Just moved over from Windows Phone (Lumia 928)

[atvedge]

Hi everyone!

As the title states, I just made the transition. Although I was kicking and screaming the whole time, the change was due to necessity (mostly).

I've been on the WP bandwagon since they transitioned from Windows Mobile (hated that OS). I was also on the Android bandwagon prior to that (started with the original Droid). I've always avoided the iPhone, mostly because I didn't like my perceived philosophy of the company (Another topic), but also because I don't like to have the same thing everyone else has. I've been a fan of the hardware, and I've owned Apple products (had a Macbook Pro for a while a few years back, and I have a 3rd Gen iPad). I'm fairly open minded about what gadgets I pick, and I'm a self-proclaimed tech junkie.

So, why did I make the jump? Well, I'm comfy with WP8 and love the Nokia hardware and their level of dedication to the platform. In my opinion, MS is taking the right approach with the WP platform mostly. They used some of Apple's practices of locking down the OS and not letting the carriers and OEM "skin" them, but the hardware is still produced by the various OEM companies, so you get multiple flavors. I can't stand the Android experience for this reason alone. Each OEM on that platform might pretty much run their own OS to some degree. Back to the question at hand, it all came down to one simple thing - Push Notifications. WP, from day one, has had issues with Push Notifications. Add to that the lack of ANY notification center - sans a third party one that VERY few devs take advantage of - and it's a recipe for disaster in my situation. I recently moved to Europe from the US due to an opening within my company. My primary means of communication with friends and family is using apps such as Viber, WhatsApp and Skype. With WP, I may get immediate notifications, or I may get them two days from now.....it varies from app to app and day to day. This problem has been persistent since WP7, but wasn't an issue for me until those apps became a necessity. Now that those apps are a necessity, I need to know when my family and friends are trying to get in touch....preferably not two days after the fact.

With WP8, I love some of the apps, the overall design language, and the fact that the OS runs buttery smooth without the need for cutting edge processors and loads of RAM. That was a contributing factor when choosing iOS over Android as well.

I must say that I'm actually impressed by the iPhone. The overall polish and refinement of the apps is noticeable almost immediately, including the fact that some apps have more functionality with iOS than with WP8. I don't use any apps on the iPhone that I didn't have on my Lumia (the only exception being some of the built in apps that changed - iTunes, Maps, etc.), so the app selection really isn't noticeable IMO. I'm certainly glad I chose the iPhone over Android.

What do I miss from my Lumia 928? First and foremost, the camera......that thing rocked! Mechanical OIS coupled with three noise cancelling mics cable of 130dB recording and playback - plus the low-light photo ability - is something great to have. I still have it available, but I don't see myself carrying it around just for the camera.
Second is the music app. I love my music, and find that the app on WP7/8 for listening to my music is better than anything else. Nothing wrong with the iOS music app, just a personal preference. I imagine I'll grow to like the iOS app eventually. I DO NOT MISS the Windows 8 music app - or how I had to sync my songs. What a clunky mess that was. I don't like iTunes, but at least it's easy, and there are other options if I want to go that route.
Finally, the size. Not the display, I'm fine with that, but the physical size. This will take time to adjust to, but it's so much narrower and lighter that it feels delicate. I actually want to put a case on it just to widen it a bit.

Overall, I'm enjoying the phone, and may very well end up an official "Convert" when all is said and done. For now though, the change was a means to an end.

For anyone out there considering the same jump, or going from iOS to WP, feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Welcome to iMore and congratulations on purchasing your iPhone. Also, thank you for sharing your story. Take care and have a great day...

 

[pr1nce]

Welcome to iMore and congratulation on your new iPhone. I had a slight issue with the narrowness of the phone at first too. You'll get use to it.

 

[bunjy]

Finally, the size. Not the display, I'm fine with that, but the physical size. This will take time to adjust to, but it's so much narrower and lighter that it feels delicate. I actually want to put a case on it just to widen it a bit.

I use a case to give the phone a little more width and heft. It can help.

