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daninbusiness

This is a tempting device...but I have a bunch of reservations - any good reasons why I should just go for it?

Currently using a HTC Titan as my daily driver (I got it for free in the smoked by windows phone promo earlier this year). I also have an iPhone 4 (it got dropped a few too many times and its power button is flaky; I'm still using it around the house for games and as a remote for my HTPC).

I'm due for an upgrade on AT&T anytime now. At $99, the Lumia is a lot of phone for the money.

Anyway - in using the HTC Titan, I'm having a lot of love/hate moments with Windows Phone. Will briefly list those later.

Also sometimes thinking of switching over to T-Mobile (I think we'd save a bit on our monthly bill...coverage isn't really a concern since we're in an urban area most of the time...very near T-Mobile USA HQ, in fact)

Was by the Microsoft Store today and got to briefly play with a 920. Here's what I like about it:
  1. Thinner than my HTC Titan in its case (and about as heavy too...I can live with that)
  2. Nice screen; I like the size and pixel density.
  3. Mini tiles in Windoes Phone 8 allow for more density on start screen; even the small sizes are functional
  4. Plastic body seems super durable
  5. 32 gigs of storage for a $99 price (on AT&T contract? yay!
  6. Nokia Drive app seems pretty good - really nice bonus feature to have; voice navigation is handy when needed (the few times I ever use it...)
What I don't like (specific to the 920):
  1. Camera lens position seems easy to scratch
  2. Screen could be bigger, phone could be lighter (this is not a dealbreaker, to me however)
  3. I am really on the fence about Windows Phone. It's okay to use, but I feel like it's still lacking a bit in its current state...there's promise but it's not great now. Android and iPhone have more immediate functionality.

Lumia things I don't care about one way or the other:
  • Wireless charging - neat tech, but I'm not sure if I'd use it every day - the money spent on charging mats could just be put towards extra chargers for different places (home, work).
  • LTE - I'm sure it's nice, but not so nice that it's really worth getting a more expensive data plan. I bet my net cost will work out around the same.
  • AT&T - I'm not a fan of their consumer-unfriendly behavior with regards to facetime restrictions (even though as an iOS user, I've never used Facetime). It's a bad way for AT&T to act and I don't want to reward them with my business But their coverage has been good for me, and I like that it's GSM so I can use my devices globally when I travel.
  • NFC - nice that it's there, but I don't expect enough stores/services where I live to take advantage of it during the life of this phone.

Windows Phone likes:
  • SmartDJ is a pretty nice feature on Zune (and I assume that will work the same in Xbox Music)
  • People hub is a pretty good way of consolidating Twitter & Facebook for reading, though it comes up short
  • Fast, fluid, clean interface
  • I like the way my pictures get automatically updated
  • Feels uncluttered
  • Good onscreen keyboard
  • I like the approach to multiple email inboxes - I don't like all of my accounts being thrown into one big inbox (I like to keep personal, work, and junk accounts separate & process accordingly)
  • Most of the main apps I rely on exist in WP7, or have a good enough equivalent. (though sometimes not as robust as on other platforms...Evernote, I'm looking at you)
  • Office document support is pretty good (though I rarely need it and don't want to do work on my phone).


Windows Phone dislikes:
  • New "Groups" feature is neat but I don't think I'll have nearly as many friends using it as I do have friends using iMessage
  • Camera doesn't autofocus quickly - when taking pictures of my very young son or cats, the focus doesn't seem to follow fast enough.
  • Zune client is sometimes awesome and other times frustrating
  • I'm on Windows 7 and have no intention of upgrading to Windows 8 anytime soon; I have reservations on how well the music sync will work
  • Social features of Rdio (and the general interface, IMHO) are superior to Xbox Music
  • Bing...google search results are usually better for me.
  • IE zoom/scaling has been pretty crappy on WP7. But I hear this is better on WP8
  • Games have been really late in arrival. Maybe this will change with WP8....but it's nice on iOS being able to play games like Jetpack Joyride or Letterpress when they're really new.
  • Apps are also more expensive compared to iOS or Android.
  • I don't own an Xbox (nor plan to get one at this stage in its lifecycle) - so the Xbox integration & SmartGlass do nothing for me.
  • Copy/paste & text selection is awkward compared to iOS and Android...
  • Email syncing with read & unread messages is a little slow/weird compared to iOS or Android
  • Google docs support is next to nonexistent.


Other phones I'm considering - iPhone 5, Galaxy Note II, HTC One S (T-Mobile), Nexus 4, Galaxy S III, HTC 8x

So, despite it all - I still am pretty tempted by the Lumia.
Can anyone help me overcome my lingering concerns?

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Slaador

Slaador

Disclosure: I have owned Lumia 710 since February or so and right now I'm rocking a 920 for my third day. :)

Groups and messaging: an update with Skype integration is coming any day now. If Skype is going to be as tightly integrated with WP8 as I think, groups and messages are going to be VERY useful.

Camera: it does seem to take about 1-1.5 seconds to shoot a photo even in 'sport' mode. Don't know if it's fast enough for you... Probably okay for me.

Zune: rejoice, for Zune is no more! Win8 sync software is only used to auto-backup photos to your HDD and to buy software. For transferring files, you have direct access (like a USB flash drive) to Documents, Videos, Music, Ringtones and Pictures folders. And yes, you can do this on Windows 7. I've checked.

