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Hi XDA-Samsung Users,
I've been a member of XDA since Jan last year. I went from owning a Nexus One to a Samsung Galaxy S i9000. The reason for the change was for the better specs and superior hardware of the Samsung Galaxy.
The phone is an incredible piece of machinery, but is severely hampered by the modifications that Samsung makes to the Android OS. I admit that the codec support within TouchWiz is impressive, but too much of the core framework of the phone is inefficient and sluggish.
Even using the latest release of unofficial firmware Samsung, Android 2.2.1 (JPY), there is still the occasional hang and the missing RAM (which is there somewhere, but not for user applications).
Samsung is mostly to blame, but there is also a quality control element that Google should be responsible for.
I have prepared an open letter that I sent to Android via Google Press and then forwarded on to Samsung for their reference. This were all through publicly available channels so will have to filter through customer service centers and the like.
I'm not expecting much, Google appears to use Amazon's customer service approach, "No customer service is good customer service".
But would like to post it here to hopefully get it out into the wilderness.
I tweeted it here http://twitter.com/#!/ibproud/status/27528781828722688
and would appreciate if you agreed with the content to retweet it. Hopefully it should give it a bit more weight.
It would be interesting to get the communities feedback on how mature they believe Android is.
Do they need to keep trying to make everyone happy or can they start to use the weight of their OS to get manufacturers to align the user experience?
Dear Android Team,
I am writing this letter to air my frustrations and to hopefully get some peace of mind that your strategy for Android will resolve some of the main issues plaguing the platform.
I have now been with Android for over 12 months. I used to be an iPhone user, but couldn’t stand the walled garden that Apple put me in. I couldn’t download directly to the phone, replace the messaging app or sync wirelessly. I went to Android because I wanted the freedom to use my phone more as a desktop replacement than as a phone/mp3 player.
When I joined the Android family (January 2010), I started with the Google Nexus One. I was so keen to get into the Android community I didn’t even wait for it to be on sale in Australia to get it, thus I hit eBay and bought it outright.
I was very pleased with the platform but could still see a few rough edges around the Operating System. It had the usability I was looking for but was lacking the polish I had grown use to with Apple. There was good news on the horizon with an Éclair update that would give the already beautiful phone a nudge in the right direction. As I was in Australia and the phone wasn’t here yet, I had to push the update through myself, after seeing how easy this was and getting the feeling of being a little phone hacker, I was hooked, I started preaching Android to the masses. Australia is still building momentum for the platform and it’s taking some time. Most of the major carriers stock between 4-6 Android devices, most of which are low end or outdated in the overseas markets.
I follow all the key players in the industry through Twitter and have a majority of Google News trackers picking up articles with android related words. I have also now converted my Wife to Android (HTC Desire Z, also not available in Aus) and I picked up the Samsung Galaxy S and gave my sister the Nexus One. The problem I face now is that I’ve run out of money and can’t go out and buy a new Android phone just to be up to date with the latest Android OS (Gingerbread), this would also be the case for most consumers. The Nexus S is so similar to my current hardware that I must be able to leverage the extra performance from the update.
But alas, we reach the major problem with the platform. Fragmentation. I’m not referring to the Fragmentation of the various app stores and apps available based on different OS versions but more to the Fragmentation of the OS based on the custom skins and manufacturer update cycles. The open platform that is closed at 2 levels, Manufactures and Carriers. I will continue to buy my phones outright as it gives me the freedom and flexibility to upgrade my plans as better ones become available. This always guarantees that I’m free from the bloatware that is preloaded on most Carrier bought phones and free from 1 of the barriers to the true AOSP experience. The next barrier is one that is running rampant in the interwebs rumour mill at the moment and that’s manufacturer updates and in my case I refer to Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy S phones come loaded with Android 2.1, most of them internationally are running Android 2.2 and just recently as select group of the devices is getting Android 2.2.1. This is now a month after Android 2.3 was released. For Samsung I would consider this largely negligent, considering they had the opportunity to work with Google to build a Google Experience Phone (Nexus S). The specs of this phone are so similar to the Galaxy range that a port shouldn’t be too difficult. I understand that there are a lot of constraints and dependencies in the development cycle that could cause delays as well as manufacturers agendas (mostly in unit sales). It is great that Samsung have sold so many devices globally but at a cost of the user experience as well as potential damages to long term retention.
I understand the Open nature of Android and the push to encourage manufacturers to put there own spin on the platform, but Android is getting bigger and more mature, it doesn’t need to be High school girl bending to the whims and peer pressure from the carriers and manufacturers.
There are a team of Devs in Germany who are working to port CyanogenMod 7 (Gingerbread) to Galaxy S i9000, but these guys have now spent over four months just trying to get through Samsungs drivers. The team didn’t start just to customise the phone but to actually make the phone work properly, I of course refer to the RFS lag issue and Samsungs modification to the framework that slowed it down. The goal of the team is to maximise the potential of the hardware and operating system.
It would be great to see some muscle from Google thrown into the mix, there doesn’t need to be requirements dictated, but maybe ethics encouraged.
There seems to be a few options here:
- Encourage device manufacturers to share their drivers, if it is too sensitive to share at least work with the community to help them do it themselves.
- Start to break down the way the platform is customised so that way the manufactures (Samsung/HTC/Motorola) skin the platform can sit a layer above the core code, thus be a quick implementation/customisation to get their skins working.
- Get each manufacturer to offer the AOSP experience to advanced users. This can be done through an agreement between the user and manufacture that states this will void the warranty and have its own terms and conditions.
- This last one is a long stretch, but how about taking all the manufacturers drivers into a repository, the way Windows do updates. When a new Android version is developed the drivers can be updated or incorporated and be packaged out through the Android SDK.
I may be completely off the mark. I’m not a developer and couldn’t pretend to know what effort is involved at any stage of the process, from building Android to rolling it out into the latest and greatest phone. The one thing I am though is an End User, a person that wants my phone to do more, to get close to being a desktop replacement.
Maybe I’m also being a bit idealistic.
I hope the Android platform continues to flourish and for it to become the Windows of the mobile era.
Sincerely,
Irwin Proud
E: [email protected]
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It's really an excellent summary. Consider there're even more black sheeps out there. For example Sony Ericcson which ones recently made a statement like Android is their favourite Smartphone OS and left Symbian in Nokias hands.
But we found also the good ones like HTC, which every Manufacturer should have HTC as its Paragon concerning Android Software Development.
