[Q] How often do you use your voice commands? - Moto X Q&A

Just wondering how much you get out of your moto x's flagship feature.
Do you use it less or more than you thought you would?
Do you find the regular old Google Now to be suitable, or did you install more capable and customizable voice apps like utter!?
I feel like i would use it alot but i'm worried it might end up being a gimmicky thing. (although it will definitely be useful in the bathroom so i can control music while showering!)

Related

[Q] Is lumia worth the price?

Hey, i'm going to buy a new phone soon and im thinking to get a lumia. Is it worth it? Is it better than android and ios in someway? How about the dataplan? Is it much cheaper than the others? Really need an existing windows phone user to reply how they feel about their phone. Thank you very much for your cooperation
"Is it worth it" is a personal question - it depends on what you value, how much you can afford to spend, what phone you're thinking of (there are at least six Lumias in active production and at least one older model still being sold), what deal you can get it for... however, you're asking a forum full of Windows Phone users, so the general answer would be "yes".
Is it better than Android or iOS somehow? Yeah, a few ways. The interface is much more dynamic, presenting at-a-glance info and requiring less popping into and out of apps, plus the lock screen is pretty configurable. The battery life requires much less shepherding on WP8 than on Android, and there's also none of the malware found on Android. The built-in Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) are better than any that I have seen for either Android or iOS. Xbox Music Pass (formerly Zune Pass) is very sweet, although it's not available in all regions; check this. Similarly, Here Drive (formerly Nokia Drive) is better than other navigation apps (built-in or third-party) that I've tried, but may not be available, or at least not free, in all regions. Developing for WP8 is really easy and you can use a large number of languages. The software keyboard is excellent; I prefer it over the iOS one (massively) and over most Android ones. The integration of Skype calls is really nice. The ability to switch between Live messenger, Facebook chat, and SMS/MMS in the Messaging hub is very cool. The fact that you don't need to install iTunes is a plus on Windows (unless you already use it... eww). All Windows Phones are required to have a double-action camera button (half-press to focus, full press to shoot) although you can also use tap-to-shoot. There are lots of Xbox Live-enabled games, many of them quite good, which are not only fun but also earn you GamerScore on Xbox Live. The Xbox Live integration also lets you message and game with your Xbox Live buddies, although you can't generally play between phone and console directly. Xbox Smartglass lets you use the phone to control, view, and interact with the Xbox 360. Generally speaking, phones are updated faster than on Android. If you let us know what's important to you, we could possibly list other advantages...
The data plan is a carrier thing, not an OS thing, but will probably be the same price and features as other smartphones. That's something you will have to research yourself, though.
I like the Windows Phone devices I have (an HD7 running WP7, and an Ativ S running WP8). They do have some limitations - WP8 has not yet been hacked much at all, so there's a lot less homebrew for it than there was for WP7 - but overall they are nice. They get good battery life (the HD7 not anymore, but it's 2.5 years old), have good (if not all-encompassing) app selection, and have a number of nice features (WiFi tethering built in, for example). The main thing keeping me on Windows Phone is that I have a legacy Zune Pass (the kind that allows 10 DRM-free downloads a month) and therefore I really want a phone that will let me stream or download all the other songs so I can discover new stuff and decide what I want to use my credits on each month (before I use them).

