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General discussion

Do you recommend the Windows Phone?

Apr 1, 2016 5:30PM PDT


I have always been a PC guy, back to the days of DOS and through all of the versions of Windows. Still like my Windows 7. Never owned or used a Mac or other Apple product, until now I have an iPhone 4. Frankly I am not happy with the frequent compatibility issues. I will upgrade to Windows 10 soon and buy a new smartphone. Do you recommend a Windows phone?

--Submitted by Bob F.

Discussion is locked

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Past vs. Present
Apr 1, 2016 7:46PM PDT

The last time I worked with Windows Mobile.. I think it was around the time of Windows 95 and it was with a PDA device from Dell (the company; not my cat). I did read a piece just this week that implies that Microsoft is going to drop "focus" on their Windows phones for now to concentrate on their new "Conversations as a Service" (Cortana) offering (along with "bots" on the server end). I tell you though it is really up to you. What do your prefer? Do you like the interface? How about the applications you will need and how you are going to use the phone other than just making calls? I think those are the important issues.
As for the Cortana thing? I don't know if I like what they are doing with it as far as a direction for the company goes. I wish them luck with it. It kind of tells me why MS has been so "pushy" in getting people up on Windows 10 and on "forced updates". For the Cortana-to-Cortana communication as well as Cortana-to-Bot communication, everything probably needs to be in sync from the versions of Windows workstation to the versions of Windows Server to the versions of Cortanas and the bot software. If everything doesn't "sync" in terms of capabilities, there could be issues with communication to other systems. Now, is the Windows Phone involved? Sure. You probably will have Cortana on the Windows Phone as you can also have Cortana on other phones if Microsoft makes sure that it happens. So, I don't think you will have to go with MS on your phone to "future-proof" your niche in this.
I would just try them all and go with what you like. Also, read the Terms of service and the Privacy Policies for your choices. You may consider those things important depending on how you plan to use the phone (Financial information, medical information, etc.)

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NO
Apr 8, 2016 7:32PM PDT

I would not recommend Windows anything I have locked my windows 7 machines to prevent changing of the OS by Microsoft who is holle bent on taking control of your computer and making you go through the holle of fixing everything they will break.

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How do You Lock 7????
Apr 8, 2016 8:10PM PDT

Can you tell me how to lock 7 so they can't pull a switch on me?

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You could just not connect it to the internet....
Apr 9, 2016 6:22AM PDT

I have one Sony laptop that won't upgrade to Windows 10, and I wish it would. There's nothing wrong with Windows 10 aside from lack of drivers for older (or perhaps just proprietary) hardware. I find it to be much more usable and stable than Windows 7 that was on my older Dell XPS.

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Download GWX control panel..
Apr 10, 2016 6:59PM PDT
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Agree!
Apr 9, 2016 10:07AM PDT

Every time Microsuck updates either my Windows 8 laptop or my Surface 4 Pro (Win 10), they corrupt my Cisco VPN client software. There are plenty of smart people at Microsoft...when a companies problems go on for weeks or a couple of months, blame the workers...when they go on for months, blame management. When these problems go on for months and months, blame the leaders. I'm stuck with Windows 8 until the CA Dept. of Justice allows me to update to Win 10...and they forced me to update to Win 8 in the 1st place (I run DOJ-certified software and submit records to the CA DOJ).

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ok
May 6, 2016 4:23AM PDT

ok

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I Miss my HTC Arrive
May 12, 2016 9:03AM PDT

I was happy with my HTC Arrive largely because I still prefer physical keyboards, but I've also got no issues with Windows. But yeah, since it wore out and there's really no good choices with physical keyboards, I went Android.

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Switching Phones May or May Not Resolve Your Issues
Apr 1, 2016 8:41PM PDT

Hi Bob

I feel your pain when you speak of compatibility issues between competing platforms. However, if I understand you correctly your issues go beyond the discussion of Windows OS vs. OSX for PC’s or Windows Phone vs. iOS for cell phones. More to the point IMO…it’s after you upgrade to Windows 10 will you be better off with a Windows Phone (vs. sticking with an iPhone) to achieve better compatibility between your PC and Cell Phone?