Great write-up; I agree 100%
I agree with your post fully, and concur that the Windows Phone 7 model for OS updates is more efficient, and strikes a happy medium between iOS and Android's approach to upgrades. However it is also more restrictive in terms of handset hardware limitations
I suppose the idea is that customers should vote with their wallets and buy from companies with good software and firmware support. The problem with that is a majority of phone users (android or otherwise) are technically savvy enough to take such support into consideration when looking at the latest and greatest fancy phone in a store. We could all buy the Nexus One or Nexus S only, but this too is restrictive to the customer as other phones offer more/different features
my 2 cents worth:
I agree on your points - but I'd skip the first few paragraphs if I were the one who write the letter. Other than that, thank you for making the effort.
What exactly are you hoping to achieve with this letter? Google has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that samsung don't want to update their phones. In these type of situations it's just better to vote with your wallet and buy another manufacturer's phone next time and let Samsung know why you don't want to use their phones in the future.
Writing letters like these is just a waste of time imho.
What Google should do?
Toss3 said:
What exactly are you hoping to achieve with this letter? Google has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that samsung don't want to update their phones. In these type of situations it's just better to vote with your wallet and buy another manufacturer's phone next time and let Samsung know why you don't want to use their phones in the future.
Writing letters like these is just a waste of time imho.
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Please allow me to politely disagree. Google can do a lot about this and they have done this also. When I say they have done this - I am talking about not having Market application on Android OSes which come on non-phone hardware.
Google should put similar restrictions for loosley coupled skins, upgradable drivers. I had been giving this a lot of thought lately. I will sum up my thoughts with above letter as above:-
i) Device manufacturer skinning - Google should mandate that it should be just another APK within AOSP and users should be given a choice to turn it off.
ii) Device Drivers - Google should mandate there should be a better way of installing device drivers - similar to what we have in MS Windows (MS Windows is an excellent model of how hardware device should be handled - this lead to the exponential growth Windows is enjoying now).
iii) Android OS Update - If Google can achieve the above two, then the choice to upgrade the OS should be at user discretion. Of course, Google should mandate that there is OTA availble as an option. And obviously this OTA would be served by Google, not by device manufacturers. This would also free up time, effort and cash spent by device manufacturers in upgrading the OS.
So this is in the best of interest of everybody.
These restrictions if put in place, would free us all from this phenomena of running outdated OS.
Not sure what ti say on this one. It's true that Samsung has failed on some levels, however I must say that this is the first phone that has allowed me to get to know so much about the internals of the Android OS.
Modifying kernels, ROM's, reading about different file-systems etc... it's not a thing for the common user but I expect the people on this forum to be interested in such things.
Ok, if Samsung had done it right, we may have discussed these things anyway but it would've drawn less attention as people would not be looking for solutions to their problems.
But of course we have to strive to quality for everyone and this letter may just open some people's eyes at both Google and Samsung.
Thank you so far for the feedback.
poundesville said:
my 2 cents worth:
I agree on your points - but I'd skip the first few paragraphs if I were the one who write the letter. Other than that, thank you for making the effort.
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Remember most members of XDA would be a cut above the average user. The reason this letter was written the way it was, was to demonstrate that I am a typical end user. Although I would consider myself leaning slightly to the more advanced side I wrote the letter based on a very general experience of the platform, an experience a lot of consumers would go through.
Toss3 said:
What exactly are you hoping to achieve with this letter? Google has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that samsung don't want to update their phones. In these type of situations it's just better to vote with your wallet and buy another manufacturer's phone next time and let Samsung know why you don't want to use their phones in the future.
Writing letters like these is just a waste of time imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What am I trying to achieve with this letter?
I really don’t know, but it helps to just get the thoughts out there.
With approximately 300,000 activations daily, I don’t think Android sees the true reflection of how their platform is received.
When the Galaxy range of phones was released in the US, they would have been seen as the closest thing to an iPhone that non-AT&T customers could get. So sales and activations shouldn’t be seen as the indicator of clever consumers or consumers wanting an open platform, but of consumers who wanted an iPhone but for the various reasons didn’t want to go with AT&T.
Remember: The international Samsung Galaxy is the only Android phone I know of that looks more like an iPhone than any other phone.
What I would really like to see is, that annually google will release a major version of Android. So V1, V2, V3, etc…. the mobile manufacturers commit to any minor or incremental updates per major version. So if Google says they are releasing Android 2.4 then they are saying to the manufacturer that this version will also work on any phone that currently supports v2.1 to v2.3.
As more and more people move to smartphones and tablets, more and more will we see hackers, spammers, botnets and so on attempt to access our devices. If we can’t have the latest updates that close any open holes then our phones become a huge liability.
Pierreken said:
Not sure what ti say on this one. It's true that Samsung has failed on some levels, however I must say that this is the first phone that has allowed me to get to know so much about the internals of the Android OS.
Modifying kernels, ROM's, reading about different file-systems etc... it's not a thing for the common user but I expect the people on this forum to be interested in such things.
Ok, if Samsung had done it right, we may have discussed these things anyway but it would've drawn less attention as people would not be looking for solutions to their problems.
But of course we have to strive to quality for everyone and this letter may just open some people's eyes at both Google and Samsung.
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Not really sure if Samsung has failed as such, but have put too much focus on unit sales rather than quality control and great user experience. They started releasing different iterations and modifications to the same phone without considering that each minor tweak to the hardware would mean more resources to develop updates and maintain each device.
I also agree that without Samsung I would know very little about linux filesystems, kernel and custom roms, but shouldn't all of these be more to push the phone above it's limits and not to just get it working properly?
There's nothing wrong with knowing the advanced stuff, however it shouldn't be a necessity.
The problem ironically is that Android is open source. I agree wit the letter above, but I can;t see how you can stop manufacturers doing what they want.
Also the Drivers being proprietary isn't going to change and device manufacturers aren't going to suddenly start releasing their closed driver sources.
Agreed Google should stand up and restrict the Skins to a single APK that can be removed, this would stop all the associated problems with HTC and Samsung skinning too deep in to the OS that it becomes impossible to remove it. The problem with that is, then any manufacturers APK will be installable on any phone. Which is something we know they don't want.
We already know Androids biggest downfall and so does Google. Fragmentation.
I believe once Google has the strong position they want and users demand Android when they buy a new phone, they will start to put their foot down and try to enforce standardisation across Manufacturers, but until they get to what they feel is that point, we're stuck.
Anyway much luck with the letter, I hope someone who matters get's to see it.
Logicalstep
i read somewhere that w8 has the potential of outselling android in the future.. what do you all think?
I think it is very probable that it will do better then android as google has not done very well at least compared to apple in the tablet area. wp8 is touch focused and is a very good OS and google and apple should be very worried.
leftspeaker2000 said:
wp8 is touch focused and is a very good OS and google and apple should be very worried.
