Should I adopt WP for work? - Windows Phone 8 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

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 WP official apps?
I'm sure I have more questions...but I'll leave it there.
I appreciate any and all help from the community.

Related

Launch Apps

Hi Guys,
After what is turning out to be a farce with my Desire HD order (Long Long Wait!) and the eMMC chip ruining (for now? seems a very tight system!) my hopes of flashing it to oblivion with modded ROMS/Kernels/Hacks, a huge selling point for me, I'm considering the HD7. I'm well aware of its shortcomings and I know that overall it cannot really compete with a mature Android OS on the DHD, however I am intrigued by the UI and future prospects, especially with MS pledging a $1Billion warchest to market and attract development for WP7. I can live without having a million apps in the Marketplace, however I wanted to know from an owner what the opening portfolio is like. The main apps i'm interested in are News, Livescores, EReaders and anything cutting edge like Augmented Reality apps like Goggles and Layar. I'm also wondering what the proportion of Free to Paid apps is like. Any help would be appreciated.
Regards.
If you download zune 4.7 you can see it for your self ( ok not on the phone ) .

[Q] General hd7/wp7 question

hi im thinking about getting a hd7 with windows phone 7 and being a ex android user am thinking of something different so got a few random questions that have probably been asked a few thousand times.
1. wp7 looks a bit plain in general lots of text etc, can any kind of a background be added by options or a dev firmware.
2. can normal aps be found e.g a full working facebook application with chat etc, or just its own built in offering
3. what would you prefer android or wp7
4. is this best on market or have i missed some newer ones (uk)
5. anything good you can do with wp7 worth telling me
thanks all who help its appreciated
any one with any advice on this handset or wp7 any help would be appreciated. im very stuck on it lol
1. Wait for the Mango update in the fall.
2. Full on Facebook app in the marketplace, although it doesn't have chat integration (yet). Mango will also integrate Facebook even moreso than it already is.
3. WP7, without question, although android can do things WP7 can't (yet)
4. HD7 is an OK phone, but you'll hear higher praises from the Samsung Focus and Omnia 7 owners. I've not gotten to toy with either of them so I do not know.
5. "Anything good?" The entire user experience. Lots of great apps like Kindle, USA today, tons of good quality games, both free and paid.
The whole thing is awesome. 25,000 apps and growing!
There is no official way to change the background. You can dev unlock your phone in order to change background colors and tile colors. Most big name apps are available now. I prefer WP7 for the stellar keyboard and common feeling of speed throughout the OS. Even Android dual-core phones can't compare to the pinch and zoom on Windows Phone. This attention to detail gives me hope for the platform to grow as well as iPhone and Android have. The Focus and HD7 are the best IMO, but you may want to wait for the new line of handsets to come out this Fall. The biggest difference about Windows Phone is the feel that significant effort was put into the look and feel of the OS. Everything feels part of the Metro design which I really enjoy. Some of the tools to tie all parts of the OS together like deep linking of apps look very promising.