[Q] Considering switching from HTC One to 1020; have questions

As the title suggests, I'm considering jumping from my HTC One to the Nokia Lumia 1020, and I have some questions. If this is the wrong forum, I'm sorry.
1. Is it possible (even through a hack) to set a homescreen background? I used to do this on the WP 7 themes on my iPhone, and it looked great with transparent tiles.
2. Has Google gotten into WP8? Voice, Gmail, Play Music?
3. Photo editing. What sort of post-processing options are there? I must have had 10gb of just photo apps on my iPhone, and I'm kinda struggling now on Android.
4. Keyboards? I've become a Swiftkey addict. Is there anything comparable to this in Redmond's garden?
5. Twitter and Facebook? My fiance has a Lumia 900, however her Facebook and Twitter apps look awful. Tweetbot was the best Twitter client I've ever used, so my standards are high.
Thank you in advance for any insight.
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
GoodDayToDie said:
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the responses. With regards to music, I had a 64gb iPhone 4S and still have an active subscription to iTunes in the Cloud. So I could store most of my music on my phone, and have access to the rest as needed. My One is only 32gb, so I keep some music on it, and the rest I stream via Google Play.
As for Google, does WP8 integrate with Google Voice at all? Or is there at least an app?
With photos, there are some apps from iOS that I truely miss, and haven't seen any alternatives on Android as of yet. I fear my pickings will be even slimmer on WP8.
Does the built in keyboard have anything akin to Swype? I'm fairly certain my girls WP7 does not.
As my girl does have WP7, she can't upgrade to the newest Facebook and is thus stuck with the awful one she currently has.
Thanks again.
As I mentioned, there are apps for streaming music from Google. Nothing official, but the reviews say they work.
There's one app I can find in the store, "Spare Phone", which claims to integrate somewhat (and has the WP8-specific app capability to do so). However, it looks like it can't recieve GV calls directly (forward to your mobile number or take voicemail notifications only) when it's in the background. I'm pretty sure the dev could fix this with enough effort. The app costs $3.49 USD, so I can't easily test if for you. There's no OS-level integration with GV, which doesn't surprise me in the least. Google is Microsoft's biggest competitor in this space...
I have no real idea what the photo app situation is like. There are tons of them, some well-rated, plus some built-in features of the OS. I still prefer to do my photo editing with the power and precision of a PC, though, so I haven't tried. The photos are overcompressed as is (all smartphone photos are), so manipulating them tends to produce artifacts anyhow.
Nothing like Swype, sorry. Microsoft really needs to get with the picture there. It's especially sad/funny, considering that Swype was originally for Windows Mobile and (according to a guy I know who works there) they'd be happy to bring it to WP, but MS hasn't allowed it yet.
Most of my FB on the phone is just done using the built-in integration (People hub, Messaging hub. etc.), but the new WP8 app really is excellent.
1. No you can't set homescreen background. I hope it will be coming in WP Blue update.
2.Gmail works fine, Xbox music is very much better option.
3. WP store is full of lots of photo editing apps, 1020 itself has proshot app. I think you would be very happy in this department.
4.No, unfortunately but you can expect it in updates.
5. Both official apps are very very good. FB just got updated and it's very good. You can also have beta app which updates continuously so FB support from MS is very much active. Official twitter app has everything you want, same as its iOS & Android counter part.
Instagram has 3rd party app instance which is very good, even you can save photo in it. Official Vine app is coming till then 6 sec is available.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Google Voice is handled quite nicely by Metrotalk. It takes some work to get setup properly, but once setup works very seamlessly.
Google has no official apps (aside from a poor Google search app) on Windows Phone, and the only thing known on the horizon is an official YouTube app (a joint project between Microsoft and Google). Otherwise Google has been pretty anti-Windows Phone. If you want the quality and selection of Google apps and services that you find on an Android phone, you simply won't get it anywhere except Android. Windows Phone and even iPhone don't compare to what Google offers on it's own platform. There are third party apps, and some of them are decent.
