I'm a long-time Mac user, have an iMac, a Macbook Air and an iPad 2. I'm due for a new phone, but I'm tired of staring at the same interface on all my devices and wouldn't mind something different as long as it won't cause huge headaches. I've been using the LG Optimus One for the past year because it was cheap and I had just lost a brand new iPhone at the time. It's clearly laggy and overall not as polished an experience as IOS, but Android has been decent and for the price I can't complain at all. I recently played around with an HTC Radar and found the Windows Phone 7.5 surprisingly slick. The upcoming Nokia Sea Ray looks pretty nice too. I don't need a lot of apps and I don't play games often (i'm more likely to use my iPad anyway). I just want really good core apps (email, music player, web, productivity, whatsapp, etc.) and I want to be able to sync with my Apple universe, and also to tether to my iPad. Are the available sync programs sufficient? Will I be tied to Bing for everything? What will I be missing out on? Any feedback much appreciated!
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Will I regret switching to a Windows phone?
- Thread starter c1000
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Only you can determine whether a given phone meets/exceeds your needs. They do have limited mac support and if you're ingrained in the apple ecosystem, syncing it may be an issue.
Over all, if you like the phone and it meets your needs why worry about any sort of buyers remorse
Over all, if you like the phone and it meets your needs why worry about any sort of buyers remorse
This is what I have been telling all my Mac user friends looking at phones other than the iPhone. Keeping everything in the same system makes everything work together so nicely. Especially now with iCloud(and before to an extent with MobileMe) everything can stay in sync so nicely.
Love my Windows Phone now that Mango (7.5) has arrived. All of my music syncs just fine, and my contacts and calendars (which are kept in Gmail anyway), work great. The only thing I don't like are the prices of applications ($2 difference on games, because they are integrated with Xbox Live, which I don't even have) and somewhat the availability of some apps, though that is getting better with time.
You probably have 30 days to try out a new phone, so I'd say give it a shot, and if you don't like it, you can return it and go with something else.
You probably have 30 days to try out a new phone, so I'd say give it a shot, and if you don't like it, you can return it and go with something else.
MS Windows mobile: abandoned
MS Plays4Sure DRM: abandoned
MS Plays4Sure players: abandoned
MS Zune: abandoned
etc.
MS Plays4Sure DRM: abandoned
MS Plays4Sure players: abandoned
MS Zune: abandoned
etc.
I am sure we could make a list of abandoned Apple products too. I don't intend to keep my phone for decades, so it seems like a non-issue to me. I think the OP ought to look at their needs, their budget, and the phones available on the market.
Personally, I think what the OP wants (a device that plays friendly with software developed by another manufacturer) is unlikely to occur in my lifetime. Heck, it's tough enough to get products within the same ecosystem to play together well.
By the way, does the UI matter that much?
Been waiting for a long time for all my gear to sync, that just happened Monday afternoon when I got back from the Huntsville Apple store with my iPhone 4S...... Now I have a HTC Incredible in mint condition that's going to make someone else happy when they get it.....Now my Mac Pro, Mac Book Pro, iPad2, iPod Touch and my iPhone 4S all talk to each other very nicely. Like the Man said "It Just Works" Sometimes that means a lot.... For me if I never have to touch a windows based product ever again I'll be a happy old man..... Just do as you wish, there always be other phones other OS's check them out closely before you pull the trigger..... I did..... Good Luck On Your Hunt 
I'm a fan of Windows Phone - I'm using an iPhone 4S now (mostly due to the fact that I've got apple products across the board otherwise), but I used a Samsung Focus for the better part of a year, and I really liked the OS.
The windows phone connector for Mac (in the Mac App Store) works very well as well. My suggestion - if you can try one out for a while, that's the best way to figure out if it's for you.
The windows phone connector for Mac (in the Mac App Store) works very well as well. My suggestion - if you can try one out for a while, that's the best way to figure out if it's for you.
Has any of you besides the two people who mentioned earlier that they have used or are using windows 7 phone ever held one and really used it? It seems to me that a lot of people are basing all their information on assumptions and 3rd party stories and post as to how horrible it is and really have no merit what so ever.