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i think your on to something ere
All 3 companies are very good at stealing each others ideas so I doubt any of them will suffer much from Windows 8. Fundamentaly all 3 do the same job, so it comes down too personal preference, with that I should say Mac fans wont buy Windows 8 and nor will Android Fans or visa versa. Windows 8 simply allows Microsoft to play with the other boys in the Tablet field. I don't believe its the killer blow that will knock the others out of the ring.
I don't think it's going to do better than android, but it's going to gobble up a large portion of the market. WindowsPhone 8 is going to have support for MicroSD cards, native code and multi core processors, which all point to it being better than both iOS and Android. I'm honestly considering skipping the SGS3 and waiting for a Windows Phone "Apollo" phone instead.
WP7 is already the fastest OS of the three, and with support for even faster and better hardware, it's going to be just lightning quick.
Exciting times ahead!
m0nkf1sh said:
All 3 companies are very good at stealing each others ideas so I doubt any of them will suffer much from Windows 8. Fundamentaly all 3 do the same job, so it comes down too personal preference, with that I should say Mac fans wont buy Windows 8 and nor will Android Fans or visa versa. Windows 8 simply allows Microsoft to play with the other boys in the Tablet field. I don't believe its the killer blow that will knock the others out of the ring.
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I don't agree so much with this. I'm a Mac and I own an Android phone.
I guess it is down to appreciating the software engineering side of things.
I love how my Mac "just works", however do not appreciate the way iOS devices seem to only be designed for children who need the restrictions and wouldn't do much else than play games, read, learn, etc.
I also appreciate Android devices for the freedom and endless opportunities.
Windows 8... It is pretty cool, however, I'd rather not a tablet that is prone to PC viruses AND locked to only the one OS. Apple are also guilty with the whole "locked to one OS" philosophy.
Then again, the Linux kernel is my preference over the bloated one from Microsoft.
Leigh Kennedy said:
I don't agree so much with this. I'm a Mac and I own an Android phone.
I guess it is down to appreciating the software engineering side of things.
I love how my Mac "just works", however do not appreciate the way iOS devices seem to only be designed for children who need the restrictions and wouldn't do much else than play games, read, learn, etc.
I also appreciate Android devices for the freedom and endless opportunities.
Windows 8... It is pretty cool, however, I'd rather not a tablet that is prone to PC viruses AND locked to only the one OS. Apple are also guilty with the whole "locked to one OS" philosophy.
Then again, the Linux kernel is my preference over the bloated one from Microsoft.
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It would be nice to stop insulting people who prefer efficiency more than complexity. It's getting old.
I think the Microsoft strategy is starting to show itself and I with with in 18 months there will be more METRO devices than Android and even IOS...
I expect Microsoft to virtually give Windows 8 away for Free or at least very cheaply. This is because of the huge potential to make money from the APP STORE so they don`t need to charge much for the OS itself.
Now Windows 7 sold 400 Million Licences as of July 2011 so by Windows 8 release in say Oct 2012 there could be 600 Million Windows 7 PC`s in use...
If only 50% upgrade to a Windows 8 within six months you could be talking about 300 Million customers for METRO APPS a year from now. That is even before any new PC`s or Tablets are sold.
This could even impact the smartphone sales numbers going forward as Windows Phone 8 is likely to be very similar to Windows 8 thus increasing it`s awareness and familiarity to the average person.
With a potential market of 300 Million + customers ...I expect METRO APPS to look better and be more feature rich than Android and IOS APPS, I think this will help drive the sales of Windows 8 tablet hardware.
A year from now Android will be finished in the tablet game and Apple will have big big competition!!
jerome snail said:
It would be nice to stop insulting people who prefer efficiency more than complexity. It's getting old.
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Uh... Okay then.
Definitely nowhere near what I was intending to do.
Unless you were trying to troll.
I was only expressing my opinion. If you don't like it then ignore. The whole fanboy thing is getting old.
Future is full of uncertainty, no body had ever thought that Nokia vl have to compete with other companies for selling dr product, there was time when N series was consider as kind of huge status but now we have only two major OS iOS n Android outrunning symbian. So just wait n watch how win8 gets ported to phones n tablets.
Will Windows have something like Rosetta to support millions of existing programs on ARM? no.
I said programs, not apps because most people want Windows as they have a need to run Windows programs. That is why Linux and even Macs are limited in growth. And these programs are huge and hard to port due by developers due to libraries dependencies. Moreover, some of these program are specific for an industry/product and weren't updated for years, but people still need to use them. That is why Vista failed and people still use vulnerable XP, even when Windows 7 is out.
But do people need to have Windows to run apps? No. There is thousands of apps for Android and iPad. And I don't think that number of Metro apps will be greater than for Android at launch. So why anyone would want Windows on arm instead of iPad/Android?
Well android is still an os for mobilephones... It's not made for tablets. W8 will be good on a tablet so i think you are right..
borjeboy said:
Well android is still an os for mobilephones... It's not made for tablets. W8 will be good on a tablet so i think you are right..
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Android on a tablet works quite well though.
Yes, I do look forward to seeing how Windows 8 would work, however, the UEFI is what I don't agree with.
Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using XDA Premium
The whole "locking the device to only one OS" is why I won't buy an iPad...
Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using XDA Premium
Leigh Kennedy said:
Then again, the Linux kernel is my preference over the bloated one from Microsoft.
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NT kernel is bloated
I think whoever gets the first mid-range tablet out at the right price point will win. This is total opinion, but my gut tells me the magic number for price is the $200-$300 dollar range for a mass market tablet. Saw glimpses of this during the HP Touchpad fire sale and the Kindle Fire before the user complaints of the device started coming in.
This needs to be a full featured tablet and not the ones that feel watered down that are currently offered at this price range. I think Android has the advantage but w8 could do well if they can offer something that is less clunky and can really nail the backward compatibility of x86 programs.
Hello everyone.
I've always wondered why tablets/phones get free software upgrades (Android 3 to 4), while Computer OS's do not. (Windows Vista to 7).
Considering Windows 8 will be both a tablet and a desktop OS, will updates to windows 9 (or whatever they decide to call it) be free, for tablets at least?
It does not sound possible, but if Microsoft phones got free upgrades, why not their tablets?
Please share your thoughts on this.
Micro$haft?
I dont think so.
do you know how much money Bill Gates has? Yes, not enough!
It would be nice if we got a "Mac" type deal $29 upgrade , etc.
I thought Bill Gates retired.. Oh well..
