Windows Phone vs Android

[Krynn72]

I'm going to be switching carriers soon (again) and have to decide what kind of phone to get. There's two phones I'm currently teetering on, and thats the HTC Sensation 4G and the HTC Radar 4G. The Sensation will have Android 4.0 available to it by the time I'd be getting it, and the Radar is the Windows Phone OS. I can get the Sensation for $50, and the Radar for free with my contract. However the cost factor is negligible as I can get the Sensation from Best Buy, for which I have gift certificates which can bring the price down to like ten bones.

Currently I have the Incredible, which is a pretty good phone. The Android OS is feeling pretty tired now, and I love the way the Windows Phone interface is set up and how it works. However I dont want to hamstring myself in terms of capabilities. Lots of the videos I watch about the Windows Phone OS harp on and on about stupid shit like the social networking crap and how it links up with Xbox Live. I dont use my phone for that crap.

Its a phone primarily, and the extra functions are more... I guess you could call it "buisiness related". Things like GPS, calendar shit, email, taking photos that need to be detailed, video calls, taking notes and setting reminders, etc. Messaging is the most important thing for me though, and the default android messaging system (at least in 2.3) was crap. Complete crap. GoSMS is leagues better, but still not as good as I suspect it could be. I think Google Drive could have some sweet features once Google fixes their TOS.

So I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with WP or Android 4.0, and can give me their impressions on those aspects, so I can better decide when the time comes. Thanks in advance.

 

[Chris D]

I'm going to be switching carriers soon (again) and have to decide what kind of phone to get. There's two phones I'm currently teetering on, and thats the HTC Sensation 4G and the HTC Radar 4G. The Sensation will have Android 4.0 available to it by the time I'd be getting it, and the Radar is the Windows Phone OS. I can get the Sensation for $50, and the Radar for free with my contract. However the cost factor is negligible as I can get the Sensation from Best Buy, for which I have gift certificates which can bring the price down to like ten bones.

Currently I have the Incredible, which is a pretty good phone. The Android OS is feeling pretty tired now, and I love the way the Windows Phone interface is set up and how it works. However I dont want to hamstring myself in terms of capabilities. Lots of the videos I watch about the Windows Phone OS harp on and on about stupid shit like the social networking crap and how it links up with Xbox Live. I dont use my phone for that crap.

Its a phone primarily, and the extra functions are more... I guess you could call it "buisiness related". Things like GPS, calendar shit, email, taking photos that need to be detailed, video calls, taking notes and setting reminders, etc. Messaging is the most important thing for me though, and the default android messaging system (at least in 2.3) was crap. Complete crap. GoSMS is leagues better, but still not as good as I suspect it could be. I think Google Drive could have some sweet features once Google fixes their TOS.

So I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with WP or Android 4.0, and can give me their impressions on those aspects, so I can better decide when the time comes. Thanks in advance.

Hmm, this is a tricky one as I've used both...

My typical answer is iPhone because I've used all four of the main OS' including BlackBerry and by far the best, IMO is iOS and having used all of them I cannot ever see me going back to anything else. I'd say, in terms of business support, iPhone has the best range of apps available including most of what you've just said out of the box. Though, of course, iOS is pretty walled garden unless you jailbreak so if it so happens you don't like the default Messaging app you'll be stuck with it. Bollocks to all that "apple fan boy" crap, I'm not. I don't own any other Apple products. I just like their phone and OS.


Anyway, that doesn't answer your question. It's still a tricky one. They are now incredibly similar in terms of functionality. I can't actually pick :|

 

[Krynn72]

T-Mobile doesnt do the iPhone, so yeah.

How customization is the windows phone's home screen? With the widgets on the android I could set up really handy screens that would show me my calendar, notes I've written, etc. It was ugly, but it worked. Can you change around the "blocks" on the windows interface to customize which apps are where and do they show pertinent information without you having to actually open the apps?

