Database Users

Why is the Windows marketplace so poor?

Hi,
Just been looking through the marketplace and have to say it's rather poor, hardly any apps, and a lot of those that are there are very expensive. Whilst a lot of apps on the iphone are very gimicky, there are apps for just about everything, and there are thousands of free apps. As Microsoft are always competing with Apple on just about every front how come they've let apple get so far ahead in this area? I couldn't even find a basic solitaire came, all I found was freecell, which you have to pay for :-/ Will the marketplace always be poor or is it set to explode?
Cheers

snerkler said:
Hi,
Just been looking through the marketplace and have to say it's rather poor, hardly any apps, and a lot of those that are there are very expensive. Whilst a lot of apps on the iphone are very gimicky, there are apps for just about everything, and there are thousands of free apps. As Microsoft are always competing with Apple on just about every front how come they've let apple get so far ahead in this area? I couldn't even find a basic solitaire came, all I found was freecell, which you have to pay for :-/ Will the marketplace always be poor or is it set to explode?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Marketplace differs from region to region. You may want to look at changing your region (not via settings - it's documented on xda forums) and then see what else is available.
Personally, I think Marketplace is very good, but needs time to grow. You can't expect it to be full when it's only been publicly available for a matter of months.
Incidentally, this isn't a "HD2 vs iPhone" thread. There's no need to make every question a comparison between 2 completely different pieces of hardware.

johncmolyneux said:
Marketplace differs from region to region. You may want to look at changing your region (not via settings - it's documented on xda forums) and then see what else is available.
Personally, I think Marketplace is very good, but needs time to grow. You can't expect it to be full when it's only been publicly available for a matter of months.
Incidentally, this isn't a "HD2 vs iPhone" thread. There's no need to make every question a comparison between 2 completely different pieces of hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, sorry about that, just hard not to when that's what I've got at the moment. If you're going for something new you do tend to always compare it to what you have already, or at least I do
I didn't realise the marketplace has only been available for such a short time, I just assumed it had been around since the start of windows mobile

There's already so much stuff available from other sources (legal I may add) that frankly there's not much use for marketplace until it has grown

snerkler said:
Haha, sorry about that, just hard not to when that's what I've got at the moment. If you're going for something new you do tend to always compare it to what you have already, or at least I do
I didn't realise the marketplace has only been available for such a short time, I just assumed it had been around since the start of windows mobile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah - it's in its infancy. It's actually grown a lot recently. When I first went on there there was about 10 apps, but then we found out about the region thing and that opened it up a lot. Also, bear in mind that there's a MASSIVE online arena for windows apps (I'll give you a clue... we're in it now ). The marketplace doesn't have the draw that the appstore has, since so many winmo developers have already got their base set up.

snerkler said:
Hi,
Just been looking through the marketplace and have to say it's rather poor, hardly any apps, and a lot of those that are there are very expensive. Whilst a lot of apps on the iphone are very gimicky, there are apps for just about everything, and there are thousands of free apps. As Microsoft are always competing with Apple on just about every front how come they've let apple get so far ahead in this area? I couldn't even find a basic solitaire came, all I found was freecell, which you have to pay for :-/ Will the marketplace always be poor or is it set to explode?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it bad as marketplace default installs everything onto the device without the option of changing it. This obviously uses up (the very limited) storage on the HD2.
I've heard its possible to move them however its just a pain to do and tbh I can't be bothered, I'd just get it from other sources .... thankyou google.

Marketplace
Marketplace is Microsoft's kneejerk response to iphone's app store.
I have not bothered to look at it.
There are at least a dozen websites I can think of that have been selling thousands of apps from dictionaries to games for over a decade.
Appstore exists because it is apples monopoly.
I cannot believe the public who fall for such cheap tricks.
Look outside the cave!

