Windows Surface phone

Dangermouse

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Having read and re read all the reviews, if you can review something that's not even been confirmed yet, I am looking forward to seeing one in the flesh or more owning one if the rumoured spec is anything to go by.
Imagine having a real PC in your pocket (Continiuum)
I think Microsoft are going to be a game changer in the smartphone business if it lives up to the hype.
Up to 8GB Ram 500GB SSD and not forgetting the Qualcomm 835 chipset, its definitely going to be a game changer for the likes of Apple and Samsung I think.

I for one will buy one if they are this good.
 
New phone releases have been mediocre at best so will be good to see something fresh come out.

The constant re-hash of iPhones and Galaxy S series is getting on a bit now...
 
Neilc28 said:
New phone releases have been mediocre at best so will be good to see something fresh come out.

The constant re-hash of iPhones and Galaxy S series is getting on a bit now...
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I have been following all the release media and rumours for a year, it looks like the release date is sometime in march, I hope so as my contract is due for renewal and don't want to go down the Android route again.
 
ive seen this release date on the usual click bait type tech sites but no confirmation, do you have a good place for your date, or is it just the rumours please
 
I'm hoping they don't release one. Microsoft's lifecycle to encourage upgrade is to remove features of their existing handsets through "software updates" so you don't have a choice if you want to use the features of the phone you were used to. I've had MS based phones since 2005 as my primary phone and each generation they've managed to completely screw up either with the hardware or the software. From 6 to 7 they changed the skype protocols so you could no longer download it, creators of win7 devices had to follow strict hardware guidelines so the software was compatible with all devices... then they brought out win8 and none of the phones could run it. To make up for this blunder they released 7.8 to allow the look and feel of 8 to be used by people who didn't need to upgrade... then they changed skype again so you had to upgrade. MS then buys Nokia so they have greater control of their hardware, brings out win10... but half of the Nokia phones cannot upgrade as they have hardware issues again.

Eventually win10 is released for some older Nokia phones but it has a few bugs. 4 months after release of the software MS sells support to a company called B2X who cannot do anything apart from repair screens on "legacy" devices, there are issues with these phones that are just 2 years old running win10 but they won't update the software, you're again expected to upgrade to the newest device. If they bring out another phone on a newer OS they'll probably cut what's left of the app store for win10 users on "legacy" devices.
 
Steeps said:
I'm hoping they don't release one. Microsoft's lifecycle to encourage upgrade is to remove features of their existing handsets through "software updates" so you don't have a choice if you want to use the features of the phone you were used to. I've had MS based phones since 2005 as my primary phone and each generation they've managed to completely screw up either with the hardware or the software. From 6 to 7 they changed the skype protocols so you could no longer download it, creators of win7 devices had to follow strict hardware guidelines so the software was compatible with all devices... then they brought out win8 and none of the phones could run it. To make up for this blunder they released 7.8 to allow the look and feel of 8 to be used by people who didn't need to upgrade... then they changed skype again so you had to upgrade. MS then buys Nokia so they have greater control of their hardware, brings out win10... but half of the Nokia phones cannot upgrade as they have hardware issues again.

Eventually win10 is released for some older Nokia phones but it has a few bugs. 4 months after release of the software MS sells support to a company called B2X who cannot do anything apart from repair screens on "legacy" devices, there are issues with these phones that are just 2 years old running win10 but they won't update the software, you're again expected to upgrade to the newest device. If they bring out another phone on a newer OS they'll probably cut what's left of the app store for win10 users on "legacy" devices.
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Hah, didn't know they'd copied the Apple model
 
Have to agree with Steeps. I've been a windows phone user for years (typing this on one as it happens), but it is getting increasingly frustrating. Certain aspects of the OS are still well designed and thought out, and the move from WP8 to WP10 bought some improved features, but many changes were retrograde. For example, the replacement for the excellent HERE Now GPS mapping is massively inferior, the native FM radio was abandoned, Edge browser is clumsy compared to the previous IE browser, and the new Outlook email client is buggy and slow.

MS were criticised previously for making their desktop OS too phone like, but are in danger of now making their phones too PC like. Full blown Win10 will not scale down sufficiently to provide an enjoyable experience on a 5" screen.
 
As much as I love the Galaxy S series (had an S2, S4 and now S6), I think I may give the Google Pixel a try when I'm up for renewal.
 
