I spent about a year and a half with Windows phone before returning to android late last year. There are 3 things I miss about my 1020. The camera (duh), insane battery life, and hands free voice control.
There was no need to physically interact with the phone at all in the car. Someone texts, I can respond aloud to either read or ignore and then give a reply if I choose. With android, I still cannot find a way to do this without first having to touch something on the phone, essentially eliminating the safety of it. This is pretty disgusting in 2015 on a platform that is dominating the world.
To my knowledge the Moto X has this ability though I'm not familiar with it in detail, but if it does, shouldn't this be something that is software based and thus can be ported? Why hasn't there been greater focus put into it as a stock android feature? How many millions of people out there own android phones and drive Bluetooth equipped vehicles, or even use headsets etc?
The research I've done has left me without answers. If you know of any apps or ways to achieve true hands free Bluetooth voice control on android, please comment with details.
Totally agree, same problem from sony,didn't expect that.
I've had an 50€ archos windows phone 8.1 for a month, and very impressed me width cortana,here,voice dial and control,voice navigation from here on bluetooth parrot without looking the screen .I have an xperia z 2years old,now on official 5.02 and voice control is missing totally,and no app to install for work in the car with parrot for calls without touching the phone,only parrot button. Definitely go by a lumia 930,940.They think google now do the job,is a shame that so many people swallow this.
Related
Hi to all,
I recently acquired this wonderful device, the Samsung Galaxy S II and I am discovering every day new tips and apps on it. Its the best android smartphone that I've ever seen.
I am a musician composer and arranger and I installed many musical apps on it (like musical light, drums...) but there is a problem on all of them.
There is too much latency when I am trying to play piano, or drum... and on Iphone, its not the same. There is no latency! So I was wondering if there is anything to do to reduce the latency and to be able to play correctly on the phone? My phone is in v 2.3.3
android just inst their yet, still a lot of work to do before they get it anywhere near the usefulness of IOS.
Give it another couple of years maybe, I wouldn't waste your time at the moment, get an IPAD if you want a useful portable musical tool, its really the only way to go, dont even bother with the Android tablets.
im really debating on whether i should switch from an GS3 to a lumia 920? i just worry about the app store. are the apps really that limited on lumia 920?
it depends....
If you're talking about applications I would say that the ones that are there are as good or better than Android and for those few that are missing, there are alternatives or 3rd party apps that do the job and in some cases exceed those original apps still missing. So if you're talking about functionality with respect to apps, I would say you'll be perfectly fine with making the switch.
However, if you are a heavy phone gamer and want the latest games and have them for free with ads etc, Google Play is much more ahead of Windows Phone. If you just want light gaming like Angry Birds Star War's, Cut The Rope etc.....you'll be perfectly satisfied.
I made the switch to Windows Phone. I'm not a big gamer, don't really care about gaming on the phone (I prefer a tablet even for light gaming). What I would argue though is that the functionality out of the box, the consistency of the UI1 and the consistency of the apps, and the speed of Windows Phone seriously makes it a better phone than either Android or iPhone.
If you want to drive your car with your phone, or are a heavy gamer and love to tweak your phone over and over and over I would say get Android. If you want a dumb but safe OS with a phone that has a high resale value and you don't mind paying through your nose for an overpriced product which has serious limitations like small screen and proprietary accessories etc, iPhone is for you.
I chose the Lumia 920 and have no regrets whatsoever. Seriously, if you use Google services and you switch to Windows Phone, just get gMaps & Metrotube and that covers pretty much everything (Skydrive is better than Google's offering anyways). I had gMail and switched to Outlook and only use my Google account for Youtube when I'm on the PC. People who say "But with an Android I can get Google Services" are seriously not realizing that there is really not much there, if anything, compared to Windows Phone. Hope this helps you make your choice.
I've contemplated switching myself. My wife has a new lumia 920 and it's a beautiful phone. She's been a Windows phone user for a year and a half now and absolutely loves it. We also picked up a new lumia 920 for my 19yr. old son for Christmas and being an avid xbox guy, he was extremely happy. At least for the twelve hours he had the phone before it got knocked off the table onto our tile floor and cracked the screen. It should be back from the repair shop next week.
