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I've had a 920 for a few days and I'm really torn

b166er

b166er

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 17, 2010
2,062
18
Philly
I picked up a Lumia 920 on Friday and I've been trying to use it as much as possible while I am still in my 14 day return window. But I'm coming up short in a few areas.

Pros-
-I think WP8 is awesome- the live tiles are great for seeing a lot of information quickly without doing a lot of opening and closing. Setting up a tile for a contact is second to none when it comes to keeping tabs on your close friends.
-The camera is awesome, there is no way around it. The extra lenses are great, the city lens feature is great, all around the camera smokes every other cell phone camera I've ever used.
-The screen is gorgeous, and I don't think I can go back to the iPhone 4S screen now. I never thought I'd be in the larger screen camp, but this thing has converted me.
-Office is integrated nicely
-the nokia maps (beta) are very nice, not perfect, but they smoke iOS maps.



Cons-
-The signal strength is weird. I'll be showing 5 bars of "4G" on my iPhone, and 1 bar on the 920. Yesterday I was in an LTE covered area and I had 1 bar of EDGE. Something weird going on there, I checked all my settings and can't see any issues there.
-Apps, of course. Most of what I need is available, but there is no skype, no dropbox, and no way to do google video chat. Those are pretty big misses for me personally. I expect those things will come in time, but not knowing when makes it hard for me to dedicate myself to the platform.
-Battery life seems all over the place. I used the Nokia Drive app for an hour yesterday and my battery barely budged. Today I was very busy at work and I only played with the phone for a few minutes, checking facebook and the like, and my battery went down to 60% pretty quick.
-Facebook integration on the OS is great, but the facebook app sucks. I use facebook enough for that to matter, unfortunately.
-The lockscreen has almost no functionality. I was hoping to be able to set up something in the vain of lockinfo like a jailbroken iPhone, but there is very little you can do here.

Anyone else using this phone and have any input? I don't think I can go back to a smaller screen now. I am not a huge Android fan, but it looks like an S3 would be more in the direction I'm looking to go. But damn, I would really miss the WP8 tiles.
 
A

Akash.B

macrumors regular
Mar 25, 2010
195
0
I have hopped and skipped from phone to phone in the past two months and I've finally gotten the Lumia. I'm having the weird issue with the battery too, but I'm pretty sure I just have to go through the cycles a few times before it starts behaving.
My main reason to get the Lumia was the fluidity and camera. Both are beyond what I expected. I know some major apps are missing, but I know they will be coming out as time goes on (Skype has to come, Microsoft owns it now!) I use the mobile version of Facebook on the browser and let the built in functionality tell me about any updates.
I think it will be hard to go back to any other device for me. iPhone has great apps and is smooth, but the screen isn't as exceptional. The GS3 has the customization, but for some reason lags (not majorly, but in minute enough amounts to become annoying)
 
B

Bkasm

macrumors member
Jul 27, 2010
65
2
Almost everything you mentioned can be handled through updates. Apps will come in time, if it gets the support. Which I believe it will. I'm using the Facebook app from the app store without any real problems. It's certainly not any worse than what I had on my iPhone.

I haven't personally had any issues with signal strength. My battery has also been fine from what I noticed, perhaps, like the other person said, you need a couple more cycles on it.

It just depends if you're willing to wait.
 
3bs

3bs

macrumors 603
May 20, 2011
5,434
24
Dublin, Ireland
Akash.B said:
I have hopped and skipped from phone to phone in the past two months and I've finally gotten the Lumia. I'm having the weird issue with the battery too, but I'm pretty sure I just have to go through the cycles a few times before it starts behaving.
My main reason to get the Lumia was the fluidity and camera. Both are beyond what I expected. I know some major apps are missing, but I know they will be coming out as time goes on (Skype has to come, Microsoft owns it now!) I use the mobile version of Facebook on the browser and let the built in functionality tell me about any updates.
I think it will be hard to go back to any other device for me. iPhone has great apps and is smooth, but the screen isn't as exceptional. The GS3 has the customization, but for some reason lags (not majorly, but in minute enough amounts to become annoying)
Click to expand...

You're right about the GS3 lagging. I never noticed it until I started using my friends and my sisters and they both lag compared to mine. I rooted and flashed a custom ROM (currently CM10) that's probably why mine is smooth. I think they were both on ICS though so maybe JB would take care of that.
 
Vegastouch

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,134
945
Las Vegas, NV
b166er said:
I picked up a Lumia 920 on Friday and I've been trying to use it as much as possible while I am still in my 14 day return window. But I'm coming up short in a few areas.

Pros-
-I think WP8 is awesome- the live tiles are great for seeing a lot of information quickly without doing a lot of opening and closing. Setting up a tile for a contact is second to none when it comes to keeping tabs on your close friends.
-The camera is awesome, there is no way around it. The extra lenses are great, the city lens feature is great, all around the camera smokes every other cell phone camera I've ever used.
-The screen is gorgeous, and I don't think I can go back to the iPhone 4S screen now. I never thought I'd be in the larger screen camp, but this thing has converted me.
-Office is integrated nicely
-the nokia maps (beta) are very nice, not perfect, but they smoke iOS maps.



