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Several months have flown, I see yet no progress,
Android remains elusive, whilst I remain depressed.
Several threads and comments, yet nothing to download,
Will Android ever surface? will it ever blah, blah....
Frankly, I am getting bored of trying a multitude of cooked ROMs from various Kitchens - the taste is becoming singular. What I need is fire in my curry, what I need is Android - fully functional, fully useable, not half baked, fully caked. Give to me Android!
Please vote, do you think any Android version, in it's fully usable state, will ever make it onto the HTC HD?
Also, If you could give some good reason(s) for your choice, it would be most uplifting/depressing.
trade your HD for a hero!
bcrisp82 said:
trade your HD for a hero!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lack of money means I can't escape my HTC HD.
Human greed makes me want something better. Android.
Well i am not sure that Android is really something better. Yeah it is open source and it would be cute to play with it, but how much people here can code? There is some stupid hype around Android i cant really understand but i KNOW I have bought touch HD becoase of windows mobile.
i doubt it, well not any time soon anyway, a Touch HD replacement will be out there before that happens and to be honest, im not at all sure why people think its so good, none of the apps i need work on it and there are no alternatives. i think thats the only major draw back, since in most other respects it "just works ok" which intrestingly enough is my opinion of Windows Mobile, "it just works" but that works with a lot more and that is why it has my vote.
Reasons WM might still be better.
It will be years untill Android application development will get to where WM appz are.
There are so few mobiles with Android, that developers are not even attracted to create appz for a considerably smaller amount of people.
It might have a cleaner core and better resource management but we don't even know that as a fact. And even that won't count that much. Compare pc linux with windows, even though linux is a lot better at multitasking and stability, people don't use it in their home because it lacks in diversity of applications.
My oppinion: useless Thread.....
If you doubt that the two running projects can finish it learn c++ and help them coding.
Yep another useless noob thread!
Tend to agree with shruff, no need to post your frustation upon everyone else. Instead, why not assist or help getting Android onto the HD, wouldn't this be better?
Thread closed
Hi guys, I currently own a G2 (That I love) and you can see my device history in my sig, which clearly states that I'm an android fan.
However, I always love to try new things, and I'm really liking the simplicity of WP7 as well as the Zune music player.
So I was thinking, the HD7 is damn cheap on eBay right now, why not get one?
Please leave below why I should or should not get an HD7 to use along side my G2 (not at the same time of course).
Thanks!
(this thread is meant to be a reference for future buyers as well, so be critical!)
I am a Android user since the G1 as well. Since 2008: G1, MT3G, iPhone, HD2, Nexus One, HD2 (again) running Android, BB9700, Vibrant, MT4G now a HD7. So you can see we have similar experience.
That being said the HD7 is far better than any Android in the refinement/smoothness/response of the OS. As soon as you leave the native OS however that goes away. I have not found one app from the market that performs like the rest of the phone does. The market apps are slow, gittery and at this point not the most rewarding experience.
I am confident issues like these will improve with time; I am sure you remember looking at a black screen on the G1 alot of the time.
WP7 is a breeze to use and I actually like it. The keyboard is the best I have used period. WP7 is missing alot of key features but for a brand new OS that has been out only a couple months it is pretty good, much better than Android was in Oct 2008, remember waiting for "Cupcake"?
WP7 is due for a couple updates in the first half of 2011, I anticipate some major improvements if Microsoft plans of capturing market share.
So to answer your question should you get one? I would, thats exactly what I did. The Zune integration is great and if you like games XBOX is all over this phone. WP7 is Microsoft's iOS, it has its own eco system which makes for a nice experience.
i really really want to buy hd7 but i really really want atleast the ability to transfer photos by bluetooth... rest of the cons can be neglected as far as i am concerned. but i will wait for new devices and updates to the software. currently it can be said that hd7 is not the very best of the lot. its better to wait. rest depends from person to person
Love my HD7 too. Though I must admit I also miss my HD2
Looks pretty positive. Polar opposites of what the reviewers said.
I think WP7 has potential. I remember on the G1 how ridiculously awful every application was.
It will be great with an update.
I have been with t mobile for years. I have used a iphone, a g1, nexus one, hd2, and now on the hd7. I miss some things like, copy and paste, custom ringtones, and tethering, but I like the user interface better than anything I have used so far. I think an update, which is rumored to be hitting next month (1/11), would hopefully bring some of these things to the software and that will really make this phone tops in its class.
hiddengopher said:
Hi guys, I currently own a G2 (That I love) and you can see my device history in my sig, which clearly states that I'm an android fan.
However, I always love to try new things, and I'm really liking the simplicity of WP7 as well as the Zune music player.
So I was thinking, the HD7 is damn cheap on eBay right now, why not get one?
Please leave below why I should or should not get an HD7 to use along side my G2 (not at the same time of course).
Thanks!
(this thread is meant to be a reference for future buyers as well, so be critical!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really like the phone. The OS makes it feel like an "adult" phone to me. I am coming from an iPhone 4 and Samsung Vibrant. I also like the aesthetics of the phone as well, although I am trying to see if I could ever get a peek at the Dell Venue Pro in person...
The only things I am missing are: Wifi calling and tethering.
Annoyances are: lack of skype, lack of twitter integration in the People hub, and inability to sync multiple Google Calendars.
However, I am more than happy to work around those things and I am enjoying the phone immensely. I am getting poor battery life, but I think that's because it's fresh eye candy and I'm playing with the phone alot.
Also, the Zune Pass saved me from buying two trashy albums already!!!
anyjah said:
I really like the phone. The OS makes it feel like an "adult" phone to me. I am coming from an iPhone 4 and Samsung Vibrant. I also like the aesthetics of the phone as well, although I am trying to see if I could ever get a peek at the Dell Venue Pro in person...
The only things I am missing are: Wifi calling and tethering.
Annoyances are: lack of skype, lack of twitter integration in the People hub, and inability to sync multiple Google Calendars.
However, I am more than happy to work around those things and I am enjoying the phone immensely. I am getting poor battery life, but I think that's because it's fresh eye candy and I'm playing with the phone alot.
Also, the Zune Pass saved me from buying two trashy albums already!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, sounds awesome, as I don't use those things.
The Venue Pro is a POS by the way. I used one at my Microsoft store and it was just terrible. It really felt like plastic. I'm sure you know what I mean if you're coming from a vibrant.
The hinge was pretty bad too. And the keyboard wasn't very nice. Plus, it looks awkward as hell.
Similar thread with poll already exist
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9353155&postcount=1
I really like my hd7 and windows phone 7 because it fits my needs and daily usage. I mean yeah, it lacks a few things such as copy and paste, tethering and multitasking but what a lot of people don't understand that this a fresh, brand new operating system still in its infancy and with Microsoft's big updates coming next month and etc, I think that wp7 will give Android and IOS a run for its money. As for my personal opinion, my hd7 is fast and I can't wait for the upcoming update. Plus everything works out of the box. The email syncing is great, Facebook integration is amazing and the marketplace is really evolving. I have all the apps I really need and they were free.
The hd7 itself feels really sturdy and has a great build quality to it. I don't really care for the camera because I have my canon 5d mark II for that.
hiddengopher said:
Wow, sounds awesome, as I don't use those things.
The Venue Pro is a POS by the way. I used one at my Microsoft store and it was just terrible. It really felt like plastic. I'm sure you know what I mean if you're coming from a vibrant.
The hinge was pretty bad too. And the keyboard wasn't very nice. Plus, it looks awkward as hell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*lol* Thanks for the input... I've read differently in the reviews, but if it's anything close to the Vibrant, you're right, I want NO part of it... The RAM controversy with it is driving me away also... so we'll see.....
alesscam said:
Similar thread with poll already exist
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9353155&postcount=1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not similar at all. sorry.
i think the phone is worth it. I prefer it to android and ios simply because it is more visually elegant. the one thing that i really appreciate is the integration. All i did was log into gmail, facebook and live and the phone combined all my contacts correctly. there were a dozen names i had to manually set but that was due to them appearing as different contacts (i.e. different names and details).
