Windows Mobile vs Android

[maverick786us]

I am stucked with Galaxy Note and upcoming Nokia Luminia 900 which is a big brother of 800 and will be announced next year.

Note looks impressive, but there few things that I dislike about.
1) Cheap plastic body
2) Below par speakers and

the fact the people have so numerous issues with Android. How good is latest Windows in this regards? I know its not that much efficient and good in multi tasking as Meego. But compared to Android and IOS.

 

[Unknown-One]

Heads up, the Lumia 800 and 900 run Windows Phone 7.5, not Windows Mobile

 

[yimingwuzere]

Android and Meego.

I had the N9 to play around with for a whole week. If not for the ludicrous price, it would be the only smartphone without the app ecosystem that I can recommend.

As for Android, despite the multitude of junk phones in the market, there's always one good one that will suit your needs. Horizontal sliders? Droid/Milestone series, Desire Z etc. Great cameras? Galaxy Note/Galaxy S2. Audiophiles? Nexus S. etc.

 

[maverick786us]

Heads up, the Lumia 800 and 900 run Windows Phone 7.5, not Windows Mobile

Thats what I mean, Windows Mobile 7.5

 

[maverick786us]

Android and Meego.

I had the N9 to play around with for a whole week. If not for the ludicrous price, it would be the only smartphone without the app ecosystem that I can recommend.

As for Android, despite the multitude of junk phones in the market, there's always one good one that will suit your needs. Horizontal sliders? Droid/Milestone series, Desire Z etc. Great cameras? Galaxy Note/Galaxy S2. Audiophiles? Nexus S. etc.

Yes the hardwares are great. But take it this way. Meego that is used in N9 is only customized for one device that is N9. Now Android is used for multiple devices. So there might be possibility that a bug might be fixed on one device and with some other device it might have different bug. Will Google solve all the bugs in which its OS is supported?

I myself have Galaxy S2 for my wife. Its hardwares are indeed good. But if compared with N9 which has a 2 yr old hardware, people face a lot input lags in Galaxy S2 compared to N9. And then switching between application in N900 and N9 is so easy compared to Galaxy. So where is Android lagging?

 

[Unknown-One]

Thats what I mean, Windows Mobile 7.5

The last version of Windows Mobile was 6.5, there's no such thing as "Windows Mobile 7.5"

Windows Phone 7.x is, for all intents and purposes, a totally new OS.

 

[sgrinavi]

The last version of Windows Mobile was 6.5, there's no such thing as "Windows Mobile 7.5"

Windows Phone 7.x is, for all intents and purposes, a totally new OS.

Give the guy a break, you know what he means. ..


OP - It really depends on what you're doing with your phone - If you use it for work in a place that uses Exchange & Windows for everything then, hell ya, the WP7.5 might be your best bet. If you're into Apple at home/work then maybe you want a iPhone xx - if you like to hack and root then go for an Android/nexus or something.....

 

[jeremyshaw]

Give the guy a break, you know what he means. ..


OP - It really depends on what you're doing with your phone - If you use it for work in a place that uses Exchange & Windows for everything then, hell ya, the WP7.5 might be your best bet. If you're into Apple at home/work then maybe you want a iPhone xx - if you like to hack and root then go for an Android/nexus or something.....

There is a significance in the different name. No WMx app will run on WP7. Similarly, there will be no WP7 devices that have no celluar radio inside them,

There is more than just a stigma MS is trying to outrun here (though it's their own damn fault for releasing WM6.x to begin with).

 

[danman]

Windows Mobile 6.5 devices were branded as Windows Phone as well.

 

[harmattan]

I've used all three major OSs. Windows Phone 7 outpaces both in UI and ease of use by a good margin, but still allows a good deal of configured-ability and modding - not as much as Android, but much more versitile than iOS.

 

[buffhr]

sorry dbl post

 

[buffhr]

Yes the hardwares are great. But take it this way. Meego that is used in N9 is only customized for one device that is N9. Now Android is used for multiple devices. So there might be possibility that a bug might be fixed on one device and with some other device it might have different bug. Will Google solve all the bugs in which its OS is supported?

I myself have Galaxy S2 for my wife. Its hardwares are indeed good. But if compared with N9 which has a 2 yr old hardware, people face a lot input lags in Galaxy S2 compared to N9. And then switching between application in N900 and N9 is so easy compared to Galaxy. So where is Android lagging?

