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There are zero in the Marketplace.
Is there some kind of technical limitation of Android that prevents this most rudimentary of features of a computing device with a screen? I just don't get it at all. It can't be that nobody has asked for one. So there must be a limitation of Android that prevents a screenshot from being generated?
REQUEST: Can anyone write an app that solves this? I think there were would be great demand.
I think if it was possible, there would be one by now. Most likely it's not.
It can't be that nobody has asked for one. So there must be a limitation of Android that prevents a screenshot from...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you answered your own question; )
In order to take a screen print, data from the video RAM must be extracted. root access is required for this.
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Yeah, you can pretty much rule out anything that requires direct access to hardware. Hardware access is limited to what is accessible via APIs. By the look of it, that does not include access to the video RAM. There are many other things (flashlight for example) which, although they seem simple, are not included in the standard APIs and therefore are not possible without root access to the device.
bcmobile said:
Yeah, you can pretty much rule out anything that requires direct access to hardware. Hardware access is limited to what is accessible via APIs. By the look of it, that does not include access to the video RAM. There are many other things (flashlight for example) which, although they seem simple, are not included in the standard APIs and therefore are not possible without root access to the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I'm not a developer so I didn't know these limitations existed. This OS has developed so fast -- less than 2 years old... and yet, I would have thought this kind of thing would have been handled long ago, just from end-user expectation: "I can print-screen" or screen grab on my full size computer, so i probably can screen grab from my hand held computer.
But re flashlight -- maybe there is one specific function/app you are referring to, but on my Hero, unrooted, thru the Market, i must have downloaded and tried about 6 different flashlights, all with basic function of using the white light of the screen as a light source... some that enabled you to change the color of the screen to blue, red, etc... One even has this cop-car alternating red-blue flashing light display.
I am probably misunderstanding you though.
I think ultimately I am just surprised certain things are not further along -- and it's a stark contrast to a thread I was just visiting way across the other side of the XDA forums universe -- called WP7 - epic fail --- in which many die hard WM developers lament the passing of an OS that gave amazing levels of access to devs, yet the UI of the OS itself was beyond dated, it was dysfunctional and impractical in today's world.
It's just interesting to read the perspectives of developers touting Symbian as the most open OS and most efficient (less battery drain) -- and last I knew I thought it was being killed off. Wrong again.
I'm extremely happy with Android -- but then there are these few blindspots where I have to say -- wow -- i could do THAT 5 years ago on my old T-Mobile MDA WM 5x phone ... like 100%-reliable voicetags for phone calling contacts, opening apps etc, vs speech recognition, ... like the abilities the resistive screen gave me in drawing elaborate sketch at a meeting -- or my being able the take really quick notes with -- yes -- a stylus -- not an alltogether stupid idea -- and have a 90% success rate at character recognition and conversion to text ... the precision of controlling a color slider bar on a resistive screen --- i understand that's not OS but screen properties -- but I am just collectively observing that while I absolutely loved my HERO, and now am discovering my DESIRE, there are still some very basic things I can't do with allegedly the best smartphone in the marketplace.
I'm very agnostic about hardware and software, never been a fanboy -- I'm a usability designer... so functionality rules, end users rule. And basic things like this -- a screenshot -- they may be very explainable by devs... And my question may sound like it's very annoying to some, and I'm just a dumb **** (not you, you were respectful), but I think, as a end user advocate, it's pretty stupid -- and seems senseless to me that this phone can do 1001 backflips with video, and yet it can't let me "record" what I see on my screen. I get it that it's not yet released by Google, but they're who I'm calling stupid for not solving something so elementary by now.
I have every right to say this without any android architecture knowledge.
I can see your point, but in all modern operating systems, there is no direct hardware control, for any purpose, no matter how benevolent the purpose might be.
This is done only through api programming and libraries of calls, which are also restricted most of the time.
The reason is simple and can be summarized to one word, security.
As phones are becoming more and more capable of doing sensitive activities like online banking transactions and on top of that hold every personal info one has,
security will become an even greater concern.
Windows so far, have been the least secure platform for every day use to date. This is also true for windows mobile.
I know it looks like you are getting less usability than you did, but at least in this case its not just to inflate someone's wallet with extra money, through proprietorial lock down of services and apis, which would be "opened" at a later date for some more cash.
I m sure that in no time we ll be seeing full blown firewalls and antivirus suites for superphones like the desire.
All it will take is a few more viruses-trojans targeting mobile platforms like jailbroken iphones or rooted android devices.
I guess the same limitations are to be blamed for not having a proper voice recorder, i.e. one that can record both parts of a phone conversation.
reason you arent getting a non root screenshot app(if memory serves correctly):
the screenshot app takes a dump of the display file in /dev/ and then uses image processing to output a jpg/png/whatever. At the momment we can see the contents of /dev/ with (adb shell ls /dev/) but any attempt to read/write/copy (adb pull /dev/lightsensor ./lightsensor)(yes i know that is the light sensor but couldnt remember what the display file was called) anything is met with a "permission denied".
This is my last semester before I graduate.
So, I decided to add my own Android application to my portfolio.
After a few meeting with my friends, we decide to create a game.
Our rough game's specs (Could be changed).
1. Collect all statistic locally, No statistic/central server.
(Low budget project)
2. 2d turn-base game, have some but not much amimations.
(Imagine a multi-player board game)
3. Multi-player over Bluetooth, WiFi or 3G. No single player.
4. Should playable on most of the 2.1 device
What we know/are learning
1. 3 years experience in mid-level Java programing (J2SE, J2EE)
2. 3 years experience in SQL-base database
3. 3 years experience in HTML, CSS, Javascript and Ajax
3. A year experience in Mid-level of Python, OpenGL
4. A year experience in Design pattern, Project Planing, Application Development
5. Android Application Development with Eclipes, Android SDK, JRE (In progress)
6. Titanium Appcelerator (In progress)
7. WebView, PhoneGap (In progress)
8. Publish into Android Market
Now, what we don't know/are questioning
1. Communication between android device
We decided not to use a statistic/central server. Which mean a device have to communicate to each other directly. We are not sure is it possible or not and how to accomplish that. Also some issues such as handle communication failure.
2. Approch
I'm not sure which language will be suited between C++ and Java (Best gaming experience, less issue, library/add-on support). Also still no clue which approch to go. Standard (SDK + Eclipes + JRE) or Titanium or WebView.
3. Device hardware difference
It will be not cool if this game can run smoothly on one device but laggy/false display on others. Most important question is the screen resolution.
4. Game engine
Still don't know that we need a game engine or not. Which one is suited to our project.
5. Server
We plan to go for commercial version in the future which will have more features such as Matchup, Ranking, Upgrade character and else. By the time, we do need a server right? If we do, do we need more than 1 server to handle global incoming connections?
6. What else should be take a look?
I'm currently spend my time to understaning all above question but advise from you guys would be much help. Correct me if I misunderstanding anything.
Thanks in advance, Sincere.
Still looking for answers
1. You will still need to use a central server, this server would keep track of all active(logged in ) accounts. This server will have the soul purpose of linking players or sending request from one player to another. As the ip address of our phones dynamic i see no way around this. For local games this is obviously a different story.
2. Depends on how gfx intensive your program is, if you are even semi fluent in ogl i would use this. But if not the standard Canvas android offers should be fine for 2d. I like c++, so i use java & c through jni. But if time is an issue(and u dont want headakes) i would just stick to java.
