Database Users

Is Windows Mobile an application desert?

I'm fairly new to smartphones, having had the Tilt2 for only about six months after about four years with a Treo 650, but one thing seems to be increasingly true about Windows Mobile phones: If you want the greatest capabilities, you just have to get an iPhone, not a Windows phone.
It just drives me crazy that all the good apps are iPhone. Deposit checks to Chase Bank without deposit slips or going to the bank using your iPhone camera AND THE CHASE DEPOSIT APP FOR iPHONE! Netflix, play movies on iPhone or trailers on Windows. AT&T U-verse download and play movies...on your iPhone. These are three fairly new ones that come to mind, but it is this way for seemingly everything. Even TCM's new movie schedule app is for iPhone, Droid, and Blackberry...Blackberry for crying out loud...but not Windows.
It's another 18 months before we can upgrade for a reasonable price from our two HTC Tilt2 phones to iPhones. If Microsoft wants to increase its market share, it needs to offer subsidies to developers. Windows 7 Mobile is not the answer...we don't buy computers for the sake of the operating systems. It's for the programs that run on the OS. Isn't it the same with smart phones? They all make calls and take bad photos. It's the other stuff that is the difference.
Am I wrong?

Youre absolutely right, however with over 300,000 downloads of the windows phone 7 SDK already, I think the next version of windows will have plenty of apps to enjoy. Microsoft is also wanting developers to release a free demo of all software, so we can check out any app to make sure we want to buy it. With the integration of XBOX Live, playing games online with other windows 7 users and the focus on gaming, WP7 is going to be awesome. UI definitely looks great and there are rumors that the day the marketplace opens up there will be over 100,000 aps submitted and available. Things really are looking up for microsoft phones. I know I'm getting one!

MPlayer: will let you stream hulu and bbc and others.
Movies for rental: Check out Amazon Unbox. It's part of amazons video service, where you can rent and buy movies and tv shows. You can have the settings set to automatically download a mobile version of the movie or show you are getting. Though I've never tried it with a rental. I usually just buy tv shows for 99 cents. Downside is it is not streaming, but download to pc and then transfer to your phone. Another option is to use
It's true that some of the very new apps will probably never see a WinMo 6.x port since the platform is switching to WP7, but calling it an "application desert" is a stretch. I have over 100 different programs installed to my phone, with everything from musical instrument simulators to various business tools and games. There's a huge number of free programs as well as a lot of high quality paid-for programs. Check the "apps worth installing on the tp2" for a good sample of the free applications you can get.

bowserb, as you said, you are new to smartphones, so with a lot of respect i want to share something, my experience with smartphones is a little more than yours, motorola q, blackberry, htc 8125, samsung epix, samsung blackjack, htc touch and know i have a tilt2, and beleive me its much more phone than the iphone
windows mobile and iphone are two differents worlds, windows is more for professionals and business people, focussed in getting the job done, excellent in word, excel, pp, (create and edit), emails capabilities, outlook and exchange sync, etc,etc, then as a second priority is the music, videos, etc,etc
on the other hand iphone is the phone for teenagers, to play, to think they have the ultimatte machine (go to a high school and teel me if dont see al least a hundred of them in 110 kids), you need aplications for everything, let me explain, when you are to compare a phone you have to do it from the box, which one is more capable without going to itunes or marketplace, there the iphone dont have a chance, in others words if you dont jailbreak the iphone its almost useless, my sister and my brother have them, so i know what im talking about
if you want real games and real tv, you have xbox, playstation and a flat screen

MS doesn't care about its market share for Windows Mobile 6. Mobile is a tiny part of MS's business, completely insignificant compared to sales of PC operating systems, Office, etc. It remains to be seen how much MS will even care about Windows Phone 7. With WP7, its possible they can make money off the mobile market like Apple and Google have, but that remains to be seen. It would require a whole new level of support and financial commitment than MS has shown in the past. MS has proved they can make money from a new market (XBOX), if they see it as a viable potential opportunity and throw enough resources at it. But if they go into half-hearted, they will fail now that Apple and Google already have a substantial hold on the market.
Yes, commercial developer support for WM6 is drying up with WP7 coming in the next couple months. But there is still a huge user supported base, many will argue. If you want more support from MS and other commercial developers, its not going to happen. They have all moved on.
The underpinnings of WM6 is just too old for developers to make backwards compatible applications. All the WM products up to version 6 are based on the same Windows CE code from 2000. So you can see why there is little desire to make an application for this outdated OS, when there is a modern updated version coming out in a few months.
And don't forget about Android. The iPhone is all the rave for the uninformed. But if you want a OS that has a huge user community, and tons more customization and function than the iPhone, then Android is what you want. Unless MS can really turn things around, I'm almost certainly going Android for my next phone.

Since you want an Iphone so bad.....
Here is my two cents on an iPhone.
Yes, I agree with you it has a lot of nifty apps, in various categories. On of the other side, a "phone" is for making calls. I have 3 cousins, and a few family friends who have Iphones, they hate the "phone" part of it because it drops calls, and lags on the phone screen severly. I know many people who have smartphones who send internet to their iPhone's to do what you were talking about with the Chase banking things and stuff. The new iPod Touch has a camera and mic if I'm not mistaken.
My dad used to be subscribed to a PocketPC magazine, and they ranked iPhone top of the line for apps, but worst for phone usage. Even worse than regular phones (ie non-smartphones).
Whatever you want to do is up to you though.