Xaddict said:
Marketplace is Microsoft's kneejerk response to iphone's app store.
I have not bothered to look at it.
There are at least a dozen websites I can think of that have been selling thousands of apps from dictionaries to games for over a decade.
Appstore exists because it is apples monopoly.
I cannot believe the public who fall for such cheap tricks.
Look outside the cave!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to both agree and disagree with you there mate. I know what you're saying about the kneejerk - it does seem like Microsoft are just getting in line with Marketplace, but it does have its advantages over regular downlading and installing of things.
For example, after flashing the recent ROM upgrade, I went to marketplace and just clicked "my apps" and "install all". All the apps I've downloaded in the past were downloaded and installed for me, in the background while I carried on setting up other things on the phone.
Things are usually both black and white.

johncmolyneux said:
"A bit" off topic, and hardly a problem for Marketplace. It's only a problem if your phone has low program storage, like the HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slightly off, however if users are reluctant to purchase from there (possibly because of storage issues) then developers would think twice about hosting their applications there (as i would also assume MS charge for the service in some way or form), its also not only the HD2 that has the device storage limitations, quite a few other WM phones are in the same boat.

jrrigney said:
Slightly off, however if users are reluctant to purchase from there (possibly because of storage issues) then developers would think twice about hosting their applications there (as i would also assume MS charge for the service in some way or form), its also not only the HD2 that has the device storage limitations, quite a few other WM phones are in the same boat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, I just used the HD2 as an example, but you're also right about devs not wanting to put their work somewhere were it will not be as appreciated. Well, I can see them having marketplace and an alternative - handango for example, or their own site. It's still a useful place, even if you only look there for things to search for and download (you know, like the sky movie channels )

this is the best site i found for apps www.freewarepocketpc.net

Are all apps from over places resolution dependent? or will they go full screen?

Theguru1 said:
Are all apps from over places resolution dependent? or will they go full screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That depends on the app. They're all different

I think the marketplace will only see significant growth when mobile 7 is released. At the moment there are too many devices with different screen resolutions, processor speeds and other hardware like GPS / digital compass. When mobile 7 is released and the basics will be set out (like resolution) the app developers will know what they develop will be available for all win mo users

what do google and android want out of this?

I know that when Android began development their focus was on apple and they wanted to compete with the iPhone. Which is a commmendable goal because the iphone ineluctably changed the mobile device world for the better. This makes me think Android has a lot they want to do with the stock ui and not just fixes to further stabilize the software but to give the UI a seeker look and add functionality.
On the other hand I've read here that Google just wants to make a stable UI available for companies like MOTO and HTC to skin and for developers to customize and improve.
Id like to think that Android has big plans for my new nexus one.
So do you guys think Google looks at HTC's sense and says " its all going according to plan, companies are taking our software and vastly improving it so we do the leg work and get our software on mass amounts of phones and manufacturers can customize it to their liking and their customer preferences" or do you think they say " wow HTC has really made phenomenal improvements on our software so we need to step up our game and make 2.2 and on more competitive"
I do understand its open source implying the intention for third party customization. but if android didnt want their own ui to be the preferred ui i don't think theyd even offer phones that way, i just hope android isnt stopping short on purpose to let developers put the finishing touches, thats a great option to have but id rather not be compelled to root.
I'm not saying android stock isn't very solid. Other than sense its the best ui available. I'm just trying to clarify whether android wants stable software by them at the heart of every mobile device and customized by those manufacturers or if they want android stock to be competitive in and of its self. Personally I'm hoping for the latter.
Your thoughts?

I don't know if their focus is so much of pushing people to make their own but more of focusing on the availability. They seem to want to always have the availability of customization and freedom. I think they see Sense UI as "Hey people actually love our work and are willing to spend days/months on working to make something of our product."
Unlike with Apple, they're like "WTF? You're not allowed to do this! No you can't see the specs of our phones you have to guess!!"

Unlike with Apple, they're like "WTF? You're not allowed to do this! No you can't see the specs of our phones you have to guess!!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
touche.....

i can't see google having any problems with sense UI, any improvement is great. Anything that will make more people use android and use google's services, im sure they will be happy with. Somehow i don't think they are happy with the deals the other companies have made with bing and yahoo though.

DMaverick50 said:
but if android didnt want their own ui to be the preferred ui i don't think theyd even offer phones that way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're completely missing the point about why Google wants Android.
They don't care if the stock UI isn't the best or most popular.
They don't care about Blur.
They don't care about Sense UI.
You're missing the big picture here.
Every time you search...
Every time you use maps...
Every time you use voice input, Google Goggles, Gesture Search, Listen, etc.
Every time, they're collecting that data, selling it, using it to improve their services even more and thereby making even more profit on their improvement in services..
Mobile ads within apps, and elsewhere within the UI...
Not to mention taking a cut out of sold apps.
Nothing is free, especially not data, and you can bet your ass Google is cashing in on it since that's what they do best.
Stop thinking about the UI, and start thinking behind-the-scenes. Look at the big picture.

