Phone, Tablet and Gizmo Thread #0x02

[anmol]

why windows phone 8 ovr 7 please???

Windows Phone 7 has no future. Apps created for Win 8 won't work on WP 7 because of lack of backward compatibility and nobody is going to create new apps for WP7.

Actually more people will make WP7 apps as those apps would work on both WP7 and WP8.. but i agree that one must buy WP8 device.

folks. I want to buy a Nokia Phone for two reasons : want to use Nokia maps and Drive and practice and check out windows phone.

how important is it to wait for the wp 8 phones in India?

the 600 is 10000 700 is 14000 and 800 is 18000. I understand that there is no difference between the two apart from screen and memory.

what should I go for? I already have experience with android and iPhone ..more with android ....and I am wedded to the Google ecosystem.

thanks for your comments about your experience with those platforms!

If you want Nokia, then should wait for following Lumias 900 810 820 822


Little explanation from Ars technica :-

What's the difference between the 810, 820, and 822? The 810 is GSM/HSPA+, with 8GB of storage, an 1800mAh battery, and a 720p front-facing camera; the 820 is GSM/HSPA/LTE, with 8GB of storage, a 1650mAh battery, and a VGA front-facing camera; the 822 is CDMA/LTE, with 16GB of storage, an 1800mAh battery, and a 720p front-facing camera. The 810 and 820 have an identical body; the 822 is curvier. All have the same 4.3 inch, 800×480 AMOLED screen and 1.5 GHz dual core processor, all support microSD storage, all have NFC, and have the option of wireless charging if you have a suitable back cover.

why windows phone 8 ovr 7 please???

Better performance due to NT kernel, IE10, WinRT and dual core S4 processor vs CE kernel, IE9, Silverlight and older/slower single core processors.
Better features: Camera Lenses, Nokia City Lens, Better Mapping app, NFC, Wallet, Xbox Music,Smart Glass, MUCH better games etc.
Hardware: True option for SD cards. WP7 was just not made for expandable memory so most phones lacked.
Bluetooth: it was useless in WP7 (I am not sure though)
Multitasking: Background multitasking finally works, so if you have skype installed then you would be able to receive calls even if skype isn't running.
For much more complete list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Phone_8

Lastly, buying newer WP8 lumia devices means that you would most probably get a free wireless power plate or wireless speaker that can be paired using NFC+Bluetooth.

[member_20292]

sorry Anmol.

the way I see it..,what do I want from my phone ....

1. good browser.
2. good maps
3 .camera.
4. GPS and navigation.
5. some office PDF word ebooks.
6. ability to use it as a USB stick.
7. tethering.
8. long lasting sturdy stuff.

based on the above rfp ......Nokia lumia 700 for rs 15000 and 800 for rs 18000 are both very good.

I am currently running bionix team whiskey 2.3 Tom on my Samsung Vibrant. its better than most ics based roms.

so ....stability ...reliability long lasting phone is my need. advanced technical functions not listed above are not usable by me. however my opinions are subject to change with better incoming data.

[anmol]

sorry Anmol.

the way I see it..,what do I want from my phone ....

1. good browser.
2. good maps
3 .camera.
4. GPS and navigation.
5. some office PDF word ebooks.
6. ability to use it as a USB stick.
7. tethering.
8. long lasting sturdy stuff.

based on the above rfp ......Nokia lumia 700 for rs 15000 and 800 for rs 18000 are both very good.

I am currently running bionix team whiskey 2.3 Tom on my Samsung Vibrant. its better than most ics based roms.

so ....stability ...reliability long lasting phone is my need. advanced technical functions not listed above are not usable by me. however my opinions are subject to change with better incoming data.