I can’t offer you an opinion about Windows Phone OS in general as I have always used an iPhone since leaving Android and numerous other cell phone OS’s before that…including BlackBerry. The main reason I moved to iOS (iPhone) is that prior to Google…iOS was the only platform that offered compatibility not only for my Mac’s (OSX) but also a music platform (iTunes) that worked between cell, tablet (iPad), portable music player (iPod) and PC (Mac & Windows). Apples’ iCloud also sync’s my pictures, contacts and documents (MS Word, PPT, Excel) across all my devices.

Now before my CNET Community Forum friends say…A ha! The reason I don’t create a lot of documents in Apple’s - Pages, Keynote and Numbers is because they are still not mainstream in the business world.

To be clear I own two (2) Windows 10 computers and four (4) OSX computers and several iOS devices. I create and share Microsoft Office documents on my OSX, iOS and Windows 10 devices. I have the option to store information in Microsoft OneDrive and/or iCloud and have access to both via their respective App designed for competing devices. I basically have zero cross-platform compatibility issues.

To go one-step further…in today’s world if you don’t mind introducing a 3rd party app into the mix…such as Google Doc’s or Google Drive and/or Google Music on a non-Android device…incompatibility to share information is virtually nil.

The gist of my comments are to say that…if after you upgrade to Win10 you want to stick with an iPhone (because you like iOS) …well…you can! You just have to do a bit more research on native and/or 3rd party Apps that are available that make working between Windows and iOS less of a pain. On the other hand, if you want to become a purist and have everything under one platform as Microsoft says...”to rule them all” then switch to Windows Phone.

However, the question remains…as you made no mention of contacts, music, document and the like…how deeply in-grained are you in the iPhone iOS platform? Will the pain to move away from the iPhone outweigh the perceived benefits of moving to a Windows Phone. Hopefully, someone in this forum may have made the switch because of reasons similar to yours and will share their experience.

Last words…I think you’ll enjoy Windows 10…I have. Also, the iPhone 4 is a bit long-in-the-tooth so upgrading should be at the top of your list if you decide to stay with iOS. Apples new iPhone SE offers a form factor similar to your iPhone 4 – but equipped with the latest tech. Good luck with your decision and remember….

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

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Windows Phone is fine for connecting to Windows computer
Apr 1, 2016 10:08PM PDT

Back when I used Windows computers, from DOS 2.11 to Windows 7, I also had a Windows Phone. It worked well with limitations of what Microsoft offered. It was a pain to switch from Windows to OS X and iOS. I knew that OS X and iOS was a better platform for my needs than Windows and Windows Phone. The interesting thing that Microsoft has built is the Windows Phone dock that allow you to use your phone like a computer. My reason for switching had more to do with my research into operating systems and what I was able to run. With OS X, I can run everything for an Intel processor and not just Windows and Linux. I have only used Android to help others solve a problem they had with their phone. The advise that I have given others is this, if your computer runs OS X, you will have better synergy with an iPhone and like wise if your computer runs Windows you will have better synergy with a Windows Phone. If you just use Google's stuff, then you can use an Android device as it is optimized to use Google's services.

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I loved my Lumia Windows phone
Apr 2, 2016 1:20AM PDT

I bought a Nokia Lumia 520 2 years ago. It was my first smartphone. I liked it so well, I bought 2 more for my daughters. I switched to the Amazon Fire Phone a year ago because I have a lot of Amazon content, love my Kindles, and I could own it for net $100. I like my Fire phone, but I still miss the excellent voice control my Lumia had, especially for text messaging. Microsoft bought the Lumias from Nokia since I had one, so it might not be as good or it might be better. The Lumias are very affordable, especially compared to most Androids and iPhones, so you could get one, and if you didn't like it after all, you wouldn't be out much money.

