Windows Phone 8.1...Much Better!

[sciphi]

My Nokia 928 was recently updated to Windows Phone 8.1. Why couldn't it have been like this when I got the phone a year and a half ago?!?

I'm finding myself using Cortana (MS's version of Apple's Siri) more and more. While I haven't played around with Siri, Cortana is generally pretty good about finding what I need and controlling the phone through voice. Not sure about controlling it through voice while driving, but I haven't been too keen on exploring that part for obvious reasons. The voice recognition works on moderately windy outdoors conditions, which is nice. In conjunction, the phone has a slide-down screen to glance at emails/texts/notifications and other relevant information. It can also do airplane mode and some other stuff without digging through settings, which is nice!

The phone was pretty snappy before, even with its fairly outdated hardware, but it's snappier now. I can't tell a difference between it and slightly higher-powered Android phones. Battery life seems to be down slightly. It's not really an issue since it gets through the day with about half battery with my lighter usage. A lot of Nokia/MS-specific apps got a lot of usability/speed updates, which makes the phone easier to use. It was pretty intuitive for me, but it's easier to use now since it's faster and more capable. Stability seems to be unaffected. The phone has been rock-solid stable in the few days of using it since updating to WP 8.1.

The keyboard got a slide-typing feature to slide a finger across the keys and have the phone predict what word it is. This works very well. Not for everybody, but it is there and works as intended. I'm sure there's a bunch more that I've forgotten about or not learned about.

Overall, WP 8.1 was a worthwhile and much-needed update. Almost a new OS without calling it a new OS. Although it only brought the phone to "competitive" with Apple/Android, not leapfrogging them in any substantive way. Too bad that MS and Verizon took this long to catch the phones up. I bet that WP 8.1 would really shine on a phone or tablet with better hardware.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Can you make phone call, too?

 

[salv]

I had a Lumia 822 and recently bought the Lumia 635. Loved my 822 with windows 8. I really like the 635 with windows 8.1 even though it doesn't have all the features of the 822.
Windows phones are great. I just wish that they had the options for apps that Android and IOS have.

 

[redhat]

Very cool. I'll have to check one out.

I have never used one.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Can you make phone call, too?


Yep, still makes/receives phone calls. Better/faster interface for going to speaker or accessing a number pad for automated menus.

 

[DBMaster]

I have just about the cheapest Windows phone - Lumia 521. For $100 (no "loan" to buy the thing outright) it is great. The 8.1 update solved some issues and brought with it a few new ones. Here are examples of the bugs, or at least things that I don't like with the update.

1. When connected to my car Bluetooth the phone would read me my texts. It still does, but now does not offer the option to speak replies. After hearing your text, your options are only "call" or "I'm done."

2. The phone used to immediately start playing music when I turned on the Bluetooth music connection on the car stereo. Now, if it's only been a couple of days since last played, it will do that (if you see the music controls on the phone when you touch the volume control). If it goes longer than that you have to go through the phone's music menu and start the player manually.

I do like the swipe typing feature, though, you have to pay attention to the screen to keep it from picking the wrong words. It's still faster than hunt and peck texting, though.

Overall, it was a nice refreshing of the software. It sure took T-Mobile long enough to push it out to existing phones!

 

[DemoFly]

Literally the only downfall to WP8.1 is the lack of app support.

I cannot fault it anywhere else.

 

[cb_13]

I've had the 8.1 update on my 925 for several months now. I guess ATT got the update sooner. I've been very happy with the Windows phones I have had not as many Apps as Apple or Android but they've always worked. No crashes or any weird happenings like that.

 

[yesthatsteve]

I picked up a Lumia 635 on Black Friday for $45 off contract, and I like it quite a bit. Like DBMaster above, I'm digging the voice integration with my Bluetooth car stereo. I never could find an Android app or assistant that would offer to read texts and allow me to reply using only voice commands, but Cortana just works.

