my Windows Phone
The serious contender, you’ve never heard of.
love my Windows Phone, but the problem is, Windows really sucks at advertising or at least when it comes to their phones. Ads for iPhone or iPad are everywhere. You can’t turn on the t.v. or load up Hulu without running into at least one. So where are all the Windows Phone ads? They’ve dumped all their eggs into the Surface/Windows 8 basket, and it almost feels like they’ve given up on the phone ads. There are three ads that I’ve seen total. Two celebrity ads, Gwen Stefani and Jessica Alba, and the All of Us ad which you almost never see anymore. Somewhere Android and iOS have been allowed to take over and convince the world that they’re the only smartphone makers out there. Blackberry might be making a comeback with the Z10, but let’s get real, if Windows can’t beat Blackberry in the advertising world, Windows Phone is going to go by way of the Zune. There’s a lesson to be learned here, though, a lesson from Apple as a matter of fact, because it proved you don’t have to be the first to do something, you just have to be the best. Technically the iPod was not the first MP3 player on the planet, however it was one of the best and it took off. They weren’t even the first in the computer world, but it took off and changed the face of computers forever. The Windows Phone is not the first smartphone, but it is actually a really great smartphone that if Microsoft took it a little more seriously could actually be a serious contender between iOS and Android.
Of course it’s not just the phone that’s struggling. From all I’ve read Windows 8 isn’t doing so hot either, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is, for all the money Microsoft has, they can’t be bothered to actually work to sell anymore. Just because everybody knows your name doesn’t mean you don’t still have advertising to do. Coca Cola and Pepsi still advertise and everyone knows who they are, Apple still advertises, frankly anybody who cares at all about their business (and can afford to do so) advertises in some form or another.
Microsoft has seriously dropped the ball on all counts with both the Windows Phone 8 and the Windows 8 experience as far as how they’ve marketed the phone and advertised it.
Let me give you an example: The iPad is one of the best selling tablets of all time? Why? It isn’t exactly what one thinks about when they consider what a tablet should be, it can’t replace your desktop/laptop computer so why is it so popular? Great advertising and a loyal fan base.
The Surface Pro is arguably a better tablet (conceptually) because it probably could replace your desktop/laptop. The problem is, Microsoft doesn’t really tell you what it does. There’s no showing you cool apps or different features like how Apple continues to show off the iPad. In almost every ad for the Surface I’ve seen, all you see is (admittedly cool) dance moves with it. I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to go all Step Up 4 on my tablet. It doesn’t tell you what it’s about and frankly I’m not sure it’s helping sales all that much. When you’re already at a disadvantage by coming in late, why would you compound that by not showing off why your tablet is better than any other tablet on the market? It’s not as if Microsoft is without it’s loyal fan base, but apparently they have no idea how to use them in the same way Apple does, because it’s almost like they’ve given up in the face of Google’s Chromebooks and the like.
All that said, the point of this post was to be a review, and that’s what I’m going to do….
Nokia Lumia 920: One of the biggest complaints I’ve constantly heard about the phone (and part of the reason I’m writing this in the first place) is about how heavy the phone is. It’s a thicker phone than say the iPhone to be sure, but it’s also not trying to be an iPhone. While Windows is not ‘touting’ the Retina Display experience, the Lumia 920 has a greater pixel density than the current iPhone 5, at 332 pixels per inch on a 4.5 inch display. (Compare this to the iPhone 5′s 326 ppi on a 4 inch display). Truthfully almost no one would be able to tell the difference unless you’re really looking for it. The real cause for contention however hasn’t been the size, but the weight of the phone 185 grams. Not a pound as some people might have you believe (or several depending on the review you read). Coming off the iPhone 4 (which was admittedly only 137 grams, not including the case which oddly seemed to add more weight) I really couldn’t tell a difference in weight. It didn’t and doesn’t ever feel heavier. People really need to stop whinging about petty details and consider what it can do for 185 grams.
UI (User Interface): I’ve been in love with the ‘Metro’ UI since the moment I saw it. The live tiles experience is addictive, but there’s a downside, in that, a lot of the applications don’t use it at all or don’t know how to use it effectively. One of the best examples of an application that truly uses the experience effectively would be Microsoft’s built in music application Xbox Music. It’s dynamic, and beautiful. Another application would be Xbox Games, and to a lesser extent Facebook. A lot of the built in Windows Phone 8 applications use the live tile experience, the disconnect seems to be with 3rd party apps.
Apps: This is a sort of non-issue that everyone’s really blown out of proportion. Sure there are a lot of really good apps missing from the Windows Phone market but thankfully there are alternatives. And while it isn’t as impressive in size as iOS or Android I have to be honest I’m still downloading new apps that I don’t use.
Camera: Let’s be real, tech bloggers may be real people, but they judge the camera’s based on scientific testing compared to other camera’s in other phones. The truth about the Lumia 920′s camera is that like any other phone camera it has it’s good and bad points. It takes great photos, to me. It’s not a professional photographers camera and frankly if you were one, you’d go out and by a Canon XSI (it’s the one I use at school and it’s fabulous), not use your phone. To be honest, most users in spite of what Instagram might have you believe, aren’t going to be using this for anything but personal pictures, which it does really well.
NFC and Wireless Charging: Near Field Capability (basically the ability to use your phone to pay for something) has been a concept pleaded for by the iOS community since the iPhone 4S, and still has never come to fruition, at least, for them. For me at least, it’s one of those ideas that sounds good in theory but until it becomes something that more companies would actually accept it’s not exactly all that useful. Truthfully it’s not that difficult to pull a card out of your wallet and swipe it. Arguably one of the biggest problems I can imagine with NFC is that if someone has your card number, using your card without having to have the card there would be that much easier. Now wireless charging, that’s a feature that once you have it, you really can’t imagine living without it. It sounds silly, and maybe it is, but being able to just plop my phone down and have it charge (surprisingly quickly) without having to allocate a usb port in my laptop for it, is perhaps one of my favorite features of the Lumia 920. Most people are excited that you can use the touch with gloves on, but as I almost never wear gloves this isn’t something that’s ever mattered to me.
Sickening: Beautiful screen, 4.5 inch display and 8.7 megapixel camera. Great UI, fast, smart and fun.
Busted: The UI isn’t fully utilized by 3rd party apps, Microsoft doesn’t take it seriously causing others to not take it seriously either.
In the end it’s a great phone that maybe if Microsoft would get it together, could take away some of the thunder of iOS and Android, for now however, Google has only two native apps and no plans to add anything like Chrome or Google Drive to the phone forcing you to live with Bing and Internet Explorer.