If there are apps you can't do without, search the Windows app store to be sure that what you need is available. If you already use apps from the Windows Store, I suspect most or all work on Windows Phone as well. The only things I wanted but weren't easily available were my music from Amazon (I had to download it a different way) and Amazon Prime music and video (likely still not available), Kindle and Audible had apps. The features I liked best were offline maps and navigation and the voice control. I disliked texting, but my children prefer it. It was great to be listening to a book, washing dishes, and have my phone pause the book and announce "You have a new text message from Jennifer. Read it or ignore?" I didn't even know this feature existed until the first time it happened. The system is so well designed that it also helped me reply, correct if necessary, add something and send the message without once needing to look at or touch my phone, then resumed my audiobook without any fuss. I could also push a headphone trigger button and initiate calls and texts with ease. I also liked some of the live tiles and the fact that I could arrange and size them as I pleased.

I think a Windows phone is well worth considering, especially if one is not already hooked on Google or Apple, and even more so for those who like Windows 8 Start Screen and those who feel smartphones are really unreasonably expensive. My 20 year old daughter is still perfectly happy with hers. The main drawback of a Windows phone is the smaller number of apps available, though all the most useful and needed ones exist. Much can be done simply by using the web browser instead. There's plenty of reviews of Lumia phones on Amazon if you want some more opinions from other users.

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In short yes
Apr 2, 2016 4:57AM PDT

My wife and I have used Windows phones for about 4 years and just bought Lumina 950s. We had unlocked 920's for years, hers is still on Windows 8.1 I upgraded to Windows 10 about 4 months ago. We travel between the US and Mexico and the ability to switch sims is important to us.

We use a program called Akruto to synchronize our phones with our computers. It syncs MS Outlook and our phones and can be setup to work on your home network or the internet. It is also good to have MS Office on the phone and send files between the phone and PC.

Having the same OS on our systems and our phones adds convenience and automatically backing up photos and other items is also convenient. They are also fast and the photo editing apps allow you to very good job before send or post a photo.

There is the obvious lack of certain apps but so far that has not been a problem for us.

With the new 950s we have both ATT and Telcel sims in our phones so all it takes is a few clicks to switch. There are 2 versions of the 950 the ATT version has only one sim slot but the unbranded phone available from Microsoft has 2. All the 950XLs have 2 slots, but we felt they were larger than we wanted to carry.

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Windows phone
Apr 2, 2016 5:03AM PDT

I am using a Lumia 950l would never use an iPhone. Exceptional phone. It does not have some of the iPhone apps but it is much more intuitive than Apple products whatever the Apple fans think.
Integrates perfectly with Windows pc . Has 30 gigabytes of free cloud storage. Removable battery etc etc

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30 gigabytes cloud storage going away
Apr 10, 2016 11:05AM PDT

Microsoft has announced that is being cut back to 5gb. After getting that email, I'm not having to spend a lot of time deleting photos online.

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not just Microsoft. This is a global strategy
May 12, 2016 11:13AM PDT

Microsoft is not the first company to do that. There's a longer trend ongoing, where vendors will have first convinced us to ue the cloud for interconnecting everything, and then let us pay for that service.
Sooner or later Google will do the same and will inform us that they'll reduce the free space, to convince us to rent for it. Google has already converted many services to a subscription form, or reduced the content available with the free offers. Youtube survives but is now severaly restricted (except for some large content producers). Don't forget that Google want to sell Google TV. Google has already reduced the maximum length of a video, and will soon limit the storage capacity per user for hosting their own videos (even if they are shared), unless these videos are enough attractive to get a minimum trafic from enough users (or from users of special interest for Google) that Google can use to promote other sold products: look at the usage conditions of Youtube: you authorize Google to reuse your content without limitation, including for promoting paid offers.
Apple does the same in its content stores. Facebook does the same, Microsoft does the same.

Look at Windows: it is not longer a strategic sale by itself, it is a "free" product used as a vector to promote paid offers sold by Microsoft. The MS cloud is the new strategy, including for Office. Microsoft now targets any OS, and provides solutions even for Linux users. I can already predict that very soon there will be a Linux distribution by Microsoft (where all solutions to connect to its sold cloud will be integrated). Microsoft accepts the presence of other browsers and will make sure that they can support without effort its cloud services. Microsoft welcomes also Facebook, Twitter, Android, iOS, OSX. Different platforms for different segments of markets (from end users to large server admins), but all good candidates to become customers of MS cloud solutions.

