Microsoft UK have been kind enough to lend me a Lumia 950 and the Continuum dock for ten days.
This isn't a full review, but I'll note down all of my thoughts, which should be helpful to prospective buyers.
I've owned several Lumia phones over the years, and a year ago I decided to ditch Android and tie myself in to the Microsoft ecosystem for good.
Last year, I used the Lumia 535, 635 and 640 - All of which are relatively cheap, decent Lumia phones.
Let's get one thing straight right from the start: Lumia phones are all very nippy, don't suffer from lag, solid and (for a smartphone) relatively simple to use. You never need to close apps, hunt for too many settings or install task management apps to get your battery to last all day (unlike Android). You can leave WiFi on when you leave the house and your battery will be fine. Connecting to public WiFi networks is automatic and requires no user input.
First impressions of the Lumia 950
It's got a very crisp screen! It's a real standout feature, after using the low end Lumias.
It's plastic.
There's no way of avoiding this issue - The handset is plastic and doesn't look like you've paid £500 for it. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to say if it's any different to the £100 Lumia 640, apart from the metallic buttons on the side of the phone.
It has a dedicated camera button.
Too many phones are missing this feature - A feature which was standard on Windows Phones until Microsoft took over. A dedicated quick launch camera/shutter button is a great idea, but given that you have to pay a premium for one, why not just include them on the cheaper handsets?
It has a USB C connector - Which means that all of your standard USB connecting devices are now obsolete. Again.
Thanks to the mobile industry, we have yet another "standard" charging option forced upon us five years after they told us that all phones would be expected to use the same USB chargers to minimise electronic waste.
Cheers for that.
And that's it.
The Lumia 950 is an unremarkable phone.
The Continuum "Dock"
This is a great accessory, which if I had the spare cash I would certainly buy.
I'm not sure what it's purpose is, though: It is basically a micro desktop PC. You plug your Lumia 950 into it, connect it to your TV and use the wireless keyboard and mouse and you have a fully fledged Windows 10 PC!
The first problem with this is that it's not powerful, so it'll never replace a desktop PC - but for many users this is unnecessary. The Continuum kit is great, if you have a spare bit of space, and if I was considering getting a new laptop or desktop PC for use at home for general PC work, this would be brilliant.
The drawbacks of the Continuum dock:
There are lots of cables - Ok, the keyboard and mouse are wireless, but your Lumia 950 needs to be plugged in to the box, which needs a power supply, and it needs to be connected to your TV.
It's a messy affair, with more wires than you would expect - And it's hardly portable, unless Microsoft are going to sell a carry case for the whole lot.
The keyboard is awful. It folds in half, making you think that Microsoft actually believe that the Continuum kit is portable. The keyboard is just plain awful to use, and you'll soon be forking out extra cash for an alternative, mechanical keyboard soon after purchase.
Continuum doesn't really serve a purpose. It's a great idea, but it's more like an accessory for the Lumia 950.
The good:
The mouse is pretty great, and as a PC I can't fault Continuum for everyday tasks.
However; The Continuum pack needs to be able to be used with every Lumia phone. There's no way that it's worth buying the Lumia 950 just to be able to use the Continuum dock.
Microsoft are really missing a trick here. Get Continuum to work with any Lumia phone and it'll sell in bucketloads. As an accessory to the 950? I'm afraid that it doesn't cut it.
Back to the Lumia 950
It's fast, responsive and doesn't lag, but then neither do any of the other Windows 8.1 and above smartphones.
The camera is excellent, as is the screen. However, I'm very happy with my own Lumia 640, so I'm unwilling to pay another £400+ for a better camera and screen.
Windows 10 Mobile is very good. The Edge browser actually allows you to view and use most websites (Windows 8.1 doesn't).
The settings menu is still a bit of a jumble, and there are now settings tucked away inside other settings (much like Android 5.1). The settings search facility is pointless in this regard.
The new Action Centre is a bit of an Android 5.1 ripoff: It now needs an extra swipe and/or tap to be able to access a setting or check something, which is not a welcome change. I ditched Android last year because the OS needed additional swipes and taps to perform the same functions as it did in Android 4.4
Windows 10 Mobile is perfectly acceptable - and I'm glad to see that it's heading to most Lumia handsets very soon - Which of course makes buying a Windows 10 Mobile handset a bit pointless at the moment.
The apps are the same disastrous affair on Windows 10 Mobile.
For years, I've not cared too much that Windows Phone apps are years behind their Android and iOS counterparts.