I do have to admit that with Windows 8 on all our computers, the integration with my wifes Lumia 920 and her LIVE account is pretty cool. To a large extent, google has the same sort of integration, but it seems quite a bit more scattered with multiple different google apps for different things, where WP8 just seems to sync/integrate everything quietly in the background.
I've always enjoyed "tweaking" my phone. Started with a Nokia e71 and Symbian, moved to an iPhone 3GS and Jailbreaking, then finally to Android where pretty much anything is possible. I'm worried that moving to WP8 would feel a little too restrictive.
That being said, my contract is up for renewal in a couple months and I'm actually thinking of going with a Lumia 920 just to see how I like it. I figure I can always sell it and go back to my i9300 SG3 if things don't workout.
so this is the thing
bigkahuna111 said:
If you're talking about applications I would say that the ones that are there are as good or better than Android and for those few that are missing, there are alternatives or 3rd party apps that do the job and in some cases exceed those original apps still missing. So if you're talking about functionality with respect to apps, I would say you'll be perfectly fine with making the switch.
However, if you are a heavy phone gamer and want the latest games and have them for free with ads etc, Google Play is much more ahead of Windows Phone. If you just want light gaming like Angry Birds Star War's, Cut The Rope etc.....you'll be perfectly satisfied.
I made the switch to Windows Phone. I'm not a big gamer, don't really care about gaming on the phone (I prefer a tablet even for light gaming). What I would argue though is that the functionality out of the box, the consistency of the UI1 and the consistency of the apps, and the speed of Windows Phone seriously makes it a better phone than either Android or iPhone.
If you want to drive your car with your phone, or are a heavy gamer and love to tweak your phone over and over and over I would say get Android. If you want a dumb but safe OS with a phone that has a high resale value and you don't mind paying through your nose for an overpriced product which has serious limitations like small screen and proprietary accessories etc, iPhone is for you.
I chose the Lumia 920 and have no regrets whatsoever. Seriously, if you use Google services and you switch to Windows Phone, just get gMaps & Metrotube and that covers pretty much everything (Skydrive is better than Google's offering anyways). I had gMail and switched to Outlook and only use my Google account for Youtube when I'm on the PC. People who say "But with an Android I can get Google Services" are seriously not realizing that there is really not much there, if anything, compared to Windows Phone. Hope this helps you make your choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been a windows phone user for two years now and I will say this much, if you are looking for customizability and playing with the look of your phone, windows phone will bore you to tears. The truth is that once you setup your layout on the homescreen, there isn't much else you can do or will do since it is already setup to your needs and how you use the phone. Like I add tracking packages to the bottom of the screen and once they get delivered I delete them, same goes for games once I finish playing them. So once the screen is setup I would argue that you do get bored after a while and go through different colours depending on your mood or even depending on the Bing wallpaper which is showing that day (if you use that lockscreen feature) etc. There really isn't any other customizability you can do or really will do after a bit because the phone is perfect for a lack of a better term, its perfectly setup for your needs.
I would argue that's a good thing, even though I do wish I can see some animations on the lockscreen etc. At the end of the day the added functionality I get with a Windows Phone and the way it integrates with everything I use, is just too good to give up to get some more freedom with respect to tweaking icons, text, wallpapers, animations etc.
Hope this helps you in your decision....
If you can live with the out of the box WP functionality & experience for the majority of your needs then you will be happy. If the stock apps don't cover the majority of your needs then stick with Android. Of course WP has some great 3rd party apps that add functionality/fill in the gaps, but you may not be able to count on them always working or the program being around in the future. A good example are YouTube apps which may stop working because Google has made a change, until the developers make the necessary changes.
For the best WP experience you are basically going to use Microsoft services Outlook.com/Hotmail/Live. If you have all your info in GMail,Google Docs etc. then you should decide if your willing to migrate it to the MS ecosystem, before moving to WP IMO
Hi. Coming from SGS3, I wanted to know if i could find an apk like Gstrings and Musical lite?
acruxksa said:
I've contemplated switching myself. My wife has a new lumia 920 and it's a beautiful phone. She's been a Windows phone user for a year and a half now and absolutely loves it. We also picked up a new lumia 920 for my 19yr. old son for Christmas and being an avid xbox guy, he was extremely happy. At least for the twelve hours he had the phone before it got knocked off the table onto our tile floor and cracked the screen. It should be back from the repair shop next week.
