), to the EVO, G1, MOTO Backflip, Touch Pro1 and 2, even the XDA Flame, and Palm Pre, you name it. So I don't really have a biased to any particular device.
The HD7:
The physical design is AMAZING (though I think it could use more metal on the back, but it still feels way better than the plastic clad EVO). The screen appears to be floating as it's not touching the upper and lower bezel. The kickstand is sturdy.
The camera button is hard to press on the second stage (not the focus stage), if you attempt to use one hand it will probably shake enough of ruin your shot (and I have big hands, I can palm a basket ball). two hand use should be fine
The camera flash is great. It does a good job with adjusting the brightness of the light.
The battery life is absolutely pathetic, worse than than any device I ever owned.
The Audio from the built in speaker is CRAP! Even with HTC sound enhancer. I'ts actually the worst sounding phone I every owned, but it's bearable.
The Audio pushed out through the headphones is AMAZING!
The vibrator. I know who ever's reading this is like WTF? But I've always hated the way the vibrator feels on HTC device. I think it's an important feature on devices nowadays especially with tactile feedback emulations. With that said: On my EVO it's horrible it makes an annoying noise and it only vibrates the lower portion of the phone. But the vibrator on this device is awesome. It feels really natural and vibrates the whole phone. Almost better than the one on the Samsung devices.
The LCD display is actually decent. I don't know what everyone complains about, the device would have cost nearly twice as much with a 4.3 inch SAMOLED like everyone wants, no one has a 4.3 inch AMOLED or SAMOLED so give it a rest people! The display could be brighter in my opinion though.
The sound quality for phone call is the best I had so far, but put it on speaker phone and it's the worst I've heard.
Pocket IE is very fast faster than the Android 2.2 default browser. But the render is kind of weird as they seem to not have have anti aliasing on text when completely zoomed out so it looks horrible sometimes. Over all the browser is good.
Windows 7 in a nutshell
I love it and hate it.
I love: the messaging app, the overall interface, the idea for hubs, the xbox live integration, the live tiles, the lock screen, the Email Hub (beautifu and extremely functional), the picture and video Hub (beautiful and functional) the entire OS is extremely responsive and cohesive.
I hate: Some hubs won't load (and requires a soft reset) less than 5% of the time, Some apps have the tendency to crash (more time than I'm comfortable with) bot 3rd party and built in apps, I hate that the video recorder will not retain settings.
And I ABSOLUTELY HATE when searching for apps you get music result as well; example: if you search in Market Place for "Notes" you'll get some applications like "Voice Notes" and "Light Notes" but you'll also have albums and play lists mixed in like "Notes from the Past" and "Best of the 70s - Play list" WTF!! at the very least they could have grouped them by type "Albums" "Applications" "Play List". Instead they mix them all up randomly so you'll have to search an entire list of music albums so you won't potentially miss a very good app all the way at the bottom. W T F !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I give the device a 7/10
-Frankie
MHO.
HD7 -> compared to other HTC devices -> significant de-evolution.
HD7 -> compared to other devices same class -> not possible.
WM7, "satisfactory" start with possibility to improve fast.
HD7, terrible hardware choice and cant improve anything.
4/10
K
Thanks Dotcomp for the poll ,now thread is sticky....guys be nice,i'll check this thread and i won't see any flame around and in case post and quotes with flame will be deleted.
Thanks all for cooperation.
I rate it a 4/10. Pretty much subpar. I think there is a distinct difference between a fresh new look and quality.
For someone who is new to and Microsoft mobile OS dating back to the Offline pocket Pc's like me then this OS looks half baked.
For someone new to the MS OS then this OS is great with it's flashy graphics and smooth transitions. However there are just too many things that the girst Pocket Pc phone Edition had out the door that this OS lacks. Yes! I'm sure they'll be rectified down the line.
Now I need to make it clear before all the flaming kicks in; I definitely believe in the OS and it's future. There's a lot to come down the line. Heck! Great apps are coming out all the time. i just found FIM in the marketplace this morning.
However; as the saying goes. Call a spade a spade. Windows Phone 7 compared to Windows Mobile 3 or 2 or just plain PPC is subpar.
PROS:
Solid design on the hardware side.
Like the classy look of the hardware
The OS is very polished
Software keyboard works well and the screen size helps.
OS is snappy for anything native.
touch sensitivity is best I have ever seen. Most responsive OS i have ever used.
ZUNE /media capabilities and netflix are all a welcome +
CONS:
Very slow 3rd party apps.
Have to be reloaded every time they launch and takes for ever to just
check simple information like facebook or twitter or local movie times
no multi-tasking is sometimes bothersome as well as the omission of cut/copy/paste
Horrible browser who's acid test is only 5/100
no flash ( not really a deal breaker but just thought i would throw it out their)
no many apps available yet and when they are i think they dont work as optimized/or efficient as they should. (yes i know its early still)
on the hardware side the camera has a pink hue when i use the flash rendering the flash useless basically
cheap shiny metal material which was already chipping and i had only used the handset a week.