 

[DBMaster]

Wow, is the 635 already that cheap? I am tempted since it's a quad core, LTE phone while mine is dual core and 4G. Since it's still adequate I guess I'll stick with my two year rule. It saves SO much money buying the phones outright and going month-to-month on the service. I am not a big data user which is why the lack of WP apps has not been a big issue for me. I have a $40/month plan on T-Mobile that offers unlimited talk & text and 500 MB of high-speed data. I've not even come close to using that up. I paid $100 for my phone and the one I bought two years before that (I dropped that one and broke it - Motorola EX119).

I guess I'm lucky that I don't have a personal requirement for the latest and greatest smartphones.

 

[yesthatsteve]

A few places had it under $50 on Black Friday. Amazon had it for $40, but were sold out by the time I went to buy. I'm with you on buying phones outright and going with a prepaid plan; I'm on the AT&T $45 unlimited talk/text + 1GB high-speed data.

So far, WP 8.1 has been a pleasant surprise. I remember hearing a ton of complaints about earlier versions, and more recently how much of an improvement 8 was, and 8.1 beyond that. It does all I need and does it well. I'm good with it.

 

[DBMaster]

My T-Mobile plan is not prepaid. Since TM is a German company they have headed toward Eurpoean style wireless plans for years - bring your own phone, pay month-to-month. Prepaid plans are not necessarily the cheapest anymore. I started buying my own phones in 2007. I would go online and read reviews and choose. Often, the best performing phones for the money would be ones that T-Mobile offered, but I always ended up buying them from Amazon or eBay. Example: In November 2013 my Lumia 521 was $150 at the T-Mobile store and $100 on Amazon. Same phone which even came in a T-Mobile box.

While TM's network may not be the best - I do think AT&T and Verizon are a bit better - it works acceptably for me and they have a very simple selection of plans. If you want to buy an expensive phone from TM you basically finance the phone only so the plan cost remains static. Though there is no contract for service, if you cancel with TM you do have to pay off the phone.

If I hold my 521 next to a $600 smartphone do I see a difference? Of course! One of the most expensive components is the display and the expensive phones have nice ones. But, on a day-to-day basis my display seems really nice. The other ways that costs are cut are; plastic back, no front camera, no flash, and lower resolution on the back camera. Most everything else works just as well as any other phone. It also means I don't feel the need for phone insurance and I won't be heartbroken if I lose it or break it.

YMMV.

 

[JGmazda]

After searching and investigating phones for a few months, I finally chose a Windows phone. Love, LOVE LOVE IT! I cannot believe more people haven't found out about the phones and Windows 8.1.

Cortana is awesome and the user experience beats my previous Android nightmare by miles. I love the simplicity and have had zero issues so far.

I'm so happy I went with this platform. Love how everything just "works"..!!!

 

[Smcatub]

I've had the opposite experience. Cortana is slow and stupid - for example, I just got done using my nav app so obviously the phone 'knew' where I was. I ask Cortana for a Chinese restaurant near me and I get results two states away. I got weird little things like this a few times a week - so I just started opening up IE and using Google.

She does work well for setting appointments, though.

8.1 slowed the phone down to a crawl. It's just silly how slow it is.

My father in law is not too tech savy and asks for help with his Android pretty frequently. He has a $100 Motorola and it's leaps and bounds better than my Windows phone. Responsive and snappy, great voice recognition, the predictive features - it's just very impressive.

And I'm not just some anti-MS crank nutso-banana lunatic. I'm actually an MS fan (I still have my Zune and a Sidewinder X4!). The phone wouldn't be too bad in a vacuum, but when I see what my FIL's Android can do I want to 'accidentally' spike my phone on the pavement so I can go replace it with an Android.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: Smcatub
I've had the opposite experience. Cortana is slow and stupid - for example, I just got done using my nav app so obviously the phone 'knew' where I was. I ask Cortana for a Chinese restaurant near me and I get results two states away. I got weird little things like this a few times a week - so I just started opening up IE and using Google.