I do have to admit that with Windows 8 on all our computers, the integration with my wifes Lumia 920 and her LIVE account is pretty cool. To a large extent, google has the same sort of integration, but it seems quite a bit more scattered with multiple different google apps for different things, where WP8 just seems to sync/integrate everything quietly in the background.
I've always enjoyed "tweaking" my phone. Started with a Nokia e71 and Symbian, moved to an iPhone 3GS and Jailbreaking, then finally to Android where pretty much anything is possible. I'm worried that moving to WP8 would feel a little too restrictive.
That being said, my contract is up for renewal in a couple months and I'm actually thinking of going with a Lumia 920 just to see how I like it. I figure I can always sell it and go back to my i9300 SG3 if things don't workout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 same thoughts here....
Haha you'll suffer
Sent From My Galaxy S3
I did a switch and am unhapppy.
Its just been 18 hrs since i switched from S3 to 920 and am already missing it very much. Its nothing to do with the phone as such. The major thing am missing is the android. If you happen to be an android user for over a year and if you like to play (Not just games but roms etc etc.) then i seriously suggest you NOT to switch.
kaladhar.r said:
Its just been 18 hrs since i switched from S3 to 920 and am already missing it very much. Its nothing to do with the phone as such. The major thing am missing is the android. If you happen to be an android user for over a year and if you like to play (Not just games but roms etc etc.) then i seriously suggest you NOT to switch.
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Click to collapse
Agreed.
I had a Lumia 920 for 2 weeks. Fantastic little machine, but I just found myself constantly looking on enviously at my friends' Android phones. Once I got the Nexus 4 it felt like I was back home.
For me, WP8 is too limited and has too many things that drove me up the wall. Type quickly? Forget about the auto-correct working properly, it couldn't keep up (and I'm by no means the quickest typist on a touch screen). Just little things such as the time not being displayed in certain screens at the top, and connectivity icons always being hidden used to irritate me. No notification was another irritant. Yes OK, the tiles would display unread texts etc, but I found sometimes I wouldn't notice them. The Android solution is so much better.
Overall, I just felt like I didn't have the same level of control as I do on Android. If I want to kill a task, how do you do that on Windows?
This can be a good or a bad thing, but I suspect many on XDA will not like it, being that most XDA members are very technically able people.
I thought I would enjoy having less choices and just getting on and using it, but you know what, it had the opposite effect.
exactly my same thoughts..^^^^^.
I switched to 920 at Christmas time. I love my new phone, Windows phone 8 is great, i can modify the home screen as much as I want and I love the live tiles. the only bug bear I had was the wifi switching of when asleep, but that has been fixed in the update I just received
one of the major reasons I switched was the slow uptake of Samsung to update it's phones, if I had not manually updated the firmware my s11 would still be sitting on gingerbread, the fragmentation of Android is hopeless. I only hope the same thing does not happen with Windows.
can you download files from the internet like you can with an android? I download a ton of torrents while i'm at work.
squarebobspongepants said:
can you download files from the internet like you can with an android? I download a ton of torrents while i'm at work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe nobody here downloads file ?
I not used torrent application myself but I did a search to see what apps in the store from my Lumia 920. I found a dozen so apps that manage and control torrent server software that you would have on your home computer. Some are free and some are paid .99 to 1.99. So at least you can control and manage your torrent server. I would suspect if you had a router based on tomato firmware that has torrent you could control/manage that as well in theory as well.
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
tameracingdriver said:
Agreed.
I had a Lumia 920 for 2 weeks. Fantastic little machine, but I just found myself constantly looking on enviously at my friends' Android phones. Once I got the Nexus 4 it felt like I was back home.
For me, WP8 is too limited and has too many things that drove me up the wall. Type quickly? Forget about the auto-correct working properly, it couldn't keep up (and I'm by no means the quickest typist on a touch screen). Just little things such as the time not being displayed in certain screens at the top, and connectivity icons always being hidden used to irritate me. No notification was another irritant. Yes OK, the tiles would display unread texts etc, but I found sometimes I wouldn't notice them. The Android solution is so much better.