The Twitter and Facebook apps for WP8 now very closely match the functionality and look/feel of their official counterparts on iOS and Android. They still aren't as awesome, but thankfully, because of the tight OS integration, they aren't necessarily needed as much as you would need them on iOS or Android.
Nothing close to Swype and I'm gonna take a guess and say that it won't be coming anytime soon. There just isn't a demand for it. Clearly there is one here on this site (and other enthusiast sites), but this is a site made up of hardcore tweakers and enthusiasts. In the real world, most people do not know what Swype is and simply don't bother to learn it even if it is available to them. The Windows Phone keyboard is an excellent stock keyboard, and with some of the improvements being seen in Windows 8.1, you can expect it to get better as time goes on.
Almost any kind of configuring, tweaking, or hacking you may be used to on Android goes out the window with Windows Phone 8. For the most part, the operating system just works, so you don't always need it (like iOS), but some people still have that itch to tweak, and if that's you, Windows Phone 8 may not make you happy. But then again, I used to be that type of person, but once I got used to a platform that just worked and didn't need me to go ROM hunting every week, its just became so much better. The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
As with any upgrade, new line, or purchase, you should have an opportunity to try it for a bit before you go past the point of no return. So your best bet is to try it as your main driver for a week and see how it works for you.
prjkthack said:
The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
GoodDayToDie said:
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether the product is yours or not does not matter much here. At its base level, all the platforms are "locked down" to a certain extent, some more than others, and what you can do is limited by what the OEMs (Microsoft, Apple, or Google) say you can do. Now you can go ahead and throw hacks at it, tear it apart, or throw money at it to completely change it, but that's going beyond the scope of this discussion. They choose what permissions you may alter or ask for. Finding loopholes to get around permissions or authorization goes beyond what the original manufacturer intended, but its pretty fair to say that its far easier to circumvent security on Android than on any other platform. Android's inherently more "open" platform allows for greater risk at times because it isn't as locked down as iOS or Windows Phone.
That being said, being more locked down inherently offers more security or at the very least, piece of mind, whether that be protection from scripts or hacks, viruses, financial security, or just preventing errors/crashes. Denying or granting access to certain activities, or just flat out not having the option to deny/grant certain activities can be the base for a safer, more reliable, more secure operating environment. "Security" and being "locked down", in some cases, go hand in hand. Of course it can mean many different things to many people.
Now you could also be referring to other "security" features like corporate encryption policies or secure NFC or stuff like that, but that wasn't part of the original discussion, so my use of the word security does not include any of that, but I understand that certainly those types of security features may or may not exist between platforms.
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
OGhoul said:
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
mcosmin222 said:
Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
OGhoul said:
I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
There are apps which can stream from Google Music.
Alternatively, get a phone that has a microSD slot; my ATIV S has 80GB of total local storage, never mind the amount I have in my butt.
mcosmin222 said:
I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iCloud.
OGhoul said:
iCloud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
mcosmin222 said:
so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
OGhoul said:
The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes windows phone will upload full res images to skydrive. Great feature actually. BTW have you looked at Xbox music? Its similar to Google play music and iTunes streaming. Take a look, it might be what your looking for: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/music
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Xbox music, Pandora, Nokia Music all work great on my 1020. And something new in WP8, it can sync from your iTunes library. (new WP8 desktop app, no more Zune app like used for WP7)
Did you ever get the 1020 and what were your thoughts?
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4