There are a lot missing but what is there is delightful.
3rd party apps are hit and miss. Alot are not as elegant but some, like nyt app, are really elegant. my initial fear that most developers would not understand the design convention and principles seem to have been true; so far. Metro UI/design is much more abstract than the android/ios designs; which tend to be much more literal.
If you are into taking pictures with your phone, this phone is not the phone for you. If you can deal with blurry pictures it is a great phone
I miss Android only for it's amount of apps but this phone is the best to me on tmobile
What it lacks in functionality it makes up twice as more in User experience
and once it's functionality is onpar with Android, it will be even better
HTC HD7
hey guys just placed my order for it.. should be in my hands in a couple of days.. really excited cos its my first windows phone rather than the a wp7 for that matter. i have been using a galaxy s from the past 4 months and got fed up of delayed updates.. and the whole fragmented system.. The metro UI although new looks more mature and more like one piece. Was actually waiting for a UI overhaul in Gingerbread but seems like that will appear in honeycomb.. but that still is no match fr WP7.. Btw i know this is a bit off topic but have any off you guys have any problems with the touch sensitivity of the screen of the HD7?
spankyu said:
hey guys just placed my order for it.. should be in my hands in a couple of days.. really excited cos its my first windows phone rather than the a wp7 for that matter. i have been using a galaxy s from the past 4 months and got fed up of delayed updates.. and the whole fragmented system.. The metro UI although new looks more mature and more like one piece. Was actually waiting for a UI overhaul in Gingerbread but seems like that will appear in honeycomb.. but that still is no match fr WP7.. Btw i know this is a bit off topic but have any off you guys have any problems with the touch sensitivity of the screen of the HD7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a problem with the program 'moBudget' in which there is a tiny 8pt font link that I have trouble getting to... But other than that, I haven't noticed many problems; although, I am certain I've had to double tap somethings since I have had the phone. Overall, probably 8/10...
anyjah said:
I have a problem with the program 'moBudget' in which there is a tiny 8pt font link that I have trouble getting to... But other than that, I haven't noticed many problems; although, I am certain I've had to double tap somethings since I have had the phone. Overall, probably 8/10...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool thanks. hope all goes good with piece that i ordered
I posted this on another board a few days ago... Comparing a Desire HD to a HD7
Bought a Desire HD yesterday (£240 brand new from CEX - traded some stuff in) seems pretty nice, seems like an improvement over the Desire - some nice little tweaks across the whole Sense experiance.
Strangely my problem is not with the Desire HD itself, its with Andriod. Last month I had a WP7 - HD7 land in my lap. They are pretty much the same unit (except for the camera) same form factor with some different button placement. In recent months i've been taking a step back from my whole "Smartphone" experinence. Re evaluating what i use it for and how i use it.
Essentials:
PIM functions (calendar, mail etc)
A bit of Gaming
Access to the news (tech, local, National, International, Gaming, entertainment etc)
Music & Media
As long as i have those i'm happy. Its all well and good having 1,000,000 apps but if you only use 5 its pretty pointless. So what you need to know is do they have the ones you want?
My first impression of the DHD was what the hell did HTC do with the cover at the back? It doesn't fit properly. Its not flush at the sides - the Engadget review mentions it too so its not just my example. Seems a shame that after designing a beautiful flagship device you let it down with something so minor. Other than that though its pretty nice.
Once i turned it on i was impressed by the speed - how quick does this baby boot!! However, after that my problems returned. Problems might be the wrong word here, what struck me was the complexity of the Robot after a almost a month with WP7. Andriod feels bloated and fat and the handset can be a little sluggish at times which concidering the speed of the CPU is a disappointment. It took me a while to get it setup as i like it, so its now almost a a carbon copy of my old Desire (only its not rooted yet). WP7 "Metro UI" is like a breath of fresh air compared to Andriod. After all Andriod is pretty much iOS (minus the widgets) 4x4 icons across several screens with app icons to press. Granted the intergation of the OS is much more pronounced than iOS which is just an app launcher at the end day and works in Andriods favour, however it can make it an unweldy beast to setup. Metro works on an almost 3D layed effect using different images that scroll at different speeds. Its hard to explain you have ot se it. the IMDb app is beautiful to look at and looks better than any other version odf it i've seen. There is a lot of potential in "Metro". I will offer a word of caution though. It can have the habit of chopping of the end of words in some menus, your eiher going to like this or hate it.
WP7 is a breeze to setup but thats because there isn't much to setup. Instead of the usual "4x4" arrangment and screens that move left to right (or vice versa) WP7 opts for a vertical menu that is as long as you want it to be. instead of icons they arte callled "tiles" and some of them are "live tiles". This means that they constntly update with info. For example, if you place a contact tile on ou homescreen it will show a picture of them and their latest facebook update. You can add tiles for apps, contacts, albums, artists. Its a very nice way of doing things slightly differently from iOS and Andriod.
The one thing that Andriod does very badly is Music, yes it has lots of good music players but syncing music/podcasts etc is a pain compered to the iPhone. WP7 doesn't have this problem as it uses "Zune" and the streaming music service and it is lovely, very easy to use and very fast and is present across my whole network. The intergration with my PC, existing music collection and my Xbox 360 is pretty seemless. Andriod cant compete with that i'm afriad. I'd even go as far to say that anyone using a Windows PC would benefit from this over using iTunes and an iPhone 4. iTunes was always a dog on a PC. Zune is a very competent peice of software. It's fast and very easy to use, is fully featured and easily ass good at iTunes in terms of functionality.
It would be unfair not to mention "GAMING". The "Xbox Live" brand will have this one nailed in a very short space of time. The games i have so far are excellent, yes some of them have cost me money but hey you get what you pay for. Its been a buzz to get "Achievements" on the train on the way to work. Andriod is hampered by the broad tech base of the handsets - different resolutions etc.
So App stores? the Andriod market is dauting place i think most of us would agree it has a lot of diamonds in the rough and a lot of rubbish apps but i guess thats the nature of "open source". But it has most of the things you want. The WP7 "marketplace" is growing at around 150 apps a day and i have to say some of them are pretty impressive. Because M$ have choosen to follow apple with the walled garden approach the quality of the apps is very good. Its still got a very long way to go but what i've seen so far the quality will be threre
WP7 has a number of week spots mostly around calendars and PIM fuctions that are not good as Andriod, but that said i am a "Google" user I was disappointed to find out that the calendar cant handle multiple calendars (i had 11 different ones covering different aspects of my life) I'm sure they will fix this an fure updates as "outlook" calendars already work. I'm not sure if i will keep the DHD at this stage as i'm missing the simplicity of WP7 and its intergration with my home network/PC and xbox live. Its a very nice device but im not sure, i think M$ may have just won me back.
Before it came out i was very dismissive of WP7 "why are M$ bothering" "it will be rubbish". I was wrong, very wrong. Botton line, this is the best OS first release of an OS I've seen. It feels far more complete than either early Andriod or iPhone releases. Its an excellent effort. However, it still go some way to go before it catches up with iOS or the Robot. It will be one to watch in the coming years, be real interesting to see what its like in a couple of years.
I think discusing the hardware is a bit of moot point but if i had to pick, i'd like WP7 on the DHD hardware - the DHD is without doubt one of the finest peices of hardware i've ever used, its beautiful, i can see why DHD owners are so happy with it.
I predicted sometime ago that Andriod WILL be the dominant phone OS and see no reason to change that prediction. Wheather WP7 can catch up to iOS is hugely debatable going forward but this is a very solid start and i am totally smitten with it, there is a lot to love and even more to like. It nice to know that i will never have to install iTunes again as i have TWO solid choices for smartphone OS other than the dreaded fruit mobile and the guy with only one set of clothes.
