Microsoft posts details of next Windows Phone 8 update

I want more background color options like in Windows 8.1, change the background color to red and have black tiles! Aw yeah!

It would be interesting to see a massive tile. That new size of tile in Windows 8.1 makes me wonder if the tiles will morph a tad into widgets. Such as Xbox Music could have simple playback controls on the tile versus having to switch back to the app or use a keyboard shortcut. Same could be done on Windows Phone's Xbox Music+Video hub...
 

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If the comments following this article are typical, the future of Windows Phone 8 is not looking good (and maybe it says something about Windows 8 as well): Nokia Lumia 925 Hands-On: This Is The Windows Phone You’ll Want | Gizmodo Australia.
Some of the comments were bashing on the 925, it's not meant to replace the 920 at all.

As for Windows Phone itself, posh. The thing about apps is that it does NOT matter whatsoever how much an ecosystem has, but if they're the ones that are desired. Quality over quantity. Microsoft and Nokia are actively seeking out the heavy hitters, not niche apps that are used by residents of android. Even then, if some heavy hitters aren't there, third party developers have filled some of those gaps and sometimes so well, that if the official app were to be released on Windows Phone, it wouldn't matter. One example, Metrotube. THE BEST youtube client app I've ever seen on ANY platform fills the youtube app gap. If google were to release a youtube app for Windows Phone, no one would really care unless if it were like Metrotube and free.

Then that ties back to Windows 8.

Temple Run (this stupid game on ios) was recently released on Windows Phone. The second iteration of the game was released on Windows 8, but not yet on Windows Phone. Since there is such a common core between the two, it is literally a matter of time that game gets ported over to Windows Phone.

Whatever app gets developed for Windows 8 can be very well easily recoded for Windows Phone, and vice versa.
 

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The comments that I was referring to were about the apps. They are central to what most people look for in a smartphone and time and again in Windows phone reviews, the comments invariably say 'Nice phone, shame about the lack of apps.'

The lack of apps is becoming glaringly obvious when it comes to Windows 8 as well (oh, there is a fart app available now). So that shiny new MPI is starting to lose it's shine as far as a lot of people who were looking for apps are concerned.
 

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The comments that I was referring to were about the apps. They are central to what most people look for in a smartphone and time and again in Windows phone reviews, the comments invariably say 'Nice phone, shame about the lack of apps.'

The lack of apps is becoming glaringly obvious when it comes to Windows 8 as well (oh, there is a fart app available now). So that shiny new MPI is starting to lose it's shine as far as a lot of people who were looking for apps are concerned.

And usually again, it's the heavy hitter apps that people complain about; facebook, instracrap, pinterest, top games, ect. Sometimes some people don't realize the third party apps are the top ones on Windows Phone that replaces those ones, then they go ahead and complain about the lack of "name brand" apps.

There are barely two dozen fart apps or whatever on Windows 8. EVERY single time someone says that, the automatic internet translation of that stupid phrase goes, "I have very few actual things to complain about, so I'm going to complain about something so stupidly trivial with very little relevance to valid my inferior point."
 

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Picked up my S4 yesterday. I was in two different stores and neither even had a windows phone to look at here. Not that I had any intention of getting one but it would have been nice to see it and maybe test it for a few mins but no biggie.
 

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Hi there
most people I know don't care much about cr@plets on mobile phones whatever phone they have -- usually they have about 1- 20 or 30 Max on them and that's usually more than enough. The only common gripe seems to be if you have a phone tied to a service provider then the standard pre-installed apps are usually total junk anyway compared with what they can download themselves - echoes of cr@ap / ad / trial ware pre-installed on PC's purchased from stores !!.

From what I've seen of the latest Nokia it looks a nice phone -- and it's beautifully THIN -- makes the iPhone seem like a Brick by comparison.

