I’m making the switch to Windows Phone. I’ve been an Android user for a bit now and it has some good things in it, but perhaps its more the phone I’ve had, but it crashes too much. I’m not even a heavy user of the phone, I’ve just been really disappointed.
I know Android can be good, I have a Nexus 7 and it is terrific. So it might be that this phone has the older operating system (2.3 Gingerbread) so that is why it fails so bad or it might be the phone itself. It seemed like a good time to jump into Windows Phone.
I’ll post a follow-up on how things went with the switchover, but want to talk a bit about what problems I have with the Android.
It just crashes constantly. Well it used to anyway. It has worked better since I went back to the default settings rather than using a specialized launcher. It is clear the older operating system has problems with newer add-ins.
No matter how much I try to find ways to manage it, it seems to drain battery power too quickly. I’m annoyed by duplicate entries in my contact list that don’t combine – Windows Phone can combine them. The Wi-Fi not always turning on, or off for that matter, when using a power toggle.
Truly though I am moving to Windows Phone because I really like how most of the things are done in it. It has its own set of quirks to be sure, but since using Windows 8, that type of interface really works well for me. It just makes more sense.
I’ve tried to set-up Android where I feel comfortable with it, and the mixture of icons and widgets just doesn’t meld. I will miss the wallpapers (though can have something like that on the lock screen for Windows Phone.
Frankly though the main reason I am leaving is a combination of a great deal from T-Mobile and terrible service from Boost Mobile.
The service provided from Boost has worked well, it is behind the scenes where they fail. I originally set-up to auto re-boost (auto pay) my bill each month. It didn’t work. I called to fix it and was transferred a few times yet it seemed it wasn’t an easy thing to fix for some reason.
I gave up on them and tried to do it myself at the website. No luck there either. I could delete the payment information but when I went to add it back, it didn’t ask for the information again, it apparently kept it stored even when not associated any longer with the account.
Once again I gave up and figured I’d just have to call each month to put money on the account. You see if you pay on time 6 months in a row, your bill goes down. Well due to their error the first couple of months didn’t work right for me and even though I tried to pay on time, since auto pay didn’t work, I was late. I called every month instead and eventually it went down like it was supposed to be doing.
Recently I called for my monthly payment and was told it went through. I didn’t get the usually text message about it, but didn’t think much of it at the time. I realized a couple of days later the payment didn’t go through. I called again to put it through since it wasn’t on my bank statement either and I was told my bank wouldn’t process it.
I called my bank and they indicated no problem with my account. I called Boost back, and finally figured out what to do to get out of robot hell and talk to a real person. She processed my payment just fine. It appears I retained my discounted price at least and didn’t lose my status.
Even so it was the last straw. Between the problems with the phone and the hassles dealing with payments, I needed to switch.
I didn’t want to buy another low-cost Android phone figuring it would be just as bad and I definitely cannot afford a new no-contract Android as they are expensive. I happened to see the Windows Phone Nokia 521 getting rave reviews and being more affordable. Also the plan would work great for me, $30/month unlimited data and text, 100 minutes calling.
You might say 100 minutes is awful low, but I don’t do a lot of calling. Also T-Mobile comes with Wi-Fi calling, so I can use that when around Wi-Fi and not incur charges to my minutes.
There may not be as many apps, but I’m a minimal user and it will integrate better for me with Windows 8. I won’t be getting a Windows 8 tablet though, my Nexus 7 is just fine there, but I’m hoping the switch to T-Mobile and Windows Phone will be a better thing for me.
More on that once switched over. Let me know your thoughts.
Wayne Writes 