Windows Phone Gang

[ahomeplateslugger]

2.5 gigs with auto pay (meaning they auto take the money from your account each month) but I have to do one month on this 5 gig plan for $45 before I can downgrade to the $35

There speeds/service are ok especially considering I live in one of the state's where they offer least coverage but so far I've had coverage at home and work my two most important places

I switched from Verizon to cricket and it's been . I was paying 90$ a month on Verizon and couldn't get coverage while at homebut on cricket I'm paying 35$ for 2.5GB data with unlimited talk/text and network speed is just as good as Verizon plus I get coverage at home and everywhere else. the money I'm saving is nice too

 

[JordanWearinThe45]

I laugh every time I see the title

 

[newarkhiphop]

I switched from Verizon to cricket and it's been . I was paying 90$ a month on Verizon and couldn't get coverage while at homebut on cricket I'm paying 35$ for 2.5GB data with unlimited talk/text and network speed is just as good as Verizon plus I get coverage at home and everywhere else. the money I'm saving is nice too

That's exactly the plan we on went from $186 for two phones with 8 gigs on Verizon to $90 for two phones with 10 gigs on cricket

 

[satam55]

I'm thinking of buying a Sony Xperia L or a Lumia 635 as my back-up phone. What the verdict on Lumia 635? Will it receive a Windows 10 update?

"
Windows Phone has a new app problem

Microsoft's apps are evaporating

By Tom Warren on October 23, 2015 06:48 am

I gave up on Windows Phone almost a year ago, citing a lack of apps and Microsoft's mobile platform getting left behind.

While the app gap has always been a problem, Windows Phone is now five years old and it's still facing new challenges. Over the past year developers haven't flocked to Microsoft's platform to improve its app situation. Instead, more and more high-profile apps have actually disappeared. Mint's removal this week is the latest, angering Windows Phone fans, but it's not the first, nor will it be the last.

American Airlines, Chase Bank, Bank of America, NBC, Pinterest, and Kabam have all discontinued their Windows Phone apps in the past year. These huge apps have simply disappeared or will no longer be updated. Some companies have cited a lack of Windows Phone users, and others have remained silent, but each removal has put Microsoft another step behind in the mobile race.

It's not just third-party apps disappearing, either. Microsoft has removed several MSN apps and its popular Photosynth app, and the software maker has also killed off a number of special Lumia camera apps. Windows Phone users still don't have great Skype or Office apps like Microsoft produces for the iPhone. It's stunning that, after five years, the best experience of using Skype or Office on a phone isn't on one powered by Windows. This will change in Windows 10 Mobile, but it's not available yet.

Microsoft's Lumia sales are starting to take a hit as a result. Microsoft sold only 5.8 million Lumia Windows Phones last quarter, compared with the 9.3 million sold in the same period last year. That's a nearly 40 percent decrease, and it's not the way Lumia sales should be heading. HTC, Samsung, and Sony don't care about Windows Phone, and Microsoft still ships more than 90 percent of all phones running the OS. Microsoft is now focusing on a "more effective phone portfolio" with "better products," which will probably result in a Surface Phone. That's fewer phones catering to the small percentage of people who still want to use a Windows Phone.

Windows Phone's dead app problem also persists. Instagram was released nearly two years ago, and it still doesn't have video support. There are many other apps, like Twitter, that barely get updated with the latest features. There are third-party alternatives for most apps, but it shouldn't take Facebook two years to get video in Instagram for Windows Phone. "Facebook is all in on Windows 10," according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, so hopefully Instagram on Windows Phone will get video support at some point in the next two years.

Zuckerberg's commitment to Windows 10 is part of Microsoft's hope that this operating system will finally turn things around for its phone platform. Windows 10 is a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users, and more than 110 million machines are already running the software. Microsoft is trying to create a halo effect so developers create universal apps that run across PCs, phones, tablets, and even the Xbox One. That's been the big promise of Windows 10, but we haven't really seen it in action yet.

