Anyone here made the jump from iOS to WP7?

[Dr McKay]

I love my iPhone 4S, and I'm pretty fond of iOS, however I love WP7 as an OS, and have been toying with the idea of making a switch to WP7 for a while now, with the imminent release of the Nokia Lumia 900 the temptation has never been so strong.

One of the biggest things holding me back so far has been that I've invested a fortune into the iOS app store, but if the experience of WP7 is worth it I may be inclined to make the sacrifice.

To anyone that has made the leap from iOS to WP7, what was it like? What do you love or hate about WP7? Was it easy making the transition and learning a new OS? Would you recommend it?

 

[Calidude]

WP is tempting me much more than Android is, that's for sure. It actually follows the Apple model in a way that looks headed towards a middle ground between iOS and Android. It would only be logical for an iOS user to be more attracted to WP than Android.

Give it another 2 years to bake and WP will be a considerable force, especially once every Windows desktop user is using the Metro interface. Right now there's too few apps, too few features, and not enough support.

 

[4sFanatic]

Anyone here made the jump from iOS to WP7?

I almost made the jump, but from Android to W7.
But when the 4s JB came out, I immediately scooped up a 4s.
Without the JB, I think the 4s will be 3rd best in 2012.
(with the JB, 4s rocks!)

 

[Neverbepeace]

JB.....Install dreamboard.......install WP7 theme......best of both worlds

btw.......the theme is so much like the real OS. That is the beauty of the iPhone

 

[Aquaporin]

I did, but only because T-Mobile was much cheaper per month than at&t. I bought the Lumia 710. It's a decent phone, but I miss the apps on iOS. I'll never be happy with my cell phone.

 

[tigres]

I have to say that I may go back to windows after 8 comes out. I hate lion and am not happy with the dropped (like a rock) support for SL. The fact that windows is looking as classy as it is along with its phone line up it may be closer than I think.

I run a windows server environment anyway at work- so who knows. Apple is my love when it comes to products- but OSX has me thinking future changes may be possible for my clients/workstations and mobiles. Time will tell.

A good start would be iCloud support on SL since they are kicking me off mobile me in 5 months. Nice

 

[sviato]

I'm considering it since I've been a Windows user since I've started using computers. If it offers good integration with other windows products (like the future windows8 tablets) and software (such as Microsoft office), I think it would be quite an asset for me.

I do have some gripes about it, although I've never actually tried the OS so I won't shoot it down based on assumptions. Hopefully the Lumia 910 with LTE comes out in Canada in the spring or summer so I can pick it up and try it out!

 

[DerekRod]

That ****** UI turns me off if you want to test drive it on your phone use this link to do it it runs a simulation on your phones browser http://aka.ms/wpdemo

 

[TM WAZZA]

JB.....Install dreamboard.......install WP7 theme......best of both worlds

btw.......the theme is so much like the real OS. That is the beauty of the iPhone

I do this when I feel like some Metro UI goodness. It's RAM intensive though, so I've been using it only to show off to friends who don't know nothing about jailbreaking.

 

[DanteMann]

I'm running the 710 right now, and considering it's a low-mid level phone at best, I can say that MS has one solid mobile OS that does not rely on high end specs. Smooth, fluid, and intuitive best describes this OS. That is why I'm sticking with Windows Phone. I definitely will upgrade for the better camera on a higher end device. The 710 is the perfect phone for anyone that doesn't care for high end hardware, yet wants and extremely smooth and stable phone. Nokia was wise to go with the Windows Phone OS. Can't wait for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8.

 

[scott craft]

I was going to switch from android to iPhone, but I ended up taking a chance on windows phone. As it stands right now I plan on getting a Nokia windows phone as soon as it hits Verizon.

Sent from my Windows7 Phone using Board Express

 

[wickerman1893]

Depending on what iOS 6 brings to the table I will be considering switching to WP in the future.

 

[Mochi Hana]

I'm thinking about it. The Lumia 900 looks impressive.

 

[sentinelsx]

The problem with slow WP7 adoption is also MS not playing the Apple game in the marketing department. I go to my local mall with the apple store in it and it is hard to kill the temptation to step inside lol.

At least for android companies like samsung etc are pushing their phones in some way while WP7 marketing seems a lot more passive to me as if the OEMs and MS are just sitting on their butts waiting for it to take-off.

I have not seen a single WP7 ad in our newspapers while every day there are ads with android and blackberries and a couple days some iPhone ones. No one i know has any idea about WP7 or what it is. That is not a very good thing. Even BlackBerry is still a recognized brand. Sad because WP7 is actually a decent OS.

 

[Hastings101]

I had a Samsung Focus for about a year and really enjoyed Windows Phone 7. Live tiles > iOS homescreen icons. It also felt a lot more natural to use than iOS, there's more sliding and less tap tap tap tap.

If Microsoft would add dual core support and a higher resolution display for high end devices I would be using a new Windows Phone instead of an iPhone.

 

[scaredpoet]

I've used Windows Phone a few times. It's a nice, unique paradigm, and I'm glad Microsoft thought out of the box for once. If there were no iOS, or if Windows Phone 7 had come out first, it might be my OS of choice.

Unfortunately, for me while the interface looks visually nice, actually doing things... takes some doing. I think they've gone a little TOO simplistic in the interface, and because of that I've found that I have to go through more steps to do thing that I find quick and easy on my iPhone.

