All Things Windows Phone - Apps, Phones, and Discussion

The 928 is a Verizon-exclusive version of the 920 with a Xenon flash. I've had mine for a few weeks and I am in LOVE with it! The only thing that I'm still acclimating to is the larger size compared to the HTC Trophy that it replaced. It's about 0.5" taller, 0.3" wider and about 1oz heavier, but the larger, higher quality and higher-res display is SO worth it!

 

Well, hopefully it'll at least increase the WP base to be large enough to take up a large chunk of the market. IIRC, cheap smartphones were how Android started out.

Anyway, still loving my Lumia 900, though 7.8 is starting to get long in the tooth. When my contract goes up next fall, I'll probably pick up anohlther Lumia on another carrier (moving from AT&T). Though it'll probably be a 500 series phone.

 

I use the video player.

 

I think Nokia might force my hand and I might need to buy that Z1f/s - dump my sandal-sized phones, buy a 'real' super-flagship phablet as an in-bag phone, and alternate between an entry Lumia (since they are the only ones small enough), iPhone and the Z1fs. To tell the truth I actually like the Z hardware so far. It's just what runs on top of it I can't stand, though Sony to their credit has probably done the least among the majors to [redacted] up a crappy OS in the first place.

 

My wife just got a Moto X, and Motorola's new minimalist skin (not Motoblur anymore) is pretty awesome. Very user-friendly and simple. I'd slot in Sony behind them, with Samsung/LG/HTC lagging far behind with overdone "throw the customizations at the wall and see what sticks" approaches.

I love Sony's hardware on their new phones. More limited viewing angles than some competitors, but gorgeous hardware design, premium materials, great cameras, and expandable storage. Awesome.

 

The oft-moaned-about inferiority of the screen has never bothered me IRL. I use a One and a Z every day so I should know.

 

The screen is SUPERB in real life. Love it, and I never find myself desiring more pixels. The camera, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. It's the Moto X's achilles heel.

EDIT: I was talking about the Moto X, you were talking about the Xperia Z. My bad.

 

I wasn't talking about the Moto. I was talking about the Z. Anyway, enough Android talk for this thread...

 

Revealed – The Nokia Lumia 929, Verizon’s 5 inch 1080P Windows Phone

 

Wow. With Verizon they get good coverage over much of the US (unlike AT&T, who apparently never learned that not everyone lives in a major metro area). And with 1080p, a Snapdragon 800, and a 20-megapixel camera, WP can stand toe-to-toe specs-wise with the highes-spec Android flagships for the first time ever. If Verizon promotes this properly and AT&T promotes its phablet cousin the Lumia 1520 properly, this could be a huge change for WP8's fortunes in the US.

 

Yes, this device totally hits the spot! 5" vs. 6" 1520 looks more attractive in my books.
I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed for now - I really want to see this being released worldwide.

 

agreed. 5.37" x 2.81" x .41" versus 6.41" x 3.36" x .34" with pretty much the same guts? i prefer a big phone but i'm not sure if i'm quite sold on a phablet, especially with this match-up.

so i just became eligible for an upgrade last week, the 1520 releases next friday (11/15), and the carrier of nearly ten years that i left two years ago for AT&T is now getting the device i'd prefer. seriously contemplating waiting to see if the 929 releases before my contract expires next month and going back to verizon. on the other hand, battery life might sway this decision the other way.

 

A Lumia 1520 side-to-side with a Note 3. The superior quality of both hardware and screen, and the smoother user interface (no stuttering), are both immensely obvious. If they don't need a digitizer stylus, it'd be very easy to sell a potential customer on the Nokia in a back-to-back comparison.

 

the note's not even an option in this thread--unless you're Vogelbung, in which case you wouldn't need to sell either over the other because he'd take both. :hi2:

 

But does either the Nokia 1520 or the Note 3 stand up to Vogelbung's toliet test?

 

I was just throwing out the comparison with the Note because the Note is the dominant phablet on the market, not because it has anything to do with this thread. And the Lumia 1520 makes a damn compelling case for itself in a side-by-side comparison.

I'm likely going to go phablet for my next phone (update is due in May 2014). I call dibs on the catchphrase "puts the 'phab' in phablet"...

 

Now I know what Vogelbung does for a living - he toilet-crash tests smartphones and tablets.

