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I've always rooted for WP, and the platform has so much potential but it's just missing way too many features that Android and iOS provide. I express a general frustration at the state of WP.

 

Like what exactly? Name those features.

We know we're waiting on MS to fix the Lumia lineup, the HTC is a flagship so don't get that one, other than the three available aren't his preference.  (Ignoring that the iPhone6 is similar to the two year old 925) 

 

Beyond more choices in a high end device, I fail to see what is new or novel about his opinion here.  Apps that tell you the weather will change the world, or something...and he feels left out.  And yet he doesn't like it that iOS/Android are actually getting some of the best apps available - from MS, that we've enjoyed for awhile now?

I could care less about games. I just wish for Instagram and Twitter to update their apps every once in a while. Microsoft just needs a swift kick in the rear, and start showing the love it has for iOS and Android. Microsoft needs to stop ignoring the high end smartphone market. It's time for a new flagship. Windows Phone currently has none.

 

However, if Microsoft plays Windows 10 just right, I think they can finally make some headway, especially in the business sector. They NEED to kill off carrier based updates for starters.

We know we're waiting on MS to fix the Lumia lineup, the HTC is a flagship so don't get that one, other than the three available aren't his preference.  (Ignoring that the iPhone6 is similar to the two year old 925) 

 

I thought that I was the only one that thought that :). My 925 runs as smooth as the day I purchased.

We know we're waiting on MS to fix the Lumia lineup, the HTC is a flagship so don't get that one, other than the three available aren't his preference.  (Ignoring that the iPhone6 is similar to the two year old 925) 

 

 

Nothing is wrong with my 1020.

However, if Microsoft plays Windows 10 just right, I think they can finally make some headway, especially in the business sector. They NEED to kill off carrier based updates for starters.

 

They need to make the phone an everyday computing device, and not an embedded situational-useful device. They did it with the tablet, and there is no reason not to do it with the phone as well.

Main thing that has me stuck on android is wifi analytics apps like farproc and inssider. Network management apps like meraki and PRTG, As well as a powerful media player like poweramp.

 

If windows phone had those I would switch.

Main thing that has me stuck on android is wifi analytics apps like farproc and inssider. Network management apps like meraki and PRTG, As well as a powerful media player like poweramp.

 

If windows phone had those I would switch.

 

We should build some universal apps for Windows.

WP8/8.1 is the most boring and tedious OS ever created. Just the thought of using one such phone makes me cringe. 

Would you like a prize for that, or...?

  • Like 2

Not his own decision I say, it was probably a work mandate that he must use Apple products. :p

His article makes good points except for the piece about the weather app. Seriously... weather alert? :laugh:

I find that the WP UI sucks.  Half of the UI looks like it was made for blind people, then the other half is disproportionate. 

 

I really wanted WP to succeed, cause Android is laggy/slow, and iOS is limited.  Blackberry is kind of in app hell like WP, so I'm stuck dealing with powerful hardware that lags really badly with my Note 4.

I find that the WP UI sucks.  Half of the UI looks like it was made for blind people, then the other half is disproportionate. 

 

I really wanted WP to succeed, cause Android is laggy/slow, and iOS is limited.  Blackberry is kind of in app hell like WP, so I'm stuck dealing with powerful hardware that lags really badly with my Note 4.

 

I agree WP UI is terrible, but for your note 4 that's likely to just be the Samsung touchwiz UI which is always laggy.

Microsoft needs to step up their game with app promotions and push. Maybe a promotion like "100 new/update apps in 10 days" (Happy APPydays!). They could make a video a day and promote great apps in their ads.

Would you like a prize for that, or...?

Prize for using that POS?? Haha you can keep it.

By the way, Carriers or app developers don't care because the OS UI from 2010 is genuinely not cool enough to get most people hooked like Android or iOS.

Microsoft needs to come up with something better for 2015. Nuke the whole UI and bring in some eye pleasing gradients. Right now, WP8.1 is so flat that it falls right on its face.

I feel that MS get bored with products. They put so much into WP7 and a lot of us jumped on board for the ride with beautiful Nokia hardware. Since then they have slowed down, no effort to have new powerful phones ready at upgrade time and lack of modern app support means I can't recommend or use this lovely OS. I'm sure they will put lots of effort into Win10 but a change in name doesn't mean a change in the company behind it. I really hope the cross platform will mean the OS release is able to compete, mostly for us users because if it isn't then MS will probably get bored again and forget us.

another reason hipsters shoudn't code. they get bored with stuff easy and succumb to fads and crap... look at google and what they are pulling now. they change stuff with youtube every hour, they add/remove features constantly, and they think in the worst ways with android lately. getting rid of battery stats and you now gotta root to have that because some yuppies are embarrased at having 18% or lower battery.... crap like that. the material design looks hideous and screams yuppie with all these garish colors and a UI that is fit for a toddler.

 

hipsters with normcore=skeomorphism returning. gross, garish, and needs to die.

 

metro make more sense, friendly, to the point, and not pretentious.

  • Like 2

i liked a lot of theverge stuff, but i also though a lot of the articles are pretty heavily biased one way or another.   much less neutral then here.

so i guess they are hating on Windows Phone because they like Apple? and that is why you did not read?

 

i mean, i would still read the article on topic that interest me. this article seen to have a point.

 

 

or are you just not comfortable with the fact Win Phone is not what it should have being?

Good reasoning, if some one does not blindly praise failed product then they are biased. 

  • Like 2

Here are the main problems with Windows Phone in my opinion:

1. The Metro Tile UI is ugly and pigeonholes users into a specific workflow.

2. Lack of customisation. Coming from Android, the OS seems very rigid and bereft of options.

3. Built-in apps are poor quality compared to iOS and Android.

4. No side-loading, file system access, or debug bridge.

5. Paucity of quality official apps. And even the ones that are present are often left to rot (zombie apps) or have limited functionality. Local/country based apps are practically non-existent.

6. Where's the diversity of mid-high range models? Although Microsoft has flooded the low-end market by selling its Lumia line at a loss, flagship devices are conspicuously absent. The only choices are Microsoft's Lumia 1520 or HTC's recycled-Android-hardware like the M8 (No doubt the result of significant financial incentives from Redmond).

7. Slow and unexciting upgrades. There's always something cool and innovative coming from the Android and iOS camps. Conversely, WP updates seem underwhelming.

The platform has improved, that's indisputable, but it's nowhere near good enough for people familiar with the advantages of Android and iOS.

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    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
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