Bill Gates switches to Android phone
bbc.co.uk
Bill Gates switches to Android phone
1–10 of 126 posts
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#2The total failure of Windows Phone to gain acceptance in the market is a huge pity. I have a Lumina 950 as a secondary device (for loading with a local SIM while abroad) and it’s a solid performer with a polished OS, refreshingly ’different’ UI, and excellent basics (build quality, call quality, and battery life). The basic, core apps I ’need’ in this role are available (WhatsApp, Facebook/Messenger, Twitter, & cetera) and it hotspots very dependably towards my myriad Apple devices (iPhone7+, iPadPro10.5, 11” MacBook). It even has some very fascinating features not seen elsewhere (I have a dedicated dock for using certain apps with an external screen, keyboard and mouse, whose name escapes me at the moment).
I really wished they had managed to gain a foothold, because as a platform it really lacks nothing (excepting an app developer base, and actual producers of handsets).
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#3The total failure of Windows Phone to gain acceptance in the market is a huge pity. I have a Lumina 950 as a secondary device (for loading with a local SIM while abroad) and it’s a solid performer with a polished OS, refreshingly ’different’ UI, and excellent basics (build quality, call quality, and battery life). The basic, core apps I ’need’ in this role are available (WhatsApp, Facebook/Messenger, Twitter, & ceter…
The dock system was called Continuum: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#4Windows Phone 8 was probably one of the best OS's Microsoft ever did. It was fast on cheap hardware and the UI actually had just one idea instead of several layers of cruft of generations of unfinished new ideas. It was more open than iOS where it counted and more closed than Android where it mattered.
So naturally it failed.
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#5The total failure of Windows Phone to gain acceptance in the market is a huge pity. I have a Lumina 950 as a secondary device (for loading with a local SIM while abroad) and it’s a solid performer with a polished OS, refreshingly ’different’ UI, and excellent basics (build quality, call quality, and battery life). The basic, core apps I ’need’ in this role are available (WhatsApp, Facebook/Messenger, Twitter, & ceter…
Every major version was a new os. Their phone strategy was terrible and lacked commitment. It didn't help that it was started by one CEO and abandoned midway through by the next CEO.
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#6Windows Phone 8 was probably one of the best OS's Microsoft ever did. It was fast on cheap hardware and the UI actually had just one idea instead of several layers of cruft of generations of unfinished new ideas. It was more open than iOS where it counted and more closed than Android where it mattered. So naturally it failed.
>It was more open than iOS where it counted and more closed than Android where it mattered.
Elaborate on counted vs mattered?
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#7The total failure of Windows Phone to gain acceptance in the market is a huge pity. I have a Lumina 950 as a secondary device (for loading with a local SIM while abroad) and it’s a solid performer with a polished OS, refreshingly ’different’ UI, and excellent basics (build quality, call quality, and battery life). The basic, core apps I ’need’ in this role are available (WhatsApp, Facebook/Messenger, Twitter, & ceter…
I have an Alcatel Idol 4s for Windows, and I actually like it a lot.
(Confusingly is not the same hardware as the android Idol 4s. The windows version actually has much better hardware. Snapdragon 820 processor.)
I would say that some of the apps were either sub-par or missing. The Uber app wasn't as good, and there was no Lyft app. Yet, I found that the mobile websites for both were perfectly fine, and you can pin them to your start screen just like apps.
The AMC theater app for both Android and Windows always gave me endless trouble, but I likewise realized that their mobile website was just fine.
The Comcast/Xfinity site likewise can do basically anything their app can do.
I think being forced to use mobile sites is much less unpleasant than one would expect, and this is the way things should be trending anyways. It is the only way to achieve adequate cross-platform development.
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#8The total failure of Windows Phone to gain acceptance in the market is a huge pity. I have a Lumina 950 as a secondary device (for loading with a local SIM while abroad) and it’s a solid performer with a polished OS, refreshingly ’different’ UI, and excellent basics (build quality, call quality, and battery life). The basic, core apps I ’need’ in this role are available (WhatsApp, Facebook/Messenger, Twitter, & ceter…
As an ex-WP user who also switched to android I would argue the android UX is a step backward in some respects.
When I open an app in WP I received immediate loading/animation feedback.
In android many core actions (such as initiating a phone call) cause temporary freeze while the app loads. Did the phone receive my tap? Do I need to tap again or wait?
Coming from a more fluid interface like the WP this is something I really miss and makes android feel a little more primitive in comparison (but the advanced apps do make up for it)
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#9Windows Phone was the best thing since webOS. The developer experience was (and still is) a lot better than for iOS or Android. I'm sure it will eventually come back.
Re: Bill Gates switches to Android phone
#10Long story short: Developers, developers, developers, developers. The same reason why people won't switch from Windows to Linux is why people won't switch from Android to Windows Phone.