I dont think its the finished article by a long way. But it really does show great promise. Indeed, right now i have HD7 and DHD on my desk and my chosen daily phone is the WP7 device. In many areas nowhere near as good as Andriod but I can overlook them because i just love how it works, it feels light and nimble to use. I dont want anyone to think i have a downer on the DHD or Andriod I love them both. But right now its WP7 thats floating my boat. Its going to be interesting to watch it develop in the coming years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im in the same boat. Im a big Android guy but I love the look and feel of WP7. Every time i pass by the tmobile store i stop in and play with the HD7. Just saw one on craigslist for a good price, think i might finally dive in.
MvP77 said:
Im in the same boat. Im a big Android guy but I love the look and feel of WP7. Every time i pass by the tmobile store i stop in and play with the HD7. Just saw one on craigslist for a good price, think i might finally dive in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same...my G2 is great but WP7 is so sexy
Ive been seriously looking at the WP7 series and I'm curious to hear from real-world users who have been in the same boat as me. I've been an Android person for the past year now and as much as I like Android, I like to keep my options open too!
So tell me - why did YOU switch from Android to WP7 and would you do it again if you had the chance ?
I've been playing with WP7, mostly to see what "the other side" has been up to. I've had WinCE devices going back to the 1.x days, and always loved it, but trying to cram a desktop OS into a hand-held device always seemed awkward.
I got an iPhone and loved it for a couple of years, but got handed a G1 and fell in love with the potential that Android represented. It wasn't quite "there" yet, so I switched back and forth from Android to iOS and back for a good year before settling full-time with Android on my Nexus One.
Now I've got a Nexus-S and I love it, but I was able to play with a WP7 device in the form of the HD7, and I really like it, however...
Coming from Android, Google's services, search, GMail, and Maps, are so much better in ability than Bing, Hotmail, and Bing Maps that I missed my Nexus S. I love the user-interface of WP7, and hope that it evolves a bit more.
WP7's approach to real-time usability is great. Apps are smooth and clean, and much less jerky than Android apps seem to be at times. The OS seems well suited to doing one thing at a time, really well. I wish Android was better at maintaining higher priority for foreground apps, instead of making things choppy with garbage-collection.
If you have a chance to wait until the January (now February) update happens, I would. Things could get much better for WP7 very soon, but who knows? I'm keeping my options open.
the biggest disappointment is in Bing and Zune services. Since their not available in Ireland. The prolonged wait for update kinda adds up too
Though otherwise than that its all ok
I had a HD2 with Android and reason why i sold it because once i played with WP7 i felt that Androids UI was so boring.
Games on WP7 are much better too than Android. Alot of devs from iPhone have hopped aboard.
Anyone else? This is good stuff! Keep it coming!
I still use my android from day to day. They se the best overall in terms of a combination of things such as features and useability. Tho WP7 has a slick UI its missing things like the gmail intergration and Google maps, but it has a music client that's not as good as iTunes. Then there is iOS, its great, easy to use, simple, and reliable, at the end of the day that's what makes IOS sell, just like variety is what makes android sell. For WP7 to catch up they need to release a groundbreaker, something that blows the competition away spec wise. I played with a Samsung WP7 At att the other day while stopping in to see an old friend, windows on a phone has came a long way since WinMo6.5. I will say that. It just depends on what u want at the end of the day
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I think you should check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=900747
i move to wp7, because i simple hates its lag and UI..
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day. I never really had a feeling of satisfaction with Android. Thats the first thing. The second thing is the force closures and the occasional lag (I came from a G2 so it definitely wasn't my device) Android is an awesome platform, however, I still feel like its something Google just slapped together, even if thats not the case. the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one. Im not saying WP7 is perfect because its far from that. BUT i love the consistency throughout the platform, even when you download apps from the market, most of them seem to follow that metro UI interface. the fact that its customization is limited to tile placement and color gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that there is no other way you could have it, which means less time trying to get it the way you want it. I also love the smoothness as well. the fact that it does not support multi tasking has yet to bother me as I never really do more than one thing on my phone anyway. I am, however, frustrated with the lack of copy/paste (which will be fixed soon) and lets not forget the dreadful marketplace which locks up randomly causing users to reboot. I also am disappointed in Bing maps. i would much rather prefer to use Google maps. its just easier. The only thing i can truly say i miss from Android is the WIFI calling. I spend most of my time in my basement. I hardly get signal except for one corner. at the end of the day, i am happier with WP7 because of its simplicity, performance, and ease of use as well as its "polished" feel.
Nissan350 said:
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad I am not the only one who actually finds that Android is TOO customizable. I find myself spending hours each day fiddling with it!
JWhipple said:
I'm glad I am not the only one who actually finds that Android is TOO customizable. I find myself spending hours each day fiddling with it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, I'm glad you can see where I'm coming from
irispen said:
I think you should check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=900747
i move to wp7, because i simple hates its lag and UI..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me same like u.been use nexus one for a year.tired about android.but maybe will switch back to android again who know..
Nissan350 said:
...the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, this is not directed toward you at all, but all of this sounds very familiar and it kinda explains a lot about what people's issues MIGHT be with WP7.
Everything you said is Windows Mobile all over again, and that is not a bad thing at all. I loved WM, and it's versatility IMO were what made it so great. So much about Android screams WM to me.
I come to these forums and I see people crying like little girls over and over about what WP7 doesn't do, have, etc and it just makes me feel like they want a super updated WM device. They want the absolute best of the best that WM has to offer... but they want it out of WP7. I see their issues, but this is a completely different device all together, and to ask it to be WM is kinda ignorant. So to those people I think they should run to Android and call it a day.
While I'm on this rant (and hella off-topic) I see a lot of short term memories when people start to cying about WP. It doesn't have this, and that like Android and ios. Wait a minute... everything you want, and they FINALLY have has been in WM for YEARS. None of this started with the new-booty competition. If MS didn't let me down with WM I doubt I'll be let down by WP7.. and so far I'm about as happy as I can be with a mobile device.
Once again, not directed toward you specifically, but you brought up some things that I've been thinking about.
Truer Words.
Sean D. said:
Okay, this is not directed toward you at all, but all of this sounds very familiar and it kinda explains a lot about what people's issues MIGHT be with WP7.
Everything you said is Windows Mobile all over again, and that is not a bad thing at all. I loved WM, and it's versatility IMO were what made it so great. So much about Android screams WM to me.
I come to these forums and I see people crying like little girls over and over about what WP7 doesn't do, have, etc and it just makes me feel like they want a super updated WM device. They want the absolute best of the best that WM has to offer... but they want it out of WP7. I see their issues, but this is a completely different device all together, and to ask it to be WM is kinda ignorant. So to those people I think they should run to Android and call it a day.
While I'm on this rant (and hella off-topic) I see a lot of short term memories when people start to cying about WP. It doesn't have this, and that like Android and ios. Wait a minute... everything you want, and they FINALLY have has been in WM for YEARS. None of this started with the new-booty competition. If MS didn't let me down with WM I doubt I'll be let down by WP7.. and so far I'm about as happy as I can be with a mobile device.
Once again, not directed toward you specifically, but you brought up some things that I've been thinking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good points. I'm very happy with WP7 and it feels great to be off Android. The platform is still in its infancy and there is not a doubt in my mind that it will evolve and become even better than it already is. Of course, the evolution would just be added pluses.