Following are WP8's advantages over WP7
1. Browser: IE 10 is overall MUCH better, faster and much more HTML5 compatible
2. Mapping: Maps application is better and have awesome new features. City lens for example.. but data is going to be same.
3. Camera: WP7 lumias had some issues which Nokia had attempted to fix though an update but I don't know too much about this. You should read this : http://winsupersite.com/article/windows ... ity-142822
4. GPS Navigation: Nokia Navigation apps on both WP7 and WP8 are good at this, in fact were better than Google's offering as Google Maps Navigation wasn't available in India till two months back. And I guess it Nokia provides better coverage..
5. Office: While WP8 have updated version of Office, but WP7 won't do too bad reading office documents and pdf files.
6. WP7 lacks USB mass storage, so in order to use WP7 phone as USB drive you would need to install Zune application on the computer and then make registry changes. See here: http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-use-wi ... ash-drive/
OTOH WP8 does have USB mass storage, hence can be used as USB drive: http://www.wpcentral.com/does-windows-p ... se-it-does
7. Tethering: Both WP7 and WP8 will have this..
8. long lasting sturdy stuff.: all lumias are well made.

[member_20292]

thanks Anmol.
I spoke to a Nokia 700 user today.and she told me that she hated her phone. because of dropped calls : plus bad camera according to her plus bad applications plus terrible web browser experience.

Drive is good though.

anyone knows when wp 8 is coming to India??

[RamaY]

Got my i5 from kumphiny. Other than the dimensions, there is nothing new. The voice (map) directions thing is a pleasant relief. Do not know why Google didnt do that all these years. I wasted >$20 for a specialized app for that stupid reason.

Iphone is losing its sheekness IMHO

[Anujan]

Sinofsky the M$ exec who masterminded surface is leaving effective immediately. First forstall in fruitco and now Sinofsky.

I predict mark zuckerberg to leave next.

[habal]

>> re WP8, as per flipkart the high-end devices start rolling on from 3rd week of november. Referring to HTC 8X.

[Mort Walker]

Got my orders in for the Nexus 4. Google Play store is a major PITA. Planning on the Nexus 10 early next year.

[member_20292]

someone I know has a windows phone...
advantages ---- inbuilt facebook, drive, maps etc. mail is good.

Bad---lack of apps, all web pages dont open. In fact this is a big no no for me, since I use the phone a lot for browsing.

I wanted to get a nokia just for the drive application, and to teach my parents some smartphone....but it seems to be up in the air now

[anmol]

someone I know has a windows phone...
advantages ---- inbuilt facebook, drive, maps etc. mail is good.

Bad---lack of apps, all web pages dont open. In fact this is a big no no for me, since I use the phone a lot for browsing.

I wanted to get a nokia just for the drive application, and to teach my parents some smartphone....but it seems to be up in the air now

IE10 is just as good as Mobile Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android and IE9 was as good as older browsers on iOS and Android.. so I don't know what your buddy is talking about. What he said about apps is true though.

[member_20292]

She said that it cant open her banking website icici or somesuch.......

I checked out the camera on the lumia 700, and it was average. It maybe better than my 2 year old samsung galaxy S 1, but because of the stunning SGS 1 screen, pictures look better on it.

[habal]

[anmol]

She said that it cant open her banking website icici or somesuch.......

I checked out the camera on the lumia 700, and it was average. It maybe better than my 2 year old samsung galaxy S 1, but because of the stunning SGS 1 screen, pictures look better on it.

Problem may be with ICICI's site or whatever, I doubt IE9 will perform worse in site compatibility considering that IE still have bigger marketshare than Safari Chrome and Firefox combined so web developers would be stupid to ignore IE.. and considering that IE9 is very standard compliant sites that would work on other browsers should work in it too.

BTW I use ICICI Bank/Direct services.. so I will test the sites on Lumia 800 that my father uses.

Speaking of camera quality, I did mention that it would suck.. that is mostly due to the fact that Nokia pretty much reused prototypes/components they were developing for Meego for their WP7 devices(800,700). WP8 Lumias are the first ones that they have made from start for WP8.

[sampat]

on mobile devices, sites that uses Java or flash could be a problem. Some banks use Java applets for login.

[negi]

TI is in process of winding up it's OMAP line, looks they are pretty much out of the race now.

[nachiket]

TI is also cutting 1700 jobs.