3. Android offers a compatibility mode which adapts software meant for one res to fit on others. I have zero experience in this so i can not elaborate on its effectiveness. if not with ogl it wouldnt be hard to make your program scalable to other resolutions. Tho of course you would have to alot of backend work to make sure it looks good. Wide ranging of devices is a huge plus for android users, huge headake for us devs :S.
4. If you are doing just a 2d board game ish game i dont think an actual game engine is needed...but w/e floats your boat.
5. Go to question 1. hehe.
6. No time, will comment later.
I am probably not as skilled dev as should be commenting in this thread, just fyi lol.
You can check out AndEngine as well, it is a free 2d opengl engine. It has a multiplayer extension based on java sockets but this part is incomplete, you should look out for more info on java.net.* for multiplayer purposes.
Another free opengl engine is Rokon.
Both use opengl es 1.0 and are compatible from android 1.6 onwards. I´m actually starting a 2d project based on AndEngine and have no complaints so far.
Since its not that intensive i woudn´t sugest to go for c++. I heard that not all devices are compatible with the ndk, but it is just hearsay, if some one can confirm this better.
@jug6ernaut
Thanks for your comment. Clarify me a lot.
About the server, do you have any suggestion where should I place/rent a server?
I'm living in south-east asia. I'm worry about lag issue will accur to US and Europe user when they communicate with server in this region. Our infrastructure is 10-20 years behind yours.
@rastanthology
Thanks for your comment. As you suggest, I think we will stick to Java as we planned. Plus, I'll take a look on AndEngine and Rokon.
1.- You don't need a webbased server for gameplay. You can just pair the devices over bluetooth or send the data over wifi (hell, if you wanted to make it really expensive and laggy, you could send the data over sms ). I think, connectivity wise this would be the way to go, not only because people some have data limitations in their phoneplan.
However, sending the gameplay data to a central server and distributing it back to the other player would make data collection and tracking easy, but that would be equally easy (and less data intensive for your data costs on your server) with a robust log you send to your server as you grow the game. Of course, even your peer-to-peer game will have a kind of client/server infrastructure, internally/programmaticaly speaking: maybe both devices run a client and a server, as you'll need classes/threads which send data, receive data and process data. Depending on the speed of the game and send/recieve speeds, you might want to have one of the devices be the one which has absolute say over timings/positions, or you might allow both devices to keep track and have some kind of collaborative conflict resolution
2.- pick the programming language you're best in. If you have to pick up c/c++ whilst you make the game, you're only doubling your frustration Make that be a factor in your choice of framework/engine, too. For a 'simple' game, you might just use pure java and libraries. For the game you're describing, you don't need the speed of c/c++. Nowhere near
3.- that's not a question 2D boardgames have a better chance of scaling well than even a 2d fast moving action game; I'd say that if you don't make it too complex (hundreds of transparent .png's simultaneously moving), most android devices should be able to run a 2 player boardgame without AI. Be sure to use suitable (correctly scaled etc) graphics, maybe even have multiple data sets for diff. devices.
4.- depends Sometimes, learning to use a game engine takes as much time as building those few things you need from scratch or using smaller routines/code/libraries. Design your program, find out what you need and then stack up "how much time will it take to build these classes/systems ourselves, to our exact specs" against "how much time will it take to find an engine which does kinda what we want, learn how to use the systems we want and modify them for what we want (and maybe not end up with exactly what we want)". Sometimes the (learning of the) engine is simple to learn and use, and saves you much time ... sometimes it doesn't
5.- yes. Depends on traffic (amount of connections, size of data). If you only sends logs etc and not realtime (gameplay) communications, you might have enough with one server. If you have many, many users, you might need more, and if the data has to have low latency, you will have to get more geographically situated servers.
6.- don't forget sound. Test your game on people. Prototype first, fast and often and don't be afraid to change the gameplay if what you prototype doesn't seem to be found "fun" by the people test your game
Good luck!
@MacDegger
Thanks so much. You just gave me a lot of Idea. I mean I can see the whole picture more clearly with your answer. Cheers!!
One more thing I want to know. If this game can be play only via BT or WIFI. Will people buy it?
As we plan to sell it in the market in the future. Even the gameplay is fun, nice or whatever. But, the game cant be play unless you have a friend with Android device and this game installed. That's sound not so interesting game anyways (at least for me).
I woudn't like to be pessimist but i don't think so. The best approach would be to release a free version with webview adds and a payed version add-less. From what i heard you might be receiving the same profit from both versions
rastanthology said:
I woudn't like to be pessimist but i don't think so. The best approach would be to release a free version with webview adds and a payed version add-less. From what i heard you might be receiving the same profit from both versions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking about that too.
Free version with adds and less feature.
Paid version without adds and full feature.
Still don't have a clue how google adds works. Pay for each view or something I guess.
XeCeL said:
I'm thinking about that too.
Free version with adds and less feature.
Paid version without adds and full feature.
Still don't have a clue how google adds works. Pay for each view or something I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
given my software is not very ad exploiting(live wallpaper so only shows ads in settings), but in my experience ads pay like crap. 4000+ hits and ive made like 36c. Most if not all coming from clicks on the ads.
jug6ernaut said:
given my software is not very ad exploiting(live wallpaper so only shows ads in settings), but in my experience ads pay like crap. 4000+ hits and ive made like 36c. Most if not all coming from clicks on the ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, 4000+ hits but 36c I would better exclude it
Well, after a lot of hours of work, I'm real close to putting my first app out.
It includes a 5MB database that can't be loaded from /assets due to it's size. The app itself is small.
Now, as I know it, there are 2 deployment methods:
1. Google Market
2. My own hosted site
Google Market is easy on end user...find an app, install (and pay if req'd). Works over 3g and WiFi. Gives you 24 hours to uninstall before you're credit card is charged. Drawbacks are one-time $100 vendor fee and 20% fee per download. Plus, as my apps may grow, the databases I use could get fairly large. Now, most phones can handle the size (my Droid goes to 40 gig with 32 gig SD card), but searching a huge database on the phone could lag like crazy.
A self-hosted site can be had for $50 a year from GoDaddy or 1 and 1 with FTP, MySQL databases and much, much more. With the SQL running on a hosted server, queries would be fast. Drawbacks are the user has to download Google ADB package, app and database. Then hook-up phone via USB, set a couple of settings on the phone and actually run the "adp install <package name>". Then you need some type of payment center (Paypal) and possibly a refund policy.
So, I'm on the fence here...comments and suggestions appreciated!
From what I've read, lagging for loading databases can be brought to a minimum by altering the way it loads. Instead of loading all the content up front (possibly with a dialog to keep the user amused while waiting) or by loading it as the information comes in. The listView might lag because of the phone's memory available as opposed to a problem with the app. It could be the app. If it needs resources, then make it a top priority and allow it to tell the OS to kill other resource-hogging applications to make way for the information download. It's just a speculation. I don't know this for sure, but I would check the Android Dev site and other places for more information.
Interesting idea...I could just set the data (about 80,000 rows) up as a flat file and then do an INSERT based on user input. Do query, return results and delete rows from table. That takes it to, on average, about a 2,000 row table.
Not sure how I can encapsulate (hide) the data from prying eyes or worse yet, changes to the data! But I will research that idea further and do some code changes and testing....thank you very much
I decided to get a hosted site for a couple of reasons:
1. To get my OWN MySQL databases
2. To create a web site to drive my business and apps delivery
I've finished my application and it works great. 80,000 row database on server, app is 40kb on the phone. Data retrieval is fast...i can get over 100 rows back in 2 seconds on 3G; WiFi would be even faster.
