Hi there.
I am currently studying the possibility of getting a Windows Phone 8 smartphone. As someone who owned Android phones for 4 years my criteria (and standards) for getting a phone are build quality, camera quality, battery life, customizations, multitasking, music and audio quality & performance. These issues are important to me especially in my present age/job/needs/likes.
I would like to ask about:
1. Photos - Now i heard photos are stored in the Albums folder is that correct? Is there a basic editing tool from Windows Phone 8 (WP8)? Can i share my photos to Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Email, Dropbox, Evernote, etc. or do i still have to go to the app then look/upload the photo like what iOS is about?
2. Camera - Is there a quick camera icon toggle thingy in the lock screen (similar to iOS7.1 & Android 4.4.2) where i just swipe up to quickly lunch the camera? How fast does the camera load up? I have heard about the Nokia Pro Camera with it's pseudo burst mode option but does WP8 has that very quick shutter button with zero lag when taking shots much like the iPhone 5 & Galaxy S3?
3. Keyboard - Can i install 3rd-party keyboard apps in place or on top of what the standard WP8 keyboard is? Are there emoji icons built-in to the standard WP8 keyboard? Is there a 1st-party or third-party app wherein you can swipe or slide your fingers on the keyboard for an even faster typing?
4. Customizations - Are there any customizations options of the lock screen and home screen where i choose what wallpaper i can put in there?
5. Live Tiles - Live tiles are very unique to the OS. But i fear its a battery & resource hog. Can i stop it from moving to save battery?
6. Running apps & Multitasking - Now i heard about pressing the back button to bring up the last 8 apps (or tasks) that you did. Do i press the "X" button of each app or do i swipe up or down to cancel/stop it?
7. Notifications - I like to have that option to swipe down from the top of the screen and see all my notifications, click them to go to that notifications or swiping the notification left or right to disregard it. Now, i have seen and read that WP8 has notifications but not like iOS or Android. Is it better? or just different?
8. Quick Settings - I would also like quick settings toggle built-in to the Notifications Centre (like Android) to toggle on or off things such as wifi, bluetooth, etc. Does WP8 has this setting? Or is there an app for that?
9. Updates - The one that annoys me with Android is the fragmentation. Google releases the Android OS, forwards them to OEMs (for skinning & putting bloatwares) thus resulting to issues such as poor performance, battery life eventually phones receiving late updates. How confident can i be certain updates for WP8 will be timely, early or more often than `Android or iOS?
10. Documents - I have a PC. So when i edit and save a document in Office on my Windows Phone can i access them on my PC as well?
11. Transferring files - Now i'm aware the easiest way to do this is via wires and thru this Windows Phone app that i download is that correct? I also understand that its easy as drag n' drop BUT where exactly (i.e. which folder) of the phone do i drag the files to?
12. Battery life - Very important to me. I can to to GSMarena and see how they rate each phone's battery life but like audio usage is very subjective & dependent on each user. As WP8 is a closed platform how confident should i be in terms of battery life? Is there a battery saving option on all WP8 phones?
Please advice. Thanks.
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- Windows 8.1