 

[Chris D]

Stupid T-Mobile.

Yes, you can move the live tiles around. Remove them, rearrange them. Some of them you can make bigger if the app supports it, so it takes up two columns instead of sitting in one.

I've been thinking about this a lot since my useless post earlier. And I've been thinking, what if I didn't have my iPhone anymore, what would I do? All thing's considered, I actually really enjoyed my time with Windows Phone. And that was way before the Mango update too. I think, respect where it's due, for Microsoft to come in so late in the game and develop a product like Windows Phone to compete with Android and iOS is admirable. I don't ever think it will be as popular (then again, Nokia...) but it's a bloody good product.

So what would I do? Go with Windows Phone. But first, you need to absolutely do everything you can to make sure that it fits in with your preferences. Watch videos, explore the functionality, think of the Apps and Games you need and make sure they're either available or included.

 

[Krynn72]

Yeah, I've been watching some videos on the Windows Phone 7, and the more I watch the more I'm loving this interface. I'll have to see what changes there have been from android 2.3 to 4.0, but as far as aesthetics and speed of interaction I think the WP is winning.

This video answered a lot of my questions regarding the windows phone home screen customization. Pretty happy with how it works

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

Wow. I did NOT expect WP to win any battles. I wish I had more to offer except my opinion that Android is awesome and its apps give me just about everything I've ever needed to customize my phone with.

 

[Chris D]

Wow. I did NOT expect WP to win any battles. I wish I had more to offer except my opinion that Android is awesome and its apps give me just about everything I've ever needed to customize my phone with.

People say the same for both iOS and WP7... though admittedly WP7 will be at the bottom of the pile because it has less apps.

Then again, why wouldn't it? It's had less time. I first used WP7 when it first came out, there was hardly anything. I bet it's a different tale now.

 

[Krynn72]

50,000 apps as of december if I recall correctly.

 

[Chris D]

That's quite low, but you know. There's 500,000 apps on iPhone. A lot of them are fart apps.

 

[Krynn72]

The more I look into it the more I'm being torn between them. I think the lack of swype will really irritate me as its become integral into how I text. I almost never use both hands with my phone, everything is one handed, and swype makes texting a breeze with one hand. Windows phone has a app that does something similar called Slydr, but beyond having a shitty name it also has shitty integration with the rest of the phone since Microsoft didnt make the default keyboard replaceable.

Other the other hand, I'm absolutely convinced I would like the windows interface a hell of a lot better. Its so fluid and intuitive, surprisingly customizable, and just looks so much better. From what I have seen so far the default texting app on Windows Phone is actually better than GoSMS. Plus Windows Phone has like 90% of the apps I use on Android, the rest of which aren't big deals and I'm sure there's alternatives for them.

Another thing I'm concerned about is the Google Drive integration. It seems like a really handy feature to have it integrated into the phone, and once I start using it more (when they fix the Terms of Service) I will be missing out on that integration on the Windows Phone. However, Microsoft has Skydrive and their mini-office suite which does pretty much the same thing, only nobody I know or work with uses it, so I'd have to convince them to switch so we could still do document sharing and what not.

God damnit.

 

[Shamrock]

The more I look into it the more I'm being torn between them. I think the lack of swype will really irritate me as its become integral into how I text. I almost never use both hands with my phone, everything is one handed, and swype makes texting a breeze with one hand. Windows phone has a app that does something similar called Slydr, but beyond having a shitty name it also has shitty integration with the rest of the phone since Microsoft didnt make the default keyboard replaceable.

Other the other hand, I'm absolutely convinced I would like the windows interface a hell of a lot better. Its so fluid and intuitive, surprisingly customizable, and just looks so much better. From what I have seen so far the default texting app on Windows Phone is actually better than GoSMS. Plus Windows Phone has like 90% of the apps I use on Android, the rest of which aren't big deals and I'm sure there's alternatives for them.