And I wouldn't set Apple as a model for pricing.
DarkSeL said:
I thought Bill Gates retired.. Oh well..
And I wouldn't set Apple as a model for pricing.
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I second that brother... And I think some people have not even the slightest idea about the philanthropy Bill Gates is involved in... Plus, if PC OSes are upgraded freely then we would be at mercy of hardware providers to determine whether our hardware deserves an OS upgrade or not (as it is in the case of all smartphones today)...
gururoop said:
I second that brother... And I think some people have not even the slightest idea about the philanthropy Bill Gates is involved in... Plus, if PC OSes are upgraded freely then we would be at mercy of hardware providers to determine whether our hardware deserves an OS upgrade or not (as it is in the case of all smartphones today)...
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The question remains.. Will W8 tablets be treated like computers or phones.
android is a bad example given that the money is made through advertising and selling your info.
a more reliable comparison is Apple and iOS. WP7 and the iPhone are limited use devices,
OSx and Windows on there respective hardware are computers with a significant use attached to them, the same can be said for Windows Tablets, however they are different from Apples ipad offerings which is just a bumped up iphone OS, the tablet is (at least we believe. x86 - yes, ARM - ?) its a fully functional computer
So to your question, a Windows Tablet, is a computer (probably), and thus will likely follow computer upgrade cycles. and ipad is an extension of its iphone and would follow the phone update model.
As to how much it should cost, well that's up to MS, but before folk start raving about Apples "cheap" updates, its worth pointing out that developing an OS with a fixed hardware design will be much easier (cheaper) to do than for an almost infinite number of hardware designs
Lets be clear on something, NOTHING is done without there being money to be made in one form or another, Googles model is not as transparent as Microsofts but it still makes a mint, and whilst it doesn't do that by charging you directly it does use you as its *****
Its a nice though but not going to happen.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA
chrisrotolo said:
Micro$haft?
I dont think so.
do you know how much money Bill Gates has? Yes, not enough!
It would be nice if we got a "Mac" type deal $29 upgrade , etc.
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Click to collapse
The difference between Microsoft and Apple is that Apple already ripped you off with their expensive hardware so they can afford it to upgrade the OS for 29$.
Microsoft needs to get their profits from software only, that's why it's a bit more expensive than OSX upgrades.
DarkSeL said:
Hello everyone.
I've always wondered why tablets/phones get free software upgrades (Android 3 to 4), while Computer OS's do not. (Windows Vista to 7).
Considering Windows 8 will be both a tablet and a desktop OS, will updates to windows 9 (or whatever they decide to call it) be free, for tablets at least?
It does not sound possible, but if Microsoft phones got free upgrades, why not their tablets?
Please share your thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no they wont be, in the same way that OSx updates are chargable
you need to remember that everyone needs to make money, even the beloved Android "free" OS, android makers and OEMs make their money by selling your soul to anyone who has the money to pay for it, MS makes money by charging you directly, both are valid business models but one is more "open" than the other, the irony is that the "open" OS is actually the least open when it comes to the business modelm both have good points both have bad points.
The Windows phone portion will remain "free" to a point, but tablets and desktop versions are very much computer OSs, not a phone OS unlike its android and iOS cousins
edit, Boom! 1700 posts
Donny1987 said:
The difference between Microsoft and Apple is that Apple already ripped you off with their expensive hardware so they can afford it to upgrade the OS for 29$.
Microsoft needs to get their profits from software only, that's why it's a bit more expensive than OSX upgrades.
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Click to collapse
Everyone looks at Mirosoft thinks that they are cheating big arse sum of marney from you guys.
Microsoft just ended their support for XP like few months ago, which was release about 10years ago.
For just $29, Apple only provide 11 updates on that whatever cat OS and then just kiss your old cat goodbye on support on your whatever latest iPhones or Pads.
So Apple OS = cheap????
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk 2
DarkSeL said:
Hello everyone.
I've always wondered why tablets/phones get free software upgrades (Android 3 to 4), while Computer OS's do not. (Windows Vista to 7).
Considering Windows 8 will be both a tablet and a desktop OS, will updates to windows 9 (or whatever they decide to call it) be free, for tablets at least?
It does not sound possible, but if Microsoft phones got free upgrades, why not their tablets?
Please share your thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a good point, and potentially a future issue for Microsoft. Apple can afford to give software updates away for free because they make so much money off hardware sales, iTunes and the App Store. The updates for the iPod Touch weren't always free though, I remember paying for a few. Google can afford to give the OS away for free because the OS is just a vehicle for ad revenue etc.
To my mind though, the parallel between PCs and smartphones/tablets isn't an issue yet (maybe one for the Windows 9 launch?). iOS and Android are updated to new versions annually, Windows is more like every 3 years. Windows support continues long after the next version is released. The oldest device to get iOS5 was the iPhone 33GS (now 3 years old) and the oldest device to get the ICS update was likely (I don't actually know the answer) much younger. While iOS and Android contain a limited amount of legacy hardware support, Windows will run on very old computers indeed. Windows 8 will run on hardware less powerful than my smartphone (actually, that could be an interesting experiment at the end of the year; which OS will run well on lower hardware; the latest Android build, or Win8 RT?).
I can see consumer perceptions towards paying for software shifting though, and that could well cause Microsoft issues in the future, especially when Apple inevitably stop charging for OS X upgrades.
chrisrotolo said:
Micro$haft?
I dont think so.
do you know how much money Bill Gates has? Yes, not enough!
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Click to collapse
Bill Gates has been giving his money away as charity for the past 10 years.
satchef1 said:
It's a good point, and potentially a future issue for Microsoft. Apple can afford to give software updates away for free because they make so much money off hardware sales, iTunes and the App Store. The updates for the iPod Touch weren't always free though, I remember paying for a few. Google can afford to give the OS away for free because the OS is just a vehicle for ad revenue etc.
To my mind though, the parallel between PCs and smartphones/tablets isn't an issue yet (maybe one for the Windows 9 launch?). iOS and Android are updated to new versions annually, Windows is more like every 3 years. Windows support continues long after the next version is released. The oldest device to get iOS5 was the iPhone 33GS (now 3 years old) and the oldest device to get the ICS update was likely (I don't actually know the answer) much younger. While iOS and Android contain a limited amount of legacy hardware support, Windows will run on very old computers indeed. Windows 8 will run on hardware less powerful than my smartphone (actually, that could be an interesting experiment at the end of the year; which OS will run well on lower hardware; the latest Android build, or Win8 RT?).
I can see consumer perceptions towards paying for software shifting though, and that could well cause Microsoft issues in the future, especially when Apple inevitably stop charging for OS X upgrades.
