Windows Phone 8 is here. Microsoft has unveiled the new operating system with lots of nice features, including Live Tiles, Room, Kids Corner and Near Field Communications (NFC).
So the next question logical question would be how well all these niceties work in the real world.
Check out these reviews from around the web to find the answer:
Windows Phone 8 Review – The Verge
[quote] With each new generation of Windows Phone, Microsoft not only closes the gap with iOS and Android in important ways, but it also differentiates in important ways — and that might be more true in version 8 than ever before. But at the risk of sounding like a broken record, there are still countless annoyances that trace back to 7.5 or even 7: the status bar that only occasionally appears (who doesn’t want to see time, battery, and signal strength at all times?). The attractive animations and screen transitions that can turn into annoyances and time-wasters after you’ve seen them 50 times. The lack of a unified notifications tray. The fact that the hardware search button isn’t contextual (and often appears alongside an on-screen search button that is contextual). The “Resuming…” animation when loading an app back up. And speaking of apps, just today, I pined for Uber, United, and a real first-party Starbucks app. There’s still a big app gap between Windows Phone and its competitors — don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t give Windows Phone 8 a serious look going into the holiday shopping season. Nokia’s troubles aside, Microsoft is showing as much commitment to making Windows Phone work as ever. Between Office and Xbox alone, Redmond is presenting one of the most compelling ecosystem stories in the business right now, and the 8X and Lumia 920 are both lining up to be formidable flagship phones over the next several months. For the moment, though, buy into Windows Phone because you want to try something different, not because you want the flat-out best and most complete mobile experience you can possibly have.[/quote]
Windows Phone 8 Review – PCMag
[quote] I keep wanting to say “Windows Phone has a lot of potential,” as if this OS is a version 1.0. But it isn’t; it’s the third version, and it’s been around for two years. It just hasn’t been a serious contender until now, because of the lack of decent hardware and the shorter list of apps.
I’m also irritated by the various bugs I found in my early code, from the Facebook app that sometimes didn’t load updates to the album-splitting bug in the music player. As of today, Mac syncing just plain doesn’t work. That all feels more “version 1.0” than a solid third rev.
New aspects of the Windows Phone 8 OS and SDK should bring better apps to the platform. The ability to write native code will allow for faster apps, better games, and easier ports from platforms like iOS, and sharing its core with Windows 8 will hopefully create a virtuous cycle with writers of Metro apps for PCs and Windows RT tablets.
The new hardware support is the other big plus. The HTC 8X and Nokia Lumia 920 don’t look like anything else on the market (thanks in part to their bold colors) and they’ll finally be able to keep up with Android phones and iPhones on specs and performance. Of course, the question there is not whether this round of phones will keep up, but whether Windows Phone can grow, so phones six months from now still look relevant. That was Windows Phone 7’s problem.
Windows Phone isn’t going away. It’s a key part of Microsoft’s Windows 8 strategy. Microsoft is very profitable, very wealthy, and very patient. This OS is a major player.[/quote]
Windows Phone 8 Review – Gizmodo
[quote] Should You Buy This
Well, maybe. Measured against its previous iterations, Windows Phone 8 is an unabashed success. But running a mile faster than you did last week doesn’t make you an Olympian. Android Jelly Bean and iOS 6 have both improved since last year as well. It’s a crowded field at the top, one that Microsoft still hasn’t quite pushed its way into.
If your phone is chiefly a communication device that you use for information and updates, and you want as little interference as possible, then yes, check out a Windows Phone. The hardware is good, and WP8 does the basics. For most people, that’s honestly probably enough.
But if you love all the niceties of a fully mature ecosystem—the Instagrams and Reeders and all the other startups that will not be building a WP app first, or any time soon—and a platform that’s hammered out most of its kinks, Windows Phone probably still isn’t there. Someday, maybe. But not this round.[/quote]
Windows Phone 8 Review – Engadget
[quote] With the exception of a few new features, Windows Phone hadn’t changed much in the last two years. The new version of its OS, however, definitely makes the platform feel more refined and even brings back some of the freshness we originally felt when we first laid eyes on the firmware. We demanded support for hardware that’s relevant to today’s market, and Microsoft brought it; we wanted more app integration and customization, and it’s now much improved over WP7. Indeed, Windows Phone 8 is precisely what we wanted to see come out of Redmond in the first place.
Let there be no doubt — Windows Phone 8 is a definite improvement over its predecessor, and it’s long overdue. In general, we like what we see, and users and developers have been eagerly awaiting this update ever since the Windows Phone platform first launched. It’s still far from perfect, but Microsoft has finally caught up in many ways to its competitors (and come up with some clever new features in the process), and by doing so, the momentum is now in its court. If Microsoft loses that momentum in the near future, however, we have a hard time seeing its OS recovering from it.[/quote]
Windows Phone 8 Review – CNET
[quote] Before this release, Windows Phone was best for first-time smartphones users, people who were sick of iOS and Android, and those who loved the design-centered aesthetic so long as they didn’t require extensive customization or access to hundreds of thousands of apps. The answer is still true today, but now the audience includes a more tech-savvy set who won’t have to worry about compromising processing power, NFC actions, and syncing with a future Windows 8 tablet or PC.
As it stands now, Microsoft commands less than 10 percent of the mobile market, but this refreshed Windows Phone has more brawn than ever before to do battle with iOS and Android. We’ll need some powerful phones to support it, but the Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC Windows Phone 8X offer hope of good things to come.
Not everything is flawless, and I’ve pointed out some of Windows Phone 8’s more scraggly edges. Yet, if you’ve been waiting for Windows Phone to come of age, there’s very little to hold you back.
Android’s openness still has the most to satisfy tinkerers, and phone-makers like Samsung, HTC, and LG offer the most expansive custom features, like dozens of motion controls, distinctive media-sharing apps, and handwriting with a stylus. For its part, iOS is still king of intuitive simplicity and a huge and very robust content store.
As before, Windows Phone sits comfortably in between, offering more customization than iOS, but more consistent uniformity than Android. The OS hasn’t quite shed it awkward youthfulness, but it is growing into a powerful, clever ecosystem with a personality of its own.[/quote]