"Hello, my name is Very Rich Guy and today I'm gonna break 6 tablets in order to find out which one is the sturdiest and just for teh lulz. While you've been saving your money for a year to afford a tablet and feeding off cheap ramen, I'm gonna break those tablets into pieces"*

*taken from a Youtube video. Yes, it's overdubbed in Russian.

 

... unless you are Vogelbung and really kind of dislike these giant panini-sized phones. If I wanted something that unwieldy I'd actually carry a tablet. I'll be waiting (probably in vain) for a <4.5" 1520.

 

^^is that the max brightness on that note screen or did they "forget" to adjust that.. Not really a fair comparison at that end, but otherwise the 1520 is a beautiful looking phone. Windows phone is becoming more and more tempting with each new model!

 

and i was just making a stupid joke. i'll probably end up with a 1520 by the end of the month and i never considered a note, even though i get that they're direct competitors and that's why they're side-by-side (which is actually quite relevant to this thread).


that catchphrase is all yours.

Sent from my PI39100 using Tapatalk

 

I was actually getting pretty interested in the 1520 as I'm due for an upgrade.. Seeing that AT&T is halving the storage to 16GB and supposedly ditching the wireless charging ruins it for me though.

 

Be sure to tell me how it is :thumbsup:.
I do think 5" is better, but you never know what might happen .

 

whaaaaat. did not know that. wicked beat. more reason to wait for the 929.

 

Keep in mind that the Lumia 1520 has microSD expandable storage, unlike previous Nokia flagships, so what's onboard should be less of a dealbreaker.

 

Very true, I'm more off put by the lack of wireless charging. I could understand not shipping with a wireless charge pad, but it won't have the Qi coil in it at all. Nokia says wireless charging shells that support the PMA wireless charging that AT&T's pushing will sold later.

I was reading that stuff here if you're curious..

 

I almost wonder if AT&T is nerfing the Lumia 1520 on purpose because they get a higher price per sale on iPhones, or some motivation like that. I've certainly not been impressed at how little effort they've put into other Nokia exclusives (900, 920, and 1020 all debuted in the US as AT&T exclusives if I recall correctly).

 

yea, i was referring more to the lack of inductive charging. can't have it all i guess. DR article, hizzaah, but the AT&amp;T 1520 will eventually get the capability albeit a different standard is what they're saying? i'm not that up to speed with wireless charging as it is.

Sent from my PI39100 using Tapatalk

 

Nope, it sounds like it's an accessory. Like a case I imagine.

 

I could never see the point of wireless charging - it's slower than USB and it's kind of hit & miss in that you can't really just toss it on a given surface and have it charge, it has to be placed to a degree.

 

And from what I've heard, for a device like the Note 3, even microUSB 2.0 is shockingly slow for charging. Assuming that the Lumia 1520 has a similarly-large battery and a similarly-high draw of power (given the screen size and processor, this seems likely), it may have been that inductive charging is so painfully slow on the Lumia 1520 that it isn't worth it.

 

you can't hit and miss at the same time! but i do agree with you no less.

well thank you for that. hadn't considered this point. i suppose i'll wait until you can just set your phone/tablet/laptop down on the "charging table" and get the same charging efficiency that we currently enjoy from plugging in.

 

The international model will have Qi charging built in, and 32gb of storage. AT&T opted not to include Qi charging on the 1520, and all new devices because they are backing the PMA standard for wireless charging, they want to have their own line of cases and chargers across all devices. It has nothing to do with the speed of charging the larger battery in the 1520.

I have had my 1520 (prototype) for about a month now, and it really is an incredible device. The screen puts the Note III's to shame, and so does the fit and finish of the device. Windows Phone really looks great on a large screen, having an extra row of Live Tiles really is awesome

 

For cell phones and tablets, yes. It is more for people who are too freakin lazy to plug their phones in at night. But wireless charging has it's upsides. I've used wireless charging for my Wii remotes for many years. The charging pad and battery pack have little magnets which snap the remote into the correct position when you put it down on the pad. Obviously, the OEMs won't do that for cell phones...too innovative, too efficient. They wouldn't know what to do with themselves afterwards...

