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You’re right, but such an understatement. The biggest screw up that MS made with WP8 was how Xbox Music was a DOWNGRADE to the loyal WP7+Zune music pass subscribers like me.

Going from 7 to 8 was a clusterfu*#k. Now I can’t connect my phone and have music and playlists sync and just work? Nope. Here’s MS’s FAQ which is 3000 words:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/how-to/wp8/music/syncing-music-faq

Here’s what the FAQ should have read:
1. Open Xbox Music app on windows 8
2. connect your wp8 device
3. Let the magic happen and just watch.

Instead it’s 3000 words of convoluted crap that is such a manual pain that I’ve ressurected my trusty brown Zune 30 and just carry a separate device. Thanks Microsoft!

And what a lost opportunity. XBox music could have been huge. It’s a solid service, when it was Zune. They just should have rebranded and advertised the heck out of it, while building a solid web client. Instead, spotify is #1, Google Music is heading for dominance, Rdio kicks arse. MS just blew it with its usual lazy lack of commitment.

4 days ago on Xbox Music + Xbox Video app updates 1 reply 3 recommends

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Yes but that lacks the context of the fact that it’s ANDROID that’s mostly taking share from iPhone.

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

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Yes this might be true. But that doesn’t make up for the fact that Xbox Music is really really broken when you compare it to the perfect Zune client integration we had before in WP7. Because it’s broken, I still sync my Zune device to Zune client and carry that with me, in addition to my 920.

WP8 represents a huge downgrade when it comes to FM radio, music file management and syncing. Now, there will be those who assert that you can just stream your music, what’s the big deal. Many people prefer the reliability of not relying on an always on the network for music, not to mention the data consumption we don’t want to pay for.

7 days ago on Ramblings of a disgruntled Windows Phone user

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the keyboard siwtching is actually in WP7 and 8; I just didn’t know it was there.

7 days ago on Is Microsoft holding Nokia back? Should ideas Asha be in Windows Phone? YES.

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Thanks for the keyboard tip.

You’re definitely right about the cross-collaboration between Nokia and the WP team. I just get frustrated that MS takes so long; the upcoming GDR2 in July is unlikely to have anything major in terms of notifications, an action-oriented Fast Lane-type consolidation. So, basically we have to wait the usual 2 year cycle for anything major (next fall, 2014).

7 days ago on Is Microsoft holding Nokia back? Should ideas Asha be in Windows Phone? YES.

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right but didn’t the OP ask for a web client? This is a hard requirement for me, as well. Does Nextgen have a website where you can read your synced feeds?

7 days ago on Suggestions for Metro RSS reader with a web component?

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Learn not to be a dick. And your paragraph isn’t entirely clear. Jameseh is correct in pointing out that the 925 will be sold internationally, which you did not state, unlike the 928 which is Verizon U.S. only.

And it should be pointed out that the 920 (0 in the name) is AT&T only in the U.S., making it the same as the 925 in that respect (T-Mobile only).

7 days ago on I feel that Lumia 925 is a fine phone but..... 2 recommends

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While I would disagree that the 920 is weak having actually used one, I would agree that it’s best to wait a bit, for two things:

1. iOS 7 for your iPhone 4 in July/August AND iPhone 5S with a better camera and iOS7. This upgrade could be your un-stale, and liven up iOS. Expect to see some WP-inspired ideas, like flat design and less-app-centric/more efficient user-centric experience.
2. see how the 928 (and 925) perform in field. You never know.

Also, I think it depends on whether cameras are important to you. I own a 920 and I love the camera for the most part. I use my wife’s iPhone 5’s camera and it is honestly just as good or better in daylight (more color accurate, reads scenes better, less noise), except in low light and video stabilization where the 920 is better. The point is, waiting for an iPhone 5S may be worth it to see if its camera performs even better.

7 days ago on From iPhone 4 to Nokia 928?

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Completely agree. Since Microsoft won’t solve this issue (optional long-press on Search button and Back double-tap), Nokia should have at least placed Search and Back closer to the center by about 1cm or perhaps less. I find that my hand’s thumb pad (lower palm) hits both buttons while I’m typing. Those two corners are natural places for the palm to rest on. Samsung did this to a small degree on the ATIV S.

7 days ago on windows phone Capacitive buttons

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and I just noticed that in the SIM switching area (swipe-down from home screen), you can also toggle wifi, bluetooth, airplane mode, as well as choose available wifi and bluetooth.

