WP7 (Windows Phone 7) vs. Android?

[barnabas1969]

In a thread posting here, something was said that got me interested in the topic of Windows Phone 7.

I use Android. To be more specific, I use an HTC Evo 3D. It's my first smart phone. I resisted going with a smart phone because of the cost of data plans, but my kids wanted smart phones for Christmas, so I got smart phones for the whole family and switched from ATT to Sprint (because Sprint has lower-cost data plans).

I like Android. It took me a while to figure out some things, but now it works great. I have even automated tasks like turning off my ringer, WiFi, and GPS when I get to work, based on cell location; turning on my ringer and WiFi when I get home; etc.

So... what are the good and bad things about WP7 vs. Android? Anyone got an opinion?

[mark1234]

In the other thread you said:

I've never actually seen a Windows phone, but everything I've read says that they are a big flop. Android is king (for now).

In terms of sales they absolutely, quite undeniably, are a flop. However it's the same kind of flop as Media Centre is: Awesome product which no one uses.

One of the reasons I believe for this is the awful brand name "Windows Phone". You say that to someone and they instantly think of XP on a phone and run off to buy an Android (which in many ways is actually the XP of the phone world).

When I bought my Samsung Omnia 7, about this time last year, I put a lot of effort into the selection process. I was coming from Symbian (dreadful, simply unusable) and went into the process assuming I'd choose Android as it's the most geeky phone. However I found that everytime I used Android (and I tried HTC, Samsung and Motorola variants) it left me feeling angry and frustrated. WP7, on the other hand, is simply a joy to use and to behold.

Ultimately this is a topic where people get far, far too emotional and where prejudices rule over logic. WP7, Android and iOS are all functionally broadly the same, where each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

[barnabas1969]

WP7, Android and iOS are all functionally broadly the same, where each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Would you care to elaborate? Can you make a list of strengths and weaknesses, from your perspective, of each?

My wife chose the iPhone 4S. She loves it. It's simple to use. Siri is pretty amazing and very well integrated into the phone. It even understands my wife with her accent. She's Romanian, and English is her third language. Hungarian is her 2nd.

I went for the Android for me and the kids. My son is a techie geek, just like me. My daughter... well... she just uses the phone and listens to music. She is never going to tweak it in any way.

[adam1991]

The biggest weakness right now is that to use Android you must immerse yourself into Google's dungeon of a world, not unlike Apple forcing the same with their system.

And that's why I don't have a tablet: I want a general purpose device, not one that forces me into indentured servitude the way Apple or Google demands.

[mark1234]

WP7, Android and iOS are all functionally broadly the same, where each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Would you care to elaborate? Can you make a list of strengths and weaknesses, from your perspective, of each?

That's an open ended question, and one where I shall struggle not to fall into the pit of my own personal prejudices!

The iPhone 4S has a clear strength in Siri. However, for me, whilst I can marvel at its technological prowess (and can enjoy sites like http://www.whatsiriissaying.co.uk), I would just never use it. WP7 has speach recognition in TellMe. No where near as sophisticated by any means, but I don't even use that.

If you're in the iTunes world then iPhone is an easy choice as well. The whole Apple thing where their devices "just work" is a big deal for regular consumers. I really don't like the grid of icons interface though. It just turns your phone into brand name central.

Android allows you to configure and tweak every possible setting, so can satisfy the inner geek. The Google Maps implementation on Android is pretty amazing as well. The range of hardware is astounding, with a handset to suit any preference and budget. But I find it easy to pick fault with Android: weak app store security; shocking (as opposed to merely bad with iOS and WP7!) battery life; poor, confusing and random UI design; and I'll stop before I get carried away...

Both iPhone and Android have enormous app stores with around a gazillion apps each. I hate to sound like a Mac user here (which I'm not) but this doesn't impress me. Sure, there will be specific apps that I want that aren't available on WP7, but on the whole I'm rather glad I don't have to filter out reams of junk to find what I want, only a smaller amount of junk. I also happen to not believe in apps anyway. Apart from games, which clearly need to run on the phone, I'm inclined to think that mobile html is better as it's cross platform, and therefore allows developers to target a wider range of devices in one go, and for one cost. So, for example, there are apps for eBay and Amazon on WP7 which I've not installed as they both offer decent mobile html websites.

For me the biggest single advantage of WP7 is the UI and the design philosophy where everything is integrated and based around what you want to do, rather than the brand name for a particular service. If you've not tried it, I recommend the online demo that MS published, which emulates the UI: http://aka.ms/wpdemo

I could go on, and on, but this post is getting a bit long now.

