Windows Phone 8...Better than Expected

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In my quest to experience all the major smartphone platforms (don't kid yourself, only 3 exist), it was time for me to try Windows Phone 8.  Having grown tired of the cheap plastic construction and "meh" camera of the Galaxy Note 2, I looked eagerly at the new Nokia Lumia 1520. Here was the behemoth I had been looking for; full 1080p screen resolution, 6 inch display and 20 mega-pixel camera.

The problem, Windows Phone 8, or so I thought.

www.windowsegis.com 

I wanted to believe the transition from Google to Microsoft could be fairly painless, and my faith was rewarded. All the important apps have Windows Phone counterparts:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
SnapChat (6Snap)
Nokia Maps (for Google Maps)
Vine
Foursquare
Amazon
eBay
Flixster
Google Search
LinkedIn
Internet Explorer (for Google Chrome)
MetroTube and/or MyTube (both very very good YouTube replacements)
NetFlix
PayPal
Skype
Weather Channel
MLB At Bat 2013 (the most important, of course)

What is missing?

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There are some features of Android and Samsung's Touchwiz interface that I do miss. Firstly, a notifications center. Live Tiles on Windows Phone are supposed to give you updates throughout the day for specific apps, but there is no way to consolidate them all together. I have found myself skipping over the ticker in a Live Tile telling me I have 2 Facebook notifications.

Secondly, I miss Multi-Window from my Galaxy Note 2. Having YouTube and Facebook open at the same time was an added convenience, that while unnecessary, can easily be incorporated in Windows Phone software. You can already do this with Xbox One!

And in there lies a bigger issue with Microsoft trying to get its foot in the sandbox with Apple and Google. Cross platform support. Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 need to be unified in a similar way as OS Mavericks and iOS or Google Chrome and Android.  Reportedly, Microsoft knows this and plans to unify their desktop, tablet and smartphone platforms in 2014.

And there are, of course, some apps you cannot find for Windows Phone, such as banking apps, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, some airline apps, Candy Crush, and many Google apps. Most of these are minor apps. However, Microsoft will rarely have the newest and most popular apps until a few months down the road. For now, this is the biggest curse of Windows Phone.  Until the platform gets more popular (currently about 3% of the world market share), patience will be a virtue.

On a happier note...

With the exception of YouTube, I am pleased with the mobile web browsing experience for websites which do not have native Windows Phone apps. The best example I can give would be the Discover Card mobile website. Through Internet Explorer, I can easily manage my account just as I would with the Discover Card app on Android or iPhone. This may not be true in all cases, but worth giving a try before you shoot down Windows Phone for not having a specific application.

So what do I gain and what do I sacrifice?

I gain the second best camera on a smartphone (the Lumia 1020 being the best), a large full HD screen on a slim body and a customized, yet simplistic, interface running on the most powerful processor available.

I sacrifice the robust feature set of other platforms and their massive selection of applications.

For now, I believe this is an even exchange, but I am not completely convinced. I can easily see myself transitioning back to Android in 6 months to a year, but never back to Apple (unless they get smart and offer a larger screen iPhone).