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Windows Phone 8.1 |OT| Update 1

H

hadareud

The Translator
So I bought a Fitbit Charge 2.

It's nice enough, but it's not a Band 2. The Band is just a lot nicer, screen, build, usability, app etc. It also overestimates steps by quite a bit (15% higher than the band).

Will have a workout tonight to see how they compare there, also curious about the sleep tracking.

But my initial impression is that I really, really want a Band 3. Fucking hell, Microsoft.
 
A

Astral/H3X

Member
hadareud said:
So I bought a Fitbit Charge 2.

It's nice enough, but it's not a Band 2. The Band is just a lot nicer, screen, build, usability, app etc. It also overestimates steps by quite a bit (15% higher than the band).

Will have a workout tonight to see how they compare there, also curious about the sleep tracking.

But my initial impression is that I really, really want a Band 3. Fucking hell, Microsoft.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have the Blaze, and the Band 2 is ultimately a much "nicer" package, but the Blaze is much more apparent in its durability.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
hadareud said:
So I bought a Fitbit Charge 2.

It's nice enough, but it's not a Band 2. The Band is just a lot nicer, screen, build, usability, app etc. It also overestimates steps by quite a bit (15% higher than the band).

Will have a workout tonight to see how they compare there, also curious about the sleep tracking.

But my initial impression is that I really, really want a Band 3. Fucking hell, Microsoft.
Click to expand...

How do you know it's not the Band that is less accurate?
 
S

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
brotkasten said:
How do you know it's not the Band that is less accurate?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I found my Band 2 missed a lot of steps. Mostly when say walking somewhere in the house briefly. Band 1 was better for steps than Band 2.

Most of the other aspects the Band 2 is better than the Charge 2, except for battery life and the app.
 
H

hadareud

The Translator
brotkasten said:
How do you know it's not the Band that is less accurate?
Click to expand...

Counted the steps.

The point about the band not tracking all the steps when you're doing short bursts at home is true, though. Not that I'd consider those actual steps myself - I'm quite happy to be targeted to actual walking.
 
S

Steelyuhas

Member
For those that have had Band and Fitbits, what's the experience like now for sleeping data and for using it as an alarm in the morning? Back when I had a fitbit years ago, the alarm experience wasn't very good.
 
juliushandle

juliushandle

Member
Steelyuhas said:
For those that have had Band and Fitbits, what's the experience like now for sleeping data and for using it as an alarm in the morning? Back when I had a fitbit years ago, the alarm experience wasn't very good.
Click to expand...
I have a band 2 and it's fine for an alarm but have nothing to compare it to. Great that I can wake up without my wife hearing an alarm.
 
S

Steelyuhas

Member
camajise said:
I have a band 2 and it's fine for an alarm but have nothing to compare it to. Great that I can wake up without my wife hearing an alarm.
Click to expand...
Yeah I don't think I could ever go back to a traditional alarm after waking up with the buzz of the wrist for the last couple years.

But, to be more specific when I had a Fitbit years ago there was no snooze ability, which may have been because of the specific device? Either way, that'd be an issue for me.
 
juliushandle

juliushandle

Member
Steelyuhas said:
Yeah I don't think I could ever go back to a traditional alarm after waking up with the buzz of the wrist for the last couple years.

But, to be more specific when I had a Fitbit years ago there was no snooze ability, which may have been because of the specific device? Either way, that'd be an issue for me.
Click to expand...
There's a snooze as well as an option for smart alarm where if you already had enough sleep the alarm will wake you sooner.
 
H

hadareud

The Translator
For some reason I don't have sleep stages (yet), so the sleep information is basically absolutely useless.

The app is nicely designed and very fast, but I miss the data and detail of the Band. It's like going from a pro product to a home user version.

Steps seem to even themselves out btw, so that's fine.

All in all, I think I'll return it. I'm going to try it for another couple of days first to see whether I change my mind, though.

edit: GPS tracking/distance covered is highly inaccurate on the Fitbit on my first try, btw. Went for a walk for lunch, the actual distance is ~3k, probably just over. Band 2 tracks it as 2.7k (it's always a bit under with the hiking feature), the Fitbit was 2.3k. I was always annoyed that the Band underestimated slightly, but almost 30% is a bit ridiculous. The connected GPS doesn't have seemed to be working, but even with stride length alone the Band is a lot more accurate.
 
