The Great Windows Phone Migration pt. 1

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Published on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 14:45

Written by row1

Introduction

It has been one week since I migrated from Android to Windows Phone 7. I was a reasonably satisfied Android user for the last 2.5+ years, from version 1.6 to 4.0 on the HTC Hero and HTC Desire HD, but I decided to move away due to the following reasons:

• I really wanted an HTC One X, but after being burned twice by HTC's release and forget update policy I vowed never to get an HTC phone again.
• Stock Android is ugly as sin (yes even 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich). HTC Sense is quite nice but see above point. MIUI Android is an amazing ROM, but I would like a more officially supported OS.
• Android is not as polished as it should be. Still stutters on occasion, still get odd bugs, still feels very wild wild west. You shouldn't have to flash a custom ROM to improve performance and stability.
• Just plain bored with it and wanted a new phone :)

After researching the many limitations of Windows Phone 7, I decided to accept its short comings and go with the Nokia Lumia 800 for the following reasons:

• The Lumia 800 looks and feels great.
• The Windows Phone 7 interface looks nice, consistent, smooth and easy to use.
• Phones currently have similar hardware specifications so you can expect to avoid application fragmentation and get OS updates shortly after release and not 6+ months (if at all) like on Android.
• Application development appears to be a pleasant experience. You can use C# and don't have to use a god-awful language like Objective-C or deal with the the dreadful Android UI designer. You also don't have to worry about obscure screen resolutions and all the other software and hardware combinations.

Some people have also told me that I should have waited a few weeks and gotten the Nokia 900 or even the Samsung Galaxy S III. But I didn't want to sign another 2-year contract and especially not with Starhub (so many annoying and ridiculous experiences with them). The Nokia Lumia 800 was actually quite reasonable to buy without a contract. I ended up paying $490 SGD from Shavy (adix82) at Mobile Hardware, Burlington Square, Singapore. He seems to be a trustworthy seller and was helpful, friendly and not pushy. A much better experience than getting harassed by a rude, cheating Ah Beng at Sim Lim Square.

So in the upcoming posts I will look at the gaps between Android and Windows Phone 7 which I find to be personally relevant.

Motorola S10-HD Wireless Headset

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Published on Sunday, 15 January 2012 14:00

Written by row1

I decided to replace my dead Jaybird Bluetooth headset with the Motorola S10-HD. Not only is this headset incredibly uncomfortable and borderline painful, but the sound quality is ridiculously bad, in fact I can't believe how poor the sound quality is on these otherwise stylish looking things. Avoid.

Android: Can't Add MP3s

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Published on Sunday, 22 April 2012 13:08

Written by row1

If you add MP3s to your Android phone and they are not getting picked up in your music player's library (stock, doubleTwist, Winamp, etc) then you need to clear the Media Storage database. Under settings go to the Manage Applications option, select the All option and click Media Storage. Click the Clear Data button and you are done. I am using MIUI Rom so the steps may be different, but the cause and solution should be universal to all Android versions.

Android Headset Blocker

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Published on Tuesday, 10 January 2012 13:04

Written by row1

I had an annoying problem with my Desire HD where it kept skipping music tracks while running. I thought that the shake to shuffle feature was turned on, but it turns out that my decaying headphones were creating some unwanted noise and Android was picking this up as a music control signal. Thankfully you can install an application called Headset Blocker which will turn off headset controls.

Problem solved.