Nice to hear your thoughts. What colour was the handset you looked at? I still love my blue Lumia, despite how great the new white one looks.
I feel the opposite way as far as iOS goes - it feels cluttered to me due to the heavy use of gradients and its big, sometimes oddly-shaped, buttons everywhere.
Nice to hear your thoughts. What colour was the handset you looked at? I still love my blue Lumia, despite how great the new white one looks.
I feel the opposite way as far as iOS goes - it feels cluttered to me due to the heavy use of gradients and its big, sometimes oddly-shaped, buttons everywhere.
iOS feels so much more cluttered to me. I have, I think, 10 tiles on my home screen for my Win phone. I had 5 or 6 pages of apps on my iPhone. Going back to the iOS interface to load something for my daughter made me feel like I was using a cluttered child's toy. It felt like a box of fisher price toys spilled all over a room.
With WinPhone7 all of my things are neatly organized. People are in people (across all the services I use), email is in email (with all the pluses my exchange server offers), all my pictures (from all my services) are in pictures. It's much more streamlined from an application agnostic perspective.
Just personal preference, really. I find the different sized/shaped tiles sort of tough to quickly process. It's just to do with how my brain organizes visual information. I seem to do better with an evenly spaced grid of equally sized icons. Or a straight up list. I use folders pretty liberally in iOS, so I'm only using two home screens (well, more like one and one eighth in total), and I can find all my essentials really quickly. That and I don't leave apps I don't use on the phone. That said, I'd like to see iOS use more in the way of gestures in place of some of those big buttons.
It was just a regular black one, though they had a blue dummy phone there as well. I've seen few photos of the white one here and there... damn classy. I really like the design. It feels so comfortable in the hand. The screen size, the curvature of the edges (and screen), and the Windows Phone interface itself seem to combine to make it amazing for one handed use. That has always bugged me about Android phones, especially the ones with bigger screens. The interface always requires me to use two hands because things are out of my thumb's reach. Like my iPhone, the Lumia feels like I can navigate the entire interface with my thumb, only really getting the other hand involved to type. Everything on the phone feels very connected as well. Apps share information very seamlessly to a degree that iOS or Android can't match.
It's been a while since I asked, but has anyone discovered any treasures among the not-free (and also free) XBL games on WP7? I'm still fooling around with Solitaire, Angry Birds and Minesweeper (to show how far back I am), and most of the most popular ones in this thread have been word-puzzle related.
It's been a while since I asked, but has anyone discovered any treasures among the not-free (and also free) XBL games on WP7? I'm still fooling around with Solitaire, Angry Birds and Minesweeper (to show how far back I am), and most of the most popular ones in this thread have been word-puzzle related.
They released two new free XBox Live games: Breeze and Shuffle Party. Flowerz is an old game that is free and is a flower based puzzle game.
Breeze: You control a flower by tapping (or tilting is a control option) through a maze, avoiding obstacles and collecting sun bits.
Shuffle Party: You can play shuffle board with friends, or shuffle bowling, or do challenges where you try to get the puck through obstacles and stop within point zones.
Flowerz: You place Flowers in a grid trying to match up 3 in a row.
Shuffle Party is pretty fun. Breeze is relaxing and enjoyable too.
There's a freemium called Bug Village that is terrible. Crashes a lot, slow, annoying, all of your normal freemium trappings. But I played it through just to get all the achievements without spending a cent. :P I was so glad to delete it from my phone though.
I've been debating buying a few games, but I just haven't pulled the trigger yet.
Chicken's Can't Fly could be fun, I tried the demo and enjoyed it, but not sure what else it could offer outside of the demo. Only $3.
Fusion: Sentient is like a RTS game of sorts. Demo was interesting, but not entirely fun. $3
Burn the Rope in a neat little game where you tilt the phone to get the fire to burn up the rope. $3
Tentacles is supposed to be really good. Demo was enjoyable, but it's $5.
geoDefense I played on Android and it was great, but haven't played the WP7 version. $3
Enigmo is controlling water/lava droplets into containers, but you need to bounce and deflect them around obstacles and through gates. $3
Rise of Glory is a flight sim during WW1. Controls well enough in the demo. $3
Thanks ArcSyn. I'll go ahead and set those free ones to download--it's a chance to test if downloading through the Zune program on my PC actually sends downloads to my phone eventually. I'll look at those not-free Apps too.
Thanks ArcSyn. I'll go ahead and set those free ones to download--it's a chance to test if downloading through the Zune program on my PC actually sends downloads to my phone eventually. I'll look at those not-free Apps too.
You may have to drag it to the phone icon to set it to sync.
Thanks ArcSyn. I'll go ahead and set those free ones to download--it's a chance to test if downloading through the Zune program on my PC actually sends downloads to my phone eventually. I'll look at those not-free Apps too.
You may have to drag it to the phone icon to set it to sync.