App desert?
Thanks for the comments, guys. I had no idea that WM6.5 was an update of Windows CE. Last time I used that OS was on a Casio PDA...a really long time ago. (Note for the younger crowd: A PDA was smartphone without the phone.) About Windows 7 mobile--will I have to buy a new phone to get it, or will there likely be an upgrade available from HTC?
MS Office. I can't imagine iPhone Contacts being a clumsier, more limited application than on the Tilt2, where contacts show up multiple times and all with m next to the name. Word and Excel are OK, but I almost never use them, even though they are indispensable on my desktop computer.
Dropped calls on iPhone. I suspect that is an AT&T problem, not iPhone. My Tilt2 drops calls all the time, as did the Treo 650 before it and the Sony/Erikson before that. Isn't that the reason people are clamoring for iPhone on Verizon?
iPhone is for teenagers? How do you know I'm not one? And even though I'm not, why should they have all the fun? No I don't really care about music and movies on my phone, but the ever growing list of useful and practical apps for the iPhone would seem to make that platform the choice of all age groups!
Anyway, this reply is mostly rhetorical. In 18 months, it will be time to survey the smartphone landscape.

redpoint73 said:
MS doesn't care about its market share for Windows Mobile 6. Mobile is a tiny part of MS's business, completely insignificant compared to sales of PC operating systems, Office, etc. It remains to be seen how much MS will even care about Windows Phone 7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They better start caring, mobile phones are going to be replacing PC's for many folks in the future.

txrider said:
They better start caring, mobile phones are going to be replacing PC's for many folks in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They do. They are investing billions into WP7.

bowserb said:
About Windows 7 mobile--will I have to buy a new phone to get it, or will there likely be an upgrade available from HTC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WP7 will be for new phones only, and an official upgrade is out of the question. The Tilt2/TP2 does not meet the stiff hardware requirements mandated by WP7. From the processing power all the way to the hardware button layout, it doesn't meet the new WP7 standards. Wouldn't be surprised if the smart folks on XDA will get some form of hacked version to work on Rhodium, but propably won't be quite the same experience as on a phone that runs WP7 natively.

redpoint73 said:
WP7 will be for new phones only, and an official upgrade is out of the question. The Tilt2/TP2 does not meet the stiff hardware requirements mandated by WP7. From the processing power all the way to the hardware button layout, it doesn't meet the new WP7 standards. Wouldn't be surprised if the smart folks on XDA will get some form of hacked version to work on Rhodium, but propably won't be quite the same experience as on a phone that runs WP7 natively.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even the high end HTC HD2 will not get an official upgrade to WP7, it has been said by Microsoft and HTC....
If the people on here can do it...that's another story...

No More Android or Apple OS !!!!

hey guys after watching this interview from Microsoft about Windows 8 , for tablets and PCs and laptops ,, i can truthfully say , am not going buy gtab10 or any tablets that support android . am going to wait for the release of any good company for tablet with OS windows 8 and surely i'll buy it ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MnEndww2YQ&feature=player_embedded#at=16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDy-7IZBojo&feature=related
do you think android will get busted by windows 8 ?

i want this on my galaxy tab.....

exactly the same thing came to my mind after watching this

would that be possible? they tried arm that has dual core but how about our single core?

i think it will be so hard to fit windows 8 on galaxy tab .... its depend about the dev , anyways they didn't release it yet . now am thinking of buying tab10.1 or waiting for windows 8 with a good company like samsung and only samsung cuz its easy to play with it

Lol, you think its going to be that fast over 3g/hspda, and no, i doubt this will ever come to android tablets, im pretty sure that these will be built around intels new dual core atoms, or maybe the new snapdragons.
edit: The multi-tasking does look neat tho.

They announced support for ARM..

natious said:
Lol, you think its going to be that fast over 3g/hspda, and no, i doubt this will ever come to android tablets, im pretty sure that these will be built around intels new dual core atoms, or maybe the new snapdragons.
edit: The multi-tasking does look neat tho, and im glad you wont buy another android device, you should sell your tab now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't be happy that much i can't sell my tab have u ever heard someone fall in love with a tab ? ? if u didn't u probably hear it now
that someone is me lolz .. and i didn't ask this to be on my tab !!!! am satisfied with overcome , am saying , windows 8 probably will eat android and mac OS .. maybe who knows

The problems of windows phone is not OS; its a market place, it seems empty. There is nothing on it.
I have used hd2 for couple of month and love user interface of windows but when i open market , it made me mad.
iOS is not a great os , but its apps make it great. Android is growing but windows is all empty place. I will not switch to windows tab unless it has some nice market place.
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Pfff, it's Windows !!! it will freeze and crash 1387445 times per day.
And the OS will not be open source, you will not have root.
And the applications will cost more, much more.

I'm willing to give it a try, but I can't say if it'll be better than Android or iOS or QNIX. It's still too early to speculate.
@liniutze
- My Ubuntu crashes a lot more than Windows. My Windows 7 hasn't had a BSOD for a year already.
- Not have root is no problem as long as it will work, imo. What they have to do is to make it idiot-proof.
- We can't really say. There are a lot of free apps for the desktop copy of Windows. If they manage to port a lot of great apps, then money is no problem as long as their quality is nice.
Besides, I expected Apple to have apps which costs like $100. I was wrong, considering that Apple seem to have a more, "prestige" perspective than Windows. I mean, their laptops alone costs twice than Windows laptops.

liniutze said:
Pfff, it's Windows !!! it will freeze and crash 1387445 times per day.
And the OS will not be open source, you will not have root.
And the applications will cost more, much more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. I can't believe this is even a conversation. Android is the fastest growing mobile OS out there. There are over 300,000 Android handsets activated each day. That's a pretty amazing stat. I for one won't give up Android, especially for Windows.
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Windows 8 seems great, so this will make people from google to make Android OS even better and that's good for us. Even Windows 7 is actually incredible.
As for iOS, Americans and British will always buy this crap...
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App

What a joke they said windows mobile 7 was going tobe the one not mobiles windows is old history move on.
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ive tried wp7 on a friends phone and its snappy and integrates well with social sites. however, i dont even have an active facebook account and i dont even remember by password in twitter. the only online socialiazing i do is post to forums.
i might have bought one myself but the deal breaker is the missing wifi hotspot functionality. don't count windows mobile out yet. who knows wp8 might be great.
as for windows 8, i think they should retain the current desktop ui as windows 7 is great. the touch interface should only be an option that can be turned on/off. admit it, the keyboard and mouse combo still is supreme if you really needs to get some serious work done. the touch interface for desktop is only good for kiosks or presentations.
the reason for the popularity of other OS alternatives is microsofts fault also. they started going into consoles and put less priority on games for windows. they are diminishing their biggest advantage over the other OSes on home use.. and now if they make windows 8 "touch only", they effectively killed gaming in PCs and i might as well move on to mac.