Nissan350 said:
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day. I never really had a feeling of satisfaction with Android. Thats the first thing. The second thing is the force closures and the occasional lag (I came from a G2 so it definitely wasn't my device) Android is an awesome platform, however, I still feel like its something Google just slapped together, even if thats not the case. the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one. Im not saying WP7 is perfect because its far from that. BUT i love the consistency throughout the platform, even when you download apps from the market, most of them seem to follow that metro UI interface. the fact that its customization is limited to tile placement and color gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that there is no other way you could have it, which means less time trying to get it the way you want it. I also love the smoothness as well. the fact that it does not support multi tasking has yet to bother me as I never really do more than one thing on my phone anyway. I am, however, frustrated with the lack of copy/paste (which will be fixed soon) and lets not forget the dreadful marketplace which locks up randomly causing users to reboot. I also am disappointed in Bing maps. i would much rather prefer to use Google maps. its just easier. The only thing i can truly say i miss from Android is the WIFI calling. I spend most of my time in my basement. I hardly get signal except for one corner. at the end of the day, i am happier with WP7 because of its simplicity, performance, and ease of use as well as its "polished" feel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
couldnt have said it better myself
what ticked me off about android was the overall inconsistancy in both looks and performance, and until now that i own a wp7 device, i never understood by what ios and webos users said when they called it "clunky". now if i see what i saw in the honeycomb demo come in some way or form to smartphones (awesome graphical interface, ease of multitasking, and overall polish and consistantcy) i will come back in no time. but untill then, thanks to the mess that is software updates for android. the only one i would consider is a nexus device, and i dont plan on jumping through hoops to get one till i see the update and basic overhaul it needs. im perfectly happy with my hd7
JWhipple said:
Ive been seriously looking at the WP7 series and I'm curious to hear from real-world users who have been in the same boat as me. I've been an Android person for the past year now and as much as I like Android, I like to keep my options open too!
So tell me - why did YOU switch from Android to WP7 and would you do it again if you had the chance ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been using Android for almost a year now..through work I'm getting newer Android and newer WP7 devices. It started with the Desire Z (G2) and the LG Optimus Quantum.
I don't care how pretty your OS is, there's no love for that phone. It's a piece of crap regular phone loaded with a smartphone OS. Absolute trash, my SIM sat in it for a day, and sadly because of the lack of usability on the device (size, build, LG..) I couldn't give WP7 a fair chance.
However, recently got the HD7 and a certain dual core device, and I can't make a decision. I personally love customization, so Android is literally endless and fresh to me. However, I'm a huge Hotmail supporter (GMail isn't that great, there's a reason Hotmail is still number 1 webmail worldwide..) and firmly believe the Email application built into WP7 (the Hotmail one) looks better, works better, and - for me - is better than the GMail app ever will be. It looks slick, it works well, it's pretty, etc.
With the HD7, it's actually a device that can showboat the features of the OS - however, there's only like..two. Office, and these boring tiles. Yes, it's simple, yes, it's easy, if I wanted that, I'd use a laptop and a normal phone. I want complicated, I want to be able to do everything, which is why I still use Android. At the same time, there's something refreshing about WP7 and the simplicity, but I find entirely too often I go to do something, grab the HD7, find it's not available or built in, sigh, and pull out my Android device.
Another huge slam on WP7 is this micro SD bull****. I can drag and drop anything on any Android device, you're telling me it's that hard to let people use external storage?
No, because I use a Macbook (primary booting OS X) with W7, I'm forced to use W7 because there's one incredibly ****ty option for Mac syncing. I'd rather have a cluttered ass SD card with dragged files than EVER use WMP as my "media hub" or whatever. I don't use iPhoto. I use iTunes for organization, but that's it. However, if I want ANYTHING on my WP7 device, I'm forced to use these stupid Apple applications (and a beta app from Microsoft) I deleted because of massive bloat just to transfer stuff? Ridiculous. Build a frigging mount into it or let us use SD cards.
Sorry. That's a massive, massive frustration for me.
Anyways, that's my take. Android and WP7 are not on the same level. I see WP7 as a high end regular phone, and Android as an actual smartphone. I'm sure this opinion could change depending on the expansion of the OS and the Marketplace, but right now, the OS is way too young and has a serious "polished, but unfinished" feel to it. WP7 could be good and I could use it regularly..in a few years. Not now. I'm going to continue giving WP7 a try, as there are things that are impressing me.
For example, Bing Maps is definitely not as feature rich as Google Maps, but holy hell does it lock well. GMaps is only good if you can get a damn GPS lock, and people can say "oh, it's usually fine" but after a year I have to yet to see the GPS work nearly as well in any ROM or OS on Android compared to WP7, so props to them for getting that right. The Email is really nice (as a consistent Hotmail user) texting is pretty bland, the Contacts or People or whatever is totally convoluted and unnecessary, I don't know how they managed to complicate something so simple. If I wanted to see facebook, I'd open it. I just want my damn contact list. Android has perfected this as far as I'm concerned, as it's "Person --- Phone button to call" and that's all there needs to be. You can click their contact card to get more information if need be.
The marketplace needs some work, definitely needs more sections like the Android Market (Communications - Free / Paid, Whatever - Free / Paid) as opposed to just Free EVERYTHING, or mixed paid / free in sections. I definitely don't think the Android Market is perfect, but it's definitely more usable than the Windows Marketplace.
Hmm.. Internet Explorer is really nice, it works surprisingly well for a browser I haven't even looked at in almost 10 years. I was pleasantly surprised, I was dreading that I couldn't use anything else, but Microsoft did a great job. It looks nice, it's not exactly feature rich, but it's snappy, clean, and responsive.
The music / videos app is alright, nothing special but not definitely usable and looks good.
The fact that MSN Messenger was NOT included in the OS completely deadpanned me, how the hell do you forget what was at one point your bread and butter? It would literally be like Google forgetting GTalk, it wouldn't happen. I don't like the MSN application that is available has to resume every time the phone sleeps, waste of a good 10 seconds. Facebook works fine.. Phone is fine, the simplicity gets in the way of speakerphone and stuff if you forget what little tab they're under, but whatever, it works.
Calendar is GREAT, I love the way it's set up, it looks really good.
Microsoft Office is amazing...works really well.
I think I covered everything? I know I kind of went off in some areas, but just my opinions..
Oh, I miss having an actual wallpaper. I don't care if I couldn't see 90% of it, better than just black. Maybe I have a special someone I'd like to see as my wallpaper for more than the half a second it takes me to unlock my phone. Oh well.
GlitchZero said:
No, because I use a Macbook (primary booting OS X) with W7, I'm forced to use W7 because there's one incredibly ****ty option for Mac syncing. I'd rather have a cluttered ass SD card with dragged files than EVER use WMP as my "media hub" or whatever. I don't use iPhoto. I use iTunes for organization, but that's it. However, if I want ANYTHING on my WP7 device, I'm forced to use these stupid Apple applications (and a beta app from Microsoft) I deleted because of massive bloat just to transfer stuff? Ridiculous. Build a frigging mount into it or let us use SD cards.
Sorry. That's a massive, massive frustration for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Zune works well for media once you get the hang of it, and since you like your Live account so much, utilize the SkyDrive feature for cloud storage of documents. This second comment on this thread is a great idea for how to quickly access it...
http://social.answers.microsoft.com...7/thread/56adcec6-08ce-4d86-aa67-27dda1433fa0
Yes, access to the SD card would be nice. I suppose they're looking to cut down on support calls?
Android is not a phone; its a geeky toy
I bought an HTC Desire in August 2009. My HTC TyTN had just died and I couldn't wait for the late release of WP7. Android was such a disappointment. Market was unavailable in Sweden (it is open now), the UI looked disgustingly ugly and the whole experience was so much lower than descent. The only thing I really loved about Android was the notification system. I also have an iPhone so Android's notification system seemed totally like a blessing. Nevertheless Android just felt like another Google experiment. A geeky toy for Google lovers. I'm not a Google lover. Not because their products are so bad; They are bad, but I could forgive that. What I can't stand in Google is their daily bragging about their coolness all over the web while their products are actually years behind what they could really be had they cared about anything else than selling ads and hooking people onto their so called platform(s). So if I am to make a compromise on a product I am really more willing to compromise for Microsoft. Unlike newcomers like Google, Microsoft has proven over the years that they do have a vision about software and they do work on it. Google has no vision about the web other than dominance. They have a vision about advertising. My "vision" about advertising is that it is an old solution to an old problem which I'm not so sure will even exist for long in the so called "new economy". So I just sold my HTC Desire and bought an HTC HD7. I know that I will miss the WiFi tethering of my HTC Desire. Hopefully not for long. Like I said I can make a compromise for Microsoft but find it pointless to make a compromise for Google.
Android just felt cluttered to me. Yes, you can customize it as much as you want but personally I dislike the mess of widgets and icons. I was never happy with my home pages.