[member_20292]

from my end.....lumia is currently a no go. maybe wp 8 but that is doubtful too in the face of sgs 3 .

[rohitvats]

The HTC WP8 phone has almost the same specs as LUMIA 820 and as per the video, is priced at 32K. If that is the price bracket at which LUMIA 820 debuts, then what will the price band for LUMIA 920? The Samsung SII is now retailing at 25K and that is one rockstar of a phone....pricing 820 in 30K+ territory will make NOKIA loose the opportunity to tap into 25K-30K territory which IMO accounts for most sales in TRUE smartphone category....if 820 can come in at 27-28K range with 920 @ 34-35K range, it should help NOKIA to take on the competition.

[nachiket]

from my end.....lumia is currently a no go. maybe wp 8 but that is doubtful too in the face of sgs 3 .

Wait for the Nexus 4 to be launched in India. Aside from the lack of LTE (which is unavailable in India anyway), it is superior to the SGS3. It is cheaper as well, and you get the pure Android experience with regular updates.

[anmol]

The HTC WP8 phone has almost the same specs as LUMIA 820 and as per the video, is priced at 32K. If that is the price bracket at which LUMIA 820 debuts, then what will the price band for LUMIA 920? The Samsung SII is now retailing at 25K and that is one rockstar of a phone....pricing 820 in 30K+ territory will make NOKIA loose the opportunity to tap into 25K-30K territory which IMO accounts for most sales in TRUE smartphone category....if 820 can come in at 27-28K range with 920 @ 34-35K range, it should help NOKIA to take on the competition.

Even at 27K it is expensive.. in fact single biggest reason not to buy WP is not apps.. but the fact that one can get same features for ~5k less with Android.

[rohitvats]

^^^anmol, I will admit upfront that I am a 'Johnny-come-lately' to this smartphone issues but from what i have seen in the more 'hep' crowd which uses smartphones as a fashion statement, there is anticipation about WP8 and LUMIA 820/920......Because of sheer fluke, I managed to see 920 in company of such a crowd (in India) and the crowd went 'wow'....and this yuppy crowd consisted of card-carrying apple fan-boys/fan-girls........the design is awesome (IMO)...and so are colors and the 'form-factor' (I picked up that term here ).....remember, the true competition in 25-30K category is against Samsung/Sony/HTC.....you have the same suspects in 30K+ category as well. So, I'll reserve my judgement on the success or otherwise of this series. Remember, not everything is about technical specs or people won't pay 46K for iPhone 5 in India.

[member_20292]

from my end.....lumia is currently a no go. maybe wp 8 but that is doubtful too in the face of sgs 3 .

Wait for the Nexus 4 to be launched in India. Aside from the lack of LTE (which is unavailable in India anyway), it is superior to the SGS3. It is cheaper as well, and you get the pure Android experience with regular updates.

i dont believe any older nexus phone ha ever been launched or commonly available in india? at ;\least not in Gurgaoin, where I live.

I have only seen the original nexus phone and it was chunkier than my SGS 1 vibrant.

SGS , you have to admit is a pretty cool line of phones.

Now; what phone should I buy next. If I buy WP8...it will be almost only for its drive application....so in that case why not go in for a cheap and happy nokia 610 or 510 ? and leave the bank balance for something solid, later.

Does anyone over here, sync their "my documents" folder over the web with their phone, and work on it on the go? WHatddaya use? Dropbox, GDrive? ??

[Tanaji]

^^^ Skydrive is the best for me. If you have Office one can edit the docs to a limited extent on the web. Invaluable...

[nachiket]

mahadevbhu, it is going to launch in India at the end of November I think. Last time I believe it was Sammy's mischief not launching the Galaxy Nexus in India. They made sure there was no competition for the SGS line from their own product. Nexus 4 is made by LG so expect things to be different.

[Mort Walker]

Played with the Nokia 800, Nokia 920 and HTC 8X the last few days. The rank is Nokia 920, HTC 8X, and Nokia 800. I would skip the Nokia 800.