Microsoft has integrated now what made the success of Apple, Google and Facebook, and even Linux in servers, it will not fight directly against them directly, but will want to sell the best integration experience on all screens, all devices. For that MS will provide compatible solutions. He will stop soon selling device-centric/host-centric solutions, but will focus on solutions centralized to the single user account, connected from everywhere, on any network, on any device and OS. Even the "opensource" movement is no longer an enemy to figty against: in fact it is now welcome to help filling the remaining niche markets where other proprietary solutions would become too costly to maintain alone.

The OS is relagated progressively to the same background support as the hardware. What Microsoft wants is to sell personalized services, focused on personal experience, or on precisely targeted enterprise environments (working with their internal structure and hierarchy of powers and delegations of roles).

May be later Microsoft will start targeting other markets, notably the bank market (the success of Paypal may cause Microsoft later to buy some bank and sell its own credits, just like what car manufacturers have done to survive). Microsoft wants to be central in everything that means payment, business, shopping. Software becoming more a service (that will be subscribed with monthly billings, just like internet and mobile phone subscriptions).

And isn't it what Google, Amazon, and Apple are also doing? Just like old telcos that are now large ISPs doing also the same thing ?

There's already Microsoft store, Microsoft music, Microsoft cinema, Microsoft travel maps, Microsoft education, Microsoft security. May be there will be Microsoft hotels and travels, Microsoft cars, Microsoft food, Microsoft health... When will there be a Microsoft religion service, Microsoft police, Microsoft justice, Microsoft currency, Microsoft casino and sport betting ? Transpose everything above to Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung.

Note that we already have now Microsoft laws, Google laws (now more powerful internationaly than national laws). Microsoft and Google monthly billings will also become the Microsoft and Google tax: pay, work for us, or go to jail without rights (and you won't be allowed to vote even in your local democracy if you have not "connected" your life to one of them, you'll become a dangerous "suspect" under massive surveillance, and later a target for hunts)... China is already doing this in several parts of the world (southern Asia, Africa, it starts doing it also in Europe). Korea/Samsung/LG has the same strategy.

Ony USA attempts to do something (but on the miliitary and federal laws system)... but very inefficiently and without so much success. Private US companies are instead providing (and services) to the US government.

Look at what is happening also in China where the integration of all services in a giant company is also going fast (but in a very large controled market, from which large and corrupting Chinese companies are invading the rest of the world in lots of domains, including agriculture, lands and real estates, banks, luxury products, gambling, travels and hotels, in order to apply the Chinese political rule on the rest of the world).

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Sure
Apr 2, 2016 8:07AM PDT

I used a windows phone for work, and it worked fine. Any mobile device will have some issues, but you'll probably be happy going back and forth from Windows PC to Windows phone.

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Try an Android phone instead of Windows Phones
Apr 2, 2016 9:08AM PDT

For the best compatibility I'd highly recommend trying an Android Phone rather than a Windows Phone.

I've got a Windows Mobile 6.3 device (HP Travel Companion) and that was great as a Sat Nav because it included TomTom and it also had a number of other Windows Office type apps on there.

Generally it was ok, apart from the TomTom on it was a bit dated, and since then TomTom have done TomTom Go for Android and iPhone but nothing much for Windows Phones.

I also used to have a HTC HD2 which was also a Windows 6.5 phone. This again was ok, it'd work with the PC but the biggest let down I found was the lack of development for Windows Phones.

Nobody wanted to develop apps for them, so whilst you could go into the Google Play store and find an app to do practically anything you could think of you went in the Windows Store on the phone and it was pretty empty. The phone was easy to use, but it's lack of apps proved very restrictive.

I think Windows Phone is still in the same position now which is why when I swapped from the HD2 I went straight to Android instead of giving the HD7 a go.

I upgraded to another HTC which had Android 2 on it, and it would upgrade to Android 4. I upgraded to Android 4 and that phone served me well for a few years. It was good how it would work with anything. If I wanted it on my PC I just plugged it in and it showed up, no installing any other software it was just plug and play. I know with the iPhones to get them to work properly on the PC you have to run them through iTunes which can be a bit of a pain, but with Android there is none of that, it's just plug and play and Windows automatically shows it as a new device.

