Before I left on vacation I went and bought myself a late birthday present which was the Nokia Lumia 920 smartphone running Windows Phone 8.  It was a decision between the iPhone 5 and the Lumia 920.  I’ve mostly used iPhones over the past few years, but I did have a Windows Phone 7 device as well.  I liked it, but too many quirks made me return to the iPhone.

I’ve been watching closely the progress of Windows Phone 8, and between that and the hardware from Nokia, I decided to take another plunge into Windows Phone.  I’m certainly glad I did.

lumia920

Most of the quirks I had with Windows Phone 7 were resolved in WP8, and the hardware side is so much better than the iPhone at half the price (on contract).  The device is bigger than the iPhone with a beautiful 4.5” display.  Some reviewers like to point out the 920 is “big”, but that’s a plus in my book as the larger screen area is much easier on the eyes.

I’ll go into Windows Phone 8 in another article, but it’s no problem for me to say this is much better than the stale iOS platform.  Live Tiles are a great feature, integration with Office and SkyDrive is done right, and overall it’s a smooth experience.

I’ve only had it a short time, so I’ll keep writing about it, but if you are in the market for a new smartphone, give this one a look.


Comments (Page 14)
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on Aug 02, 2013

kona0197
The interface didn't work like a Android phone. 

Yeah, that's kind of the point....

 

on Aug 02, 2013

I haven't used a W8 phone so I don't really have a real basis for not wanting to switch, but it seems more "set" and less flexible from what I've read/heard.

Well the phone OS is certainly more closed but the UI, at least the part of the UI one tends to be most in contact with (ie. the Home Screen) is certainly flexible with the 'live tiles', ability to pin and resize (turn into a live tile) most anything on the device. etc.

I don't like that there is absolutely no sort of 'file explorer' on the device, but then I don't have any real reason for wanting one other than assuaging my OCD issues. 

 

 

What do you mean by "droid ecosystem"

 

The google app-store.  Some people who have purchased a lot of apps for one device might feel reluctant to move to another platform etc.

 

 

kona0197
Lack of apps.

 

Lack of what apps specifically?  How many apps do you need that do the same thing?  Certainly any app-store starting out would be lacking some 'favourites' but looking around on the net it appears the MS store has 'bulked-up' quite nicely in the last while.  For me anyway, there is at least one app of everything I could conceivably need available in all 3 ecosystems.  Of course Apple and Google have many more iterations of the same app so it stands to reason they would have many times the apps available in the MS store.

on Aug 02, 2013

the_Monk

Lack of what apps specifically?  How many apps do you need that do the same thing?  

I used to hate when people criticized Android early on about it's lack of apps.  I would use the same arguments as these.  Afterall, how many note taking apps do you need (for example)?

Now that the Android ecosystem has matured quite a bit, I have a different perspective.  The quantity of apps isn't needed, certainly, but it provides choice, which I think is overlooked in the "how many apps, not enough apps, etc" discussions around the various ecosystems.  

Everyone on every platform can get Evernote, for example.  I can't stand Evernote.  That Android has 15 other quality note taking applications is a benefit to me because I can try different ones until I find one that fits my workflow.  

I think the arguments about raw numbers of apps available are mostly overblown.  Any decent platform will let you do most of what you want.  And even on Android, with it's stupidly large amount of apps, I occasionally find myself not able to get the right app for the task I want (at least how I want to do it).  

I guess I don't have much point other than to say that, while the "your app store doesn't have as many apps as my app store" argument is pretty silly, there is some benefit to be gained from the higher number of apps.  They're not all just fart apps. 

on Aug 02, 2013

the_Monk
Quoting 2of3,
reply 194
What do you mean by "droid ecosystem"



The google app-store. Some people who have purchased a lot of apps for one device might feel reluctant to move to another platform etc.

 

Got it.

No....I never buy apps.

on Aug 03, 2013

Im glad for all of you guys, but I will stick with iphones for whole family. we have a whole excosystem in house and it works wonders. No need to use apple maps if unsatisfying, there is google maps too.

 

As tot he others, I have a few friends using all of it, and one has house things with android connectivity, and it really doesn't come close to what we have with apple - constant problems with everything, half features dont work etc.

 

on another hand, another friend has lumia and is happy, just hates it that he doesnt have as much apps and games like I do, but the store is growing...

 

oh, I necroed? My bad...

on Sep 28, 2013

My roommates getting a new phones so I said iPhone 4S or Lumia 920, but I said get the Lumia. I will know soon what they get so thanks for the info folks. 

on Oct 08, 2013

Just saw this thread, thanks to the newest post....

I ended up buying a Nokia Lumia 928 a few months ago and am loving it.

Built in wireless charging, excellent camera, works well with Microsoft Exchange for my work email, contacts, schedule, etc.

I would highly recommend a Windows 8 phone to anybody looking to upgrade.

on Oct 11, 2013

Just a note for 920 and 820 users on AT&T, the Amber and GDR2 update is out.

http://www.nokia.com/global/windows-phone-amber-update/

 

on Oct 11, 2013

 

Yes and there are 'rumors' that the GDR3 / bittersweet shimmer (what's with all the Crayola crayon colour names Nokia) update is due in November 2013 sometime....

on Oct 14, 2013

Lots of improvements coming in the November update.

on Oct 15, 2013

I have update 3 on my phone now.  Only reason I wanted it is for the text tones.

http://winsupersite.com/windows-phone/windows-phone-8-update-3-preview

 

on Jul 20, 2014

the_Monk

This app allows you to point your Lumia 920 at any internet-enabled screen and via QR-code technology "beam" any picture on your phone to said screen.

 

So I can scan the qr code that is printed on the screen, like tv? Right now, I can not use my phone to scan the qr code from the tv.

on Jul 20, 2014

hint of spam

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