I've decided to push my apps to users via the web site. I'll offer a crippled demo version for review before they buy...no return policy. That is, if you like the demo and buy it, well, you made the choice LOL
I'm still not warm and fuzzy about making user download adb package, hook-up phone via usb and install. But I'll offer something I don't see much on Google Market and that is: SUPPORT. Each app I create will have it's own e-mail address for comments, concerns, enhancements and, god forbid, bug reports. I'll probably also offer free updates if I change the program or upgrade the database.
Well, time to go do the web site. I'll admit I would rather be coding vs. web site design!
Why not both? You could use google and it's HUGE base of users (which may never even know about your app otherwise) and still host the database online at your site. Note that many (most) phones are crippled by the carrier to NOT allow downloads from anything but the market.
Frankly, I think you could probably do it more efficiently. I don't know the details, but why not have the app download the database from your site upon first usage and store it to SD card? A local copy even on an SD card will be orders of magnitude faster than any online solution.
Yeah, I'm still 50/50 on it.
Speed is not an issue on this app; max rows I pull back may be 60 and it takes 2 seconds. Literally, by the time your finger is off the "Search" button, you have your data And if you think about it, how many databases are out there already that people are hitting off of web pages? My 2 second download was on 3G, I imagine the WiFi to be even faster (just tested it on WiFi...3G was faster LOL)
I like the control of the database on my end and it keeps the user from having to download a new copy if the database is updated.
And I'm trying to look at the big picture here too. I'm an unemployed programmer after a 13 year career. I don't mind coding apps for "the people", but I want to get my foot in the door of business' that are going to need smart apps, just like they all needed a web page years ago.
I just have to do some more research and make a decision. However, I do think you are right; the market has huge exposure and can even lead people to my site. The hosted sites is dirt cheap...$50 a year.
I know my app is pretty solid, just hate to think about paying that one-time vendor fee and the 20% per download. Then again, that takes ALL the billing concerns from me; the market handles it all.
Thanks for your feedback!
After seeing the leaked build of Windows Blue at http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/24/4...creenshots-leak-smaller-live-tiles-options-ui, it got me thinking about what I'd like to see. A video I saw had some good ideas but I know that us XDA members can do better. Said video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdqUsTAWSnY
Personally, I would like to see:
A better default e-mail app
Ability to boot straight into the desktop
More gestures
More optimization
Even faster boot times
What features would you like to see in the next version of Windows?
faster boot times is just greedy as it is my windows 8 machine booting off of an HDD side by side with a mates more powerful win 7 machine booting from SSD, my machine reaches desktop about a second after his does, and I have to go through a boot select screen and click a tile on the start screen.
Blue isn't 9.
Mail app we need yeah. I would add the music and video apps while your at it.
I dont own a touchscreen so gesture wise I dont care.
Booting straight to desktop would be nice I guess, I really dont care as I actually like the new start screen but some people of course ask for that feature anyway.
What I want to see:
Improved music and video apps, frankly, they suck. Music wise I now use "I love music" which isnt too bad but is a little rough around the edges, certainly better than default though
improved mail app (as you already said)
ability to resize the split between sideloaded metro apps
being able to run my desktop on one monitor and metro on another
my running desktop applications should be listed in the running applications sidebar on the left of the screen, that only seems to show metro applications
in the store app being able to list applications from certain developers (for example being able to look at the angry birds space entry and being able to click rovio to show all rovio apps).
While they are at it with releasing windows blue. XNA replacement please
SixSixSevenSeven said:
faster boot times is...
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Click to collapse
There is always something faster regarding boot times. There are some Chrome books which boot in 8 seconds compared to my laptops 14. The ability to split metro apps has already been added if you check the link about the leak from the Verge. All your suggestions are very good, hopefully at least a few of then will be in Blue
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Reboot times are a total red herring. It's a waste of Microsoft's time to put a bunch of people to work shaving off another second or two. Why are people rebooting anyhow?? I never do except for updates. Sleep is faster to enter, faster to return from, doesn't require re-launching my apps, uses only trivial power, and is supported on all hardware I've seen this decade (although I did, about four years ago, encounter an NVidia driver whose preferred form of "screwing up your PC..." install process was to break sleep mode, which I fixed by rolling it back).
Now, if they want to make it so that reboots are needed less often, I'm all for that. More user-mode drivers, and/or modernize the kernel-mode driver stack to reduce how often KMDs require reboots (already much better than XP and below, but still too high). Make Windows Update better about not requiring reboot; I'm willing to close a program or even restart the desktop Explorer session (which takes moments) to avoid rebooting the whole machine.
Fix the <REDACTED> Start search. I don't understand why they took one of the best UI features of Vista, preserved it in Win7, and messed it up in Win8, but the whole segregation of "Apps", "Settings", and "Files" needs to stop, now! Launching programs is one of the very few core requirements of an OS, and the last two versions of Win8 were better at it than Win8 is (specifically, they required fewer clicks and showed more useful info at a glance). That's a travesty.
Metro apps and multi-monitor were already discussed. Instead of reiterating those, I'd like to see more capable Metro apps. Currently, they're locked down to nigh-uselessness from a get-stuff-done perspective. Consequently, I barely ever use them... but that's not good for the ecosystem, because it means that I (and people like myself) have much less incentive to develop them, too. One critical feature: the ability to launch other programs without the target being expressly designed for it.
As a Surface RT owner: remove the stupid prohibition against third-party desktop apps. Make it a hard-to-find setting if you must, but let me unlock it without needing kernel-mode hackery.
As a Surface RT owner: give me drivers! The USB port is already useful, but it could be a lot more useful.
As a Surface RT owner: add support for the low-power standby core of the Tegra 3. Battery life is good already but could be better.
Integrate something like OblyTile into the Start screen. Default desktop-app tiles are ugly.
Worth asking for: multiple (virtual) desktops? I mean, it's "just another app" now, right? I hate that in 2013 I still need to use third-party utiltiies to get this feature that all other common desktop environments have.
Please don't kill off the SUA (Subsustem for Unix Applications)! At the very least, open-source it when you drop official support, so the community can introduce some long-overdue fixes. But seriously, that thing is useful. Cygwin is a nasty hack by comparison.
A virtualization environment that supports high-end graphics would be nice. There's a lot of games that run like crap on NT6 but don't run on virtual XP machines using any of Microsoft's virtualization environments. That directly contributes to the market share of third-party virtualization software. MS used to be good at this VM thing for uses other than servers...
Lots more, but this post is long enough as is. That covers most of the gripes I have at least once a week using this OS.
Most of these are from the viewpoint of an RT user, unless noted.
Critical:
Allow unsigned desktop apps
Allow third-party Metro apps (sideloading)
An alarm clock on RT
Allow metro apps to run backgrounded without requiring them to be pinned to the lock screen
WinRT lacks some major features in the API set (from what I've experienced, lack of client-side cert support for SSL, lack of decent background capabilities, and lack of VPN, though they claim to be fixing the last one)
Go back to the idea that developers create the platform and stop trying to mimic Apple by closing the ecosystem down
Desired:
Allow a hotzone for corners, instead of just a hotspot (x86, mostly)
Better mail app
Allow start screen wallpaper customization without tedious hacks
Allow fine grained tuning of which settings are synced between computers (I don't want the same wallpaper on my tablet and desktop, for example, so I have to turn off syncing all customization settings)
Open up the ARM DDK
Documentation on what features are lacking/missing on ARM Vs. x86.
