Mobile phones & tablets thread

[Mark]

MS do like their ambiguous titling! Should have called it Bing Mobile

I read on The Register that MS are building a Apple/Andriod to Windows Phone conversion kit for apps so make it easier for developers to port their offerings from the other platforms.

There has yet to be any significant market penetration in that regard however, most apps seem to be developed for iPhone and Android with Windows just getting the third party rip off versions! This isn't surprising of course since it hasn't been out too long and will quite possibly change once Nokia starts pushing the handsets.

It's interesting that Microsoft always seems to be behind the curve these days, they were with internet, with games consoles, in some cases they've come back very strongly, such as with the XBox or Internet Explorer, or not so strongly as with Bing. It'll be interesting to see how windows mobile pans out, and if it will tempt me away from the iPhone 6

[Daniel]

Bing is good enough, but googling is just such an ingrained behaviour.

WP7 will take off when Nokia start launching handsets.

I have no issues with apps tbh. I find most apps for most phones a bit rubbish and or redundant anyway

[Mark]

I have no issues with apps tbh. I find most apps for most phones a bit rubbish and or redundant anyway

True, it's the same with software on any platform, 99% of it is going to be tat! But I still say that WP is not yet a default choice for developers, the way iOS and Android (in that order) is at the moment. MS is seeking to change that, and good luck to them!

One advantage Apple has over Android handsets is that it's very easy, with Apple you have a choice of one phone (in different memory sizes) and that's it. With Android there are a great number of choices, if you want to put in the time to research this is great, but a great many people don't, they just want a phone.

[Mark]

PS Daniel, have you ever used an iPhone or Android device? How does Windows compare?

[MrJan]

Bing is good enough, but googling is just such an ingrained behaviour.

I don't like the layout for some reason, I even stopped using multimap.com when it got taken over. I suppose that using Google for years and the fact that google has become a verb means that it's always a first choice. My parents use ask or yahoo and it drives me mad because you just get a screen filled with adverts.

[Mark]

Multimap is good because it will give you Ordnance Survey maps in a draggable format, which no other site does - even the Ordanance Survey site! It may sound nit-picky but for a long time I didn't like the Microsoft mapping (didn't they used to have it under the autoroute brand?) because it changed the colours of the roads to fit the American style mapping. They've fixed that now and motorways are in their familiar blue, A roads in green etc.

[Daniel]

I've used an iPhone a few times and the same with android. They're not bad phones, I think moat smartphones are decent. The thing is the cost of the iPhone, like henners said, it's simply not worth what they charge. I could afford an iPhone no problem, I just object to spending that much more just for some magic. Android phones are decent too, I just preferred the wp7 interface.

[Mark]

I think moat smartphones are decent.

If you're hiding in a ditch in Rothbury?

[AndyRAC]

If you're hiding in a ditch in Rothbury?

There's lots of ditches in Rothbury - as well as a very good Rally stage........


As for the cost of phones - I really would have liked an i-Phone4 - purely for ease of use, I already have an i-Pod nano and an i-Pod Touch. So it seemed like a sensible decision to get one - all my apps/ music could be synched with no problem. However, as I've already said - I'm not paying that money - upwards of £200 to just buy it, then £25-30 per month contract... A free upgrade to a HTC Desire S was far more sensible - and so far I'm well pleased with it.

However, you have to hand it to Apple......they know how to market a product..

[Mark]

There's lots of ditches in Rothbury - as well as a very good Rally stage........


As for the cost of phones - I really would have liked an i-Phone4 - purely for ease of use, I already have an i-Pod nano and an i-Pod Touch. So it seemed like a sensible decision to get one - all my apps/ music could be synched with no problem. However, as I've already said - I'm not paying that money - upwards of £200 to just buy it, then £25-30 per month contract... A free upgrade to a HTC Desire S was far more sensible - and so far I'm well pleased with it.

However, you have to hand it to Apple......they know how to market a product..

My wife was of the same view, £200 then £30 per month was too much. So instead of getting the iPhone 4 she got an iPhone 3GS which was just £30 a month and no upfront fee. Having not used one before, only my iPhone 4 I've been quite impressed that despite it's lower resolution display etc it performs just as my much more expensive version does!