7 days ago on Is Microsoft holding Nokia back? Should ideas Asha be in Windows Phone? YES. 1 recommend

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No way is their naming scheme better than HTC and Samsung. Yes, Samsung of carrier-specific crap names, but they don’t advertise those much. The consumer knows Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note. HTC One. But for Nokia, the 920, 928 (different), 925 (completely different, looks like an LG/Sony). Then the 820, 822, 520, 521, 620, 720. Come on! Are they General Motors?

Sure you see Lumia ads every day. But does the 928 look like a 9xx phone? How does an average consumer make that connection? They’re wasting marketing dollars and creating confusion.

Like I said above, I’m sure Nokia would like to have one version of each line (9xx, 8xx…) but they have no power over carriers in the U.S. So I don’t fully blame Nokia; they are just trying to survive.

8 days ago on Nokia Lumia 925 pictured in leaked images

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You’re right. But I do think they could have made the phone look more in line with the 92X family, otherwise they should have named it something else. I can imagine a 928 that’s aluminum, lighter in weight, but that is of similar shape to the 920, thinner, and with the distinctive Nokia vertical strip on that back makes it a Nokia. Look at the HTC One, which is amazingly svelt and much better design that this 925.

8 days ago on Nokia Lumia 925 pictured in leaked images

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You’re right. And Verizon must be pissed now that any mindshare or recognition the consumer had of the 920/928 which at least looks like the 920, is now even more diluted and confused in light of the 925 which is also a “Lumia 9xx” but isn’t colorful, is square and is made of aluminum.

Nokia shouldn’t have named it the 925. It should be something else. I have no idea what, but it’s a different bird altogether.

8 days ago on Nokia Lumia 925 pictured in leaked images 1 reply

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there’s no pattern and it’s idiotic if you ask me. It’s creating confusion in the marketplace to have so many variants, model numbers and exterior appearances within a 9xx/8xx/5xx line. So now they need 3 different ads/campaigns for each line, each phone of which looks different from the other. It’s the GM problem, and it’s confusing, costly and in the end will erode a brand. By contrast, look at the iPhone 5 plus iPhone 4S. That’s it. Samsung used to have 50 variants, but now that they are powerful, they just do GS4, GS4 mini, and G Note. That’s it.

I’m sure Nokia would rather launch one version of each 920, 820, 720, 520 worldwide, but because of their weak market position in the U.S., they are in danger of becoming Motorola (read: Verizon’s bitch) in that they are simply a design house for powerful U.S. carriers with forgettable phones. I say this with sadness as a 920 owner.

Look at the 920, 928 and now the 925. The 925 in particular looks nothing like the others. Square, no vertical strip in the back now means that Nokias look like any other Samsung/LG phone. Awesome.

8 days ago on Nokia Lumia 925 pictured in leaked images 1 reply

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It’s 163 grams vs 185 for the 920. As comparison, GS3 is 130, iPhone 5 112.

9 days ago on Lumia 928: first impressions of Verizon's Nokia flagship (hands-on) 1 recommend

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A refinement, thank goodness. this 928 is 12% lighter than the 185g lumia 920, which I own. The 928 is 162g, still heavier than the usual 130g for a large phone, but better than the lumbering 920.

12 days ago on Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon announced, available May 16th for $99.99

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Well, one place where the 928 video sucks, like the 920, is video auto white balance regulation. I own a 920 and I love it, but I have to manually lock the white balance before shooting video because it changes white balance constantly even though the scene and the camera don’t change placement. The average person isn’t going to do this.
Look at Nokia’s new audio comparison video starting at 6 seconds. Notice how the white balance modulates for no reason. I think this is why the rest of the video has been converted to black and white.
http://youtu.be/8EUDTYeREak

13 days ago on Lumia 928's PureView camera competes with Galaxy S III and iPhone 5 in Nokia video

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note to the editor: the background music level is far too loud in the mix. I had a hard time understanding the people while they spoke. Very frustrating. worst of all, the distraction made the piece far less enjoyable. I tried on my pc through speakers and on my macbook pro. same thing. atmosphere is always less important than the story you’re trying to tell.

13 days ago on Spitting image: inside the big business of searching for our ancestors

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Here’s how I add podcasts: launch Windows Store app. Tap “podcasts.” At this point you should see filters of Featured, Top, New, etc. To search, tap the search icon at bottom of the screen.

Then, to access your podcasts, launch your native Music+Video app.

I have no idea about why in the UK you aren’t finding any. I’m in the u.s. and there are thousands available.

13 days ago on 2 Months with Windows Phone 1 reply

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It really is a huge disappointment that personal music sync was given a downgrade with WP8. The fact that I cannot sync my music/pl via Zune is depressing; I still carry my old zune because of this.

14 days ago on Official WP Rant Page.