Not always just look at the 2 versions of maemo(4 and 5) still have a multitude of unresolved bugs and both os's had a single handheld device assigned to them...

Your argument of 'since it's only 1 unit' goes both ways, easier to fix bugs yes, however that also entails meh wont affect next version or only affects small % of owners...

Or my all time favorite(witch is why i dont own an N9, i have owned both maemo version devices N900 and n800) and both have been dead end platforms...While they both have great community support they're 1 device then EOL.

As for OP

Indeed theyre is alot of issues with Android but most of those are on lower end devices and often end user related. But see it this way it is the OS that assures you the most flexibility while maintaining a high profile and community. See it as the windows of phones... As for WP7.5 i have only used it for a small moment and for what i seen it seems promising, have nothing bad to say about it other then handset seems underpowered vs android.

 

[BDV]

I have HTC Titan (WP 7.5) and love it. Way better than my previous galaxy.

 

[maverick786us]

I've always been a fan of big screen. I own N900 since last 2 yrs. I still love it and because of H/W keyboard and OS I still find it more hand compared to my wife's SG-2.

But time has come to look for an upgrade.
1) Galaxy Note is brilliant, with 5.3 inch screen and stylus. But apart from android issues, within an year or so, google will cliam that it will stop providing support for this device because of old outdated hardware

2) Nokia N9 is good, most efficient OS, good multi tasking very handy. Although Nokia has claimed that it will provide support for another 2 yrs and there are open source communities that will continue working on it. Meego is a DEAD platform. Its such a shame on nokia that they ditched such a good platform.

3) iPhone 4S is good, more robust and efficient than any other android device. But I am a big fan of big screens therefore 3.5 inch will not suit me. My N900 has got 3.5 inch screen and despite H/W KB I find the screen size small. Now with iPhone 4S having no physical KB, the onscreen KB will cover most of the screen

4) Luminia 900 sounds looks promising with 4.3 inch screen, FFC and latest Windows Tango platform. But I can't decide untill I don't read any review

 

[Unknown-One]

My vote goes towards Windows Phone 7.5 on a Samsung Focus S. Gotta have that SAMOLED+ screen

have nothing bad to say about it other then handset seems underpowered vs android.

The only reason Android phones have monstrous dual core processors is because Android seems to need that much horsepower in order to run smoothly (and the minimum hardware requirements keep going up, especially when you take into account the crap that carriers and OEMs often like to pre-install on Android phones).

Between the light Windows CE base, and the heavy use of GPU acceleration, Windows Phone simply doesn't need as much hardware in order to run smoothly. Microsoft is so confidant in the performance of Windows Phone, that Windows Phone 7.5's minimum hardware requirements are actually lower than Windows Phone 7.0

Most Windows Phone's are equipped with a 1GHz to 1.5GHz processor and 512mb of RAM, which is more than enough considering that Windows Phone 7.5 will run smoothly on a handset with as little as an 800MHz processor and 256mb of RAM.

Edit: Even Apple stayed away from putting dual-core processors in the iPhone for ages and ages. Same story as WP7; iOS simply didn't (still doesn't) need a dual-core in order to run smoothly, Apple was under no internal pressure to use a dual-core, so they didn't put a dual-core in the handsets.

 

[BDS23]

Windows Mobile? I'm pretty sure it's Windows Phone 7 (most people just say WP7). Anyway, my thoughts on it after a few days use was that it combines the awesomeness of Android and iOS. Android is colorful but messy, iOS is bland but neat. WP7 Mango is colorful AND neat. It's also really smooth, as in iOS smooth (better for me, but that's probably placebo). I also find that Nokia's ClearBlack display is really incredible, makes the iPhone's ''Retina'' display look dull. The only display that comes close is Samsung's S-Amoled display, but I find it slightly oversaturated. My vote goes for the LUMIA (not Luminia) 900. When it comes to Nokia, their hardware is superb. So quality hardware + awesome software (despite what people think of ''Windows'') equals win. You haven't seen sexy until you unbox the Lumia 800 or 900 yourself. Cheers.