That, and the gratuitous negative space irks me. There's a time and a place for that sort of thing. Works of art for instance. An interface that's supposed to be functional and efficient isn't it though. It just strikes me as an attempt by Microsoft to out-Apple Apple, just like Hello From Seattle.

Lastly, I just don't like the browser. I've never liked IE or the way the trident layout engine renders websites, and I found it irritating to use as a mobile browser. But again, if there were no WebKit, I would settle for it... simply because the lack of something better would force me to tolerate it.

 

[ilifecomputer]

I switched after 4 years of iphoning. It has been a refreshing and smooth experience so far. I still love iOS but wp7 is amazingly fluid and fulfilling. Will consider iOS again this fall, but could easily imagine staying with wp7 for a while longer.

 

[Calidude]

A big thing that has been keeping iOS users away from Windows Phone is the fact that every handset looks like your generic Android handset.

Once Nokia starts rolling out the premium handsets that mirror the Apple quality we're used to, you'll see a lot of people leaving Android and iOS.

 

[tigres]

A big thing that has been keeping iOS users away from Windows Phone is the fact that every handset looks like your generic Android handset.

Once Nokia starts rolling out the premium handsets that mirror the Apple quality we're used to, you'll see a lot of people leaving Android and iOS.

I agree with you here. The old 8890 series comes to mind; I have 3 broken ones in my drawer- but I used them for years- art in form of a phone.

 

[scott craft]

I want that Nokia reception too. My current phone is weak on the reception department, so I'm wanting something better in that aspect.

Sent from my Windows7 Phone using Board Express

 

[motoleo]

I can't leave iOS. I like the look of WP7, but I can't leave iOS.

I will be using W8 tablets however.

In that picture above though from the OP, how can you get that aqua status bar?

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 4.0.2; en-gb; Galaxy Nexus Build/ICL53F) AppleWebKit/534.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/534.30)

I had a brief stint with the Omnia 7 and the whole WP7 experience to me was very plesant.

I loved Zune on the handset with Zune Pass and the Zune media manager is superb (better than iTunes on Windows IMO). The OS was smooth as silk and very easy to use.

The biggest negative at the time was the app selection and regularly higher prices on apps compared to iOS and Android. Secondly, there was very little Live Tile support for apps at the time but I believe things have imprpved since Mango's launch.

I've been keeping an eye on WP7 news sites (WMPoweruser and Windows Phone Central) and I'm extremely close to jumping back on ship again.

I'll wait for some announcements at Mobile World Congress at the end of the month to see what new flagship handsets are on offer.

WP7 is an impressive platform and deserves a lot more consumer support.

 

[kalsta]

I've used Windows Phone a few times. It's a nice, unique paradigm, and I'm glad Microsoft thought out of the box for once. If there were no iOS, or if Windows Phone 7 had come out first, it might be my OS of choice.

Unfortunately, for me while the interface looks visually nice, actually doing things... takes some doing. I think they've gone a little TOO simplistic in the interface, and because of that I've found that I have to go through more steps to do thing that I find quick and easy on my iPhone.

That, and the gratuitous negative space irks me. There's a time and a place for that sort of thing. Works of art for instance. An interface that's supposed to be functional and efficient isn't it though. It just strikes me as an attempt by Microsoft to out-Apple Apple, just like Hello From Seattle.

Lastly, I just don't like the browser. I've never liked IE or the way the trident layout engine renders websites, and I found it irritating to use as a mobile browser. But again, if there were no WebKit, I would settle for it... simply because the lack of something better would force me to tolerate it.

You pretty much took all the words out of my mouth with that comment. I never thought I'd see the day when Microsoft produced a GUI which looks like it was actually designed by a designer, instead of by a committee. But they've done that with WP7, so credit where credit's due. But as a UI, does it get out of your way or in your way? I haven't purchased one (and probably never will), so I really haven't used it long enough to give an authoritative answer, but I suspect that it's not as efficient to use as iOS. And really, there's nothing that I'm finding so wanting in iOS that I would seriously consider switching to another platform.

Oh, and I don't think I could ever like IE on any platform… Not after the years of pain developing for it has put me through. I can forgive many things, but not IE.

 

[Grayburn]

I have a Lumia 800 and it's lovely well built bit of kit that looks nice and feels nice in the hand but i'm not a massive fan of the OS.

The tiles are nice looking and it's quite fast but once past the tiles it just looks boring and doesn't blow me away. It's not got the apps or games that i'm used to using on a regular basis and that is what put's me off it as well.

I cant bring myself to use something that hasn't got everything i need like my IP4 has.

Shame i can't sell it yet as i've agreed i wont as it was given to me by Nokia for being in The Amazing Collective scheme.

 

[rjohnstone]

I have a Samsung Focus right now along with a Motorola Atrix and an iPhone 3GS.
I SIM swap all the time, but I can say that WP7.5 is very smooth even on a 1+ year old device.
The app store is finally getting pretty decent too.

MS actually did it right with the OS. It's optimized for the hardware, so dual core power hungry CPU's are actually needed.
Screen transitions are smooth as silk and there's no noticeable lag when running apps.

I'm waiting for the Lumia 900 to hit AT&T. I always love the N9 design, just hated Symbian. So now we will have the best of both worlds.