· 3 min read

Why the switch from Windows Phone to iPhone?

I said in the blog post The Great Windows Phone to iPhone switch (back) that I would post why I switched, this is that post, it’s taken some time for me to write, sorry for the wait.

I really want Windows Phone to succeed, yes even now.  I can develop already using Microsoft’s languages, so if it becomes a success, then it would be better for me to quickly develop app’s and make some money.

At the time of the switch I was, likely many others, frustrated with Microsoft for the lack of updates they were brining out for Windows Phone, for instance the time it took for Copy & Paste.   Since Windows 8 has been announced it’s now obvious to me that the reason for the lack of updates, is because the Windows 8 kernel will be used as the foundation for Windows Phone 8.

This in of itself is fantastic as all apps will work across all device types, phone, tablet and PC. I do wonder if it’s all to late, time will tell.

There wasn’t one reason for me being frustrated with Windows Phone, it was lots of little things:-

  • The lack of being able to set a customised text alert sound.
  • When browsing a webpage with an embedded YouTube video, before the mango update this simply didn’t work, it was better after the mango update but it was far from a smooth experience.  For instance you would click to play and the whole experience would be horrible, even when on WiFi.
  • I didn’t lack the fact I was forced to use a Windows Live Account, this is fundamental to the design of Windows Phone, but if I don’t want to use it, I should be given the option to turn it off.
  • The 3rd’ party integration of Twitter (after mango update), was incomplete the same for Facebook, it all feels a bit of a mess.
  • The 3rd parity applications felt slow compared to the built in apps.  
  • Podcast support was buggy, it didn’t download the correct podcast’s in the correct order, no method of downloading new podcast from the phone directly. No option for Podcast in the Marketplace.  Oddly I believe this is only in Europe and not the US, why?
  • I don’t like the status bar isn’t visible at all times.

I don’t have a Windows phone to hand to play a round with to remind me of any of the other things which bugged me. 

Windows Phone as it stands really should of been released in 2008, a year after the iPhone, it would of been a real competitor at that time.  I really do fear that Microsoft need to move more quickly and I hope that they do with Windows 8 as a platform.

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