WP8 & Win7

O

Occidio

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 17, 2005
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I am thinking of picking up a Windows Phone 8 and I have Windows 7 at the house. Will I run into any problems? Does Windows 7 work with this Skydrive software or is it a windows 8 exclusive?
I am not upgrading my computers to windows 8 so this is the last question I have before I make my decision. Can I plug the phone into my win7 PC and move files to and from the phone like my current android in like terms?
 
windows phone 8 and 7 get along nicely. You can even download the WP8 preview 3 application to make syncing easier. WP8 otherwise shows up as a thumb drive on your system.
 
Cool. That strengthens my choice for switching over. The two biggest things were connectivity and the usages of maps. I use google maps for my gps in the car and when I played with the MS maps, it was a small change but doable.
 
If you're used to google you might be in for some aggravation from Bing. Unless they changed it, there is no using google as the phone's default search when hitting the capacitative button. And bing on the phone is not as good as either bing or google on the desktop.

As an example, typing in "cup to ounces" on the phone gives you a list of websites that can do the conversions. Neither google or bing PC is this inept.

Currently on first and last WP7(.8) phone.
 
Team Obi Juan said:
Currently on first and last WP7(.8) phone.
Click to expand...

QFT. Love the Nokia 920 hardware, and some of the Nokia apps, but overall... WP8 is a pain the ass. It's hard to explain, but you'll know what I mean if you've used an Android phone for any length of time.
 
IIRC there's a hack to use google as the default search. Also, there is a 3rd party app that uses google maps.
 
It wasn't so much as using google for search. it was using the google maps as a navigation device. I tested the bing maps program on a phone in the store and it seemed adequate. I am sure there is a learning curve but it should be fine. If there is a 3rd party app to use google maps, then all the greater.
I never did use the search button even on my android phone so I should be fine there. I will just make a bookmark or default the browser to go to the google web page if needed.
 
Nokia maps > all. They let you download maps so that you will still have valid location data even if you have no signal. Currently have 2 states that I use the most and Vietnam loaded into my phone and it's nice when I am in the middle of nowhere with edge and can still see where I am at without having to break out the dedicated GPS.

WP 8 is a nice improvement over WP 7 as it allows access to expandable storage and now allows for your own ring tones...
 
Never used Nokia maps, I am not getting the 920. I am picking up the HTX 8X. It fits my preferences better.
 
The 8X is as big as a Titan, which I have, and has .4" less screen. Also comes with HTC abysmal support. Would not buy another HTC.
 
YeuEmMaiMai said:
Nokia maps > all.

WP 8 is a nice improvement over WP 7 as it allows access to expandable storage and now allows for your own ring tones...
Click to expand...

Nokia Maps is available on all WP8 phones. WP7 also supports expandable storage and custom ring tones.

My wife has a 920 while I'm still on an Focus S. I'm waiting for the 2nd group of WP8 phones that should be out by mid-year before I upgrade as her phone and WP8 doesn't seem like much of an upgrade over my "old" WP7.8 at this point.
 
The 920 is the best phone I've ever seen/used. Absolutely love it. Came from Android.
 
I picked up the HTC 8x last night. I got it on a deal with a buy one and get the second one free. It was a superior deal to the $100 920 for only one. It was a chance to get my wife to finally move over to a smartphone. So far I am loving it. It is indeed integrating well with Windows 7 so that is the big plus for me.
It also allowed me to move over to one of ATT new family shared data plans. I am paying the same now for two phones to have unlimited phone and txt along with 10gig data and every smart phone having tethering.
 
Bankie said:
Nokia Maps is available on all WP8 phones. WP7 also supports expandable storage and custom ring tones.

My wife has a 920 while I'm still on an Focus S. I'm waiting for the 2nd group of WP8 phones that should be out by mid-year before I upgrade as her phone and WP8 doesn't seem like much of an upgrade over my "old" WP7.8 at this point.
Click to expand...

WP 7 does not support expandable storage unless both of the following are true

1. Your phone has an SD card slot

and

2. You are willing to do a factory reset thus requiring you to resetup and reload your data.

WP 8 allows you to drop your own ring tones directly to the device without the need for 3rd part applications (Zune for example). Plug it into the computer and drop it into the ringtones folder...Also you can remove and install different cards without the hard reset.
 
So you're saying that WP7 does support expandable storage and ringtones.
 
1. Take your WP 7 with an SD card out of your phone and tell me what happens.
2. WP 7 requires you to use ZUNE to put said ringtone on your device so yes, WP 7 does not support ring tones on it's own.

http://winsupersite.com/article/windowsphone75/windows-phone-75-create-custom-ringtones-140834

WP 8 you can remove your SD Card and retain full device functionality
WP 8 you can directly drop ringtones into the device via USB just put it in the Ringtomes folder on the device and you are done. Only limitation is that it is < 30MB..
 