Where is innovation?
1. They advertise HTML5, Javascript etc as innovation feature, however, the same is possible on both Android and iOS. From my perspective Java is much more capable than any of these. It is object oriented and better suited for large projects.
2. Live applications = widgets on Android
3. There is nothing said about the framework and multitasking.
4. Windows will be a closed platform undoubtedly.
So far it looks like simply a promise and marketing show.

So Yea
I saw the videos and Wow, but then if everything was like in Microsoft Marketing Cuckooland we all be using fling cars and booking our holidays to Saturn directly from our courier file manager (does anyone remember courier?)
In the real world
Android is far more customizable than WM7, and yes probably tiles are nice and better than static icons, but widgets are even more powerful than tiles, hell, you can customize your own widgets in some cases (Check Maker Your Clock Application for example) or even use live wall papers to display info.
If you put your mind to it You can make your android phone to do whatever WM7 do and then some, same goes for ios, lots of things are doable in Android, the only thing needed is people interested and willing to code the right applications.
In WM7 and iOS, sorry, close source, not allowed.
When Win8 comes out and then I see it running in tablets and can compare with whatever version of Android or Chromium and whatever is out call me,
P.S. rest assured that neither Goggle nor Apple wont be seated doing nothing and waiting for MS to take their market share
P

this would make a better tablet with a dock than the transformer! you use you tablet with the same os as you laptops and desktops.
and a marketplace isn't needed. there are tons of sources for windows apps. it may be helpful for a noob, but I know where to get all my software... legally.
if this works well I can see windows taking over both iOS and android. especially if it's as "open" as windows on desktops are. no freaking having to work for root.

No wonder after watching M$ you are euphoric. Its simple social engeneering. Playing on emotions and expectations. The truth is more prosaic. Windows core idea was build on using mouse. MS tried tablets niche many times in the past but never suceeded. Do you imagine mouse with tablet?
This time it will be the same. Much hype will poooof quickly.
I dont consider using windows powered tab since I met android. In fact I have two various fujitsu tabs laying around collecting dust. I need windows to work but for everything else I use android because of easy of use.
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I do like the Look of the Touch UI, but it's just a UI.. Surely that can be duplicated to some extent under Android. If not now defiantly in future releases?

[Q] Visual Studios running on a Nokia 920?

Can this be done?
Could you install Windows 8 instead of Windows Phone 8 on a Nokia 920?
No can do on a Nokia 920? Will there be a smartphone that will have the hardware required by Windows 8 to make this possible?
I do understand that using some actual windows applications on a phone will be tedious and sometimes difficult. Its more a "Can and could if I wanted to" kind of thing for me.
BUT
Having Visual Studios, Win SCP and a lot of other software linked to the always on 4g internet...
in my pocket....
always available...
in that ooohhh so sexy red
I can't wait for that phone...
I have been able to do most of what I need to on my Samsung Vibrant. ES File Explorer has an AWESOME ftp option (and LAN!!)
But the screen is WAY to small to have code visible and a keyboard. Remote desktop has its obvious drawbacks, but I've used it.
Any thoughts questions of comments?
Thanks for reading my babble =P
Nick

ahhh, here comes the confusion from Microsoft's naming scheme....

NJDubois said:
Can this be done?
Could you install Windows 8 instead of Windows Phone 8 on a Nokia 920?
No can do on a Nokia 920? Will there be a smartphone that will have the hardware required by Windows 8 to make this possible?
I do understand that using some actual windows applications on a phone will be tedious and sometimes difficult. Its more a "Can and could if I wanted to" kind of thing for me.
Having Visual Studios, Win SCP and a lot of other software linked to the always on 4g internet...
I have been able to do most of what I need to on my Samsung Vibrant. ES File Explorer has an AWESOME ftp option (and LAN!!)
But the screen is WAY to small to have code visible and a keyboard. Remote desktop has its obvious drawbacks, but I've used it.
Nick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. There's no desktop on win phone 8. The ARM version won't support VS, even on tablets, though you won't be able to install it. Windows 8 RT(ARM) will only be available preinstalled on tablets.
If you've been satisfied with Android, and use features like a file explorer, keep in mind that many will NOT be available on win pho 8. If your existing phone is too small, consider the Galaxy S 3, Note, or other larger phones that are available on the market.