Android also does have the advantage of Chrome Cast or Google Cast too which allow you to cast your phones screen onto TV screens if you have Google Cast, and some of the Samsung phones also allow you to cast the screen onto some Samsung Smart TV's too. I have used that feature a number of times and find it quite useful for watching films like Netflix.

At the moment I now have a Motorola X Play phone, and for the price it is a pretty good phone and with a 21mp camera it's not bad for photo and video either, only one downside is the lack of 4K video filming (I'd have thought with a 21mp camera that would have been standard - but as I've no TV's that have 4K on them and it will film in Full HD 1080p anyway I'm not too bothered about not being able to film in 4K). It does run Android and it recently upgraded to the latest version of Android, and I can make it do all sorts of things really easily - even emulate a Commodore Amiga! There are plenty of apps out there for Android and it's not got the same restrictions that Apple place on everything and they also sync really easily with Google accounts like GMail, Google Drive, etc. -

You also have a choice of manufacturers. With Windows Phone there is really only one manufacturer - Nokia - that is supporting it HTC and Sony used to do a few Windows Phones too but I think they discontinued them, and the only reason why Nokia keeps them going is because they were bought out by Microsoft, although Nokia would have done better had they ditched Symbian years ago and went for Android instead. It is a shame what happened to Nokia but they didn't really keep their eye on the ball and are now lumbered with Windows Phone which most people aren't bothered about developing for. Even though people are developing for Windows on PC's it is very different because a Windows Phone uses ARM CPU's where as PC's use Intel 80x86 series CPU's so even though there is lots out there for PC, it has to be re-wrote and coded to work with Windows Phone, but as Windows Phone was one of the last OS's to come to the table most developers had already dropped Windows Mobile and started developing for Android instead, and are a little reluctant to go back - like for example TomTom, they developed TomTom for WM6.5 but were kept waiting that long they ditched it and have now started developing TomTom Go for Android and iPhone.

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Its all about the Apps
Apr 5, 2016 7:09AM PDT

As Meghan Trainor sings, its all about the Apps.

Windows Phone does not have the support that iOS or Androids have, so just like applications for desktops consider what apps you need and go from there (off hand, Google supports iOS very well and Apple currently offers 2 music related).

So, what functions beyond the phone do you want it to do?

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The choice of apps are no longer a problem.
Apr 8, 2016 6:26PM PDT

Yes but most major apps are already available that are available on Windows 10 desktop also have their version for Windows 10 tablets or mobiles.

The choice of apps on the Windows store is growing fast notably since Windows 10 release. You'll find all favorite apps such as Youtube, Dailymotion and other video sites, mails, calculators, weather, and wellknown social networks, and many utilities (and games that don't ignore Windows 10).

There's still a gap in applications for smaller news sites (because of their lack of financement, they still tend to target first and support Android and iOS, but the gap is decreasing).

Don't forget also that many websites are now also developing for HTML5 which has natively the support for various screen sizes. On Windows phones, the integrated browser works very well (and in fact many "apps" in Android and iOS are just an empty frame showing an HTML5 content and a convenient icon to lauch them) .

And you'll find the same ease of use on Windows phone as on Windows 10 for tablets with touch screens (yes we know that many people using Windows 10 on desktop PC don't like the new menus, but it works well as designed if you use a touch screen and when you have a small display).

Note that the same poor apps on iOS and Android will also be poor on Windows Phones. This is not a problem of the phones themselves, but of the developers of these apps, or lack of resources for using better designs.

Today the catalog of apps in Windows Store is very large for most needs (you may forget some old apps that are unmaintained as well since long on iOS and Android : time to switch for better apps).

Windows Phones are also very easy to update (in fact it is much easier than on Android and more automated, notably because Windows better manages the storage space), and tend to have a better use of the battery than Android and iOS phones (but battery use is still a problem with some abusing apps on all phones).

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yes and no
Apr 11, 2016 9:39AM PDT

still no bank apps- quality of apps not near what it is on ios or android. ive had both windows 8/10 and ios on mobile- you can't go a couple of days without an update on ios apps- you can go six months without an update from win 8.1/10 apps on that platform. Basic ones are there. If you just want a good phone to keep your calendar, calls, office integration, pc compatibility, and a great voice assistant its pretty good. If you want to scan checks and deposit them in to your bank forget about it- if apps are your thing like so many have pointed out move on- I would go android before apples and iTunes.

