Windows die-hards throw in the towel
Earlier on I came across some articles from one of well renowned writers at the Verge and ZDNet, Tom Warren and Ed Bott both known for their love for Windows. Tom Warren in particular a long time Windows user who finally proclaimed he is switching hands to Apple’s iOS with his iPhone 6 till when things turn around. And surprisingly he is the resident Windows guy at that particular blog which prompted me to ask myself why such a long time Windows user will be tempted to leave the platform.
And now this is my take
Personally, have always longed to finally let you know why you should take your time to upgrade to a Windows Phone handset. As a Senior Reviews & Features Editor at techjaja, I usually rotate around platforms in my reviews especially on the handsets I handle. Today you’ll find me holding an iPhone, the next day a droid and the following day a Lumia and that’s my cycle.
It has come to my notice that Windows phone is not at par with its other counterparts, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. I had a week long interaction with a Lumia 920 and guess what, these were my observations regarding Microsoft’s platform and I presume it will be one of the reasons why you should jump ship to another platform.
First of all, the UI and the UX are to their simplest and getting along wasn’t so much of a hustle unlike with Android; but that shouldn’t guarantee as to why you should get stuck to WP after all since iOS is likewise simple. On serious scrutiny, it all came down to apps since these get us along through those long work days. From organizing our schedules, reminding us on when to wake up, when its our friend’s birthday, staying in touch with them and sharing those selfies just to mention but a few.
The same old story:”We lack Apps”
Although the Windows Store counts its self to have more than 500,000 apps, that’s miles away from catching up with the App store or Play store each counting more than a million apps at our disposal. Of course these app stores have had plenty of time to build a legion of apps, but Redmond has been courting developers to its platform and the results haven’t been that impressive regarding quality unlike numbers. You shouldn’t ask me any question if I claim quantity doesn’t correlate with quality.
Owing to the previous paragraph, I am in the right position to say that Windows phone lacks in this particular segment and so the continued trailing behind the Play Store and the App Store. Most of the apps all seem to be forgotten, with no updates likely in the near future. The feel you’ll have with twitter on iOS or Android isn’t the same feel you’ll have with a Windows Phone port. All top apps on other platforms are miles ahead of their WP counterparts. No regular updates within sight.
And most interestingly, you can’t find some essential apps on Windows Phone and the ones available have some geographical restrictions that accompany them. So to fill up this void, I had to use some third party apps to be at par with my colleagues using Android flagships and the iPhone. Since Twitter was a boring mess, I used MoTweets (I loved this since those days while still on Windows Mobile with my Samsung B7320 Omia Pro), Phonely as a Feedly client, 6tag for Instagram and many more.
Finding other equivalents also proved a problem since I couldn’t find the likes of Quora, MailBox and the mess I had to go through finding a YouTube App. The one built by Microsoft actually redirects you to YouTube’s mobile site. But I guess that stems from the Google-Microsoft wrangles regarding that particular app. Foursquare felt more of like a forgotten son and still bore the old logo and its spinoff, Swarm App was nowhere to be seen. But that didn’t come as a surprise.
The updates couldn’t save the situation or may be Windows 10 will be a savior Amen
Even with the Black & Cyan updates, not so much changed to tempt me stick to the Lumia except its battery life and may be it’s photography tweaks. Besides the platform being plagued with lack of apps, updates are a miracle and Microsoft needs to do a lot to lure users to its mobile platform. Many feel forgotten and devoted users will soon be tempted to switch platforms.
And the latest developments where Microsoft has launched a series of Apps on competing platforms are more of a scare than a commitment to its longtime WP users however much it makes sense business-wise. Microsoft has long won on exclusivity with its Xbox gaming consoles but has taken a different approach regarding its mobile division. It’s a win-win situation for the software giant and competing platforms but let’s anticipate things will change with the upcoming Windows 10.
Hero Image Credit: SmartMania.cz