That's a shame! I had hopes that this would some how be possible.
Not even a modded version?
I have been following phone news like mad for 2 years. Pretty much since I got my vibrant. The S3 is AMAZING, but its android. There are things that I don't like about android, mainly fragmentation and its on going war with Apple.
I have had enough bad experiences with Android, for example :
1/3 into my 2 year contract with tmo and my Vibrant's USB port got water damage and I couldn't ODIN back to stock to install newer versions of Android. Also couldn't get the device fixed. Luckily I was able to do a factory reset every month or so as android just got useless. Frozen up at the unlock screen happens ALL the time, and usually happens with in a minute of reboot and isn't fixed until I do a reset. This didn't happen all the time, but always when I needed the device the most. For example, you have to reboot the device to get the GPS working after turning the option on, and of course BAM, phone keeps locking up. There has been times where I couldn't get to the dial a phone number screen, couldn't get visual voicemail to work and had a very important voice mail to check. took me 30 minutes to hear a 1 minute message! Than the time I was up till 8 am trying to get the phone to work because it was my only alarm clock and I couldn't get to the screen where I changed the time the alarm went off. All these issues are a result of having to root and mod my phone to get a newer maybe more secure version of android. I don't see a windows device having these problems.
Also, I am not a huge fan of Apple, but Apple has set itself up to deliver more complete experience's because of the control they have over there ecosystem. Apple TV's printers networks scanners and all that other stuff will just work with their phone. Well, I've been a user of windows for 15 years. Its what I know. I've been a windows developer for those 15 years. I don't see Google being able to provide that full functionality, I am not a fan of apple at all, and I think that Microsoft can get closer than Google. As it is, there isn't many devices you can plug into a windows system that windows wont be able to just start using. You know, this isn't windows 98 and older video games I'm trying to run.... lol
It really will be a shame if there is no way to get the desktop environment on my smartphone. Even more a shame when I could probably get a device compatible with Ubuntu's mobile stuff, and all the goodies that come with that. Wine, and now even Steam!
I don't know if this news sways my opinion of Windows Phone 8. I still crave the 920. My plan is to go out on Black Friday and get a top of the line device with full insurance for as cheap as possible. My next 2 years are not going to be a repeat of my first 2 years with a smartphone. November is still a few months off, and there is plenty of timed for other devices. Maybe even a decent smartphone with a Qwerty keyboard!!
I realize this post has kinda dragged on... sorry! And thanks for the replies!
[EDIT] The note is a great idea, but absolutely not an option. Douchtooths are the bane of my existence. And if I can't FTP into a server on a windows phone, why is Microsoft even bothering?
Nick

I have to say that it's unfortunate that you haven't had good experiences with android. I would think that the many devs on this site would have cooked up something that would fit your needs better, but if you broke your USB, then I guess you're kind of stuck with what you got. It's definitely true that android is very rough, especially with stock roms.
Win pho is there because it's targeting a different segment now. Win pho used to be something that was there to provide a feature rich experience. After WP7, "metro" looks
and interface idiot proofing has taken higher priority over actual functionality. As it is now WP8 has the least functionality when compared to Android and iOS, though it is supposed to be the easiest to use.
I would personally wait until a while after the lumias come out, and make sure that they do what you want before buying them. There are stories of people who bought WP7 phones thinking that they would have the features of WP 6.5. Those are stories of some very, very dissatisfied customers.
P.S.
No WINE on ARM ever. Remember, Wine Is Not an Emulator.

My review of the Lumia 1520.

Hello everyone. I'm writing this review of the 1520 that I got Monday. I've be a android user for the last 3 years, my last android phone I had before switching to the Lumia 1520 was Galaxy Note 2.
Lets talk about my pass history of the Galaxy Note 2. I had the Note 2 for over a year. I me say that I loved it. That phone was everything i wanted in a phone. There was no limits with that phone. However, there that phone did have it own set of problems. Lets talk about the positives, The first big plus was android market. To this day right now, the android market is best, for it flexibility in apps. No other market is better in my opinion. Second, being able to custom note 2 was one the biggest reasons I loved my phone. With infinite amount of options, there was no limit on customizations. Lastly, the big screen. The most unique feature that separated itself from the rest of the other phones. Having a big screen help watching movies, reading docs and etc. As for the cons the two that sticks out for me were OS consist crashes almost daily after 3 months of use. Secondly, not effective in operating day to day use.
As for the Lumia 1520, let me say compared to my note 2 the quality of the device feel sweet. The phone runs fast, I mean really fast compared to my note 2 when i first used it. Granted Note 2 is older tech so I can't fairly use that as a plus.
Getting do the nitty-gritty, the effectiveness of 1520 windows 8 mobile os is much better than before. Microsoft did a nice job making this os user friendly. I find it easy to access the apps I want to use with Es. One of the cons of this OS is that its not really customize it, since it not really hackable yet. Also, windows app store is really lacking. I think for two reason, one windows mobile is new and third parties are not ready to commit to it yet. Lastly, programming apps for wp8 must be a pain in the a$$.
As for stuff like the camera, audio, etc, it all pretty much standard. Nokia camera this is cool, This phone does have SD slot, I don't like the internal storage is small, for such a nice phone.
Overall the phone is apair with note 3 and others. Microsoft has step up their game, but i do have to knock them on not supporting a more open OS so people can create better functionality with their products. That being said, I still think this phone is top notch and will get people buzzing.

A few points I want to address:
1) You claim "Windows Mobile is new". That is wrong for a number of reasons. The simplest one is because Windows Mobile is actually one of the oldest Smartphone operating systems, having been around since well before iOS, Android, Maemo/MeeGo/Jolla/whatever, or (most pertinently) Windows Phone.
Lumia phones do not run Windows Mobile. They run Windows Phone (in the case of the 1520, Windows Phone 8). These are not the same thing. People on XDA have been hacking WinMo for many, many years (again, since before most "modern" smartphone operating systems existed). Oh, and there's no such thing as "Windows 8 Mobile" (or "Windows 8 Phone" for that matter); there's the "Windows" line (which includes Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Win7, Win8, etc.) and the Windows Phone line (which includes WP7 and WP8) plus a handful of others that don't fall cleanly into either of those camps. Do not confuse these things, please!
2) Developing apps for WP is ridiculously easy. By almost any standard, Microsoft has better dev tools than any of the other mainline smartphone OSes. The "requirement" of Win8 for the WP8 SDK is annoying, but WP8 can still run WP7 apps, and the WP7 SDK runs fine on Win7. Besides, it's not hard to install (most of) the WP8 SDK on Win7. Anyhow, the problem is not a matter of difficulty writing apps. It's a matter of whether there's any return on investment. Android has a huge, ridiculous number of users, and while piracy of Android apps is more common than it should be, there's still a huge market. iOS has less market share than Android but is still firmly in second place, and iOS has a lot less piracy and people are a lot more willing to pay for apps, generally speaking, than on Android. WP is way down in third place - barely above fourth, and far below iOS in second - and while it has very little piracy, it barely matters when there are so few users. Complaining abou the lack of software for WP8 is like complaining about the lack of software for Mac OS X; when you're around (or below) 10% of the market, you're a bit player who may be net *loss* to develop for when developers can focus on more profitable platforms instead.