 

I've kind of felt as of late that the small tiles and the 1080 layout allows too much deviation from the clean minimalism of WP by making it too cluttered. I realise you have a choice, but one of the reasons e.g. Apple limits choice is that normal people tend to make a beeline for the dumbest decisions available in any particular situation, and I can't really see 'power users with taste' tolerating that tiletastic effect.

It's almost like they're trying to get the 'never mind the information overload, feel that notification density' Android crowd interested

 

ahh, so it is a different standard. interesting. does your prototype have the qi coil in it? and if so, how long does it take to charge from <10% to full?

i'm super particular about home screen clutter and i feel like i'll be using the smallest tile size significantly less now with the third column of tiles. the smallest size doesn't allow you to even see much information, if any, so it's somewhat 'live tile' defeating. i might even have enough space now to not have to scroll the homescreen at all. swiping right and tapping '#" and then the letter which corresponds to the app i'm looking for is plenty fast for those apps that i only use on occasion (and don't need to be on the home screen).

WP8.5/9, however, would definitely benefit from homescreen toggles, and grouped tiles to a lesser extent. mostly hoping for toggles. assuming that'll be part of the notification center like iOS7's done.

 

For those looking at the 1520, it seems to be back up for pre-order on the microsoft store and they're offering a free flip cover and a $50 app card! Offer is valid until the 21st or while supplies last..

Microsoft Store - Product Information

 

No yellow?!

 

WP GDR2
Announced: mid May
Handset-specific UI customisations as delivered by manufacturer: Almost none
On my unlocked/unbranded handset: October

Android 4.3
Announced: late July
Handset-specific UI customisations as delivered by manufacturer: Lots
On my unlocked/unbranded handset: November

*facepalm*

 

Nope.. I saw on SlickDeals that AT&T is offering a different deal: $20 app voucher, free copy of Halo: Spartan Assault and 50GB of free cloud storage on AT&T Locker. And they do have yellow, I'm just not seeing the details of the offer on the page though

Nokia Lumia 1520 - Matte Yellow cell phone from AT&T

 

Yellow is coming a few weeks after launch

 

This can't come as a shock to you...

 

Have people seen the latest Kantar numbers? WP8 is kicking butt and taking names in Europe. In Italy, WP8 usage has now surpassed iOS usage, hitting 13.7% with iOS declining to 10.2%. In Germany, in the past year, WP8 went from 2.5% to 8.5%, while iOS went from 12.2% to 10.7%. In the UK, WP8 went from 4.2% to 11.4% in the past year. In France, WP8 has gone from 5.2% to 10.7% in the past twelve months.

In the US, WP8 has gone from about 2.7% to 4.6% in the past year...still small, but nevertheless growing.

News - Nokia and Windows global momentum continues - Kantar Worldpanel (PDF link on the right for numbers from various contries).

 

AT&T is having a promo right now. the 1520 is only $100 w/ upgrade or new 2-year contract. All colors seem to be available.. Shipping day listed as the 19th right now

 

Free $20 windows app store voucher after purchase of a Nokia windows phone. Supposed to be recent, but Reddit users are having success with purchases dating back to August (according to SD).. 521, 925, 928, 1020, 1520, 2520 purchases are eligible.

World of Apps - Nokia - USA

 

As Thurrott said, if you're tiny then it's easy to grow by big numbers. Google-Motorola seems to be adopting Nokia's playbook (and better - although it never ceases to amaze me how antitrust regulation has managed to evade essentially the most evil company on earth), so we'll see how it continues to grow... or not. The growth is quite astonishing nevertheless when you consider that the platform basically stood still in functional terms for at least a year.

 

Wrong thread.

 

Setting aside the percentage gains (and I agree percentage gains are meaningless when the starting point is 3%) and just looking at the pure market share numbers as of October 2013, it's still looking pretty darned good for WP8 in Europe right now. Let me put it this way: market-share-wise, WP8 is doing better in Europe than OSX is doing anywhere in the world. OSX hovers at about 7% of laptops/desktops, and while it's a niche product, nobody is afraid of it going the way of Blackberry. WP8 is 14% of smartphones in Italy. That's not going to unseat Android any time soon, but it's a solid minority product with enough market share to attract developers and attract new customers.

 

thanks for the heads up. ordered a white one today, should ship tomorrow (with two-day delivery), hopefully be activated by friday.

 

That's going to be a HUGE upgrade over your Titan.

 

in more than just raw power too.