iPhone 4 to Windows Phone 8 – My 30 day review

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Four years and two iPhones (3G and 4) definitely changed me for the better. Without any doubt, iPhone was the best gadget I used so far.

I’m now on a Windows Phone 8. Nokia Lumia 820.

Why did I move away from iPhone?

  • Mishap – I shattered the screen last year on a road trip and getting a replacement is expensive (authorized dealers quoted 9K). After struggling for a month with broken glass, I settled for a sub-standard off-market screen (3.2K). It was never the same. Many ask me the reason for not clicking/ sharing photographs for some time now. It’s this. I wasn’t enjoying my iPhone as much with a ‘duplicate’ display.
  • Price – The latest iPhone would be great, as a logical move, but it’s damn expensive. I don’t argue with people who say it’s worth the price. It probably is; but I can’t afford 45K for a phone. I spent 30K for the last iPhone 4 and my target was to find something in less price than that. Lumia 820 cost me 26K.
  • Comparision – I did some quick comparision on geekaphone.com (iPhone 4 and Nokia Lumia 820) and Lumia won! Wow! So, a better phone than the one I used, at less price; kool.
  • Battery change/ memory card/ back cover – Unlike many smart phones (read: iPhone), Lumia 820 allows me to open the back cover (btw, Lumia 920 doesn’t); add memory in the form of MicroSD card up to 64 GB; and change battery if needed. Good options!
  • Windows 8 – I recently upgraded my Sony VAIO to Windows 8. With an Operating System from same vendor, it HAS to be easy to exchange data, and play around with mobile on laptop in general. It’s no secret that Apple forces us to use certain ways to get content onto iPhone that are not straightforward.
  • Fresh look – I love iPhone interface; Android, not much. Windows Phone interface is different, simpler and new. Worth a try!

Irony

There is an irony here. I always have thought that the only reason I would move away from iPhone could be price. Premium quality is good, sophistication is great but premium price is not my (or, my guess, anyone’s) cup of tea.

The irony is- I CAN afford an iPhone now. That too, within my set limit of less than 30K. But, it’s iPhone 4. 26K.

iPhone 4S is now 34K and iPhone 5 is 45K.

When Apple finally made it easy to go buy an iPhone in a normal store (as opposed to pleading friends and cousins coming from US/ UK), I just can’t buy one! It’s not wise to buy T-2 models.

Why not Samsung?

Samsung smartphones are on Android. For some reason, the OS never impressed me. I don’t hate an android phone but it feels very uncomfortable to use one. Further, I always saw Samsung as a panel manufacturer, not mobiles. May be I will consider it when the flexible screen models are out. That too, if Samsung comes out of that too rounded corner shapes. What is it, an awfully shaped egg??

My observations (Nokia Lumia 820):