My phone doubles as my MP3 player and the WP7 audio playback is much better because of the HD7's sound enhancer. The sound equalizer I had on Android would only work on MP3s, not on other file types.
Pinch to zoom to WP7 is really really really good. Also the GPS on my HD7 finds my position significantly faster than my Android phone (would take several minutes to lock on). Bing maps really isn't bad so I don't know what the fuss is about. Sure there's no voice navigation, but I never used it when I had Android anyway.
Anyway my main reason for switching was that I hated being left behind while new phones are released with updates. Literally the way to upgrade with Android is to buy a new phone or root the phone. Problem with rooting is that each ROM has it's own little quirks and I didn't want to sacrifice functionality just to see a higher build number. IMO if you have to root in order to have the phone "work" then you're doing it wrong.
I do miss some things like the control panel and swype, but that's about it. So far so good.
I think from most of the posts above we can agree that WP7 is a clean functional minimal UI. And once the update comes in it will be one to brag about
ex-android user
I love android, and I still own several Android Devices, and I've been using android since the G1. Android (like many have said before me) reminds me a lot of Windows Mobile (and I loved windows mobile).
Why I made the switch:
Well, not to offend anyone, but WP7 seems to be a more mature OS, not in terms of functionality, but in terms of it's minimalist approach.
It's like comparing:
A tricked out Honda: http://www.remarkablecars.com/main/honda/tricked-out-honda.jpg
and a Cadillac CTS-V Coupe: http://photos.leftlanenews.com/phot...mbnailsnew/me-cadillac-cts-v-coupe-09_620.jpg
It's probably faster, and more elegant, but less flashy, and less customizable.
Ultimately it's a matter of preference, personally I'd chose the Caddy
Hello all, I know this will sound like a rant against the phone but in reality I just want to know if others share my opinion or if I'm alone on this one thus making the "problem" me.
I recently bought an HTC sensation 4g and I have a problem called companies customizations!
My problem with sense is that it has tons of apps that I don't need: ereader, stock; or other that I need but are bloated: weather.
It's probably a seller to see big cloud on such a great screen, but on the long run I wished it opened up immediately with the hourly forecast and less fullscreen animation to drain battery.
I heard a lot of my friends that didn't like android (mostly hated samsung or htc) and I never understood why. My nexus one with stock android wasn't the prettiest phone to look at (compared to iphone) but with some customization it was quick, usable and provided more functions than pretty graphics. But now I know! With loads of extra useless apps and their contents or awkward design choices (like the not very friendly coverflow looking thing to choose backgrounds and such). Yesterday I heard from my friend that his girlfriend galaxy s came with avatar and they had a long struggle trying to remove it from the phone sd card because they didn't care about it. When I checked the phone the avatar icon was still there since they're not very tech-savvy.
Don't get me wrong I don't hate my phone, the hardware is great, the screen is better than I expected, I love android, but that extra stuff that I really don't need should have an easy way to come off, it should not be installed in a way that I can't remove it without rooting. No wonder why people hate android... it's because they mistake android for the extra load it comes with it that slows down the phone, uses their monthly data and drains their battery. Apple doesn't do that and there's a reason "normal" people tend to pick up an iphone so quickly.
I wish there was an official way to ask companies to make all this stuff optional! Please don't think that I have it with HTC or sense, I'm referencing sense because that's what I experienced this problem with. Let me know what you think maybe if others have this issue with companies, we could organize a petition or something?
That's not android its more of a service provider and hardware supplier way of getting a cut from development companies .my Samsung had a heap of unwanted bloatware and service provider crappy useless battery consuming memory hogging apps the best thing i ever did was root this phone no more random reboots battery improved by 50% and everything on the phone is what i want on it not something that the companies think or want you to have on it .So with all that said if you have patients and can do some searching on the xda forums you will find a solution to what you want to achieve on your device .Believe me if you like it now you will love it when you get it the way you want it.
Hope that help .
I moved from iphone 4 to the SGS2.
One thing i know whatever i do to this phone it can be fully restored back to stock and the warranty will still be there providing i don't brick the phone
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Mustoura said:
That's not android its more of a service provider and hardware supplier way of getting a cut from development companies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He said that himself
DBBGBA said:
I love android, but that extra stuff that I really don't need should have an easy way to come off, it should not be installed in a way that I can't remove it without rooting. No wonder why people hate android... it's because they mistake android for the extra load it comes with it that slows down the phone, uses their monthly data and drains their battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could not agree more with the OP. I used Nexus 1 builds on my HD2 for about 8 months and loved it. I've now got a Samsung Galaxy S2 (I just wanted a newer, faster phone, but with the same size screen), and despite being a great phone I found myself longing for that AOSP experience. I tried a couple of AOSP ROMs in the SGS2 forum and breathed a sigh of relief at how much difference they made, but they unfortunatly aren't currently stable enough to use day-in-day-out. So I've recently gone down a different route - MIUI. I've literally only done it today, and so far I'm loving it.
Anyway, I digress. There should be some manufacturers out there that recognise this gap in the market and sell basic Android phones, with no other crap on them. I know Google do that (obviously), but I wish more did the same. People shouldn't have to know how to flash a ROM or root and freeze apps, just to get the best possible basic Android experience available.
Rant over
Point taken and yes i agree.
I missed that bit as I'm half asleep
Wow i just had a read over again i apologies that i missed that whole section lol sorry for telling you how to suck eggs
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Mustoura said:
Point taken and yes i agree.
I missed that bit as I'm half asleep
Wow i just had a read over again i apologies that i missed that whole section lol sorry for telling you how to suck eggs
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh. I have a sneaking suspicion that you're not the 1st person to comment on a post after not reading it correctly. I reckon in the history of the internet it's happened at least 3 times
Id like to see a major manufacturer do a little experiment on there next big handset.
Supply two different versions, one with there overlay and one aosp fresh from the oven, see which one sells.
I know they are only trying to add functionality to the device but they could at least write there apps properly so they dont cause wakelocks and hog resources, hell there's a whole forum full of very competent developers im sure would be happy to help
@johncmolyneux
off topic but have you tried the latest Cm7 for the SGS2? the latest nightly is pretty complete, the devs have done a stand up job. Keep it aosp baby
mynamesteve said:
@johncmolyneux
off topic but have you tried the latest Cm7 for the SGS2? the latest nightly is pretty complete, the devs have done a stand up job. Keep it aosp baby
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've not, but I've shied away from non-standard ROMs normally. After the very favourable MIUI experience I may well give CM7 a play. I did have a sort of CM ROM on my HD2 for a while, but it looked and played pretty much like AOSP, but was blue instead of green.
Thanks for the advice
johncmolyneux said:
I've not, but I've shied away from non-standard ROMs normally. After the very favourable MIUI experience I may well give CM7 a play. I did have a sort of CM ROM on my HD2 for a while, but it looked and played pretty much like AOSP, but was blue instead of green.
Thanks for the advice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was the same meself tried a few out and stuck with Villain, been testing CM out occasionally to see how development is going and very impressed! if i'm not mistaken Miui is based on CM so if thats working for you its party time
the main thread with the download link is in the Q&A thread in Q&A, just so you know
Was rocking Hyperdroid Cm7 on my HD2 too so i know the feeling
I think I just officially hijacked this thread! sorry OP
That's why I have a g2x, pretty much vanilla android. But then again, just take all that crap off yourself or flash a custom rom.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
Overstew said:
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, that is a very valid point. People would end up buying phones purely on colour and shape, if the hardware was close enough and they were all AOSP. I do like mynamesteve's suggestion of manufacturing 2 devices - 1 with their own software and 1 with basic Android, but I can't see anyone really doing that unfortunately. I guess there isn't really a practical solution to this. Not that I can think of, anyway.
Incidentally, I like your avatar. Homage to The King. He may be dead, but his burgers most certainly are not!
Overstew said:
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure you get it Sir!
aosp = stock android = no bloatware
Standard and fast for you to add what YOU want, not have crappy coded apps forced on you that are difficult to remove.
Simples
I agree...