 

[maverick786us]

Windows Mobile? I'm pretty sure it's Windows Phone 7 (most people just say WP7). Anyway, my thoughts on it after a few days use was that it combines the awesomeness of Android and iOS. Android is colorful but messy, iOS is bland but neat. WP7 Mango is colorful AND neat. I can't wait for my first Nokia Lumia phone. My vote goes for the LUMIA (not Luminia) 900. When it comes to Nokia, their hardware is the best there is. So awesome hardware + awesome software (despite what people think of ''Windows''). You haven't seen sexy until you unbox the Lumia 800 or 900 yourself. Cheers.

I myself am pretty much impressed with the WP 7.5 interface in Lumia 800. Even Lumia 800 itself is a good device, looks beautiful and sophisticated. It is made up of polycarbonate allow which is much better than CHEAP plastic used by Galaxy S2. Although there are some minor bugs with the OS that will eventually be fixed with next update.

The only thing that i dislike is, it does'nt have a front facing camera. I make a lot of video calls using skype and any device not having an FFC is a serious drawback.

 

[heatlesssun]

I have HTC Titan (WP 7.5) and love it. Way better than my previous galaxy.

This is a VERY impressive phone and it needs to be on Verizon and/or Sprint! Lack of hardware on CDMA in the US HAS to be addressed by Microsoft this year. For Verizon and Sprint to have only one Windows Phone device each is just ridiculous, I'd have to think that Microsoft is working on this lack of hardware problem, who knows.

But in spite of the lack of hardware in the US on CDMA I think Windows Phone is great. Android is more capable but there's a price to paid for that flexibility. Android reminds me very much of Windows Mobile, open and flexible but with so much inconsistency between devices, custom ROMs that would be great and then be so full of little bugs here and there. I see tong of Android users with all kinds of weird issues. No, its not all like that but Android is a computer phone OS, Windows Phone is indeed a smart phone OS.

 

[BDS23]

I myself am pretty much impressed with the WP 7.5 interface in Lumia 800. Even Lumia 800 itself is a good device, looks beautiful and sophisticated. It is made up of polycarbonate allow which is much better than CHEAP plastic used by Galaxy S2. Although there are some minor bugs with the OS that will eventually be fixed with next update.

The only thing that i dislike is, it does'nt have a front facing camera. I make a lot of video calls using skype and any device not having an FFC is a serious drawback.

The front-facing camera's absence hit me too, until I looked back on my phone-usage routine and realized I never really bothered with a front-facing camera. You don't have to worry though, a leaked picture was rumored to show the Nokia Lumia 900 with a FFC.

 

[maverick786us]

This is a VERY impressive phone and it needs to be on Verizon and/or Sprint! Lack of hardware on CDMA in the US HAS to be addressed by Microsoft this year. For Verizon and Sprint to have only one Windows Phone device each is just ridiculous, I'd have to think that Microsoft is working on this lack of hardware problem, who knows.

But in spite of the lack of hardware in the US on CDMA I think Windows Phone is great. Android is more capable but there's a price to paid for that flexibility. Android reminds me very much of Windows Mobile, open and flexible but with so much inconsistency between devices, custom ROMs that would be great and then be so full of little bugs here and there. I see tong of Android users with all kinds of weird issues. No, its not all like that but Android is a computer phone OS, Windows Phone is indeed a smart phone OS.

I do like the GUI of android, the vast android market and the fact that every 6 month Google release a new version. The best thing that I like about android is google map. It consists of latest maps and its search too is the best, which i believe one might not find in nokia or bing maps. N9 still consists of 5 yr old maps. Just like old Nokia N97 in which you have the option of using google map for GPS navigation, if Nokia also provides the easy option (in N900 and N9 its bit complicated to install google maps) of google map in its WP mobile it will be really good.

My wife owns SG-2, with Gingerbread and I am waiting for ICS upgrade. I didn't come across any major issue except sometimes there are some unknown background applications that drain battery faster therefore I have to clear the memory from task manager. Apart from that sometiems I encounter call breaks for which I would blame the carrier.

But based on user reviwes I've doscovered that android is bit inefficient and more buggy compared to Meego, WP and IOS, and I believe there are so many android handsets therefore its not easy to test and fix bugs for each and every device that uses that OS

 

[Ocellaris]

This is a VERY impressive phone and it needs to be on Verizon and/or Sprint! Lack of hardware on CDMA in the US HAS to be addressed by Microsoft this year. For Verizon and Sprint to have only one Windows Phone device each is just ridiculous, I'd have to think that Microsoft is working on this lack of hardware problem, who knows.