My next phone will either be the new Samsung Galaxy S4 or the Nokia --haven't made my mind up yet though --- sorry Apple and HTC. Will be a while though since in my area the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the 4G enabled version. Note that the Galaxy S3 phones obtained in UK and some other European countries aren't 4G enabled (In Belgium and Holland - mostly 4G versions available but check).

You can get some GREAT deals on the Galaxy S3 now the S4 is out -- brilliant phone but if you want 4G ensure it's 4G capable as there are different versions. The US version also only has a dual processor compared with the QUAD in the non US versions but on a phone it doesn't seem to matter much and for battery life the DUAL processor might be more convenient --but in any case the Galaxy S3 is brilliant so if you can't afford the S4 go for the S3.

People give the cr@aplets far too much importance -- people often download and play with one just for the sake of it but then uninstall pretty quickly.

What Nokia are doing IMO is making a mistake by pushing the capabilities of the CAMERA above anything else -- well IMO it doesn't matter how many MP or even Giga pixels the camera has it's a PHONE - not a professional DSLR. You can't beat a decent proper purpose built camera for taking REAL photos especially if you want to make large "Kodachrome equivalent" prints, have a nice narrow DOF and do all sorts of things competent photographers would do. Most people who use mobile phone cameras are usually taking "shots" or "snaps" which simply get displayed on the phone screen or emailed to other people who also then view them on other phone screens -- for this purpose the Nokia's camera is hugely overkill anyway.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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If anyone has read any mobile phone reviews lately, not one mentions call quality/clarity/ability to get and hold a signal whatsoever, it almost appears to be an irrelevant feature on mobile phones nowadays. But how well the camera performs is vital. Just two examples:

Smartphone Comparison Guide 2013

HTC One review: It’s now or never again | Ars Technica

Hi there
I disagree 100% about cameras -- they ALL function enough for what most people want them to do -- and this is from observation with REAL PEOPLE not on what some articles written by overgrown teenagers still totally addicted to "boys toys" write.

As for signal etc -- maybe in good old 'OZ they are just getting Gas into the caves these days but one assumes that these phones are used in places where you actually DO get a decent signal. 4G is pretty strong in cities where available as is 3g.

Out in the sticks if there's no signal doesn't matter what phone you have unless you just want it as a music player or e-reader.
Given a particular area with decent signal coverage modern phones will ALL handle a signal correctly - while Wifi service depends on who's providing it and where you are.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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I'm sure that all these tests assume that the user will be in a capital city where reception is going to be ideal, pity they don't go out to rural areas and see how well thing work. I'll bet there would be some disappointing results.
 

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I'm sure that all these tests assume that the user will be in a capital city where reception is going to be ideal, pity they don't go out to rural areas and see how well thing work. I'll bet there would be some disappointing results.

Hi there
That's what Satellite phones are for.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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You don't necessarily need a sat phone, but the difference between a mobile phone designed for good reception and one that's not is quite telling.
 

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You don't necessarily need a sat phone, but the difference between a mobile phone designed for good reception and one that's not is quite telling.

Hi there
I think ALL the phones we are discussing here - latest Nokia, Samsung , HTC all have adequate reception -- certainly there aren't any complaints HERE about the quality of reception provided by the latest phones from these companies -- you are flogging a dead horse on this one. By all means denigrate the W8 phone if you don't like it but reception quality or the quality of the camera (grossly overkill IMO) is a NON ISSUE on this particular phone.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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    5 X 1 TB sata
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I'm only basing my observations on phones that I've used and own, some are excellent and others are almost useless. I believe that even one of the recent iPhones had some major reception issues. Also, if you have a look at the web site of our major mobile service provider: Telstra - Nokia Mobile Phones & Plans, you'll see phones listed with a blue tick, these are specially tested and confirmed to provide the best reception in rural areas.

I'm not disparaging Windows phones whatsoever, you're reading far to much into what I've posted as well as imagining things that I have not even suggested. I simply made a couple of observations about mobile phones in general and what people think about Windows Phone 8.
 