All in all I think MS did a great job redirecting the failing division they had
now i believe its time they bring the browser up to speed while adding a lot of industry standard features they need to catch up on. Great inial release and starting point for their revolution. I didnt think they had it in them. By next fall I expect them to be on par with most on the industry in terms of missing features and I think WP& is a great alternative to anything out their while bringing a totally different experience to the market with its unique minimal look. I am a die hard android fanboy but would not mind sticking it out with a WP7 device when 3rd party apps function properly. with that being said I give MS an A-
I like the phone and Microsoft.... but it needs to work just as good if not better than the iPhone 3GS that I had. I like that I can change the battery that is definately better than iPhone. And the microSD card is better too but it needs to be accessible as well. Not behind a cover and 10 screws. I know that is really for system memory, but then there should be a seperate slot for another SD card. I still like to take pictures or create/save documents and take the card and transfer to another computer or phone. Where is that SIM Manager too?? You had it before but now it's not a feature. And please please make the volume much much higher. Even the "speaker phone" volume is way too low.
All in all this phone and OS has lot's of potential. I like the "cloud" concept but as it stands today, my previous iPhone beats this handset. Please HTC and Microsoft... don't make me go back to Apple.... please !
tagging
Hi all, I tell them that I decided to change my htc htc hd2 and then my desire for the new hd7, I love the speed with which I access the most important things in fast, but I feel some omissions such as: When you dial keypad Phone numerical prediction can not find the contacts, I have no possibility of a browser like igo gps, garmin, etc. And as already mentioned missing file browser. If anyone knows how to put the prediction of contacts or a good gps software please send an email to this fledgling community in windows phone 7.
poor battery life.
poor screen.
poor camera.
great OS just needs a few more features. And I know they are coming.
Come on HTC I know you have better cameras and screens,What were you thinking?
Why not have a higher capacity battery as well?
After two weeks Im going to return my phone. I cant really pinpoint one thing why I dont like it, but I miss using Android. I know Ive gotten beat up about this before but If you have a cell phone number listed in the home field of the contact, they arent searchable in "Messaging" . I understand how everyone feels about that but my argument is the person is listed in the contacts so the information is there, but it wont even display the persons name when searched. Fixable but "to me" annoying. I also dont like that the tiles on the home screen are basically all the same color. For me It makes glancing at the screen difficult to quickly search the tile Im looking for.
Battery life is terrible and makes the phone unusable for media if you are also relying on it all day long for other stuff.
Volume is way to low.
Not having LED notifications for SMS and Email is just insane. All day long I have to turn the phone on and off to see if I missed something. Just stupid.
Its beautiful and runs great but there just isnt a reason to switch to it if you have used any other modern smartphone.
Just my two cents.
The Marketplace really needs a dedicated app search area. As it is, you put in a search term for an app and it brings up music results as well. Sort of annoying searching for the Twitter app and having a bunch of mixtapes and singles mixed in with the apps.
Maybe it's there and I'm missing it?
manlisten said:
The Marketplace really needs a dedicated app search area. As it is, you put in a search term for an app and it brings up music results as well. Sort of annoying searching for the Twitter app and having a bunch of mixtapes and singles mixed in with the apps.
Maybe it's there and I'm missing it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find this EXTREMELY ANNOYING too!!!!!
One good thing I would like to add to the positives is the maps app. To me its the best Ive ever used.
So I read an article a while ago about how Google is really pushing for dev's to build more tablet optimized apps, I also read comments all over the place about how there's no good tablet apps etc..
I've only had my Nexus 7 for a month or so now but I haven't yet come across an app I use which isn't tablet optimized.. Falcon Pro for Twitter, Google+, Flipboard, Feedly to name a few..
I'm a dev and am looking to build my first tablet focused app but I don't want to clutter the market with needless imitations.. Am I missing something and there's an area you guys find particularly lacking or, was this issue just grossly over exagerated?
Totally over exaggerated... Android apps scale nicely to any screen size anyway, so devs don't really have to do much if they don't want to.
This seems to be something that iPad users try to use as an argument against Android.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
It's 90% Apple spin.
Android applications are designed to support many any aspect ratio, and a single APK can support lots of different layouts, either tablet/phone, or even S/M/L/XL with all the buisness logic in shared classes.
In the Apple world, you have to buy the application twice, once for tablet aspect ratio and once for phones, and even then it's fixed to certain aspect ratios and sizes (hence the black bars problem in many iPhone apps when run on the iphone5).
Apple's solution is clearly very week, and they are keen to beat up Android over the fragmentation myth and lack of tablet apps myth, when the reality is, THEY are the ones with all the scalability problems....
I'll second that.. granted, I'm only on a 7" Nexus 7, but I haven't noticed anything like I did when upscaling an iPhone app on my iPad.. My N7 apps all look good, bar none.
