Which handset would be better with Windows Phone? ~discuss!

By gcaw
in Windows Phone/Mobile

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Grand Master

gcaw Veteran

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You may recall an article here on Neowin from a couple of weeks back, in which at least one European mobile operator expressed the opinion that Nokia?s Lumia 900 would be selling a lot better if it had Android on board. Windows Phone fans would no doubt be sickened if such a thing ever saw the light of day...

But the wishful thinking works both ways. A rumour?s been doing the rounds that Samsung?s Galaxy S III ? which is due to be launched in London next week ? will form the basis of a new kick-ass Windows Phone handset, the Focus S II, which will launch later this year. The prospect of Samsung?s flagship hardware matched with the Windows Phone OS is very appealing indeed, and that got us thinking about which other devices would fit the bill.

So, that?s the subject of this discussion. Which non-Windows Phone handset do you think deserves an upgrade to Microsoft?s mobile OS? Which device do you secretly covet more than any other, and desperately wish that you could buy, if only it had Windows Phone on board?

Because the field is wide open, there's no list of choices for you to pick from - we just want to know your choice.

So, with that, it's over to you: ~discuss!

Grand Master

Boz

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I have absolutely nothing against Nokia. I think the new Lumia 900 is absolutely beautiful phone. I think Nokia's design is better than Samsung, HTC or any other phone maker (at least when it comes to the latest phones). They've had sense for style since I was younger with their phones. I am getting Lumia 900 for development purposes but I think that would still be my first choice.

I guess if I were asked this is the list:

1. Nokia (the styling they have now is great and unique)

2. Samsung Galaxy S2/3 phones

3. The new (and only new HTC One X)

To me, a bigger concern is that if I am going to use any Windows Phone they really need to be clear about this upgrading thing. So if new phone like Samsung Galaxy S3 comes out and has Windows Phone 7.5 on it, my only concern would be availability of the upgrade to the latest Windows Phone.

Grand Master

Mockingbird

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Are we talking about hardware (specs) or design?

Design wise, I don't expect anything exciting from another OEMs other than Nokia. HTC's and LG's has been rehash of their Android line up.

Samsung Focus S > Samsung Galaxy S II

HTC Titan > HTC Senastion XL

Hardware wise, I wouldn't mind screens with qHD and HD resolution.

Grand Master

jakem1

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In terms of design, I think Nokia is the clear winner at the moment and phones like the Lumia 800 are beautiful to look at and hold. The iPhone is tired and dull, Samsung's phones are unexceptional looking and HTC seem content to release a million different phones that all share the same design from three years ago.

In terms of specs, I guess the rumoured Galaxy S3's are good enough. The only problem is that Windows Phone runs so well at the moment that I don't feel the need to upgrade to a faster processor. Having said that:

  • A higher res screen would be a nice gimmick
  • Phones with consistently more onboard memory would definitely be nice
  • NFC "seems" like it might be the next big thing so you may as well shove that in

The main reason to upgrade the specs of Windows Phones is really just marketing. It's boring hearing Android users bang on about how modern phones need a quad-core processor despite the fact that they only need beefier specs to make up for the poor performance of their OS. Therefore I say release a Windows Phone with the all the latest hardware to silence the critics even though it's not really needed :)

Grand Master

Mockingbird

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In terms of design, I think Nokia is the clear winner at the moment and phones like the Lumia 800 are beautiful to look at and hold. The iPhone is tired and dull, Samsung's phones are unexceptional looking and HTC seem content to release a million different phones that all share the same design from three years ago.

In terms of specs, I guess the rumoured Galaxy S3's are good enough. The only problem is that Windows Phone runs so well at the moment that I don't feel the need to upgrade to a faster processor. Having said that:

  • A higher res screen would be a nice gimmick
  • Phones with consistently more onboard memory would definitely be nice
  • NFC "seems" like it might be the next big thing so you may as well shove that in

The main reason to upgrade the specs of Windows Phones is really just marketing. It's boring hearing Android users bang on about how modern phones need a quad-core processor despite the fact that they only need beefier specs to make up for the poor performance of their OS. Therefore I say release a Windows Phone with the all the latest hardware to silence the critics even though it's not really needed :)

Actually, I do believe that Windows Phone should get bump to dual-core. This, of cause, will help with the higher resolution screen.

Quad-core is more about boasting than anything else at this point.

Grand Master

Boz

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Quad-core is more about boasting than anything else at this point.

And better performing apps and 3d and faster voice processing, editing photos you take or video processing (especially now when we shoot 1080p video) as well as web page loads (specifically with JS, HTML5). So, I guess, we benefit from quad core in pretty much everything. Sure, quad core doesn't mean much for Facebook app and posting to twitter and doing basic operations but to say that it is boasting is not realistic.

Grand Master

Mockingbird

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And better performing apps and 3d and faster voice processing, editing photos you take or video processing (especially now when we shoot 1080p video) as well as web page loads (specifically with JS, HTML5). So, I guess, we benefit from quad core in pretty much everything. Sure, quad core doesn't mean much for Facebook app and posting to twitter and doing basic operations but to say that it is boasting is not realistic.

Actually, what I am saying is that OS and the apps need to support multi-threading and do so well.

