Smartphone advice, WP8 vs Android

[Mainer82]

I have had an iPhone 4 that I used as a "touch". I don't use a lot of apps, I mostly use it to check my email and Facebook along with light web browsing. I normally use my desktop or laptop when I want to do anything other than checking the news quickly in Feedly or whatever news app.

I made a chart of the apps that I have used on the iPhone and checked to see if they are on Android and WP. There were a few that were not (ones that weren't that important to me) but the important ones were:

• Skydrive
  
• Facebook
  
• IMDb
  
• Evernote
  
• Weather Channel
  
• eBay
  
• Zenfolio
  
• Paypal
  
• CNN/Fox News
  
• Feedly (WP8 coming soon)
  
• Youtube
  
• Xmarks & Lastpass
  
• Angry Birds, Cut The rope, Fruit Ninja, Words with friends, Countre Jor (I'm not a HUGE mobile gamer)
  
• PosingApp (Really handy for portrait photographers)
  
• WebMD
  
• Shazaam
  

I know that the Market Place is just starting out and has had a slow start but it seems as though they have all of the ones important to me. I've never owned a Smartphone either, the only reason I'm getting one is when I'm on the road, there have been times where I needed to look something up. It can't and won't replace my home internet connection and desktop/laptop devices. One app that would be really nice to have is the BabyCenter.com app on WP8. I put in a request for it.

What are your opinions and experiences with the two OSes? I think that I need to spend some more time expirementing with web browsing on WP8 as well.

[articuno1au]

Personally I find WP8 amazing.

I have droid on my tablet, and I really like it also. The big trade off is you lose pretty much all customisation with WP8. You can change colours and the size/placing of tiles, you can have a lot of good info on your lock screen, but beyond that, not much.

I find the voice controls on WP8 in my care MUCH better than Android, I can reply/read/call et all with ease. The dictation tools are better on Android imo.

App support (in all) is better on Android. WP8's app support is coming along. What apps are on WP8 are generally very well designed, but it depends on whether the developer is serious or not.

WP8 supports Hotmail brilliantly, but less so for Gmail given their recent removal of EAS. Android supports Hotmail well also, but depending on versions, support for Gmail is mixed.

Hmmm... Yeah :o

I like WP8 >.<

[Mainer82]

My wife and I use Hotmail and its calendering feature a lot which is why I'm leaning towards WP8 but I wish I had the option to test it out for awhile, similar to the way I did with the iPhone-Touch. How well does WP8 handle that?

[articuno1au]

Calendering is amazing.

I use Outlook + Outlook (the Hotmail replacement because it supports EAS). It syncs my calendar, contacts and email seamlessly. It even syncs todo lists generated in Onenote onto my phone and integrates it into the calendar.

There's a room feature where in you can kind of join both of your accounts/info together and share whatever you want in one place. I don't use it (I'm something of a solo guy :p) but it seems brilliant :)

The only complaint I have about the functionality, is the todo lists sync, but don't show up on the live tile >.< That's the only small niggle I have with it :)

Android does the Calendar/Contacts/Email well, but am unsure of todo lists and shared calendars >.<

[techbeck]

My wife and I use Hotmail and its calendering feature a lot which is why I'm leaning towards WP8 but I wish I had the option to test it out for awhile, similar to the way I did with the iPhone-Touch. How well does WP8 handle that?

What provider do you use? I know Verizon will allow you to return the phone within 14 days for a full refund. Can always try that approach.

[articuno1au]

You can have a bit of a play with this: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/cmpn/demo-link

There are other ways you can trial it too >.<

[Mainer82]

We're with US Cellular right now, but am planning on switching over to Verizon once the Lumia 928 comes out if we decide to go to WP8.

[techbeck]

We're with US Cellular right now, but am planning on switching over to Verizon once the Lumia 928 comes out if we decide to go to WP8.

Off topic, but didnt Sprint buy out US Cellular?

Anyway, when you switch to Version you can demo the phone for 14 days. So I would recommend going that route. You pic an android, your wife WP. Then both use it for a while and then decide which platform to keep.

[articuno1au]

It's seriously worth trying the demo online. You have to do some walk through BS for a little bit, but then you get to play with the phone :)

[tsupersonic]

WP8 is nice, but it's definitely not as feature/app rich as Android. But, since you've never owned a 'smartphone' and your needs are not really anything for a powerful device, then you're probably fine with WP8.

[SadJoker]

If you're close to a Best Buy or other tech store, why not go in and play around with both for awhile? Personally, I prefer Android for its extensive customization options and Google app integration.

[articuno1au]

I'm a power user, so I find I really miss the technical info and customisation on Android.

You can see to the second power reports on Android, I can see battery level on WP8 :p

Also, custom roms on Android. If you're really willing to put the time in and customise your phone extensively, Android is perfect. Most people don't though >.<

[firey]

Personally, I'd go with Android. I haven't used WP enough to say that it is or isn't better, however I do have experience with Android and I know that you will be able to find everything you want on Android. If there isn't an official google app for what you want there will be 30+ other ones that will do perfectly.

[BajiRav]

I have used Android up to 4.0 (work phone) and WP7.8/WP8 - I would honestly recommend going for WP8 especially because you are a Hotmail user. The experience on WP8 is first class - you sign in once and everything flows in including Skydrive/Office/OneNote/Photos.

There are obviously lower number of apps but I think almost everything in your list checks out. You can browse windowsphone.com for available games + apps.

Android's user experience is still not on par with WP8/iOS IMO.