[barnabas1969]

That's an open ended question, and one where I shall struggle not to fall into the pit of my own personal prejudices!

I did ask for opinions. I understand that some people hate Windows, others hate Apple, etc.

shocking (as opposed to merely bad with iOS and WP7!) battery life

Yes, after being used to getting 3-7 days of battery life on every mobile phone I've ever owned, I was quite surprised to get less than a day on my new Evo 3D. Out of the box, they have EVERYTHING turned on. That's actually why I installed the automation app that I mentioned earlier. It can turn things on and off based on date, time, location, etc, etc, etc. I have it setup to turn on services I need when I'm home, at work, and out and about. I get 2-3 days of battery life now.

poor, confusing and random UI design

It took me quite a while to find my way around and really get the hang of the way things work in Android. I don't know if this is just because I wasn't used to touch devices though. Now that I'm used to Android, I find the iPhone difficult to navigate. I guess it's all in what your accustomed to.

The iPhone 4S has a clear strength in Siri. However, for me, whilst I can marvel at its technological prowess (and can enjoy sites like http://www.whatsiriissaying.co.uk), I would just never use it. WP7 has speach recognition in TellMe. No where near as sophisticated by any means, but I don't even use that.

Siri is well done. It integrates so well into everything... phone, text messages, GPS, reminders. I tried an app for Android named Iris (Siri spelled backwards), but it really didn't impress me at all. The built-in voice recognition in Android works pretty well, but it doesn't integrate across all the different functions as well as Siri.

[newfiend]

I have a had a windows phone 7 since they came out. Had a Samsung Focus and now I have the Focus S. I love it. It's been a great phone!, even better since the Mango update. It was my first smart phone as well. I think you will see more adoption this year since Nokia is making phones for the OS now. If you haven't tried a Windows Phone you should.
I had a Zune HD before the Phone and transfering the account to the phone was easy and it works better than the Zune HD.. I can download anything music from the marketplace to my phone over wi-fi or 4G .. The GPS and maps are great. Phone works well and the Facebook and Twitter integration is good.. I really haven't had a problem with the phone. It's been very solid.
I try to encourage everone that hasn't tried one to at least try it. I think they have a solid product that needs some great hardware (nokia) to really kick it off.. The market place is growing with WP7 as well, most of the most popular apps are now available on WP7. Have you checked out the "smoked by Windows Phone" videos on youtube? they did them at CES against the iPhone and Android phones and most of the time WP7 beat them.. It's a good product.. I have been very happy with both phone's I purchased!
newfiend~

[milli260876]

I went from HTC hd2 winmo 6.5 to android to wp7 now have a native wp7 (HTC radar) and love it. Pretty much fed up of custom roms that don't work properly in android... If you aren't into apps and prefer basic smartphone useability with great UI and office integration wp7 is for you.

[Helgor]

Hello,

i liked a lot my IPhone, first of it art. thanks Steve
i where impressed from Galaxy S2,

but i will never go back to theses Systems, dont say they are bad. But IOS its a to closed and to expensive system for me, Android is totally fragmented and overdosed, and Windows Phone, its like a Telefon has to be. The most reliable, fastes user interface, also if it have only one cpu, my galaxy s2 where fast, but hot.and it is a fucking dream for developers, i developed for all of them.

Helge

[newfiend]

Smoked By Windows Phone 7..
Day One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQZww_C6Zgg
Day Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz8d5NF_wFI
I also visit http://www.wpcentral.com a lot.. It's a great site for all things Windows Phone.
Its a great platform..
newfiend~

[newfiend]

I love the new Nokia Lumia 900 coming to AT&T soon http://www.nokia.com/us-en/products/phone/lumia900/ Kinda wish I had waited on the Focus S for this one.. as it will have 4G LTE.

[mark1234]

Fairly positive, pro WP7 responses here. I guess that, as a group, we're suckers for great Microsoft products that the rest of the world ignores!

[Crispy]

In a thread posting hereI have even automated tasks like turning off my ringer, WiFi, and GPS when I get to work, based on cell location; turning on my ringer and WiFi when I get home; etc.

That's a really good feature I wish Windows 7 Phone had.

I have a HTC Mozart a first generation Windows 7 Phone and still think it's great maybe I'll upgrade to a Nokia 800/900 probably the nicest looking smart phone on the market. For me the OS is a modern design compared to the grid of chromed and bevelled icons.

