Windows Phone 7 vs. Android

[zekester]

I just got the Trophy. I like the phone, but I feel like it's missing a lot of features that I came to depend on with Android. Are there work-arounds for these items?

1. LED does not notify when there are new texts, emails, or missed phone calls.

2. No voice to text transcription for text messaging.

3. Phone, mail, and messaging icons are way too big on the home screen - but you can't really get rid of them or there is no way to be notified...

4. No turn by turn directions.

5. Calendar seems to only display one upcoming appt on the start screen icon.

6. I can't figure out how to customize my ringtone. Am I missing something?

7. No kissy smiley. I know it's dumb but I wish I had one.

8. I can't figure out how to search for images on Bing.

9. Any way to tether this phone to a laptop?

Some improvements of WP7 over Android:

1. The keyboard. I love the WP7 keyboard.

2. Facebook integration is pretty cool.

3. Being able to use my Zune Pass on the phone... but it seems kind of clunky. Lots of clicks required to get to the song I want and it's not immediately obvious that I can play the song without buying it.

4. I like how the camera works.

5. It seems to detect wifi networks much better than my droid ever did.

6. The animations are pretty schnazzy.

Overall I like the interface, but there is a steeper learning curve than I anticipated coming from Android, and some functionality seems to be missing.

[zekester]

One other thing... how do I block getting all the silly games updates on the facebook feed? I don't need to know that my friend John just planted an onion patch on Farmville.

[thejester77]

Here's a few workarounds/suggestions:

I at first was a little mad about the LED light issue, but that was one feature that would drain my battery down on my old HTC Imagio...

Get in the habit of putting your phone to sleep... Instead of having to slide the lock up to view your tiles... Everything is on the bottom of your screen saver... If you have 1 voice, 2 text messages, 3 missed calls.... There all there on your screen saver page.

Same with using the Zune Music Player.... Just put the phone to sleep and then hit the sleep button again to easily change tracks, pause it, etc.

Also, if you choose a darker screen saver, it's easier to see your notifications...  once you relies you don't even need to go into the phone unless you have to, the easier your notifications will be.  And when MANGO is released, the icons are going to be larger to see also.

Check out the Windows Phone Blog at Microsoft's site for all the updates, hints, and tips on using your new phone better.  After a week you will have this phone down pat like a Jedi Master uses his light saber.

TheJester77

[thejester77]

Regarding your Ring Tones:  Go to  your apps using the RIGHT ARROW, then go to SETTINGS... Everything you need is there...

Once again, All your Appoints will be shown on your Screen Saver Page...

Go to Market Place and download Bing Daily Photo's Downloader... That will allow you to save Bing Images to your phone and you then can add them to your Screen Saver or Desktop... Those settings are accessible through the PICTURES app, either on the home tiles if you still have it there or in the APPS section.

No tethering yet... And if Microsoft allows, I'm pretty sure Verizon will have that option turned off... Seems to be the new trend with Service Providers... They figure your $29 unlimited data package is enough for the PHONE ONLY!!!

Regarding the FACEBOOK integration with your CONTACTS!!!  Unless you want everyone from your FACEBOOK page on your phone, once in contacts hold down the PEOPLES at the top of the screen until SETTINGS appears (Or you can just go to SETTINGS in the apps section, then to EMAIL ACCOUNTS).  Once there, change the setting to ONLY UPDATE FACEBOOK CONTACTS ON THE PHONE... This will only update the contacts you inputted into the phone vs. Importing all your contacts when really don't need too.

BE VERY CARFUL WHEN REMOVING YOUR CONTACTS FROM THE PHONE!!!  WINDOWS LIVE WILL DELETE THEM ON WINDOWS LIVE SITE AS WELL!!!  That's one thing I absolutely hate, and I have had to re-input 10 contacts and had to send them an invite through Windows Live in order to get a picture for the contact field.

Best rule of thumb for anyone setting up the phone from scratch... Manually input your contacts, change the settings to only update facebook contacts already on phone, then add your facebook account last...

Did that with second phone and life was so much easier...

TheJester77

[chudster94]

A few of the items you mentioned will be available with the Mango update coming later this year including voice-to-text AND text-to-voice transcription for text messaging as well as turn-by-turn directions.

Also, as Jester mentioned, you can easily change your ringtone in the settings screen but if what you were asking for was the ability to add a custom ringtone, this functionality is also coming with Mango!

[boe]

Those differences worth noting.   You might want to post here in the hopes MS will hear you about your valid points - http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/winphone/forum/wp7-wptips/the-windows-phone-7-feature-request-sug...

I'm more concerned about the hardware gap between what I can get with Android vs. the Trophy. I love WP7 just not the crappy hardware.

Android 4.3" screen

Trophy 3.x" screen

Android 4G connectivity with an option for 3G to save battery.

Trophy 3G

Android BT 3.0

Trophy 2.x

Android 1700+mah battery  (WP7 is currently less demanding on a battery but once you add a decent sized screen and multitasking that will change).

Trophy 1300 mah battery

Android SD expandable

Trophy not SD expandable

[thejester77]

Sounds like you like big things in your hand... LOL

Anyways... Let's look at the things you want vs. the things you got...

Screen Size... you choose smaller screen... so it's not the phone...

4G... 4G phones suck the life out of batteries, even worse with Google OS...  Also, Verizon probably didn't need a lot of customer support hassle dealing with a phone they barely support and barely trained there staff on how to use.  Once Windows Phone 7 numbers take off, let's see if Verizon allows the next HTC 4G Windows Phone 7 on there network... STILL, A BATTERY ISSUE!!!  Unless you got bucks to throw out the window for super highspeed connection... FOR A PHONE!!!