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Click to collapse
I don't think desktop OS upgrades will change in the near future, theres too much work within a desktop OS, yes the kernel may be the same or similar but there is an awful lot more to a desktop. which is why paying for upgrades in justified so long as upgrades bring new functionality.
a Phone OS is very different its a limited use function and the revenue stream is from sale of apps and market penetration and adverts. Personally I think if windows RT is similar to the desktop in functionality then it will follow the desktop model, if it is a limited use device then it will more likely follow the phone OS model.
That's because you're paying the lisencing for the product. Microsoft is a software company, they make very little hardware (And most of their hardware is just comprised of peripherals and concept products). They have to make money somehow, so they do this by selling the lisencing to their OS. Mac is exactly the same, $30 and upgrade. Windows just charges more though because their OS upgrades take longer to come around and usually take a bigger step forware (I'm not dissing Mac by saying it's slow to evolve or anything, I'm just saying Mac takes slow and steady steps, while Windows takes a large leep, but only every few years).
iOS used to cost money to upgrade on iPod Touches, but this generated very little revenue, and mostly irritated iPod Touch users, so Apple stopped. As only Apple makes devices that use Apple OS's, there's no licesing fee.
Andriod is 100% open scource and free, meaning anyone, including you, can just go and download it free. They don't charge licesing fees, instead, making money off increased ad traffic.
Windows Phone does charge a liscensing fee, meaning every WinPhone device sold, the manufactor has to pay a small fee to Microsoft. Of course, to stay competitive, they don't charge upgrade fees.
Going back to conventional x86 desktops, when you buy one at a store, the license for that computer has already been paid for by the maker, so if you build your own, you have to pay Microsoft for a license. If you wish to upgrade, you must pay for the right to use that new OS, through the means of paying for a new license or upgrade fee.
I imagine Windows RT/WoA wil follow this same principle, because it's a more full fledged OS (But it can't run legacy programs). Of course, I would imagine the upgrade fee would be much smaller, but we can't know, becuase this will be the first time Windows has ever supported an ARM device.
I'm looking at the 950XL as it seems to have all the specs of the Nexus 6P but also includes USB 3.1, which is very important to me (I currently have a Note 3 which needs upgrading).
Project Astoria quite interests me; can you use any Android App with this, or just certain ones?
One thing I like about Android is the ability to flash ROMs; I don't think there's anything like this with Windows is there?
(Slightly dodgy topic to talk about) On Android I can just search for an app adding the word 'apk' on Google and download it for free. Is there anyway to do this on Windows?
I used to run Windows Mobile and before that Windows CE, before switching to Android
I just saw your question. Here is some of what I know. As of right now there is an app called 'bluestack' that allows you to run apks as if on android with google services this is a win 8 app though.
There are plus' and minus' here.
1. The feature that makes what you that interested in are win universal apps. That announced by MS is supposed to be repackaged Android apks and converted to universal apps. They then would use Windows services. (a minus or a plus depending on preferences)
2. Blue stack (and its alternatives)may need to be updated to a win 10 universal app. The biggest upside to the 950/xl are that dual booting maybe possible. And a full emulation is possible almost like having 2 phones in one. I say that because of how windows runs or promises to run. With win10 it should be a hackers/tinkerers/dev dream. Leading to more of the apps you may want to port over.
3. Porting maybe possible with the tools MS provide. You maybe able to repackage apks on your own into win10 universal apps.
4.this is the last thing. You maybe able to enjoy 3rd party win10 apps. There are alternatives to twitter for example on windows but no actual Twitter app which some say are better than Twitter's actual app. Also some reporters have said that microsoft are offer to build apps(official) for companies like Twitter and then hand it over to them and they then take over maintenance. But that hasn't worked so far.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
Many thanks for your reply. I've been reading a lot, trying to get my head around the new Windows Phone experience. It seems vastly different from what I used to have on my HTC HD2, which was my last Windows Phone.
One app I use a lot and I find useful is Truecaller, it tells you who's calling, even if you don't have their number in your phone. I presume this needs some sort of integration with the OS. I wonder if Project Astoria offers this level of integration.
My last windows phone was also the HD2 and I've used android ever since. I recently bought a lumia so I could try windows 10 preview. There are a couple of things I miss:
- the ability to transfer files to/from my NAS through WiFi without having to go through a pc
- swipe keyboard doesn't work in some places, eg works in messaging but not in browser
- android .nomedia facility
- banking - my bank is HSBC and they don't have a windows app
If the 950x windows 10 version fixes the first two of these then that will be my next phone.
My banking app also isnt on WP10.
I also like to use DOSbox to play old games on my phone.
Also Torque for hooking up to cars ECU via a bluetooth OBD2 reader.
No Starbucks app
I also use my LG Gwatch to receive notification on my wrist at work. As Im not allowed to get my phone, this is a very very handy feature for me.
I think I'm too invested in Android right now. I am a real Windows 10 Phone wannabe though. I wish I could afford both the Nexus 6P and Lumia 950XL.
Windows Lumia 950xl check every check in the box for what i want in a smartphone on the hardware side... But my issues is that i know that you can port apps over but how many official apps from ios and android made it to the windows store. Once they have app they will have me as a new consumer
https://youtu.be/P2wKJK5cr3M
https://youtu.be/Eu3EMS4dvv8
Look at these vids, they can give you an idea of what to expect with w10 mobile
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
Hey folks,
I figured this thread would be a good place to ask since it already existed. A little background. I'm a heavily entrenched Android user since the Evo 4G days and have service with several telecoms and own several phones as well. I saw the new presentation and I was really impressed, however, I need some help to see if the switch is right for me.
1) I use Google Voice to manage all of my numbers and phones. I heard that Skype doesn't allow number Port In, however, does allow forwarding. Does anyone know if this is true? Why don't they allow number Port In? Is it coming in the future? Any creative solutions around this?
2) I don't own a P.C., so Continuum really intrigues me. I've always owned PlayStation and loved being able to stream my PlayStation to my Sony phones and play remotely. Would I be able to stream XBoxOne to my phone and use Continuum to play on a monitor? What about streaming to a T.V. for Netflix or other apps like that?
3) I'm really interested in turning my home "smart". I know that Android has a big IoT platform and it'll be great with NEST and the other things they have coming down the pipeline. What about Windows? Is there a platform available? What products support it? Can it all be phone controlled and do apps exist for them?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated as I'm sure there are others in my boat who might have similar questions.
http://www.technobuffalo.com/2015/09/18/elephone-vowney-dual-boots-android-and-windows-10-for-299/
Guys i thought this may also be useful to keep in mind. There maybe a US compatible version at some point.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 02:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 AM ----------
UserDemos said:
Hey folks,
I figured this thread would be a good place to ask since it already existed. A little background. I'm a heavily entrenched Android user since the Evo 4G days and have service with several telecoms and own several phones as well. I saw the new presentation and I was really impressed, however, I need some help to see if the switch is right for me.
