Goodbye BlackBerry, hello Windows Phone 8

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

So, I finally did it. And I'm very happy with the upgrade. :D

I went from this (BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300):

To this (HTC 8S):

I'm a huge fan of Android and BlackBerry. I told myself my next phone would either be a BB10 device or an Android one. I knew about Windows Phone even before the launch of WP7 but it wasn't until recently that I took it seriously. And the more I researched it (WP8), the more I liked it. It's not perfect but it offers enough to fit my needs. If you're on the fence about WP8, then you should definitely go into a store and play around with it. It really is an awesome mobile OS (and perhaps even the most elegant-looking one too).

Now, the only issue I have so far with WP8 is the way it handles contacts. I added my Microsoft ID and it synced all my Outlook contacts. The vast majority of them are people that I've added years ago, most of whom I haven't spoken to since. A contact cleanup was long overdue but I'm not looking forward to deleting contacts one by one on my phone. Fortunately, I can check off a bunch of them on Outlook to delete them in a more efficient manner.

Aside from that small issue, I'm quite happy with the device. The internal storage is low (at 4 GB) and I'm fine with it. I have an 8 GB microSD card for pictures, music, and videos. I could have gone for a higher-end model like the HTC 8X or Nokia Lumia 920 but I figured I'd go cheap now to spend more later (e.g. next wave of WP devices). The reason I say that is because I desperately needed to upgrade from my BB Curve. The tiny screen, extremely low internal storage, and low RAM made for an unpleasant experience.

[Barney T. Administrators]

Nice, dude! Glad that you like it! (Y)

[LUTZIFER]

Big jump. Nice choice though.

[George P Global Moderator]

Nice, I like my 8X a lot but I saw a 8S in the shop and it also feels nice in the hand.

[Manish]

The 8S looks so nice. Anyways, enjoy.

[Stoffel]

As soon as I can convince myself I need a smartphone I'll be on the WP bandwagon.

I just can't justify having one right now. No need for it in the place I live :(

[Mockingbird]

"Now, the only issue I have so far with WP8 is the way it handles contacts. I added my Microsoft ID and it synced all my Outlook contacts. The vast majority of them are people that I've added years ago, most of whom I haven't spoken to since. A contact cleanup was long overdue but I'm not looking forward to deleting contacts one by one on my phone. Fortunately, I can check off a bunch of them on Outlook to delete them in a more efficient manner."

settings > people > filter my contact list

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Nice, dude! Glad that you like it! (Y)

Thanks Barney. :)

Big jump. Nice choice though.

A huge jump, haha. I'm so glad I upgraded. :)

Nice, I like my 8X a lot but I saw a 8S in the shop and it also feels nice in the hand.

I haven't tried the 8X yet. I'm curious to see how it compares to the 8S.

The 8S looks so nice. Anyways, enjoy.

Agreed! :D

As soon as I can convince myself I need a smartphone I'll be on the WP bandwagon.

I just can't justify having one right now. No need for it in the place I live :(

Which phone are you using right now? The older it is, the more reason you have to upgrade.

"Now, the only issue I have so far with WP8 is the way it handles contacts. I added my Microsoft ID and it synced all my Outlook contacts. The vast majority of them are people that I've added years ago, most of whom I haven't spoken to since. A contact cleanup was long overdue but I'm not looking forward to deleting contacts one by one on my phone. Fortunately, I can check off a bunch of them on Outlook to delete them in a more efficient manner."

settings > people > filter my contact list

That's the very first thing I tried and it didn't work. When I added new contact with the filter on, it gave me a message saying the contact will be hidden (but search-able). I read somewhere that you lose the ability to add plain phone contacts as soon as you tie a Microsoft ID to your device. I deleted the unnecessary contacts though. And now, I won't have to worry about adding those contacts again if I use a different WP8 device or my phone gets wiped.

[Growled Member]

Congratulations. I hope you really enjoy it.

[alphaomegainfinity]

Congratulations. Enjoy your Windows Phone :)

[123456789A]

Congratulations on your new Windows Phone. I haven't moved up to WP8 yet.. still waiting on MS to fix Xbox Music.

[BajiRav]

Congratulations, I am sure you will love it.

As I always tell new WP users, when in doubt just press and hold. :p

That's the very first thing I tried and it didn't work. When I added new contact with the filter on, it gave me a message saying the contact will be hidden (but search-able). I read somewhere that you lose the ability to add plain phone contacts as soon as you tie a Microsoft ID to your device. I deleted the unnecessary contacts though. And now, I won't have to worry about adding those contacts again if I use a different WP8 device or my phone gets wiped.

It is worth the efforts to have at least one online account with a proper contact list. I have been jumping through different work phones and just adding my MS account would do the trick.

[George P Global Moderator]

A number of nokias here apps are now up for all windows phone 8 devices as of today if you live in one of the announced markets. I wish I could get them as well but it seems like my country gets the short end of the stick yet again.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Congratulations, I am sure you will love it.

