roll on 2015
If WinPhone is now looking competitive, Blackberry are showing the first signs of relevance again, Samsung are stumbling and Apple out of ideas 2015 could be a year of real choice in the mobile market again.
Occasionally a phonemaker hits one out of the park, getting almost everything right, and bringing it together in one satisfying package. Motorola did that with the Moto G, and Microsoft's (formerly Nokia) phones division has done the same with its Lumia 730 and 735 models. Nokia Lumia 735 Windows Phone A glimpse of …
My wife has a Lumia 800 running 7.5 at the moment. I'm trying to convert her to Android based on the fact that I can plug it directly to a PC and extract the photos to a PC without having to use other software such as Zune or iTunes. Does anyone know if that is possible with these new generation of Windows phones?
I know that on Windows phone 8 on I could on my Linux desktop machine,which no hassle, and my Windows laptop. In fact, I quite liked the use of the phone in general (a Lumia 620) but the deal breaker for me was the Music app was terrible on the phone, and the Mail client rather limited for my multiple Imap accounts. Apart from that, the build quality was excellent, I quite liked the tiled home screen.
HTHs
Plug it in and if you're on Windows it appears. You can browse the files or use the imaging software to sync.
If you're on a Mac you need a separate tool, but then Apple doesn't support MTP and you need a separate tool for Android phones too.
I went from WinPho to Android (HTC One and HTC One M8) back to WinPho. The HTC One was great but they killed it with the M8 by having 16GB internal memory. Changes to Android screwed up SD card handling meaning the apps I most wanted to use no longer worked.
Windows Phone 8.1 has made it a dream to use again. Quiet hours and driving mode (auto-responds to calls and SMS messages when you're driving) are two great additions. It feels like everything you need is built in or can be added to the OS with an app (but the features actually get added to the OS, not needing to go into a standalone tool).
Yes, it is possible. Windows Phones running version 8.X are seen as storage drives when plugged into a PC. You can copy from/paste to/sort various folders including music and pictures/video.
Having used the operating system since they first released WP7, this was one of the improvements I appreciated most (even though I liked the Zune software).
I can do it on my HTC 8X running WP8.0 (no sign any updates sadly :( ). If I plug it into my Win7 laptop via USB it pops up under Windows Explorer, where I can access folders for documents, music, pictures, ringtones and videos. It's not as open access as Android is, although that may in part be down to how it's set up (it's my corporate workphone).
There is a Windows program that you can download and install for the PC, but it's utterly useless and doesn't give much additional functionality than going directly in via explorer, other than a bit of hand-holding.
I was pretty sure you don't need to install the equivalent of those things (now called Windows Phone app) if you just want to access it as a drive. It does install something on Windows, but automates the driver installation just like any printer or portable drive, so I don't think you need to be concerned assuming you run Windows. The clumsy software you used with WP7.x is not used for WP8.x.
I have a 1020 on WP8.1 (was 8.0) and I would recommend the ecosystem. I previously had a Lumia 610 - the cheapest end of the 7.x range compared to the most expensive end of the 8.1 range I have now, and was impressed. All the reviews say the bottom/mid-range WP8.x phones are even better.
Yes, you can plug in a USB cable and copy photos and videos straight off the file system just like you can with Android.
You can also set OneDrive to automatically upload them through wireless when you're connected and sync your computer with that... I used to do similar with Dropbox in Android. That way, all your new photos and videos get on to your PC without you thinking about it.
As a long time Android user, I didn't find any real problem doing anything I wanted to do on Windows Phone 8.1 with the latest update now that VPN is supported. It also has the Swipe type keyboard which I got so used to on Android and really could not do without now.
Yup. You just connect with a cable and the phone apears as a new device. If your phone has internal and external storage it appears as two seperate folder and within that there are the standard folders:
Documents
Downloads
Music
Pictures
Videos
(Ringtones on the internal drive)
and any other folders that you create
On Windows you just drag and drop your files into the folder of your choice. I think there is a way to sync photos and music but I've never bothered dragging and dropping is the sync method of choice for me.
If you don't want to download video, or use your phone as an MP3 player, it's fine. I reckon that's actually a fair proportion of the market.
Of course 8Gb won't give you space for many apps either but again, loads of people want a smartphone for the purposes of text/phone, email and web-browsing. And I _think_ you could still fit on the entire UK maps for use with the GPS features.
Certainly not for everyone's uses, but didn't the article say it has removable storage as well as removable battery (can't be bothered to check now)?
Windowsphone 8.1 supports installing apps to the removable storage (though not all apps may offer the choice and certain functions seem to be part of the OS rather than a distinct app). I think also the only way to move an app between the two is to uninstall/reinstall which might be awkward if the settings aren't kept, but I haven't investigated. Certainly it's meant my phone (a 625 with 8Gb internal, and a 8Gb SD card) run without running out of internal storage and needing a reset. Better temporary file handling may also have played a part.
Maps for Nokia Drive is 530 Mb for the whole of the UK, but if you only wanted say Wales that is 110 Mb or so.
There's slot for SD card. So one can insert as much additional storage as they like. At additional cost, yes. But that certainly better than having several SKU differing only in amount of storage and at ridiculous prices.
And then there's Lumia 925 at a price ~30$ lower with 16 GB and no SD card slot. Which makes buying decisions more complicated.
The 925 has a very good camera indeed though so it is worth having at only 16GB if you don't need a large local store for your music.
After owning one for year or so, my friend has had to delete videos (the real killer) to free up space for more photos etc. The videos remain on OneDrive (until that fills up, 15GB I think is the free one now).
I have a 1020 which has 32GB, and hires pics gobble up insane amounts of storage so I sometimes delete the hires version of photos that are not going to need cropping etc. The hires version can stay on OneDrive or elsewhere just in case anyway.
With the 800 and my 1020 both are seen by Linux, both allow transfer of data onto the device, but the data isn't seen by the phone. The only way to get data from my laptop to my Lumia(s) so they can see it is by using Feem, a WP type of Airdroid app. Slow and useless for very large files.
"With the 800 and my 1020 both are seen by Linux, both allow transfer of data onto the device, but the data isn't seen by the phone."
That's my experience of Linux too - bugs and issues all the time. Just install Windows 7 or 8 and be done with it. If you really need Linux for something then just launch it under Virtual Box.
It does look like a nice phone, particularly the camera however the lumia 925 which is arguably the better phone and camera (but no expansion) is cheaper. This may change in the future, however this is still the problem that the 720 had - a good phone in the wrong price bracket.
Have you got it setup right? I have alerts come in when I get something from Twitter support, (only want to see them as they never answer my tweets about taking over a dormant account) Settings > Select your account and it should be there. At least it is on my 625 running 8.1.
Back on topic, it seems quite a nice phone, storage is useless, but at least it can be expanded, heres hoping wireless charging starts to become a standard feature, then if we can loose the 3.5mm headphone jack and move to bluetooth speakers, make the back cover user sealable so the battery/sim/SD card can still be swapped and we'll start having some portless waterproof phones. (Yes I know the Xperia models exist, but even they have port covers)
>(Yes I know the Xperia models exist, but even they have port covers)
The Sony headphone sockets are now waterproofed without the need for port covers.
The Xperias can be charged up without opening the microUSB port cover by means of two contact pins on the phone - a 3rd party magnetic cable is £8, and the official Sony dock is around £20.
Is anyone actually able to tell the difference between them in the street? AFAICT there's the cheap design, the not cheap design, and the one with the camera transplanted from the 808.
That N9 really paid for itself, they haven't designed anything since then.