Android versus Windows 8 Phones

Although I know the official version of Windows 8 won't be out for several months, I've heard it will have a much friendlier interface for use on mobile devices.

I'm eligible for a new phone upgrade with AT&T in a few months and currently have a plain-jane Samsung.

My question: Should I spring for an Android OS smart phone now or hold out and wait to see what the Windows 8 mobile OS looks like? My hope is that Microsoft will get its smart phone act together and - in addition to Android/iPhone type apps - it will be easier to sync data between my phone, PC and MS Skydive.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I have an iPhone 4, but am really looking forward to having a Windows 8 phone. I did not think they would be out until next year though.

 

A windows 8 nokia tablet is coming out this year, as for a phone they have mentioned it but no idea wether it will be this year or the next.

 

Hi Gman863

Android is actually pretty integrated. You obviously have to have a gmail/googlemail account but all your contacts are stored/synced with gmail. So if I add a contact to my phone it appears in second on gmail. Chrome has an offline email pluggin so if you have a laptop you can still get access to your emails when not on the net and I am now using this as my main mail client. I was using Thunderbird with the Zindus plugin to sink contacts with Gmail.

My Photo albums are all managed in Picasa which allows you to publish to the web. You can still keep them private but as soon as you web publish them they appear on your mobile handset in your picture gallery. The big plus is that they arent stored on your phone so dont take up any space. I also have a live desktop app that randomly chooses a photo from Picasa and sets it as my desktop!

Lastly I have also set up an FTP on my NAS storage at home and have an FTP client on my phone which means that I can view all my home documents on my Handset too.

Calendars are also completely syncable too!

Google Docs also syncs between phone and desktop. IMO Android is the most integrated system about. Another nice little perc is that it pulls all my facebook contacts in and if they have a phone number stored on their profile I can call them.

It should be noted that most people using Android havent figured out that your phone has different contact types. Phone Contact, Gmail contact, Facebook contact, linked in contacts. At present Android cant sync between systems as they are fundamentally different databases. Most people copy their contacts from their old phone to sim, put the new sim in their Android handset then copy them to the phone. If you do this you cant sync them as phone contacts and Gmail contacts are separate. Once you have copied them of your sim and onto your phone you have to download them to CSV then import the CSV into your Gmail account. You can then erase all your phone contacts and have them just sitting in Google. If you ever have to change your hanset then you just type in your Google account details and bang, all your contacts and pictures are there!

 

Incidentally, If you get Ice Cream Sandwich you can install Chrome on your mobile device. Chome stores/syncs all your bookmarks centrally too so I can log onto any internet enabled PC with Chrome install and have full access to all my data!

Pretty Sweet!

 

Be careful. The default mode for Google Chrome is to also save passwords. Handy, sure, but a huge risk. Especially if you lose your mobile device.

 

Not that hard if you had taken the time to do a search.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/243970/nokia_plans_windows_8_tablet_by_june_2012.html As for the Windows mobile OS, it is buggy, and lacking in a lot of features, plus locked down, in that no changes can be mad to the device, unlike Android mobile OS, and the ability to Jailbreak Apple iOS devices. I personally hated the design of the previous Windows mobile OS, and the current one along with 8 are really a turnoff.

I mainly use a IPhone as my main phone and love it over the old Samsung Blackjack that I had, even looked at Windows 7 phones and the iPhone won hands down for everything I wanted. My son has a Android handset and between both types, we both like them for particular features since they both serve their purpose.

I would say for the OP, go with what fits your pocketbook and the best phone that will not only handle what you give it in use, but also will supply all of the features that fit your needs.

 

I like Android but I think the tablet would be a bigger success with Windows. I would change to windows 8 if they had a really solid build.
I feel that android and iOS both limit the possibilities and windows would help advance the handheld device technology more.

 

Windows 8 beta version is already released and it is amazing. I hope to get the full version soon. Though I am not a fan of windows phone but think it will be worth to try if theres a windows 8 phone coming anytime soon.