O
Paul22000 said:
You're completely missing the point about why Google wants Android.
They don't care if the stock UI isn't the best or most popular.
They don't care about Blur.
They don't care about Sense UI.
You're missing the big picture here.
Every time you search...
Every time you use maps...
Every time you use voice input, Google Goggles, Gesture Search, Listen, etc.
Every time, they're collecting that data, selling it, using it to improve their services even more and thereby making even more profit on their improvement in services..
Mobile ads within apps, and elsewhere within the UI...
Not to mention taking a cut out of sold apps.
Nothing is free, especially not data, and you can bet your ass Google is cashing in on it since that's what they do best.
Stop thinking about the UI, and start thinking behind-the-scenes. Look at the big picture.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely understand what you're saying, that they want their software on as many devices as possible. That was actually the first of the two possibilities I offered. Officially google initially indicated they wanted to compete with apple (the second possibility I offered) and as a nexus owner I hoped for the second but it makes a lot more business sense to make their software/applications ubiquitous. And at the end of the day, google has a bottom line to worry about. So I guess in the end the manufacturers using android but customizing it probably offers a more thoughtful interface (though many, many prefer stock) but having stock android is more likely to receive updates fastest while some customized skins may not receive them period. Seems like a win-win for consumers regardless of android and Google's strategy.

I never saw Android as a competition to iPhone. There are huge differences between them. To start with, iPhone is a hardware and Android is an OS.
Android is not just targetted towards phone.. but also a more lucrative platform buisness. Android is targeted towards Windows and Linux and not iPhone.
Windows CE and Linux are pretty much the only choice for platforms. Many GPS units, car control systems, Controllers for many equipment etc.. are all Windows CE or custom linux. Android is targeting this market share. Therefore it is not surprising that Android has similiar policies like Win CE and linux to keep the core seperate from UI. Customers can choose their UI to adapt their implimentation. e.g. many of us don't even relaize that our car GPS has windows in it or our routers has linux in it.
Of course there are other advantages of controling a platform. They have been nicely sumarized by paul.

iphone os 4 vs froyo

Do you think think there will be anything in the ios4 that will be very unexpected? I think just the implementation of multitasking will be a big improvement for iphone users. Hopefully froyo will get all Android phones up to the same OS level. I am expecting that Gingerbread to be the version that brings a UI overhaul and many other features.

All this competition will benefit us a lot

it's not the OS, its the apps and android is seriously missing the apps. i want to stick with android so bad but the quality of the apps as compared to iphone is pathetic. i hope this changes or i'll be back to apple.

pnd4pnd said:
it's not the OS, its the apps and android is seriously missing the apps. i want to stick with android so bad but the quality of the apps as compared to iphone is pathetic. i hope this changes or i'll be back to apple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you on that android seriously needs to attract some more app developers. Not switching back to apple though.

pnd4pnd said:
it's not the OS, its the apps and android is seriously missing the apps. i want to stick with android so bad but the quality of the apps as compared to iphone is pathetic. i hope this changes or i'll be back to apple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only partially agree. Which apps are present in the Apple Store that are not present in Android Market are you referring to?

Even if the iPhone 4G isn't better than the Nexus, the news and media will make it so that it is better than the Nexus in every shape way and form. Though, that app thing is true - but I do prefer free over paid. App developers have been iWashed by Apple, they won't switch to Android till they really need to.
Don't see why they won't just port their apps though, that way they would be making twice the money..

Most of the games by Gameloft and EA games arn't on android yet.

where to start...
not available:
cbs sports
southwest airlines
beejive
dish network dvr
quality sucks
facebook
msnbc
usatoday
this is just off the top of my head. i dont care about games whatsoever. even the apps that are there don't have the professional look the iphone apps have. google needs to do something to attract developers....

HEY OHHH.... Let the games begin!
Personally, I am excited to see what the future brings us. I know that no matter what, i will be buying the iPhone HD (supposedly, thats its name), and the next google product. Let the games begin!