Another thing I'm concerned about is the Google Drive integration. It seems like a really handy feature to have it integrated into the phone, and once I start using it more (when they fix the Terms of Service) I will be missing out on that integration on the Windows Phone. However, Microsoft has Skydrive and their mini-office suite which does pretty much the same thing, only nobody I know or work with uses it, so I'd have to convince them to switch so we could still do document sharing and what not.

God damnit.

Honestly, this is exactly what I was going to come in here saying Krynn. While WP is an amazing OS to look at, the integration isn't there at all. In Android, it's as simple as installing any number of apps, going to.... let's say a file browser (WP doesn't have) and clicking share, and that gives you any number of options to share to (Drive, Dropbox, Box.net, Facebook, blah blah blah...).

That's the MAIN reason why I would recommend from WP for the time being. Apple has showed that it's willing to open up a TINY bit to people that fold to their rules (Twitter) or pay them to be an integral part, but with the building of iCloud, you'll never have integration with other services in that OS. WP MIGHT give you that option with the Apollo update which is supposed to be announced around June 20th or so. There's really nothing known about it yet, but it's supposed to be a huge update.

Also, the one thing that makes me hate both WP and iOS is the fact that I can't set anything to default such as a browser or an email client. Simple things like that are huge to me... (maybe not to you) I had an iPhone for about a month. I got sick of switching out of apps, their zero percent integration with 3rd parties, and using their piss poor multitasking implementation. (probably more reasons, but too tired to think about them. I haven't actually used a WP as my main device because VZW only has the Trophy, and well, that thing has an awful, awful screen and camera which are pretty vital to me.

Anyway, I think you'll love ICS (4.0). Have you not tried to install it on your Incredible? That thing is one of the easiest phones to root, unlock, and ROM. I'm pretty sure there are a bunch of ICS ROMs for that bad boy.

 

[Krynn72]

I dont want to **** up my phone for one, at least not while I still need it for phone stuff. Also, everything I've heard about the ICS roms for the incredible sound like terrible pains in the asses. Battery life turns to shit, it gets really hot, issues getting emails, issues with the camera, the market being buggy, etc. Probably not the best intro to ICS.

I thought some more about the google drive integration and all that, and I'm starting to think that I wont really care as much about it. Skydrive (microsofts cloud) actually offers more free space, and better prices for higher tiers of storage. They have web and mobile versions of office so I wont be missing out on the free document creation apps. The fact it doesnt have a file browser blows though, I use the one on my incredible often. Though thats mainly because the android has a shitty way of managing files to begin with so I want the extra control.

I wish you could rent phones.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Purely on the basis that google has had more time to refine android over several versions compared to the short time WP has been around, I would recommend android. Just in the way Origin is still way behind Steam in certain aspects, it takes a while to catch up with market leaders. I went from Eclair to ICS and it's just a wonderful thing to use, especially the inbuilt task manager. I don't think either side will sway you, walk into a phone shop and play with a Galaxy Nexus or Lumia 900, I'm sure you'll find your answer!

 

[Chris D]

Ignore Hectic Glenn he's just an Android fan boi.

But you know, "walk into a phone shop and play" - there's not very many phone shops, in my experience which allow this.

It frustrates the hell out of me.

You have Apple who literally have every single product they sell out on display so people can play with it and use them. Then you have, at least in England, Carphone Warehouse, O2 etc. who hardly have anything out on display. It frustrates the hell out of me.

I think a lot of places have got better with this recently but 2-3 years ago, it was like: Phones out on display? Are you crazy?

 

[Krynn72]

Best Buy and even Walmart around here have a bunch of phones out for display. I dont recall seeing any windows phones at all last time I went to best buy though. I think that was before the lumia 900 came out though, so maybe its different now.

