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Well, the Verge ate my comment so here is the Cliff Notes version!
Yes – lots of things need to improve, in particular notifications. The lock screen implementation is wonderful in Windows Phone and the at-a-glance nature of seeing what you have to attend to is good. Not having a detailed means to check over notifications like in Android is bad and not really acceptable at this stage in the mobile game.

2 days ago on Windows Phone overtakes BlackBerry to claim third place in 2013 smartphone shipments

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I’m afraid I get paid my stipend from the university where I study monthly so no parties this weekend. A shame, isn’t it?

I changed format because Windows Phone no longer met my needs. Just as I changed from a linux based OS to Windows (of all things!) when the former wasn’t able to give me the computing experience that I required. Just as I uprooted myself from Windows when it didn’t meet my needs and moved to OS X.

People change format – it happens. Be it from going from a Sega Game Gear to a Gameboy, from a single bed to a double bed, from one exercise regime or diet to another. In all those cases, opinions formed during the time spent with whatever format are valid, regardless of whether someone with too much tin foil wrapped around their head agrees or disagrees with you. Here’s a hint: just because someone disagrees with you on the internet and relates there personal experience doesn’t mean they are a shill.

2 days ago on Windows Phone overtakes BlackBerry to claim third place in 2013 smartphone shipments

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No. I do consider apps to be important. I just question the validity of decrying a platforms worth based upon having Instagram which is, relatively, a niche service against having a solid swathe of basic features that every single person that owns a handset will be using.

Apps are important to some people. However, a frustrating experience trying to type a message leads (at least in my case) to the feeling that I detest the phone and want nothing to do with it and it may very well end up in a sharp meeting with the floor. Not having Instagram, not having Galaxy on Fire 2 HD, not having Vine, not having Snapchat or whatever else is popular these days? That is the sort of thing I shrug off without too much of a care.

Different people are met by different needs and I hazard that a large number of people that use smartphones actually just want the basics (texts, internet, email) done right instead of having lots of apps, many of which exist only to replace the deficient defaults.

2 days ago on Windows Phone overtakes BlackBerry to claim third place in 2013 smartphone shipments

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In brief, my point was more that Android appears to excel in the category of choice and thus a more expansive ecosystem because the defaults are simply not good enough. Those options are on the market, and yes they do allow for a better experience, because the stock apps are really quite poor. If, for example, the default messaging was on the same level as Windows Phone, I doubt I would be trying out nag-ridden messaging apps like Go SMS Pro.

I am not making excuses for a lack of apps on Windows Phone (which is very apparent, realised and accepted by those who use the platform) rather I am questioning the importance of having Instagram over an enjoyable way to manage contacts, enter text or compose an SMS. Why is Android immune to criticism over the rather shoddy default applications? Is it because I can spend an extra £5 to £10 getting a messaging experience I find acceptable? I wouldn’t call that a luxurious choice personally nor would I flag it as being advantageous to the ecosystem and I would certainly much rather have the basics work well straight out of the box to the extent that I never feel the need for a replacement. Windows Phone (which I no longer use nor will be returning to) definitely has that advantage over Android.

One thing that continues to bother me regarding Android is how sloppy contacts are implemented. With Windows Phone I would sign into my accounts and, done, the data was there. This has certainly not been the case for me on Android. Of course, your mileage may vary and experience will be very context dependent. That is one of the real benefits to having more players in the mobile space. There is a greater chance of finding a platform and device that is close to being a Goldilocks product for you.

2 days ago on Windows Phone overtakes BlackBerry to claim third place in 2013 smartphone shipments 2 recommends

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I’m not too sure what you mean. The oxides of aluminium are aluminium oxides, as in aluminium(III) oxide. If you mean something else, please explain further – it has been a good number of years since I did anything concerning solid state chemistry and aside from a few chats about solid oxide fuel cells with a colleague I am wrapped up in my own little molecular quantum chemistry world.