Nice review Vallista, I got my red 1520 last friday and love it, I've had the Dell Streak 5 for 2 1/2years and love that phone to.I was wondering if I wanted to have windows since I really like android, but thought I would try something different since I also recently got the note 8, so I've got a great android device, which I can also make phone and video calls with.I like the effort windows has made and think they will continue making their store better, I'm still trying out different apps,and customizing it like I like it, overall I love the phone and the style of it, my brother just got a red one in the mail yesterday! I made a skype call to my mom's iphone 4 and it works great!
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GoodDayToDie said:
A few points I want to address:
1) You claim "Windows Mobile is new". That is wrong for a number of reasons. The simplest one is because Windows Mobile is actually one of the oldest Smartphone operating systems, having been around since well before iOS, Android, Maemo/MeeGo/Jolla/whatever, or (most pertinently) Windows Phone.
Lumia phones do not run Windows Mobile. They run Windows Phone (in the case of the 1520, Windows Phone 8). These are not the same thing. People on XDA have been hacking WinMo for many, many years (again, since before most "modern" smartphone operating systems existed). Oh, and there's no such thing as "Windows 8 Mobile" (or "Windows 8 Phone" for that matter); there's the "Windows" line (which includes Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Win7, Win8, etc.) and the Windows Phone line (which includes WP7 and WP8) plus a handful of others that don't fall cleanly into either of those camps. Do not confuse these things, please!
2) Developing apps for WP is ridiculously easy. By almost any standard, Microsoft has better dev tools than any of the other mainline smartphone OSes. The "requirement" of Win8 for the WP8 SDK is annoying, but WP8 can still run WP7 apps, and the WP7 SDK runs fine on Win7. Besides, it's not hard to install (most of) the WP8 SDK on Win7. Anyhow, the problem is not a matter of difficulty writing apps. It's a matter of whether there's any return on investment. Android has a huge, ridiculous number of users, and while piracy of Android apps is more common than it should be, there's still a huge market. iOS has less market share than Android but is still firmly in second place, and iOS has a lot less piracy and people are a lot more willing to pay for apps, generally speaking, than on Android. WP is way down in third place - barely above fourth, and far below iOS in second - and while it has very little piracy, it barely matters when there are so few users. Complaining abou the lack of software for WP8 is like complaining about the lack of software for Mac OS X; when you're around (or below) 10% of the market, you're a bit player who may be net *loss* to develop for when developers can focus on more profitable platforms instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
let me address this, WP8 or whatever proper name you want to call it is still Windows 8 mobile. I don't want to get into a fight over the proper names. Should I be calling android by it proper name? KitKat? Icecream? Jellybean? and etc? As far I and most common users are concern its windows. Why? Mainly because people are starting to be aware of windows now as a real os option for phones. You couldn't say that 5 years ago.
Secondly, You really think its that easy? Then why aren't all of these apps that are so easy to get in iOS and android not on windows? For and example, I have three banks I use. Out of the three, one has mobile app for windows. These are all major banks. You can say all you want "it because of this or that" at the end of the day windows is lagging behind. Microsoft needs to do a better job of promoting their os. That all I was trying to say. In fact, in my class this morning, my professor ask us "How many people had apple or android" as a phone device. Over 80% had apple and 20% android. It didn't cross his mind to ask if people were using some outside of those two. My point here is now that Microsoft owns nokia, The market will view them as new competitor in the phone market. They might have had this os for long time, but as of now, common users will view them as new. Me walking around with my phone today, people asked me who makes that. Once I told them, they were surprised.

GoodDayToDie said:
A few points I want to address:
1) You claim "Windows Mobile is new". That is wrong for a number of reasons. The simplest one is because Windows Mobile is actually one of the oldest Smartphone operating systems, having been around since well before iOS, Android, Maemo/MeeGo/Jolla/whatever, or (most pertinently) Windows Phone.
Lumia phones do not run Windows Mobile. They run Windows Phone (in the case of the 1520, Windows Phone 8). These are not the same thing. People on XDA have been hacking WinMo for many, many years (again, since before most "modern" smartphone operating systems existed). Oh, and there's no such thing as "Windows 8 Mobile" (or "Windows 8 Phone" for that matter); there's the "Windows" line (which includes Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Win7, Win8, etc.) and the Windows Phone line (which includes WP7 and WP8) plus a handful of others that don't fall cleanly into either of those camps. Do not confuse these things, please!
2) Developing apps for WP is ridiculously easy. By almost any standard, Microsoft has better dev tools than any of the other mainline smartphone OSes. The "requirement" of Win8 for the WP8 SDK is annoying, but WP8 can still run WP7 apps, and the WP7 SDK runs fine on Win7. Besides, it's not hard to install (most of) the WP8 SDK on Win7. Anyhow, the problem is not a matter of difficulty writing apps. It's a matter of whether there's any return on investment. Android has a huge, ridiculous number of users, and while piracy of Android apps is more common than it should be, there's still a huge market. iOS has less market share than Android but is still firmly in second place, and iOS has a lot less piracy and people are a lot more willing to pay for apps, generally speaking, than on Android. WP is way down in third place - barely above fourth, and far below iOS in second - and while it has very little piracy, it barely matters when there are so few users. Complaining abou the lack of software for WP8 is like complaining about the lack of software for Mac OS X; when you're around (or below) 10% of the market, you're a bit player who may be net *loss* to develop for when developers can focus on more profitable platforms instead.
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Trail70rider said:
Nice review Vallista, I got my red 1520 last friday and love it, I've had the Dell Streak 5 for 2 1/2years and love that phone to.I was wondering if I wanted to have windows since I really like android, but thought I would try something different since I also recently got the note 8, so I've got a great android device, which I can also make phone and video calls with.I like the effort windows has made and think they will continue making their store better, I'm still trying out different apps,and customizing it like I like it, overall I love the phone and the style of it, my brother just got a red one in the mail yesterday! I made a skype call to my mom's iphone 4 and it works great!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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This phone is soo sick.