I also got a chance to play with the Galaxy Note II. This is a great device. Yes it is plastic, yes it is big, yes it has a removable 3100 mAhr battery with fantastic lasting time, and yes it is probably THE BEST SMART PHONE ON THE MARKET.
I'm seriously thinking of picking one up and getting a 64 GB Class 10 microSD card to put in the Note II to give it a whopping 80 GB of on-board storage.

[member_20292]

mort ji.

note 's critical app is the note taking app which when I tried it yesterday, has a significant lag between the time the pen puts pressure on the screen to when the line appears on it....

else its a big sgs no???? what else makes you gung ho??

[member_20292]

why razor??

available in India??

[Mort Walker]

mort ji.

note 's critical app is the note taking app which when I tried it yesterday, has a significant lag between the time the pen puts pressure on the screen to when the line appears on it....

else its a big sgs no???? what else makes you gung ho??

I didn't notice that, but what I did was write out an equation and then used Wolfram Alpha to solve it. The note app recognized my equation and then called up Wolfram to solve my equation. I about sh*t in my pants when seeing this as I've been waiting over 30 years for exactly something like this. Also, the battery life is insane, you get 15+ hours with typical smart phone usage. Its being offered between $250-$300 subsidized.

[rahul_r]

Just sold my 2+ yr old iPhone4 for ~ 300 bucks on amazon. Jai Ho!

[Raja Bose]

Basically it comes down to this. All Strat-e-jee apart, Nokia cannot survive if they cannot sell phones.

Actually Nokia cannot survive if they sell only phones (or <insert random ubiquitous digital device here>). That is the reason Nokia and Samsung started looking beyond devices. The problem with Android is that if one uses it as part of OHA, Google is the main provider of services so not exactly optimal for companies trying to break out of their HW manufacturing role (one reason Samsung is making low key rebellious noises). One can argue that Nokia could do an Amazon wrt Android but that takes time, money and a major mindshare in at least some consumer services. So instead it had to do the deal with the devil and grit its teeth hoping it can survive the a$$ pounding.

In the end just like countries, all companies look after self-interest onlee so there is no question of betrayal or loyalty. Mickey's strat-e-jee and rationale behind the Surface device is quite interesting, somehow the mango media has not caught on to it and is instead screaming Betrayal!!! Outrage!!!Jeeeehaaard!! onlee. I forecast Google also going seriously vertical after sometime.

Meanwhile I am observing a Bihari couple where the wimmens is going "Mere pitaji ne shaadi ke gift mein tumhe jo iPhone5 diya tha, woh kahan hai???!@##$%".

[Anujan]

Bose-O back from the trip?

BTW whats the grapevine vis-a-vis Sinofsky's "amicable" departure?

[member_20292]

my rather volatile opinion has started to favor wp 8 .....but if I get the Nokia 8 what will I lose, of Google 's ecosystem?,

[Mort Walker]

WP can use Gmail, but I doubt it can access the contacts and other Google services. I use Google Play Music which syncs seamlessly to iTunes on my Mac, Google Calender, Google +, Google Now, Google Voice, Google Drive and Google Maps, Earth and Sky. If you use these frequently, then you may have problems going to other platforms.

[member_20292]

I use calendar a lot. maps a whole lot. contacts a lot lot lot.

contacts and calendar should be able to sync to wp 8........not sure about maps.

[sampat]

.

I don't think you will loose much from Gogole ecosystem. Nokia has good email application that supports Gmail. Calendar, can also be synced by Windows phone. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2430181

But take a look at this thread on some of the issues with windows phone.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4802332

potatolicious 8 hours ago | link

Have been using a Surface as well as a Win8 desktop for a couple of weeks now, and I have to say this is pretty accurate.

When WinPhone first came out with the Metro UI I was a fan - there's a visual simplicity to it that's very appealing. After you use it for a while though the weaknesses become pretty glaring and hard to accept. It is often very hard to tell what UI elements are interactive and what are purely informational because they are so plain. There's no way to visually discern a non-interactive icon vs. an icon that is also a button.