  • Size – I decided to go with Windows Phone for fresh look and simplicity. Between HTC and Nokia, many reviews convinced me that Nokia is better. So, Lumia is the series I had to choose from. Many apps in Windows Store indicated “minimum 1GB RAM” and therefore my decision was between just the two: 920 and 820. Am so used to iPhone 4 and therefore I chose the model that’s closer in size – 820. So far, it’s working great. I can hold it in my hand comfortably, carry it in my pockets and I don’t find it odd/ heavy.
  • Screen -  I use it in general for calls, messages, etc.. I watched sitcoms and movies too! It’s good quality and display works excellent in sunlight/ outdoors. I used it for a week without any guard on the screen and now with one; touch sensitivity is great in either cases. It’s got a ‘touch sensitivity’ setting that can be used in situations/ seasons to operate it with gloves. Magnifier and font size settings are great too!
  • Live Tiles – This is the fresh look am still getting used too. For some apps like Exchange Email and SMS, it’s very useful. While everyone is praising the live tiles for photos and People hub, am still scratching my head to see what’s so exciting. Good thing is – I can choose NOT to pin something to my start screen and if & when I want it there, I have control over the size of the tile.
  • Apps, apps, apps
        • Nokia apps – The reason Windows Phone 8 is better with Nokia is apps. Nokia apps, I mean. I sincerely love the HERE Drive, HERE Maps, HERE Transit and HERE City Lens. These are very useful apps from Nokia that make my Lumia come alive. It’s like a great GPS. Another great aspect of the drive/ maps – it’s available offline! So, navigation keeps working even if there is no data network available. Brilliant for road trips!
        • No apps – Windows App Store has to catch up fast as there are not many useful apps out there. This is one of the major hits for me when I moved from iPhone. I’m not using Lumia as I did the iPhone just because I don’t have those functions/ features/ apps.
        • Immature – Look at the facebook app published by Microsoft and you’ll understand what I mean. Or, Flickr, for example. Very immature and bad screen space utilization. Simplicity is good but like everything else, when it’s overdone, it’s stupid.
  • GPS – Worth the mention again. Did you read clearly that the maps are available offline? Well, it’s like having a dedicated GPS in my car! I loaded maps for few states I travel to frequently and am all set for adventure, without worrying about the GPRS/ 3G data costs. Voice navigation is available.
  • People hub – This is a new feature and I see pros and cons. Pro: it’s great to combine details/ updates from facebook, linkedin, google and my local address book in one place. So one entry per person which syncs details from all across for easy access. Con: consumes battery heavily!
  • Music – With FREE music downloads, FREE streaming and good storage on the device, Lumia can be a music lover’s dream phone! Well, there is iPod and iPhone but music on Lumia is FREE! I downloaded a bunch of latest albums and I love this aspect of the phone.
  • Earphones – It would be great experience if the above FREE music thing is combined with a great set of earphones. Unfortunately, Lumia earphones are just good (not great). Earphones are available as accessories in the market, so that’s not a major concern anyway.
  • Battery – It’s getting better. First week of my Lumia required me to charge twice every day. Now, it’s once every day for normal usage. It could probably be a little awareness of usage, or in fact may be the battery works good when you beat it a little! Or, may be because am not on facebook a lot these days.
  • Bluetooth – One of my worries was the connectivity with my car bluetooth stereo. Good news – it works for calls and it works for music. So, Figo experience is not going to take a hit. However, some controls are not as refined as with iPhone. For example, when I switch my Figo stereo to “BT Audio”, iPhone used to co-operate well and the last music track would play. Lumia forces me to hit “play” on the phone. Also, “next” button on stereo used to skip the track with iPhone. With Lumia, it doesn’t.
  • Notifications – Practically none. But again, iPhone took years to introduce useful notifications; probably Windows Phone too will come up with some useful stuff. Rumor is that Microsoft didn’t include notifications because of time constraints. Probably, next major update should include something.
  • wp_ss_20130327_0002Email – It’s surprising that ActiveSync being a baby of Microsoft works better in iOS and Android than Windows Phone. This is one of the few instances that make me hate Microsoft. The alert that should come up on the phone when you have a notification is called “toast” in Windows Phone and it’s not available for email. Phone vibrates and makes a sound but nothing comes up on the screen for new email. It does for SMS, though. We have to unlock the phone and look around to investigate the alert. Bad.
  • Nokia profiles – This is one feature I hope Nokia sticks to from their dumb phone generation. I loved that feature back in the days of Nokia 1100 and it’s so much useful even today with these smartphone series. If I see nothing in the next few months, I’ll see if I can develop an app to accomplish the same.
  • Windows 8 PC – I expected Microsoft will tie up the device to a Windows 8 PC much more deeply and closely. Apparently not. All there is on a PC is a vague, next to nothing app, which will allow you to copy files from and to the phone. No big deal; Windows Explorer can do a better job.
  • Vibrate on Silent – I miss the hardware “silent” switch on iPhone so much! How can I explain the convenience of such a control in combination with few other software settings to “vibrate on silent” to non iPhone users? On Lumia, to change the phone alert mechanism to “ring, no vibrate” to “vibrate, no ring” is a big trip to the Settings, alerts, ringtones and what not! This setting change is something I need twice every day. This is the reason I might work on Nokia Profiles.
  • Camera focus clicks – Not just for users who moved from iPhone but I guess that’s not convenient for anyone. Tapping on the screen (assuming focus) captures the picture. Great development in terms of mobile cameras is: there is a two step photo click button like regular digital cameras. However, it’s tough to use with a protective cover on.
  • wp_ss_20130327_0001Stupid flash – It took more than a while to figure this out and now I use it right. I can now turn it ON and OFF as required. But until I got to the bottom of this setting “assist flash” (like in DSLRs) did annoy me a lot. Flash and “assist flash” have different settings. Once you know the individual purposes and controls to change settings, it’s great!
  • Simplicity at the cost of real estate – is a bad design. Look at the Flickr app in the image. Less than 50% of the screen space for pictures! The header information DOESN’T scroll up to fit more images; it just sits there!!