 

[mountainman]

I can relate to the OP - had the Lumia 822 and I certainly did like it. Until I actually NEEDED something from it.

The 2012-2013 NHL season was fast approaching, an I do fantasy hockey on Yahoo. I am not kidding, no browser available for WP would work properly with the Yahoo site. And, there was no app for it either.

I know, not as important as missing messages from Family members, but it is important to me.

I guess there are trade offs with each platform. I've just found over time, that iOS has the least amount of them.

Ps - I still think, regardless of what those Z10 owners say, that iOS has the best virtual keyboard.

 

[akaneo2]

You made the right switch. The level of detail in the software / hardware and the intersection of the two is unmatched in other phones. I know what you mean about it feeling delicate at first because its so light. You will get used to that and eventually other phones will feel large and heavy in comparison.

I've used several android and WP phones before and I prefer WP for sure but both just feel sloppy and 'un-intuitive' next to the iPhone.

 

[Jaguarr40]

I believe that opening up the way you did and sharing your story about the 'Switch' to iPhone was a very good and well written post. We hope that now you will just jump right into the forums that not only pertain to the phone you bought but also many of the other forums which will also help you to understand much more about the overall experience of iOS. If you have any questions please don't hestitate to let us know. Thank you again for joining iMore.

 

[atvedge]

Thanks for the warm welcomes and compliments guys!

In response to the keyboard, I actually prefer the WP keyboard (well, not technically the keyboard). I can type words faster on the iPhone, but I can put sentences together in a few seconds on WP. The predictive text and learning that it does is marvelous! Many, many times, I can type one word, then just click on the suggestions to finish the entire sentence.

There are a couple of other hidden gems in WP that I noticed after using the iPhone. For instance, if a notification pops up on WP, I can swipe it to the right to get it out of my way. On the flip side, once I do that, it's gone forever....hahahaha. The other one is pinning items to the start screen (home screen). In WP, many apps support this. For example, I can open One Note, grab one of my lists, and pin it to the start screen so it's always there reminding me of what it was I needed to look at (without the headache of setting a reminder).

Certainly none of those are deal breakers, but they are good features. I don't think WP is sloppy at all in terms of how the OS works, I just think it's lacking some things that we expect to "Just work". I think it's similar to the missing copy/paste on the 1st Gen iPhones. WP isn't as intuitive as it could be, but coming from that to iOS, I find myself doing things that don't feel all that intuitive on the iPhone. I think it's mostly because they are so different, so each platform has their own interpretation of what is intuitive for that environment.

 

[swarlos]

Thanks for the warm welcomes and compliments guys!

In response to the keyboard, I actually prefer the WP keyboard (well, not technically the keyboard). I can type words faster on the iPhone, but I can put sentences together in a few seconds on WP. The predictive text and learning that it does is marvelous! Many, many times, I can type one word, then just click on the suggestions to finish the entire sentence.

There are a couple of other hidden gems in WP that I noticed after using the iPhone. For instance, if a notification pops up on WP, I can swipe it to the right to get it out of my way. On the flip side, once I do that, it's gone forever....hahahaha. The other one is pinning items to the start screen (home screen). In WP, many apps support this. For example, I can open One Note, grab one of my lists, and pin it to the start screen so it's always there reminding me of what it was I needed to look at (without the headache of setting a reminder).

Certainly none of those are deal breakers, but they are good features. I don't think WP is sloppy at all in terms of how the OS works, I just think it's lacking some things that we expect to "Just work". I think it's similar to the missing copy/paste on the 1st Gen iPhones. WP isn't as intuitive as it could be, but coming from that to iOS, I find myself doing things that don't feel all that intuitive on the iPhone. I think it's mostly because they are so different, so each platform has their own interpretation of what is intuitive for that environment.

Valid points! Welcome to iMore! Lucky you getting to move to Europe
I'm running the iOS 7 beta and the cool thing they fixed with banners is you can now swipe up to remove them a much better motion than swiping left on the banner in iOS 6. I do agree the keyboard could be better but I still think its one of the best on a phone and if Apple bought Swiftkey it would be amazing!!


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