YeuEmMaiMai said:
1. Take your WP 7 with an SD card out of your phone and tell me what happens.
2. WP 7 requires you to use ZUNE to put said ringtone on your device so yes, WP 7 does not support ring tones on it's own.

http://winsupersite.com/article/windowsphone75/windows-phone-75-create-custom-ringtones-140834

WP 8 you can remove your SD Card and retain full device functionality
WP 8 you can directly drop ringtones into the device via USB just put it in the Ringtomes folder on the device and you are done. Only limitation is that it is < 30MB..
Click to expand...

1) Can you replace the SD card with a larger card? Yes, expandable storage. You can't just pull your main HD in your PC either. Does that mean that PCs don't have expandable storage to you?
2) You don't have to use Zune. Plenty of apps that do it right on the phone and Nokia and HTC (I think) have apps builtin that can do it. The sad thing is that MS still doesn't allow custom notification tones on either version.


My wife recently went to a Lumia 920 from her Flash S and when I ask her how she likes it she always says that it's just like her old phone but less reliable (She's gone through 2 already due to manufacturer defects) and bigger and prettier. I've been a pusher of WP to others but I'm a bit disappointed in WP8 at this moment. It still doesn't do VPN, custom notifications, Non-Nokia phones get shafted on some apps, etc. I still like the UI more than any of the other Smartphone options but if MS doesn't do more with it by the time I'm eligible for an upgrade I'll probably jump back to Android or give the iphone a shot.
 
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YeuEmMaiMai said:
Nokia maps > all. They let you download maps so that you will still have valid location data even if you have no signal. Currently have 2 states that I use the most and Vietnam loaded into my phone and it's nice when I am in the middle of nowhere with edge and can still see where I am at without having to break out the dedicated GPS.

WP 8 is a nice improvement over WP 7 as it allows access to expandable storage and now allows for your own ring tones...
Click to expand...

I really cant stress how awesome a feature this is. I was just in London and took a trip to Kent. I only have an old burner without internet in England. Being able to download an entire country's map to use locally on my 920 was a lifesaver. Also, i camp and hunt a couple otimes a year and no more worries when driving in a rural area in the us or Canada.

The integration with windows 8 is seamless, much better than I ever found on Android or apple. It really pushes wp8 over the edge for being the best mobile os' IMO. Only drawback is Zune has been killed and you need to redownload your zune pass music.
 
Bankie said:
1) Can you replace the SD card with a larger card? Yes, expandable storage. You can't just pull your main HD in your PC either. Does that mean that PCs don't have expandable storage to you?
2) You don't have to use Zune. Plenty of apps that do it right on the phone and Nokia and HTC (I think) have apps builtin that can do it. The sad thing is that MS still doesn't allow custom notification tones on either version.


My wife recently went to a Lumia 920 from her Flash S and when I ask her how she likes it she always says that it's just like her old phone but less reliable (She's gone through 2 already due to manufacturer defects) and bigger and prettier. I've been a pusher of WP to others but I'm a bit disappointed in WP8 at this moment. It still doesn't do VPN, custom notifications, Non-Nokia phones get shafted on some apps, etc. I still like the UI more than any of the other Smartphone options but if MS doesn't do more with it by the time I'm eligible for an upgrade I'll probably jump back to Android or give the iphone a shot.
Click to expand...

lol ok... if you consider having to reset your phone every time you expand your storage....then I guess it is... Android WM 6.X and WP8 have true expandable storage support were yo do not have to reset the device every time you use a different card.

Using an app to create a ring tone from something on the phone != to being able to plug phone into PC and drop ringtones into a specific folder without any additional software..
 
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So far I have nothing but good things to say about it. I can't believe how light this thing is compared to my old android. I downloaded my States maps locally to test out and it works great. I am actually liking the live tiles quite a bit. I was at first a little sad about loosing a background image like my android but I prefer being able to have the live tiles after messing with them enough.
 
I've owned an original iPhone, a Droid OG, Droid X, Palm Pre 2, and am currently using a two year old HTC Trophy (WP 7.5). Guess which one is my very favorite? Yep, and it's running on a single core processor and still remains fast and fluid. I want to upgrade to a 920, but am patiently waiting for Verizon to get a variant of it. Try running ICS let alone, Jelly Bean on a two year old device and see what happens.

If the people who bash WP would actually use one for a few days, they'd be surprised at how enjoyable it is and how much of a perfect blend of Android's power with iOS' simpleness it really is.
 
^I like WP 8, 7 not so much due to dificulties when trying to expand phone storage on devices you can actually access the SD card. The UI is on both versions is extremely fast with no discernable lag.
 
I agree the windows phone are superior to android, ios, etc etc. I have owned them all and the fact is microsoft knows how to make a superior os that can be faster and use less battery than the other os types.
 
yelsewshane said:
I agree the windows phone are superior to android, ios, etc etc. I have owned them all and the fact is microsoft knows how to make a superior os that can be faster and use less battery than the other os types.
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And you know when some is smokin Crack when!
 
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