Vallista said:
let me address this, WP8 or whatever proper name you want to call it is still Windows 8 mobile. I don't want to get into a fight over the proper names.
Why aren't all of these apps that are so easy to get in iOS and android not on windows? In fact, in my class this morning, my professor ask us "How many people had apple or android" as a phone device. Over 80% had apple and 20% android. It didn't cross his mind to ask if people were using some outside of those two. My point here is now that Microsoft owns nokia, The market will view them as new competitor in the phone market.
They might have had this os for long time, but as of now, common users will view them as new. Me walking around with my phone today, people asked me who makes that. Once I told them, they were surprised.
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It does matter. Its like calling android something else before it was android. Like GoogleOS, instead of Android. Windows Phone is completely different from Windows Mobile. Windows Phone 7 and 8 is like comparing XP to 7 or 8. Windows XP and Windows Mobile 4-6.5 is extremely easy to modify compared to Windows Phone 7 or its desktop counterpart. Windows Phone 7 was their 'aha! Scrap everything and start over!' moment. WP8 is essentially their solution to fix what was wrong with WP7 and make it easier to manufacture e.g. GDR2 (support more ram) and GDR3 (supports full 1080p).
Windows Phone apps do take longer to publish when coming over from another platform. Most of the gamers who use WP know, because a game will essentially launch on all devices and then launch on Windows Phone MONTHS later sometime a whole year afterwards. SEGA is one those companies that are terrible about this. But this is understandable because of how "effectively" just about all apps run on WP7 or 8. They don't murder your ram or kill your battery. All background stuff is scheduled to run instead of being an evil TSR just taking more up as it runs longer and longer.
If you re writing a WP app from scratch and not porting it, you can "design" one in a matter of time. Heck, all of my apps I didn't even code. I generated them and semi-published them in a matter of an hours of work.
Sure its just a bunch of URLs, but it gets the job done. I intend on tweaking it again soon anyways.
I don't ever get asked about windows phones, except when a friend mine borrowed it for taking a picture in a dark environment e.g fancy winery dinner. Most of the place was candle lit and everything looked great for a smartphone, good for a camera.
Anyways Motorola is to Google as Nokia is to Microsoft. They were just following suit...
Sent from my Lumia 928 using Tapatalk

"Windows 8 mobile" is a remarkably (pardon my bluntness) stupid term for this OS. "Windows Phone 8" is very nearly as stupid (and that one is Microsoft's fault), but it does at least have two advantages: it distinguishes the Windows line from the Windows Phone line, and it's official. Besides, if you actually wanted to call something "Windows 8 mobile", it would make at least a *little* bit of sense to apply that term to Windows RT, which is a "mobile" (tablet, specifically) OS that actually looks like, and runs a lot of the same software as, Windows 8.
Suggesting that Windows Phone "is still Windows" is ridiculous, patently absurd on the face of it. They don't have the same UI (even ignoring the desktop, "Metro" apps in Win8 look and are interacted with differently from those on the phone, and the Start screens look and are arranged and interacted with differently). They don't run the same software (even where processor architecture isn't an issue, such as with pure .NET apps), although at some point in the future they may be merged to do so. They don't use the same user model (Windows Phone is a single-user system with only an "unlock the screen" protection; Windows - 8 or any other version of the NT desktop line - is a multi-user operating system where users must log into their accounts to use the system). They don't communicate with other computers the same way (Windows supports "Windows networking", including Homegroups, over SMB; Windows Phone has no SMB support but can act as an MTP client device over USB). They don't use the same security model (there's no support for user-accessible "full-trust" apps on Windows Phone; everything must run in an app sandbox). They don't run on the same hardware... do I really need to go on?
There are really only two meaningful similarities between Windows and Windows Phone (no, Microsoft's bone-headed branding does not meet the bar of "meaningful"). First, they both use the Win32 and WinRT APIs (well, sort of; the phone tries to block access to most of Win32 and is missing some of WinRT that the desktop has, the desktop is missing some of the stuff that the phone has too, though). Second, they both use the NT kernel. That's it. The way they sandbox apps is kind of the same, but only kind of (they don't even use the same capability lists, which incidentally is going to make that hypothetical merging of the app ecosystems kind of tricky). The UI has about in much in common between Windows Phone and Windows as Windows (7 or 8, at least) have in common with OS X.
Android's proper name is "Android" (OK, you can append a version number, or version name, if you want). It runs on the Linux kernel, just like MeeGo, WebOS, Ubuntu, and RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). Turns out that using the kernel as a determiner of "these operating systems are the same" is a really bad idea. Besides, if you were going to do *that*, then you'd have to argue that Windows Phone is one of the oldest smartphone operating systems, since WP7 runs on the CE kernel whose earlier versions powered handheld "smart" devices clear back to 1996.
As for the apps thing... how many WP apps have you written? Do you actually have the least idea how hard or easy it is? I've been writing WP apps for three years now, and I've also written Android apps and reviewed iOS apps. Neither one has as good of tools, and both require more work on the part of the developer to make the app *work*.
Vallista said:
You can say all you want "it because of this or that" at the end of the day windows is lagging behind.
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I *told* you the reason! It wasn't a "it's because this or that" in the least. Apparently, though, you are wither too wrapped up in your own prejudices to face facts, or you're illiterate... In any case, MS is spending a ton of money trying to promote WP. I happen to think their marketing sucks, but c'est la vie.