3 days ago on Nokia's aluminum Lumia 925 is the best Windows Phone yet, but that's not enough (hands-on)

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Anything that allows them to score Android and iOS devices higher while simultaneously marking down Windows Phone.

A great example of this is in the number of apps. Android certainly has more than Windows Phone yet so many of these are useless (horrible, ad-ridden themes), specific to the platform (font packs – not much need for that when Windows Phone’s default is perfectly readable) or exist purely because of glaring deficiencies in Android. Not once over the two years that I used Windows Phone did I feel the need or want to alter my default messaging app or keyboard. They did the job admirably and there were little complaints to be made. One of the first things I did upon switching to a Galaxy Note 2 was to buy a new keyboard (extra expenditure, fantastic) as the default was abominable shortly followed by looking for new messaging client as the default was simply not acceptable. I’m still looking for a better way to handle contacts as well. Nothing has come close to the People hub of Windows Phone (which I miss sorely at times).

In a review environment I would be hammering on an OS and its ecosystem for not providing me with an adequate solution for such a basic and integral part of a phone out of the box. Yet instead, reviewers are more concerned about stuff like Instagram and check-in services – things which a “standard” user of a phone might not ever touch (I know I haven’t in my two weeks of using a Note 2) yet keyboard, messaging, calendar, contacts… these are things everyone will end up using regularly and their implementation in Android pales in comparison to Windows Phone.

3 days ago on Windows Phone overtakes BlackBerry to claim third place in 2013 smartphone shipments 4 replies 42 recommends

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As an ex-Windows Phone user that has turned to Android for a number of reasons I would love to see the former establish a solid third, perhaps even a second, position in terms of market and mind share. There are so many things that Microsoft’s operating system does better than Google’s in such basic functionality such as messaging, changing system preferences and providing an enjoyable UX – all of which Android struggles with in my opinion. Coupled with Nokia’s devotion to good quality yet affordable hardware and it would be wonderful to see them doing better.

As someone that owns and uses a Mac and is now entirely in Google’s mobile ecosystem I do find it strange that I am cheering on Microsoft; but here I am. There are just so many things that I found enjoyable on Windows Phone that Android delivers without any real charm or character and instead heaps on the confusion. That and Google, as a company, do come across as insufferable asshats at times.

3 days ago on Windows Phone overtakes BlackBerry to claim third place in 2013 smartphone shipments 4 replies 24 recommends

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And I am replying to myself since the timed edits are far too short and I dislike the strange feeling of pressure. In 1993, due to the inability of a certain nationality of persons and scientists to adapt to changes, aluminum was concerned an “acceptable” variant by IUPAC. If one wishes to actually be scientifically correct, aluminium should be used just as sulfur should be used in place of sulphur as, again, this is the IUPAC approved spelling.

5 days ago on Nokia's aluminum Lumia 925 is the best Windows Phone yet, but that's not enough (hands-on) 1 recommend

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No, that is not correct. Davy first called the element alumium and later changed it to aluminum much to the ire of his colleagues who, rightfully, disliked the nomenclature as it was not suggestive of many of the other metallic elements discovered by that point in time. As such, it was changed to aluminium.

The American Chemical Society used aluminum from around the 1920s onwards until during the 1990s, IUPAC decided upon the spelling aluminium to be used as the standard.

5 days ago on Nokia's aluminum Lumia 925 is the best Windows Phone yet, but that's not enough (hands-on) 2 replies

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It truly is. The outcome of the 7.8/8 split leaves Microsoft’s mobile OS in a position close to Android with its Samsung exclusive apps, Tegra only games and phones stuck on Gingerbread. Of course, the real differentiator is that while aging (and new) Android devices often struggle with performance, those 7.8 devices don’t. My Lumia 800 had less instances of UI stuttering than my Note 2, I hate to think how lesser devices hold up.

11 days ago on AT&T Lumia 900 finally gets Windows Phone 7.8 update