Other than apps, what is better on ios or android

I know WP is missing a ton of apps. But I can't think of anything android or iPhones do better than WP.
I had the Lumia 900 and upgraded to 920. also my work phone is a Samsung galaxy android .
It seems that everything's slower and breaks on android.
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
Most of the missing apps are rendered useless and pointless by the system. Having such a good OS makes apps not needed in some cases (for instance, WP does not need battery saver type of apps, whereas Android does, you do not need decent apps to view photos, check email, etc because system apps are good enough and examples could continue). SO the fuss over "omg WP has a lot of apps missing" is pure misinformation.
WP trumps over Android. Idk about iOS, but Android is leagues behind.
I completely agree. I just cannot think of a single instance where android or IOS trumps wp. Its a bit mind blowing that windows phones are better and cheaper but idiots are still buying android and apple
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
shield001 said:
I completely agree. I just cannot think of a single instance where android or IOS trumps wp. Its a bit mind blowing that windows phones are better and cheaper but idiots are still buying android and apple
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because Android is a little more mature, as far as popularity is concerned (it is on the market for longer than WP has been), the same goes for apple.
Android also packs up more hardware power (because the hardware has to make up for poor software, and in most cases, the hardware is simply not capable of doing so) and for the average joe it means it is better. As far as Apple is concerned...well...people will blindly follow the brand anyway.
There's also the developer problem, most people go with Java because Java is thought in collage more than C++ or C# is. This is also a big advantage Android has.
on a side note...
I wonder how a quad core Windows Phone 8 will be like...
Really need Teamviewer or Logmein or VPN
Teamviewer, Logmein, or VPN really needs to be implemented in WP. As a early adopter and a happy 920 Owner I was really hoping to see this in WP8 hope it comes soon a lot of IT individuals can't make the switch because of this.
shield001 said:
I know WP is missing a ton of apps. But I can't think of anything android or iPhones do better than WP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with wp and ios are not the apps per se, but rather that there are entire classes of apps that they cannot get by design.
The easiest examples are custom keyboards (swype) and custom launchers (i.e. if you don't like the default type of start screen, you're out of luck).
But there are much more advanced examples, programs that perform deep system changes in order to add massive functionality:
GestureControl
PGM Nexus
while, unfortunately, MSFT and Apple have generally been cracking down on anything resembling rooting. It would be better if they would let us do whatever we want, and buyer beware.
Ahh got one separate volume settings, I know android can do it. Lol had to reach for that one, especially now that WP supports micro sd
Sent from my RM-878_nam_usa_100 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Besides apps, ios and android are far more mature and so have many features not available on wp8. Examples
Do not disturb mode
Notification centre
Separate volume controls
Sms drafts on android
Send a configurable text response if you cant answer a call
Way better music players with features like gapless playback
Usb tethering
Notification light on android
Wp8 has a lot of catching up to do
shield001 said:
I completely agree. I just cannot think of a single instance where android or IOS trumps wp. Its a bit mind blowing that windows phones are better and cheaper but idiots are still buying android and apple
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's mind blowing that you can't see that people buy what they want.
Windows Phone isn't for everyone. It's a locked down OS - even more locked down than Apple's iOS.
Don't get me wrong, I love my Lumia, but I'm concerned about how locked down it is.
Android does a lot more: browser choice, tv out, USB On-the-go (which allows you to connect devices to your android phone/tablet), custom firmwares, and more fully featured software.
However it's not as polished and smooth as Windows Phone and iOS.
You may tell me that a phone doesn't need all that, but it's your opinion. Many others use those features daily.
LogMeIn
buffalosolja42 said:
Teamviewer, Logmein, or VPN really needs to be implemented in WP. As a early adopter and a happy 920 Owner I was really hoping to see this in WP8 hope it comes soon a lot of IT individuals can't make the switch because of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LogMeIn is for us a very important tool to resposnd quickly to clients when not in the office. Hasa anyone already installed LogMeIn Ignition for WP8 ? We also search for an foldable keyboard which works with the Samsung Ativ WP8. Ay idea I love to see
IMHO, There's no point of having a phone with dual/quad core processor if it hangs or freezes quite often. I used Lumia 710 ( which is a low spec phone compared to my new S2), and I have never witnessed any OS sooo smooth. After switching to Samsung S2 (due to lack of apps), I now regret my decision.

Should i buy a Lumia 730?