However, I recently had to use my "trusty" Lumia 640 as a satnav, using its offline maps to navigate. Once again, Lumia let me down (HERE Maps froze on me) and directed me through the centre of Basingstoke. Luckily, I know the area and found a different route, only for HERE Maps to freeze again.
HERE Maps froze/crashed on me no less than six times that day - and it's a regular occurence on all Lumia phones. I've been (almost) willing to put up with this for a year now, but on testing the Lumia 950 in the same situations I've found that it's just as bad.
Windows 10 Mobile feels a lot like Android 5.1, with it's pull down and swipe/tap Action Centre, so apart from the Metro interface, there's not a lot between the two operating systems.
I have, at least temporarily gone back to Android, as Google Maps works, where the various Lumia mapping/navigation apps don't.
I have to say that the transition between the two operating systems has been easy. Maybe Windows Phone is taking too many tips from Android Lollipop?
What I'm missing most at the moment is easy call and text barring on Android (too many sub menus), and setting custom message tones isn't possible.
I also miss the battery life of the Lumia phones. Android lasts about 12 hours with moderate use, whereas Windows Phone will go 16-17 hours with the same usage.
The Metro live tiles are clean, informative widgets. I don't want lots of Android homescreens filled with widgets just to see basic information (number of unread messages, for example).
And of course there is the general nippiness of Windows Phone compared to Android.
But, for now, I am back on Android. My Lumia 950 trial could have convinced me to stick with the OS, but it hasn't.
I love the basics of Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile, but I need reliability and apps that actually work.
Sorry Microsoft: You could have had something great if you had let Nokia sell your phones cheaply when Android could barely be used as a phone, but now you are playing catch up to operating systems that are now quite reliable.
Windows 10 Mobile works, but not quite well enough. It's getting on a par with Android, but the apps really let the whole OS down as the core apps don't work well enough and are very rarely updated.
Some Windows advocates are crying out for a Surface Phone, but that's going to be a pricey handset and let's face it, it'll still be hobbled by the app situation.
The Lumia 950 is a good phone, but there is no way that it's worth paying five times the price of the perfectly adequate Lumia 640. The Continuum dock is a nice accessory, but it's a bit of a gimmick.
Sunday, 20 March 2016
Windows Phone vs. Android
You know how it is: Every now and then (about 18 months) you grow "bored" of your current smartphone. It works perfectly well but you see new releases and think "I want something new".
I have reservations about this nowadays. Google wants everyone to go for the latest version of Android, which is released on a yearly basis. Only a select few mobiles are ever updated to the latest version, so there is either a requirement to upgrade to the latest handset, or you stick with what you have and hope that it doesn't become obsolete within two years.
iPhones are another story - They rarely last two years, so if you are tied in to that ecosystem you are pretty much compelled to upgrade as soon as you are able to do so.
Windows Phone thankfully allows the majority of handsets to update to the latest version (Windows 10 Mobile should be available to all Lumia phones with over 1GB of RAM within the next few weeks).
But sometimes you need a change.
I have used Android phones since 2010, but have dipped into Windows Phone for months at a time since then.
I recently bought a Microsoft Lumia 640, which is a decent phone, and thought that I'd be tied in to the OS forever more. However, I recently used it as a satnav, and the HERE Maps app crashed, restarted and froze at least six times on a very important journey. This isn't the first time that this has happened - I've experienced this problem on a Nokia Lumia 620, 635 and a Microsoft Lumia 535.
The fact is that I need my phone to work reliably as a satnav occasionally, and whilst the HERE Map app is great for offline navigation, it's no use if it doesn't work.
Microsoft UK were kind enough to loan me a Lumia 950 on a ten day trial recently.
It runs Windows 10 Mobile, and whilst things like the Edge browser are a massive improvement, and you can finally attach files to emails when replying(!) it is still way behind Android's capabilities.
Trialling the Lumia 950 made me realise that all smartphones are only as good as the apps that they use, and the apps available for Windows Phone are years behind their Android and iOS counterparts.
A year ago I decided to ditch Android in favour of Windows Phone, and I have put up with the limitations for a year. When my 1st generation Moto G updated to Android 5.1 I was horrified at the requirement to swipe or tap additional times to sort out notifications, and the settings are still hidden in wierd places.
Trialling the Lumia 950 made me realise just how similar Window 10 Mobile is to Android 5.1, but at least Android doesn't have the same limitations.
So, thanks to Microsoft for the trial, but all it has really done is made me go back to my old Moto G to see if I prefer it to Windows Phone - And I believe that I do.
