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Windows phones are utter rubbish!

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 LastBoyScout 04 Feb 2013
So, my Dad has a new Nokia Lumia 610 and wants to change the ringtone to a piece of music he's had on all his other phones.

How card can that be, on a modern phone?

Well, it's easy enough to get the music off his old phone (older Nokia) by plugging the memory card into my laptop, or so I thought.

But to get it onto his new Lumia? Well, first I had to install Zune on my laptop to get the phone to show up at all (plugged my Samsung in and it appeared in Explorer without having to install anything). Then I discover that Zune won't recognise the file format of the music, so I give in and download an updated version from Amazon, which finally appears in Zune and I sync that to the phone.

From that point, you'd think it's just a case of going into the phone and either selecting "set as ringtone" from the music or the phone settings.

But no.

To get it as a ringtone, it has to be <40 seconds long (happily, what I'd downloaded was 32 seconds), not protected, less than 1Mb in length and the right format.

And then you have to hack about in Zune to change the genre to "ringtone", then it is supposed to appear in the ringtone list on the phone.

So now I need to find a way to chop the music down by 0.12 Mb, as it's still not appearing as a ringtone.

What a pile of crap!
 Reach>Talent 04 Feb 2013
In reply to LastBoyScout:
You'll probably find someone has a patent for "Installing a ringtone on a mobilephone in a manner that doesn't cause hairloss" and Nokia couldn't afford to licence it.
 MonkeyPuzzle 04 Feb 2013
In reply to LastBoyScout:

I really like my Lumia 800; the interface is really nice, the screen is brilliant and it's really intuitive. My ringtone goes "ring ring".
 Only a hill 04 Feb 2013
In reply to LastBoyScout:
This is a feature being introduced in the latest software update, Windows Phone 7.8 (which is being released as I write this).

I personally use a Lumia 710 and think Windows Phone is a very innovate OS. It's fast and fluid, easy for beginners to use, and doesn't lag or crash. Due to the fact that it's a relatively new system, however, a few features like the one you mention didn't make it into the first couple of versions.
 Flinticus 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Only a hill:
Didn't make it in? How many people do you reckon personalise their ringtone? Nealy all if the people in my office are representative.

With the Samsung, couldn't be simpler.
 EeeByGum 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Only a hill:

> I personally use a Lumia 710 and think Windows Phone is a very innovate OS. It's fast and fluid, easy for beginners to use, and doesn't lag or crash. Due to the fact that it's a relatively new system, however, a few features like the one you mention didn't make it into the first couple of versions.

Agreed - this is why I think my next phone may be a Windows phone. My Android one is just a nightmare these days. Sooooooo sloooooooooooooow! Also has started to crash mid call which is kind of contrary to what a phone should do.
 Only a hill 04 Feb 2013
In reply to EeeByGum:
> (In reply to Only a hill)
>
> [...]
>
> Agreed - this is why I think my next phone may be a Windows phone. My Android one is just a nightmare these days. Sooooooo sloooooooooooooow! Also has started to crash mid call which is kind of contrary to what a phone should do.

Had my Lumia for almost a year and I can honestly say it hasn't slowed down by even the slightest degree (and that's after a software update and filling up the internal memory with apps and photos!)

WP has some drawbacks--the main one for most people being the relative lack of apps, particularly native Google ones. But if you're looking for a reliable basic smartphone platform then it can't be beaten in my view.
 EeeByGum 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Only a hill:

> WP has some drawbacks--the main one for most people being the relative lack of apps, particularly native Google ones. But if you're looking for a reliable basic smartphone platform then it can't be beaten in my view.

Yeah - that is my concern, but Microsoft are really pushing it so I wouldn't be surprised if lack of apps sorts itself out sooner or later. If I were a developer, I think I would head to Windows rather than Blackberry.
OP LastBoyScout 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Only a Hill:
> (In reply to Only a hill)
> Didn't make it in? How many people do you reckon personalise their ringtone? Nealy all if the people in my office are representative.
>
> With the Samsung, couldn't be simpler.

That ^

What I can't understand is why a Windows phone doesn't immediately appear as a device in Windows Explorer or Media Player - this is basic stuff!
 andy 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Only a hill: We have Lumias at work. And everyone to a man (c300 users) hates them with a passion. Unintuitive, clunky and battery-eating shite.
KevinD 04 Feb 2013
In reply to EeeByGum:

> Agreed - this is why I think my next phone may be a Windows phone. My Android one is just a nightmare these days. Sooooooo sloooooooooooooow!

what phone is it though. A lower end one will generally struggle, which is a market windows seems to be overly tenatively looking at.

 Only a hill 04 Feb 2013
In reply to andy:
> (In reply to Only a hill) We have Lumias at work. And everyone to a man (c300 users) hates them with a passion. Unintuitive, clunky and battery-eating shite.

I guess it's a matter of opinion. I personally find them very intuitive compared to Androids, and I always get much better battery life out of my 710 than any other smartphone I've used.
 Only a hill 04 Feb 2013
In reply to LastBoyScout:
> (In reply to Only a Hill)
> [...]
>
> That ^
>
> What I can't understand is why a Windows phone doesn't immediately appear as a device in Windows Explorer or Media Player - this is basic stuff!