Here's an example: Facebook. That app, up until the latest update, was incredibly slow and terrible. Now they made it faster, but it sucks to use in landscape view. Friendcaster is also a poor substitute, all 3rd party Facebook apps have problems.
XDA doesn't scale well. In fact the "tablet" version is worse than the regular one.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda app-developers app
I just had to login to reply to this one.
CrazyPeter said:
In the Apple world, you have to buy the application twice, once for tablet aspect ratio and once for phones, and even then it's fixed to certain aspect ratios and sizes (hence the black bars problem in many iPhone apps when run on the iphone5).
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That is pretty much completely incorrect, the majority of iOS apps are universal but just like in the Android market there are apps that are for tablets only, that is completely up to the developer's discretion. iOS apps only have a fixed number of resolutions to handle and any quality, well maintained app will handle all the resolutions. Yes there is an issue or at least was with a lot of iPhone apps not supporting the iPhone 5's extra screen size but what do you expect them to do instead of the black bars until support is provided just scale/stretch the UI to fit?
Apple's solution is clearly very week, and they are keen to beat up Android over the fragmentation myth and lack of tablet apps myth, when the reality is, THEY are the ones with all the scalability problems....
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There is a shortage of tablet apps in the Android market, you can't deny it. There are some apps that look gorgeous on a tablet like Plume, the stock Google apps, baconReader & gReader Pro but there are a lot of apps that aren't tablet optimized that look like crap like all weather apps for example.
I do love my Nexus 7 but I have found there to be a shortage of quality tablet apps, I've looked all through the market and only a small number of apps are good enough for me to keep installed where on my iPad I have a ridiculous number of apps that all look gorgeous and fully support the tablet interface with the only app that doesn't being Speedtest.net.
What exactly are you thinking "tablet optimized" means? There's no argument that apps designed for phones will scale up and fill the nexus7's screen without blurring and pixelation. What I think it being optimized for a tablet means is a new layout to better use the available screen space. I suppose in many cases, this would be just including an extra pane in the app that helps to navigate or provide buttons for common functions.
Android was never the place to go when it comes to "High Quality Apps"
Its clear that Apple has that down pact all the way. That also explains why games operate and look so much better on the iOS side of the world.
Im not a troll or against Android in any way. But its clear as day. Im currently on the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 and although there are a good handful of quality games and apps, theres no where near the number of high quality games on iOS.
The game department and "Quality" department is an area that Google could step up on. BUT, with Android on so many different devices made by so many different companies with so many screen size / resolutions / CPU and GPU SOCs. The quality will never be up there with iOS since those apps are geared twords about 4 different phone "iphone 3 - 3s - 4 - 4s - 5 and the small number of tablets ipad 1 - 2 - 3 - mini ect....
Android is much better at scaling apps for different sizes/resolutions than iOS. iOS has alot more apps that aren't optimised for the retina display. When it comes to the quality of the app though.....iOS is only 1 device whereas android has too much fragmentation.
There are exceptions obviously....i'm not a big fan of the twitter and youtube apps the way they are on the tablet now. Youtube was better with it's 3d carousel than the stretched phone app. Twitter is just twitter, they don't want too much hassle for so many devices.
ace9988 said:
Android is much better at scaling apps for different sizes/resolutions than iOS. iOS has alot more apps that aren't optimised for the retina display. When it comes to the quality of the app though.....iOS is only 1 device whereas android has too much fragmentation.
There are exceptions obviously....i'm not a big fan of the twitter and youtube apps the way they are on the tablet now. Youtube was better with it's 3d carousel than the stretched phone app. Twitter is just twitter, they don't want too much hassle for so many devices.
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Click to collapse
Couldnt have said it any better!!!!
".iOS is only 1 device whereas android has too much fragmentation."
I like my Nexus 7, but when the funds come available Im try to pick up a iPad or IPMini.
Wow lots of great replies so it seems it was highly exaggerated.. I think tho based on the comments maybe instead of tablet optimized I just meant tablet apps in comparison to the ipad.. I've never used one for any period of time so I couldn't determine what's missing or we don't have.. Someone mentioned a weather app.. Also I agree the xda app is really wasted on a Nexus 7..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
I don't think there's much need in tablet-specific (a.k.a. HD) apps since most of the normal apps still look good and are pretty much usable on the tablet. Best example would be XDA app - the regular version still looks and works nice on N7, same as phone - just stretched out on the full screen and there's no pixelization unlike like iPhone apps on iPad
In case of iOS there are universal apps that are optmized for both iPhone and iPad displays + you only have to pay for the app once on one device and then just install it on the other one (kinda like Cross-Buy with PS3 and PSVita), but if an app is NOT universal - then you'll have troubles with awfully pixelized app on the iPad or you'll have to use the app strictly on one device, this is especially sad when "HD" version has some unique features that a regular one does not
So the so-called problem actually doesn't exist on Android but it does on iOS
At least I haven't seen a single app that would look wrong or pixelized or whatever on a tablet compared to how it would on a phone
It is definitly highly exaggerated. Granted. There are veryyyyyy few that actually aren't. Only one I've noticed so far is glass tower 3+
Sent from my MB612 using xda app-developers app
not exaggerated,
but I feel like at this point, there should be more tablet optimized/designed apps. the iOS store has wayyyyy more tablet optimized apps.