Bluetooth 2.5 vs. Bluetooth 3.0.... Compared to my HTC Imagio I had, this Bluetooth device works great.  I don't really know what you are expecting or think you should expect between those 2 versions...  Once again, Microsoft choose each feature in the phone for a reason...  compatibility is key to things properly function well and battery life...

SD Slot...  I really loved this feature in my old HTC Imagio... The reasoning here is simple... Once a MicroSDHC card is inserted into a Windows Phone 7, that chip can no longer be used and can only be read from that phone moving forward.  Which was one piece of information that I thought Microsoft should have acknowledged or made perfectly clear... Since the Service Providers didn't have the right answer...  Not even the Microsoft Store knew the first 3 months Windows Phone 7 was released.  The other issue was the Region of the MicroSDHC chip was.  By emliminating the slot in full, there's no miscommunication or bad chips moving forward.

I only wish this phone had the 32gb that the Microsoft Employee's were offered with there Trophy Offer...  but if I do remember correctly, the first offer was delayed just like all our release was, and their seconde offer I think was changed to a 16gb Trophy as well...

That's the only complaint I have with this phone, it wasn't 32gb... Especially knowing that Zune is the back half of the media player...  

ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS STILL A PHONE PEOPLE!!!  Not a tablet, not a desktop computer, but a phone first and a quick communication device to check on important stuff... Not live online with like your 24/7 broadband connected computer at home...

TheJester77

[boe]

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TheJester77 wrote:

Sounds like you like big things in your hand... LOL

Anyways... Let's look at the things you want vs. the things you got...

Screen Size... you choose smaller screen... so it's not the phone...

I have big hands and eyes that are more than 30 years old - bigger screens are a far better choice for me.  I didn't get a choice of a larger screen - not sure what you are saying - verzon only decided to get a smaller screened WP7 phone.  Maybe you are saying ATT would be a better choice since they have a selection of WP7 phones in different sizes.

4G... 4G phones suck the life out of batteries, even worse with Google OS...  Also, Verizon probably didn't need a lot of customer support hassle dealing with a phone they barely support and barely trained there staff on how to use.  Once Windows Phone 7 numbers take off, let's see if Verizon allows the next HTC 4G Windows Phone 7 on there network... STILL, A BATTERY ISSUE!!!  Unless you got bucks to throw out the window for super highspeed connection... FOR A PHONE!!!

As I said you can turn on and off 4G - 4G is great for when you tether so battery life is not a big concern since you can turn it off.   Of course it wouldn't be a significant of a battery issue if the Trophy had a decent sized battery.

Bluetooth 2.5 vs. Bluetooth 3.0.... Compared to my HTC Imagio I had, this Bluetooth device works great.  I don't really know what you are expecting or think you should expect between those 2 versions...  Once again, Microsoft choose each feature in the phone for a reason...  compatibility is key to things properly function well and battery life...

There is no BT 2.5.   Nearly each genteration of BT has better battery life.  I use BT for talking on my headset all day long so better battery life would be appreciated.   Probably wouldn't be such an issue if Verizon hadn't picked a phone with such a small battery capacity. BT 3.0 has faster throughput for tethering.   BT 4.0 has good throughput and great battery saving.    BT 4.0 and 3.0 are backwards compatible with no effect on battery life over a matching BT version.

TheJester77

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[chinch]

The free major "Fall update" ("Mango) addresses these:

2
3 (unified email)
4 (or just buy an app for a few dollars, there are few to choose from & free trials ~12 miles)
6
8
9 (if carrier allows - see mobile hotspot push)

As to these:

1. LED not sure but don't bank on that (it's not simple or desirable outside 2003 blackberry style users

5. not sure to Mango improvements there. the idea is show the next appt then easily click into view more. Not a rocket science and saves battery instead of pushing more text to live tiles.

Right now Verizon & other factors limit teather. My at&t Focus does full teather fwiw but is not yet supported by at&t afaik.

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zekester wrote:

I just got the Trophy. I like the phone, but I feel like it's missing a lot of features that I came to depend on with Android. Are there work-arounds for these items?

1. LED does not notify when there are new texts, emails, or missed phone calls.

2. No voice to text transcription for text messaging.

3. Phone, mail, and messaging icons are way too big on the home screen - but you can't really get rid of them or there is no way to be notified...

4. No turn by turn directions.

5. Calendar seems to only display one upcoming appt on the start screen icon.

6. I can't figure out how to customize my ringtone. Am I missing something?

7. No kissy smiley. I know it's dumb but I wish I had one.

8. I can't figure out how to search for images on Bing.

9. Any way to tether this phone to a laptop?

Some improvements of WP7 over Android:

1. The keyboard. I love the WP7 keyboard.

2. Facebook integration is pretty cool.

3. Being able to use my Zune Pass on the phone... but it seems kind of clunky. Lots of clicks required to get to the song I want and it's not immediately obvious that I can play the song without buying it.

4. I like how the camera works.

5. It seems to detect wifi networks much better than my droid ever did.

6. The animations are pretty schnazzy.

Overall I like the interface, but there is a steeper learning curve than I anticipated coming from Android, and some functionality seems to be missing.

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[bdc1]

Waiting for windows 7 phones to get more acceptance, that wont happen until there is more that 1 windows 7 phone to pick from