From Meego To WindowsPhone To Android …. And Reverse — #Meego #WP7 #Android

Vs

Vs

Where do I begin, well this post really is my experience from moving between the 3 platforms mentioned, that is MeeGo, Android and Window Phone.

So again I say, where do I begin, well lets begin at the start.

My Android Story

Up until about summer 2011 I believe I had been using a Samsung Galaxy SII, prior to this I was using my N900….I LOVED my N900 but it was a bit of a brat…didn’t always do what it was told but lovable non the less.

Then I got my SGS2 and the difference was quite amazing, yes I had lost some of the technical/hack things I used to be able to do but the speed and smoothness made up for this. However and I will touch on this later the external hardware of the SGS2 is tatty* at best. (no offence meant fandroids ;-) )

My MeeGo Story

Then that special day came when I opened my mailbox and saw those magical words “A Nokia N950 Is Waiting For You” — I was delighted. When it finally arrived it was running PR1.0 software and while it was perfectly usable day to day somethings were missing, like a Twitter and Facebook client, but soon PR1.1 came and that brought these and the Store and more.

The N950 was shaping up to be an excellent bit of kit……BUT and this was a big but, the signal reception in most locations at least for me was virtually zero and in most case always zero. Yes I know this was a developer device but come on this is Nokia, Nokia make amazing hardware and usually the best antennae…someone dropped the ball in production on this one.

However I did not care, MeeGo was so different, so new, so shiny and I could do virtually anything with it, just like with the N900 the hacks came thick and fast and soon any missing things were present. Then only recently in Jan 2012 PR1.2 came, this brought folder support, new camera UI, and video support and more, the OS in my opinion is almost complete, some bugs still and some improvements needed but otherwise its great.

Not to bring up the past again, but if Nokia had devoted the time and money they spent on WindowsPhone then Meego would be ruling the world right now, that is my opinion. You may not agree, many will not, but many of those will never have tried it.

My Window Phone Story

Last week I attended the launch of the Nokia Lumia 800 in Ireland (Post), it was a great evening and I and a lucky few there were given brand new Nokia Lumia 800’s. Needless to say I was delighted, I could not wait to get home, rip open the box and start it up…..That is just what I did, let me begin by saying as many have done with it and the N9, the hardware is amazing. It feels so solid in your hand, you just know it is not going to break, its built like a tank….a sexy tank.

However my excitement was short lived…….I noticed that I did not seem to be getting notifications of mentions on Twitter or IM notifications. Upon further investigation I discovered that if you lock your screen the wifi connection drops. Big deal you might think as your mobile connection will just pick up the slack…true…but not if you dont turn on the mobile data.

You see this is my biggest issue with Windows Phone right now, and it will be many users issue too, if you are not on contract, i.e. you are pay as you go you will not be turning data on. Window Phone automatically connects to data without prompts so it eats your credit, this is mortal sin for any PAYG users.

More than any other issue its this that annoys me, I understand why Microsoft does it, its to save battery/bandwidth etc but for years as a Symbian user, then a Maemo user, then an Android user, then a MeeGo user I have had always on Wifi and without issues and I can manage my own battery very well thank you Microsoft.

If only there was an app available to keep the screen on then wifi would be forced to stay on…I am hopeful this will come. The other niggling issue i have is the refresh times for apps like Twitter, I am not sure what the built in default is but again, Microsoft please give users the option to set it themselves. My other devices have it and if they dont, at least its set at a respectable 5 minutes rather than something like 30 minutes or not at all.

Other than these two issues I really enjoy my Lumia 800 and Windows Phone, yes there are other things not quite there yet but I have a feeling with the upcoming OS releases these will be ironed out.

I have no concerns regarding apps, my main apps anyway are Twitter/Facebook/Foursquare and a few others so Im well covered and all main stream apps will make it to WP7 dont worry about that.

Up To The Minute (Well Last Night)

Well last night I had a Windows Phone wobble, that is I got a bit of cold feet, so I started up my SGS2 to see if I could get back into it. At first I was delighted to once again have always on Wifi no matter what, but soon cracks started to appear. I find having come from a bespoke OS such as MeeGo and then onto a similar style OS like Windows Phone that everything in Android just seems too large, too in your face, maybe its just TouchWiz I dont know but I just wasn’t comfortable.

Then as i touched on earlier, the hardware, holding the SGS2 in one hand and either the Lumia 800 or N950 in the other, the difference is amazing. The SGS2 feels cheap, yes is plastic you say, but so is the Lumia 800.

So once again I have switched off my SGS2 and its sitting cold and lonely next to my Lumia 800 right now.

My New Appreciation For Window Phone

Well having spent an evening with Android, I can see its just not for me again, just not right now anyway. This morning I decided to try my Lumia 800 again and we are now on speaking terms, I have learned its quirks and I have an action plan to always be online and up to date…that is Im never going to put it down or let its screen lock……

In Closing

The above is my tale, my experience, you may have a completely different experience of Window Phone and you certainly will if you are on contract but remember not everyone is.

Im sticking with Windows Phone for now, I want to see what Apollo brings, if I am to revert to another OS then I will go back to MeeGo, and if not that I think I would probably go to Symbian over Android…there is no other platforms right !!!! ;-)

Remember an OS is a very personal choice, choose what’s best for you and you will be fine…….