I tried a HTC HD7S before I decided on the 4S. I really enjoyed the OS - the UI is innovative and really does work well for a phone. Fonts are beautiful and easy to read, and the applications are very nice to look at.
However, there are several glaring omissions that made me sadly return the HD7S and get my third iPhone.
The first is Internet Explorer. Even with the improved HTML5 support, it still just sucks. With apologies to Microsoft, Webkit is just superior in every way.
Second, the Maps app. Even Apple's lagging Google Maps app is superior to the Bing Maps app on Windows Phone. Google Maps has directions for public transit, for one. This feature is a must for a frequent public transit user such as myself.
And thirdly, the Windows Phone accessibility features is subpar. Almost nonexistent, in fact.
For those three reasons, I feel Windows Phone has potential, but isn't ready to replace iOS for me.
However, there are several glaring omissions that made me sadly return the HD7S and get my third iPhone.
The first is Internet Explorer. Even with the improved HTML5 support, it still just sucks. With apologies to Microsoft, Webkit is just superior in every way.
Second, the Maps app. Even Apple's lagging Google Maps app is superior to the Bing Maps app on Windows Phone. Google Maps has directions for public transit, for one. This feature is a must for a frequent public transit user such as myself.
And thirdly, the Windows Phone accessibility features is subpar. Almost nonexistent, in fact.
For those three reasons, I feel Windows Phone has potential, but isn't ready to replace iOS for me.
There's your reason.
Life is short and needs to be as interesting as possible.
IMO, get the Android and have a ball. It's a phone, not a wife.
If you're the kind of person that likes to experiment than you should also be able to handle some minor frustrations and annoyances that come with it. Windows 7 phone is pretty slick. Just don't count on things being seamless with all your Apple stuff.
Personally, I use a phone, not for tinkering, but for making my life simple. Staying within the apple ecosystem (for me) is the best solution. Everything just works well together without much effort. Life is short, why waste time fighting with a phone?
Personally, I use a phone, not for tinkering, but for making my life simple. Staying within the apple ecosystem (for me) is the best solution. Everything just works well together without much effort. Life is short, why waste time fighting with a phone?
Does it matter? The OP wants something different (not Apple) that syncs well with Apple stuff. Apple doesn't always sync well with Apple, so I doubt Microsoft will do a better job of that. The UI could blow my mind away, but it won't matter to me if it doesn't use the ecosystem in which I am existing/trapped/enjoying.
I actually think the phones look cool, and I am interested to see where Microsoft goes with Windows 8. But, without a thriving ecoystem, it is dead to me. Eye candy, and nothing more.
I had a windows phone for a few months but ended up selling it as I preferred the iPhone and u can really do a lot on the new windows mobile
There is no way to sync your contacts with your Mac unless you use Windows Live or something like that. I had a WP7 phone and it was nice but it was near impossible to get my contacts, calendars and other things to sync properly. This was a few months ago and things may have changed. You can try www.markspace.com and see if they have provided a solution. WP7 is not bad. Very different but not bad at all.
Yes, you will regret it.
Everyone else has mentioned the inability to sync easily with Apple products, so I won't go into that. My experience with Windows Phone is that it doesn't have nearly the same level of developer interest as iOS or Android, so there are a number of "cross-platform" apps that are only available for iOS and Android, but not Windows Phone.
Don't get me wrong, I think Windows Phone 7 looks really great, and I'd seriously think about getting one of those instead of an Android device if I couldn't have an iPhone.
Everyone else has mentioned the inability to sync easily with Apple products, so I won't go into that. My experience with Windows Phone is that it doesn't have nearly the same level of developer interest as iOS or Android, so there are a number of "cross-platform" apps that are only available for iOS and Android, but not Windows Phone.
Don't get me wrong, I think Windows Phone 7 looks really great, and I'd seriously think about getting one of those instead of an Android device if I couldn't have an iPhone.
My brother-in-law switched to a Windows phone and loves it... his computers are macs, and he seems to have no problem with syncing. I played with his phone for a while and it's pretty nice. If I was going to switch phones I would probably go with Windows.
I have mac, but i do not want an iphone.
I will buy a nokia with wp, so whatever you do do not buy one until you have checked out the new nokias.
I will buy a nokia with wp, so whatever you do do not buy one until you have checked out the new nokias.