First things to change:

If I get a chance to change few aspects of Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8, I’ll start with these:

  • Border for buttons – it’s ugly.
  • Physical buttons – All buttons are on the right. I would change the positions a little and place at least the power button at the top; that’s very convenient, don’t you think?
  • Toast notifications – Add for email, esp., Exchange Accounts.

Nokia Lumia: One of the earphones stopped working?

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I woke up this morning and was dejected to realize that only one of the speakers was working when I connected my Nokia Lumia 820 to Altec Lansing desktop speakers to play music.

I sincerely hoped that the problem was my speakers as those are 2+ years old but my Lumia is less than a month old. Also, Lumia costed me 27 times the speakers! So, I quickly connected the earphones that were shipped with Lumia and concluded it was in fact Lumia that has the problem.

As it is said, great ideas come to us either at 3 am or when in shower. So, after my shower, I was able to fix the problem in a snap.

Resolution: Reboot.

After all, it’s a Windows Phone.
:)

Buffer

The only missing link at Buffer

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Dear Buffer,

I like you.

I like the primary functionality of Buffer – buffering my feed to release at set times to Twitter, for example.

And when we have Twitter come into picture, we are aware of the number 140.

Then there is a Chrome extension(?) I use to “buffer”.

Of course, I love to hear from you from time to time; so, I have a subscription to your newsletter. “Joel from Buffer” sends me some interesting emails often.

And, what do I do when I like the article? I buffer. => I click on the extension to feed it to Twitter.

I know I can select some text and then “buffer” it to set context. But “Joel from Buffer” uses a heading for a reason. There is also some description about the Buffer blog.

Now, the total text doesn’t fit well for a tweet, does it?

If it’s other blogs/ sites like mine, I understand. While I like to have my articles shared, I always don’t think of Twitter, for example.

Now, at Buffer, I think you should consider that point. Don’t you think so?

No big deal- but if posts on Buffer blog are easy to buffer out of the box using it’s own service, it’s just clean, isn’t it?

Thank you.

An elegant DIY Platinum key ring.

DIY Platinum key ring

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“Status is often associated with the rarest of metals”

Post type: rant
Inspiration courtesy: Standard Chartered
Why: Standards shatterred
Action Plan: you’ll see
Key ring, then?
Promise will be kept; read on.

“And Platinum, the rarest of them all, awaits you.”

“We invite you to the world of the Standard Chartered Platinum Credit Card.”

I bet you feel privileged to read those lines now, while completely aware that you don’t have a card waiting for you. Imagine the glitter in my eyes while I opened the black plain envelope on which these lines were printed in elegant white letters. There’s no better way to please me than with a killer presentation and simplicity. Why do you think I’m hopelessly stuck with the iPhone?

“Wow”, I thought.

Anyways, there are two reasons why I applied for this credit card:

  1. Reliance Consumer Finance screwed up my credit history last year and with a lot of effort I was able to get out of that relationship.
    No more business with Anil Ambani.
    The best way to find out if everything is alright at CIBIL is to apply for a credit card. It will be rejected right at the beginning of the process when you provide PAN number. I got through; so my efforts in breaking up with Reliance paid off well.
  2. When applied online, this will be a lifetime free card. I never held a credit card that had an annual fee. Many banks these days charge an annual fee and I don’t like it. So, lifetime free is good. Not a bad deal to verify my reason 1 above.

Now, I have a habit of skimming through the paperwork that comes with every freakin’ package I receive. Let it be a gadget manual, flipkart shipment, FedEx box or even the Zinda Tilismath 5ml bottle. I’m not saying I’ll digest all the fine print but I’ll try my best to see what the gist is.

Trouble started few minutes after I was “invited” into the envelope.

While point 1 above makes me happy, point 2 had a contradiction in the paperwork I received. It said I will be charged INR 844.00 as annual fee. Not even conditional, straight-forward debit.

[Conditional = "If you spend more than 30,000 in a year, then there won't be any annual fees. If you don't spend minimum 30,000 then there will be 750 INR annual fee, and Service Tax on that fee" types.]

Well, when you have a doubt, you clarify. I had one, so I did.