But I think this Operating System Fragmentation is a USA problem. Sure it happens elsewhere. The problem is the carriers use the bloatware and other specialty apps as a revenue stream. So far, Apple is changing that game and Google is doing what it can but with so many handsets and the open nature of Android it's really hard to control. I won't say anything about the closed ecosystem Apple has built vs the Android Market since both have redeeming qualities as well as flaws.
I have 3 phones on my account, all android. All were rooted on first day out of the box and had all that bloatware removed, including Inception which took up too much space on the memory card.
I wish the USA would take the approach found almost everywhere else. You pick your phone, then you pick your carrier. There's lots of great stuff going on elsewhere in the world like NFC, handsets that aren't gimped by the carrier... etc.
Just IMHO.
Cheers
johncmolyneux said:
Actually, that is a very valid point. People would end up buying phones purely on colour and shape, if the hardware was close enough and they were all AOSP. I do like mynamesteve's suggestion of manufacturing 2 devices - 1 with their own software and 1 with basic Android, but I can't see anyone really doing that unfortunately. I guess there isn't really a practical solution to this. Not that I can think of, anyway.
Incidentally, I like your avatar. Homage to The King. He may be dead, but his burgers most certainly are not!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But really deep down arn't they all just android?
I will admit the overlays draw customers, I was drawn in by sense bk in the winMO days (RIP) but other than some fancy widgets its really not much better than stock.
I understand they get paid for most of the note/ereader/Doc Dre beats headphone rubbish that gets shipped so things will most likely not change
but thank you for treasures like this website.
I know tings i.e. rooting can be daunting for the beginner but if ya follow the guides and read, ya never know you might even learn something (John this wasn't directed at you at all just peeps in general i know your a kick ass developer, i read it bk n thought wtf lol)
TLDR:read it
mynamesteve said:
But really deep down arn't they all just android?
I will admit the overlays draw customers, I was drawn in by sense bk in the winMO days (RIP) but other than some fancy widgets its really not much better than stock.
I understand they get paid for most of the note/ereader/Doc Dre beats headphone rubbish that gets shipped so things will most likely not change
but thank you for treasures like this website.
I know tings i.e. rooting can be daunting for the beginner but if ya follow the guides and read, ya never know you might even learn something (John this wasn't directed at you at all just peeps in general i know your a kick ass developer, i read it bk n thought wtf lol)
TLDR:read it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To a certain degree, yes, but the SGS2 doesn't even have the stock Android launcher available, never mind the cluster of Samsung apps that everyone seems to be freezing straight out of the box. Samsung have pretty much made it their own device, which is obviously fine, and it's still a very stock-looking experience, but just freezing apps doesn't make it AOSP unfortunately.
I think (italics because I'm not sure) that a lot of people would learn more about their device if it was a bog-standard stock Android experience from day 1. They'd try different apps and launchers etc.. I've got a friend with a Desire HD and he's never even opened the Market app. He's 0% techie, so fair enough he's not gonna undervolt and overclock the thing, but he didn't even realise he had a satnav device! I don't want to turn this into a xxx manufacturer against yyy manufacturer, but certain other devices on the market are popular because of what they can do. I think Android is being sold short by not making it obvious how far it can go. That, I believe, is partly down to having a device loaded with apps that obscure the possibilities.
Rant over
BTW, thanks for the compliment, but I'm simply a developer. This place has far more kick ass developers than me!
I have to say, if it wasn't for HTC I wouldn't have an android phone.
Tried a Nexus ROM on my HD2, really hated it. Tried the SGS2, really couldn't get on with it (nice screen though).
I can understand and respect that many people do like aosp, and I'm glad that we have the options available to us.
My stock sensation is fast and sense 3 is lovely and polished.
I really wish carriers (apparently mostly in the US) didn't take a fast phone and turn it into something reportedly sluggish though.
johncmolyneux said:
To a certain degree, yes, but the SGS2 doesn't even have the stock Android launcher available, never mind the cluster of Samsung apps that everyone seems to be freezing straight out of the box. Samsung have pretty much made it their own device, which is obviously fine, and it's still a very stock-looking experience, but just freezing apps doesn't make it AOSP unfortunately.
I think (italics because I'm not sure) that a lot of people would learn more about their device if it was a bog-standard stock Android experience from day 1. They'd try different apps and launchers etc.. I've got a friend with a Desire HD and he's never even opened the Market app. He's 0% techie, so fair enough he's not gonna undervolt and overclock the thing, but he didn't even realise he had a satnav device! I don't want to turn this into a xxx manufacturer against yyy manufacturer, but certain other devices on the market are popular because of what they can do. I think Android is being sold short by not making it obvious how far it can go. That, I believe, is partly down to having a device loaded with apps that obscure the possibilities.
Rant over
BTW, thanks for the compliment, but I'm simply a developer. This place has far more kick ass developers than me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly no it doesnt make it aosp and as the user above pointed out theres a lot of fragmentation in android, manufactures are messing with the core of the system and not just building an overlay/launcher.
Sometimes this works sometimes this doesn't i do feel alot of the resources could be used to better the stock system, better all round compatibility, better drivers and make android better for all there users. but thats like asking for world peace, and im no CEO of a major corp so what do i know
But i know how it works in the real world, i gave my sister my HD2 and she doesnt care what Rom is on there as long as it looks nice and everything is there out the box. (cant believe i gave her the most versitile handset on the planet with that attitude but thats beside the point )
The OS ease is very important to people and i understand that for a non-tecky, i think that is also part of the reason why we cant have stock out the box, the 'mobile market' needs the icon on his device to begin with so the manufacturers try to supply that, but do it very badly.
Phew! sorry about that.
I also much prefer AOSP.
I loved sense on winmo but I absolutely detest the android equivalent.
Touchwiz is just plain vile and as jcm mentioned the SGS2 is lacking that really stable aosp experience....
Luckily though if your unhappy with your phone and need to make changes then your in the right place
No I haven't missed the op's point about wanting more customisation out of the box but I just wanted to make the point that every single resource you need to achieve whatever you want to do with your phone (within reason) is right here under your nose.
I now have a rom for my phone that is (nearly) exactly how I want it, no Touchwiz, less bloat, all the cool little tweaks that our talented devs have given us and all it took was one day of reading and a lot of trial and error...... it was fun too.
Sure I cheated and used a kitchen but hey, gotta start somewhere right.
Anyway I digress, my point is that we can all wish for HTC/samsung etc to start catering for our every need until we are blue in the face but they won't.
Sometimes you just have to roll up you're sleeves and do things for yourself.
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.......
conantroutman said:
I now have a rom for my phone that is (nearly) exactly how I want it, no Touchwiz, less bloat, all the cool little tweaks that our talented devs have given us and all it took was one day of reading and a lot of trial and error...... it was fun too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And are you planning on releasing this? You've had my dev work. It's only fair I have yours
johncmolyneux said:
And are you planning on releasing this? You've had my dev work. It's only fair I have yours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I very nearly did but you know how many zip file heroes there are in that section. Do we really need another?
That and I'm too lazy to update it for each new firmware that trickles out.
I think I will release one though, probably with a very tongue in cheek OP....
And yes, I and a lot of others had many, many hours of enjoyment from your work so thanks for that
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.......
hi all,
this is my first full post here on xda... i have been a member for a few years now and thought i should write something the community may agree/dispute/love/hate
and so...
here it is...
i have titled this my confession as basically it is a confession... its something i have put off for quite some time now...
i am a major windows mobile fan... from way back when with my o2 xda to my hd2... i love it and everything about it... its a faithful, hardworking, do it all mobile os... i had touchscreen phones and pda's long before the touchscreen hype came in... back when my friends still had the nokia hype, with changable cases and envious battery life... anything they could do, i could do better... just for the 6 or so hours my battery gave me... then devices evolved (slowly at first) o2 xda ii then some more...mda vario... htc elf (touch) then a blackberry (never again!!!!) had that for a very short time... then got myself a tytn ii... windows mobile with real power... filled it with spb software... had android running from sd... was my first real do it all phone...
then time and age became an issue... my hardware was restricting me... software can only go so far... so the time came for an upgrade... in steps the amazing 4.3" multi touch, capacative, 1ghz powerhouse that is the hd2... running the latest and greatest version of windows mobile with a sexy sense ui draped over the top...
soon as it was released here in england i was at my local phone shop and signing up to an 18 month contract...
soon after this, a nice hspl came along which meant 1 thing to me, and 1 thing only... custom rom goodness... oh, i went through every rom imaginable... (i believe the term for this is ord or obsessive rom-flashing disorder)
i finally settled on energy roms... loved the speed, looks and the sheer number of different flavours nrgz28 offered...
then shock horror... i dropped my hd2 and smashed the digitizer... a job i would usually do myself but after the cost of the screen (£100) and what a local phone shop quoted me (£120) i decided to let them deal with the annoying job...