The current sideloading situation works fine for me, though I agree with the rest of those. I might care more if I found Metro less useless in general.
Hmm, my Lenovo Twist cold boots in about 3 seconds. Doesn't get much better than that.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda app-developers app
It really doesn't, actually. The default "shut down" behavior on Win8 is to reboot the machine, and then enter hibernation right before showing the login screen. This is one of the lowest-RAM-usage points in the operation of a PC, so both entering and leaving hibernation here is extremely fast. When you "cold boot" your system, all that is happening is the power-on self test (which is very fast on modern hardware), followed by the OS resuming from the minimal hibernation image (which could easily take three seconds or possibly less with an SSD but not a ton of RAM). Bam, you're at the login prompt in what seems like no time at all!
If you want to do a true cold boot, you'll need to either disable hibernation boot (one of the easiest ways to do this is to disable hibernation entirely using "powercfg /h off", probably must be run as Admin) or you'll need to remove power while the system is running (as in, remove the power cord and remove or drain the battery without allowing it to enter sleep or hibernate). You can get an idea of the true bootup time just by rebooting the machine, but a machine built for Win8 probably won't show you the point where the "shutdown" portion switches off with the "bootup" portion; using EFI, that whole thing can be hidden.
Wouldn't electricity bills go through the roof if all 5 PC's in my household were on hibernate 24/7 365?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
mmmcfc said:
Wouldn't electricity bills go through the roof if all 5 PC's in my household were on hibernate 24/7 365?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
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Click to collapse
They're off when they're in hibernate. Hibernate saves the state to disk then completely powers off the computer. You could literally unplug it for 5 years and it would still have the state.
Yep, hibernate's entire point is that it uses no power. However, maybe you meant sleep instead, also known as suspend-to-RAM and which does use a trickle of power. It's a small trickle, though; a PC in Sleep mode draws less than five watts (and most draw only one or two). Five PCs in sleep mode, assuming they're big, beefy, and incredibly inefficient, plus have every kind of wake-on-event (wake-on-LAN, wake-on-click, wake-on-timer, etc.) option enabled, will draw about 25W - non-trivial but less than half what a typical incadescent light bulb draws. Realistically, it would be closer to 5W, especially if some of them are laptops (which only use a portion of a watt).
Depending on the percentage of time that the PC is on anyhow and how efficient its sleep mode is, you may actually be wasting power by taking the time to turn it off, then on again (requiring restarting its programs) all the time. Entering and exiting sleep is effectively instant.
I for one would love to see custom backgrounds on the Start screen, as well as Google Talk support in the Messaging app. One of the main reasons I still have to keep a GMail tab open on Chrome, so I can receive IMs.
Also I would be pleased if they returned Google Calendar syncing after the updates a few days ago. I was very annoyed when all my Calendar events disappeared, but seems to have gotten better since I worked around that with the subscriptions feature in Outlook.
More functionality in the Metro/Modern part of the OS would also be good, but I have already seen that happening with the recent leaks.
Edit: And I also would love to see Aero Glass with Blur come back in the Desktop. Although there are a few hacks to get it working, most do not have similar functionality to Windows 8 or are buggy. The only good one imo doesn't support 32 bit.
How come my windows phone syncs with google fine. Yet windows doesnt.
Google have more sync options than EAS and contrary to MS's claim EAS is still active until june or july.
All they have done is made the mail and people apps worse not better.
Anyway. Supposedly in the blue leak IE11 now has stubs for WebGL support. If this is true then windows blue presumably has OpenGL support, possible for store apps too. OpenGL, even if it is just the ES subset, on RT has been an often demanded feature.
So many android and iOS apps are written with OpenGLES, if microsoft wanted an app rich store then it really would have made sense to support OpenGLES to allow porting of iOS and android apps to windows without having to be rewritten for DirectX11 (not a simple task in many cases).
Oh, overall they made Mail a lot better... but it pisses me off that for people who already had a working Google EAS connection, they went and disabled it. I'm holding off on updating my other devices for now. As for "more sync options than EAS", this is technically true (and the new version of Mail offers to set them up for you), but the others are not as well integrated (one protocol to provide contacts, email, calendars, and security policies).
WebGL support I'm actually kind of skeptical of; the web is a very hostile environment and video drivers are a frightening combination of high-value targets and shaky security. I'm concerned about the attack surface exposed by enabling WebGL. However, it's true that OpenGL, even just OGLES, would be a huge boon to the platform. Windows and DirectX may still rule the roost for PC games, but even there their lead is eroding. In the mobile space, OpenGL has left DirectX in the dirt.
Hi all:
I'd like to open this thread to give an idea for those who want to know about Windows Phone 8 and how this OS looks from the other side.
I notice that if some one asked abut Windows Phone 8 mostly members here will mention the Advantages of the OS and will show the light side only !
For me I like to show the other Side of the OS name it as you wish.... disadvantages, restrictions or Windows Phone 8 philosophy.
I hope Microsoft will read what we will write in this thread as we will explain our point of view and our vision about Windows Phone 8.
So they can explain to us if we misunderstand this OS and the way it should work, so we can understand each other to take a better decisions about adopting Windows Phone 8 or leaving it to other OS.
Please notice that I like general idea about this OS and how it is looks, but it is important for me to know in which direction Windows Phone 8 is heading, is it going in my direction and what I think it will be or in the opposite direction .
Note: this thread is about restrictions, Windows Phone 8 defenders can open other thread about Windows Phone 8 advantages, and I will be pleased to mention many of WP8 advantages.
How I feel about Windows Phone 8 in General.
Security & Security again Security I feel like people behind Windows Phone 8 watching their phones screens all the night waiting for some malware or trojan to attack, but in fact all the malware and trojans are busy in other places and no one of it will attack Windows Phone 8, because still they don't even know what is Windows Phone 8 !
They made Windows Phone 8 full of restrictions ..................... and I feel it is just a keypad old Nokia Phone with touch screen and camera.
Microsoft you didn't go so far away from Nokia 3310 , do you remember it ?
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well done after all this years you just added a Lumia + touch screen + a camera.
Microsoft just removed the keypad and snack game (I'm sure guys in Nokia wasn't satisfied abut that but Mr.Stephen Elop was pushing them)
I downloaded one ringtone for my Lumia 920............ I was forced to connect my Lumia 920 to my Laptop to put the MP3 file inside the Lumia 920 ringtone folder so the Lumia 920 can feel what happened to it after this surgery ..........I was forced to do this surgery because Windows Phone 8 doesn't have a file manager, this word file manager in Microsoft is equal to terrorism, security ,,,,,,,,security ................security...........restrictions .....not allowed this is really disappointed.
Dude, if you want anybody either here or at Microsoft to take you seriously, write clearly and cut the hyperbole. All I got out of that was "there's no file manager on the phone, so I had to copy an MP3 to the Ringtones folder manually; Microsoft, why must you restrict me so!?!"
... and I say this as one of the people leading the WP8 hacking effort, most of which is aimed at removing those sorts of restrictions. If I were a Microsoft architect reading that and deciding whether to even bother filing the feedback, I'd probably discard it as "just another incoherent Microsoft-hater who doesn't even have a real problem, just a complaint about the workflow for an infrequent user experience". If that's not the bin you want your words tossed in, you need to sound like somebody to be taken seriously.