A lot of android developers just scale up the phone app and don't utilize basic UI philosophy to make the app more tablet friendly. oh well who cares? the N7 is still great.
Clearly there is a lack of understanding what "tablet optimized" even means. Those who say things like "iOS store has wayyyyy more tablet optimized apps" is implying that for an app to be tablet optimized it needs to be coded to work ONLY on tablets or some other such nonsense (maybe it needs to merely say "Tablet version" in the title?) The whole concept of "tablet optimization" is different...COMPLETELY different between iOS and Android.
As a few pointed out and many still don't seem to get, Android *can be* coded to work with multiple screen formats. From as small as a 320x200 craptastic whatever device to resolutions higher than the "retina" display (eg. Nexus 10) and look PERFECT in every resolution. How scalable and "optimized" the app is to the tablet world is up to the developer. Most apps I use work just fine on my Galaxy Nexus as they do on my Nexus 7 as they did on my Evo 3D before that. By "just fine" I mean they looked nice, responded correctly, and seemed pretty F-ing "optimized" to me.
I've never understood why this is SOOOO hard for people to get? Crack open pretty much any beginning Android programming book and go to the part that talks about UI development and you will see exactly what I'm talking about. It's not a hard concept to get.
Perhaps it's just easy to ***** about a lack of tablet optimized apps though... I would say ignorance is bliss...but seriously, ignorance is ignorance. Do some research!
I've tried around ~100 apps and games now from the play store and I can't think of any that stood out as being poorly fitted to the screen etc. Personally I think it's a non issue.
ETA: also Paranoid Android rom helps the formatting too IMHO.
Well... Yelp is one. Trip Advisor is another. So is eBay, Amazon, and countless others here. All are just big screened versions of a phone app, where there are simple lists of monolithic screens, requiring the same "back and forth" navigation that is required for a 3 or 4 inch screen.
You may not have a problem with this type of interface, but it is decidedly NOT tablet optimized.
Solutions Etcetera said:
Well... Yelp is one. Trip Advisor is another. So is eBay, Amazon, and countless others here. All are just big screened versions of a phone app, where there are simple lists of monolithic screens, requiring the same "back and forth" navigation that is required for a 3 or 4 inch screen.
You may not have a problem with this type of interface, but it is decidedly NOT tablet optimized.
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Click to collapse
I have to say both Amazon and EBay look great.
Maybe you would want a different format - but I can see nothing to improve.
I do use these apps in portrait mode (one-handed tablet holder here) - and they are not just scaled up from my phone version.
They fill the screen perfectly - no side-to-side scrolling.
In regards to apps you think the play store is lacking in for tablets, I think we could use a dedicated tablet music player so far the best I've seen is Select! Music Player, but it would really be nice to have a player in HD, with themes, and a built in equalizer.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
EBay and Amazon desktop websites work just fine on the Nexus 7. Optimizing online shopping sites for tablets as apps simply seems like a waste of effort to me.
Everything else I have used is perfectly scaled.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Ok,so I am thinking about getting a WP8 device,and I mean on htc 8s.It looks like a nice device,for a nice price,but I need to know something about WP8.Yeah forgot to mention that I am currently an Android user,owning a Sony Xperia S,but honestly not impressed,not impressed at all.So I need someone who maybe knows how is it to transfer from Android to WP,what are main advantages and disadvantages od WP,maybe someone,who could compare it with Android,could be useful.Anyway,please give me your opinions,thanks in advance
Android does have a larger app base, and is a little more customizable. With android you can run a custom ROM, not so on WP. But I think that WP owns Android in all other areas, and this is coming from an Android ROM developer. Windows Phone 8 is amazing, has some awesome features in Messaging, and live tiles ROCK! The app base will come, and with that I honestly believe that WP has a chance to take over the marketplace.
What are some specifics you're looking for?
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Board Express
I would suggest to avoid HTC 8s in any case. The reason is only 4 gigs of phone memory. Yeah, it has an SD card, but the management of it in WP is not so good. U can use it only to storage pics and videos from the camera. When WP installed, u have around 1.5 GB free on the phone, which isn't wnough 4 anything.
If u need navigation, wan't to have a decent music collection on ur phone, and want to have some apps and games, u need a phone with at least 16 GB.
You can store Music on the SD Card as well if it's in the form of regular Music files. All App data (and that includes Music downloaded through Spotify, etc.) will reside in the internal Memory.
That being said: I still believe the others are correct in that the 4GB of Memory are a big Problem with the 8S. There is a reason why even the cheapest Nokia Lumia device (the just anounce Lumia 520) has 8GB of storage.