Over the last year I'd never had said that I'd be going back to Android, but it's simply more useful on a phone. Many ignore Windows Phone due to the perceived "app gap", but when core apps simply don't cut the mustard, you have to wonder why you are putting yourself through this torture.
My 1st generation Moto G is still good. It's certainly no worse than any of the lower end Lumia phones, and at least everything "just works" - I used to prefer Windows Phone because it "just worked", but having compared Android 5.1 with Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile, I feel that Windows is merely borrowing ideas from Android and yet still managing a sub-par job of it.
Will I stick with Android now? For now, yes.
I've moved my calendar and email back to Google, and everything works how I would expect it to on a smartphone. I don't feel like I have to get my laptop out every other day to complete tasks that I had to put off due to the limitations of Windows Phone.
Oh, and Google Maps works brilliantly.
Going back to what I said about many people wanting to change their phones regularly: Most people don't switch operating systems, but they should at least give it a go occasionally.
Being part of Microsoft's trial community has been interesting. Some users do appear to be considering moving from Android to Windows.
Having been firmly in the Windows camp for a while, I doubted that I'd find myself heading back to Android, but after only a week with my Moto G, I can't see myself reinvesting in Windows Phone.
I have reservations about this nowadays. Google wants everyone to go for the latest version of Android, which is released on a yearly basis. Only a select few mobiles are ever updated to the latest version, so there is either a requirement to upgrade to the latest handset, or you stick with what you have and hope that it doesn't become obsolete within two years.
iPhones are another story - They rarely last two years, so if you are tied in to that ecosystem you are pretty much compelled to upgrade as soon as you are able to do so.
Windows Phone thankfully allows the majority of handsets to update to the latest version (Windows 10 Mobile should be available to all Lumia phones with over 1GB of RAM within the next few weeks).
But sometimes you need a change.
I have used Android phones since 2010, but have dipped into Windows Phone for months at a time since then.
I recently bought a Microsoft Lumia 640, which is a decent phone, and thought that I'd be tied in to the OS forever more. However, I recently used it as a satnav, and the HERE Maps app crashed, restarted and froze at least six times on a very important journey. This isn't the first time that this has happened - I've experienced this problem on a Nokia Lumia 620, 635 and a Microsoft Lumia 535.
The fact is that I need my phone to work reliably as a satnav occasionally, and whilst the HERE Map app is great for offline navigation, it's no use if it doesn't work.
Microsoft UK were kind enough to loan me a Lumia 950 on a ten day trial recently.
It runs Windows 10 Mobile, and whilst things like the Edge browser are a massive improvement, and you can finally attach files to emails when replying(!) it is still way behind Android's capabilities.
Trialling the Lumia 950 made me realise that all smartphones are only as good as the apps that they use, and the apps available for Windows Phone are years behind their Android and iOS counterparts.
A year ago I decided to ditch Android in favour of Windows Phone, and I have put up with the limitations for a year. When my 1st generation Moto G updated to Android 5.1 I was horrified at the requirement to swipe or tap additional times to sort out notifications, and the settings are still hidden in wierd places.
Trialling the Lumia 950 made me realise just how similar Window 10 Mobile is to Android 5.1, but at least Android doesn't have the same limitations.
So, thanks to Microsoft for the trial, but all it has really done is made me go back to my old Moto G to see if I prefer it to Windows Phone - And I believe that I do.
Over the last year I'd never had said that I'd be going back to Android, but it's simply more useful on a phone. Many ignore Windows Phone due to the perceived "app gap", but when core apps simply don't cut the mustard, you have to wonder why you are putting yourself through this torture.
My 1st generation Moto G is still good. It's certainly no worse than any of the lower end Lumia phones, and at least everything "just works" - I used to prefer Windows Phone because it "just worked", but having compared Android 5.1 with Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile, I feel that Windows is merely borrowing ideas from Android and yet still managing a sub-par job of it.
Will I stick with Android now? For now, yes.
I've moved my calendar and email back to Google, and everything works how I would expect it to on a smartphone. I don't feel like I have to get my laptop out every other day to complete tasks that I had to put off due to the limitations of Windows Phone.
Oh, and Google Maps works brilliantly.
Going back to what I said about many people wanting to change their phones regularly: Most people don't switch operating systems, but they should at least give it a go occasionally.
Being part of Microsoft's trial community has been interesting. Some users do appear to be considering moving from Android to Windows.
Having been firmly in the Windows camp for a while, I doubted that I'd find myself heading back to Android, but after only a week with my Moto G, I can't see myself reinvesting in Windows Phone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)