[barnabas1969]

I have even automated tasks like turning off my ringer, WiFi, and GPS when I get to work, based on cell location; turning on my ringer and WiFi when I get home; etc.

That's a really good feature I wish Windows 7 Phone had.

The app I use to automate this stuff is called Tasker. It's incredibly powerful, but difficult to understand at first. It really requires reading the developer's documentation, tutorial, and examples on his website to get the hang of it. It can even do things like automatically read your text messages to you... for example you could set it to only do this when the phone is in a car dock... or only if they come from certain numbers. It can be configured to automatically record phone calls... like from your ex-wife, for example.

If there's a need for an app like Tasker in WP7, maybe Helgor could take a look at Tasker on Android and see if this would be possible in WP7.

[boogmeister1]

The one thing that has kept me using my iphone is the GPS functionality. I use MotionX and it rocks! When I originally looked into WP7 I didn't see anything quite as good as MotionX. I use GPs almost everyday... I'm never in the same place two days in a row, so it's a must. I would love to switch to WP7, but I'm scared of losing the functionality of MotionX.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good GPS app for WP7? My contract with AT&T is up in March and I would love to leave them in the dust.

Eric

[mark1234]

What functionality do you actually use? That app seems to do a lot!

WP7 GPS works fine, I've used RunSat in the past to record my cycle to work and back, and was always impressed that the recorded route knew which side of the road I was on. But whilst the GPS itself works great, that's not to say that there is an app that does exactly what you want.

[newfiend]

I use the Maps function on WP7 and it has always got me where I needed to go. The turn by turn directions has worked really good especially since the Mango update. Since your on AT&T stop by a store and ask a rep if they have a WP7 they can let you mess with or better yet see if they mind taking a short drive and use it's functions and see how you like them.. I haven't used an iPhone or your app but I haven't gotten lost yet with the built in maps feature in Windows Phone and I just moved to a new town and I know where nothing is. It's been a life saver.

[tony_park]

Hi guys,

I recently took delivery of a Nokia 800, moving from an iPhone 3gs.

I like the look of WP7, it takes a while to get used to, but its nice and fluid, which is more than I can say for my iphone.

Unfortunately there are some pieces of functionality, that are sadly missing from WP7 - for example, working from home, I connect to our work network via VPN, which doesn't allow access to local network.

I listen to music during the day while working, and this is all stored on our WHS2011, so I've installed itunes on the server, and enabled home sharing. On my iphone I can then click on shared resources, connect to itunes on our server, and listen to music direct from the server, meaning I can listen to music that I may not necessarily want to listen to while away from home.

The closest I can find to this, on the WP7 platform are:

My Home Server
onePlayer.

My Home Server does stream fairly well, but I seem to get interference on the headphone lead, as its right next to the usb/power lead.
onePlayer has potential, but currently its implementation means that it can only play one song at a time - this would be greatly enhanced if you could actually choose to listen to a complete album, rather than just a single song.

If anyone else have any other suggestions, I'm happy to try... Zune could do with some home sharing functionality


Thanks
Tony

[sccrgoalie1]

Hi guys,

I recently took delivery of a Nokia 800, moving from an iPhone 3gs.

I like the look of WP7, it takes a while to get used to, but its nice and fluid, which is more than I can say for my iphone.

Unfortunately there are some pieces of functionality, that are sadly missing from WP7 - for example, working from home, I connect to our work network via VPN, which doesn't allow access to local network.

I listen to music during the day while working, and this is all stored on our WHS2011, so I've installed itunes on the server, and enabled home sharing. On my iphone I can then click on shared resources, connect to itunes on our server, and listen to music direct from the server, meaning I can listen to music that I may not necessarily want to listen to while away from home.

The closest I can find to this, on the WP7 platform are:

My Home Server
onePlayer.

My Home Server does stream fairly well, but I seem to get interference on the headphone lead, as its right next to the usb/power lead.
onePlayer has potential, but currently its implementation means that it can only play one song at a time - this would be greatly enhanced if you could actually choose to listen to a complete album, rather than just a single song.

If anyone else have any other suggestions, I'm happy to try... Zune could do with some home sharing functionality


Thanks
Tony

Could you use remote potato and one of the available WP7 apps?

[tony_park]

Could you use remote potato and one of the available WP7 apps?

Hi,

I've tried Media Buddy, and while it can handle any content that is actually stored on the media pc, it can't handle any files that reside on the server