My wife and I use Hotmail and its calendering feature a lot which is why I'm leaning towards WP8 but I wish I had the option to test it out for awhile, similar to the way I did with the iPhone-Touch. How well does WP8 handle that?

Have you tried Windows 8 with your hotmail account? Windows Phone works in exactly same fashion but the experience is miles better. The mail/calendar/contacts are much more refined and polished on WP compared to W8.

[articuno1au]

That's a good point, W8's EAS support is identical to WP8. It feels and works the same >.<

[migo]

Are you in the US? The primary reason I chose to abandon MS' platform is because their support in Canada is pretty terrible - crippled services and severely reduced app selection. Android has other issues - mainly with fragmentation seriously reducing the number of games you can get on any given device, but useful apps and services are just as well represented in Canada as the US. If you're not in the US, I'd say Android for sure, get a Nexus 4 unless there's a specific reason it's not suitable for you. If you're in the US, you'll have to start weighing whatever else is important to you.

[Duffydemon]

Only reason i am still keeping my Xperia SL is because of apps, thats it. That thing lags as hell even with dual core processor and 1 GB ram, its like running vista on Pentium 3 system. my mom's Lumia 510 runs much faster and smoother than my Xperia. Will only recommend Android if you are app freak, which you get bored of really quickly. For smoothness and lagfree experience, WP8 is best choice.

[vcfan]

Are you in the US? The primary reason I chose to abandon MS' platform is because their support in Canada is pretty terrible - crippled services and severely reduced app selection. Android has other issues - mainly with fragmentation seriously reducing the number of games you can get on any given device, but useful apps and services are just as well represented in Canada as the US. If you're not in the US, I'd say Android for sure, get a Nexus 4 unless there's a specific reason it's not suitable for you. If you're in the US, you'll have to start weighing whatever else is important to you.

lots of misinformation there. you can change the region to whatever you like in WP, from Canada,to U.S,to china, whatever,and you'll get that regions app selection. it doesn't matter where you actually reside. And what services are crippled exactly?

[Matthew_Thepc]

All I can say is that if you do decide to go with Windows Phone, I can't recommend the Lumia 920. I loved my 900, but after upgrading to the 920 it's been hardware problem after hardware problem (well, maybe that's an exaggerated, but I've had to take my phone apart multiple times to fix everything from a cracked screen (yes, that was my fault :p) to a proximity device that had dust sneak in where Nokia somehow forgot to put a stopper between the device and the outside world). If you get one of the "good batches," that doesn't really have any problems, then it is a great phone, but I just can't recommend taking the risk (especially with the 8X being pretty good and the new Lumias being announced on just a few weeks - I'm currently looking at the EOS for my next phone).

as for web browsing on WP8, it's fine, but of course there's always to Webkit prefix problem (I've not really encountered any big problems, but if there's a site "designed for iPhone," chances are it won't work without some tweaking). You can always display it in "desktop view," though, and get basically a desktop IE9 rendering of the site).

It's been said a lot, but it's definitely true that it really depends what kind of device you like. Do you want a really customizable device where you can modify everything, install your own everything, etc. until it's nearly perfect, or are you OK with just a good range of hardware choices, but with an OS that's consistently "nice" and a consistency in app design and hardware/software support? Also, of course, take into account the fact that Microsoft might pull another WP7.8 deal, so getting a well-supported Android (thinking of the S4 here) device might be a better buy looking ahead.

[ßéár]

I have a 920 (WP8), And I love it but there are a few apps I do miss, (mainly the law books I bought on iOS for like 20 bucks ~_~, and there not on the Win Market Place) But the intergration into hotmail is amazing, really enjoy the how fast the os is, I had an iPhone 4 before (Thing lasted for 2 years of HARD use, and cracked about a week before the 920 came out) and it got really slow at the end. I'd say if you have much invested in the apple apps store stay with ios, but wait a few months as the new ones going to be coming out in the next 5 months, if not play with WP8, and try Android I personaly haven't used it, but the S4 is coming out soon, and I've heard good things about it...

[migo]

lots of misinformation there. you can change the region to whatever you like in WP, from Canada,to U.S,to china, whatever,and you'll get that regions app selection. it doesn't matter where you actually reside. And what services are crippled exactly?

If you change the region that's even worse, as you then lose access to local services. It's not a solution for anything. The entirety of Bing is crippled in Canada. Some of it they've fixed, but most of it is still just not available.

[vcfan]

If you change the region that's even worse, as you then lose access to local services. It's not a solution for anything.

what are you talking about. the phone uses your location for local services,not what region you have your phone set. My region is set to U.S,and if I go to bing,and do a local search for Chinese food for example,it shows me all these places close to my location. If I go to movies,it shows me play times in the theatres near me. bing local scout doesn't work,but that has nothing to do with setting your region,it just isn't supported in Canada period. All apps that serve location based results work properly.

The entirety of Bing is crippled in Canada. Some of it they've fixed, but most of it is still just not available.

Another false statement. Bing search,local,image,music,vision searches,voice and maps are all supported in Canada.

[migo]

Being available doesn't mean it's not crippled.

If you change the locale, you don't get access to Canadian local apps.

[Dashel]

WP is right up your alley.

[vcfan]

Being available doesn't mean it's not crippled.

stop making vague statements. what is crippled?

If you change the locale, you don't get access to Canadian local apps.

Jeez man,you were complaining that you cant get U.S apps,i suggested you can change the region to U.S and download them,and now you're complaining that you cant get canadian apps if you do that? you can freely switch the region and download whatever the hell you want to download from whatever region you want.