 

It has already been stated by MS that there currently is not a plan to release a Mobile 8 windows version yet into the wild. As for the Desktop/tablet Windows 8, the whole idea of booting everyone into the goofy gui they call Metro is not going to fly in the corporate world. Even with the talk of Windows 9 being tied to the Internet more than 8, means corporate customers are either going to stay with XP a whole lot longer, due to legacy equipment that will not work with 7, or move to 7 if they can get the manufacturers to come up with a fix, or their developers can come up with a fix to get older legacy equipment to run with 7.

No, I see 8 dying very quickly after it is released, due to consumers at the majority will shun it, and as for windows 7 phones vs android v iPhones, the later are just a whole lot easier to use, and not as restricted as Windows mobile OS.

 

I am big fan of Android. I was searching for some new infos about Android and I saw this. Check out these links, perhaps these can help.:celebrate

http://www.statista.com/topics/876/android/

 

I'm also waiting for WP 8 come out. So many rumors about this WP8 and I'm really interest about it.

As you still have a couple months contract with AT&T, why not wait till the last month and make a decision. WP8 might be out by then.

 

David, the Windows 7 mobile OS interface is the most confusing interface out there. My mom has a W7os handset, and I hate using it, when trying to show her something. The Android & iOS interfaces are a lot more user friendly, and have friendlier search functions.

Only reason that W7os has been in the news, is because MS has to pay writers to glorify their operating systems. MS is dying, and they are gambling on W8 to save them, which you can see that it will not, because no one likes the metro interface for desktops. Even with this so called talk of a possible mobile interface for smartphone handsets, right now it is a dream, because MS has not released anything in the wild. It is all just on the drawing board and a dream.

 

Let me brake it down for you all:

1. iPhone = sucks
2. Android = great start by google, needs some work, but I enjoy using my Nexus Galaxy.
3. Windows = MS should try better and faster. It only took them 7 versions of windows to get it right.

 

As far as the interface goes on android you can get different launchers that are effectively luke skins. i use go launcer. it is pretty good.

 

Microsoft has (maybe) seen the light. The Windows 8 phones may launch as soon as August.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/jj206430?Loc=zatfz_zTS1z&prod=zWPz

 

Ugliest damn interface I have ever seen. They are losing market share on the current phones with 7.5, will be doing the same when 8 comes out. MS is trying to fight a battle, with a one legged knight with no weapons, on a three legged horse.

By 2014, MS will come out with some other Operating system, or turn around by 3rd quarter 2013, and state that the Surface, 8, and WinOS8 were not as good as they thought, so they are going to go ahead and introduce everything 9, but charge you more for their garbage.

 

Actually David, WMP & IOS have DLNA, so want to try again. Icons can be changed, but the WinOS7.x & Win8 interface are the most bassakwards change. This includes the soon to be the worst Office package, Office13.

 

There is a huge change in 2013. For one, They are incorporating the fugly metro interface, and making it a social connected waste. As for connecting phones through dlna, only reason is if you are streaming music, which there are apps for that, for both Android & iOS, but Microsoft is known to cripple their phone handsets for various reasons.

Reason I moved away from the Windows platform for phone handset, is 1) it is lacking in features, 2) You have to use a memory card if you want more storage, and 3) the interface is dog slow and fugly.

 

From the rumors that I have heard, DLNA is going away, due to has not been updated in over six years.

 

I don't see why anyone would choose an android phone over windows 8 phone :-D I am desperately waiting for it and even though i recently change my phone, i intend to get that too as soon as it's out

 

...yet.

Apple is keeping malware out because they have an approval process. Does Micrsooft do the same? There is nothing inherently more secure about either platform.

 

Nothing can be customized to your liking as much as an Android phone. The app ecosystem is miles ahead of WP.

Those two reasons are reason enough.

 

Yeah, Android provides a lot of freedom, and with that comes the risks attached to it.

 

You aren't missing anything having not used Blackberry