Serious Question for All You WP7 Updaters
I’ll admit that after I flash a new nightly of Android or update an app I often need to refer to a changelog to get the picture of what improvements I just picked up. But since NoDo is quite extremely the opposite of a nightly of anything in that it took, shall we say, a little longer than anticipated to begin, and a good five months after the complaints of shortcomings piled up, to be polished up and released to as I understand it just a couple devices of the several devices for those willing and able to link up to a computer and install some iTunes-like program to flash the update, I’m curious what those of you who flashed it who did not read a changelog or feature list like this noticed after having updated. Anything? Feels good?
Let me rephrase: If I snuck into your bedroom last night and updated your phone before you got around to it without waking you up, what, if anything, would you notice when turning it on this morning is both different and better (if you managed not to piece together that I snuck into your bedroom, which would distract you from effectively participating in this hypothetical situation)? How much are these improvements you’ve noticed firsthand worth to you? Much ado about nothing or is this night and day? Serious question (pretend David K asked you, could make for a good thread); not trying to be hostile (though I will be if you come at me bro).
Doug Simmons
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Doug Simmons
Biographical info.. hmm. I have a history of not being able to strike the balance between what is "safe" to put into these forms and what is, in my mind at least, funny. Can't do it.
Yup I would have noticed. I text a lot, make a lotta mistakes. The change, hoewever slight it may be, would be noticed pretty quick.
Oh, and seeing as WP7 “took so long”, how did you like the 5 month wait for the latest version of Android… whichever tasty treat name their on now?
This is what it looks like, more or less, on Android, iWhatever and Blackberries through their stock browsers:
Sounds like you’re getting the regular site. No cloud print for you!
How did I like my last wait for the current Android operating system I’m using? I liked it a lot. Regarding the naming, sometimes I wonder how many deserts there are in the world and at this rate if they’ll have enough desert names to make it through everyone’s lifetime. You got a better motif? What’s “NoDo” anyway? No doughnuts? Do you actually have an Android reference in your first big milestone thing?
That’s funny to me.
And I wasn’t aware that this NoDo was a new operating system, rather a collection of patches. Thought NoDo was the name of the bundle, the episode of Windows Update on your computer but in this case for your phone (though still on your computer…), not installing a new DVD of the next version of Windows. This is Windows Phone 7.1 or 7.5 or whatever? Windows Phone NoDo? Or did you sort of misspeak a little in this comparison?
I think everyone would have noticed the C&P but being honest, I would have noticed the MAC address being displayed (kinda need it now). As far as the speed enhancements go, speed is all relative.
Why do you need the MAC?
@Doug Simmons: Simmons, I hope you know better than to think that NoDo was a shot at Android…if you don’t then I give you far too much credit…
@Doug Simmons: Address forwarding for a couple of routers @ the Job.
It just popped into my head that I remember reading that somewhere a while back. I hope I’m wrong.
Maybe I should Bing this one.
All right how many citations do I need to paste for you to win back that credit… one, two? This guy was the one who claimed it to be a shot against Android, though someone from Microsoft later denied it on Twitter…
So with that Twitter denial up against that other guy’s reputation and the accusation he threw out, guess I was wrong. Like the Toyota CEO, except with sarcasm as I’m right and you know it, I apologize.
Didn’t NoDo also bring cdma support? I know it’s not important for existing phones but it was an important update for the OS that had to be done right.
@Doug Simmons: Lol, I was on Bing Looking it up just to be an ass. As long as you can admit when you’re wrong (as I try to), I have no real qualms.
Though it’s not on the Microsoft support page about NoDo, looks like the answer is yes, but one might note that in all likelihood it doesn’t mean that you can now switch to Verizon or Sprint, just means that if they can get an OEM and either Verizon or Sprint on board, which may not be as easy as it sounds, they can start cranking out CDMA sets with Windows Phone on it without having to do any more coding.
Kind of like, … nope, got nothing to compare how significant that is to.
Oh and call me crazy, but I think Thurrott reads this site and WMPU pretty often. In plain words, I have very few nice things to say about him anymore. You think the powers the be here would let me write an editorial about the state of real WP7 consumers and Fake-Ass WP7 Martyrs? *shrugs shoulders*
@Mike: Sure does, it’s even mentioned in one of the citations Simmons used (engadget).
I would have noticed the Marketplace Search and C/P. Those were the more obvious changes to me. I likely would have noticed the patch for Gmail attachments as well. It’s nice to actually _see_ all attachments to an email if there are multiple attachments. 🙂
Sadly, as a Focus user, I likely would have noticed a bunch of missing files and changed media due to that whole “need small amounts of data loaded for the backup to work” bug supposedly fixed in 7008. That was not fun, but I worked around/through it. 🙁
As noted earlier, speed is relative. I haven’t really noticed a lot of speed improvements, but I don’t load huge apps on my phone very often. Most of them are pretty small so load pretty quickly anyway. I’m sure those who do load up heftier games would see it. However, I tried out the Fable golf game today and it loaded pretty quickly for a 32MB download game. That may say something. I guess it’s faster, but it’s hard for me to judge.