Overall, I just felt like I didn't have the same level of control as I do on Android. If I want to kill a task, how do you do that on Windows?
This can be a good or a bad thing, but I suspect many on XDA will not like it, being that most XDA members are very technically able people.
I thought I would enjoy having less choices and just getting on and using it, but you know what, it had the opposite effect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience is the opposite many of yours. I have had Android phones since T-Mobiles G1 (I still have it) and I loved all the tinkering I could do with them. I've had Moto, HTC and Samsung. But there was always 'something' that didn't work quite right. Maybe the bluetooth stack wasn't that great or the GPS would show me blocks from where I am. Even the compass on one of them would have me twirling in circles as I sat at a traffic light. Some hardware issues, some software. An update would occur to fix something then another thing would suffer. Many ROMs built here were phenomenal pieces of work and way beyond my skill set. However a fgreat deal of the time even they were not quite done 'baking', for lack of a better term.
I saw the demo of my 920 while shopping for a new phone for my girlfriend. I had my One X for about 8 months. I HAD to have this phone. I've been using it for about 6 weeks now and it just works. That's all I can say. Everything on mine just simply works. GPS, compass, BT, mail services, WiFi...even phone calls! I've embraced the UI so much that I bought a windows 8 tablet and sold my iPad. (I sold the iPad for more reasons than just Windows 8 but that's for a different forum)
The seamless integration between the two is great and, for my purposes, I couldn't be happier with my decision to make this move. Is the app store lacking? Absolutely. But not to the point that I miss my Android phone(s). Don't misunderstand. I really do get why you would miss the flexibility of that OS. If I had time I'd keep one just for messing with. But it's so much easier now that when I want to do something I just do it and the phone cooperates completely.
My 920 from my perspective. Thanks for listening. Now back to your regularly scheduled browsing already in progress.
So as of late, I have been seriously considering switching to a 920 after using android for awhile, and I was wondering how some of you guys feel about the 920, specifically if you have come from Android. Main thing really holding me back is the new hardware put out like the Xperia Z, HTC One, or the S4. Your thoughts?
I had been using android non stop since like 2010 and honestly i got a bit bored of it (and a was quite a flashaholic). WP8 is amazingly fluid and i absolutely love the build quality of the 920. The only real downside is lack of apps. I currently switch between my 920 and my Nexus 4 because i can't decide which to sell.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Coming from a EVO 4g - I don't miss Android, but I did miss Google Maps at first. I have gotten used to Nokia Maps and Drive though and now like them quite a bit. Overall I like Windows Phone better. I have all the apps I need, so the smaller number of apps doesn't bother me. I think the quality of apps is much better on windows. I have not seen a better phone than the 920. The screen is by far the best I have ever used. The camera and video is amazing. I have not seen all the phones you mentioned though.
I bought a Galaxy S2 outright about a year and a half ago. Came from Apple and android was just the best thing that happened to me. So sick of Apple's ball and chain. Anyway, my contract with Telstra recently allowed me to get a new phone. I was going to go with the Galaxy Note II, but saw some things about the 920 that caught my eye. I liked the idea behind wp7 but thought the home screen didnt fit quite enough information on it. When I saw what WP8 looked like plus the features of the 920, I thought I should give it a go. Definitely the best decision I could have made. I dont know what it was about android but there was something that was just starting to bug me and was becoming stale. WP8 and Lumia 920 are just beautiful to use. Camera is ok (not groundbreaking, or maybe Im biased as I own a 'Real' camera) But taking videos with the stabilization is great. plus the video quality in general is quite good. Microphones are a notch above the rest too. Screen is brilliant, build is great (although I am construction worker so I have it locked away in an otterbox regardless). Sure there's not the app choice, but they are certainly coming, and all the apps that the average person -needs- are there. As a Smart Phone, it is in my opinion the best.
I went from Android to WP7.... because i was not satisfied with the stability of the OS... There were really a lot apps Missing back then.... But i really like how fluid an reliable WP was... The phone functions are most important to me...
Recently i bought a new Android Phone just to see how much has changed since than and if I'm missing out something with my Lumia 920...
Im using both now.. but I will stay with Windows Phone.. I get to used to it..