Talk about how their mis-steps will hurt their bottom line. Talk about competitive advantages and disadvantages. Talk about company loyalty - not in a "frothing at the mouth" or "bitter and snide comments" manner, but in terms of what gains (or loses) it in large groups - and point out ways that they are can help improve it. Don't tell them what to do - Microsoft has a *terrible* case of Not Invented Here when it comes to outside suggestions - but justify to them what they *should* do, in the same way you would, for example, try to justify to your boss that you deserve a raise, or something like that. If you can convince people there to want to make things better, you've already won; one person on the inside probably has more influence than a thousand voices out here. Be persuasive, not argumentative; diplomatic, not intimidating; charismatic, not petulant; thoughtful, not dogmatic. Being passionate is fine, even great, but you must channel it into mature and meaningful discussion, not outbursts.
Another point: think about the restrictions from their side. They didn't put them there to piss you off. Nobody trying to break into a market intentionally cripples their product to make it *less* popular. They have reasons. Those reasons may not be for your benefit, of course - Microsoft's real customers are OEMs and mobile operators, not users, and sometimes the desires of those customers override the desires of *their* customers, the users. Think about things like test and support costs, the dangers of bad press and reputations for malware and the like, and other problems they may have foreseen. Consider what it might cost them to do what you want, and make your case in terms of it being more valuable for them to do that than just in terms of what you want personally.
And seriously, can the hyperbole. I can't take anybody who claims that a device which didn't even have a decent approximation of a real web browser is basically the same, aside from some hardware features, as a WP8 device. That kind of talk will just get you dismissed out of hand.
Dear GoodDayToDie:
I respect you point of view but I can't go one with Microsoft the easy mom son way ..... some one should rise his hand against them and show a real image about Windows Phone 8.
because of what I said they banned my user name in Wpcentral forum ........... they don't want to see any opinion against them .......they are group of old dictator minds who they don't accept any opinion against them ............the republic of MicrosoftStan .
It is my right..........People who invested their money $$$$ in Windows Phone 7 handsets found their selves abounded without any more development for their Phones............. they make one mistake in believed in Microsoft and trusted this company and Microsoft replied back the way you know for Windows Phone 7 and this is the same reason why developers kept away from Windows Phone in general.
I now have the right to know how this OS will carry on and in which direction it is going.
Let Microsoft clear things out...........................in GDR3 they make a good progress ............... so we want the good work to keep on faster.
here I mentioned one restriction and there is alot more we will come through it.
Microsoft should come closer to people and they should start with removing the banned from my account in Wpcentral for example.
We need assurances from Microsoft that the OS will have most requested options and Windows Phone 8 users will not be abounded soon like Windows Phone 7.
So we want to know if Microsoft is a friend or enemy
one-option said:
Dear GoodDayToDie:
I respect you point of view but I can't go one with Microsoft the easy mom son way ..... some one should rise his hand against them and show a real image about Windows Phone 8.
because of what I said they banned my user name in Wpcentral forum ........... they don't want to see any opinion against them .......they are group of old dictator minds who they don't accept any opinion against them ............the republic of MicrosoftStan .
It is my right..........People who invested their money $$$$ in Windows Phone 7 handsets found their selves abounded without any more development for their Phones............. they make one mistake in believed in Microsoft and trusted this company and Microsoft replied back the way you know for Windows Phone 7 and this is the same reason why developers kept away from Windows Phone in general.
I now have the right to know how this OS will carry on and in which direction it is going.
Let Microsoft clear things out...........................in GDR3 they make a good progress ............... so we want the good work to keep on faster.
here I mentioned one restriction and there is alot more we will come through it.
Microsoft should come closer to people and they should start with removing the banned from my account in Wpcentral for example.
We need assurances from Microsoft that the OS will have most requested options and Windows Phone 8 users will not be abounded soon like Windows Phone 7.
So we want to know if Microsoft is a friend or enemy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is kinda funny how everybody argues with the "omg WP7 abandoned" card, when it isn't entirely true. Wp7 still has 1 full year of support left, and any bugs will be fixed if discovered. Did you know that all Wp7 got 2 updates (after 7.8) which fixed gmail sync?
Plus, you keep saying the WP7 "abandon" is something that only happens with Windows Phone, yet you keep forgetting that most android devices don't get a 18 month support life cycle at all, let alone 18 months renewed with each update (wp8 now has 36 months! of support for each new version iteration). Unless you pay a lot of money on hardware which is really waisted (cough, galaxy phones, cough) or on overpiced phones (cough iphone), you won't get technical support at all in most cases.
I understand you just want to bash on WP because you got banned from WPCentral, but you will be ignored here anyway. Plus, Microsoft employees can't see this forum due to its hacking nature.
mcosmin222 said:
It is kinda funny how everybody argues with the "omg WP7 abandoned" card, when it isn't entirely true. Wp7 still has 1 full year of support left, and any bugs will be fixed if discovered. Did you know that all Wp7 got 2 updates (after 7.8) which fixed gmail sync?
Plus, you keep saying the WP7 "abandon" is something that only happens with Windows Phone, yet you keep forgetting that most android devices don't get a 18 month support life cycle at all, let alone 18 months renewed with each update (wp8 now has 36 months! of support for each new version iteration). Unless you pay a lot of money on hardware which is really waisted (cough, galaxy phones, cough) or on overpiced phones (cough iphone), you won't get technical support at all in most cases.
I understand you just want to bash on WP because you got banned from WPCentral, but you will be ignored here anyway. Plus, Microsoft employees can't see this forum due to its hacking nature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good for you............ come on keep the good work on keep defending Microsoft
First of all I'm honest with my self as with others ................... if I said something so I mean it.
I want to show any one buying Windows Phone 8 a true image of what he will be facing in that OS...... I don't want people to make my mistake and buy a product don't meet their needs.
How could you even compare Android support with Microsoft ???!!!
for Android there is alot of alternatives available on software side and Android full of options so even if the 18 months of official support ended the users will not be worried that some essentials stuff will not be available in his phone like Windows Phone................. man still we are waiting GDR3 to get Auto rotation off
the Android updates bring additional new stuff compare to the essential basic options Windows Phone 8 updates brings to the OS where older Abounded OS like Symbian long back was having this options.
I DO NOT CARE about Microsoft employees and I'm sure that they are following & reading xda forums , how did I knew that ???
People like you here in the big forums always ready to cover Microsoft back, and If I will be ignored here that will not be because people don't care about what I say no..............but out of Wpcentral forums there is small interest about Windows Phone in general.
and people who want to see the truth of Windows Phone can follow this thread................ back their in Wpcentral they erased every word I wrote about Windows Phone 8 so that show that Microsoft really watching what I write close and they are interest about what I'm saying so wait me in facebook also, the world should know the clear truth about Windows Phone.
I will say no lies about Windows Phone 8, I will just show the truth a real image for Windows Phone 8, I'm writing to those who want to get Windows Phone 8 , and they will decide buying Windows Phone 8 or go with other OS.
Here are some retractions to those who intend to buy a new Windows Phone 8 device.
1- No File Manager in Windows Phone 8
The file manager is an important tool to get control over your device, Well here is the idea
Windows Phone 8 is more like application dependent platform, it is organized in strict way so if you want to watch video you will have to check in (Music + Video section/Hub) where you will find your videos and Music.
Same thing is true for images you have to watch your images in photo section/Hub....for other kind of Documents like word or excel you will have to check in Microsoft Office..... there is no ability to check this files inside the folders from the phone........... in general you can't see the folders unless you connect your phone to a computer......... every thing should be kept in its place images in Photo folder, ringtones should be in ringtone folder and so on.