StevieBallz said:
You can store Music on the SD Card as well if it's in the form of regular Music files. All App data (and that includes Music downloaded through Spotify, etc.) will reside in the internal Memory.
That being said: I still believe the others are correct in that the 4GB of Memory are a big Problem with the 8S. There is a reason why even the cheapest Nokia Lumia device (the just anounce Lumia 520) has 8GB of storage.
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Click to collapse
So you guys are saying that i can't store music on sd Card?If so i don't want htc I want something with a memory,I mean I already have the 16 gb sd Card if that can't help than nothing from htc....
As I said already: it depends on the source of the Music. If it's Spotify or something similar the SD-Card won't help you. If it's MP3s you're copying from your PC you can use the SD Card for that.
Also worth mentioning is that the 8S has only 512 MB of RAM which limit`s running some games like Asphalt 7.Too bad for such a new phone.
I would avoid any HTC Windows phone, Nokia is the only company investing time and money into the WP8 ecosystem and you will really not enjoy your experience without their exclusives.
If you use your phone for work I would stick to an android phone, my lumia 920 is basically pointless for me to use for anything work related. PDF management is poor and often times sending a pdf is impossible. Also, if you need to digitally sign emails or use VPN's those features don't exist in Windows phone.
On a personal use level there are pros and cons to Windows phone, the OS is beautiful, people like it and when I hand my phone to friends or family they really are impressed with the overall look and feel of the home screen. The camera on my 920 is great, people had some complaints initially but it truly is the best camera available in a modern smartphone. The video recording is amazing as well and really lets the OIS shine.
This is all great except there are some huge flaws in the OS as well, with the greatest camera comes the omission of the worlds largest image based social network (yeah instagram). People will tell you that it's fine because you can apply filters with creative studio (which works fine) but instagram is no about filters, it's about users.
There is also no native or third party way to edit videos, which again seems to be a big shortcoming on a device with such an amazing camera.
There are other things in the OS that are bothersome, you can't set a custom toe for notifications (only the ringer). A lot of people want separate volume controls for media ringer and calls but this doesn't seem like a big deal to me.
There is just a lot to be desired out of the OS functionally and I think the biggest issue is that the API's available to devs are restrictive and MS isn't really concerned with improving the experience. If i had it to do again I would have bought a note 2 instead of my lumia simply because the camera isn't good enough to justify the shortcomings of the OS and how great is a primo camera when nobody sees your photos.
tonyeltigre said:
I would avoid any HTC Windows phone, Nokia is the only company investing time and money into the WP8 ecosystem and you will really not enjoy your experience without their exclusives.
If you use your phone for work I would stick to an android phone, my lumia 920 is basically pointless for me to use for anything work related. PDF management is poor and often times sending a pdf is impossible. Also, if you need to digitally sign emails or use VPN's those features don't exist in Windows phone.
On a personal use level there are pros and cons to Windows phone, the OS is beautiful, people like it and when I hand my phone to friends or family they really are impressed with the overall look and feel of the home screen. The camera on my 920 is great, people had some complaints initially but it truly is the best camera available in a modern smartphone. The video recording is amazing as well and really lets the OIS shine.
This is all great except there are some huge flaws in the OS as well, with the greatest camera comes the omission of the worlds largest image based social network (yeah instagram). People will tell you that it's fine because you can apply filters with creative studio (which works fine) but instagram is no about filters, it's about users.
There is also no native or third party way to edit videos, which again seems to be a big shortcoming on a device with such an amazing camera.
There are other things in the OS that are bothersome, you can't set a custom toe for notifications (only the ringer). A lot of people want separate volume controls for media ringer and calls but this doesn't seem like a big deal to me.
There is just a lot to be desired out of the OS functionally and I think the biggest issue is that the API's available to devs are restrictive and MS isn't really concerned with improving the experience. If i had it to do again I would have bought a note 2 instead of my lumia simply because the camera isn't good enough to justify the shortcomings of the OS and how great is a primo camera when nobody sees your photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here got the L920 and i hate it. Can´t use it for the work and the OS is nothing special like i thought. So i recommend you to swap to BB or stick by android.
If u are living in Germany, i am selling my Lumia 920 .
Hello everyone,
I come to your forum with several questions regarding my work phone, which is due to an upgrade in a few weeks...
So, a little background...I adopted Android from it's release and am savvy to smartphones and their operating systems. Nonetheless I have always used a Blackberry for work purposes, due mainly to exceedingly good battery life and call quality.
I would appreciate your feedback on WP and it's handsets specifically.
e.g.
Is the call quality on WP generally very good, or does it depend upon the handset?
If I were to adopt WP, is Lumia the way to go?
What is the difference between a Lumia 920, 925 and 1020? (They seem very similar!)
Does WP offer apps which equate to:
-Google Maps
-Google Search
-Chrome
-LinkedIn
How is the WP OS on maximising battery life?