Microsoft is also opening up Windows 10 to allow Android and iOS developers to easily port their code into universal apps. We heard a lot about this back at Microsoft's Build developer conference in April, but there haven't been any big app announcements yet. It could certainly help the app gap, but with Android and iOS dominating, it certainly feels a little too late to make a significant difference.

It's easy to blame the lack of apps on developers, but they've been saddled with a platform that is constantly rebooting. Windows Phone 7 launched as a Windows Mobile reboot back in October 2010. Windows Phone 8 then launched two years later in October 2012 and existing handsets couldn't upgrade, and apps needed to be heavily updated. Windows Phone 8.1 arrived last year, finally bringing many features lacking from Microsoft's platform. Now, Microsoft is on the verge of rebooting once again with Windows 10 Mobile.

Windows Phone has been rebooted enough

With constant Windows Phone change, the only thing that has remained persistent is a lack of apps. Windows 10 Mobile is rumored to arrive to existing handsets in December, but Microsoft still hasn't officially revealed a launch date. A lot is changing in the new OS, with different built-in apps, a new design and navigation, and Microsoft's expectation that developers will create universal apps. It's unlikely to make any difference to the fate of Windows Phone overall. It's another reset, and Microsoft can't keep hitting the reboot button forever.


Windows Phone has a new app problem
"




I ended up going with the Xperia L after doing some research & seeing some of the apps I regularly use on a back-up phone are no longer being supported on Windows Phone.

I still might buy a used Lumia 635 on eBay just to mess with it.

 

[newarkhiphop]

IMO the biggest let is MS beef with google , which means no native google apps on windows phone , real damn shame

 

[dappadonna]

breys why ain't my songs showing up in 'music player'

 

[Golayitdown]

we here now

So I've had the Lumia 640 now for about 48 hours, have actively used it for about 18 hours , and i have used both windows 8.1 and 10 on it , here are my thoughts on the Windows phone OS and the phone

- Windows phone OS feel very "light weight" , i have had absolutely NO system lag anywhere no matter how many apps i have open , all opens open and close smoothly and just work, i love the live tiles very intuitive, my phone is a mid spec phone IMO so i can just imagine how it would run a high end phone

- Battery life is amazing, have charged the phone for like 6 hours in the past two days and am sitting at 35% as we speak

- At the same time you can tell it is a very young OS still needs a bit of polishing here and there (speaking of 8.1) a good amount of those polishes are taken care of in windows phone 10 but as you can see by some of my previous post windows 10 is not perfect yet ( which doesn't bother me since it has not been officially released yet)

- the elephant in the room is the apps, no support for google apps (youtube , gmail, music etc) is a big bummer, i think if they get official support for those apps alone it would give there store a big boost . besides that there are some good apps in the app store , a lot of them have bad reviews though but its not there fault, here is a example ; the Uber app, i downloaded and it works fine but it has a lot bad review, the reviews are ppl complaining about there Uber drivers being late etc -_- . All other apps ive used work fine so far But still there app store needs a lot work not just with content but the store itself

- the lumia 640 itself is a great phone , although it does feel very light in the hand it doesn't feel as cheap as the the galaxy series of phones but doesn't feel as premium as the iphone , has surprisingly good speakers, call quality is great, i cant comment on the camera yet because all ive taken is a bunch of B.S photos here and there

Some final thoughts :

I like Windows OS feel refreshing come from android but at the same time as i used my phone i thought about how MS did us Zune users and i really hope they don't do that with the windows phone, they have a good product on there hands here , again this a very early reviews , Ill do another one a few months out

FYI am using cricket wireless with my phone

yea i know but i went from paying $85 a month twith Verizon to paying $45 a month and it will drop to $35 next month (unlimited talk,text with 5 gigs data)

You echoed many of my thoughts about the WP I had when I had one about 2 years ago. The phone parts (battery, fluid operation, etc) are near the top of the class, but the extras aren't always on point. The app thing was a non-starter for me because it was MUCH worse two years ago. I hope they come around and knock it out of the park to gain some market share.