Just use a bookmark for SWA. Mobile site looks just like an app.

pnd4pnd said:
where to start...
not available:
cbs sports
southwest airlines
beejive
dish network dvr
quality sucks
facebook
msnbc
usatoday
this is just off the top of my head. i dont care about games whatsoever. even the apps that are there don't have the professional look the iphone apps have. google needs to do something to attract developers....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where to start:
Available:
Flyscreen
shopsavy
Goggles
Beatiful Widgets
SetCPU
xScope Browser
GDE
Starfield 3D Live Wallpaper
Gesture Searh
I own a Ipod Touch and I can tell you Android have more useful apps than Iphone,but is safe to say they are even.Now in games is different,Android needs Gameloft.

android has beejive. i just uninstalled it 2 days ago...

android has beejive. i just uninstalled it two days ago

Yeah seriously, the Android Marketplace is pathetic in comparison to the AppStore. Half of the apps are "crapps" that are essentially apps using the built in web-browser going to a website.
There's a browser. What's the point of building an app that just goes to one web-page anyway? If iPhone OS 4.0 gets multi-tasking, that will totally neuter the only advantage Android has over the iPhone.
The app quality is lacking. The media player is crap and Google has no good way for me to sync and manage my media unlike the iPhone. And because it's Google, and their revenue does come from people using their web-services, there will be no incentive for them to favour the Android over the iPhone when it comes to the provision of their services. An example of this would be gmail, contacts and calendars push synchronisation. What used to be a unique feature of the Android phone is now available on the iPhone. Pretty much anything I can do on the Android, I can do on the iPhone.

I prefer the ability to mold the os to my needs not mold my needs to the os. This is the major downfall of the iphone for me and I suspect many others, I just cant fiddle around with it enough to satisfy. Unless that changes the iphone will have to spit out naked & horny supermodels before Im on the wagon. Now assuming THAT happens I will be more than willing to set aside my differences.

Agree with the app issue, it needs to have more developers becoming involved.

pnd4pnd said:
where to start...
not available:
cbs sports
southwest airlines
beejive
dish network dvr
quality sucks
facebook
msnbc
usatoday
this is just off the top of my head. i dont care about games whatsoever. even the apps that are there don't have the professional look the iphone apps have. google needs to do something to attract developers....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if you stay an Android user, you'll continue to build an Android user base.
Once that % of users gets high enough, you'll see that developers realize they ought to port their app to the other system. Hence certain cool apps like Swype, Facebook, Digg realize this and have made apps for both platforms.
So yeah, just stay on Android and support a bit more

xanatos00 said:
Well if you stay an Android user, you'll continue to build an Android user base.
Once that % of users gets high enough, you'll see that developers realize they ought to port their app to the other system. Hence certain cool apps like Swype, Facebook, Digg realize this and have made apps for both platforms.
So yeah, just stay on Android and support a bit more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read an interesting article that a lot of the top iPhone app developers are not working on iPad stuff because they are too focused on developing Android. Android seems to have hit a tipping point, and is taking off really fast and furiously. Give it 6 months to a year, and we won't have anymore fan boys flaming our forums with "we have more apps and a better app store" BS.
Want to talk about pointless apps, App Store has them too... how many fart apps? How many "ring-tone packs" counted as an "app"?

A Rant: Anroid, Get your Shiz Together!