BIG MISTAKE!!!! basically ruined the ribbon for my volume keys and lost the glass that makes the proximity and light sensors work... they had it for about 2months... and so after a big row with them i had half my money refunded and my fone returned with a new screen but still a little sick... broken hd2 of ebay was the answer as during this time the first windows phone software was ready and waiting for my approval... so phone fixed, wp7 flashed the end....
or not... after a few minutes with wp7 i noticed simple features were missing... like copy/paste... i was unable to download any media onto my device... a big disappointment... what ever happened to microsoft??? took a beautiful thing and just destroyed it... why try and be like the iphone when waht u had was so much better...
tutt tutt...
now... down to the confession... after this utter shock from windows i decided to try android out... had it running from sd for quite some time, but thought its time to try nand and reap the benefits... so away i go... first a galaxy s rom... pretty impressive, but still lacking that spark... then a few newer builds and versions surfaced... had the desire hd rom... was nice... then i got a whiff of gingerbread goodness... started really liking the leaps and bounds the still young os was offering... then on... 2.3... 2.3.3... 2.3.5... ect... each time getting a little better... the finally ics...
ics hit the hd2 like an ice cream hitting a sensative tooth... bang! on it went and wow... im really impressed... feels like this is what wp7 should have been...
it stank of winmo customizability... ate up everything i did to it and seemed like this is how its meant to be...
android on my hd2 felt so right but also so wrong... whats going on?? im singing the praises of a winmo competitor... whats happened to me?? am i sick?? have i hit my head?? i really cant place my finger on it...
so my confession is this secret love affair i have had with android... cheating on winmo for so long... so i have decided to come clean... cant keep this cherade up any longer...
sorry winmo, i do, and always will love u... we had many brilliant times together... ones i will always remember... its not you, its me... i have met someone else and she makes me happy now... so im going to admit this now and confirm its over between us... im so so so truly very sorry...
i hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and we can still be friends... u have influenced me and made me who i am today and 4 that i thank you
so... heres the start of not having to hide my new love... 1 i hope will last forever...
....So i bet your thinking "why did i just sit and read this crap??" its coz maybe secretly u have the same love affair? or u were actually hoping to find out some real murderers confession? or your just bored? whatever the reason, u now know where my heart lies...
maybe its time for u all to think where exactly ur heart lies...
food for thought...
thanks for reading
luke (android lover)
I've only been an Android guy. Today I went and played with some WinMo 8 devices and was impressed by the general UI and the screen clarity. That was about it though... the OS was hard to navigate and I got lost in it a few times... didn't like the Carl Zeiss on the Lumia 900 either...
So, I will be getting either the next Nexus or the Galaxy Nexus, depending on if the new one is out... And as you said ICS is a beautiful thing!!!
I want to rip the camera sensor off of the Pureview 808 (runs Belle) and slap it on Android.
GMIUInfuse
imheroldman said:
I've only been an Android guy. Today I went and played with some WinMo 8 devices and was impressed by the general UI and the screen clarity. That was about it though... the OS was hard to navigate and I got lost in it a few times... didn't like the Carl Zeiss on the Lumia 900 either...
So, I will be getting either the next Nexus or the Galaxy Nexus, depending on if the new one is out... And as you said ICS is a beautiful thing!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no winmo 8 or even windows phone 8 yet.
As a whole, ICS feels like the same stuttery unintuitive mess I got from all other android builds, but I guess if winmo was your bag you grow accustomed to sacrificing performance and usability for a more feature enriched ecosystem.
Sent from my Lumia 800 using Board Express
z33dev33l said:
As a whole, ICS feels like the same stuttery unintuitive mess I got from all other android builds, but I guess if winmo was your bag you grow accustomed to sacrificing performance and usability for a more feature enriched ecosystem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if all android builds are stuttery unintuitive mess's then u maybe need to try another device... my hd2 runs android like a dream... if i didnt know better, it could be the native os...
im unaware of what performance and usability im sacrificing... as my phone performs just as quick if not quicker than winmo ever did... even with energyroms... boot time is quicker... battery life is better... its a more finger friendly os than winmo...
i see ur a windows fan still... each to their own... as a whole, iv never rated nokia as a manufacturer of high end devices, but their deal with microsoft was the best thing they could have ever done... meego, symbian and the other crap they used to ship their devices with was a joke...
imheroldman said:
I've only been an Android guy. Today I went and played with some WinMo 8 devices and was impressed by the general UI and the screen clarity. That was about it though... the OS was hard to navigate and I got lost in it a few times... didn't like the Carl Zeiss on the Lumia 900 either...
So, I will be getting either the next Nexus or the Galaxy Nexus, depending on if the new one is out... And as you said ICS is a beautiful thing!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the ui (metro) can be downloaded from google play for free if u like the ui... screen clarity is down to the device really... wp7 is quick but really lacks any kind of spark for me... and coming from winmo, i really wanted to love wp7 but i just dont...
as for an upgrade id always suggest htc... kies for the samsung devices is the worst piece of software ever written... and theres just something about sony ericsson devices that feels cheap to me... if memory serves (which it probabily dont) the first nexus was made by htc... a few of them were made by samsung... dont hold me to that
You can't download the UI, you can download a cheap, laggy imitation that almost drove me from wp7 initially because I thought that was all it was. You don't sacrifice speed or stability from winmo to android because they're both stuttery and unstable. Winmo felt like a beta OS, android continued on that beta. Wp7 feels like something more solid and complete in comparison.
z33dev33l said:
You can't download the UI, you can download a cheap, laggy imitation that almost drove me from wp7 initially because I thought that was all it was.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
launcher 7's not laggy, lol. It is somewhat limited atm, but live tiles are coming very soon.
In comparison to the real deal, it's laggy. Android simply isn't built to be smooth. Honestly, winmo is better built, had they improved the UI, worked on the hardware, and built a viable marketplace, they'd have Android's spot. Unfortunately, Bill Gates wanted a mobile version of windows... He was the only one.
z33dev33l said:
In comparison to the real deal, it's laggy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like this water flowing over a leaf is laggier than that water flowing over a leaf, I'm sure.
No, android stutters due to a number of factors. Windows Phone takes measures to prevent such things. Launcher 7 is disappointing, it almost drove me from windows phone before I'd tried it because I installed it and thought, "So this is all WP7 is? Boring." Then I got a cheap HD7, even that tired old device blew away anything else on the market in terms of fluidity and speed.
z33dev33l said:
No, android stutters due to a number of factors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed you keep trying to change your focus, from "Launcher 7" to "Android". Composition fallacy?
z33dev33l said:
Launcher 7 is disappointing, it almost drove me from windows phone before I'd tried it because I installed it and thought, "So this is all WP7 is? Boring."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WP is indeed more than what Launcher 7 is.. but not by much, and the gap gets smaller everyday.
Ok, I'll make a small confession too then, shall I?