S

Sordid

Member
Not sure what's happened but both 950XL's in my house have started acting up, earlier today I tried phoning someone a few times and there was just silence on my end. Restarted and it worked okay but it turns out the calls actually went through and there was just silence on their end too. The other phone started rebooting randomly 10+ times a day out of nowhere last week. If this new update doesn't fix things it might finally be time to move to Android :(

Edit: On top of that both phones sometimes refuse to open the camera app and need to be rebooted for it to work. Not great when you're after a quick pic haha
 
D

derFeef

Member
All of that sucks :(
I really want my 950 back. Android works, but that's it.
Also I am going to buy a 650 for my GF as I know she would HATE Android.
 
C

clav

Member
Scorpio looks like four hundred ninety nine us dollars.

Custom SoC.
Custom Thick Heatsink with a marketing name.
12GB GDDR5 replacing 8GB DDR3.
Long PCB traces with memory chips all on top rather than trying to cut costs by putting them on the bottom.

Panos was tweeting articles, so definitely the Surface team is behind the design.

Would be surprised if final MSRP is $399 as that would cost the same as a graphics card.
 
M

maeh2k

Member
The Scorpio seems like a waste of time for Microsoft.It's not the quasi-generational leap many were hoping for. The CPU is only ~30% faster than the One and even on PS4/XBO those Jaguar CPUs were basically underpowered.

So Playstation is outselling Xbox 2:1, launched the Pro model a year earlier, and relative difference in power between the Scorpio and the Pro is less than the difference between Xbox One and Playstation 4. And even for those two, the difference in power didn't matter all that much.

The Scorpio might really appeal to the ten people who have a 4k TV...
 
NeOak

NeOak

Member
maeh2k said:
The Scorpio seems like a waste of time for Microsoft.It's not the quasi-generational leap many were hoping for. The CPU is only ~30% faster than the One and even on PS4/XBO those Jaguar CPUs were basically underpowered.

So Playstation is outselling Xbox 2:1, launched the Pro model a year earlier, and relative difference in power between the Scorpio and the Pro is less than the difference between Xbox One and Playstation 4. And even for those two, the difference in power didn't matter all that much.

The Scorpio might really appeal to the ten people who have a 4k TV...
Click to expand...

lol wut

Did you even read the articles or are just regurgitating something a random Sony fanboy said about the specs of the machine?
 
M

maeh2k

Member
NeOak said:
lol wut

Did you even read the articles or are just regurgitating something a random Sony fanboy said about the specs of the machine?
Click to expand...

I believe it was either Tom Warren or Paul Thurrott who tweeted the 30%. Seeing that it's still Jaguar-based an the clock rate increase isn't that dramatic, that seemed plausible.

As for the ratio between Scorpio/Pro and XBO/PS4, I'm pretty sure the difference between PS4 and XBO was slightly more than 6 tflops / 4 tflops. Considering diminishing returns, that doesn't seem all that meaningful.
 
NeOak

NeOak

Member
maeh2k said:
I believe it was either Tom Warren or Paul Thurrott who tweeted the 30%. Seeing that it's still Jaguar-based an the clock rate increase isn't that dramatic, that seemed plausible.

As for the ratio between Scorpio/Pro and XBO/PS4, I'm pretty sure the difference between PS4 and XBO was slightly more than 6 tflops / 4 tflops. Considering diminishing returns, that doesn't seem all that meaningful.
Click to expand...

That's quite an oversimplification of what Scorpio has. The Draw calls in HW are something that no other machine has. Also, the extra 4GB of RAM and other things.

Basically: They are idiots.
 
M

maeh2k

Member
NeOak said:
That's quite an oversimplification of what Scorpio has. The Draw calls in HW are something that no other machine has. Also, the extra 4GB of RAM and other things.

Basically: They are idiots.
Click to expand...

No doubt the GPU is great, but if the CPU can't match it... Besides the Scorpio/Pro are still tied to XBO/PS4 as long as all games have to run on both. Playing the same game in 4k vs. 1080p doesn't make much of a difference to me.
Either way, it's not going to turn the tides in the sales competition this generation.
 
C

clav

Member
Framerate is everything man.

If you can keep a game at 60 fps with increased visual fidelity, then it enhances the experience.
 
J

Jallopy

Member
Well, just bought a Samsung Galaxy S7; been with Windows Phone since 7, a Samsung Focus Flash. End of an era. If they still sold em, I'd still buy em, but what can ya do.
 
C

clav

Member
derFeef said:
Guys. Joe will save us.
Click to expand...

Billy G already gave up.

GdJJHRV.jpg
Click to expand...
 