Cons-
-The signal strength is weird. I'll be showing 5 bars of "4G" on my iPhone, and 1 bar on the 920. Yesterday I was in an LTE covered area and I had 1 bar of EDGE. Something weird going on there, I checked all my settings and can't see any issues there.
-Apps, of course. Most of what I need is available, but there is no skype, no dropbox, and no way to do google video chat. Those are pretty big misses for me personally. I expect those things will come in time, but not knowing when makes it hard for me to dedicate myself to the platform.
-Battery life seems all over the place. I used the Nokia Drive app for an hour yesterday and my battery barely budged. Today I was very busy at work and I only played with the phone for a few minutes, checking facebook and the like, and my battery went down to 60% pretty quick.
-Facebook integration on the OS is great, but the facebook app sucks. I use facebook enough for that to matter, unfortunately.
-The lockscreen has almost no functionality. I was hoping to be able to set up something in the vain of lockinfo like a jailbroken iPhone, but there is very little you can do here.

Anyone else using this phone and have any input? I don't think I can go back to a smaller screen now. I am not a huge Android fan, but it looks like an S3 would be more in the direction I'm looking to go. But damn, I would really miss the WP8 tiles.
Click to expand...

What do you mean there is no Skype? My Wife has a Windows phone (running 7.5) and she has Skype on it. There is a new Skype revamp coming soon to Windows 8 so maybe that is why?
 
b166er

b166er

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 17, 2010
2,062
18
Philly
Vegastouch said:
What do you mean there is no Skype? My Wife has a Windows phone (running 7.5) and she has Skype on it. There is a new Skype revamp coming soon to Windows 8 so maybe that is why?
Click to expand...

Skype is not available on the 920 as far as I can tell. MS says it is "coming soon"- I was a little upset to find this out because on several WP8 demos they clearly had a Skype tile on the screens, and the 920 is a WP8 flagship and there is no Skype yet. As it stands right now, the front facing camera serves no real purpose on the 920, unless you seriously take a lot of pictures of your own face. Skype and Google chat are the two biggest video chat options out there and neither of them are available.

All the hardware is awesome, I'm just struggling with some of these apps not being around. I know developers need some time to get it together, I'm not writing off the platform or anything. I'm just wondering how other 920/WP8 users are coping.

----------
Bkasm said:
Almost everything you mentioned can be handled through updates.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's true. I just don't want to fall back in to that mentality. I've been saying this about iOS for years now. If I could get the app selection of iOS and a lockinfo alternative on the 920 I would be in bliss. I really do dig WP8 a lot, I was just a little surprised that it is as closed off as iOS, maybe even more so.

The more I talk about it the more I can hear everyone thinking "what he wants is Android" but I'd love to not go down that road if I can avoid it.
 
Vegastouch

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,134
945
Las Vegas, NV
b166er said:
Skype is not available on the 920 as far as I can tell. MS says it is "coming soon"- I was a little upset to find this out because on several WP8 demos they clearly had a Skype tile on the screens, and the 920 is a WP8 flagship and there is no Skype yet. As it stands right now, the front facing camera serves no real purpose on the 920, unless you seriously take a lot of pictures of your own face. Skype and Google chat are the two biggest video chat options out there and neither of them are available.

All the hardware is awesome, I'm just struggling with some of these apps not being around. I know developers need some time to get it together, I'm not writing off the platform or anything. I'm just wondering how other 920/WP8 users are coping.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt worry about it. Im sure it just isnt optomized for windows 8 yet but it will be soon. I think they are revamping it a lot for Windows 8 so you dont have it now, but when you do, it should be a lot better than it was.

Have some patience, it will come. Just like Maps is messed up on the iP5...it will get better but people have to cope.

Did you look to see if Tango is in the App store? That does video chat as well.
 
b166er

b166er

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 17, 2010
2,062
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Philly
yeah I saw that but I think it was pulled down already. The link is dead from a PC and when you search for Skype from the phone it's still not there.
 
Vegastouch

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,134
945
Las Vegas, NV
Skype looks pretty cool once it comes and i bet it will be soon. That phone with the new tile setup looks impressive. I wish the 920 was also at T-Mobile. The off contract price is good too. $100 more than the Nexus 4 but still, it has twice the memory and perhaps a better camera.

Id be very torn if i could get both. Anybody ever heard if you can unlock a Windows phone? Id rather have either one over an iPhone 5.
 
Last edited:
blackfox

blackfox

macrumors 65816
Feb 18, 2003
1,210
4,574
PDX
Vegastouch said:
Skype looks pretty cool once it comes and i bet it will be soon. That phone with the new tile setup looks impressive. I wish the 920 was also at T-Mobile. The off contract price is good too. $100 more than the Nexus 4 but still, it has twice the memory and perhaps a better camera.

Id be very torn if i could get both. Anybody ever heard if you can unlock a Windows phone? Id rather have either one over an iPhone 5.
Click to expand...

I believe best buy offers unlocked Nokia Lumia 920s, and they are/were matching AT&T's price ($450 vs $600).