To be honest WP7 looks like a very well designed and consistent OS to me, but as any other it has its own bugs. Sure it's quite stable, especially compared to Gingerbread, but it's no Swiss watch by any mean. For example, people criticise Android because of force closes, but honestly WP7 isn't very different: at times you tap on some app and you get kicked back to your home screen, and you can't fix it without rebooting the phone or even reinstalling the app from scratch, eventally losing all of your settings. Sure you don't get the "force close" message, but this actually IS a force close. Talking about lag, I can't really say that WP7 is as consistent as some tend to describe it. Sure I'm insanely fast at typing, but at times the input is delayed, and in many situations the ICS keyboard on my SGS2 was generally faster and more fluid.
This said, I like the idea of WP7 a LOT. I love the design of every single thing, everything has been made with very good taste and always keeping the focus on user experience. I've been using WP7 for about 5 months now, and honestly I wouldn't go back. I think that WP7 is really close to perfect as a PHONE OS (for my perosnal taste at least), because let's face it: first of all a phone should be something you use for keeping in touch, doing some light browsing/tweeting and enjoying some media content on the go. Some people say that Android has more features and is generally better for so called "power users". I used to think that too, but honestly, growing up a little and actually starting to have a real life and some sort of job I came to think that phones in general are not really meant for power users. Now I know I'm on XDA, right? Don't kill me please, just let me explain. A phone has some really annoying features: small battery, small screen (yes, they generally are small, and good luck carrying a Note without cargo pants, or either operate it with one hand), and last but not least, people can always call/text/mail you when your doing your ****s. For a REAL power user this should be annoying, right? For me the best solution would be carrying an Android tablet and a WP7 device, so you can have a good and reliable communication device, fast and easy to use, AND a tablet for doing the real business as a real laptop replacement, or even just for tinkering, trying ROMs, gaming and all that jazz. A tablet has a huge battery, a very enjoyable screen and when you're using it people can still reach you on your phone without bothering you too much.
This summer I'll be definitely getting a good 10" slate with ICS on board, but I guess I won't be using it anymore as a phone OS. WP7 is my ideal phone OS: it's reliable, good looking and easy to use, and it helps me keeping focused on what really matters in my life: work, sports, friends and girls. An Android PHONE is probably too much for me, I'm too easily distracted. Now this is my very personal story, and my very personal preferences. Everyone should be enjoying his phone (and his life of course), hating is pointless. Peace out
i bet my "tired old hd2" will out perform your young, perky NOKIA... and i reckon it wont just be the hardware that makes the difference... u must have had some really bad versions of android because iv not had 1 laggy, slow or memory hungry version... and i have NEVER owned an android phone...
android supports 3d which no other platform has... supports quad core... wp7 cant yet support dual core... windows has been around since the dinosaurs and STILL lacks a decent marketplace...
android over wp7 any day...
vnvman said:
Ok, I'll make a small confession too then, shall I?
To be honest WP7 looks like a very well designed and consistent OS to me, but as any other it has its own bugs. Sure it's quite stable, especially compared to Gingerbread, but it's no Swiss watch by any mean. For example, people criticise Android because of force closes, but honestly WP7 isn't very different: at times you tap on some app and you get kicked back to your home screen, and you can't fix it without rebooting the phone or even reinstalling the app from scratch, eventally losing all of your settings. Sure you don't get the "force close" message, but this actually IS a force close. Talking about lag, I can't really say that WP7 is as consistent as some tend to describe it. Sure I'm insanely fast at typing, but at times the input is delayed, and in many situations the ICS keyboard on my SGS2 was generally faster and more fluid.
This said, I like the idea of WP7 a LOT. I love the design of every single thing, everything has been made with very good taste and always keeping the focus on user experience. I've been using WP7 for about 5 months now, and honestly I wouldn't go back. I think that WP7 is really close to perfect as a PHONE OS (for my perosnal taste at least), because let's face it: first of all a phone should be something you use for keeping in touch, doing some light browsing/tweeting and enjoying some media content on the go. Some people say that Android has more features and is generally better for so called "power users". I used to think that too, but honestly, growing up a little and actually starting to have a real life and some sort of job I came to think that phones in general are not really meant for power users. Now I know I'm on XDA, right? Don't kill me please, just let me explain. A phone has some really annoying features: small battery, small screen (yes, they generally are small, and good luck carrying a Note without cargo pants, or either operate it with one hand), and last but not least, people can always call/text/mail you when your doing your ****s. For a REAL power user this should be annoying, right? For me the best solution would be carrying an Android tablet and a WP7 device, so you can have a good and reliable communication device, fast and easy to use, AND a tablet for doing the real business as a real laptop replacement, or even just for tinkering, trying ROMs, gaming and all that jazz. A tablet has a huge battery, a very enjoyable screen and when you're using it people can still reach you on your phone without bothering you too much.
This summer I'll be definitely getting a good 10" slate with ICS on board, but I guess I won't be using it anymore as a phone OS. WP7 is my ideal phone OS: it's reliable, good looking and easy to use, and it helps me keeping focused on what really matters in my life: work, sports, friends and girls. An Android PHONE is probably too much for me, I'm too easily distracted. Now this is my very personal story, and my very personal preferences. Everyone should be enjoying his phone (and his life of course), hating is pointless. Peace out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well said... and yes, its all down to preference... theres many (stupid) people that believe the i phony or crapberry is the way forward... not at all... i believe its android... i rarely have force closes... beyond that i have no problems at all with android on my WINDOWS MOBILE device...
TheDaddy187 said:
well said... and yes, its all down to preference... theres many (stupid) people that believe the i phony or crapberry is the way forward... not at all... i believe its android... i rarely have force closes... beyond that i have no problems at all with android on my WINDOWS MOBILE device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android actually is a really good all around platform. I guess it's the best pick for many, if not most people these days: you can get it on any sort of device at any price. Also, not everybody can afford both a phone and a tablet, and Android is definitely the best all arounder. Also, the fact that it tends to look familiar to previous Symbian, iOS, BBOS and even WM users makes it appeal to many. Anyway I always hope that every single platform out there manages to survive and succeed at some extent, without some tough competitors Android would become stale in a few years like Symbian and BBOS. Actually the fact that it doesn't belong to a single OEM is a big boost for the platform as a whole already. Future still looks very bright for the green robot IMHO.
I didn't recognize android lag until I used something more stable either. Now it's painfully apparent. Jumping from winmo to android would have to feel like an improvement because winmo was just generally bad. I mean, in it's time it was ok at best. It had it's MMOs and stuff but never got past the point where you felt you needed a stylus in some places. It was always a PPC OS and never a smartphone OS. Android is a continuation on this, and while it's remedied most of the issues, lag and stability are not one of them. Perhaps I push my android phones harder with games like Dungeon Defenders and such, but I had to reset my gs2 daily for the week I had it. My Nokia Lumia 800 has been reset seven times total since last October. It's just more stable and more social.
Vnvman, what apps do you have such issues with? The only app that's caused me to have to reset is board express which is a poorly done app. At least it's not the built in apps though like with android.
Again, maybe I push my phone more. However, my measly 1.4 GHz processor runs circles around the gs2 I had long enough to ditch it. That would be the same GS2 that is said to be the first android phone that utilized a partially GPU accelerated UI.
The last app I had issues with was Carbon, just a week ago. It kinda surprised me because it always worked pretty good. I had to reinstall it in order to make it work again. Oh, and yesterday my gf had some issues on her 710, she had some stupid game like Shoot Bubble unable to launch, reinstalling it did the trick.
Honestly these things don't really bother me (it doesn't happen often), what actually made me wanna throw my phone off the window the other day was 3g connectivity, which wasn't working no matter what. After 24 hours it started working again, apparently without a reason. Funny thing is that my gf was having this issue at the same time, but none of my friends with the same carrier had it. Really weird.
Hmm, perhaps it pertained to your account with the phone company? A glitch in the system of sorts. I don't use carbon, not certain what it is, and stick mostly on the beaten path for games. Perhaps that's why I don't have that issue. The stock stuff covers most of what I need in a phone.
Carbon is a Twitter client, it's pretty good, you should try it if you haven't already. It's well designed and melts beautifully in the OS. I'm not a great fan of the integrated client we have, it's definitely usable but a little limited, and the official twitter app hurts my eye (and my battery) with all that stupid white...