Tuesday, June 28, 2016

The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back

Hello all!

I realize that I've not been a very frequent user of these forums since I first started using Windows Phone (starting with my HTC 8XT 2 years ago). That being said I have indeed been very supportive of the Window Phone platform during the past 2 years, until now.

After much time to think about it, today I finally decided to let go of my Lumia 640 and replace it with a cheaper Samsung Galaxy Amp 2 at the cricket store. And I have a few reasons why, which I will get into in just a moment. First, I want to explain that this is not meant to belittle Microsoft, the Windows mobile platform, or anyone who uses the platform. I have every intent for this post to be a constructive way for people to vent and express their likings and dislikings of Windows 10 Mobile.

Now, on to my reasons for leaving the platform (not necessarily the community):

1) I'm really tired of having an outdated Facebook and Messenger app. Every time someone "reacted" to one of my posts, I would get the notification, but wouldn't be able to see the reaction on my phone. On top of that, I was also unable to "react" to other posts. This is on the Windows 10 Mobile app, FYI.

The app was also slow as a dog. Every time I wanted to load something, I'd be sitting there wasting my time for a picture to load. Half the time, the picture wouldn't even load, leaving just a blank post with comments. The other half, the picture would load, and then the app would crash, which leads me onto my next point.

2) Windows 10 Mobile is crash happy. This is the biggest reason why I'm moving on. I realize that the "official" OTA version of Windows 10 isn't available yet on my Lumia 640. AT&T has yet to even make much mention of releasing the update. As such, I went the Windows Insider route, and was able to install a recent "stable" build.

After the installation, all of my apps seemed to work alright. However, a few days into it, I started to notice that all of my apps would crash, and would do so quite frequently.

3) I can no longer find Here Drive in the Windows store. This was my favorite GPS app, as it had turn by turn navigation, and allowed me to download maps (for free) of my entire state for offline use.

While the new Maps app does allow for map downloading and turn by turn navigation, I was always unable to get a route started unless I was connected to the internet via WiFi or LTE. This is infuriating for me as I do sometimes find myself in areas with no cell coverage.

The nice thing about Maps though is that, when it does work, it tells you what side of the street your destination is on.

4) It's been 2 years, and I have yet to see the Windows store improve its app selection. All I see are just third rate apps that try to mimick a certain service, or even act as a third party app for a well known service. For instance, I want to watch YouTube. While, I love MetroTube and MyTube, they sometimes break when Google upgrades things to the YouTube API. Also, my grandfather (on my dad's side), who I hardly see, asked me to add him on SnapChat. Problem is that, there is no official SnapChat app for Windows, nor can I find a third party one.

If Microsoft is willing to fix these issues, and there is a positive improvement in the app selection, I may consider returning to the platform. Until then, Windows 10 Mobile has not been a positive experience for me, and I'm tired of waiting for things to get better.

What about you all? What do you like, or dislike, about Windows?


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