The company uses Office 365 which I know integrates excellently with WP, hence the interest. So I doubt there would be any issues with contacts, mail, calendar or reading/editing Office documents?
Can WP handle zips and PDFs too?
What other apps are great for business use on WP?
Most important of all, how is the keyboard? My Blackberry Curve 9320 is exceptional for e-mails, and likewise Android with SwiftKey is brilliant.
Can you install another keyboard?
Are there any recommended high quality slim black leather cases for the Lumia range to protect the screen? I like book flip cases mainly.
Which UK newspapers/business magazines (Economist? Telegraph?) have official WP apps?
I'm sure I have more questions...but I'll leave it there.
I appreciate any and all help from the community.
Hey bertles86, welcome on board! I have just switched to Lumia 925 from Blackberry Bold 9900, same reason as yours and it's a company mobile...
Regarding your concern...
* Call quality, it's Nokia made. So aside from OS which shouldn't has any affection to its state of the art technology.... but I guess it depends on handset.
* Lumia would be your only choice for sure, especially after MS bought over.
* 920 & 925, same CPU & ram (1G), 920 with 32GB, 925 with 16GB, and 920 is NFC ready, 925 needs an extra cover for it. OS is slightly updater which fixed some bugs from 920. And weights a whole lot different! 1020, same CPU with 2G ram, and 41MP camera.
* Apps
-Here Maps (best maps app other than Google Maps)
-Google Search, has WP version
-Unfortunately, only has IE...
-Linkedin, has WP version
* battery life is awesome, I have been using it for past 2 weeks with heavy daily usage, no problem at all
* No problem
* Can handle both ZIP & PDF
* Nothing much...
* Keyboard is not bad, but can't compare to any BB at all...
Hope it helps...
Sent from my LG-E988 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
903idcop said:
Hey bertles86, welcome on board! I have just switched to Lumia 925 from Blackberry Bold 9900, same reason as yours and it's a company mobile...
Regarding your concern...
* Call quality, it's Nokia made. So aside from OS which shouldn't has any affection to its state of the art technology.... but I guess it depends on handset.
* Lumia would be your only choice for sure, especially after MS bought over.
* 920 & 925, same CPU & ram (1G), 920 with 32GB, 925 with 16GB, and 920 is NFC ready, 925 needs an extra cover for it. OS is slightly updater which fixed some bugs from 920. And weights a whole lot different! 1020, same CPU with 2G ram, and 41MP camera.
* Apps
-Here Maps (best maps app other than Google Maps)
-Google Search, has WP version
-Unfortunately, only has IE...
-Linkedin, has WP version
* battery life is awesome, I have been using it for past 2 weeks with heavy daily usage, no problem at all
* No problem
* Can handle both ZIP & PDF
* Nothing much...
* Keyboard is not bad, but can't compare to any BB at all...
Hope it helps...
Sent from my LG-E988 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great thanks soo much! I think I'll consider the Lumia 925 then!
Maxthon has released its browser for Windows Phone and besides UC Browser and several other ones you have alternative to Internet Explorer
903idcop said:
* 920 & 925, same CPU & ram (1G), 920 with 32GB, 925 with 16GB, and 920 is NFC ready, 925 needs an extra cover for it. OS is slightly updater which fixed some bugs from 920. And weights a whole lot different! 1020, same CPU with 2G ram, and 41MP camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both the 920 and 925 are NFC ready out of the box, the only thing the 925 needs a special cover for, and doesn't have it integrated like the 920 is the Qi Wireless Charging. The 920 weighs 185 g (6.53 oz), meanwhile the 925 weighs 139 g (4.90 oz). The 920 sports an IPS LCD display, while the 925 has an AMOLED display (way better in sunlight and has darker blacks). The 920 is older and has a matte plastic finish, the 925 looks and feels more premium with it's metal casing on the side.
Hope this helped
unfortunately you can't install any custom keyboard layout for now, since MS does't support that. i hope they will bring it in 8.1 update next year. and don't hope amazing swiftkey will be landed in WP this year.
i don't know here maps service in your country. but in my country, google maps has better detail than here maps.
battery life is good compared to android in my opinion.
bertles86 said:
Hello everyone,
I come to your forum with several questions regarding my work phone, which is due to an upgrade in a few weeks...
So, a little background...I adopted Android from it's release and am savvy to smartphones and their operating systems. Nonetheless I have always used a Blackberry for work purposes, due mainly to exceedingly good battery life and call quality.
I would appreciate your feedback on WP and it's handsets specifically.
e.g.
Is the call quality on WP generally very good, or does it depend upon the handset?
If I were to adopt WP, is Lumia the way to go?
What is the difference between a Lumia 920, 925 and 1020? (They seem very similar!)
Does WP offer apps which equate to:
-Google Maps
-Google Search
-Chrome
-LinkedIn
How is the WP OS on maximising battery life?