Keep in mind that having more cores does not necessary translate to better performance.

Grand Master

Chasethebase Reporter

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As daft, and impossible as it sounds. I wonder what would happen if Apple were to attempt to make a WP7/Android handset, and what it'd look like.

Still, realistically Nokia's 808 PureView, the One X possibly and the Galaxy S 3.

Grand Master

jakem1

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And better performing apps and 3d and faster voice processing, editing photos you take or video processing (especially now when we shoot 1080p video) as well as web page loads (specifically with JS, HTML5). So, I guess, we benefit from quad core in pretty much everything. Sure, quad core doesn't mean much for Facebook app and posting to twitter and doing basic operations but to say that it is boasting is not realistic.

Take a look at the performance comparisons between the Lumia 900 and the Galaxy S2 that have been doing the rounds. The Lumia (with it's single core processor) consistently performs as well as the Galaxy or better despite the fact that the latter has a dual-core processor. It's likely that Windows Phone will offer better multitasking support for multi-core processors than Android but at this point dual and quad-core processors are only necessary in Android to overcome the performance problems of the OS and for bragging rights.

Grand Master

Scorpus Veteran

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but at this point dual and quad-core processors are only necessary in Android to overcome the performance problems of the OS and for bragging rights.

...and third party apps. And high-end games. And a wider 3D API support. And power efficiency. And 1080p decoding/encoding. And for improved browsing performance. And for improved memory bandwidth. And for improved TV/HDMI-out. And for high-resolution cameras. And for higher density displays.

Grand Master

jakem1

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...and third party apps. And high-end games. And a wider 3D API support. And power efficiency. And 1080p decoding/encoding. And for improved browsing performance. And for improved memory bandwidth. And for improved TV/HDMI-out. And for high-resolution cameras. And for higher density displays.

But, once again, if you take a look at the comparisons between Windows Phone and Android they both run neck and neck in terms of app performance, real-world browser performance, etc.at the moment. Many of the other things you listed are related to graphics performance which is a different issue (especially since WP already uses the graphics chip for hardware acceleration unlike other OSes).

I'm not saying that WP shouldn't have faster, multi-core processors. All I'm saying is that there's no other phone that currently takes advantage of those processors to the point where it makes me envious as a WP user. Android doesn't really make any hardware that it runs on look great because it's such a dog. I like the fact that Microsoft have produced an OS that makes the most of the hardware it has and I don't want them to follow Google's lead and rely on beefier hardware, rather than software improvements, to keep their OS running smoothly.

And that's why I think multi-core processors are currently mostly about bragging. One day Android might be able to take advantage of them but at the moment it just relies on those processors to keep up.

Community Regular

efjay

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But, once again, if you take a look at the comparisons between Windows Phone and Android they both run neck and neck in terms of app performance, real-world browser performance, etc.at the moment. Many of the other things you listed are related to graphics performance which is a different issue (especially since WP already uses the graphics chip for hardware acceleration unlike other OSes).

I'm not saying that WP shouldn't have faster, multi-core processors. All I'm saying is that there's no other phone that currently takes advantage of those processors to the point where it makes me envious as a WP user. Android doesn't really make any hardware that it runs on look great because it's such a dog. I like the fact that Microsoft have produced an OS that makes the most of the hardware it has and I don't want them to follow Google's lead and rely on beefier hardware, rather than software improvements, to keep their OS running smoothly.

And that's why I think multi-core processors are currently mostly about bragging. One day Android might be able to take advantage of them but at the moment it just relies on those processors to keep up.

If the performance on a single core is anything to go by I think WP8 on just a dual-core Snapdragon S4 will be much faster than any android device. But much more interesting than the hardware will be the software, and currently only Nokia has the kind of hardware design I would like to see running Windows Phone.

Grand Master

.Neo

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As daft, and impossible as it sounds. I wonder what would happen if Apple were to attempt to make a WP7/Android handset, and what it'd look like.

Why would it look any different than their current designs? With the exception of some added buttons underneath the screen since WP7 requires that.

Grand Master

Chasethebase Reporter

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Why would it look any different than their current designs? With the exception of some added buttons underneath the screen since WP7 requires that.

Well yes, it may look identical, but at the same time it would be an interesting thing to see what they could come up with, something that isn't like what they've done before... Just a thought.

Community Regular

funkydude

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If the performance on a single core is anything to go by I think WP8 on just a dual-core Snapdragon S4 will be much faster than any android device.

Whilst that may end up being true, it's a flawed assumption because you're not considering how drastically different WP8 will be to WP7 (new kernel for starters). It could end up being the same performance wise as WP8 may be more demanding on hardware.

Grand Master

Chasethebase Reporter

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What? :/

What I was trying to say was that it could have an identical design, but I'd like to see if they went back to the drawing board for this and designed something completely different.

Grand Master

BajiRav

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...and third party apps. And high-end games. And a wider 3D API support. And power efficiency. And 1080p decoding/encoding. And for improved browsing performance. And for improved memory bandwidth. And for improved TV/HDMI-out. And for high-resolution cameras. And for higher density displays.

True but the only multi-core smartphone that actually optimally utilizes hardware is an iPhone 4S.

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