Sadly the camera “feature” of not giving us some way to save our prefs is still there, but my only other request than that one right now would be true task switching and perhaps the update to IE9. Other than that, I’m still pretty pleased with the device and we can stop hearing the whole “WP7 doesn’t do Copy/Paste” line (unless you’re on AT&T).
No kidding, we got a reader with a Wikipedia page? They Thurrott (or an impersonator, offer’s good for either), let us know if you want to guest write something for us, preferably slanderous and without foundation.
Peter: Email attachments, yikes. Glad that’s fixed for you. But how about that web browser, does it give you a mobile-friendly and tolerable Gmail experience a la the iPhone and iPad or does it treat it like a regular page? Google may be getting people on their computer’s web browser, but mobile browsers, tougher sell. Enticements include their new cloud print, blending of other services and access to all your stuff not just the last few hundred or whatever your phone grabbed. Still though, people like their phone’s native thing. Can’t wait for some web server to field requests in order to respond to a finger tap.
Hear you with the camera preferences. The shots I take are generally outdoors, sunny, and the default exposure overexposes my .. subjects. Wish the damn thing would stick.
Thanks for the rather substantive contribution.
@Doug Simmons: I’ve used the IE on WP7 to access Gmail and such before. It works, but you can tell it’s geared towards desktop. It has let me get to some pieces that I don’t sync locally – either too old or not in the Inbox anymore. I’m cool with that for the few times I need it. It does treat it like a regular web page as far as I can tell. Not having used either “i” device, I can’t say for sure. (Someone wants to give me one to verify, that’s cool – I’m not spending my money on either. 🙂 )
@The Fight: I frown on personal attacks unless it is Simmons taking his weekly “buck the management” swing at me but any fact based arguments I would publish.
Why would anyone use Gmail web client on a phone?
@Doug Simmons: What’s this? Is this a CDMA Windows Phone?? <a href="http://shop2.sprint.com/NASApp/onlinestore/en/Action/DisplayPhones?phoneSKU=WPST7575KT"
@Doug Simmons: True – no cloud print, but I don’t use that anyway. Only print what I really need 99% of the time. It may look different in Mobile view, but I have it set to Desktop now because it does pretty well most of the time. Regardless, I’m generally pleased with what I can do. There are a small number of apps available on Android that my wife would like and I’d really like to have an official homebrew support of some sort so I can run apps that don’t otherwise meet MS’ criteria. (in addition to above requests) Generally speaking, I can do most of the things I need pretty easily and I really appreciate the Zune support baked in.
@vangrieg – people might use the web client if they need to get access to email that isn’t otherwise accessible. Most e-mail gets pushed through without any problem, but once archived or moved, it’s more convenient to just retrieve as needed instead of syncing it locally.
@Doug Smith: What about personally attacking Simmons?
vangrieg: Someone would use a webmail client because the client is already there and ready for you, doesn’t require any configuration, any BIS account, SMTP this IMAP, just log in and go as you would on a computer with, just as you might have on your computer, access to your 28,201 emails spread out through a dozen folders, lighter on bandwidth if you get so much email that you don’t care for push, new cloud things like being able to tap in a document, Google Voice player playing properly, all that. And the screen shot I just posted, though I don’t use the web browser for email myself, that’s impressively usable compared to not so long ago, the way it’s formatted for the phone.
Not sure your email went through on your iPad, maybe the Blackberry BIS thing is screwed up, caught up in the Outbox or whatever? Through the web interface, if it ships, it ships. So that’s basically why with it becoming a more attractive option as time passes. And with bandwidth speeding up and ping latencies dropping down, less sludgy.
Peter: The cloud print thing is really just a magic trick for me for new clients, I don’t even have a printer. I’ve got four screens and a stack of crap in front of each one, no need for even more crap I’ll never read. But hey, look at my phone, here’s an attached pdf, watch this, BOOM, go look at the HP 4200C. Thank you, thank you. Works on your home printer too.
yss: I believe I’m fair game.
@Doug Smith:
Fact based may take some time. I was looking for all out character assassination and my opinions. I’ll play nice for now.
@yss: yeah Simmons is fair game cause he loves a good fight and can defend himself quite well.
@The Fight: look forward to your rant. I got fed up with MS. I am very tempted to get the HD7S but shit, my iPhone works awesome and I don’t have to do shit to it. Apple busts out with the external antenae and a 4 inch screen PLUS the A5 and Microsoft is going to be further behind the eight ball. Now I know this is where David k busts my ass for a white iPad 2 (resale man!) and says windows 8 is the show stopper but I am reserving my opinion until I actually see it released.
@Doug Smith:
I’m doing my research now. I have no idea when it will be ready but I need to be able to support my opinions properly. I have a feeling that I’ll be defending my position for a while.
That HD7s looks tempting as all get up but I’ll miss the DVP keyboard too much.