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Hi there
How many phones do you HAVE !!!!! = TWO for me sometimes is THREE too many !!!.
Cheers
jimbo
 

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    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
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    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
One that I use all the time and two that are superseded and my wife has one and a superseded one as well, plus some really old ones that haven't seen the light of day for years. Oddly enough, most are Nokia phones that for some reason can't hold a charge, even if a new battery is installed.
 

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Picked up my S4 yesterday. I was in two different stores and neither even had a windows phone to look at here. Not that I had any intention of getting one but it would have been nice to see it and maybe test it for a few mins but no biggie.
Those are pretty cool iphones, the S4.
 

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    1440x900
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    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
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    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
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Hi there
most people I know don't care much about cr@plets on mobile phones whatever phone they have -- usually they have about 1- 20 or 30 Max on them and that's usually more than enough. The only common gripe seems to be if you have a phone tied to a service provider then the standard pre-installed apps are usually total junk anyway compared with what they can download themselves - echoes of cr@ap / ad / trial ware pre-installed on PC's purchased from stores !!.

From what I've seen of the latest Nokia it looks a nice phone -- and it's beautifully THIN -- makes the iPhone seem like a Brick by comparison.

My next phone will either be the new Samsung Galaxy S4 or the Nokia --haven't made my mind up yet though --- sorry Apple and HTC. Will be a while though since in my area the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the 4G enabled version. Note that the Galaxy S3 phones obtained in UK and some other European countries aren't 4G enabled (In Belgium and Holland - mostly 4G versions available but check).

You can get some GREAT deals on the Galaxy S3 now the S4 is out -- brilliant phone but if you want 4G ensure it's 4G capable as there are different versions. The US version also only has a dual processor compared with the QUAD in the non US versions but on a phone it doesn't seem to matter much and for battery life the DUAL processor might be more convenient --but in any case the Galaxy S3 is brilliant so if you can't afford the S4 go for the S3.

People give the cr@aplets far too much importance -- people often download and play with one just for the sake of it but then uninstall pretty quickly.

What Nokia are doing IMO is making a mistake by pushing the capabilities of the CAMERA above anything else -- well IMO it doesn't matter how many MP or even Giga pixels the camera has it's a PHONE - not a professional DSLR. You can't beat a decent proper purpose built camera for taking REAL photos especially if you want to make large "Kodachrome equivalent" prints, have a nice narrow DOF and do all sorts of things competent photographers would do. Most people who use mobile phone cameras are usually taking "shots" or "snaps" which simply get displayed on the phone screen or emailed to other people who also then view them on other phone screens -- for this purpose the Nokia's camera is hugely overkill anyway.

Cheers
jimbo

I don't get it too. Some smartphone makers focus their energy in making a phone with hi-res camera capability. But when it gets to the users hand, all these sky high resolution meant nothing with either dirty lenses (from finger prints and pocket lints) or using Instagram app which makes photos look old and low res. I'll stick with my bulky Nikon D7000 DSLR.
 

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    http://tinyurl.com/cwj93pj
I want more background color options like in Windows 8.1, change the background color to red and have black tiles! Aw yeah!

It would be interesting to see a massive tile. That new size of tile in Windows 8.1 makes me wonder if the tiles will morph a tad into widgets. Such as Xbox Music could have simple playback controls on the tile versus having to switch back to the app or use a keyboard shortcut. Same could be done on Windows Phone's Xbox Music+Video hub...

Oh, windows phone don't have that? It's a standard android feature.
 

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    Screen Resolution
    Main PC - 2x Sony PS3 3D LED Displays + 1x 22" Philips; HTPC - 47" HDTV w/ 17" LCD secondary display
    Hard Drives
    Internal- 1TB on each system; 1x120GB SSD on main PC
    External (network attached)- 1x2TB Seagate backup; 1x1TB ext. storage; 1x500GB,
    Other Info
    http://tinyurl.com/br4uxrk

    http://tinyurl.com/cwj93pj
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