Yeah I've been casually interested in a WP7 phone on Sprint and the lack of hardware options isn't really helping things. So far the only option is the HTC Arrive which came to Sprint long after GSM carriers had WP7 hardware. I haven't seen any solid evidence of the new Nokia WP7 devices coming to any CDMA carrier. Seems like everything in WP7 land is always "coming in ~6 months", going to be extremely hard for them to get any traction with limited carrier support.

 

[heatlesssun]

Yeah I've been casually interested in a WP7 phone on Sprint and the lack of hardware options isn't really helping things. So far the only option is the HTC Arrive which came to Sprint long after GSM carriers had WP7 hardware. I haven't seen any solid evidence of the new Nokia WP7 devices coming to any CDMA carrier. Seems like everything in WP7 land is always "coming in ~6 months", going to be extremely hard for them to get any traction with limited carrier support.

I have an Arrive, it's not a bad phone except Sprints 3G on it is kind of crappy. My wife had the Trophy on Verizon and the 3G on it is MUCH better. Actually for what it is and costs, the Trophy isn't a bad phone but it's still very basic for a smart phone. Microsoft needs to get more hardware on Verizon and Sprint and do whatever it takes.

 

[Unknown-One]

My wife had the Trophy on Verizon and the 3G on it is MUCH better. Actually for what it is and costs, the Trophy isn't a bad phone but it's still very basic for a smart phone. Microsoft needs to get more hardware on Verizon and Sprint and do whatever it takes.

Yeah, a friend of mine has an HTC Trophy, it's a nice little handset. He's had no complaints aside from wanting to toy with a front-facing camera.

Verizon also has the HTC Radar (a 4G Windows Phone with a front facing camera), which serves as the HTC Titan's little brother.

 

[jeremyshaw]

I thought the Radar was only on T-mo?

 

[heatlesssun]

I thought the Radar was only on T-mo?

I was getting excited there for a moment, I just checked Verizon's site and indeed the Trophy is still the only Windows Phone listed.

 

[XeroHouR]

I just dumped in my order for the lumia 800, switching from another WP7 device. I like the look and smaller size compared to my current WP7 device. I would definitely go with WP, the lagginess and horrendous battery life of android devices really steered everyone I knew away from android.

That said I've read the Lumia 800 has a battery life problem now, but they are working to patch it (god only knows how that's true).

Don't let people tell you that theres no apps or you'll be left out in the cold for apps with WP7, as a former android user there is honestly NO app that I had on Android (That wasn't a game) that I miss on my WP7. The core use of the phone being awesome and smooth is way more satisfying than a few bolted on easily dismiss-able apps that Android offered me.

Every review you read, that isn't someone who already has their mind made up or is heavily invest in their current mobile OS choice, has loved WP7, its hard to find a bad review of Mango. The criticism I see of WP7 are always from people who have never used it.

 

[danman]

The problem with WP7 is the customization. Every device looks just like very other device. You get 10 colors to choose from for your background and squares on your 'homepage'. There is no differentiation upon WP7 devices, they are all the same.

That's what I love about Android. I can customize my device 100 ways from Sunday to make it look and act how I want. Just like Windows on the desktop. My desktop is totally different from everyone I know and works for me.

This is why I will not use WP7. It's more locked down than iPhone.

 

[heatlesssun]

There is no differentiation upon WP7 devices, they are all the same.

Actually there's a good bit of variance in what hardware is available, the Titan certainly doesn't look like many phones period, let alone any Windows phone.

Yes, Microsoft locked down Windows Phone and had taken great pains to standardize it which I think makes a lot of sense. Microsoft was in the Android game before Android with lots of OEM add-ons and customizations and a hacking community which is great and all but it lead to a lot of wonkiness, very much like what you see in the Android world today.

Metro is minimalist and almost entirely chromeless by design and while it that doesn't lend itself to a lot of customization it definitely helps out with battery life and performance and clutter. It's kind of odd in a way that people that have criticized Microsoft for years over bloat and tons of performance killing features got their with in Windows Phone.