This is what I type at 3 in the morning. Please read for a minute, I'll keep it short and get to the point. I feel NS owners should see this since they seem the most enthusiastic.
This is generally for Android as a whole, targeting Google. Wow, so it's been how many years since Android first came out? And what is the only other competitor in the market - oh right, iOS. iOS has been destroying the market with only one phone which rarely has any lag/bug/glitch issues, namely the 4S or the new 5 (minus the Maps).
The only reason Android has a large market share is due to the large number of phones at reasonable prices. That is all. There are only two competitors in this oligarchy, and one still can't do it right. Google engineers are apparently among the highest paid, yet they decide to constantly release updates which constantly has bugs. It is a pity, to look at many of you Android enthusiasts that are giving a lot of attention to Android development and are contributing to this world, when Google themselves is not treating you right, thus I feel that you are the reason that the brand is remaining strong. You guys have the capacity to overlook its bugs/lags and see what Android is there truly for. On the other hand, I doubt iOS users actually care about that topic since it is rarely seen.
Next, the phones. So we have like a thousand phones running Android from like 20 different manufacturers. What the..? Alright, phones that are aimed for a low budget do not count, but the Nexus devices that Google works on - they should be at least revolutionary. Google has to partner up with different manufacturers each time when creating the next Nexus? Talk about inconsistency, and inviting a lack of hardware acceleration with its software. Google can even build their own phones if they have to, but just get it right! I mean their latest phone, the Galaxy Nexus, is still not a stable phone (although I thought it would be). Samsung is actually holding it down and implementing their own stuff to create a good user experience (thus the success of the Galaxy line). Other than that, ALL other manufacturers are literally wasting money (but producing profits) by adopting Android and Google themselves are getting much more love than they should be getting.
Creating new updates and naming them after the alphabet and weird food names is quite cheesy. That's not the issue though, it creates hype by many users - the anxiety of waiting for the next update that will 'fix all problems' - but what happens? Promises are broken, and the software is bad once again. Like the JB update - turns out it's bad and many/most users tend to agree. So much for project butter haha. It's simply not worth it, not worth stressing or wasting time on it. I realize I am doing that by typing this post, but it needed to be done. People who are making money off of it - you're fine actually.
The message I am trying to get across is that Google's android software is not worth it, we all know it's bad, and Google seriously needs to get it right before everyone hops on the iBoat. There are actually multiple little things that I tried to get across in the post. That is all.

Cool story. Feel free to jump on the iOS wagon. I, for one, really like android.

I'm with android for the customization and freedom. I came from Windows Mobile where you could change anything you wanted and fell in love with flashing custom ROMS and even had a duel boot of WM6 and android 1.0 when I first came out (hated it back then, by the way.)
I bought an iPhone 3g when they came out and sold it by the next day. As you said, it was "flawless" as far as the operation of the OS, but when the OS imposes so much control over user input what do you expect? The iPhone tells you what you're allowed to do, it's not the user that defines what the phone can do.
After dropping my Tilt 2 flat on its face and tearing the ribbon for the screen, I hit the market for a new phone. Windows Mobile was still in the hundreds, but android was a cheaper alternative. I got a Samsung Moment and never looked back.
Maybe coming from Windows Mobile to android is why I don't have as many bug complaints. WM was mostly ALL bugs and glitches. That's not why I had the phone though - I had it for the features. Namely the ability to tether, which took android AND apple several releases to incorporate into their builds, but which was plug-n-play on every WM device I owned YEARS before. I also really enjoyed Windows Voice Command, better recognized as the Sync system in Ford vehicles. I could wear my bluetooth headset and make calls, open programs, listen to music and change songs all without having to touch the phone. Once again, it took apple and Google several editions to add useful voice commands to their systems.
I still miss remote desktop. I stopped having to store music and movies on my device because I could open a program and directly access every file on my home computer and stream anything to my phone screen.
So ultimately I'm with android for the freedom. The openness. The fact that they ALLOW outside developers to exist at all! It's the creativity found in the android community that has kept me, not the hope for a "fix all" update. Personally, the only problem I've ever had with my Android phones is the actual phone app itself. Delayed ringing and sometimes the inability to answer to even slide and answer the call due to screen freezing.
That's MY rant at 5 am lol
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app

I'll have a Lamborghini Gallardo, Olivia Wilde and a cherry Coke, while we're at it (dreaming).

When you buy a new phone it should be completely yours not locked down by the manufacturer. If I want to brick I want to be able to do it.
If you really don't like it there a lot of rotten apple phones out there for you to buy.

anyway, I was on stock JB for a while, I haven't encountered all this **** your talking about. It could be faster, nicer, with more options but it is working quite well
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus S avec Tapatalk

Go get lost. Steve Job is waiting there to pay you for this iPhone advertisements in an android thread. You are required there not here. Lol....
Sent from my Nexus S

madd0g said:
I'll have a Lamborghini Gallardo, Olivia Wilde and a cherry Coke, while we're at it (dreaming).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Scratch that lambo make it an Aston Martin Vantage V12. Regarding the other two: Plenty of cherry coke around, but we're gonna have a problem with Olivia: I won't share, no crossing swords!

I love when people try to tell me how I should feel about the products I enjoy.