S

Sordid

Member
What's the best WP style launcher for Android? Seems like it's between Launcher10 and SquareHome2?

My fiancé's 950 XL still reboots multiple times a day 10 days later so I've ordered her a cheapish Android phone to replace it with. I'll probably be moving on soon myself too, sad times :( I've been on Windows since I was given an HTC Diamond on Windows Mobile 6. It seems like MS have totally lost interest and the lack of apps has finally affected me, Discord on my phone would be really handy. Ah well.
 
J

Jallopy

Member
Sordid said:
What's the best WP style launcher for Android? Seems like it's between Launcher10 and SquareHome2?

My fiancé's 950 XL still reboots multiple times a day 10 days later so I've ordered her a cheapish Android phone to replace it with. I'll probably be moving on soon myself too, sad times :( I've been on Windows since I was given an HTC Diamond on Windows Mobile 6. It seems like MS have totally lost interest and the lack of apps has finally affected me, Discord on my phone would be really handy. Ah well.
Click to expand...

I just left W10 Mobile for Samsung S7, I use SquareHome 2. With some tweaking, it's a decent approximation of live tiles.
 
T

Treo360

Member
Jallopy said:
I just left W10 Mobile for Samsung S7, I use SquareHome 2. With some tweaking, it's a decent approximation of live tiles.
Click to expand...


Awesome, I just impulse ordered my first android since gingerbread. Yup, the S8+. Been with Windows since 7, and loved every minute of it. My 950xl will carry my music and be my point and shoot for some time to come.
 
M

megarockexe

Member
I know a lot of people are upset about this reddit thread, but they're not wrong. This really is the end, isn't it? I guess Windows Mobile is basically entering the Windows RT phase where it gets its last update before being officially phased out.

Used to be that Windows Phone/Mobile was "swirling down the drain", or a sinking ship. Now to just plain old dead. They just need to say it. But well, at least I can say I held out to the very end. My Lumia 920 still chugs along 4 years after I bought it.
 
K

Klocker

Member
Sordid said:
What's the best WP style launcher for Android? Seems like it's between Launcher10 and SquareHome2?
Click to expand...

SquareHome2

Edit.. sh2 is more fully featured and you may want to add Wicons app for white icons but launcher 10 is a little more like real thing less fully featured but big release is upcoming
 
B

brotkasten

Member
With the death of Windows Phone, I'm really worried about Whatsapp pulling support from the platform. I got at least 3 Windows Phones in the family and I'm not looking forward to replace them.
 
V

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
I got two left, still trying to figure out the best upgrade path for them. iPhone is no longer the obvious ease of use champion imo but probably still better than most Android skins.
 
M

Milchmann

Member
brotkasten said:
With the death of Windows Phone, I'm really worried about Whatsapp pulling support from the platform. I got at least 3 Windows Phones in the family and I'm not looking forward to replace them.
Click to expand...

Whatsapp supported Windows Phone 7, Blackberry and Nokia S40 and S60 till the end of 2016. So I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
BeforeU

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
NeOak said:
What is he saying?
Click to expand...

From past couple of months he is constantly blabbing about how bad the Pixel. He absolutely hates it, calls it unreliable and a mess of a device. Without explaining a thing. He is saying its worst than any Nexus devices.

I just can not understand that dude anymore.
 
L

LostMyNarbles

Member
In fairness if Reddit is anything to go by the Pixel is a quality control mess. It feels like the Pixel subreddit is riddled with X isn't working or RMA'ing for Y reason.
 
BeforeU

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
LostMyNarbles said:
In fairness if Reddit is anything to go by the Pixel is a quality control mess. It feels like the Pixel subreddit is riddled with X isn't working or RMA'ing for Y reason.
Click to expand...

Oh I see

Yeah then its possible if he had a faulty one. But he should still clarify the issues he has been having instead of constantly calling it the worst device etc. etc.

I have been using the phone since December. It has been joy. Battery life is unfreaking real. Not a single lag ever. It is like a dream device for Windows Phone users. Buttery smooth like iPhone and original Windows Phone. And very clean and customizable stock Android. Monthly updates. Love it so much that I am thinking of giving this to my dad so I can buy Pixel 2 later this year.
 
P

Paganmoon

Member
VanMardigan said:
Does anyone know if the Fitbit notifications work now? Or what I need to do to get it working?
Click to expand...

Nope, still lots of GATT issues in the OS, so they really don't work at all. MS has told Fitbit that further updates and fixes will go out after CU has been released, but no real timeframe. I really wouldn't hold my breath for it.
 
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