So yes, Windows Phone isn't about customization, its about a fast, fluid and uncluttered smart phone experience that does the things that most people want in a phone quickly and simply. That's probably the bulk of what most people want in a smart phone and it's the thing Microsoft decided to do and not let a lot of other stuff get in the way, at least for now.

 

[PNut12345]

The problem with WP7 is the customization. Every device looks just like very other device. You get 10 colors to choose from for your background and squares on your 'homepage'. There is no differentiation upon WP7 devices, they are all the same.

That's what I love about Android. I can customize my device 100 ways from Sunday to make it look and act how I want. Just like Windows on the desktop. My desktop is totally different from everyone I know and works for me.

This is why I will not use WP7. It's more locked down than iPhone.

Coming from ios to wp7, I can tell you that you are flat-out wrong there.

 

[danman]

So yes, Windows Phone isn't about customization, its about a fast, fluid and uncluttered smart phone experience that does the things that most people want in a phone quickly and simply. That's probably the bulk of what most people want in a smart phone and it's the thing Microsoft decided to do and not let a lot of other stuff get in the way, at least for now.

If it was what people want then people would be buying them. People are not buying them at all. The VP of the division was demoted and the entire focus is suspect. People want something like iPhone, which is Android (same type of UI - icons etc). WP7 isn't selling. It has nothing over the competition and no positive to it. It's just another smartphone platform. There is nothing it offers (or differentiates it from the others) that the others do not.

Why would someone choose WP7 over anything else? What can they not get by choosing WP7 over the competition? Nothing.

I'm no WP7 hater, I tried a Samsung Focus and HTC device with Mango for a month. I went back to my Nexus S (and now Galaxy Nexus). The negatives just out weigh the positives on the platform. Lack of customization is huge for me. The others are apps and widgets. The WP7 live tiles is complete garbage. They tell me nothing.

During the Christmas break I was at my families house with 20 or so people. All had Android or a few iPhones. I asked every person why no one had a WP7 device. They all said they found them boring and no person at the store that they bought their phone pushed the WP7 phones.

 

[danman]

Coming from ios to wp7, I can tell you that you are flat-out wrong there.

Cool. Thanks for pointing out all of the reasons I'm wrong. You win an innernets.

At least you get to choose a wallpaper in IOS.

 

[danman]

Her's what I do not like about WP7:

Can't stand the UI: 10 colors to choose from for the background only. Really, I can't have a wallpaper?

Can't stand the UI: At a glance doesn’t tell you anything (I have 1 email? Thanks, that's helpful. No preview?)

You have to open the twitter app to view info (tile tells you nothing). Or any app. The live tiles are complete crap.

You can’t view the entire app name if it goes off the screen

Zune audio app sucks - have to use the zune desktop software. I hate using desktop software to manage my device. It is all about transcoding to the device then.

No way to create folders to put apps into – Just a long list to scroll down

Creating custom ringtones is a pain in the ass.

Live tiles just don't update. And if they do they give you minimal info.

Camera is terrible on all phones.

Turn by Turn directions just don’t work at all. Bing maps is shit.

Layout/Navigation - The fonts are too big. Why is everything I view half off the screen? There's no flow to the OS, I never really know where I am.

Metro's high contrast color chemes are terrible and good for short term use only.

Metro's fonts are either too big or too small and you can not change them. Both are way too inconvenient. Large titles do not fit the screen, small font is hard to read. I always feel I need to put on my glasses when trying Metro.

Metro's layout and navigation is inconsistent. There is no fixed layout, there are no indicators where you are, no indicators of what you can do, or where or if you can scroll, It all feels like a game.



All the WP7 hardware is last years hardware. Who loves paying for yesterdays phone?

 

[PNut12345]

Her's what I do not like about WP7:

Can't stand the UI: 10 colors to choose from for the background only. Really, I can't have a wallpaper?

Can't stand the UI: At a glance doesn’t tell you anything (I have 1 email? Thanks, that's helpful. No preview?)

You have to open the twitter app to view info (tile tells you nothing). Or any app. The live tiles are complete crap.

You can’t view the entire app name if it goes off the screen

Zune audio app sucks - have to use the zune desktop software. I hate using desktop software to manage my device. It is all about transcoding to the device then.

No way to create folders to put apps into – Just a long list to scroll down

Creating custom ringtones is a pain in the ass.