Should i enter the world of windows?
Without knowing more about what you look for in a smartphone, and what services you already use, it's going to be really hard to make a useful argument.
I mean, practically everybody here uses WP, and many of us have been using it since WP7, and many used WinMo before that. So in general, we're obviously biased in favor of WP. But there's probably all kinds of related things there. For example, we probably haven't dropped a bunch of money on Android or iOS apps, so we don't have that reason to use a different platform. We probably don't rely too heavily on Google services; although some of them work quite well on WP the integration is obviously better on Android. On the other hand, we probably do use OneDrive, OneNote and so on, where the integration is a lot better on WP. We're also more likely to have an Xbox Music pass (what used to be called a Zune Pass), and WP is the only phone OS that can make use of that.
If you care a lot about Xbox Live gaming, then WP is a good choice; it's the only phone platform I know of with XBL support, and there are many games on WP that give XBL achievements and Gamerscore. If you like hacking, it has less malware than Android but is a little more open than iOS, although due to the relatively few people hacking on it progress tends to be slower than on iOS. On the other hand, with relatively few people hacking on it, you can be a big fish in a small pond if you can come up with new hacks or make existing ones work better. Cortana appears to be more powerful (and with better voice recognition) than Siri, and more reliably useful than Google's equivalent. It's easy to get early OS updates if you don't feel like waiting for carriers that drag their feet. WP runs better on low-end phones than Android does, and you can get better battery life out of the same hardware.
Seriously, without more idea of what you're looking for, it's really not going to be easy to tell you. The things that I like about the platform may be completely unrelated to the things you would like.
thanks for you reply
my primary needs in a smartphone are.
1) Camera (i like clicking pictures)
2) Social Networking
3) Gaming
I've used my brothers lumia 520 and found it great. The camera itself was great though its of 5MP.
On the other hand i've also used an android phone and i liked it too playin Clash of Clans all the time
I've not owned a smartphone till now.
And aware of not entering the flagship devices.
I just need a premium midrange phone .
For windows i've opt for L730
and for android the new Moto G 2nd gen.
So what should i do now...
The lumia got that fabula design ahead when compared to moto g
the camera too is great on lumia.
But the moto g has got the things to entertain you when you get bored.
Exploring android is awesome indeed.
You've got CoC when you need to waste time, torrent to download movies.
Dead Trigger to kill zombies
So what should i do?
I like both the device
and my needs are partially separated in bothe the device.
But i just need one to go with.
Give me your help
GoodDayToDie said:
Without knowing more about what you look for in a smartphone, and what services you already use, it's going to be really hard to make a useful argument.
I mean, practically everybody here uses WP, and many of us have been using it since WP7, and many used WinMo before that. So in general, we're obviously biased in favor of WP. But there's probably all kinds of related things there. For example, we probably haven't dropped a bunch of money on Android or iOS apps, so we don't have that reason to use a different platform. We probably don't rely too heavily on Google services; although some of them work quite well on WP the integration is obviously better on Android. On the other hand, we probably do use OneDrive, OneNote and so on, where the integration is a lot better on WP. We're also more likely to have an Xbox Music pass (what used to be called a Zune Pass), and WP is the only phone OS that can make use of that.
If you care a lot about Xbox Live gaming, then WP is a good choice; it's the only phone platform I know of with XBL support, and there are many games on WP that give XBL achievements and Gamerscore. If you like hacking, it has less malware than Android but is a little more open than iOS, although due to the relatively few people hacking on it progress tends to be slower than on iOS. On the other hand, with relatively few people hacking on it, you can be a big fish in a small pond if you can come up with new hacks or make existing ones work better. Cortana appears to be more powerful (and with better voice recognition) than Siri, and more reliably useful than Google's equivalent. It's easy to get early OS updates if you don't feel like waiting for carriers that drag their feet. WP runs better on low-end phones than Android does, and you can get better battery life out of the same hardware.
Seriously, without more idea of what you're looking for, it's really not going to be easy to tell you. The things that I like about the platform may be completely unrelated to the things you would like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't have xbox either
cabba403 said:
thanks for you reply
my primary needs in a smartphone are.
1) Camera (i like clicking pictures)
2) Social Networking
3) Gaming
I've used my brothers lumia 520 and found it great. The camera itself was great though its of 5MP.
On the other hand i've also used an android phone and i liked it too playin Clash of Clans all the time
I've not owned a smartphone till now.
And aware of not entering the flagship devices.
I just need a premium midrange phone .
For windows i've opt for L730
and for android the new Moto G 2nd gen.
So what should i do now...
The lumia got that fabula design ahead when compared to moto g
the camera too is great on lumia.
But the moto g has got the things to entertain you when you get bored.
Exploring android is awesome indeed.
You've got CoC when you need to waste time, torrent to download movies.
Dead Trigger to kill zombies
So what should i do?
I like both the device
and my needs are partially separated in bothe the device.
But i just need one to go with.
Give me your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can actually torrent on wp, but if ou really like gaming on your cellphone you're better off with an android, just make sure the specs are high enough!
matgras said:
You can actually torrent on wp, but if ou really like gaming on your cellphone you're better off with an android, just make sure the specs are high enough!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but i love Lumia too !
cabba403 said:
but i love Lumia too !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows phones are absolutely fantastic on my opinion and any other OS just doesn't feel right, there are a lot of games on wp but android simply has more.
But it's up to you to decide