I'm also a Zune owner and just when I think of the potential. The sound quality on it is better than all of the devices I've had since then.

 

[newarkhiphop]

ok brehs i cant be the only one havin trouble browsing the coli on WP8, no matter what browser i use when i ever i click any where on the forum page i immediately get sent to the bottom of the page, cant even click on a sub-forum, what browser yalll on????

 

[satam55]

im on the 635 and i still dont have windows 10

Windows 10 Mobile doesn't come out till December.

 

[newarkhiphop]

You echoed many of my thoughts about the WP I had when I had one about 2 years ago. The phone parts (battery, fluid operation, etc) are near the top of the class, but the extras aren't always on point. The app thing was a non-starter for me because it was MUCH worse two years ago. I hope they come around and knock it out of the park to gain some market share.

I'm also a Zune owner and just when I think of the potential. The sound quality on it is better than all of the devices I've had since then.

shyt is to me , MS aint broke so i know they have the money and what i mean by that is something else am recently discovering is that not only is there a lack of PROPER apps (fyi am nowhere near a app fiend) but the few apps that there are are just BAD (good exampe is netflix & hulu apps) which again is super disappointing because the OS itself is EXCELLENT so its like your driving a Ferrari with the interior of scion

man i loved my zune still mad to this day it got stolen by some punk ass HS kids

 

[satam55]

You echoed many of my thoughts about the WP I had when I had one about 2 years ago. The phone parts (battery, fluid operation, etc) are near the top of the class, but the extras aren't always on point. The app thing was a non-starter for me because it was MUCH worse two years ago. I hope they come around and knock it out of the park to gain some market share.

I'm also a Zune owner and just when I think of the potential. The sound quality on it is better than all of the devices I've had since then.

shyt is to me , MS aint broke so i know they have the money and what i mean by that is something else am recently discovering is that not only is there a lack of PROPER apps (fyi am nowhere near a app fiend) but the few apps that there are are just BAD (good exampe is netflix & hulu apps) which again is super disappointing because the OS itself is EXCELLENT so its like your driving a Ferrari with the interior of scion

man i loved my zune still mad to this day it got stolen by some punk ass HS kids

This is why I can't help but at the Microsoft stans on this forum who defend the lack of apps on Windows Phone by trying to act like apps don't matter or they don't need apps.

They might as well just get a feature phone instead of smartphone.

 

[newarkhiphop]

This is why I can't help but at the Microsoft stans on this forum who defend the lack of apps on Windows Phone by trying to act like apps don't matter or they don't need apps.

They might as well just get a feature phone instead of smartphone.

IT isn't a lacks of apps it's the quality of the current apps and no not a comparison to a feature phone

 

[Liquid]

This is why I can't help but at the Microsoft stans on this forum who defend the lack of apps on Windows Phone by trying to act like apps don't matter or they don't need apps.

They might as well just get a feature phone instead of smartphone.

Not everyone is app obsessed.

 

[Dat Migo]

Those first party apps are outsourced and are rarely updated which is why they're not as great as they're iOS and Android counterparts.
Midwest just upgrade to 10 and use Edge. The latest builds have been really stable.

 

[Golayitdown]

shyt is to me , MS aint broke so i know they have the money and what i mean by that is something else am recently discovering is that not only is there a lack of PROPER apps (fyi am nowhere near a app fiend) but the few apps that there are are just BAD (good exampe is netflix & hulu apps) which again is super disappointing because the OS itself is EXCELLENT so its like your driving a Ferrari with the interior of scion

man i loved my zune still mad to this day it got stolen by some punk ass HS kids

That was my main complaint. I wasn't using anything fancy, but even the official version of apps (at the time) were half baked, half featured or just half-assed compared to their Android/IOS counterparts. Most apps that could be used in the browser worked better, but weren't as streamlined as a dedicated app.