I just works.. no need for custom ROMS and tweaking around... There are
some apps missing but most of the popular one are available or there are solid alternatives...
Check if the app that you really like and use are on Windows Phone..
I don't mean games... the most are boring after 4-5 days anyway..
If not .. and you really need them stay with android.. else give WP8 a try... you won't regret it... The Lumia 920 is really the best phone i ever had!
One more thing i love about the 920 is the choice of colors you get. Most android phones only have one or two color choices (but most all are still dull)
With the 920, you get to choose between eye popping red or yellow, a glossy elegant white, and the sophisticated matte cyan and black. I had the white but got switched to the red and I love it
Sent from my Nexus 4
The short answer is come on over! The long answer:
The hardware is impressive, especially the Lumia 920 right now. If you are not completely on the google bandwagon then jump in, the waters fine.
As for pc connectivity, it can't be beat. Windows 8 has a tile dedicated to it, music and photos "just sync". iJoke about iTunes because it's laughable by comparison, and import your library for free. Then there's Nokia Music, Microsoft Xbox music, Spotify, and get free Pandora Premium for 2013 http://bit.ly/17Oac2m
Use your phone as a touch mouse for your netbook/Surface with "mouse without borders". Navigate your XBOX with smartglass, play games on xbox/8pc/phone/tablet that is purchased once on the Store.
Twitter, facebook, are fully integrated into the People app, share a photo with three clicks from taking the picture to all of your networks (again, except Google). Linked in is almost fully integrated, you have to download the app but it plugs itself in.
Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, Aol, messenger, fully integrated into the platform, get all of your email in one place, see all the details from all your contacts in one place. Calendars too (except Google! Microsoft will update that by July to connect after Google cut them off (see them as a threat methinks)) Skype works flawlessly and also integrates once you download the app.
GoogleTalk = IM+Pro (again, Google v. Microsoft) use a 3rd party app if you really want to.
Maps are solid, provide great navigation information, 8 out of 10 on the redirect if you go off course and no live traffic (yet). I only say this because google maps is faster at turn redirection if I miss a light, but that will improve and I don't use it all the time.
No notification drawer, but you get live tiles which do the same / similar job! No email notification? Not true! The live tiles just flipped, oh look! Five new emails from all my inboxes. Same for text messages, phone calls, etc.
Want updates on specific folks? no problem, put their live tile on your screen, see facebook posts, tweets, phone calls, photos, text messages, skype interaction and more on the tile. Not doing it for you? Click the tile and dive into every interaction you have with the person, all the history is there.
Apps Apps Apps... not all of them, and many by fans of first party developers. But get your head out of your phone. What is the more important app, or set of apps you need? check www.windowsphone.com and decide what you can live without before you make the switch. Is Instagram worth staying on Andy? Will it help you to know that Nokia confirmed that it is coming to WP8 this year? Can you do without for a short while? I don't use it, but I say yes you can!
My example is I like to use Springpad, no WP8 app. But look, Evernote is here! and on Windows 8, and on my Surface Pro. So I switch. Same with Dashlane to Lastpass.
Tethering: Yup
Headset: Holy cow this thing is quick to connect to all of my devices
Sound Quality: How's HTC Beats audio (HTC8X) or Dolby Digital sound (Lumia 920) for great audio?
NFC?: Check, and implemented, and working
Wireless charging: got it, works, nuff said
Camera: 920 has the best low light camera. (that last item there, was a period.)
Bluetooth: fantastic.
Processor: ZOOM (really, nuff said)
Screen (if you have 20-20 vision, you'll be fine) I have better than that and screen looks fine to me.
Battery life: holy cow. four days light use. 12 hours (easily) heavy use). My galaxy note dies repeatedly after about 8 hours.
Also, if you have a bluetooth headset on, it will whisper your incoming texts and allow you to listen, reply, and call hands free. Everyone will ask you who you are talking to. Bonus!
Bing vs Google. Who cares? I'm on a Microsoft kick, I'm going to run with it until Google gets their heads out and starts playing nice. Bing does a good job at finding the same answers that Google does, in a much more eye candy fashion.
What's to gripe about?
