Maybe things have changed but circa the last Windows Phones I had (HTC Trophy and HTC 7): on the strength of apps it wasn't even in the race with Apple or Google, absolutely no phones had anywhere near the after-market accessory support (both diversity and availability) of iPhones/iPads or the bigger Android devices (especially the main Galaxy models), and it had all the walled garden shortcomings of iOS like limited customisability, requiring bulky iTunes/Zune crapware to make a computer even see the phone, no alternative app store options or ability to install your own local software (at least not without a paid 'developer' account), and inability to do relatively basic things like browse the file system from a PC to copy files to/from.
My single biggest frustration being that I want to be able to use it as a PHONE was that the rebranding from "Windows Mobile" to "Windows Phone" meant neutering or outright losing PHONE-related functionality like contact sync, backup/restore SMS messages, call log export and call blacklists for ignoring withheld/private numbers. Many of these things were non-issues in Windows Mobile 6 and prior which I was a big fan of, and the walled garden bullshit means apps for this kind of functionality can't be ported to Windows Phone even if the developers wanted to. The main draw-card of Windows Phone development for me (XNA) was left in various states of crap like 'update coming soon' and incompatibility with current Visual Studio versions before dropping support entirely. In short, as much as I really wanted to like Windows Phone, they did anything I could possibly think of to do wrong from both a consumer and developer standpoint. Is my understanding of Windows Phone horribly out of date, or (as I suspect looking at the arrogance and near-complete lack of acknowledgement of feedback and popular opinion with Windows 8) has little of the above rant changed from the early WP7 days? Are you able to do something as simple as backup/export your SMS messages with Windows Phone yet (something MS were promising since the Mango announcement by which point I had bought a Galaxy and haven't had any reason to look back)? Is it worth a grumpy cat like myself giving the Lumia-era phones a try or am I just going to be left even more jaded and cynical? From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com] On Behalf Of Stephen Price Sent: Friday, 7 February 2014 11:28 AM To: ozDotNet Subject: Re: Today was very quiet on ozdotnet ... I have the Nokia 1520 and its 6" screen is almost the size of a nexus 7. Love it, and it still fits in my pocket. The lack of apps (there is still a gap) isn't as bothersome as I thought. There is one app I use that doesn't have an official one (Harvest) which I just pin a shortcut to the website and their mobile website looks like a native app. Really well done and with a 4G connection you'd never know its a web app. Also am using Xbox music exclusively now. Was using Mog with the unlimited streaming on Telstra but now I just download what I want (64Gb sd card) at home. I also have my Nexus 5 sitting here not doing anything if I ever decide to switch back... not touched it since getting my Nokia. On Fri, Feb 7, 2014 at 7:47 AM, Ken Schaefer <k...@adopenstatic.com<mailto:k...@adopenstatic.com>> wrote: The Omnia 7 was good when it came out (but, I agree the Maps app was useless outside of the US). Unfortunately WP7 devices are now the equivalent of a 2nd gen iPhone, due to the changes in architecture between WP7 and WP8, you miss out on a lot of functionality. Here Maps has offline maps, speed limits, routing options etc. - just like using a regular GPS device. Cheers Ken From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com<mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com> [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com<mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com>] On Behalf Of Tony Wright Sent: Friday, 7 February 2014 10:35 AM To: 'ozDotNet' Subject: RE: Today was very quiet on ozdotnet ... Nah, it's a Samsung Omnia 7, and that app doesn't appear in the marketplace. But actually, I just found a pretty good google client, which has everything I need. Will give that a go. T. From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com<mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com> [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com] On Behalf Of Ken Schaefer Sent: Friday, 7 February 2014 10:15 AM To: ozDotNet Subject: RE: Today was very quiet on ozdotnet ... You can't get Here Maps (previously Nokia Drive etc.) instead? That has options to use/avoid toll roads, defaults to Australian addresses etc. Cheers Ken From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com<mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com> [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com] On Behalf Of Tony Wright Sent: Friday, 7 February 2014 9:48 AM To: 'ozDotNet' Subject: RE: Today was very quiet on ozdotnet ... I have a problem with Bing Maps as well on my Windows Phone. Firstly, it doesn't seem to recognise where I am. Even after locating me on the map, when I put a location in to get directions, it expects me to put in that I'm in Victoria, every time. If I don't, it tries to find the location in the US, or doesn't find the location at all. Secondly, when it does find a location, it always tries to get me to take toll ways. Even if it's much longer than going another way, or another way is just as good, it will always try to get me to pay a toll. Ridiculous. Which leads me to Windows Phone. I am one of the suckers that has one. I like that it has upgraded to give me more items on my front screen, but it looks like industry has now standardised on iPhone and Android. Which means that due to lack of market penetration, most of the apps advertised are not on Windows Phone, or if they are, have lower functionality. The range of apps is so much better on Android and iPhone. From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com<mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com> [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com] On Behalf Of David Connors Sent: Thursday, 6 February 2014 10:24 PM To: ozDotNet Subject: Re: Today was very quiet on ozdotnet ... On Thu, Feb 6, 2014 at 7:53 PM, ILT (O) <il.tho...@outlook.com<mailto:il.tho...@outlook.com>> wrote: David, actually I don't mind Bing. What aggravates you about it - browser and desktop? Google morphs every month or week which upsets my conventionalism, and I just can't get the hang of Google browser on iPad (well, many things on that platform confuse me). Bing's results are garbage. Today I needed to confirm a few points about the installation of a Zenmuse gimbal on a Phantom 2 quadcopter. The manual was a bit crap so I went to Google - got the answer and it was installed. Check out Bing's efforts at machine learning vs Google's. Google *knows* what a Zenmuse 3D-2D is and gives me nothing but content relating to that. Bing just does some juvenile keyword matching including offering me games and movies in 3D - one relevant result which is a question. Google is all answers. I go back to Bing from time to time to see if it has improved - but it is useless. Related searches ... Mahjong. WAT Googles: Bing It: Click here<https://www.mailcontrol.com/sr/MZbqvYs5QwJvpeaetUwhCQ==> to report this email as spam. This message has been scanned for malware by Websense. www.websense.com