Android vs IOS my thoughts.

Hi all, new to the forum so thought I'd do this as my first post,
I have had android since it came out in 2008 on the G1 phone, having it for so long I fancied a change so traded my s6 edge plus for an iPhone 6s.
I had the iPhone for 2 weeks but really didn't get on with it, I'm not saying it's a bad phone but coming from an OS which is hugely customisable /tweekable I couldn't deal with the lack of deep editing and customisation so here are my pros and cons:
Ios:
Pros:
Really easy to use, a child could competently use one in a matter of hours,
Worked really well with my macbook air
Looks lovely.
No worries about malware or crap ad pushing apps.
Apple pay was brilliant
3d touch was great.
Updates are immediate after release and consistent.
Huge array of quality 3rd party accessories
Cons
Battery life was shocking,
Screen resolution is very dated and looks nowhere near as good as my androids
Camera was not as good and the macro was terrible
It felt like I didn't own the phone but was leasing it from Apple.
No customisation, the menus etc look so dated
No resizable keyboard,
Live wallpapers are extremely limited and didn't work well
No widgets
No sd card
Couldn't use it as a mass storage device.
ITunes has to be used for everything, and that's a bag of poop,
Replying and starting threads on the fretboard is a pain in the arse, they keyboard was constantly in the way of what I was typing.
The biggest thing for me was the fact you couldn't get into the system files,
I had the 16 version and had 1.2gbs worth of apps but 5gb of documents and data after 3 days if use! After a lot of research it's a known big issue they have not addressed And you can't do anything about it at all so half my storage was taken up by rubbish.
Android:
Pros:
Total freedom to customise everything,
Themes
Better camera
Better screen
Apps are cheaper or free
Much better battery life (from the phones I have had)
Cheaper
Integration with cloud and Google is phenomenal,
Can be used as mass storage and any file type can be played
Cheaper to insure
More storage space, and you can get rid of stuff you dont need.
The list goes on...
Cons:
Anyone can make an app so there is a load of crap, you have to do your homework on the apps available
Potential for malware (but this is nowhere as much of an issue as apple and the media make out, as long as you dont sideload apps.
Updates reliant on oem and carrier.
So after two weeks I sold the iPhone and got a HTC 10 which for me is better in literally every way.
I found on the iPhone I was using all of Google services and none of apples (drive, chrome Gmail etc)
Sifr is also nowhere near as good as Google now, and felt extremely limited compared.
I can totally see why people would stick with an iPhone as it does just work and works well but for me it's far to limited and had to find too many work arounds to get it to do what I want,
On the other hand my macbook air is the greatest laptop I have ever used and I would never buy anything else in the future.
So this is def not an apple bashing thread these are purely my direct experiences and fancied writing them down
In my opinion, both these platforms are slick, stable and secure, with thousands of apps available. Android is undoubtedly more customisable; iOS, you might argue, is a little more polished (especially on tablets). Visually they're quite distinctive too, taking different design approaches.
I prefer Android, and I think I always will prefer Android. I always was a Google & Android fanboy, and the fact that I mostly use only Google service, proves I couldn't be an iPhone user. Also, iOS is not open-source, which blocks customization and more. Plus, I don't like Siri
morozshaun said:
I prefer Android, and I think I always will prefer Android. I always was a Google & Android fanboy, and the fact that I mostly use only Google service, proves I couldn't be an iPhone user. Also, iOS is not open-source, which blocks customization and more. Plus, I don't like Siri
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest that was the turning point for me, I did use any of apples apps all Google, they're leagues ahead, def proud to be a Google fanboy