GoodDayToDie said:
"Windows 8 mobile" is a remarkably (pardon my bluntness) stupid term for this OS. "Windows Phone 8" is very nearly as stupid (and that one is Microsoft's fault), but it does at least have two advantages: it distinguishes the Windows line from the Windows Phone line, and it's official. Besides, if you actually wanted to call something "Windows 8 mobile", it would make at least a *little* bit of sense to apply that term to Windows RT, which is a "mobile" (tablet, specifically) OS that actually looks like, and runs a lot of the same software as, Windows 8.
Suggesting that Windows Phone "is still Windows" is ridiculous, patently absurd on the face of it. They don't have the same UI (even ignoring the desktop, "Metro" apps in Win8 look and are interacted with differently from those on the phone, and the Start screens look and are arranged and interacted with differently). They don't run the same software (even where processor architecture isn't an issue, such as with pure .NET apps), although at some point in the future they may be merged to do so. They don't use the same user model (Windows Phone is a single-user system with only an "unlock the screen" protection; Windows - 8 or any other version of the NT desktop line - is a multi-user operating system where users must log into their accounts to use the system). They don't communicate with other computers the same way (Windows supports "Windows networking", including Homegroups, over SMB; Windows Phone has no SMB support but can act as an MTP client device over USB). They don't use the same security model (there's no support for user-accessible "full-trust" apps on Windows Phone; everything must run in an app sandbox). They don't run on the same hardware... do I really need to go on?
There are really only two meaningful similarities between Windows and Windows Phone (no, Microsoft's bone-headed branding does not meet the bar of "meaningful"). First, they both use the Win32 and WinRT APIs (well, sort of; the phone tries to block access to most of Win32 and is missing some of WinRT that the desktop has, the desktop is missing some of the stuff that the phone has too, though). Second, they both use the NT kernel. That's it. The way they sandbox apps is kind of the same, but only kind of (they don't even use the same capability lists, which incidentally is going to make that hypothetical merging of the app ecosystems kind of tricky). The UI has about in much in common between Windows Phone and Windows as Windows (7 or 8, at least) have in common with OS X.
Android's proper name is "Android" (OK, you can append a version number, or version name, if you want). It runs on the Linux kernel, just like MeeGo, WebOS, Ubuntu, and RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). Turns out that using the kernel as a determiner of "these operating systems are the same" is a really bad idea. Besides, if you were going to do *that*, then you'd have to argue that Windows Phone is one of the oldest smartphone operating systems, since WP7 runs on the CE kernel whose earlier versions powered handheld "smart" devices clear back to 1996.
As for the apps thing... how many WP apps have you written? Do you actually have the least idea how hard or easy it is? I've been writing WP apps for three years now, and I've also written Android apps and reviewed iOS apps. Neither one has as good of tools, and both require more work on the part of the developer to make the app *work*.
I *told* you the reason! It wasn't a "it's because this or that" in the least. Apparently, though, you are wither too wrapped up in your own prejudices to face facts, or you're illiterate... In any case, MS is spending a ton of money trying to promote WP. I happen to think their marketing sucks, but c'est la vie.
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wow what an ego. Look its a Windows Phone period. If your gonna be butt hurt over the name, have a it hoss. Secondly, for a guy who he thinks know everything about Microsoft you really know nothing. You have no idea how or why Microsoft operates the way they do. So when make you own OS or phone device then you can talk. This was suppose be a basic review on windows phone I liked. But some want to focus on names.

A) I actually worked at MS, years ago. In fairness, though, I would never have expected the company to make some of the more braindead policy decisions it's made recently. I still know people who work there, though (living in this area, in the tech sector, you pretty much can't help it), and it doesn't seem like much has changed.
B) It doesn't take a lot of brains to understand how the software industry (including smartphone operating systems and apps) works, even if you *haven't* worked in it your entire adult life. But I suppose you do have to actually attempt to understand the problem, instead of throwing up your hands and complaining about it.
C) I actually have designed and written my own (tiny) OS for an embedded device, not that that makes me unusually qualified to talk about smartphone OSes.
D) I was trying to be helpful and informative, but apparently that point - like so many others - passed you by. Cool, you liked the Lumia 1520. Too bad you apparently didn't even know what OS it runs (hint: not Windows). I wouldn't have bothered writing anything past the first post, which was just to set the record straight (for both yourself and the people who might read your review and become confused) on a couple points, but I guess you couldn't have that...