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Bank apps
Nov 16, 2016 1:05PM PST

Bank of America and many other major banks now have Windows apps and others as well as insurance and other business apps are being added. Still very happy with our 950's.

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Until you need a specific app...
Apr 11, 2016 3:37PM PDT

Sure Windows phone has good general support, but if you need a specific app and they don't have it, what use is a WinPhone?

For the casual user WinPhone is fine, offers the basic utilities anyone needs.

But for those exploring the potential of mobile computing (not just phone), the limitations become clear.

(PS, I am not even considering international support. iPhones and some Androids are truly global devices. WinPhones may or may not be, so check it out.)

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So are Win phones
Apr 12, 2016 5:09PM PDT

With dual SIM and swappable/accessible SIM, they are as global or more so than others.

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Dual Apps
Nov 16, 2016 1:08PM PST

If you have dual sims you can turn on or off either sim. If you need another sim it is relatively easy to swap out.

Also as opposed to IPhones you can add more storage if desired.

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Windows Apps
Apr 13, 2016 6:09AM PDT

Windows does have most, commonly used apps, but....

Currently, Windows does not have a Chase Bank app, does not have an Amazon Alexa app for Echo ( I have to use a browser, set for desktop, and access it on the web), does not have the Wink Hub app. The Facebook app lacks many normal functions.

I am waiting to see if the 10 upgrade will correct some of these issues but my phone (Lumia 640) will not upgrade despite being on the ready to upgrade list. And, no one at Microsoft can explain why that is.

Apps are still an issue.

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Just bought Lumia 640
Apr 15, 2016 12:18AM PDT

I got my MS Lumia 640 this week on Tuesday, upgraded to Windows Phone 10 Wednesday.

Still getting used to Windows Phone, and I am keeping my 2012 Galaxy Note 2 as a fallback and for the occasional app that I need to use, but may not be available. This can be done easily by swopping the sim card (I work in different countries).

I also opted for the 640 to be ready for a Surface Phone.

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Windows Burner Phone :(
Apr 8, 2016 6:37PM PDT

Not at all. It's like Windows 8 except worse.
Let's think of it as an expensive burner phone.
I would use it if Microsoft gave me one for free. No love. I am a Microsoft fan too. Can't stand apple products.

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Would I recommend using the Windows Phone? Yes of course
Apr 8, 2016 7:02PM PDT

Depending on your needs, yes of course! I've used Android, Windows, and currently iOS (iPhone 5s). Of the three I'd say the Windows Phone format is the most trouble-free in terms of usage, reliability and compatibility, also extremely efficient. If you compare iCloud to OneDrive, the latter is a no-brainer requiring virtually no hoop-jumping just to figure out how to upload your music, pictures and share. I find myself needing to rely on iTunes almost all the time when using the iPhone, also, iCloud is the most confusing thing and almost never work correctly. Apple ID is another nuisance, at least to me, that requires to you to login constantly for just about everything - installing, deleting, updating, confirmations, etc..

The only con of using a Windows Phone (currently owned a Lumia 640) is the lack of apps, and there's quite a few from Apple that serves my purpose very well which Windows failed to deliver. So the question is depending on your needs.

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I recommend Windows Phones...but...
Apr 8, 2016 7:31PM PDT

I recommend Windows Phones...but...not the example I bought.
I purchased a low end Lumina in a Black Friday sale. I loved the user interface but the hardware was horrible. I am happy with my current Android device until such time as I can find a reasonably priced Windows phone with a camera with at least 8 MP.

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No to windows phone
Apr 8, 2016 7:32PM PDT

I've had no real issues with my windows phone, which has not gotten the windows 10 upgrade so I can't comment on that. But, there must be about 10 gadgets that I have sadly purchased or want to purchase that have no windows phone support. Also, there are common websites that just don't work on my windows phone. This issue has gotten worse, with several sites/apps dropping windows phone support IMHO. So, I'm going to end up going android or I phone in the next 6 months I guess.

Steve