She does work well for setting appointments, though.

8.1 slowed the phone down to a crawl. It's just silly how slow it is.

My father in law is not too tech savy and asks for help with his Android pretty frequently. He has a $100 Motorola and it's leaps and bounds better than my Windows phone. Responsive and snappy, great voice recognition, the predictive features - it's just very impressive.

And I'm not just some anti-MS crank nutso-banana lunatic. I'm actually an MS fan (I still have my Zune and a Sidewinder X4!). The phone wouldn't be too bad in a vacuum, but when I see what my FIL's Android can do I want to 'accidentally' spike my phone on the pavement so I can go replace it with an Android.


What model phone? Cortana works great on my Lumia 928. WP 8.1 is the fastest version of WP I've used on my phone so far. Aside from some apps, I'm quite ready to stay within the Microsoft ecosystem when I'm eligible for a phone upgrade.

 

[Smcatub]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: Smcatub
I've had the opposite experience. Cortana is slow and stupid - for example, I just got done using my nav app so obviously the phone 'knew' where I was. I ask Cortana for a Chinese restaurant near me and I get results two states away. I got weird little things like this a few times a week - so I just started opening up IE and using Google.

She does work well for setting appointments, though.

8.1 slowed the phone down to a crawl. It's just silly how slow it is.

My father in law is not too tech savy and asks for help with his Android pretty frequently. He has a $100 Motorola and it's leaps and bounds better than my Windows phone. Responsive and snappy, great voice recognition, the predictive features - it's just very impressive.

And I'm not just some anti-MS crank nutso-banana lunatic. I'm actually an MS fan (I still have my Zune and a Sidewinder X4!). The phone wouldn't be too bad in a vacuum, but when I see what my FIL's Android can do I want to 'accidentally' spike my phone on the pavement so I can go replace it with an Android.


What model phone? Cortana works great on my Lumia 928. WP 8.1 is the fastest version of WP I've used on my phone so far. Aside from some apps, I'm quite ready to stay within the Microsoft ecosystem when I'm eligible for a phone upgrade.


It's a 521. I did realize one thing I really like and think is better than Android, and that's how the apps are laid out and how you navigate. I think hitting one of the letters in the app list, where it brings up the alphabet grid so you can jump to whatever letter you want, is a really nice touch.

I know it's just a $100 phone and I can't expect too much, but my FIL's $100 Android is sooo much faster.

What nav app do you have - is it 'Here'? I've been looking for an alternative but it doesn't look like there's a native WP nav app and the ones in the app store cost $$ (except for a few free ones - that make you pay for the map packs

)

 

[JGmazda]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: Smcatub
I've had the opposite experience. Cortana is slow and stupid - for example, I just got done using my nav app so obviously the phone 'knew' where I was. I ask Cortana for a Chinese restaurant near me and I get results two states away. I got weird little things like this a few times a week - so I just started opening up IE and using Google.

She does work well for setting appointments, though.

8.1 slowed the phone down to a crawl. It's just silly how slow it is.

My father in law is not too tech savy and asks for help with his Android pretty frequently. He has a $100 Motorola and it's leaps and bounds better than my Windows phone. Responsive and snappy, great voice recognition, the predictive features - it's just very impressive.

And I'm not just some anti-MS crank nutso-banana lunatic. I'm actually an MS fan (I still have my Zune and a Sidewinder X4!). The phone wouldn't be too bad in a vacuum, but when I see what my FIL's Android can do I want to 'accidentally' spike my phone on the pavement so I can go replace it with an Android.


What model phone? Cortana works great on my Lumia 928. WP 8.1 is the fastest version of WP I've used on my phone so far. Aside from some apps, I'm quite ready to stay within the Microsoft ecosystem when I'm eligible for a phone upgrade.


Agreed. Intuitive and the OS actually confirms many of my selections as opposed to Android which offers multiple confusing and redundant choices. 8.1 is a nice leap forward.