So If you want to create another folders for special images other than photo folder Windows Phone 8 will not be able to see them !!!!
This is not smart at all
So what about non supported files or files there is no application to open them ?
There is no way to open such files in your phone or view them weather this file was image, video or what ever else.
In general people long time back requested Microsoft for file manager, but Microsoft simply not responding and ignoring that requests.
2- Control ringtone and media volume separately
This is another big problem.......... for example at night if you turned the phone ringer silent and you want to listen to some music you will not be able to do so in Windows Phone 8 smart phone .........cause if you turn phone ringer silent ....every thing will turned silent music , video ....every thing......Good thinking Microsoft.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3- Web Browser: Windows Phone 8 use Internet explorer 10 as default web browser and in general there is very few web browsers available in the market.
back to internet explorer there is only refresh button available in the browser no stop or going forward or back....... it is really bad experience to browse the web with Internet explorer.
More than that try to visit a web site with drop down list and select any thing , you will find the drop down list and you will be able to select what ever you want but that will make no different and the system will not respond to what you have selected...really disappointing .
4- Phone dailer: In general Phone book and Phone dailer one of the things I like about this OS it is really unique but it is missing some features like smart dailing & call duration in call History, long press on a contact name will offer two options delete the item from call history or block that name, no other options to send a message or MMS you have to dig inside to get this options.
5- Install XAP Files without SD Card: In Android for example you can install APK files in any Android phone (you can download any Application from any non google markets and install it offline without the need for internet connection by downloading APK files) but the equivalent of APK file in Windows Phone 8 is XAP file and it can be installed only in a handset with SD card support !!!!
Devices like Nokia Lumia 1020 or 920 is not able to install XAP files where in low end device like Nokia Lumia 520 you can do that !!!!
What a nice thing.
To be continue
The member in Wpcentral forums N_LaRUE writes about Windows Phone 8 and make clear statement about Windows Phone 8........ he really show a clear image about that OS.
********************************************
The phone (Windows Phone 8) was set up for the average consumer, which has been pointed out several times already. Average consumer is -> Music, photos, text, calls, social, email, web, games and apps. Most users will rarely use Office and less would even want a file manager. There's enough studies to back this trend.
Mobile Office is a review/general edit software, not a full-blown suite. It's not meant to replace Office on tablet or PC. The average size of most documents (Word/Excel) are typically well under 1MB.
The large quantity of memory is to compete with other platforms. The average consumer doesn't require large memory. Statistics have shown that most people have few apps and games on their mobile. Most memory is used for photos and music.
Keep in mind, we're talking about where MS has targeted it's product which is 'first world' consumer and this is the general statistics that they have used in thinking about their product. They have also copied some aspects from Apple and their primary concern is security and ecosystem.
The WP platform is not meant to be a replacement for a computer. It was not meant to replace Symbian or Android. In it's current state it is mostly a consumer device with some productive elements. This is the best way to think of WP.
***************************************
a link for the thread
Frankly speaking I misunderstand the Windows Phone 8 OS and according to what N_LaRUE said ....this OS is not what I'm looking for, but I will keep at least one of my two Windows Phone 8 devices with me as a back up phone in case I need it for sometime.
I will not mention any more restrictions, I think that the idea behind the OS Windows Phone 8 is clear .... the OS developed for that propose for specified needs for special kind of customers and I will name them as non advanced customers with minimum needs of control over the device to give a basic and easy experience for smartphone users.
1) File manager: not really needed on the user side, if applications integrate themselves properly.
2) separate volume for notifications/alaram/whatever: god no. Just no. That was soo broken in android. I remember the days when a collage wold snatch my phone and accidentaly press the play button on whatever music widget I had an the loud music would pump in the room. No, just no. I like it the way it is. If i set my volume to 0, it means i want the phone to be quiet!
3) browser? why would you need a different browser if the one present just works? I see you're coming from android, where the system just sucks and needs 3rd party apps to do even the most basic jobs. Sorry, ain't happening on WP.
4) install XAP: nope, no piracy. As i developer, I freeking love it.
Bleh... I'm just going to respond to both of you in one message. It already kind of feels like I'm feeding trolls.
First of all, Microsoft is well aware of this site and at least some of their employees do read it and link to it at work (I work in the Seattle tech industry, so of course I know some Microsofties). It's probably not the best place to try and get a personal response, or even widespread change of opinion, but it's not something that nobody ever visits. Part of the reason XDA has such strong anti-piracy rules is to avoid being flagged as a warez site and blocked.
Second, while some of your points are good, one-option, your writing (except in your last post, thankfully) is so unpleasant to read that I find myself disregarding what you have to say even when I agree with it. Professionalism is not the only key to being taken seriously, but it's an important one. Long chains of periods (full stops) and exclamation marks, inconsistent capitalization and punctuation, difficult-to-follow sentence structure, interjections and tangents (like "Good thinking Microsoft" and "should start with removing the banned from my account in Wpcentral for example"), and so on all make it really hard for anybody (Microsoft employee or XDA member) to take your writing seriously. If you aren't going to write in a way that other people will bother to read, why write at all?
Third, Microsoft doesn't control WPCentral. There are two pretty trivial ways to tell: first, look at the domain registration information (registered through GoDaddy for "Smartphone Experts" of "Axel Ltd. Co" out of Florida); second, read their articles (including the ones they post about interop-unlocks and free dev unlocks and so on) and realize that a lot of that is stuff that MS employees would never spread externally (not that you've shown any sign of understanding how businesspeople think, but trust me, that's not something they would do). Getting all pissy about your banned account there - almost certainly because you were making a general nuisance of yourself, much like you are here, regardless of the validity of your complaints - is completely off-topic for XDA anyhow.
Fourth, if you've concluded that WP8 is not for you, that's fine and dandy. If you love other smartphone OSes so much, why do you have WP devices anyhow? They certainly aren't the cheapest option (although some of them have a great price-to-hardware value). Just have fun with your other devices. The rest of us will have fun with ours.
Fifth, the file management thing is actually a good point. mcosmin222, contrary to what you say, there are serious limitations on how much you can integrate an app with the OS. For example, lets say my music is in Ogg Vorbis format. Re-encoding it would greatly reduce the quality (and Vorbis is a good codec anyhow) but if I just put those Ogg files on my phone via USB in the normal way, I won't be able to open them from an Ogg player app, or manage them (much less play them) through the built-in media software. I can't replace that media software either, which is another kind of restriction but another genuinely problematic one; apps aren't allowed to set themselves as the default handler for anything which the OS has a built-in handler for, and the built-in media app has capabilities no third-party app is allowed to have.
Sixth, the volume control on WP8 is very poorly designed. Leaving aside the fact that even dumbphones have long been perfectly capable of supporting different media and ringtone (and call, which WP8 *does* support, and alarms, which it doesn't really) volume levels, there are other issues like keeping the same value between headphones and "loud"speaker. As for the counterpoint about blaring music when you don't want to, that's a non-issue; nobody is *forcing* you to set the volumes differently, and if you choose to do so, it's presumably because you feel the benefits outweigh the problems. However, that's not really a "restriction". It's a poor design of the OS, but it's not something that you are prevented from doing (in the same sense that producing a usable file manager is prohibited, because of the prohibition on developers adding the required capabilities to their apps). In any case, it's a long-requested and well-known item, and quite popular on the Uservoice site (which already exists as a feedback mechanism to Microsoft).