I don't have a problem with a PC like phone, as that's why I started using a smartphone in the first place. Having a phone with a 3.6" screen in 2005 was seen as madness but now trying to get something smaller than 5" with a bit of performance is near impossible. There is a bug in my phone when using win10 that doesn't always send push notifications over bluetooth if it hasn't been used in a while, wasn't a problem in win8.1. I tried rolling back to 8.1 but the screen scaling offered in win10 is so much better (I can't stand big text/menus) I've had to accept that the phone will continue to have issues with bluetooth even though it's a software issue.

For such a large company they are great at coming up with concepts, but then fall well short of making the most of the product or release something that feels like it hasn't been properly tested. Win10 on phones feels like it arrived late to the party and it is a great OS to use daily, even has all the essential "apps" I need apart from paypal here for taking payments.
 
I am not to hung up on the OS it is he apps i like to see getting better.
I still have a note 2 and it is a brill phone.
 
Steeps said:
I'm hoping they don't release one. Microsoft's lifecycle to encourage upgrade is to remove features of their existing handsets through "software updates" so you don't have a choice if you want to use the features of the phone you were used to. I've had MS based phones since 2005 as my primary phone and each generation they've managed to completely screw up either with the hardware or the software. From 6 to 7 they changed the skype protocols so you could no longer download it, creators of win7 devices had to follow strict hardware guidelines so the software was compatible with all devices... then they brought out win8 and none of the phones could run it. To make up for this blunder they released 7.8 to allow the look and feel of 8 to be used by people who didn't need to upgrade... then they changed skype again so you had to upgrade. MS then buys Nokia so they have greater control of their hardware, brings out win10... but half of the Nokia phones cannot upgrade as they have hardware issues again.

Eventually win10 is released for some older Nokia phones but it has a few bugs. 4 months after release of the software MS sells support to a company called B2X who cannot do anything apart from repair screens on "legacy" devices, there are issues with these phones that are just 2 years old running win10 but they won't update the software, you're again expected to upgrade to the newest device. If they bring out another phone on a newer OS they'll probably cut what's left of the app store for win10 users on "legacy" devices.
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I hadn't realised that MS phones were still that bad. Shame. That's not good for anyone. Even if you use another system, healthy competition is essential.
 
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I have the 640XL and when new it really was a fantastic phone, but then the apps started to update and the installed 1GB Ram couldn't cope and it did become a pain to use, but if you pair it with your PC or Laptop all your shortcuts transfer and its far easier and faster to use the browser to look at things like FB Ebay and other apps that need more Ram to run, I do like the idea of the new hardware and from what I have seen the price for the top model will be £799 but that is still a rumour, as for Win 10 it is starting to get there with each release, my phone is on the latest Win 10 released last week and it really is a nice, fast upgrade for my aging 640 so I am looking forward to the Surface phones release, also MS has filed for loads of patents, normally when they do this it means a release is imminent and the patents are there to try and put the competition off snooping for the real thing, I do hope this is true as I really do fancy the new device.
 
niko said:
ive seen this release date on the usual click bait type tech sites but no confirmation, do you have a good place for your date, or is it just the rumours please
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Its still all rumours, MS still have not released any statements yet but some devices that look uncannily like the Surface tablets are doing the rounds that are phone sized so hopefully MS will get their act together and give us some real info
 
i hope they release a blinder, i think win 10 is great on the phone.
i think its the best of all the phone os, just needs more universal support. I've a 930 at the moment, had it since day of release so i think about 3 years without a real problem. i wont go to apple and i really don't want to go back to android/google.
there does seem to be this really odd thing with win phones os where there is a large number of people who want it to fail.
 
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I'm using a 640 too, and it is a love / hate relationship. This is my third windows phone, and before that I've used windows PDAs running WinCE, so Id like MS to succeed in the phone market. At the moment that seems unlikely, especially with the number of third party apps being withdrawn or not supported, and it is likely that my next phone will reluctantly be Android based.
 
niko said:
there does seem to be this really odd thing with win phones os where there is a large number of people who want it to fail.
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I don't think it's odd. They shafted people with Windows. Then they shafted people with the first Windows Phone. So It's not surprising that they remain a niche player in the mobile area. People have been badly burnt. There is no compatibility worries to lock you in to Microsoft in the mobile area.
 
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ianp5a said:
I don't think it's odd. They shafted people with Windows. Then they shafted people with the first Windows Phone. So It's not surprising that they remain a niche player in the mobile area. People have been badly burnt. There is no compatibility worries to lock you in to Microsoft in the mobile area.
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its a reason to hope they get it right, not fail, the more competition and high quality os is good better for all.
i don't think they shafted people they just didn't get it right to start with, not giving updates to older phones has been done by both apple and google so its not unusual, was their any other reason to feel so bitter about it?
I've had zero issues with mine in 3 years so id say that a good start!
 
