I don't have a favorite brand, or product or operating system. I'll use anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll keep using it as my daily driver. I've always been like this, long before I started writing about devices and technology. It's why I like writing and talking about it. Since I don't have a favorite, I weigh each platform, each new device (or old one, for that matter) based on what I need at the time. How does it fit in with my day-to-day routine? If it can't, or if it slows m down in any way, then it gets the boot.
I don't have a favorite not because I'm not allowed, but simply because I think it's bette that I don't. I like to use each new handset or piece of software with the mindset that I'm going to potentially make it my next phone. Even if I've used iOS as a "safety net" of sorts over the years, I've never stopped looking for that next device. That phone I'll want to use all the time, day-in and day-out.
There have been some phones that have made the cut over the years, and I'm sure there will be others that fill the gaps down the road, too. I had to leave iOS recently, because there were parts of the new mobile operating system that just didn't work for me. So, I had to search for something else. It didn't take me long to find it, surprisingly enough.
Not too long ago, right around the time the Lumia 1020 was announced, I said that I was going to switch to Microsoft's mobile platform because of that particular handset. Specifically, because of the camera. Windows Phone itself was just a byproduct, to be honest. I wanted the camera. I've switched to a few Windows Phone-based devices since 2012, but I've never kept one for long. I had my reasons back then, I'm sure, but it ultimately just comes down to the fact that I didn't keep them.
I realize now that I was too hard on them. I've been too hard on Windows Phone in general.
The reason I'm saying this now is because when I left iOS and my iPhone behind, I switched to the Lumia 920 and I told myself to stick with it. To actually use it, as my every day phone, and see how it stacked up. To see how the app situation really is. Would I be able to last?
The Lumia 920 is a tank of a phone, just as it has been since it launched. It's a brick-in-the-hand compared to the Lumia 1020, but that's not all that bad of a thing. Sure, it's not a feather, but I don't mind. The screen is big and beautiful, and there's plenty of storage space inside thanks to the 32GB allotted to me.
I had practically clung onto the idea that Windows Phone doesn't have any apps, and every time I had tried the mobile OS in the recent past I just hadn't looked to see what was available. We all know that the majority of high-profile apps, like Instagram, aren't available in the Windows Phone Store, so there wasn't any need to look. I knew that the gaming situation on Xbox LIVE wasn't great, either.
The truth is, none of that has really changed. If you're someone who absolutely has to have the best of the best apps available, as soon as they're made available, then Windows Phone is probably going to be lacking in that department. Moreover, if you love the best-of-the-best games, again, Windows Phone is probably going to frustrate you. However, with that being said, that doesn't mean that Windows Phone is missing all the important apps.
In fact, I've just had to accept that I'm going to have to change the way I do a few things, but that isn't a big deal. In fact, not using Spotify and switching to Xbox Music was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Using Microsoft's OneNote, instead of any of the other note taking apps I'd used in the past, isn't a big deal, either. I've found replacements for everything I had been using.
What's more, and this is probably the most important part: I'm actually enjoying my time on Windows Phone (again). I honestly haven't since it launched. I'm able to admit that maybe, just maybe, I hadn't given it a real shot, but now that I have I feel like I could definitely use Windows Phone as my daily driver from here on out.
The only thing I'm waiting for now? AT&T to give me that Amber update from Nokia. Come on already!
Anyway, I want to hear from you. I want to know if you've actually tried Windows Phone or not. If you have, did you manage to keep it, or did you go to another platform instead? If so, was it because of the software or hardware? Let me know where you stand with Microsoft's mobile OS.