Seventh, you can actually change what buttons are on the IE app bar in WP8 (it's in settings). You can of course install third-party apps that provide their own UI around a WebView as well, just like on iOS. In fact, this is mostly *not* a restriction problem, and there are several browser apps in the store (adding more isn't hard either). The place where restrictions on the users do become a problem is in *changing* the default browser. Currently, that's not possible without pretty extensive hacks. With that said, though calling the current browser one that "just works" is an ignorant and disingenuous thing to say. It may work for many people, but it certainly doesn't work for all people. For example, the inconvenience of needing to create browser shortcuts for Forward/Back/View Source, the limitation of 6 tabs, the restriction to only "desktop" or "mobile" user-agent string options, the inability to go full-screen, and more... those are all problems with the built-in browser app that a third-party one can fix, to say nothing of the many other problems that one can't (not practically, at least).
Eighth, to send a message to a contact from the dialer interface, it's really easy: tap the contact (name or phone number) to open the contact card, then tap "text" (or whatever you want to do). That's the same number of taps, and without the hold, that it would take to do what you (one-option) are suggesting.
Ninth, you are *both* wrong about XAPs.
mcosmin222, there is absolutely no reason that you shouldn't be able to install Store apps by opening a link to the XAP in the browser or an attached one in an email; it would work the same way as installation from SD card (requires a quic connection to the store in order to get license info). In fact, this *is* how you install "company apps"; the code to handle opening files with .XAP extension is already present. It just (for no discernible reason at all) only works for XAPs with company app signatures. Logically, it *should* process DRMed-and-store-signed apps the same way that installing from SD does, and unsigned apps by offering to install them directly (assuming your phone is developer-unlocked). It just doesn't work that way, for some reason. Note that there is absolutely no increase in piracy through this approach; it is *merely* a way to make legitimately installing apps less inconvenient for the user. That's it.
For one-option, as I've already mentioned, you can open XAPs in the browser or email; they just won't install that way if they are either store apps or development/homebrew apps. To install store apps, use the store on the phone, the store web site on a PC, or a SD card. To install homebrew/development apps, use the Application Deployment tool (xapdeploy.exe) that is part of the (free) WP8 SDK installation with a phone connected via USB. This is a bad user experience, undeniably; to have so many ways to install apps is good, to have them all mutually incompatible with each other is terrible. For example, why not let xapdeploy (or some other USB-based tool) install store-signed apps, anyhow? It would serve *exactly* the same use case as doing it via SD card, but would be more convenient for those people who have the dev tools installed and would be usable by people who don't have microSD slots.
Once again, though, this isn't really a "restriction" thing except for the limits on what sideloaded apps can do, and how many can be sideloaded. It's a poorly-designed user experience which causes frustration, confusion, and misconceptions about the product line, all of which are detrimental to gaining market share and positive marketplace reputation. That's more than bad enough, but don't confuse it with "restrictions". Those exist too, but you missed them entirely.
Hi,
The worst drawback is the calendar, doesn't anyone use it nowday's? As a working tool it's unusable. Thanks to Week View I can use WP 8 but even Week View is limited due to the lack edit function in the program. I know Microsoft "consider" this issue, consider!? Take a look of the calender in WP 6.5 that one had all the functions needed for Daily use.
Second worse is the dialer that doesn't look up phone numbers. Ok I use Another dialer for Calling and the built in when calling missed phone calls. Somehow we are back in the stoneage in some areas.
I choose WP 8 because of the strong Connection with Exchange which the other phone OS lacks.
Still WP 8 it's fast and works well in other areas but as mention earlier in the threads, it's not made as a working tool, it's made as a toy!
Just my 2 cent!
@GoodDayToDie:
I said the file manager is not really needed on the user side. I want the apps to have more powers when handling the user folders however. Trust me, I know the ogg vorbis problem better than anyone on this forum.
Hi.
I have done a small amount of cleaning. OP if you insist on having a thread about why you do not like WP8 (Presonally I have never tried it so I don't care one way or the other), then I expect you to do so in a civilized and respectful manner. This goes for everyone that feels the need to reply to this thread. There is nothing wrong with a discussion about personal preference or likes and dislikes as long as it is done with thoughtful and mature conversation.
Cheers,
-DSB
diestarbucks said:
Hi.
I have done a small amount of cleaning. OP if you insist on having a thread about why you do not like WP8 (Presonally I have never tried it so I don't care one way or the other), then I expect you to do so in a civilized and respectful manner. This goes for everyone that feels the need to reply to this thread. There is nothing wrong with a discussion about personal preference or likes and dislikes as long as it is done with thoughtful and mature conversation.
Cheers,
-DSB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The matter is that I opened this thread to collect the WP8 restrictions, in fact it wasn't restrictions but this is the way the system works.
So I pointed out that and I mentioned that I will not talk about any more restrictions in Windows Phone 8 cause it is working that way.
but WP8 people insisted to attack me & I replied back.
I tried to provide clear image and experience about Windows Phone 8, but some people just don't like that.
one-option said:
The matter is that I opened this thread to collect the WP8 restrictions, in fact it wasn't restrictions but this is the way the system works.
So I pointed out that and I mentioned that I will not talk about any more restrictions in Windows Phone 8 cause it is working that way.
but WP8 people insisted to attack me & I replied back.
I tried to provide clear image and experience about Windows Phone 8, but some people just don't like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you, or anyone, feels they are being attacked, then the correct course of action is to report the post and let a mod come in and handle it. Replying back is just going to drag on the issue and in most all cases will make things worse.
Light side is often spoken of because the "dark" side is covered just about everywhere. The OS is the dark horse in this race, it has flaws just like the rest ...but there easily found in detail elsewhere.
Sent from my RM-878_nam_usa_100 using Tapatalk
one-option said:
Here are some retractions to those who intend to buy a new Windows Phone 8 device.
1- No File Manager in Windows Phone 8
The file manager is an important tool to get control over your device, Well here is the idea
Windows Phone 8 is more like application dependent platform, it is organized in strict way so if you want to watch video you will have to check in (Music + Video section/Hub) where you will find your videos and Music.
Same thing is true for images you have to watch your images in photo section/Hub....for other kind of Documents like word or excel you will have to check in Microsoft Office..... there is no ability to check this files inside the folders from the phone........... in general you can't see the folders unless you connect your phone to a computer......... every thing should be kept in its place images in Photo folder, ringtones should be in ringtone folder and so on.
So If you want to create another folders for special images other than photo folder Windows Phone 8 will not be able to see them !!!!
This is not smart at all
So what about non supported files or files there is no application to open them ?
There is no way to open such files in your phone or view them weather this file was image, video or what ever else.
In general people long time back requested Microsoft for file manager, but Microsoft simply not responding and ignoring that requests.
2- Control ringtone and media volume separately
This is another big problem.......... for example at night if you turned the phone ringer silent and you want to listen to some music you will not be able to do so in Windows Phone 8 smart phone .........cause if you turn phone ringer silent ....every thing will turned silent music , video ....every thing......Good thinking Microsoft.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3- Web Browser: Windows Phone 8 use Internet explorer 10 as default web browser and in general there is very few web browsers available in the market.
back to internet explorer there is only refresh button available in the browser no stop or going forward or back....... it is really bad experience to browse the web with Internet explorer.
More than that try to visit a web site with drop down list and select any thing , you will find the drop down list and you will be able to select what ever you want but that will make no different and the system will not respond to what you have selected...really disappointing .