 

[voythas]

Actually I had an opportunity to have phones with all three platforms. So here is my opinion:
- Don't bother with WP7, Metro UI is really non-intuitive, also it's not really nice. It is very smooth though but WP7 doesn't have many apps.
- iPhone is smooth and very stable, but it lacks very much. It's not customizable at all. Every single iPhone is exactly the same and you can't do anything except wallpaper. If you don't like the keyboard or anything on iPhone - get used to it.
- Android might be unstable sometimes but it's the best option for power-users and if you like to customize your phone to your needs. If you don't like the keyboard or anything - change it, if you want different theme - install another rom with theme support like CM9 or MIUI. Also there is variety of hardwares so you can choose what you actually needs and not what Apple wants you to have

Apple for now has more quality apps but this is now changing.

I'd say go with Android!

 

[Raziaar]

Windows Phone 8 is coming out soon... why the talk about windows phone 7?

I hope Windows Phone 8 and Windows Tablet 8 aren't flops, and seriously challenge android and iOS. I'm way more excited about microsoft software than I am the the other two.

 

[Shamrock]

Windows Phone 8 is coming out soon... why the talk about windows phone 7?

I hope Windows Phone 8 and Windows Tablet 8 aren't flops, and seriously challenge android and iOS. I'm way more excited about microsoft software than I am the the other two.

Well, Windows Phone 8 hasn't been discussed or anything yet. We don't really know new features or anything until the end of June.

Plus, I can't see WP7 altering that much when WP8 comes out. Microsoft is touting it as a gigantic update, but in actuality, Android 2.3 to Android 4.0 or... GB to ICS.. was a much larger jump. I can only think that MS is going to add in a bit more integration, maybe free navigation, more hardware choices, and a few new features. That's about it.

 

[Krynn72]

I saw some rumors that there are plans for almost all WP7 phones to get the 8 upgrade. That'd be pretty huge for it. I might hold off and go month to month until we get more info on windows phone 8. If at least the Lumia 900 gets the update then I'd seriously consider it.

The bugs in my android phone are really starting to aggravate me. Every once in awhile my Incredible will be fully charged in the morning, and its full dead 8 hours later. I charge it up again, and it works for a normal 24-48hrs depending on usage. I think some apps (I suspect the main culprit is the opera browser) dont actually close and just stay on. There's just a bunch of really small issues with it that I've had since I got the thing and over time it just gets more frustrating dealing with them.

Customization is great, especially when it helps with task efficiency (like swype), but I am beginning to want stability more than the ability to make pointless tweaks (like live wallpapers). Its why I dont bother overclocking my computer and dont have interest in rooting my phone. Probably the iPhone is the most stable platform, but shits expensive and I dont like the interface at all. Also I hate syncing shit. I'll wait until we know more about WP8, and hopefully find a way to get a hands on experience with it. If it lets people edit/create new keyboards and stuff like that which actually matters, I think I'd end up leaning heavily towards WP.

 

[Shamrock]

Good plan. Just a note on that rumor you heard. Don't believe it yet because MS never came out saying they'll support their current devices yet or what they're going to do. Like I said previously, wait till their developers conference in June (the 20-21st to be exact). That's when they're going to go in depth on their upgrade paths, new features, and new devices. http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-phone-dev-conference-slated-for-june-apollo-around-the-corner

If you can wait one month to find out anything, I think it'd be worth it.

 

[Krynn72]

Yeah nope.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/06/no-windows-phone-8-upgrade-for-current-phones/

As long suspected, users of the current Windows Phone 7.5 platform won't be able to upgrade to the next major version of Microsoft's smartphone operating system, Windows Phone 8.
Instead, they'll receive an update called Windows Phone 7.8. The only feature that Microsoft has confirmed will be included in the 7.8 update is the newStart screen, with its full-width tiles and greater customization. However, company representatives left open the possibility that other Windows Phone 8 features might be included in the update.

So definitely the right call on holding off. I guess I'll just go month to month for a bit when my contract ends in two weeks, and see what kind of phone(s) t-mobile offers with WP8. Hopefully they get one out before the year's end.