Logomotph said:
Cool story. Feel free to jump on the iOS wagon. I, for one, really like android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know right?
madd0g said:
I'll have a Lamborghini Gallardo, Olivia Wilde and a cherry Coke, while we're at it (dreaming).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I get that with no cholesterol burger and fries?
p.pavljasevic said:
When you buy a new phone it should be completely yours not locked down by the manufacturer. If I want to brick I want to be able to do it.
If you really don't like it there a lot of rotten apple phones out there for you to buy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've said this before. I hate when companies wanna slap their branding all over my 4 to 600 dollar smartphone and load it up with their crap I am never gonna use.
styckx said:
I love when people try to tell me how I should feel about the products I enjoy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My best friend is a iPhone fanboy. I have to show him once a month why my Nexus S 4G is better then his iPhone 4s.

to each his own, i don't mind jb's quirkyness, it's also a matter of finding just the right rom/kernel combo... can't speak for stock JB.
aokp JB 4 + marmite 4.8.7 is doing quite nice, steady & haven't had weird reboots yet

I will admit that the Nexus S has a hard time with stock Jelly Bean. It pushes the NS basically to its limits in terms of hardware capability. That said, as a daily driver, it's still very, very usable. If you want to see Jelly Bean run like a f**king champ, run it on a Galaxy Nexus or Nexus 7. It's pretty amazing.

Okay I'm not favouring iOS or anything and no I'm not jumping on their wagon, and I am also not hating on Android's customization/community. I've had my Nexus S for almost 1.5 years now and I still believe it's not outdated (great camera, front-facing camera, good screen, good touch sensor)
I appreciate that Android lets its customers customize the phones more than Apple. But what about the 'majority' who don't root or install 3rd party keyboards, etc. and like to run stock? I for one am running stock and native since I believe it should give the best performance as it is made by the manufacturer. But I'm not getting that! There are the red flags going off.
Additionally, when I was referring to iOS, I mean to say mainly iPhone 4 and up. The iPhone 3 was quite bad (although still better than android at that point in time). But with iOS 5/6, sure it takes away user customization, but the majority does not anyway - they just use their phone for their intended purposes and yet experience difficulties? That's a no no. However, ONE thing I do enjoy is widgets over having iOS.

Plenty of people dont run stock as per your definition. Plenty of people use or at least tried different keyboards / launchers / messaging apps etc
Root is not required and installing those apps is no different then installing any other app like Pandora. They are also often editors choice and top selling / top free apps in the play store. People know about them and use them. You don't need a to be a hardcore user to know about and use them.
People actually do change up there apps all the time and on all platforms. Its like saying people with a iPhone shouldn't use instagram because the phone comes with a camera application out the box.
Bottom line is if the user has a option to try different apps they will. Especially if its easy for the average user to install like a normal app. Imagine for a second if winterboard was freely available in the app store and functioned the same way it does on a jail broken device. I'd bet within 24 hrs it would become the most popular app in the app store. Your argument just seems silly to me. People will and do change things are freely and easily changed

albundy2010 said:
Plenty of people dont run stock as per your definition. Plenty of people use or at least tried different keyboards / launchers / messaging apps etc
Root is not required and installing those apps is no different then installing any other app like Pandora. They are also often editors choice and top selling / top free apps in the play store. People know about them and use them. You don't need a to be a hardcore user to know about and use them.
People actually do change up there apps all the time and on all platforms. Its like saying people with a iPhone shouldn't use instagram because the phone comes with a camera application out the box.
Bottom line is if the user has a option to try different apps they will. Especially if its easy for the average user to install like a normal app. Imagine for a second if winterboard was freely available in the app store and functioned the same way it does on a jail broken device. I'd bet within 24 hrs it would become the most popular app in the app store. Your argument just seems silly to me. People will and do change things are freely and easily changed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonderfully said.

Another tiny bit to add on to my previous point.
The focal point of apples marketing strategy used to be " there is a app for that". Of course this is after they decided to even include a store. Who can forget the air traffic controller getting the weather from his iPhone?
But this doesn't seem to apply to things apple thinks its users shouldn't change.