DeadpanDodo said:
I'm using a 640 too, and it is a love / hate relationship. This is my third windows phone, and before that I've used windows PDAs running WinCE, so Id like MS to succeed in the phone market. At the moment that seems unlikely, especially with the number of third party apps being withdrawn or not supported, and it is likely that my next phone will reluctantly be Android based.
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i think you are probably correct, its a shame and i hope its wrong.
 
niko said:
its a reason to hope they get it right, not fail, the more competition and high quality os is good better for all.
i don't think they shafted people they just didn't get it right to start with, not giving updates to older phones has been done by both apple and google so its not unusual, was their any other reason to feel so bitter about it?
I've had zero issues with mine in 3 years so id say that a good start!
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As is said above I know it's never good for "anyone" if they mess up. But I don't think everyone thinks that way. And they really did shaft people with the first Windows phone. (not the new gen, tiles version) which was not fit for purpose. With one ergonomic cock up after another. They mashed up people's data and froze or slowed down. I had to write up a report on all the failings and show stoppers on the Sony Ericsson Windows phone. They also have a worse record with the Windows desktop, with their "deliberate" monopoly abuse.
 
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ianp5a said:
As is said above I know it's never good for "anyone" if they mess up. But I don't think everyone thinks that way. And they really did shaft people with the first Windows phone. (not the new gen, tiles version) By being lazy, sloppy and nerdy. With one ergonomic cock up after another. I had to write up a report on all the failings and show stoppers on the Sony Ericsson Windows phone. They also have a worse record with the Windows desktop, with their "deliberate" monopoly abuse.
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yep they made bad design decisions in the past on them, as have apple/google but tbh i think a lot of the "cheering to fail" now is its become trendy to dislike win phone rather then personal bad experience, obviously i am generalizing.
as far a monopoly abuse is concerned yep microsoft has been terrible, as have other big names, apple, Samsung, google and nvidia, intel, amd (the list go's on) have all been taken to court multiple times over this. i still think we need microsoft to stick with it and give a strong alternative, as i dont see any other company out there that can give healthy competition to the other two.
 
It's not about older handsets not getting the updates, it's cutting the features of the older handsets because the new ones require different protocols, the obvious one being Skype. When Winmo7 was released, the link to download Skype was removed from 5/6 and the protocol turned off a few months later meaning you could no longer log in, no replacement available. Same happened with the release of 8.1, Skype vanished from phones running 7. I know this isn't really a big thing with users migrating to other cross platform programs such as WhatsApp, but paying out for a new handset when it isn't really needed because a feature has been removed... that's what is frustrating. I didn't need to upgrade my hardware or software until features were removed.

I had one of the SE Windows phones on WM5, loved it! still works great and even used it the other day to test a simcard. I'm on a Nokia 930 now, had it 2 years. First phone I've owned without a physical keyboard (previous phones were XDA Exec, Vario II, SE X1, HTC 7 Pro.

MS have the resources and potential to create some epic hardware/software, yet always seem to fall short. Trying to sync a MS Band 1 to a MS designed Nokia 930? Software issues, but not to worry you can buy a Band 2 and a MS 950 instead!
 
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Dangermouse1964 said:
Having read and re read all the reviews, if you can review something that's not even been confirmed yet, I am looking forward to seeing one in the flesh or more owning one if the rumoured spec is anything to go by.
Imagine having a real PC in your pocket (Continiuum)
I think Microsoft are going to be a game changer in the smartphone business if it lives up to the hype.
Up to 8GB Ram 500GB SSD and not forgetting the Qualcomm 835 chipset, its definitely going to be a game changer for the likes of Apple and Samsung I think.

I for one will buy one if they are this good.
Click to expand...

It sounds like a good move from Microsoft and would certainly be interesting to be able to run x86 apps on an phone with an arm processor BUT its not going to fix the biggest reason people dont buy windows phones. The lack of apps! At least not in the short term
 
Thank you Microsoft! Your Windows phone update 2 months ago changed some of the security protocols needed for apps to run securely. I've been using the Barclays mobile banking app for the past 2 years which has been great, can see balance, transfer cash, check payments, mobile pin, everything I need and more... well it was until the MS update killed it and now mobile pinsentry no longer works and Barclays can't find a fix for it!

This is why I don't have faith in a Surface Phone being any good, after a couple of years they'll give it an update and kill off what made it good.
 
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