I find iPhones to be slow, unstable, unreliable, unpolished, counter-intuitive and extremely limited. They have mediocre cameras, mediocre screens, crappy battery life, and NO MICROSD SLOT. Also, iOS is very difficult to use and SIRI SUCKS. I don't want all these problems in a >$750 device that can only run one operating system.
Google Voice may finally be available for the iPhone, but the experience will never be the same as it is on Android. Other iPhone apps always direct you to the default dialer and visual voicemail apps, so even if you want to use Google Voice full time, you have to manually navigate it to yourself. On Android, apps like Google Voice integrate directly with the operating system—if you want to make calls with Google Voice, every call you make from the phone's dialer goes through Google Voice. When you click on a phone number in your browser or in Google Maps, it goes through Google Voice instead of sending you to the wrong dialer. True app integration like this makes using custom phone, SMS, voicemail, and even browser apps absolutely seamless on Android, which is something you won't find on the more locked-down iPhone platform.
I should add that to my rant. I appreciate some of what Apple has done (most of it happened before I was born), but locking down everything is not one of them. Apple would've gone broke if it wasn't for their iPod. Part of the reason: Locking their stuff like that and being proprietary. Also, Apple products are not compatible with my real-world personality. I like freedom and to have control over what I own, and Apple products look, feel, and function like someone else's device. I want my stuff to look, feel, and function like my stuff. So I guess I am an Apple hater, but I won't yet call myself an Android fanboy. And, no, I am not the one person in the world with a Windows phone. I hate Windows for different reasons. So I guess I can only enjoy using a Linux-based OS on desktop and laptop computers. And OSes like Android and Sailfish on mobile.
In case you want a summary of what I said, you can call me an Apple and/or MS hater, or a Linux lover, I don't care. But don't call me an Android fanboy. I like Android, but I am willing to try other OSes if they fit my personality of freedom, customization, simplicity, transparency, and reliability.
of course android=open source!!!
andriod are more customable and modable
At that moment using both iOS and Android. The only thing i really hate about android is that after some time device starting to perform really poor lagging freezing and so on and you cannot fix it by doing hard reset wiping all your data, it helps a little but its barely helps. So i cannot recommend to buy for inexperienced users android devices for a long term use. Long story short, i bought nexus 7 tablet when it was just released, it was super fast and smooth. Didn't install any os updates on it and after 1 year i couldn't enjoy it anymore, constantly lagging. Never experienced the same with iOS, always smooth, but yeah it has lots of limitations.
Nexus devices are meant to be tinkered with so they will slow down unless you mess with them. My cheap tablet had no noticeable slowdown in 4 years. iOS doesn't slow down because it is already slow.
Daniel Marchena recently wrote an article for XDA that relates to this topic and I think he made some good points on Android vs IOS. What it comes down to for me though is the fun of hacking the device. I personally had a lot of fun jailbreaking the iPhone, and iMessage is some of the coolest stuff ever. Although after switching to Android I don't think I'm ever going to go back. It's nicer being encouraged to play with Android then playing cat and mouse with Apple.
both are very different working platform, I use to be a IOS user iPhone 2g but after iPhone 4s i made a desicion to switch to android, with android has so much possibilites, you can do more with an android then an iPhone, iPhone is pretty basic and yeah a child could use... One thing i noticed is that gaming on an Iphone is much better with good FPS.. there hardware is so much optimized with the software.. currently using S7 edge and really happy with it, except some minor issues.. Glad to have a headphone jack though

Categories

Resources