What are you going to use your nexus to do as you write it has a hard time using jelly bean? - I my self have not got complications - I think I have used jelly bean nearly from when it was free - and I for my part - find it fast and free from lack - it play film - I read a lot news on it - it is very nice to read ebooks - see tv - you name it - ok - I do not use it for play - as all play for me are more or less the same - but ells I injoy jelly bean on my nexus s
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

albundy2010 said:
Plenty of people dont run stock as per your definition. Plenty of people use or at least tried different keyboards / launchers / messaging apps etc
Root is not required and installing those apps is no different then installing any other app like Pandora. They are also often editors choice and top selling / top free apps in the play store. People know about them and use them. You don't need a to be a hardcore user to know about and use them.
People actually do change up there apps all the time and on all platforms. Its like saying people with a iPhone shouldn't use instagram because the phone comes with a camera application out the box.
Bottom line is if the user has a option to try different apps they will. Especially if its easy for the average user to install like a normal app. Imagine for a second if winterboard was freely available in the app store and functioned the same way it does on a jail broken device. I'd bet within 24 hrs it would become the most popular app in the app store. Your argument just seems silly to me. People will and do change things are freely and easily changed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand, you're going off on apps when I am not talking about customization. I am just talking about the performance of the phone and the bugs it has. Let me be specific - as I unlock my phone, i swipe through home screens = lag. I open my camera, it takes a while at times = lag. I scroll through a list, and it lags on me. Even though it is minuscule Google needs to clean it up, since I never see it on an iOS device which is a fair comparison as it is the leading competitor.
I am not talking about apps or anything, I think we and everyone has already established that it has more customization. I know most users have 'tried' some customizable app that is not available to iOS but that is no excuse for the actual performance bugs it has. I don't play games (like rarely maybe) on the phone and don't have a huge load of apps installed either. Things just aren't nifty..and it is taking them years to get it right but they'd rather focus on other feature additions which also work poorly.

You are the one who brought up that entire what about the majority of the people out there that don't run third party keyboards etc.
You brought it up. I said it was rubbish.
Android has always been laggy compared to iOS. Apple did a good job with that from the beginning.
The majority of your op is simply not worthy of responding to. Actually I re read it just now and I consider it all entirely flame bait/ trolling. You joined the forum 3 days prior to that as well. Not bothering with that type of silly debate/flaming.
Your 2nd post in the thread actually had something I felt was worth giving a legit response to.

It can be due to Google not paying enough attention to this device, however, I urge you to try new phones like the Nexus and this upcoming LG Nexus. For me, Jelly Bean have been smooth all the way through. Lag is inevitable on this device due to its old single core cpu.
We are atleast fortunate to retain nearly all the features from the latest Android version, Apple withheld features from old phones on purpose so you have to buy their newest and most expensive device.

Switching To Windows 8 Phone

Hello... hope this finds everyone well.
I am a long time android user and keep getting the urge to jump into the windows phone arena. I was just curious from those who have done the switch what you found good and bad about the experience. Just looking for justifications from either spectrum really before doing so I appreciate all of your time and look forward to hearing your experiences.
Thanks!!

Tancreddo said:
Hello... hope this finds everyone well.
I am a long time android user and keep getting the urge to jump into the windows phone arena. I was just curious from those who have done the switch what you found good and bad about the experience. Just looking for justifications from either spectrum really before doing so I appreciate all of your time and look forward to hearing your experiences.
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, it's nice to see you're willing to make the switch.
Honestly, there are some things from Android that you're going to miss here, but there's also a bunch of new exciting stuff on WP, so in the end it all depends on your ability to adopt something new and different.
Although I don't use an Android phone as a daily device (because that place is taken by my Lumia 820), I have one for various mods and stuff, and I just find WP a better option for me (but obviously both have their advantages and disadvantages). The difference in performance and optimization is most visible on low-end hardware - WP excels there, Android not so much. There's also a difference in terms of features and customizability - all those nifty things you could change/modify/replace in Android are mostly not in WP. The hardware of WP mostly caught up to Android, so there shouldn't be any deal breakers there. The store is growing daily and now includes most "major" apps, but it really depends on you whether you'll be able to find your apps or not.
But before you decide and make opinions about WP, I urge you to wait for the 8.1 update - it brings a lot of new stuff and further refines the user experience, so it'd be wise to make judgment based on that. If you can, I suggest you get a cheap WP to have the first taste of the platform, and then decide if you want to upgrade or go back to Android.
In any case, make a decision based on your own opinion and experiences, it'll surely be the right decision for you.