I agree, this is a big gripe with the platform, but then again the iPhone takes the same approach.
OP LastBoyScout 04 Feb 2013
In reply to andy:

My wife's company have issued Lumia 800s as replacements for Blackberries - I don't know if it's a network issue, but they regularly drop calls mid-conversation.
 andy 04 Feb 2013
In reply to LastBoyScout: We've been issuing 610s for about six months - and they're already starting to re-issue something else. We used to have Blackberries with no problem and they went to Windows as a cost thing. Buy cheap, buy twice...
 Neil Williams 04 Feb 2013
In reply to EeeByGum:

"My Android one is just a nightmare these days."

Which do you have?

The problem is that the manufacturers are trying to expand into the lower priced markets - something Apple steadfastly refused to do, and something that Windows phones haven't had chance to do yet. And in doing so they run Android on hardware that really isn't up to it.

For a good Android experience, you need something of the nature of a Samsung Galaxy S2/S3 or HTC One X/One S. Anything lower-spec will be pointlessly frustrating and you might as well just purchase a traditional dumbphone.

Neil
OP LastBoyScout 04 Feb 2013
In reply to andy:

Hmm - they ditched Blackberries due to reliability issues.
 Martin W 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Neil Williams:

> For a good Android experience, you need something of the nature of a Samsung Galaxy S2/S3 or HTC One X/One S. Anything lower-spec will be pointlessly frustrating and you might as well just purchase a traditional dumbphone.

With respect, that's rubbish. My Motorola Defy+ is a single core 1GHz device, so a much lower spec than the Galaxy S III, and it works fine. It Google navigated me very well through Glasgow at the weekend, for instance.

Of course "power users" eg folks who do a lot of gaming or HD video streaming on their phones will benefit from a higher spec, but a lot of people will manage just fine with low to midrange phones if they don't want to run particularly demanding apps.

A modern smartphone is basically a very compact computer, so the usage you want to make of it should obviously be a factor in the specification you go for, the same as it should be for a PC.
 Philip 04 Feb 2013
> Windows phones are utter rubbish!

Is this any surprise. An ancient and badly designed operating system on phones from a company desperate to produce something people still want.

<Ring><Ring>

Hello, <shouts>Nokia</shouts>, it's the 90's they want your phones back
 Neil Williams 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Martin W:

"Of course "power users" eg folks who do a lot of gaming or HD video streaming on their phones will benefit from a higher spec, but a lot of people will manage just fine with low to midrange phones if they don't want to run particularly demanding apps."

What version of Android does your phone run?

I'm not a power user (i.e. I don't use games or video, the iPad is for that), but I do like a device that "just works" and doesn't lag, nor have a too-small screen etc.

I used to have an HTC Desire (Android Gingerbread) and it was fine. I tried, as a replacement, an HTC One V, which is about the same spec, and on Ice Cream Sandwich it was horribly laggy. Sent it back and got a One S (lower spec than Galaxy S3, similar to S2) and that is fine.

Some people must just have a higher tolerance than me for slow or laggy/jumpy electronic devices. I'd rather have a classic Nokia than a smartphone like that.

Neil
 Neil Williams 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Martin W:

"A modern smartphone is basically a very compact computer, so the usage you want to make of it should obviously be a factor in the specification you go for, the same as it should be for a PC. "

FWIW I won't tolerate a laggy PC either, I am very quick at using IT equipment and if it can't keep up with me it is incredibly frustrating.

Neil
 EeeByGum 04 Feb 2013
In reply to Neil Williams:

> Which do you have?

HTC Sensation which at the time was the top of the range. My old Sensation recently died and was replaced with a reconditioned one which was fine for a bit but is now as hopeless as ever. I wouldn't mind so much, but I do draw a line at crashing mid phone call.

The wife has a Galaxy 3 mini which is very good, but I find the Apple / Android look a bit samey these days, especially when compared to the vibrant and new feel of a Windows phone. I am up for renewal in June so will see.
 Neil Williams 04 Feb 2013
In reply to EeeByGum:

Spec of that is not all that low...interesting you're having trouble.

Did you upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich? This is much more CPU and memory intensive than the Gingerbread it is supplied with.

Neil
OP LastBoyScout 06 Feb 2013
In reply to LastBoyScout:

And just to put the icing on the cake, Windows does not supply a backup utility - not even through Zune!

Another feature that you'd not unreasonably expect to be supplied as standard.

Seems you can get apps to do it, though - can anyone recommend one?
myth 06 Feb 2013
In reply to LastBoyScout: HA!! you think that is a long winded, complex process? Have you ever tried turning off a Windows 8 computer?

Does strike me as a bit stupid, but it is probably away of forcing customers to buy 'official' ring tones. I remember the good ol' days when you could make your own ring tone!!
In reply to LastBoyScout:

> What I can't understand is why a Windows phone doesn't immediately appear as a device in Windows Explorer or Media Player - this is basic stuff!

What, like an iPhone or iPad does, you mean...?

Oh, hang on... I must install iTunes to talk to my iPad, and even then, it only gridgingly allows me some very limited access to the iPad. I'm guessing the iPhone behaves similarly...

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