Okay, finally got around to checking...I don't think you can just drag an app to the phone icon from the marketplace. So...how do you do it?
This thread prompted me to check out the WP7.5 OS. I'm pretty impressed. Will likely get a mid range phone to replace my iphone 3GS in the next year.
I also checked out the current version of Zune, since WP7.5 has Zune integration. I know it copped a lot of flack back in the day, but honestly as a software package I feel it shits all over iTunes from a great height. It's sleek and efficient, and the interface is not a complete eyesore.
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
edited March 2012
Windows Phone 8 is likely to be out before the end of the year and, from best estimates, represents as big of a jump from 7.5 as 7.5 was from 7.
I'd suggest weathering the storm until that beast hits because it's going to introduce a few new form factors.
Edit: Also, Zune is a pretty great service. I would say it's a shame it's getting rebranded, but I always thought the Zune name was kind of wonky.
I only use the Zune software for syncing, not for buying or playing, but it seems to do a decent enough job at it that I can't really complain. In fact, with the combination of media libraries and wireless sync, it ends up being pretty invisible really.
The great thing too is if you have an XBox 360, Zune works across your PC, phone, and 360 so I can access my Zune Pass for music, or watch TV shows I purchased on my PC through streaming, or sync it to my phone to watch on the go. It really is just a fantastic service.
I haven't had any trouble with playlists in Zune...but I don't use them that often. And I do like the fact that it works between my phone and my Xbox 360 which is where 98% of my music listening comes from--the remaining 2% being Last.fm probably.
Just discovered that there's a good Steam app in the marketplace - Steam Friends Pro. This is the paid-for version, which is notable because of its chat support, though a less-interesting free version exists too.
It's just a shame we can't get Steam chat integrated into the messaging hub... Maybe in the future?
That depends. Steam is big, but not Facebook big. I could see them treating it the same way the treat different email clients, but that would also require some information from Valve naturally.
Yeah, I was meaning more along the lines of them opening up the message hub to 3rd party apps, rather than giving Steam any special treatment. It's not something I expect to happen, but it'd be nice if it did.
Windows Phone 8 is likely to be out before the end of the year and, from best estimates, represents as big of a jump from 7.5 as 7.5 was from 7.
I'd suggest weathering the storm until that beast hits because it's going to introduce a few new form factors.
Do we know how much of the WP8 goodness will be able to be pushed to the newer 7.5 phones? I'm really looking at jumping on the Nokia Lumia 900 now that it's almost out, but I really haven't heard much at all about WP8 plans.
The real thing I'm left wondering is what handset options we'll have for WP8.
T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint all had handsets with keyboards when WP7 first hit. I'm not expecting the same, being a pessimist, but if they are out there, I might make the jump from WP7.
Windows Phone 8 is likely to be out before the end of the year and, from best estimates, represents as big of a jump from 7.5 as 7.5 was from 7.
I'd suggest weathering the storm until that beast hits because it's going to introduce a few new form factors.
Do we know how much of the WP8 goodness will be able to be pushed to the newer 7.5 phones? I'm really looking at jumping on the Nokia Lumia 900 now that it's almost out, but I really haven't heard much at all about WP8 plans.
Nothing's confirmed yet, sadly, but several rumors and leaks point to a full WP8 rollout, carrier-permitting. I'm inclined to believe it, since WP7's strict hardware requirements should make for an easy upgrade path, but it's worth waiting for official news if it's important to you.
Rowi is great if you're a Twitter user. SoundHound is nice for when Bing Music doesn't work (which isn't very often, at least for me). Grab the Insider app if you want to download the Bing wallpapers, too.
Amazon's mobile app (not the E-Book Reader, though it's okay too) is fantastic.
Accuweather.com may be the best weather app.
EDIT: Also, if you have an Xbox, Xbox Companion can be handy.
Synthesis on
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Apothe0sisHave you ever questioned the nature of your reality?Registered Userregular
WP7 has some annoyances.
If you drop your phone (as one inevitably does) and the battery falls out (as it inevitably does) - podcasts get all screwed up. It loses the podcast listened to flags, forgets where you're up to, loses half of your internet sessions/cookies.
I wonder if that data's stored in working memory rather than the flash memory or something? It's a weird way of doing things, but it'd explain why the phone forgets some stuff if it loses power without doing a proper shutdown.
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Apothe0sisHave you ever questioned the nature of your reality?Registered Userregular
Got my Lumia 900 today - really liking it so far, although it doesn't do much more than my Focus did feature wise (which I expected). Very easy transition, there is a Nokia App that moved over all of my SIM contacts via bluetooth and I used Reinstaller to get all my apps reinstalled.
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I feel the opposite way as far as iOS goes - it feels cluttered to me due to the heavy use of gradients and its big, sometimes oddly-shaped, buttons everywhere.
iOS feels so much more cluttered to me. I have, I think, 10 tiles on my home screen for my Win phone. I had 5 or 6 pages of apps on my iPhone. Going back to the iOS interface to load something for my daughter made me feel like I was using a cluttered child's toy. It felt like a box of fisher price toys spilled all over a room.