While I exchanged numerous emails [and I still am exchanging], let me give you the summary in simple phrases. Every line below is an email, either to or from Standard Chartered Platinum Support, that hires a dedicated resource to investigate into every question for complete seven working days and then, most probably asks for more information.

-I applied online. I confirmed with the person who collected my documentation. I confirmed with the lady who cross-verified my information over the telephone. I was told this is a ‘free for lifetime’ card. Why do I see annual charges in the paperwork I received?
-It is a “fee” card, not a “free” card.

-I applied online. I confirmed with the person who collected my documentation. I confirmed with the lady who cross-verified my information over the telephone. I was told this is a ‘free for lifetime’ card. Why do I see annual charges in the paperwork I received?
-First year free sir. From second year, you will pay 844.00 INR as annual fee.

-I applied online. I confirmed with the person who collected my documentation. I confirmed with the lady who cross-verified my information over the telephone. I was told this is a ‘free for lifetime’ card. Why do I see annual charges in the paperwork I received?
-Who told you so? Is there any written communication? Is there a reference number??

-I applied online. I confirmed with the person who collected my documentation. I confirmed with the lady who cross-verified my information over the telephone. I was told this is a ‘free for lifetime’ card. Why do I see annual charges in the paperwork I received?
-Unless I see a written proof, this is a “fee” card.

-I applied online. I confirmed with the person who collected my documentation. I confirmed with the lady who cross-verified my information over the telephone. I was told this is a ‘free for lifetime’ card. Why do I see annual charges in the paperwork I received?
-Only in December we had that offer. If you had applied in December, you would have gotten that offer.

-I applied in December!
-Your card was “generated” in January. So, offer not valid.

-Open Standard Chartered India website. Click “Internet Banking”. Check the banner that says “Free for life”. If you want a written proof, write that down. And once you’re done, please confirm that the card I received is a “free” card. AND, it’s not December anymore.
-Oh that!! Yes sir, it’s a free for life card for you.

:)

Phew!
Isn’t that sweet!

In between those email messages to and fro, because it takes 7 working days for each response, I called their support number as well.

Arun (my SC phone buddy) and Prakash (last email guy) both initially told me it was a “fee” card. Now, Prakash came around but am not sure what Arun thinks. So, just to be sure, my email exchange continues.

-Thanks for confirming that this is a “free” card. Now, send me written communication. May be a printed letter.
-I confirm this is a lifetime free card for you.

-I would prefer a laminated copy. What if you, Arun or someone else from SC asks me in the future the same question I was already asked? “Do you have a written communication? Is there a reference number??”
-I confirm this is a lifetime free card for you.

-And make sure there is a reference number attached to the communication. Apparently, that’s important!
- <awaiting response>

Simultaneously, there is another topic in discussion with Standard Chartered Platinum Support. They spelled my name incorrect [on the account, not card] and when asked for correction, they need (1). School leaving Certificate (2). Birth Certificate (3). Driving License (4). Passport (5). PAN Card copy.

I ask- who is the basta*d who typed my name into the database in the first place? Where did he get it from? Where did the documentation I provided go? Was it sold to some terrorists to get fake SIM cards? AND, because some dumbo cannot type my name carefully into the system, I send you all that information (self-attested, btw)?

I say- Send me a passport size photo of that idiot who entered my name into the system. Of course, self-attested. Attach his passport in original and send in “normal post only” without stamp. No registered post or couriers entertained.

Okay, now DIY key ring:

Material needed:

  1. Standard Chartered Platinum credit card
  2. Inspiration (free with Standard Chartered credit card)
  3. Paper hole punch machine
  4. Metal ring
  5. Key (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Punch a hole in the corner
  2. Mount a ring

Ta-da! There you have a 1,16,000 INR worth key ring! Elegant, heh? :)

Optional:

  1. Take a picture (creativity is always welcomed!)
  2. Publish a blog post
  3. Share the joy with Standard Chartered support:
    1. By sending the post link (my way)
    2. By sending flowers (like Munna Bhai MBBS)

Action plan:

I send this link to Standard Chartered Support every freakin’ day until my name is corrected.

If you charge me extra (annual fee or any other charge), I will fight, argue or break up. But if you spell my name incorrect, you’ve gone far. Too far. If you don’t correct it when pointed out, you don’t deserve to live. You die.

scfunda