[Q] How do you guys like your Moto X?

I have been debating buying a Moto X for some time. I keep missing the Dev edition before it sells out (twice now) and I have really been having a hard time with this. I'd like to know what your overall impressions are as well as your input on some various features.
For background, I'm currently using the G2, which I like very much, but the Touchless control, active notificaitons, Moto Connect, Trusted BT devices, and Moto assist features are a big draw for me.
So my questions:
How do you feel about the build quality (overall as well as any defects with your device)?
Do you like the screen? Anyone coming from a 1080p device feel that they are kind of missing out?
Touchless control - Do you use it and if so, do you find it useful?
Active notifications - Do you like this feature more than a dedicated LED? Do you find that you miss notifications or that the screen doesn't come on when you'd like?
Moto Connect - Anyone using this regularly? Does it work well?
Trusted BT Devices - Is anyone using this to bypass pin lock on a corporate account? If so, what device are you using (Pebble smartwatch, jawbone, etc) and how is it working for you?
Moto Assist - How is that feature working for you? Do you find it indespensible, or just nice to have?
Camera (post update) - Anyone with the camera update care to elaborate on how you feel about the X as a camera now?
I know that's a lot of questions. You don't have to answer them all. Just weigh in where you have input. I have read all the reviews and I'm trying to gather some real world commentary on these features and the device as a whole before I pull the trigger.
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.
Build quality is excellent in my opinion. Coming from a HTC ONE I don't miss 1080p one bit especially with the gained battery life from a lower resolution screen. Motorola connect is my favorite feature so far. I've never had an issue with it. Active display is a game changer. Overall it's the best device I've used to date. You won't regret getting one.
Sent from my all black Moto X
capathy21 said:
Build quality is excellent in my opinion. Coming from a HTC ONE I don't miss 1080p one bit especially with the gained battery life from a lower resolution screen. Motorola connect is my favorite feature so far. I've never had an issue with it. Active display is a game changer. Overall it's the best device I've used to date. You won't regret getting one.
Sent from my all black Moto X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Motorola connect a lot too and it is one of my favorite features. but for some reason it doesn't like my contacts and contact pictures. for most of my conversations it only shows the phone number. I don't know why. some of the contacts display picture and name. others just display the number.
1. perfect
2. cant tell the difference, like the video rendering better than what ive seen to date on any android
3. very useful, im doing all my texts and calling without using my hands
4. love this one, cant go back now to not having it
5. downloaded the chrome extension, great
6. not using this
7. use it for driving, plays pandora when i start driving without touching anything
8. happy now, happier in "very soon" as motorola stated today
9. dont wait, get it, its a GREAT phone
gammite said:
I use Motorola connect a lot too and it is one of my favorite features. but for some reason it doesn't like my contacts and contact pictures. for most of my conversations it only shows the phone number. I don't know why. some of the contacts display picture and name. others just display the number.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine used to show only numbers on most contacts and names on a few. The last few days it seems to have been corrected lately as I'm seeing all of my contact names. I did swap out my first x(white) for the black one and when I set up moto connect on the new one the contact names now show. Maybe if you delete and re add the chrome extension it would work? Just guessing though.
Sent from my all black Moto X
capathy21 said:
Mine used to show only numbers on most contacts and names on a few. The last few days it seems to have been corrected lately as I'm seeing all of my contact names. I did swap out my first x(white) for the black one and when I set up moto connect on the new one the contact names now show. Maybe if you delete and re add the chrome extension it would work? Just guessing though.
Sent from my all black Moto X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does Motorola Connect use much battery?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free
austriak said:
Does Motorola Connect use much battery?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe it uses a lot of battery. It didn't on mine. I started using moto connect but it seems still in its beta stages. If you like moto connect I might suggest trying the mightytext app. They have been doing the text from computer stuff for a lot longer. I was using it previously and switched back to this until moto connect becomes more reliable. The contacts sometimes appear for some people. i had it both ways. Reinstalling at one point made them all appear. But I don't like the pop-out windows much.
Differences/similarities between connect and mightytext:
1. both use a chrome extension and have pop ups in the bottom right corner of your screen
2. MT pops up an individual conversation between you and the other person while I believe the connect just pulled a pop up of all of your text (this was one of my biggest issues)
3. MC lagged more with me when sending texts and then marking that it had sent texts in comparison to MT
4. MT has a webpage that has all of your text on it while MC does a pop out from the chrome extension button that when you click anything else not in the box it goes away. But you can click the pop out button there so MC will make a different window, but it seems to reload messages when it does this
5. Sometimes when viewing the texts from the chrome extension pop out and the actual pop out window in MC they didn't match
6. sometimes in MC it will show the text someone sent but not have loaded the ones I sent yet but it did eventually load. This happened especially when I sent the text manually from my phone as opposed to from my computer while using MC.
as for your other questions. I really think this phone might be a good buy because of its hardware. I feel like the development of touchless controls and other apps that may use the same hardware in the future could get huge. Other phones won't be able to do this because they don't have the low power processor. Also active notifications can become highly improved. Further there is an led light on the phone but I nor anywhere I have read has figured out how to utilize it if we decided we wanted the led light as well as active notifications. Also, the camera technology allowing better action shots isn't that great right now but it can be improved greatly over time. And finally, many of the areas that things can be improved on are more apps then big updates that will need to be released by google, so they will hopefully get to your phone faster, e.g., touchelss controls, active notifications, etc..
How do you feel about the build quality (overall as well as any defects with your device)?
Overall build quality is nice and the phone has a nice weight and feel to it.
Do you like the screen? Anyone coming from a 1080p device feel that they are kind of missing out?
Screen is fine, and more than adequate.
Touchless control - Do you use it and if so, do you find it useful?
I have only tested it but appears it could be useful
Active notifications - Do you like this feature more than a dedicated LED? Do you find that you miss notifications or that the screen doesn't come on when you'd like?
So far I like it but it is a little sensitive. Some additional controls would be nice.
Moto Connect - Anyone using this regularly? Does it work well?
On my list to test...
Trusted BT Devices - Is anyone using this to bypass pin lock on a corporate account? If so, what device are you using (Pebble smartwatch, jawbone, etc) and how is it working for you?
Trusted BT works well and is a nice feature.
Moto Assist - How is that feature working for you? Do you find it indespensible, or just nice to have?
Camera (post update) - Anyone with the camera update care to elaborate on how you feel about the X as a camera now?
Do not have the update yet.

