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Windows Phone 8.1 |OT| Update 1

Treo360

Member
Awesome! So amazon is selling only the unlocked international version. There is a warning before I purchase

This is an international version: An international version item is a product not originally intended for sale in the U.S. Depending on the country of origin, international versions of a product may differ from domestic versions in their default settings, packaging, AC adapters, accessories, manufacturer warranties, and other features.

Is this an issue?


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019YFC8WY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Thanks again. I plan on activating on Att in case that matters.
I think you got your answer, but I have an international xl and have never had any hardware problems. Just know you don't have a warranty.
 

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
God, I miss metrotube app so damn much. I used that shit everyday for my commute, at office desk, in my bed. Just opwn any video and put it on audio mode. Or preload videos.

Why the fuck is thwre no similar app on Android :(
 

n64coder

Member
Awesome! So amazon is selling only the unlocked international version. There is a warning before I purchase

This is an international version: An international version item is a product not originally intended for sale in the U.S. Depending on the country of origin, international versions of a product may differ from domestic versions in their default settings, packaging, AC adapters, accessories, manufacturer warranties, and other features.

Is this an issue?


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019YFC8WY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Thanks again. I plan on activating on Att in case that matters.

Check the bands that it supports. Usually the international phones are missing some of the bands that ATT uses.
 
God, I miss metrotube app so damn much. I used that shit everyday for my commute, at office desk, in my bed. Just opwn any video and put it on audio mode. Or preload videos.

Why the fuck is thwre no similar app on Android :(
Because Google need you to pay for subscription.
 

Zeknurn

Member
They wouldn't patent the next Surface device so far out from the actual announcement. My guess is a prototype device that didn't lead anywhere but still has unique technologies worth patenting.

It's a very cool feature though.
 

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
They wouldn't patent the next Surface device so far out from the actual announcement. My guess is a prototype device that didn't lead anywhere but still has unique technologies worth patenting.

It's a very cool feature though.

I mean what makes you think it will be announced anytime soon? lol
 
Yeah, that's probably the surface phone.

And now we now the one more thing already. It turns into a tablet that runs full win10, as well continuum running win32 apps.

I wonder with they can pack two socs, one in each screen. Could make for a very powerful device.
 

hadareud

The Translator
I doubt that. I mean, it all depends on how the emulation performs on the 835 chip, but it should hopefully be good enough to power a tablet sufficiently.

What would be better in the real world imo is if they could pack two (smaller) batteries into a phone this way giving you better battery life.

Also, it all depends on how well this home works, how it would work ergonomically and it would look like something you want to use from a design point of view. And also whether the first generation doesn't have crippling problems.
 

derFeef

Member
I just want a slick, not too big, new windows phone. The Surface Phone does seem very specialized and not what I want from a new Windows Phone :(
It's also not going to be successful I fear as this will be expensive.
 

hadareud

The Translator
I suspect that Microsoft will focus on creating something different while hoping that other OEM's will release standard phones (lol).

edit: the question is whether it is too specialised to be successful in any meaningful way. I mean a phone that's a tablet fits in perfectly with their Surface line (tablet that's a laptop and vice versa) and would probably be good enough to do at least 9 out of 10 things you currently use a computer for which is quite amazing. Unfortunately given the app gap, the device would not do 9 out of 10 things that most people currently use their phone or tablets for, more like 6 or 7.

So potentially great for business and enthusiasts, but probably not good enough for a "normal" person. I niche device that could do well for itself but would be unlikely to change very much about the ecosystem and the perception of the platform on the whole.
 
This could be a success, if its got the specs and dimensions. Its certainly wildly different, so itd have novelty on its.side.

Doesn't address the core issue, though. Lack of apps is whats know killing the platform more than anything else.
 

JaggedSac

Member
Interesting. What problem is that solving though. Is it giving a bigger screen in certain scenarios but a thicker smaller easier to handle device when using as a phone? It easily solves multitasking on a phone I guess though.
 

Milchjon

Member
Any opinions on the 650 and the current state of W10 Mobile?

Brother lost his 640, has very basic needs (WhatsApp, FB, Camera, Phone, SMS), and it still seems like the Androids in that price range aren't all that great.

(I'm trying to tell him that spending a hundred bucks more will get him a decent phone, but whatever).
 

clav

Member
650 runs on a SD 200 series chip. Very slow performance. Only reason that chip exists is to support a wide number of LTE bands at a low cost.

Would be a downgrade from 640 in terms of usability.
 
