W8 and WP8: Live Tile Consistency

Posted by mcuomo2013 on January 6, 2013 08:37 pm 6

So I own a Windows Phone (Nokia Lumia 810) and I have Windows 8 Pro installed on my laptop, and I love both. One of the major reasons why I love them is the consistency between both platforms -- well, semi-consistency. See both have the same basic apps which, for the most part, get the job done. Your Microsoft Account syncs your email, calendar, contacts, notes, etc. between both seamlessly which I like. I don't have to worry about something being on my laptop that isn't on my phone, and vice versa. However, the one thing that does annoy me is the lack of consistency between the way the apps look.

A prime example is the Calendar App - both work the same, but their Live Tiles look different! I don't understand why this is the case. You would think that they would both have the same Live Tiles since they are part of the same ecosystem. Granted, I understand that certain things need to be different since they are different form factors (i.e. one's a phone and the other is a computer/tablet) and the necessary changes provide an easier user experience, however I think that it is still possible to do this while keeping a consistent Live Tile across platforms.

via i45.tinypic.com

In my opinion, if Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 are more consistent, it is possible to see a larger interest in both. Again, I'm not talking about Windows 8 interface on a Windows Phone, but you can get the same effect if the Live Tiles look the same.

I also think it would be cool to have a Charms Bar on the Windows Phone -- easily accessed by pressing the Charms hardware button that replaces the Search hardware button -- allowing across-app search, sharing, and easier access to settings, but that is for another post another time.