[Q] Looking to switch

hi people,
I'm looking to switch to WinPhone.
I've got a few quite good features on Android that I'd like to make sure I can have/reproduce on WinPhone too. May you help me with those ?
- Have ringer/notifications volume to get adjusted to ambient noise and/or calendar events automatically
- have a car mode
- have an event/place actions system (like Tasker or OnX)
Many many thanks
Fabio
- for ambient no...
- all this (car mode, task manager with close X) is available with upcoming GDR3 update or today for developer or via WP AppStudio...
notice: car connection with BT for hands free calls and audio reproduction is available long time ago in WP but with upcoming GDR3 come additional settings
I'd say it depends on what type of android user you are. If you just user the phone, sms, browsing and occasional app then you're fine. If you're a power user then you'll just get annoyed and frustrated at simple things that you use yo be able to do but now can't.
As I've said in the windows 1520 thread, its undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of hardware and is the prime drive for me to keep looking into windows phone. Dare I say it and definitely not trying to be a troll, but if it did run android, I'm sure myself and others would buy it in a flash.
Sticking with realities though, I don't think WP8 is quite there yet for the advanced android user. I'm still very concerned that without DPI settings/apps with phablet UI, that the 1520 is just going to be running blown up phone apps, like first gen android tablets, which is not ideal.
File browser is key and offers so much flexibility. Copying and sharing photos off your DSLR, sending whatever file you want through gmail, deleting downloaded files etc. Skydrive is not a suitable replacement, especially if you're not always on wifi/limited 4G data plans.
Apps is becoming less of an issue with most of the core apps there in some shape and using 3rd party official apps is not something I worry about. It is still an issue however for niche apps. Eg Niche medical apps, a reliable CHM file reader (reference text books), advanced pdf reader/editor with the ability to underline/comment/draw in.... I can go on. Even office 365 functionality that is supposedly a huge selling point is largely replaceable with Kingsoft office which is superb sans the synching (you just need the extra step of google drive).
Then there are the core google services which have really exploded in functionality to become more than just gimmicks in the past 12 months. – Chrome browser with its desktop session synching, google now with its local contextual searches, automatic G+ photo uploader (full size backups with auto enhancement unlike dropbox).
Lets not mention 3rd party accessory compatibility with Windows Phone...ie. there APIs are so closed that no BT keyboards work with it for example.
There's a lot which is being fixed and is "promised" to be fixed in upcoming updates from MS – unfortunately thats always been the story with WP as they play catchup, which I understand being a new OS. However, 12 months on, even basic things like notification centre, screen rotation lock, separate notification ringtones, separate notification/system volumes are still yet to be fixed/only being patched now.
In terms of positives of the windows phone os, to be honest there isn't anything that appeals to me that I'm not already experiencing in android. Metro UI I don't mind but can be hit and miss with no notification centre and when you're relying on 3rd party live tiles which don't always update frequently enough for your liking (and wit no option to change). Simplicity is always touted as a windows phone advantage, but to be honest I find android simple enough if you know what you're doing and the appeal is more for perhaps people new to smartphones. As an android user, the simplicity actually feels limiting as I can't get things to work exactly how I want it to. In short it's a matter of how much I can compromise when coming from Android to wp on the software side unfortunately.
Having said all this I'd still keep looking at WP due to Nokia's hardware and their general nailing of the camera (which android hasn't accomplished fully yet), but there needs to be a lot of improvement on the software side from MS and 3rd party developers before I can fully see myself changing platforms. As good as the hardware and camera may be, my smartphone is my mobile computer replacement and the OS needs to be able to function like that.
Perhaps when RT merges with 8.1 and a few more MS and Nokia updates roll out it'll get more capable and phablet friendly. But until that time I'm keep jealously watching and admiring in awe at the camera and hardware but deep down knowing I just can't do what I want to do on it right now.
YMMV.
Good luck!
Something like Tasker or automatic volume adjustment will require homebrew, or at least an OEM app; third-party apps aren't allowed to run continuously in the background (it's bad for performance and battery life) on WP.
thank to you all so far
is it possible to have voice driving directions in car (thinking of Here Drive) AND listen to music from another app at the same time ? Or view a Youtube video ? Is WP8 really multitask these days ?
chareos12 said:
thank to you all so far
is it possible to have voice driving directions in car (thinking of Here Drive) AND listen to music from another app at the same time ? Or view a Youtube video ? Is WP8 really multitask these days ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can listen music and working here drive+ navigation in same time... music temporally get lower and pause when navigation give voice direction
dxdy said:
yes you can listen music and working here drive+ navigation in same time... music temporally get lower and pause when navigation give voice direction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Youtube too ?
Man, I'm getting really impatient to make the switch
chareos12 said:
Youtube too ?
Man, I'm getting really impatient to make the switch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
youtube no, because when you switch to start screen or other app automatically stop playing (but only tried in official YT app and SuperTube)
Here Drive will run fully in the background (battery warning: don't forget to stop it if you take a break somewhere short of your destination!) and will override other audio playback to give directions. Start Here Drive, enter directions and start navigation, then hit Start (or press-and-hold Back) and go to your media player app. You should continue getting turn-by-turn prompts. It doesn't actually pause the audio, which is annoying - you'll miss bits of songs or audiobooks, for example - but it works.