I suspect that Microsoft will focus on creating something different while hoping that other OEM's will release standard phones (lol).

edit: the question is whether it is too specialised to be successful in any meaningful way. I mean a phone that's a tablet fits in perfectly with their Surface line (tablet that's a laptop and vice versa) and would probably be good enough to do at least 9 out of 10 things you currently use a computer for which is quite amazing. Unfortunately given the app gap, the device would not do 9 out of 10 things that most people currently use their phone or tablets for, more like 6 or 7.

So potentially great for business and enthusiasts, but probably not good enough for a "normal" person. I niche device that could do well for itself but would be unlikely to change very much about the ecosystem and the perception of the platform on the whole.

At first yeah, but honestly I think the best shot of shrinking the app gap is being the default phone for business. If they make a splash users will eventually use for their own phones as well, and that would make a compelling reason for developers to port.

It was kinda how windows become huge in the user space, by becoming the default choice for business, and when people bought a pc for their homes they would buy the one they were already used to.

I believe ms has tried to hold off running win32 apps on arm for as long as they could, and now that's pretty much their only strength they will try to use that to lure users. If the phone is powerful enough I can see myself letting go of the surface tablet, and using only a phone/tablet and a dock when using it as a laptop or a desktop, could be even a cool setup since I usually only play on consoles anyway.
 
Any opinions on the 650 and the current state of W10 Mobile?

Brother lost his 640, has very basic needs (WhatsApp, FB, Camera, Phone, SMS), and it still seems like the Androids in that price range aren't all that great.

(I'm trying to tell him that spending a hundred bucks more will get him a decent phone, but whatever).

Like the other said, I still think 640 is the best performance per price on budget phones.

Save for the screen resolution and camera you don't feel like a budget device at all (unless you try to game, then the cheap processor shows its colors lol)
 

ElNino

Member
God, I miss metrotube app so damn much. I used that shit everyday for my commute, at office desk, in my bed. Just opwn any video and put it on audio mode. Or preload videos.

Why the fuck is thwre no similar app on Android :(
I know. My desire to go to YouTube has dropped dramatically since I started using Android. MetroTube/MyTube were infinitely better experiences than what Google has.
 

hadareud

The Translator
At first yeah, but honestly I think the best shot of shrinking the app gap is being the default phone for business. If they make a splash users will eventually use for their own phones as well, and that would make a compelling reason for developers to port.

It was kinda how windows become huge in the user space, by becoming the default choice for business, and when people bought a pc for their homes they would buy the one they were already used to.

I believe ms has tried to hold off running win32 apps on arm for as long as they could, and now that's pretty much their only strength they will try to use that to lure users. If the phone is powerful enough I can see myself letting go of the surface tablet, and using only a phone/tablet and a dock when using it as a laptop or a desktop, could be even a cool setup since I usually only play on consoles anyway.

Completely agree that business is the only viable market to go for and the only chance for a comeback.

They need it to succeed, too. Windows is becoming increasingly less relevant in business and they need to change that quickly. Don't get me wrong, I suspect that 80 to 90 % of business still runs on Windows in personal computing, but it's decreasing and that will only accelerate with Chromebooks becoming more powerful and prevalent in education etc. Windows on ARM is essentially the only chance they have to compete at that end of the market and even in business the app gap will hurt them (for now).

I think they need the OEMs to really embrace that end of the market and the only way they will is if the Surface Phone/Microsofts own ARM offerings are successful in the same way that the Surface Pro line has been successful in creating a new category that is profitable for OEMs.
 

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
My organization is in education, and I can tell you we doubled down on Windows after experimenting with tablets and Chromebooks. Plus office 365 is an absolute beast for productivity. Even for testing, we are finding thin clients are better suited than Chromebooks and better integrate our office tools.

Office is what keeps Microsoft out front, Google and Apple can't compete in a large organization, the tools just seem like cheap knockoffs.
 

mm04

Member
My organization is in education, and I can tell you we doubled down on Windows after experimenting with tablets and Chromebooks. Plus office 365 is an absolute beast for productivity. Even for testing, we are finding thin clients are better suited than Chromebooks and better integrate our office tools.

Office is what keeps Microsoft out front, Google and Apple can't compete in a large organization, the tools just seem like cheap knockoffs.

Not to mention Windows Server and SQL Server on the enterprise level.
 

dLMN8R

Member
The biggest challenges with Windows in education currently are how long it takes to set up and log into user accounts, and how much time is required for maintenance to keep the OS and apps updated.

Van - how does your organization deal with these issues? From what I understand, ease and speed of log-in and servicing is one of the biggest reasons why many schools choose to deploy Chromebooks.
 

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
The biggest challenges with Windows in education currently are how long it takes to set up and log into user accounts, and how much time is required for maintenance to keep the OS and apps updated.