1) I use Google Voice to manage all of my numbers and phones. I heard that Skype doesn't allow number Port In, however, does allow forwarding. Does anyone know if this is true? Why don't they allow number Port In? Is it coming in the future? Any creative solutions around this?
2) I don't own a P.C., so Continuum really intrigues me. I've always owned PlayStation and loved being able to stream my PlayStation to my Sony phones and play remotely. Would I be able to stream XBoxOne to my phone and use Continuum to play on a monitor? What about streaming to a T.V. for Netflix or other apps like that?
3) I'm really interested in turning my home "smart". I know that Android has a big IoT platform and it'll be great with NEST and the other things they have coming down the pipeline. What about Windows? Is there a platform available? What products support it? Can it all be phone controlled and do apps exist for them?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated as I'm sure there are others in my boat who might have similar questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in theory you can do this with windows phone right now. remember one windows isn't anything new. windows 8.1 is on the xbox one. And you can use the pass through feature on any windows device. On windows 10, its all the same, even on mobile because on phone it is full windows running (just slightly different ui, right now if windows 10 on desktop is told its on an under 6inch screen it locks into mobile or atleast the apps do, per windows weekly). Even though it is mobile you could run full photo shop on the phone with a couple of hacks. The one issue is Windows doesn't run well on Arm processors snapdragon 810 and 808... Look out also for a zenfone 2 running Windows 10 mobile. Also the is some one hacking the zenfone to port windows 10.
My dream is for the test windows 10 mobile rom that was being tested on xiaomi mi4 could get ported.
Also microsoft has debated on creating a rom that's flashable to android devices. That helps them get the 1billion user goal. And also attract devs and hacking enthusiasts.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
So this is full Windows 10? But on ARM?
Could I install and run any programs that I can install on my laptop then?
Does the phone have some kind of x86 to ARM translator?
No, it is not full Win10.
It only runs "universal" apps (the successor of the "metro" apps of windows 8/8.1/10)...
Truecaller is already available on win10 mobile. It shows info about who is calling but also can act as your call and text message spam filter, a feature I don't think they have on Android.
I broke my Icon unfortunately so can't post screenshots.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I'm in the same boat. The 950 checks all my boxes hardware wise, but I do think it'll be hard to switch.
What I am doing is getting a Lumia 640, pretty cheap from BB: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/at-t-go...lack/9231014.p?id=1219701750248&skuId=9231014
Figure that would be a good device to test everything out on and see if I can make the switch. And I could probably sell it in a few months to close to what I paid for it.
Indeed fantastic price.
If my 950 XL proves (too) good, I might get a cheapo previous model so that my wife also switches.
(and only keep my Z4 Tablet LTE - that is getting Marshmallow soon - to keep contact with Android)
I actually waited to the last minute if a really serious device comes out this year from Android and only three came "close but no cigar" (the others far behind including the Note5, a series I used to be a fan and they stupidly killed by turning to a fashion series like S series):
- LG V10. I don't like the little screen (mostly the awkward positioning and that is not AMOLED but is always on - which kind of defeats the concept) and I don't care about the two selfie cams. Also you make it tough. Why not water resistant (at least) also?
- Z5 Premium. I always liked the Z series, but they failed to really advance it and now you can even call it ugly. 4K for a non-4K ready world is just a nice selling bullet. You put a super-MP camers, with no OIS and a simple single LED flash. Goofy.
- Moto X Force. No biometrics at all? In 2015? (also I kind of fear Moto as a brand for years now)
Anyway... few more days to a month to see if we made the right choice.
Love my Windows 10 1511 update that has extras to support coexistense with Win 10 phone...
MSFT don't screw this.
I started with windows hacking until I bought a HTC evo 4g. I have had 4 nexus devices and currently on the nexus 6. When the 950xl becomes available i am ditching the 6 for windows again after several years of android. Just out grew android. It was fun buy going back to where it all started.
No, only universal apps are able to run on Arm and X86 Plattform. W10 is similar on Arm and X86 but all Apps / Programms has to do the step and create Universal Apps while also Microsoft seems to work on Phones which are based on X86 CPU.
So this is a first step into the future which will provide same stuff on Desktop, Tablet and Phones. While Android has no Desktop OS and Apple has IOS and MAC OS seperated, Microsoft did the next step to Melt all worlds together. Now it is on us to support this way and on them to work continously to improve the process.
olarf said:
No, only universal apps are able to run on Arm and X86 Plattform. W10 is similar on Arm and X86 but all Apps / Programms has to do the step and create Universal Apps while also Microsoft seems to work on Phones which are based on X86 CPU.
So this is a first step into the future which will provide same stuff on Desktop, Tablet and Phones. While Android has no Desktop OS and Apple has IOS and MAC OS seperated, Microsoft did the next step to Melt all worlds together. Now it is on us to support this way and on them to work continously to improve the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel windows mobile will make a come back.
tomzefi said:
I feel windows mobile will make a come back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree and i don't like the way Samsung is heading, no microsSD, removable battery etc.
MS is no Saint with privacy, but Google is ignoring us users more and more.
A bought a 950xl just a few days ago.
Having a Android device for years, this Lumia is fun, new etc.
Although i must say, the available / working apps is a bit....
Anyone has a working Tapatalk yet?
KeesStolk said:
Totally agree and i don't like the way Samsung is heading, no microsSD, removable battery etc.
MS is no Saint with privacy, but Google is ignoring us users more and more.
A bought a 950xl just a few days ago.
Having a Android device for years, this Lumia is fun, new etc.
Although i must say, the available / working apps is a bit....
Anyone has a working Tapatalk yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, apps, always been lacking there. I have a feeling that's gonna change. Windows phone hacking & development is coming back. I will hold on to my nexus and gonna get the 950xl
KeesStolk said:
Totally agree and i don't like the way Samsung is heading, no microsSD, removable battery etc.
MS is no Saint with privacy, but Google is ignoring us users more and more.
A bought a 950xl just a few days ago.
Having a Android device for years, this Lumia is fun, new etc.
Although i must say, the available / working apps is a bit....