I'd say this about the apps ecosystem as a whole: all W8 apps are basically cross-platform - they can be ported automatically from Win8 to RT to WP8 and back. A developer only needs to adjust the UI for a smaller/larger screen, and that's it. And it's Windows we're talking about here. It's a HUGE and established market, it is yet absolutely untapped and it offers luxurious development tools. No sane developer would miss this opportunity. So I think that any issues with the apps will get resolved quite soon.

Bing: it's even more beautiful now and it seems to be getting better at finding things. I have allowed it to collect my browsing history and stuff (as I don't really have any illusions about my anonymity :) ), so it should be getting awesome real fast now. After all, Google is only better because it's been tracking my internet activity for so long.

IE is definitely better now, though I didn't have any issues with zooming specifically.

Games: see my thoughts on the ecosystem above.

Apps pricing: won't hold my breath, but it MIGHT happen once there's some serious competition in the store.

Xbox: I don't have one either, but lots of exclusive Xbox Live titles is a definite plus in my book.

Text Selection: it got more finger friendly, and not just because of a larger screen. It's now got those little circle things that help immensely. See screenshot: sdrv.ms­/TA8KrI

Email syncing: by default, your Exchange account (meaning MS Office Outlook you use at work) syncs immediately and other services (Gmail etc.) sync every 2 hours. That is a bit slow, but you can set them to update every 15 minutes. Personally, I don't use anything but Outlook for anything urgent, so 2 hours/manual is ok by me.

Google docs: there are some third-party apps available (GDrive and GDocs) right now. Google was very quick to release its search and browser apps for W8 store, so I imagine they'll catch up soon enough. Anyways, Office+SkyDrive work extremely well for me, though of course I'm using Windows 8 at home...

Just my 2 cents about the phone as a whole: I LOVE the new Nokia Maps (as they now use Drive's offline maps - with house numbers!), I love Nokia Trailers and, as I'm sure you are, I'm now really spoiled by the UI that is straight and to the point, unlike the boring/cluttered mess the competitors offer. Oh, and the 920 hardware is so good I can't stop raving about it. It's packed with futuristic features and it feels solid enough to use as a deadly weapon. What's not to like? :)

TL;DR : Things that were got better; things that weren't are bound to be now. Hardware and OS are awesome. Getitgetitgetit.
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daninbusiness

daninbusiness

Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply!

If I elect to stay on AT&T, the Lumia seems to be the way to go.

At the moment, my HTC Titan is still doing all I need it to, so probably will wait a few more weeks.

Better to buy the Lumia at Wal-Mart for $50 or at AT&T for $99 with free wireless charging pad?

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Slaador

Slaador

Well, DT-900 charging plate retails for exactly $49 in AT&T online store, so it isn't at all free compared to the Wal-Mart offer. :)

I do not live in the US so I don't know about the customer experience at AT&T and Wal-Mart. Judging on pricing and availability alone, I'd go for a Wal-Mart 920 and a wireless charging stand ($69) from AT&T online store, since the stand should be much easier to use plus it takes up less desk space and just looks tidier.

P. S. I've just tried the preview version of Skype and can report that as of now it is NOT integrated with the Rooms or groups functionality: those still require a user to have a phone number. So, yeah, no luck here yet. :(
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daninbusiness

daninbusiness

One other question - how is the camera lens placement?

Per the Nokia 820 review here, keeping the lens clean is a concern:
www.theverge.com­/2012­/11­/13­/3635280­/nokia­-lumia­-82...

Now the 920's camera placement & location looks equally exposed & prone to issue to me (judging from pictures...don't remember from last time I saw it in person).

Probably just something to watch for. Have you experienced any issues on that front?
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zakkforchilli

zakkforchilli

The only thing that has been a deal-breaker for me—with ALL other phone types besides iOS/iPhone—is the touch screen. Everything seems LESS responsive after using iPhone. That whole 'vibrate when touched' thing is slightly awkward and distracting; I just find myself tapping a key more than once to get it to work much more often.

Do Windows phones have that issue with anyone? Not sure if they're all still like this.

Anyway, I'm a die-hard iPhone user, and seeing this thing in store (BTW it's way bigger than it looks online) had me drooling honestly. Screw Droid, this thing's gorgeous.

Give it a nice long demo at the AT&T store man.. That's the best way to decide!
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nokiaknowings

nokiaknowings

There is a setting on the Lumia 920 where you can use the screen with your keys, with gloves on etc... It is most sensitive touch screen on the market today. I own a 920 and have tested it myself.
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daninbusiness

daninbusiness

Well, I did a little more homework - switching to a SIM-only value plan at T-mobile would save my wife & I around $50/month.

So it looks like I'll be switching over into that camp and running our old, unlocked, devices into the ground. (HTC Titan for me, iPhone 4 for the wife - We can always upgrade to new subsidized devices later...)
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daninbusiness

daninbusiness

To close this out - I've gotten an HTC 8x for T-Mobile.

Turns out my HTC Titan had an Assurance plan on it at the Microsoft store, and it had been doing the thing where it reset if you hit the search button.

So, brought it back, and the store didn't have any HTC Titans in stock, so they upgraded me to next equivalent device. I mentioned that I was now a T-Mobile customer, so they gave me that version of the phone too (technically I got store credit and applied that to the T-Mobile device).
Anyway - the price was right, and I'm happy on T-Mobile (for where I live and for the service I need and actually use, it works). So that's how this ultimately went down for me.
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JohnGerald

JohnGerald

I need something new on the AT&T 4GLTE network (contract also expiring soon), so I'm looking at this. As a graphic designer who scribbles on the go, I'm putting this phone on my short list, but it’s heavy. Too bad we can't order custom-made phones!
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