The company uses Office 365 which I know integrates excellently with WP, hence the interest. So I doubt there would be any issues with contacts, mail, calendar or reading/editing Office documents?
Can WP handle zips and PDFs too?
What other apps are great for business use on WP?
Most important of all, how is the keyboard? My Blackberry Curve 9320 is exceptional for e-mails, and likewise Android with SwiftKey is brilliant.
Can you install another keyboard?
Are there any recommended high quality slim black leather cases for the Lumia range to protect the screen? I like book flip cases mainly.
Which UK newspapers/business magazines (Economist? Telegraph?) have official WP apps?
I'm sure I have more questions...but I'll leave it there.
I appreciate any and all help from the community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know where you live, but the 928 is a great device on Verizon.
callquality-awesome, I've had planes fly over and a person incall not hear it at all.
Phone choice- ...
Not much to say here. Nokia makes physically the best phone to hold and use. HTC manufactures them to have their foot in the door with MS. The same could be
said
Sent from my RM-860 using Tapatalk
Also, enterprise-wise, Microsoft will release Enterprise Feature Pack for Windows Phone:
Link
But it is the Enterprise Feature Pack that has me more interested. This update is due in the first half of 2014 and will add the following features to Windows Phone 8:
S/MIME to sign and encrypt email
Access to corporate resources behind the firewall with app aware, auto-triggered VPN
Enterprise Wi-Fi support with EAP-TLS
Enhanced MDM policies to lock down functionality on the phone for more enterprise control, in addition to richer application management such as allowing or denying installation of certain apps
Certificate management to enroll, update, and revoke certificates for user authentication
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is some more detail from my perspective:
Is the call quality on WP generally very good, or does it depend upon the handset?
The phone OS doesn’t have much affect on call quality – that depends mainly on your network, the handset, and your location. That being said, Nokia has a reputation for excellent phone radios and that is carried out in their top Lumias. The budget Lumias (520, 620) don’t come up to that standard, but after all, they are low-cost alternatives. HTC’s main entry, the 8X also has a reputation for excellent call quality.
If I were to adopt WP, is Lumia the way to go?
Nokia is the dominant player, almost by default. HTC has one good Windows Phone (8X) that came out a year ago. There is a Samsung phone as well.
What is the difference between a Lumia 920, 925 and 1020? (They seem very similar!)
They are all very similar with usually one differentiator that sets each apart.
920 – Last year’s top-of-the-line; it’s a great phone with a terrific camera – optical image stabilization is built in for better low-light shooting. However it is quite thick and heavy. On the other hand, since it is a year old it can be found at half its original price which makes it a good value.
925 – This year’s update to the 920. It’s the same phone for all practical purposes BUT it’s much thinner and lighter (which was the biggest complaint against the 920).
1020 – This is like taking the 925 and adding in the most awesome camera ever put into a phone (41 megapixels). It adds a little bulk, (but it’s still much less mass than the 920). If the camera component is important to you, then this should be on your list. If not, the camera on the 920 or 925 is already many times better than what you are already using, so save some money or weight and forgo the 1020.
Apps
Maps - Nokia’s HERE maps and HERE Drive (navigation) are terrific and free.
Search – Bing, of course. Also Google Search is available in the Windows Phone Store.
Browser – Internet Explorer works very well. Up until recently it was also your only choice. Now there are others like UC Browser and Nokia’s Express (server cached) browser.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn (That was easy.)
How is the WP OS on maximizing battery life?
As a whole, WP does well on battery life because it keeps the hardware down to a minimum. So you aren’t running a Ferrari when all you need is a Mini, so to speak. However it also comes down to the specific handset and apps.
Business Software
Excellent implementations of Office Web Applications, Lync 2013, Yammer, Skydrive Pro, OneNote, and Skype.
Can WP handle zips and PDFs too?
I don’t know about archives, but Adobe Reader is usually the first app I install on a phone.
Most important of all, how is the keyboard?
You realize that this will be a big jump from a BB 9320 – there hasn’t been a Windows Phone with a physical keyboard since the Dell Venue Pro in 2011. As for the virtual keyboard – there are no choices other than the built in keyboard. Most find it very responsive and easy to type on. However, it does have its faults. There is no way to type numbers or symbols from the main keyboard; you must toggle to the secondary numeric keyboard.
Are there any recommended high quality slim black leather cases for the Lumia range to protect the screen? I like book flip cases mainly.
There are many for the upper-range Nokia phones – at all price ranges. There is less selection in nice leather cases for the budget phones.
Which UK newspapers/business magazines (Economist? Telegraph?) have official WP apps?
You can go to the Windows Phone store on the web and look around:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/store
If you have serious business contacts and data and want to sync with a pc there is no active sync. You have to upload all personal data to the microsoft cloud first, i find this outragious.
k33 said:
If you have serious business contacts and data and want to sync with a pc there is no active sync. You have to upload all personal data to the microsoft cloud first, i find this outragious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
'Serious business contacts' locked down to 1 PC?