I switched from my Nexus 4 to my Lumia 520 a few months ago.. one thing I noticed is the speed difference. Even though the 520 only has 512 mb of RAM, it feels more fluid than my Nexus 4.

I actually just made the switch.
From a Nexus 4 to a Lumia 925
Its been about a week, so far not regretting it at all. I managed to find all but i think 3 apps or so that i used on android in the WP store. One thing you will notice, some apps dont have all the functionality as they do on android.
What i do notice about WP is that everything is much more fluid. Tasks are easier and quicker to do. Also, in a lot of cases some of the apps on WP are generally nicer than you'll find elsewhere. I am really glad i made the switch. My main reason for switching was because i was just bored with my Nexus, wanted something different.
The only thing that its really missing at the moment is a google music app, i noticed like the day i got my WP, google changed the api or something in google music with borked all the gmusic apps on the windows store. But in everyday use, i dont miss it much. I just use pandora.
Give it a try, people hate on the apps and selection (i did too at one point) but WP has a great selection and some of the apps are absolutely beautiful.

Many people have a go at WP without ever trying it so well done to the OP for this thread.
I have had 10 Android phones and 4 tablets in the past 4 or so years. I think Android is a fantastic OS, easily the most powerful, feature rich and customisable available. In January I was contemplating swapping my N4 for a N5. However looking around at the fact that Android is so popular now I thought about trying WP8. So I got a brand new Ativ S for £140. The plan was to run two phones for a bit. The thing was I never looked at my N4. I know the lack some Google services is a problem but I have music, email & calendar one way or another so I can still interact with my Android family members.
The biggest let down in WP8 is the browser. IE is …. erm not very good. It needs text reflow (but so does Chrome) as a start but in reality MS need to open the platform to allow other browsers to run their own engines.
My advice is to see how tied in you are to Google and Android apps and see if any are missing on WP8. If the missing ones are vital to you then maybe WP8 isn’t for you.
I am now waiting for the new set hardware coming later in the year. I will then decide whether to get a new WP device or go back to android.

finbaar said:
The biggest let down in WP8 is the browser. IE is …. erm not very good. It needs text reflow (but so does Chrome) as a start but in reality MS need to open the platform to allow other browsers to run their own engines.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Luckily, IE is getting several improvements in 8.1, so it'll be a more viable option for people. The thing that's missing the most IMO is password management. Every decent browser should have it...
finbaar said:
My advice is to see how tied in you are to Google and Android apps and see if any are missing on WP8. If the missing ones are vital to you then maybe WP8 isn’t for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, if you're heavily tied into Google's ecosystem, you may need to reconsider your choice. Not that support for Google's products and services totally sucks, but it's quite lacking compared to what it could be (mostly Google's fault). But the good thing is, if you manage to make the switch to Microsoft's services, they've got you covered.

Me too.. my final android phone was the Xperia z (for a few days).. i just got bored of Android, wanted something different... i may get the LG G Pro 2 when it comes to the Market as a second phone, but my Nokia 1520 is not going anywhere in the near Future.

Super_Sport said:
Me too.. my final android phone was the Xperia z (for a few days).. i just got bored of Android, wanted something different... i may get the LG G Pro 2 when it comes to the Market as a second phone, but my Nokia 1520 is not going anywhere in the near Future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am considering a WP however the applications ... Will I be able to install free programs like we do on Android? I can download games and chunky programs from android app sites, and don't burn my precious internet credit.

agispapatias said:
I am considering a WP however the applications ... Will I be able to install free programs like we do on Android? I can download games and chunky programs from android app sites, and don't burn my precious internet credit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on how you define "free". There's free and trial versions of apps available on WP as well. There's only one store for WP, but you don't really need 10 app stores just to get your apps, do you? But if you're talking about piracy, you're out of luck.

DaviUnic said:
Depends on how you define "free". There's free and trial versions of apps available on WP as well. There's only one store for WP, but you don't really need 10 app stores just to get your apps, do you? But if you're talking about piracy, you're out of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean is the system accessible like android? In android I can download and install apps from other sources like app sites.
Do WP has a similar system?

As I said, no, and doesn't really need one because quality apps are found in the store. The only other source of apps are homemade apps, but you need dev unlock for that.

DaviUnic said:
you need dev unlock for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It`s free. And @reker says you`re free to install 10 apps now (was 2 for free unlock).