[Q] Touchless Control Uses

I've been thinking about giving a Moto X a try recently and I had a few questions for those of you who own one.
Other than while driving, what are some of the unexpected uses you have found for touchless control? In theory it sounds great, but a couple of the things I can think which would be really handy (throwing it into cupholder in car and turning on bluetooth with voice, pausing Netflix stream that is beng chromecasted) can't be done because of limitations of Google Now/Search, rather than Touchless Control itself.
Also, most people seem to love active notifications. However, if the clock flashes every so often without notifications, it seems like one would occasionally not notice a real notification unless you actually glance at it, rather than something you see out of the corner of your eye and know you need to check on. Also can they be prioritized? Like the messaging icon will appear rather than gmail if you have both, because it is higher priority?
Thanks for any information.
evolvd said:
I've been thinking about giving a Moto X a try recently and I had a few questions for those of you who own one.
Other than while driving, what are some of the unexpected uses you have found for touchless control? In theory it sounds great, but a couple of the things I can think which would be really handy (throwing it into cupholder in car and turning on bluetooth with voice, pausing Netflix stream that is beng chromecasted) can't be done because of limitations of Google Now/Search, rather than Touchless Control itself.
Also, most people seem to love active notifications. However, if the clock flashes every so often without notifications, it seems like one would occasionally not notice a real notification unless you actually glance at it, rather than something you see out of the corner of your eye and know you need to check on. Also can they be prioritized? Like the messaging icon will appear rather than gmail if you have both, because it is higher priority?
Thanks for any information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The clock flashing threw me off when I first got it yesterday afternoon - I didn't know why it was flashing, and was afraid something was messed up. After a few moments though it does slow down/stop...or at least on mine it did.
And notifications (when you have multiple) I believe are set in order of receiving them. For instance, my G+ photo upload was ready for backup, and I got a Hangout SMS. The SMS took priority, while the G+ photo upload was smaller at the bottom. So I don't think it's based on "priority" but rather "which one is more recent".
Hope that helps.

Categories

Resources