With WinPhone7 all of my things are neatly organized. People are in people (across all the services I use), email is in email (with all the pluses my exchange server offers), all my pictures (from all my services) are in pictures. It's much more streamlined from an application agnostic perspective.
It was just a regular black one, though they had a blue dummy phone there as well. I've seen few photos of the white one here and there... damn classy. I really like the design. It feels so comfortable in the hand. The screen size, the curvature of the edges (and screen), and the Windows Phone interface itself seem to combine to make it amazing for one handed use. That has always bugged me about Android phones, especially the ones with bigger screens. The interface always requires me to use two hands because things are out of my thumb's reach. Like my iPhone, the Lumia feels like I can navigate the entire interface with my thumb, only really getting the other hand involved to type. Everything on the phone feels very connected as well. Apps share information very seamlessly to a degree that iOS or Android can't match.
I think I now know what app to make once I'm done following tutorials and guides.
Disregard!
They released two new free XBox Live games: Breeze and Shuffle Party. Flowerz is an old game that is free and is a flower based puzzle game.
Breeze: You control a flower by tapping (or tilting is a control option) through a maze, avoiding obstacles and collecting sun bits.
Shuffle Party: You can play shuffle board with friends, or shuffle bowling, or do challenges where you try to get the puck through obstacles and stop within point zones.
Flowerz: You place Flowers in a grid trying to match up 3 in a row.
Shuffle Party is pretty fun. Breeze is relaxing and enjoyable too.
There's a freemium called Bug Village that is terrible. Crashes a lot, slow, annoying, all of your normal freemium trappings. But I played it through just to get all the achievements without spending a cent. :P I was so glad to delete it from my phone though.
I've been debating buying a few games, but I just haven't pulled the trigger yet.
Chicken's Can't Fly could be fun, I tried the demo and enjoyed it, but not sure what else it could offer outside of the demo. Only $3.
Fusion: Sentient is like a RTS game of sorts. Demo was interesting, but not entirely fun. $3
Burn the Rope in a neat little game where you tilt the phone to get the fire to burn up the rope. $3
Tentacles is supposed to be really good. Demo was enjoyable, but it's $5.
geoDefense I played on Android and it was great, but haven't played the WP7 version. $3
Enigmo is controlling water/lava droplets into containers, but you need to bounce and deflect them around obstacles and through gates. $3
Rise of Glory is a flight sim during WW1. Controls well enough in the demo. $3
You may have to drag it to the phone icon to set it to sync.
It seems like they added eventually anyway.
Also Z0mbies!!!, the remake of I MAED A GAME has a couple cool things in it - Time viking's really good.
Stay the hell away from Bullet Asylum, that one's poor.
Okay, finally got around to checking...I don't think you can just drag an app to the phone icon from the marketplace. So...how do you do it?
I also checked out the current version of Zune, since WP7.5 has Zune integration. I know it copped a lot of flack back in the day, but honestly as a software package I feel it shits all over iTunes from a great height. It's sleek and efficient, and the interface is not a complete eyesore.
I'd suggest weathering the storm until that beast hits because it's going to introduce a few new form factors.
Edit: Also, Zune is a pretty great service. I would say it's a shame it's getting rebranded, but I always thought the Zune name was kind of wonky.
It's just a shame we can't get Steam chat integrated into the messaging hub... Maybe in the future?
Do we know how much of the WP8 goodness will be able to be pushed to the newer 7.5 phones? I'm really looking at jumping on the Nokia Lumia 900 now that it's almost out, but I really haven't heard much at all about WP8 plans.
T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint all had handsets with keyboards when WP7 first hit. I'm not expecting the same, being a pessimist, but if they are out there, I might make the jump from WP7.
Nothing's confirmed yet, sadly, but several rumors and leaks point to a full WP8 rollout, carrier-permitting. I'm inclined to believe it, since WP7's strict hardware requirements should make for an easy upgrade path, but it's worth waiting for official news if it's important to you.
What are some essential apps?
SkyDrive is great for remote file access to your Skydrive.
The stock apps are great though, so Facebook/Twitter are built in. Office is built in. Good calendar and all the secondary apps are nice too.
And you'll probably want to get Wordament, if you like word games.
Accuweather.com may be the best weather app.
EDIT: Also, if you have an Xbox, Xbox Companion can be handy.
If you drop your phone (as one inevitably does) and the battery falls out (as it inevitably does) - podcasts get all screwed up. It loses the podcast listened to flags, forgets where you're up to, loses half of your internet sessions/cookies.
What's up with that?
Windows phones are jerks.
Everything else they do is p much 100% sensible.
Some, but not all are so marked for me, which is strange.