Live tiles just don't update. And if they do they give you minimal info.

Camera is terrible on all phones.

Turn by Turn directions just don’t work at all. Bing maps is shit.

Layout/Navigation - The fonts are too big. Why is everything I view half off the screen? There's no flow to the OS, I never really know where I am.

Metro's high contrast color chemes are terrible and good for short term use only.

Metro's fonts are either too big or too small and you can not change them. Both are way too inconvenient. Large titles do not fit the screen, small font is hard to read. I always feel I need to put on my glasses when trying Metro.

Metro's layout and navigation is inconsistent. There is no fixed layout, there are no indicators where you are, no indicators of what you can do, or where or if you can scroll, It all feels like a game.



All the WP7 hardware is last years hardware. Who loves paying for yesterdays phone?

So all your personal nitpicks are proof the is sucks?

About the only point I'll concede is having to use Zune software to load songs. Zune kicks the shit out of iTunes all day long.

There's a very easy way to put wallpaper on your WP7 device.

Making custom ringtones is a snap.

Last years hardware makes WP7 run as smooth as ios and smoother than 99% of android phones out there.

 

[heatlesssun]

If it was what people want then people would be buying them. People are not buying them at all. The VP of the division was demoted and the entire focus is suspect.

The main problem with Windows Phone is sales in the US are the number of devices outside on CDMA. As for the entire focus of project being suspect, well the Windows Phone UI is about to become the UI for the most popular OS of all time and Windows Phone in the next couple of years will probably become based on the Windows desktop kernel. And that UI is just become part of the XBox.

Why would someone choose WP7 over anything else? What can they not get by choosing WP7 over the competition? Nothing.

Here's the thing, if you're not invested in the iPhone or Android, why not? Sure the app count is low, but there's still closing in on 50,000, most of the big stuff is there. And it's very simple to use.

I'm no WP7 hater, I tried a Samsung Focus and HTC device with Mango for a month. I went back to my Nexus S (and now Galaxy Nexus). The negatives just out weigh the positives on the platform. Lack of customization is huge for me. The others are apps and widgets. The WP7 live tiles is complete garbage. They tell me nothing.

Tiles are not garbage, it's simply how well they are utilized is put into them, they're quite powerful, I can see all the things I need to quickly, weather, appointments, stocks important to me, etc. And with Windows 8 pretty much completely invested in the idea of titles I think you're going to find a lot more interesting ways they get utilized.

During the Christmas break I was at my families house with 20 or so people. All had Android or a few iPhones. I asked every person why no one had a WP7 device. They all said they found them boring and no person at the store them bought their phone pushed the WP7 phones.

And yet when I've shown people Windows 8 on my Samsung Series 7 Slate people go "Wow!". But as you point out it's about marketing. As the Windows Phone UI gets on the XBox and in Windows 8 I think this attitude will change. Maybe not, but boring as it may be I love how freaking fast and fluid my HTC Arrive is running on hardware that Android would choke on. Kind of weird that the proprietary locked down OS is the most efficient one.

 

[heatlesssun]

You can use Spotify for music now.

 

[danman]

So all your personal nitpicks are proof the is sucks?

About the only point I'll concede is having to use Zune software to load songs. Zune kicks the shit out of iTunes all day long.

There's a very easy way to put wallpaper on your WP7 device.

Making custom ringtones is a snap.

Last years hardware makes WP7 run as smooth as ios and smoother than 99% of android phones out there.

No, it does not suck. RIM sucks. WP7 is nice just not my cup of tea. My nitpicks are why I chose Android over WP7 and IOS. Not that WP7 is complete garbage. This thread was WM over Android and why you chose one over the other. I'm stating why I chose one over the other. No one is wrong here. Choose what is best for you.

And putting ringtones on WP7 is not easy.

Last years HW is not what sells. Who wants to buy something old for today's prices?

 

[danman]

The main problem with Windows Phone is sales in the US are the number of devices outside on CDMA. As for the entire focus of project being suspect, well the Windows Phone UI is about to become the UI for the most popular OS of all time and Windows Phone in the next couple of years will probably become based on the Windows desktop kernel. And that UI is just become part of the XBox.

That's entirely circumstantial. Most popular OS of all time? WP7 has 1% market share. The same as Palm. It's not even growing.