Anyone has a working Tapatalk yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same for me, I used Sammy phones for some years now and it seems they lost the track more and more. For sure there is a need for more apps but its a bit a Chicken and Egg thing. If you ask Software companies they tell you that there are not enough Windows phones to make it worth to develop a APP and if you ask customers they tell you that there are not enough apps to make it worth buying a Windows Phone... Actually I see Windows Phones appear in more and more companies where they replace IPhones. ALso the Bridge Projects seems to be more promissing then the Astoria one. For us as WP users we must not care about as most good apps exist for IOS and ANdroid at the same time. If the porting from IOS work good, we will get a lot of apps soon. The rest is on Microsoft then, they have to motivate companies to create a lot of universal apps. Actually the 950/950XL seems to be the only phones with some inovation right now. Lets see end of 2016 where we are.
I forget to mention that there exist a Tapatalk app and it works. Not that good but it works and do the job.
Hello,
I would like to know if anyone can test two apps, the only two really important to me.
Opera for android: apkpure.com/opera-with-free-vpn
ProtonMail: apkpure.com/protonmail-encrypte
I have not yet buy the phone, I would just like to know if the app works really well.
I do not want android phone or apple, I do not like the interface of these 2, too geek, not at all pro.
Can someone try to install these 2 app on his 950? And tell me if it works well?
Do you have tips for installing apk on Windows phone?
Can you please try to install those apps for us and make a small tutorial ?
The Lumia 950 and 950 XL are Windows powered phones. They don't run Android. Windows 10 Mobile has no notion of what an apk file is. It has it's own package.
Despite an excellent phone (if you don't care about apps, beside the select popular ones, and open to Microsoft ecosystem of the time), I would advice not getting it. The ecosystem is gone.
Support for the OS has been terminated from Microsoft (including security update end of last month). The phone got almost 4 years of support. It is a very old phone. Support of apps are being terminated if they are not already. In addition, the battery probably needs to be changed, and finding a good one (and not a cheap one or old production one), due to the very low popularity of the device, will be difficult. A poor or old battery results in fluctuating power delivery, mixed with the phone design flaw of not being able to manage this issue properly, leads to strange behaviors including random restarts and crashes.
The only web browser you have on this phone, are all using Edge web browser engine. And sadly, a growing number of sites are not fairing well, because the version of Edge on the phone is now old (much older than Edge on full Windows 10 on PCs), and already the web browser has a very small percentage of usage, and even that is being scrapped to be replaced with a new Edge that Microsoft is working on, which is based on Chromium engine. Keep in mind that "Windows 10 Mobile" is not "Windows 10". They are 2 different OSs. To be clear, the only similarities are some underground kernel level components, APIs, and the fact that they can run UWP apps, the name, but that is about it. It cannot run Windows executable files (*.exe). They are none with VPN. You can setup VPN on the phone if you want, which you'll need to toggle on/off when needed.
For Mail, your options is the Windows 10 Mail app which comes with it.
As for Maps, it is the same one as Windows 10, which hasn't been updated since Windows 10 Mobile was discontinued. It features old maps that are over 1 year old, possibly more depending on your region.
never buy apple or public star android
This is so bad, the 950xl have a better performance , a largely better screen quality and a largely better sound than the others Lumia or Google phones , for half price than a pixel 3 or a Lumia 8.1 ...
Microsoft was very good on hardware , specially the screen quality.
Google and Apple are billionnaires, who *insert at will* all users datas on their phones... Totally lose their minds about internet freedom place and give all datas to governement who *insert at will* people with stupid and non human laws and taxes.
You cant imagine what is it buying an Android or a Apple phone interface for me.
Hope Microsoft Will reborn and take advantage of all good skilled developers , instead of making some big browser without an well and easy dev console.
The last question is :
Is OPERA MINI old xapp file will be different than edge browser , and can it be Install with a tool ?
mayapi said:
This is so bad, the 950xl have a better performance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm no. That is not true (or I am not sure I follow you). In fact, a Snapdragon (and yes that has shocked me) 670 (the one in the Pixel 3a, as example) is actually a bit faster than the Snapdragon 810 in the Lumia 950 XL. Qualcomm managed to really push performance forward over the years (~4 years). And in addition, the newer Qualcomm chips are much harder to throttle than the 810, due to their much reduced power consumption under load. While Microsoft brought some PC innovation like heatpipes to the Lumia 950 XL making it the few phones on the market with the 810 that could actually record 4K continuously without skipping after 30sec or so (due to throttling), it is still can throttle if you can take a lot of pictures in a row with little pause (due to the post processing on images) and other extended demanding tasks. So yes, at the time of release it as great, today, it is really not, sadly.
a largely better screen quality and a largely better sound than the others Lumia or Google phones , for half price than a pixel 3 or a Lumia 8.1 ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the time of release, sure. However, today and since a few years ago (and longer for some) many phone manufactures, add some color preference adjustment like the Lumia series has, so you can adjust things somewhat. I have to say, that one thing surprised is that both iPhones and Android powered phone still doesn't have automatic contrast adjustment to make the screen more visible to read under the sunlight. It only relies on the screen being able to be bright enough. That said, Microsoft doesn't make screens. OLED is made by 2 main manufactures in the world: LG and Samsung. For mass production product, these are essentially your only choices as a phone manufacture.
Microsoft was very good on hardware , specially the screen quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes they were, same as Nokia. And we can see that skill continue today with the Surface line systems and the XBox One S and X model (which where made by the Surface team, contrary to the first release model of the XBox One).
Sadly, while they had amazing hardware, the software was lacking, and developer support was already dying when Windows Phone 7 was released.
Ballmer monkey'ing around and screening "developers developers developers" doesn't do **** to grow developer interest in Windows when you have nothing to deliver, not to mention (at least based on leaks and rumors) complete miss management on many aspect of the company at the time. Including but not limited to different teams discourage to help other teams, have teams re-invent the wheel for something that already exists in the company, missing out on huge market opportunities, ignoring competitors despite internal alerts being raised, upper management and CEO being disconnected from reality in their own bubble, treating the company like it is the 90's while we are well into the 2000's. making the Windows Phone team fight for survival internally since day 1, lacking resources and internal political power to do their job. Forcing Microsoft employees and developers to use their own frameworks and solutions which many are rushed out, and as a result poorly done and clunky to work with, just to have a "Microsoft solution" of something that already exists in the market and has been there for years being polished and took all its time to develop correctly and be optimized. Not to mention that Microsoft never put actual effort in selling Windows phones, with 0 advertisement, and 0 bonuses of any kind to cellphone store and providers while both Apple and pretty much all Android manufactures, gave substantial returns to sales staff and companies to promote and push their device. This has greatly helped Samsung and Apple, and look where they are now.... Anyway, I am going on a tangent.
