Feb 11, 2016 01:07 PM
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After spending roughly 10 h with the phone, following are the salient parameters on which I'd like to comment:
UI: Moving from Android, I'd say as far basic telephony and functions go, Windows 10 is more user-friendly in minute matters. E.g., the'granularity' of control is very impressive - meaning, one can control for each and every app:(a) whether it runs in background or not, (b) whether it remains active during battery saving features or not, (c) in what form to present notifications - banner or action center and(d) whether notifications would be accompanied by sound and vibration or not. There are even other instances wherein I felt Windows 10 allows lot greater control over how the phone functions compared to Android.
Screen: It is most amazing - unlit pixels are pitch dark as is to be expected from an AMOLDED screen. Haven't yet tested the phone in sunlight, so can't comment on sunlight legibility. But I would say reading on screen is a lot more pleasant and comfortable experience than it was on my Alcatel Idol X+(which is Full HD 5" screen).
Windows 10: A few couple of features I could not find - "Hey Cortana" activation for search and'double tap to wake up'. Former would've been just slightly more helpful, though sustained press on the touch button is quite smooth. Latter is something I'd have really liked to try to use the power button as less as possible(to prolong its life!). Some of the apps stutter occasionally, but nothing much more severe than what I used to experience on my Android. I'd have liked some of the apps to remain in memory longer, though, especially Edge browser. But on the whole, this phone makes me feel comfortable rather than excited.:)
Edge browser: Page loading is bit slower, but smoother compared to Chrome for Android that I was using earlier. I like how it renders the pages, and the'desktop version' v/s'mobile version' setting always works reliably, which was not the case with Chrome for Android as was my experience. I also don't like the button placement for tabs app, which is on the left bottom, and I tend to use my phone with the right hand, so the thumb can reach that button with some difficulty, and on most occasions I end up using my left hand, which I would've have liked to avoid ideally, but I can't think of too may alternative to the placement of tabs button, may it can be invoked using some gesture?
Outlook: Works very smoothly and reliably, would've perhaps liked a'unified' inbox, but I guess I'll get used to it.:)
Windows 10 keyboard: I was using swift key on Android, which was slightly better than the present Windows 10 keyboard, most important difference being visibility of secondary characters on the individual key itself. Windows 10 keyboard supports secondary, tertiary characters, etc. with sustained press, but they're not visible till you actually press the individual key, which is not good for novice users like me.
Apps: I can't think of any major app that I'm missing. However, I'd say that all the apps I used on Android have the same functionality on Windows 10 as well, but their UI's were more polished on Android. The major difference is that Windows apps seem to have been optimized only for smaller(<, 5") screens, and not for larger high-resolutions screens that have now sort of become a norm. Also, Android apps rendered the same information more aesthetically, the best examples of which would be twitter and WhatsApp apps.
Battery life: This is the most disappointing aspect up till now. Of course, I'd been updating the phone, and exploring it all along, but with current rate of drain, I don't think the battery would last a day on any average working day. The strongest reasons I'd wanted to switch to Windows 10 from Android to Windows was anticipated improved battery life, and the other being to privacy concerns associated with Google, and in particular, how they might'sell' the data they collect from me.EDIT: Keeping the battery saver mode on today gave me a very amazing battery life(52% at the end of work day), but with minor glitches with automatic syncing of Outlook mail app. For me it was alright, but might be an issue for those who need real time email notifications badly for professional reasons.
Continuum: I'd connected the phone using Miracast on my Full HD Sony Bravia TV. The connection set up was instant without any hiccups, and navigation was also much smoother and lag-free compared to my previous two android phones, thought not as good as what one might expect from a wired connection. But, I have to say that Continuum is very impressive in how much thought seems to have been put in developing it. It would certainly help those who might be feeling lazy to turn on their laptop to compose a longish email or to draft a word document. It's also good for scrolling web pages with lot of pictures or simply for'media consumption'.
10 Sound quality: The external speaker is loud, but sound quality is not impressive, but not that I've any gripes with it. However, the sound quality when I connected the phone with my JBL Bluetooth headsets was mind-blowing!(And, I'm not exaggerating!). It was that much better compared to playback on my previous Android phone(which I also I was quite happy with.:).
So, that's all for now. Might update my impressions further as I spend more time.
I'd certainly recommend this phone to those who would've got disenchanted with'too many' options that Android offers making the entire experience a bit less'holistic'. If you want a utilitarian phone, you perhaps can't get anything better at this price!
Addendum
Camera: It is definitely the best camera I've seen in a phone. Launching, focusing snapping pictures are all quick enough. Post-processing takes some time so'finalized' version of the picture cannot be viewed immediately, but might take 5 to 6 s. However, expectations were set so high by all the online reviews that I seem to getting a bit disappointed by the graininess in my pictures snapped on my phone. I don't know if it's an issue with my phone or would get rectified with future updates, or if I need to do a bit of my own editing. However, this problem is only with relatively low-light pictures. The flash is very bright, and the illumination it gives is absolutely amazing! It gives an absolute day-light kind of feel to the subject!
Windows Hello / Iris recognition: For me it works on most occasions. In dark it might take more time to unlock the screen. It just cannot be unlocked by another person, though. I I too had been initially feeling it's a gimmicky feature, but I guess, I get used to it, I'll start finding it an indispensable feature. On most occasions, it's certainly quicker than entering numerical pin.
EDIT after 5 days' use(December 19, 2015):
Battery life is really good now. I'm left with 50-60% of battery after 10-12 h of work, and moderate amount of use(2 h of screen time).
Windows Hello / Iris recognition works flawlessly almost every time, except that I find it a bit slow, so could be a bit of an annoyance when one would want to take a quick note, or would want to note down a phone number when the other would start dictating.