I've had a 920 for a few days and I love it.
 
thejadedmonkey

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,180
3,323
Pennsylvania
I've been using an 820 since Friday and think it's fantastic. Sure Skype isn't out yet, but I'm pretty sure Microsoft will get Skype into user hands soon. It's a great phone, great OS... It's really nice!
 
blackfox

blackfox

macrumors 65816
Feb 18, 2003
1,210
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PDX
Vegastouch said:
Ill have to go there tomorrow and check it out. Does the 920 use a micro sim?
Click to expand...

Yes. You should at least do a hands-on before purchase anyways. Untill you see it in person you can't really appreciate the design elements, and the weight may be an issue. I don't mind the latter at all, but opinions may vary.
 
Vegastouch

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,134
945
Las Vegas, NV
Messed around with a 920 today at a AT&T store.

I was very impressed with it. I dont think thickness of it is an issues at all and found it to be a bit thinner than i was expecting. Has a bit of weight to it but not like it is too heavy. It is a lot heavier than the HTC 8X which they also had but not something that is a deal breaker.
Nicely built, i like the feel of the plastic back....feels solid and the screen was beautiful. I liked the screen on it better than on the HTC 8X. Colors IMO were nicer. Both worked well.

I actually loved the feel of the HTC 8X. The back is nice. Has a slight rubberish feel to the back...just enough to make it feel different and a decent grip and it was much thinner but if i had to choose between them, id pick the Lumia. Great phone.

I didnt get a confirmation when i went to Best Buy on whether they sell it unlocked off contract or not since i couldnt get anyone to hel;p me and i didnt want to wait around all day. Usually i have to fight them off they come aroound so much...lol, but not today. I also had a question about the Levona Yoga Ultrabook but again, no help around.

Now i have to find out more info about an unlocked one but also if it can run 4G on T-Mobile. If not, no go for me but i am considering the 920 or the Nexus 4....which is why im not jumping in and ordering a N4 right away on top of wanting to see more reviews with the final OS on it.
 
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BoxerGT2.5

BoxerGT2.5

macrumors 68020
Jun 4, 2008
2,104
14,136
Looking around WP market and my god do the lack of apps kill the platform. The 920 is a nice piece of hardware, the UI is great, but the content is lacking so bad it's not even funny.
 
S

snow blind

macrumors regular
Mar 3, 2011
248
1
BoxerGT2.5 said:
Looking around WP market and my god do the lack of apps kill the platform. The 920 is a nice piece of hardware, the UI is great, but the content is lacking so bad it's not even funny.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Thank god i'm not a 13 year old craving angry birds and fart apps. They have what I need in terms of music, productivity and news... i'm set. WP8 also kind of begs for a leaner approach to mobile living. In a few months i'm sure the missing apps ( Pandora i'm talking to you ) will arrive.
 
BoxerGT2.5

BoxerGT2.5

macrumors 68020
Jun 4, 2008
2,104
14,136
snow blind said:
Agreed. Thank god i'm not a 13 year old craving angry birds and fart apps. They have what I need in terms of music, productivity and news... i'm set. WP8 also kind of begs for a leaner approach to mobile living. In a few months i'm sure the missing apps ( Pandora i'm talking to you ) will arrive.
Click to expand...

Citibank, united airlines, Dropbox, tunein radio are a few that I use quite a bit traveling that are missing.
 
Prototypical

Prototypical

macrumors 6502
Apr 22, 2011
413
57
Nebraska
BoxerGT2.5 said:
Citibank, united airlines, Dropbox, tunein radio are a few that I use quite a bit traveling that are missing.
Click to expand...

These types of apps will come in time. WP8 probably isn't for people who are hopelessly dependent on their devices, but there are plenty of people who can stand to be flexible and patient with app developers. Hopefully those are the people that buy into the WP8 ecosystem and help build up a third player in the market.

I agree with snow blind - I've looked into it, and most of my heavily used apps are available in some form or fashion already. I would miss Flipboard but I'm sure there is an alternative that will work until FB can get on board.
 
S

snow blind

macrumors regular
Mar 3, 2011
248
1
Prototypical said:
I agree with snow blind - I've looked into it, and most of my heavily used apps are available in some form or fashion already. I would miss Flipboard but I'm sure there is an alternative that will work until FB can get on board.
Click to expand...
I'm also super bummed that the FlipBoard devs say they (according to rumor) have no plans to bring it to WP8. :( I've been using Weave as a replacement... and it's actually pretty damn good! Live tile and themed perfectly too.
 
b166er

b166er

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 17, 2010
2,062
18
Philly
the preview version of Skype did roll out yesterday.

But without dropbox and some others, I may be faced with a deal breaker. I love this phone, especially the screen. But when I go app for app with the iPhone there are too many crucial ones missing for me. I am so disenfranchised with the iPhone I really thought making a transition away from it would be easy.

I'm still in my trial window for another 10 days so I'm going to really try to embrace WP8 and research the ETA on some of the essential apps I need. I wish developers were more quick to adapt this OS, it's so great. But I can't blame them for not wanting to invest their time on what could be another MS flop.
 
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