Returning back, all this has changed. Of course, it isn't a next day thing. Company culture, especially of the size of Microsoft, takes a long time to change, but results shows. When now, today, you have Windows 10 on ARM, not even officially launched, just soft lunched, with expensive, limited quantity, primarily US only, ARMed based systems, fraction of the current Windows 10 Mobile user base, has more developer excitement for then Windows Phone as a whole, shows how things turned. Heck, no one used to care about icons being changed in Windows 10 and Office, now it is all the rage. An extreme soft launch OS, already has big player interest without the company throwing any money at developers. Just on top of my head you have: Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, (and of course, the new Chromium Edge), and full VLC on Windows 10 on ARM or is in the active works.
Microsoft has changed, they are open, they actually listen, actually do serious actions to promote developers interest, knows where it can and can't compete and goes its own way, and let competition take its course, allow Microsoft employees to use whatever is available outside of the company to make great software and great experiences for the user.
So yes, I am sure that if they try again (not yet, however, later), things can be different. But there is still a lot of work to be done for the company. They still need to continue to work on their image, and shows that time have indeed changed for the company.
Google and Apple are billionnaires, who all users datas on their phones... Totally lose their minds about internet freedom place and give all datas to governement who people with stupid and non human laws and taxes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... Do I go in Microsoft dark history? If I do, you'll probably hate the company as much as Google and Apple, if not more. Company direction have changed. If we go by today, Apple has been much more protective of user personal data than Microsoft (and of course Google). Their business model is selling services (and one can say accessories too, based on their financial reports). That is their focus. Microsoft is complicated, because they touch a multitude of products and services, and you have products and service that crosses each other. For example, Microsoft does sell your user data if you use Bing, and Microsoft/Bing advertisement platform (which Windows 8/10 made apps can use).
However, if it is a question of trust, or "least evil" from your perspective:
You can limit what Google get from you if you have an Android device. Nothing stops you from installing Microsoft excellent and well reviewed Launcher to replace the Google's launcher, if you use Pixel device, or don't like the manufacture of the device one. You can also use the many great apps from Microsoft on Android including Edge web browser. The only thing that will touch Google is if you use Google Pay feature (which I don't think it is actually a deal braker) and Google Play Store (you could use alternative stores technically, but let's assume you want the best security mixed with a large store where you are sure to find everything at their latest versions as they are released). Same for using Cortana instead of Google Assistance.
Mix that Android phone with Windows 10 "Your Phone" feature, and you are set with a similar/better experience that what Windows 10 Mobile users used to get (MS pulled the plug on this).
You cant imagine what is it buying an Android or Apple phone interface for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, let's stay professional, please.
Second, I can perfectly relate, (as I am looking at my Lumia 950 XL that I am actually using as main device), this is not helped that Windows Phone 7, 8 and Windows 10 Mobile had many features that was ahead of their time. But with Android Q on the way, and with "Your Phone" (at least if you are part of Windows 10 Insider program, not sure how it is on the official release version as of the moment of writing), feature parity with Windows 10 Mobile, and has it's own benefits and feature set that Windows 10 Mobile didn't have.
The last question is :
Is OPERA MINI old xapp file will be different than edge browser , and can it be Install with a tool ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Any web browser found in the MS Store had to comply with the fact that they had to use the OS built-in web browser engine. The same policy applies for iOS devices, but not Android.
---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 PM ----------
Personally, I am getting Pixel 3 or 3a soon (haven't yet decided. Not interested in the Pixel 4 ugly design).
Why?
-> Yes, it is Google and I don't like it, but I know I'll stick to Microsoft ecosystem for the most part.
-> Unlike Apple, I can switch to Microsoft ecosystem for the most part.
-> Google did demonstrate to me, that yes they do provide 3 years of support in both security and sofware update. I expect to get not only Android Q with the Pixel 3a, if go with it, but also Android R and S, beside the security updates and firmware updates.
-> Android has custom ROMs powered by a large and active community, so if there is anything, I can switch separating myself more from Google, and have, in some ways, extended device support.
-> Pixel 3/3a series has genuinely a better camera than the Lumia 950 XL, justifying the upgrade for me. The Lumia 950 XL did have a camera that was, in my opinion, 3 years ahead of the competition. While these days are over, it is nice to actually get an updated camera and not one equivalent, or worst a downgrade.
Toilet Paper said:
(...) -> Pixel 3/3a series has genuinely a better camera than the Lumia 950 XL, justifying the upgrade for me. (...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Pixel 3a VS. Microsoft Lumia 950: Comparison
I would not be so sure that the equipment, ten times more expensive, is worth its price only because of the camera.
Lumia 950 is currently very cheap on the secondary market.
If someone does not have, I recommend that you buy this model for the pleasure of owning and using good equipment.
I am an enthusiast of the android, but I can also appreciate good solutions on a different platform.
ok google, please spy my apple
ze7zez said:
I would not be so sure that the equipment, ten times more expensive, is worth its price only because of the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buying a phone at the price of UHD TV is not a good argument for justify the fresh tech inside.
For this reason, i will never buy a phone that display a half of a tv for double price.
I think essentialy to Apple who let users think its a good opportunity to be usefull in buying a 4k display smartphone for the triple price of the 4K Tv, assumong it is less ressources... Less ressources ok but less cost also mister Cook ! :laugh:
mayapi said:
Hello,
I would like to know if anyone can test two apps, the only two really important to me.
Opera for android: apkpure.com/opera-with-free-vpn
ProtonMail: apkpure.com/protonmail-encrypte
I have not yet buy the phone, I would just like to know if the app works really well.
I do not want android phone or apple, I do not like the interface of these 2, too geek, not at all pro.
Can someone try to install these 2 app on his 950? And tell me if it works well?
Do you have tips for installing apk on Windows phone?
Can you please try to install those apps for us and make a small tutorial ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BTW WIndows has a built-in VPN system. Android has it too, but I like Windows more.
MOD ACTION:
mayapi said:
ok google, please spy my apple
Buying a phone at the price of UHD TV is not a good argument for justify the fresh tech inside.
For this reason, i will never buy a phone that display a half of a tv for double price.
I think essentialy to Apple who let users think its a good opportunity to be usefull in buying a 4k display smartphone for the triple price of the 4K Tv, assumong it is less ressources... Less ressources ok but less cost also mister Cook ! :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have edited your post since it is in violation of our forum rules. As a friendly reminder, here is an excerpt of those mentioned rules:
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Please refrain from this kind of language and try to make a point in a reasonable and respectful manner.
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