The lack of shading and UI chrome also means that UIs frequently become jumbled. Sections of UI blur together where on any other platform they would've been separated by a visual line, shading, or something else.

The simplicity in this case has gone too far.

It's also very true that many of the first-party apps have ludicrously low information density, almost as if they expect these devices to be toys. This is in stark contrast to MS's stated goal of shipping something that is more serious, more productive than iPads and Android tablets, which up until now have been seen as leisure devices.

People often accuse Apple of taking style over substance, but Win8 IMO is a far, far more egregious violator.

There's another big issue: the first party apps suffer from some pretty serious performance problems. It doesn't bode well for your platform when your own internal teams can't ship best of breed apps. The People app, for example, takes literally 6 seconds to load your recent notifications on a Surface RT - all the while without displaying any loading indicator. You literally tap the button, wait, figure it's broken, and just as you're about to move on it pops into existence - and of course the performance is so poor that it just magically appears on screen without transition.

The entire OS is littered with sloppiness of this variety - as well as apps where touchability has clearly never been comprehensively addressed. You will move from places with gloriously comfortable touch targets (like the home screen) to apps that have 9pt text links you're expected to hit.

The "search" charm is also poorly thought out. Just take a look at Amazon, eBay, iTunes, and what have yous that have substantial search functionality - Windows expects everyone to cram their search needs into a single freeform text input. In fact, the eBay app on Win8 builds its own search page. Surprise, search is complex, context dependent, and not all apps can pigeon-hole it into your paradigm. Oops.

[edit] Extra rant: I was able to get the Windows Store app completely stuck today on the Surface. I visited an app's detail page, and tapped the Back button to get back to the search results. Nope. Back button would visually indicate interaction but do nothing. Waited, nope. Sloppy bug.

So here's where it gets good. On any other platform (and in old Windows land) I could just go kill it. Except I have no idea how to go about quitting an app on Windows 8. Apple at least has the courtesy of allowing you to kill an app very quickly - if someone knows how to do it in Win8 I'd love to know, because clearly their own first-party apps are not good enough to be trusted to take care of themselves.

[prahaar]

I have used WP8, one thing I can say is that it is not sluggish. Probably, the above feedback about People app sluggishness is something to do with bad network? The biggest bottleneck of ALL the current platforms (Apple, Android, MS), they all assume flawless network, 24x7 battery charger availability. If any of these two are not there, it is challenging to have a "smartphone" as a dependable companion.

[negi]

MSFT did a nice thing by creating windows 8 for both ARM and X86 based platforms; ab maja ayega

[Mort Walker]

MSFT did a nice thing by creating windows 8 for both ARM and X86 based platforms; ab maja ayega

Windows 8 is nice on phones and tablets, I don't know about desktops though. Many large corporates have migrated to Windows 7 as the standard coming from XP (and many are still on XP to this day), and I don't see them going to Windows 8. More than likely it will be Windows 9 or 10 before they really do, due to lack of enterprise support. If MSFT doesn't get to Windows 9 out soon enough the corporate world will just stick to Windows 7, which I suspect will happen. Early adoption of Windows 8 has been horrible as well on the consumer side by people who install them on their machines. Personally, I'm sticking with Windows 7. MSFT has a history of putting out a good OS followed by a dud, therefore Windows 9 should be good.

[SaiK]

my win 7 pro on lap sometimes takes long time to login.. it is weird.. there is however a cryptography services that keeps running.. I am not sure, why it should effect login?

Like I took the iphone4 suggestion here, I want to add in another phone, GSM one that works for both maasa and desh, dual SIM or SIMS for 2G, 3G, 4GLTE everything should work in it. which one? cheap and best!?

[negi]

Mort sir enterprises and organizations might still stay with 7 for some time just like they did with XP SP2 , however an average joe will not mind the Windows 8 , hell lot of us had to bear with the Vista crap just because most of the laptop and desktop makers in the market were selling the Vista machine for about 100-150$ less than the XP machine (IBM used to do that with the entire T series).