For me, Path (coming), Mint (no roadmap), Ally bank (coming), Manilla (unknown), YNAB,(no), Square (no), Paypal (check),... again, critical? nope. Want? yep. Surface pro and tethering to the rescue, problems solved.
Let us know what you decide (and if you took time to read all this.. I'm winded...)
afght19 said:
Coming from a EVO 4g - I don't miss Android, but I did miss Google Maps at first. I have gotten used to Nokia Maps and Drive though and now like them quite a bit. Overall I like Windows Phone better. I have all the apps I need, so the smaller number of apps doesn't bother me. I think the quality of apps is much better on windows. I have not seen a better phone than the 920. The screen is by far the best I have ever used. The camera and video is amazing. I have not seen all the phones you mentioned though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gMaps Pro is good replacement for Google maps but not free (also free version available)
btw.
for use Bing maps on Lumia just install this
http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=9e8f8fc5-da17-4b7f-80f3-2dc334de8dac
Hi Everybody
Looking for ideas, help and suggestions for a little Project I have given myself called Project Barebones....Shall I explain a little further said Mr Holmes to Watson...
Iv got a little experience with Custom ROMs from playing around with them on my other phone's and decided to challenge myself the of creating a basic little GPS and ANT+ bike computer , the main reason being. I’m a cheapskate and don't want to fork out over £250 for a Garmin 800 GPS and ANT+ bike computer as I don’t really need it but like the idea of it as keep on getting lost…..plus I like to have a dabble with phones, ROM and gadgets in general. That’s the reason you are probably reading this post as well.
I have bought myself a Sony Ericsson X10 Pro U20i and two spare batteries off Ebay. This is due to the relatively small size and it was only £20. It’s not in great shape but is fully functional and the point of this project was to make a home made GPS that is cheap, reliable and will actually work at its sole purpose of being a GPS. My initial idea is to use a Custom ROM should it be out there or with the Permission from an owner, to strip it apart and leave the bare essential required to function as a little stand-alone unit hence the Barebones reference. I don’t really want o go into the land of creating a ROM as don’t have the time these day plus I have a feeling id be inventing the wheel again.
Parameters for the unit are simple:
One Android operating system no lower than 2
One GPS software package
GPS & Wi-Fi capability only
Bluetooth capability for the ANT +
Keyboard functionality
Simplest launcher possible
Access to the Playstore as some apps will not work without the it being installed. IE Strava
Simplest web browser
The unit will not need to be able to make calls, text or even be able to work of a mobile network as Wi-Fi will be the only comms required.
I think my main obstacle will be the ANT+ as the phone is capable of it, as defined in the original OS of the phone as publicised over the net
Any help would be great appreciated as I’m a novice in the understanding of ROM and Android at this level and to anybody who’s reading this thinking oh I’ve seen this before, just point me in the right direction as I can’t find it after searching for a few days.
Unless I am missing something, there is no way this is geared for a business professional, anymore than a regular tablet would be. It's not an ideal phone, email or texting device, just something that features office 365 on two screens. I know for myself, if I cannot make/receive phone calls and texts, even send emails efficiently, then this device is DOA for me. Am I off base here, or give it a go?
If you aren't into getting to play with new stuff then don't bother. I use it, Director of IT for a medium and find lots of uses for multi tasking. But I can see some areas for improvement. But I use a Bluetooth headset 99% of the time and we are heavy Office 365 so Teams and power point at same time or SharePoint makes it nice. This isn't your weekend photo family phone.
JOHNGAETANO said:
Unless I am missing something, there is no way this is geared for a business professional, anymore than a regular tablet would be. It's not an ideal phone, email or texting device, just something that features office 365 on two screens. I know for myself, if I cannot make/receive phone calls and texts, even send emails efficiently, then this device is DOA for me. Am I off base here, or give it a go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this device is directly targeted to the business user that is immersed in the M/S eco-system. It's real advantage is the dual screen multifunctionality. Where there are misses in my opinion are speaker quality, camera quality (maybe software can help), lots of people take lots of photos for business purposes, half the RAM I think the device needs for its intended purpose and battery life. In order to utilize the multi-tasking dual screen you will eat up the battery in less than a day. Software aside I feel like this is half baked, in 6 mos it will feel complete??