back to article Microsoft lobs Files app at WinPhone users with lots of ... uh ... files

Microsoft on Friday shipped Files, its on-device file management app for Windows Phone, addressing a long-standing gripe some users have had with Redmond's smartphone OS. Windows Phone chief Joe Belfiore first teased the app during a Reddit AMA on May 2, saying his team hoped to get it into the Windows Store "by the end of May …

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  1. Thought About IT

    Not so missing feature

    Well, that'll upset the developers of Pocket File Manager! Maybe it'll survive due to not having the "modern" look.

  2. Davie Dee

    wouldnt worry about liking the app or not, they'll be so miffed by the 8.1 update they wont care, I understand why they did what they did and its to do with updates and by-passing carriers but its crap, id rather a longer update cycle and the same functionality, which was in my opinion the best mobile os out there, now I find it much harder to make the same statement. Silly people MS, you bugger up once (WM6.5) shame on you, bugger it up again (wp8.1) shame on me

  3. beardman
    FAIL

    Additionally it's not available in every region. US only, I guess...

    1. Phoenix50

      It's available in the UK - where are you?

  4. Buzzword

    Apple

    iOS seems to cope fine without any kind of file manager. In fact that's almost it's unique selling proposition: not having to worry about where your files are.

    1. Flippingbits

      Re: Apple

      Ugh. Probably the one thing I hate the most about the IOS platform. Having to trade files between aps through APIs is also what's preventing it from becoming the general purpose operating system that it could be.

      1. king of foo

        Re: Apple

        At least MS have finally picked up on this; I don't know how android and iOS have got away with it for so long.

        I suppose it's yet another way to get you into the 'store'.

        1. king of foo

          Re: Apple

          Hang on... I totally misread the article. MS are going to deliver this in their store. Just like 3rd party apps. Which makes them no different from Google or Apple, only that they have released a "Microsoft" branded app (which they could have just bought). Big woop.

          I thought they were going to integrate a file manager into the OS, which IMHO is a startling omission from all 3 of the main smartphone/tablet OS'.

          I feel a bit of a tit now, sorry.

          1. dogged

            @ king of foo

            Er, what difference does it make?

            Except that if you prefer one of the third-party versions, you can use that instead which is one of those things that people like about - for example - Android.

            Good luck writing a file manager for iOS and even better luck getting it in the Apple store.

            1. king of foo

              Re: @ king of foo

              I'm obviously more than happy to pay for and install quality 3rd party apps. I'd highly recommend ES File Explorer on android. I can't remember if it was a paid or free app but it is beyond awesome.

              I'd just rather people started blurring the lines between mobile and desktop/laptop computing more. Fire up any flavour of *nix/nux/windows os and behold... your files... It's something people definitely waste time looking for on mobile as they expect that functionality out of the can.

    2. Crazy Operations Guy

      Re: Apple

      That is what I've always hated about Apple's systems: hiding things form the user. It seems their UI model is: "Don't worry your pretty little head about that, here play with these shiny bits instead"

      1. andreas koch
        Thumb Up

        @ Crazy Operations Guy - Re: Apple

        I had to log on just to upvote you.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I don't know if I'll upgrade to 8.1

    It looks to be a huge step backward in usability because MS decided to listen to those who can't customize tiles on their home screens to get notifications. And look also at how many asked on the UserVoice site to bring back the Games and Photo Hubs.

    It was good Windows Phone got rid of the old PalmOS-like UI used by iOS and Android (when "innovation" is just a marketing term...), but it looks people can't find their games if you put them in a separate place... but I liked having games outside my main "workflow".

    1. Don Jefe

      Re: I don't know if I'll upgrade to 8.1

      It was never about rearranging the tiles, it was about killing off billions of man hours by changing the core UI people had been using for a very, very long time. There's nothing wrong with change, but there can be a lot wrong with changing too much at once. Iterative change is much more manageable and less prone to catastrophic failure like with Win8. Iterative change also let's you be adaptable and capable of change based on buyer, competitor and market evolution. When you make huge changes after decades of consistency in order to revive interest it always ends up looking and acting forced.

      But opinions vary on just about everything. I have always really liked the Ribbon in Office, especially after I discovered you can customize it with XML. I'm in the overwhelming minority on the Ribbon though. You seem to like the tiles concept. That's cool. I never messed with it much, simply because I found it superfluous, but everybody isn't going to think that.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    >"as all WinPhone fans should know"

    Haha what, both of them?

  7. phil dude
    FAIL

    tell me about it...

    I wish Micro$oft would remove their crappy office software from my N8. It is like a bloody virus that just takes up valuable "fast" internal memory. Not to mention always trying to "upload" stuff to their cloud offering.

    Yeah, I know, symbian is a "burnt out platform"... But it has excellent battery life compared to, well, anything else.

    I really hope Jolla make a mk II or otherwise get Sailfish onto one of those lush LG/Samsung....

    P.

    1. AMBxx Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: tell me about it...

      Did you post this on the wrong thread by accident?

      1. phil dude
        Linux

        Re: tell me about it...

        Not at all. Symbian is the "other" M$ platform since they bought Nokia. The products were M$ too.

        I must confess that in the last few months it stopped pestering me to "install M$ cloud", and upgrade Office(!), so perhaps they got bored.

        P.

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