Well, it made sense when it actually had a resemblance to Windows way back, but that's before they called the whole thing Windows Compact edition. Sure it was the base of a lot of various small devices that didn't have the power of their laptops then and was way more portable, like some cell phones. You could almost compare them with Palm, and at the same time RIM, but that's before they ever had the Blackberry if I recall correctly.
They could have dropped the windows name on their phones, but I'm not too sure it would have lost its product familiarity, and could have been obscured like the Kin and Kin II.
WP7 was obscure on anything besides at&t, and they didn't support CDMA day one either. This kinda messed up the US market, while the rest of the world couldn't have cared more, except Korea? and china (they use a derivative of CDMA.)
To think of the wp7 market share was so small, it was almost unheard of. It still buggs me that Cincinnati Bell still calls it Windows Mobile...
To get back on track, they could use a lesson with customization. It would be cool to swap fonts or change the text on the lock screen so it doesn't take up a quarter of the screen. Its bad for ricing and doesn't sit well with some people. But I don't ever actually see it happening. After all they haven't budged on changing some core features yet....
Sent from my RM-860 using Tapatalk

I like how you say the 1520 is on par with the note 3 even though you've never actually used it for an extended period (if at all) - instead you're comparing a prev gen phone (with probably fixable software issues) with a current gen one...
Just saying...
Apps, WP8 OS and its restrictiveness (some call it security) aside, the core problem with the 1520 and other Phablet phones on WP8 at the moment is simply this: WP8 is not optimised for phablets.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/the-lumia-1520-enormous-hardware-troublesome-software/2/

liqn7 said:
I like how you say the 1520 is on par with the note 3 even though you've never actually used it for an extended period (if at all) - instead you're comparing a prev gen phone (with probably fixable software issues) with a current gen one...
Just saying...
Apps, WP8 OS and its restrictiveness (some call it security) aside, the core problem with the 1520 and other Phablet phones on WP8 at the moment is simply this: WP8 is not optimised for phablets.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/the-lumia-1520-enormous-hardware-troublesome-software/2/
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I never said it was on par with note 3. I'm saying this phone does everything I did on my note 2. The note 3 has tech the 1520 doesn't have.

Good review, Nice to hear something positive for a change, I have a White Lumia 1520, Got it Monday and love it, Compared to my previous Lumia 920 and other Windows Phones I have owned it simply is the best, That is just my opinion, Some ppl will find it too large to handle comfortably, I have large hands so not a problem, It is perfect for my usage,
Have to agree that the OS does need some further optimisations for Phablets as some things and Apps display just too large

Thank for you for the review Vallista.
As for your little back and forth...I could call anything well anything, it doesn't mean people would understand me. Using proper terminology seems to me...to be akin to using the correct syntax and terminologies when going into your local swag bar and asking for 2 fingers of Laphroaig, neat. One can not simply order a Scotch and expect the same result.

From A Note 1 to the 1520
I was given a Surface at work pilot in our environment, and was very impressed with it. My Note 1 was long overdue to be replaced (but flapjax ROM's ran so great its kept up fine), and so I opted to give Windows Phone 8 a go. I had previously used WinMo 5 and 6, followed by a very brief run with the iPhone, and stuck with Android for about 3 years.
I miss the ability to customize, a lot. Admittedly I didn't do a lot of research going into WP8, but not being able to change DPI etc is disappointing. I feel like I'm back in the iPhone sandbox. I do really like the hardware of this device, and there are some aspects of WP8 that I really appreciate. Having Office on my phone has been a lifesaver for school. I like trying new things so it's still fun finding a lot of the nuances, but I really wish I could start flashing something better than the stock ROM.
The Lumia 1520 is an awesome device, and WP8 runs very smoothly on it out of the box. I would consider WP8 better than iOS, but Android will still win until Microsoft allows the users of their device to fine tune more settings of their device. I won't hold my breath for that, but I'll contribute as much as I can here on XDA to help a dev make it happen.

Got Lumia
I have similar story - moved from Note 2 to White Lumia 1520. I wrote some programs for android before and I like android and never had any problem with Note 2 but.. sometimes it is useful for people to get out of comfort :laugh:
I wrote programs for WM too but SDK for WP8 is completely different and more complex in my opinion. Maybe this is just first impression.
The device itself is really cool, I like it. WP8 is too strict and have few applications. Similar was when I had Dell Streak 5 with Android 1.6 as my first android device - at that time people laugh at me like I see in this thread. Hope that Microsoft will catch up, improve WP8 fast.

Check out our stunning photos made with Lumia 1520 and Nokia Camera
More inside
http://www.windowsmania.pl/dyskusja...przy-swiecach-czyli-seria-wigilijna-raw-7809/

Too bad the marketing department at Microsoft and Nokia didn't capture my wife's opinion of the 1520 because it would be a good commercial. My wife hates technology and has no interest in learning new devices...If fact she didn't want to even upgrade her iphone. Then the other day we walk into the Microsoft Store and she sees the 1520 and immediately said she wanted it. I thought that was particularly interesting since she laughed at the size of my Note 3. She left Sprint and the IPhone to move to the Nokia. She even had to pay more per month. She loves it. Not much more I can say except I love it too. I am not ready to give up my Note 3 and Galaxy Gear but think the 1520 is really well done.
Sent from my SM-N900P using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

djtonka said:
Check out our stunning photos made with Lumia 1520 and Nokia Camera
More inside
http://www.windowsmania.pl/dyskusja...przy-swiecach-czyli-seria-wigilijna-raw-7809/
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What settings did you use to get that photo?
Sent from my Xperia™ Tablet Z

Vallista said:
This was suppose be a basic review on windows phone I liked. But some want to focus on names.
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Thanks for the review . Like you I used to own a Note 2 and liked it.. at first, but I found it was a little big for me. I must be honest though, I mustve owned about 10 Android phones and I was never happy, even with the stunning hardware of the HTC One.. i traded and sold them back and forwards and it was only when I bought my first Ativ S, I was instantly converted. Now I own a 925 and love it, wanting a 1020 when its price comes down.
The question I asked myself was .. What makes WP8 great over Android?. which the simple answer is "It just works flawlessly".

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!!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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It`s free. And @reker says you`re free to install 10 apps now (was 2 for free unlock).