Van - how does your organization deal with these issues? From what I understand, ease and speed of log-in and servicing is one of the biggest reasons why many schools choose to deploy Chromebooks.

I think we have a few things going for us that helps:

-we have centralized IT (I know a lot of districts are on their own and cobble together an IT team)

-we have a lot device types, but mostly we have reduced our labs away from laptops/desktops to thin clients. The remaining devices are all Windows 7 or newer and are centrally managed in terms of antivirus etc.

So basically setup was not a problem. Devices are joined to the network and we have single sign-on so logging in isn't a problem. External devices can connect to our limited (and monitored) internet but not network resources. Maintenance is an issue for sure, although its hardware maintenance mostly and that doesn't go away with chromebooks and tablets.

On the subject of things that don't go away with chromebooks and tablets: Even if the updates are done automatically, they can still wreak havoc on existing processes and software we use. For example, a Chromebook update in the middle of a testing window made our secure browser inaccessible, meaning we couldn't test students on those devices until we could figure out a workaround. Keeping apps updated is no easier on those devices either because custom apps get updated on Windows first most times, and updating Office is no longer an issue now that it's cloud based.

Finally, the "ease of use" argument might make more sense once our workforce becomes younger, but older folks and folks my age (30's) and even late 20's have no problems using Windows PC's. In fact, many of them prefer PC's to devices, ESPECIALLY for productivity. Don't ask a principal to type anything on a damn ipad. Don't ask a coordinator to use a chromebook, just give them Windows with Office and Outlook preloaded and they're good to go. Now, when my daughter's generation grows up, things will be easier. She isn't as comfortable with PC's, but that's still a ways off.
 
So, since Fitbit seems to have bought Pebble, and Fitbit seems eager to support Windows Phone... Do we have any word on them bringing Pebble support to Windows?
 

gamz

Member

gamz

Member
My organization is in education, and I can tell you we doubled down on Windows after experimenting with tablets and Chromebooks. Plus office 365 is an absolute beast for productivity. Even for testing, we are finding thin clients are better suited than Chromebooks and better integrate our office tools.

Office is what keeps Microsoft out front, Google and Apple can't compete in a large organization, the tools just seem like cheap knockoffs.

Office 365 is a beast. When they first announced it I thought it would be a disaster until my company went to it and it's amazing product.
 

kharma45

Member
Office 365 is a beast. When they first announced it I thought it would be a disaster until my company went to it and it's amazing product.

I can never understand why we went Google in work. It's fine for some things but you can't do proper work in Sheets. At least I've still the desktop version of Office to fall back on.
 
Minecraft Pocket Edition is dead for Windows Mobile. Not really sure if the Windows 10 edition is going to be available on mobile or if they really just do not care.
 

NeOak

Member
1520 dies during the day even with 49% battery left.

Ordered an international 950 XL. Thought about the Elite X3, but I need a good camera and I didn't want to spend more than $300.
 
1520 dies during the day even with 49% battery left.

Ordered an international 950 XL. Thought about the Elite X3, but I need a good camera and I didn't want to spend more than $300.

Yeah that's how my 1520 died, battery would be half charged and it would just die.
 

kharma45

Member
Save money.

We have had some degree of cost cutting of late but I don't think this is one, not seeing as we're still keeping Office alongside it for our more than 20,000 staff in the UK. Still going to be seven figures annually to use G Suite I'd imagine.
 

gamz

Member
We have had some degree of cost cutting of late but I don't think this is one, not seeing as we're still keeping Office alongside it for our more than 20,000 staff in the UK. Still going to be seven figures annually to use G Suite I'd imagine.

Yeah, then that's odd.
 

kharma45

Member
Yeah, then that's odd.

I'd assumed that if we were going to utilise collaborative working and the cloud we'd go Office 365 but we do have a growing relationship with Google which is likely the main driver. I do like certain things about it but I could never seriously use Sheets for work. I don't know anyone who does. Hell there's a lot I know don't even want to move over to Gmail and have to be almost pushed.
 

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
I've been getting daily resets on my 950XL on the production build. Pretty annoying. Might as well be on the fast ring.

When this happened to me, I could usually trace it back to an SD card issue. SD cards have been really problematic for me on Windows Mobile.
 

mm04

Member
Yeah my 950 kept on crashing while taking photos. Was annoying as hell so I got an unlocked Moto X Pure Edition for cheap in the meantime. It's a pretty good phone too bad the camera isn't that great.
 
Sad to hear about the issues. My 950XL has primarily been a cinemagraph tool for special events. When I do post a pic on social media though I get nothing but "OMG, what app are you using?"
 
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