Good-bye, Windows Phone

Yes, Microsoft is supporting Linux by way of Android. Do you really think -- with the clock running down on Microsoft's final acquisition of Nokia -- that the Finnish phone company would make such a move without Microsoft's full backing? I don't.

I think Microsoft and Nokia have made a smart move. I'm not the only one.

Hello, MS-Android. Good-bye, Windows Phone | ZDNet

 

[HippsieGypsie]

HG, I have no phone right now but the wife keeps nagging me - she wants one for 'emergencies', whatever that is. Would you think this Lumina 521 could do the job.

Where do you get it for $79 and can it be operated with a SIM card without a contract. I am only 6 months in the year in the US and don't want any contracts.

Question is also whether this thing would work in Europe (Germany and France) using their SIM cards. Any advice would be appreciated because I am really a neophyte when it comes to phones.

Microsofr Store online: No Contract Windows Phones - Microsoft Store U.S.

I went with an AT&T Lumia 1520 phablet prepay at $40/mo for unlimited text worldwide, 500 minutes talk, and 500 mb data. No contract. They have different plans. I don't see why it wouldn't work in Europe with a different SIM slipped in.

Cokie would know a lot more about this stuff. You may want to PM him.

Again, may I suggest the 1520. It would solve your navigation problem and she could play games at the same time. It'll still talk to you giving directions. This way the wife would do less talking.

I forgot to mention that the 521 would do the same job, just a smaller screen.

 

[whs]

Thanks HG. That is all very informative. I'll have a look at the 1520.

 

[EMINENT]

Thanks HG. That is all very informative. I'll have a look at the 1520.

The 1520 is a much larger phone. 6" and much more costly at over $450.

 

[whs]

Thanks HG. That is all very informative. I'll have a look at the 1520.

The 1520 is a much larger phone. 6" and much more costly at over $450.

Yeah, right. I discovered that. That's an overkill for our purposes. I am not really into phones. I just wonder whether I can do navigation with the 521.

 

[DMGrier]

So I am not understanding why everyone is complaining about the GPS? I have a Samsung ATIV S Neo and when I go into maps and find something I just click on "Drive, find an app" and then it takes me straight into the app store and presented me with a free app called Waze which works just as good as google maps GPS in my opinion. So now when I find something in Bing maps and I click on "Drive" it just opens Waze with everything loaded. Who cares if it did not come preloaded, the OS still help me find a free app which works just fine.

 

[Kari]

I just wonder whether I can do navigation with the 521.

Yes you can. The Here Maps and Here Drive+ are the same for all WP8 Lumia phones. These screenshots just now from Lumia 925 Here Drive+, both portrait and landscape with simplest display options:

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[HippsieGypsie]

Thanks HG. That is all very informative. I'll have a look at the 1520.

The 1520 is a much larger phone. 6" and much more costly at over $450.

Yeah, right. I discovered that. That's an overkill for our purposes. I am not really into phones. I just wonder whether I can do navigation with the 521.

The 520/521 will do what any other WP will. Perhaps not as fast and with less data storage. The speed is minimal. It’s not like they’re calculating ballistic trajectory of a projectiles.

Nokia Lumia 520 Specifications - Nokia

Nokia Lumia 1520 Specifications - Nokia

 

[whs]

Thanks Kari. That sounds very good. I guess I have to now learn something about phones too - and that at my advanced age, LOL

HG, I am not worried about storage constraints. I have a 32GB MicroSD card lying around. That should suffice. And I am sure the speed will suffice at the rate I am going.

You have all been very helpful. I really appreciate. Now I have to find out what the cheapest options are in the US and in Germany for operating this thing as a phone. We'll probably make 3 or 4 calls per month and download nothing other than updates. The rest I can download with the PC and feed from there (I hope).

 

[HippsieGypsie]

I’m quite surprised you don’t own a cell phone, whs. You may want to consider this if you haven’t already. Please read post #52 here: http://www.eightforums.com/chillout-room/40357-thoughts-windows-phone-8-a-2.html.

As I stated, I haven't had a land line for 15 years. When direct DSL was introduced is when I dropped landline phone account and went strictly cellular. I could not justify having a land line any longer. Although it cost me more for DSL plus the cell account, I was actually getting more bang for the buck plus I was able to take my phone with me anywhere. More freedom is what they give us. When I got the Nextel phone I tethered it and eliminated the DSL. Although slower, I was saving money by eliminating the expense.

Anywho, you may want to consider dropping your land line and get both yourself and your wife a cell phone. They do have family plans as well. Any which way, good luck on your hunt.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

I’d like to clear something up. Feeling guilty talking out of both sides of my mouth about apps. In this thread http://www.eightforums.com/chillout-room/40357-thoughts-windows-phone-8-a.html I spoke of a lack of apps in post #3. One was my personal bank and another was this: myTouchTunes | Be Your Own DJ. Although there are many apps, these two would be nice to have. I have written both companies requesting so. Both wrote back stating they are developing one to be released soon.

Does MS have a lack of apps? There are enough to suffice for now and more being released daily, so there are developers writing them. Given some time and MS will be up to par.

 

[whs]

I’m quite surprised you don’t own a cell phone, whs. You may want to consider this if you haven’t already. Please read post #52 here: http://www.eightforums.com/chillout-room/40357-thoughts-windows-phone-8-a-2.html.

As I stated, I haven't had a land line for 15 years. When direct DSL was introduced is when I dropped landline phone account and went strictly cellular. I could not justify having a land line any longer. Although it cost me more for DSL plus the cell account, I was actually getting more bang for the buck plus I was able to take my phone with me anywhere. More freedom is what they give us. When I got the Nextel phone I tethered it and eliminated the DSL. Although slower, I was saving money by eliminating the expense.

Anywho, you may want to consider dropping your land line and get both yourself and your wife a cell phone. They do have family plans as well. Any which way, good luck on your hunt.

I see what you are saying, but my situation is not that easy. I live in 2 places for 6 months each year (Germany and Florida). So any yearly contracts are no good for me. In addition I need the landlines for my security systems in the houses. That would not work with 3G or 4G. So I am stuck with the landlines.

The reason I was looking at the Nokia 521 was mainly because it seems to be a good navigation device. The $79 would be cheaper than buying the MS Autoroute program and a BT GPS receiver for my Transformer. The phone part does not really interest me because I don't want to be bothered when I am not at home. I even got rid of the answering machine.

The wife, however, would probably make an occasional call when she is out by herself. She always has questions what to buy (especially shoes, lol) - her definition of an 'emergency'. But we would not give out the cell phone number to anybody - again because we don't want to be bothered.

I have to see whether I can buy a fixed amount of minutes that can be rolled over each month but only always during the 6 months I am in one place. You see, it's different than for the average user.

 

[Phone Man]

Wolfgang, I don't know what your security vendor offers but mine has AlarmNet by Honeywell which uses a special cell phone unit so a landline is not needed.

Jim

 

[whs]

No idea. Even if it would work in the US I still have the problem in Germany. It would be too much fuzz to change all that. In Germany I have my landline with Telecom since over 40 years. And for DSL 6000 I pay only appr. $20. The phone costs quasi nothing because even a call to the US is 0.6 cents/minute - and if I use my Android tablet, it is free. But that is not the same quality connection (VoIP).