Here's the thing, if you're not invested in the iPhone or Android, why not? Sure the app count is low, but there's still closing in on 50,000, most of the big stuff is there. And it's very simple to use.

Words With Friends is a big one. There is no App on WP7 for cross platform play. WP7 is not cool. It does not bring out the 'oos' and 'ahhhs' when you show people.

Tiles are not garbage, it's simply how well they are utilized is put into them, they're quite powerful, I can see all the things I need to quickly, weather, appointments, stocks important to me, etc. And with Windows 8 pretty much completely invested in the idea of titles I think you're going to find a lot more interesting ways they get utilized.

Win8 isn't the discussion nor is something in the future. We are discussing 'now'. Tiles show me the #'s of mails and 1 meeting appt. Android shows me a few of my recent mails and my entire calendar. android Widgets, whichever you choose, will show you all info. The drop down window shade shows me even more notifications.

And yet when I've shown people Windows 8 on my Samsung Series 7 Slate people go "Wow!". But as you point out it's about marketing. As the Windows Phone UI gets on the XBox and in Windows 8 I think this attitude will change. Maybe not, but boring as it may be I love how freaking fast and fluid my HTC Arrive is running on hardware that Android would choke on. Kind of weird that the proprietary locked down OS is the most efficient one.

We are discussing the 'now', not Win8 next year. My Galaxy Nexus is fast and fluid. Is is the HW of now. Maybe WP7 will get it in 6-9 months.


I'm not saying Android is the best ever, or IOS and WP7 are a complete waste of time. They are certainly not. I'm just giving my reasons why I chose Android ICS over WP7.

 

[maverick786us]

I just dumped in my order for the lumia 800, switching from another WP7 device. I like the look and smaller size compared to my current WP7 device. I would definitely go with WP, the lagginess and horrendous battery life of android devices really steered everyone I knew away from android.

That said I've read the Lumia 800 has a battery life problem now, but they are working to patch it (god only knows how that's true).

Don't let people tell you that theres no apps or you'll be left out in the cold for apps with WP7, as a former android user there is honestly NO app that I had on Android (That wasn't a game) that I miss on my WP7. The core use of the phone being awesome and smooth is way more satisfying than a few bolted on easily dismiss-able apps that Android offered me.

Every review you read, that isn't someone who already has their mind made up or is heavily invest in their current mobile OS choice, has loved WP7, its hard to find a bad review of Mango. The criticism I see of WP7 are always from people who have never used it.

What is your openion on latest Nokia Maps used with WP7 compared to Google Maps? With N900 and N9 it still uses 5 yr old maps. So if I want to use those OVI maps in GPS Navigation. Its hard to find new places.

 

[BDS23]

I just dumped in my order for the lumia 800, switching from another WP7 device. I like the look and smaller size compared to my current WP7 device. I would definitely go with WP, the lagginess and horrendous battery life of android devices really steered everyone I knew away from android.

That said I've read the Lumia 800 has a battery life problem now, but they are working to patch it (god only knows how that's true).

Don't let people tell you that theres no apps or you'll be left out in the cold for apps with WP7, as a former android user there is honestly NO app that I had on Android (That wasn't a game) that I miss on my WP7. The core use of the phone being awesome and smooth is way more satisfying than a few bolted on easily dismiss-able apps that Android offered me.

Every review you read, that isn't someone who already has their mind made up or is heavily invest in their current mobile OS choice, has loved WP7, its hard to find a bad review of Mango. The criticism I see of WP7 are always from people who have never used it.

An update should be available in January to implement some fixes and improvements.

 

[BDS23]

The problem with WP7 is the customization. Every device looks just like very other device. You get 10 colors to choose from for your background and squares on your 'homepage'. There is no differentiation upon WP7 devices, they are all the same.

That's what I love about Android. I can customize my device 100 ways from Sunday to make it look and act how I want. Just like Windows on the desktop. My desktop is totally different from everyone I know and works for me.

This is why I will not use WP7. It's more locked down than iPhone.

When you look at the bigger picture, most would just see Nokia/WP7. Just like Android/Samsung. Yes there are other WP7 devices with different brands, but Nokia has made themselves the premium partner for WP7. Besides, did HTC or Samsung made extensive advertising about WP7? Nokia did.