As I always tell new WP users, when in doubt just press and hold. :p

It is worth the efforts to have at least one online account with a proper contact list. I have been jumping through different work phones and just adding my MS account would do the trick.

Good advice and luckily for me, I learned it fairly quickly. At first I didn't like my cluttered contacts list from Outlook.com but after I cleaned it, I'm quite happy with how it works. I can edit a contact on Outlook.com and it would change on my phone.

A number of nokias here apps are now up for all windows phone 8 devices as of today if you live in one of the announced markets. I wish I could get them as well but it seems like my country gets the short end of the stick yet again.

Yep! I read the article about Nokia's HERE apps on the front page. At first, I didn't think it was Nokia's exclusive WP8 apps rebranded. And once I realized it, I smiled and nodded. Their apps are top-notch. I have the HERE Maps, Drive, and Transit apps installed. I was curious about the HERE City Lens app but I couldn't find it. I'm guessing it's still a Nokia exclusive.

Unfortunately, those apps aren't compatible with WP7/7.5/7.8. I really hope Nokia releases a compatible version of these app. They're great and it would be a good way to show that WP7 (or at least WP7.8) isn't completely dead.

[Crisp]

Welcome to the dark side :alien:

[+Elі Subscriber²]

I'm sure you will love your phone, been using WP for over 2 years and loving it, it will only get better.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I'm sure you will love your phone, been using WP for over 2 years and loving it, it will only get better.

Thanks! I love everything about it except for the battery life. I'm trying a couple of things to improve it but so far, I've had very little success in making it last more than 12 hours on a single charge. How many hours/days do you get out of your HTC 8X?

[+Elі Subscriber²]

Hey Anaron, yeah battery life is the one thing negative for me too, I haven't been able to really find out how long it stays on one charge, I have a charger at work and keep charging it a lot, but with heavy usage (Lots of web browsing and perhaps some video watching) I don't believe the battery lasts too long, perhaps 6 hours or so, with regular usage I noticed it says for a long time though.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Hey Anaron, yeah battery life is the one thing negative for me too, I haven't been able to really find out how long it stays on one charge, I have a charger at work and keep charging it a lot, but with heavy usage (Lots of web browsing and perhaps some video watching) I don't believe the battery lasts too long, perhaps 6 hours or so, with regular usage I noticed it says for a long time though.

I see. Thanks for the info. I'm going to play around with the settings for a couple of more days. My last resort will be to swap my HTC 8S for a new one just in case there's an issue with my battery.

Anyway, you should disable the locations feature (GPS) and NFC (tap+send). Both of those features eat away at your phone's battery life.

[vcfan]

i have an ativ s,and i get about 3 days usage(no gaming). phone calls,browsing,texting,email. i have about 5 email accounts setup. pulled the phone off the charge this morning, its 1am and im at %70. i should mention i keep it on HSPA+ instead of LTE,as i get worse battery with LTE.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

i have an ativ s,and i get about 3 days usage(no gaming). phone calls,browsing,texting,email. i have about 5 email accounts setup. pulled the phone off the charge this morning, its 1am and im at %70. i should mention i keep it on HSPA+ instead of LTE,as i get worse battery with LTE.

I keep my phone on HSPA+ but I haven't tried using just Wi-Fi only at home. On my BlackBerry, it greatly improved the battery life. Have you tried that?

[BajiRav]

Ever since my iPhone days(3G, 2008), I am used to charging my phone every night. I could get 24-48 hrs charge if I turned off some things but then I started thinking what's the point of having a good phone if I turn off everything it's good at!

I am not saying you should do that but give it a thought.

[spacer]

So you went from an old Blackberry to a new Windows phone. Any particular reason why you didn't want to wait for the new Blackberries?

[vcfan]

I keep my phone on HSPA+ but I haven't tried using just Wi-Fi only at home. On my BlackBerry, it greatly improved the battery life. Have you tried that?

when I first got this phone,i didn't switch my sim to it yet,so I used it only on wifi exclusively for about a week.it lasted much much longer than when the radio is turned on,therefore I think on wifi it should give you better battery than HSPA+.nowadays,wifi chipsets are pretty mature and are good with battery.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

So you went from an old Blackberry to a new Windows phone. Any particular reason why you didn't want to wait for the new Blackberries?

I just wanted something that's cheap but good. I really like BlackBerry and I'm definitely interested in BB10. I was very close to just waiting for the Q10 but I desperately wanted to have something better than my Curve. I'm happy with WP8 at the moment so I don't exactly want another phone; however, I am keeping an eye on what's being released. If something catches my eye in terms of design and price, then I'll consider buying it.

when I first got this phone,i didn't switch my sim to it yet,so I used it only on wifi exclusively for about a week.it lasted much much longer than when the radio is turned on,therefore I think on wifi it should give you better battery than HSPA+.nowadays,wifi chipsets are pretty mature and are good with battery.

Awesome. I'll definitely keep mine on WiFi at home. (Y)