4- Phone dailer: In general Phone book and Phone dailer one of the things I like about this OS it is really unique but it is missing some features like smart dailing & call duration in call History, long press on a contact name will offer two options delete the item from call history or block that name, no other options to send a message or MMS you have to dig inside to get this options.
5- Install XAP Files without SD Card: In Android for example you can install APK files in any Android phone (you can download any Application from any non google markets and install it offline without the need for internet connection by downloading APK files) but the equivalent of APK file in Windows Phone 8 is XAP file and it can be installed only in a handset with SD card support !!!!
Devices like Nokia Lumia 1020 or 920 is not able to install XAP files where in low end device like Nokia Lumia 520 you can do that !!!!
What a nice thing.
To be continue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seeing as you complain about the file manager and not being able to install XAPs directly but can do that on Android, why don't you try doing that on iOS? Should be easy right? Microsoft hates you after all. They don't want you to do anything on your Nokia 3310 with a touchscreen and a camera.
1- No File Manager in Windows Phone 8
The file manager is an important tool to get control over your device, Well here is the idea
Windows Phone 8 is more like application dependent platform, it is organized in strict way so if you want to watch video you will have to check in (Music + Video section/Hub) where you will find your videos and Music.
Same thing is true for images you have to watch your images in photo section/Hub....for other kind of Documents like word or excel you will have to check in Microsoft Office..... there is no ability to check this files inside the folders from the phone........... in general you can't see the folders unless you connect your phone to a computer......... every thing should be kept in its place images in Photo folder, ringtones should be in ringtone folder and so on.
So If you want to create another folders for special images other than photo folder Windows Phone 8 will not be able to see them !!!!
This is not smart at all
So what about non supported files or files there is no application to open them ?
There is no way to open such files in your phone or view them weather this file was image, video or what ever else.
In general people long time back requested Microsoft for file manager, but Microsoft simply not responding and ignoring that requests.
2- Control ringtone and media volume separately
This is another big problem.......... for example at night if you turned the phone ringer silent and you want to listen to some music you will not be able to do so in Windows Phone 8 smart phone .........cause if you turn phone ringer silent ....every thing will turned silent music , video ....every thing......Good thinking Microsoft.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!
3- Web Browser: Windows Phone 8 use Internet explorer 10 as default web browser and in general there is very few web browsers available in the market.
back to internet explorer there is only refresh button available in the browser no stop or going forward or back....... it is really bad experience to browse the web with Internet explorer.
More than that try to visit a web site with drop down list and select any thing , you will find the drop down list and you will be able to select what ever you want but that will make no different and the system will not respond to what you have selected...really disappointing .
4- Phone dailer: In general Phone book and Phone dailer one of the things I like about this OS it is really unique but it is missing some features like smart dailing & call duration in call History, long press on a contact name will offer two options delete the item from call history or block that name, no other options to send a message or MMS you have to dig inside to get this options.
5- Install XAP Files without SD Card: In Android for example you can install APK files in any Android phone (you can download any Application from any non google markets and install it offline without the need for internet connection by downloading APK files) but the equivalent of APK file in Windows Phone 8 is XAP file and it can be installed only in a handset with SD card support !!!!
Devices like Nokia Lumia 1020 or 920 is not able to install XAP files where in low end device like Nokia Lumia 520 you can do that !!!!
What a nice thing.
To be continue
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i totally agree...
iOS have Jailbrake,Android have Root...what have WP ?
To end all discussion about the negative points of Windows Phone 8, I'm going to invalidate the issues some people (including me for some time) were having with the WP8 OS (WARNING SOME CRITICS ARE STILL IN EFFECT IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN INTEROP UNLOCKED ATIV S):
- No decent free YouTube App : Not anymore, the official YouTube app has been revived, download here
- No File Manager : Not anymore (interop unlocked phones only) : download here
- No MKV support : there are apps out there (mostly paid apps like YxPlayer WP8, Moliplayer Pro and Best Player) which do support MKV. You might argue that these apps are not free and so the critic is still in effect, but VLC for WP8 (see Kickstarter : news update 10, all the way down the article) is coming, so no your argument is invalid.
- Manufacturer exclusive apps : one word proxy
- no customization whatsoever 20 tile colors and one lockscreen picture : SamWP8 (interop unlocked phones only) of -W_O_L_F- allows custom tile colors and there are lockscreen apps which allow to display weather information on the lockscreen (free ones like Bing Weather and MoWeather HD (which I can't install in English, keeps on installing in Chinese) and also paid apps like Weather Flow, Amazing Weather HD and WeatherSense. You might argue that you can't have widgets on your lockscreen like in Android : Lockmix, your argument is invalid.
- No Task manager : Close button in multitask menu since GDR3
- No Live Tile clock because of refresh frequency limitations by Microsoft : Sideloading TimeMe works perfectly, updates each minute (store version updates each 40 minutes).
- Windows Phone 8 SDK only for Windows 8 : Not anymore, Tutorial: Install Windows Phone 8 SDK on Windows 7 the Easy Way by compu829
- Lack of official apps, mostly web links (eg YouTube) : Vine has been released, Instagram will probably follow (it's from the same company), Facebook beta is becoming pretty decent, Twitter has an official app, YouTube has been revived (see first point), Foursquare has an official app and there are pretty decent free third party apps out there for apps who don't have an official version yet (like 9gag, instagram and others, most great apps were made by Rudy Huyn)
There are some critics which I admit are bothering even me and I can't invalidate them at the moment, these are :
- Windows Marketplace isn't as great as the other marketplaces (like Apple Store and Google Play), but it's growing (Rome wasn't build in a day, you know ) : many paid apps which should be free because they are too insignificant to ask money for (eg a Wallpaper app) but there are still some great store deals and even paid apps become free for a day (to keep you updated with these deals, install these three apps)
- Update rollout takes too long time to complete in some places, despite the name GDR (General Distribution Release). I still didn't received the GDR2 update here in Belgium/Western Europe (except for Germany and the UK) through the Phone Updates on my Ativ S itself, I had to flash it manually.
- No competition on hardware specs, all is specified by Microsoft. I hope the introduction of quad-core CPU's (like the Snapdragon 800 in the Lumia 1520) will bring change on this aspect.
- Even small adjustments (like turning captive buttons off and changing the phones language and/or region) requires a reboot, where on other OS's they don't.
- Keyboard language suggestions pack downloads itself in the Phone Updates, won't start automatic, requires reboot + requires migration of settings/data (takes about 15 minutes). On other OS's this is a simple download.
- Nokia has too big of a market share to attract other manufacturers, Nokia is also a privileged manufacturer (definitely after the Microsoft-Nokia deal took place) making fair competition almost impossible.
- Windows Phone and Microsoft have a problem recognizing minorities, Spotlight in Flanders (Dutch speaking part of Belgium) is French, how dare they .
aSpirit81 said:
i totally agree...
iOS have Jailbrake,Android have Root...what have WP ?
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I respect everyone's opinions. I used to be an iphone user from 2g to 4. Went to android, now I have a lumia 1020.
I had jailbrake on my iphones because I wanted my phones to do more useless things. I gained root on my android devices and flashed the heck out of them to make them cleaner and faster( who wants to wait 0.3 of a second more time to open a browser)
Personally I don't miss anything about my previous devices. The only thing missing (in my opinion) is making folders and putting games in one, apps in other e.t.c. and the ability of someone sending me an app via mail or bluetooth, and manually installing it. Either way , I am very happy with my lumia 1020..... camera.