I think it's better to have multiple copies of important contacts. =)
And yes, in terms of protocol, ActiveSync is supported.
Yuriy.Samorodov said:
'Serious business contacts' locked down to 1 PC...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most businesses abandoned PC sync 15 years ago. Syncing contacts, calendar, and email between an Exchange server and a mobile device over the air gave every mobile device Blackberry-like powers.
Cloud sync brought that same ease-of-use to consumers, whether they use Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo (to name a few). You have specific reasons to hang on to the 1990's computer sync method. But most business and consumer users today couldn't imagine why they should have to run a separate program on their computer just to keep their contacts, etc., up-to-date.
I wanted to give WP a try but they still don't support enterprise wifi with EAP-TLS support. This means no one can log into the work wifi network. Massive fail!
This is 2+ years after they knew about it:
http://windowsphone.uservoice.com/forums/101801-feature-suggestions/suggestions/2281269
1+ years since they gave the completely useless and non-committal "at some point" response:
http://www.wpcentral.com/wi-fi-eap-tls-support-coming-windows-phone-some-point
And still potentially 7 months before we finally see it (not barring delays):
http://blogs.windows.com/windows_ph...spx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
I mean seriously? Enterprise wifi is not a feature, its a bare bones core requirement that iOS and android have had since day 1.
And they want business users to switch to them and take them seriously...yeah right.
Some enterprise WiFi encryption/authentication is already supported, and I'm skeptical of your claim that both iOS and Android shipped with full support from day one, but I agree that EAP-TLS specifically is overdue. We shall see how long it takes them... at least once it's done, it should be possible to get it quickly.
GoodDayToDie said:
Some enterprise WiFi encryption/authentication is already supported, and I'm skeptical of your claim that both iOS and Android shipped with full support from day one, but I agree that EAP-TLS specifically is overdue. We shall see how long it takes them... at least once it's done, it should be possible to get it quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been on android since HTC dream so that's about 3 years and yes it worked back then...
Their attitude towards adding this core requirement is just horrendous - they expected people to just wait for 3 years while they fixed it?
Just like how they will fix the volume coupling? I always laugh at the poor Windows phone users listening to music in the library and their phone starts ringing and vibrating like mad cos they didn't have the option of separate music and system volume controls.
I'm sorry but it's just so hard to take wp seriously when so many basic fundamental flaws are ignored and the poor users are expected to just deal with it.
Sent from my Sony Xperia Z Ultra C6833
liqn7 said:
I've been on android since HTC dream so that's about 3 years and yes it worked back then...
Their attitude towards adding this core requirement is just horrendous - they expected people to just wait for 3 years while they fixed it?
Just like how they will fix the volume coupling? I always laugh at the poor Windows phone users listening to music in the library and their phone starts ringing and vibrating like mad cos they didn't have the option of separate music and system volume controls.
I'm sorry but it's just so hard to take wp seriously when so many basic fundamental flaws are ignored and the poor users are expected to just deal with it.
Sent from my Sony Xperia Z Ultra C6833
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not wanting to nit pick but you are saying you can hear it ringing in a library when someone is also listening to music on it?
Either you have super good hearing or the library rules are different to any other ive been in. The phone rings at the same volume as the music so if you didn't have ear phones in, it would be no worse than music on, if you did have some ear phones on then you wouldn't know any difference... vibrate can be turned off.
Yes it might be useful to have, but in all the years have had a WP device now, it doesn't cross my mind at all its not there...
just saying
Do not buy Nokia Lumia 920 and you will be fine
one-option said:
Do not buy Nokia Lumia 920 and you will be fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why is that?
My 920 has been working great, did you unluckily get a defective model at some point?
I'd like to turn my Shield into a music production tool. I love Sony's Acid Pro PC software and am having trouble finding a similar app for Android. Does one even exist?
Kind of depends on how powerful of a media processor you want. I personally use DJ Mix Pads. Some other good ones are Loop Pads, and Drum Pads.
If you don't mind spending $20 CAD FL Studio Mobile is pretty good. I have personally used the desktop version and it is awesome!
FL is probably the closest you will find.
Edit: URL for FL Studio http://www.image-line.com/flstudiomobile/android.php/
There is One extremely good app for music composition on Android :
CAUSTIC 3
It works perfectly on the Shield Tablet, and there is no latency (set the latency at lowest and the audio driver at Opensl ES)
Caustic 3. Really powerful, regular updates and no commercial rip off to get the next version (I bought Caustic 1 and have had 2 and 3 via updates). The tool is very well priced for the type of app (a lot cheaper than fruity loops) and there is a wealth of instructional videos on youtube as well as vibrant community on their forums.
Thanks!
All of this information has been amazing. I've downloaded them all and while FL Studio is exactly what I was looking for (and more!) I've also gotten the other suggestions and they have expanded my production abilities ten fold. I love this community :victory: