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Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

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Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#51

Post by untog »

bluekeybox wrote: post #48
MatthewPhillips wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OSX look is pretty old at this point. They've managed to update it in spots but much of it is dreadfully ugly. Like this: http://admintell.napco.com/ee/images/uploads/appletell/bill-... Note that Metro is pretty old too, it started with Windows Media Center, but has changed a lot since then.

Can you post a screenshot (or a link) to a similar page from an OS that doesn't look tired to you? Not criticizing you -- just want to know what you think.

Can't speak for the OP, but the WP7 interface does not look tired to me:

http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/images/windows-phone...

That home screen is the perfect mix of iPhone (structured, but with minimal ability to display info) and Android (stacked with widgets, but a mess layout-wise).

The UI in WP7 is incredibly person-centric- I look up their entry in the phone book, it shows me their updates on various social networks, as well as a "history" tab that aggregates all our chats, e-mails and text messages into one list. It's very slick.

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#52

Post by untog »

starwed wrote: post #24
vital101 wrote: post #21

Two months ago my contract was up with AT&T, so I decided "What the hell, I'm going to purchase an iPhone(4)!". So I did. Turns out, after all the hype I was completely underwhelmed by it. It's not that it's a bad phone, it's great. It's just that the general OS feels tired to me. The interface. I ended up playing with a Samsung Focus a few days later in the same AT&T store and swapped my iPhone for it. I'm incredibl…

>It's just that the general OS feels tired to me. What does this even mean?

Whether the OS looks good or not is, of course, subjective. But it's hard to argue that Apple have innovated all that much from the original release:

http://www.lookingforiphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/I...

to the latest:

http://admintell.napco.com/ee/images/uploads/appletell/Iphon...

By comparison, look at Android's first release:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/91052290-CE47...

Compared to ICS:

http://hotcellularphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andro...

WP7 is difficult to compare because it was effectively a complete reboot of the entire OS, but still. Apple's visual style has not changed much since 2007.

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#53

Post by recoiledsnake »

bluekeybox wrote: post #48
MatthewPhillips wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OSX look is pretty old at this point. They've managed to update it in spots but much of it is dreadfully ugly. Like this: http://admintell.napco.com/ee/images/uploads/appletell/bill-... Note that Metro is pretty old too, it started with Windows Media Center, but has changed a lot since then.

Can you post a screenshot (or a link) to a similar page from an OS that doesn't look tired to you? Not criticizing you -- just want to know what you think.

A video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=locNEna0of4&hd=1

Every other mobile OS presents you with a "sea of icons" as the home screen which is pretty boring by now and is essentially a rehash of this http://images.yourdictionary.com/images/computer/_PROGMAN.GI...

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#54

Post by saturdaysaint »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #29
starwed wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's just that the general OS feels tired to me. What does this even mean?

The OSX look is pretty old at this point. They've managed to update it in spots but much of it is dreadfully ugly. Like this: http://admintell.napco.com/ee/images/uploads/appletell/bill-... Note that Metro is pretty old too, it started with Windows Media Center, but has changed a lot since then.

This is pretty far into the land of "taste". One man's "old" is another's "iconic". If anything, it looks like the industry is moving more toward the iPhone's understated style (see Ice Cream Sandwhich) and emphasis on texture (look at the new Milk app) than the "anti-skeutomorph" thing, whose internal logic is a lot stronger than its appeal to most people. As someone that's been using Ableton Live for the better part of a decade, it's amusing to me that people even find this look remotely "fresh". MS will find out the hard way that designers and normal people like gradients, shadows, texture.

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#55

Post by MatthewPhillips »

bluekeybox wrote: post #48
MatthewPhillips wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OSX look is pretty old at this point. They've managed to update it in spots but much of it is dreadfully ugly. Like this: http://admintell.napco.com/ee/images/uploads/appletell/bill-... Note that Metro is pretty old too, it started with Windows Media Center, but has changed a lot since then.

Can you post a screenshot (or a link) to a similar page from an OS that doesn't look tired to you? Not criticizing you -- just want to know what you think.

What do you mean by a similar page? A settings page? Settings pages aren't usually visually attractive, they are utilitarian; but this one is (at least to me) offensively ugly. For example, I count 6 different shades of blue used on this page, including a wallpaper design... to me this has a very old look to it.

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#56

Post by adolph »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #53
bluekeybox wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you post a screenshot (or a link) to a similar page from an OS that doesn't look tired to you? Not criticizing you -- just want to know what you think.

A video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=locNEna0of4&hd=1 Every other mobile OS presents you with a "sea of icons" as the home screen which is pretty boring by now and is essentially a rehash of this http://images.yourdictionary.com/images/computer/_PROGMAN.GI...

Screens simulated. Sequences shortened.

Live tiles look like an interesting way to see a limited view of the data or activity available within an application. They seem to reduce the number of application targets to 8 (or fewer if the application wants more than one square).

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#57

Post by siglesias »

untog wrote: post #52
starwed wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's just that the general OS feels tired to me. What does this even mean?

Whether the OS looks good or not is, of course, subjective. But it's hard to argue that Apple have innovated all that much from the original release: http://www.lookingforiphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/I... to the latest: http://admintell.napco.com/ee/images/uploads/appletell/Iphon... By comparison, look at Android's first release: http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/91052290-CE47... Compared to ICS…

This is a disingenuous comparison. All you are doing is comparing the springboards. The underlying iOS is now vastly different than 1.0--multitasking, search, copy and paste, wireless sync, background processes, notification center, I can go on and on. If they got the springboard right, why change it? For the sake of change?

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#58

Post by untog »

siglesias wrote: post #57
untog wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whether the OS looks good or not is, of course, subjective. But it's hard to argue that Apple have innovated all that much from the original release: http://www.lookingforiphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/I... to the latest: http://admintell.napco.com/ee/images/uploads/appletell/Iphon... By comparison, look at Android's first release: http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/91052290-CE47... Compared to ICS…

This is a disingenuous comparison. All you are doing is comparing the springboards. The underlying iOS is now vastly different than 1.0--multitasking, search, copy and paste, wireless sync, background processes, notification center, I can go on and on. If they got the springboard right, why change it? For the sake of change?

I'll admit that it isn't the most detailed comparison. But we're talking about iOS "looking" tired. Multi-tasking, wireless sync, background processes etc. really don't have an impact on the way the OS looks.

If they got the springboard right, why change it? For the sake of change?

I think the larger question is "did they get the Springboard right?". I don't think it is exactly the zenith of user experience, especially on a platform like the iPad.

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#59

Post by siglesias »

untog wrote: post #58
siglesias wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a disingenuous comparison. All you are doing is comparing the springboards. The underlying iOS is now vastly different than 1.0--multitasking, search, copy and paste, wireless sync, background processes, notification center, I can go on and on. If they got the springboard right, why change it? For the sake of change?

I'll admit that it isn't the most detailed comparison. But we're talking about iOS "looking" tired. Multi-tasking, wireless sync, background processes etc. really don't have an impact on the way the OS looks. If they got the springboard right, why change it? For the sake of change? I think the larger question is "did they get the Springboard right?". I don't think it is exactly the zenith of user experience, especial…

Then the conversation should center around whether they got the springboard right, not if it hasn't changed. Whether or not it looks different is the wrong place to start.

Re: Why the Lumia 800 is the first device I would switch to from an iPhone

#60

Post by zwigby »

polyfractal wrote: post #33
funkydata wrote: post #26

The apps will come and they will be better designed. I do not know if anybody here has tried the Microsoft developer tools but they are more advanced than anything even Apple has. Expression Blend for example is something Android developers need badly. I hope that with Adobe letting go of Flex that Google is going to poach a lot of their IDE team like they did with Chet Haase. What they are missing was a more open AP…

I have a love-hate relationship with WP7 development. On one hand, we have Visual Studio, a built in phone emulator, the .Net platform and excellent documentation/tutorials. It's almost stupid how easily you can create fairly advanced "form based" applications with WPF. Games are fairly straightforward with XNA. The build in emulator works with VS like a dream, dropping in and out of breakpoints, etc. I could gush al…

From my experience with iPhone and iTunes connect (also not a great application) I don't spend a lot of time in iTunes Connect. Are you spending a lot of time in the App Hub? What I'm getting at is that this sounds like a pretty minor thing in the grand scheme.
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