Fully agree w/ you. My first smartphone was a Nokia Lumia 520 - the entry level phone in its time. Typing on that phone was a breeze: it had suggested words above the text box, but didn't get in your way, unlike the dumb phones that would try to guess what you were typing, and force you to follow the next character from what it had in its dictionary. Also, for comparison, at the time (around 2012), I tried both iOS and Android's typing interfaces, and they were a lot less smooth then (they've since caught up and are today at par). As a result, I started texting using that phone, something I never did previously.
The killer app you talk about is OneNote - although as AC above mentions, it's now also there on iOS and Android. But OneNote through its examples demonstrated some great things that could be done on this phone, like managing a shopping list, or a tour (noting things like ticket confirmation numbers, places to visit, et al). That phone also had HERE maps, which was great for navigating outside the US (although today, all 3 maps - Google, Apple & Bing - are at par, and there are things like Waze that improve the experience). And like you said, OneDrive integration was awesome!
Going from Windows Phone 8 to Windows 10 Mobile gave a more streamlined experience: there weren't multiple map apps - just the Bing one, and it integrated better w/ the desktop initially. But that's now gone: if you open Messenger on the desktop, even if it has the same Outlook login as your phone - your phone messages no longer appear on the desktop - as they previously did.
Honestly, Microsoft should sell the Windows Phone/Mobile platform to another company, and let them make something out of it, since Microsoft itself is incapable of it.
But only while they still have active support. If Microsoft is winding down their Lumia business and seems to have Windows 10 Mobile on the ropes, it's valid to look at alternatives. Nonetheless, iPhones look like a bigger risk for an organization that's building a lot on it than, say, a recent version of Android. They should have looked at a deal w/ Google.
Androids have the problem of not being upgradable if one is talking about versions earlier than Lollipop. If one has one of those older tablets w/ Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Icecream Sandwich or Kitkat, one is SOL.
In fact, the minimum acceptable version of Android out there in the market is Marshmallow. Both my Android devices are Lollipop: I wish there was a way to upgrade them to one of the subsequent versions. Unfortunately, Verizon controls the upgrades, and I'm not a whiz at rooting phones
The Lumia 640XL came with Windows 10 Mobile. I'm not sure that the 830 supported such an upgrade. But Microsoft has stopped developing Windows 10 Mobile any further - from now on, they'll be just on maintenance.
This is a perfect example of wasteful government spending. Would any company in the world spend that much money on a short-lived program? A real company, accountable for its financial decisions would either slowly roll out another version as phones died and could not be supported, or figure out how to pay for extra support while developing an alternative.
Also, any IT guy worth 2 cents would never have chosen Microsoft phones for a fleet.
When they were in Nokia's hands, the Lumia did have a fair bit of marketshare, only that both Apple and Samsung increased the gap against them. Given that the phones had a shared ecosystem w/ Microsoft's mainstream Windows, and that Microsoft had overhauled Windows w/ the metro UI to look like the phone, it made perfect sense for a company to build a fleet around them.
Let's look at the apps that a company could use that Microsoft provided. There was Office - including OneNote and Outlook: OneNote alone made this phone worthwhile, and at the time, Microsoft wasn't aggressively promoting Office on Android or iOS. Then there was maps - both Bing and HERE maps. There were other apps like unit converters (now integrated in the calculator), currency converters and so on. Also, at the time, typing was a lot smoother on Windows Phone 8.1 than on the contemporary versions of either iOS or Android (both have caught up since). If the reason one wanted a phone was something to have their office data on, as opposed to playing Pokemon Go, this was a good phone. It did have some major shortcomings though - Uber was barely supported, Lyft wasn't, nor were there any VOIP apps, and this last, IMO, was a killer. Yeah, one could use Skype, but I've never found it smooth to use.
Also, at the time, Ballmer was at the helm and he was fanatical about this platform, so Microsoft was solidly behind it while he was around. Things changed once he was gone and Nadella took over.
Other thing that I wonder - did they use SD cards on the phones - for things like pictures, police data and so on? If yeah, the iPhone decision makes even less sense, since they won't be able to re-use them there. I can't imagine them not using it - the maximum internal storage any of the Lumias had was 32GB.
Full resets of Lumias are not daunting tasks - they may take a little while, but after one is done, it's as good as new. Only thing here - since they went for iPhones, these phones are useless. There had been talk about getting some Android versions on these phones, but not sure that that's still active. The cops might just toss them to family/friends/relatives or anyone remotely interested
Other app I noticed that disappeared was Fandango. Incidentally, Microsoft has ended the LinkedIn app for Windows 10 Mobile, and recommended people to use the browser. While all this happened, Lyft introduced their app for this phone years after Uber did, and Waze is still there.
With Android, they might have discovered some phone maker who provides that. In fact, had they put down a stake stating that Android 6 would be the basis of their platform, and built around that, that would have given them the maximum flexibility. They could have gotten phones from anybody that was inexpensive enough, but good enough to support their entire app suite
Ain't those the things that they decide they have no budget for in terms of personnel, and which they therefore decide to outsource to an IT company, who then shovels it to Bangalore? If that was the process here, I'm surprised that they recommended iPhone
That's what I wondered as well. They'd have had a choice of phone vendors - not just Samsung, but a whole bunch of others - Google, LG, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Blu... For their specialized software, they could have worked w/ Google and worked on a deal to get a particular Android version - say Marshmallow - on any phones they obtained.
The article mentioned that they were using Microsoft's video surveillance software, but nothing about the underlying platforms. Were they Windows XP or 7 or 8? Since at the time they introduced it, the phones were based on Windows Phone 8.1.
If it was based on Windows 8/8.1, then you're right - there would have been the common underlying code base, w/ the major effort on the UI. But if it was based on Windows 7 or earlier, then there would be nothing in common, since Microsoft totally overhauled the UI. But while the NYPD is at it, they might as well replace their Windows computers w/ Macs
The thing that surprises me here is that neither the NYPD nor Microsoft decided to work on migrating Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 Mobile - the latter iirc which is already a default on the 640XL. Not sure about the 830, though.
I do think that the decision to go w/ iOS was a bad one, though. They just went through the experience of being sole sourced w/ Nokia/Microsoft and are now going sole sourced w/ Apple. They should have picked Android, which would have given them a vendor choice of Google, Samsung, Blu, Sony, LG et al. They could have then cut a deal w/ one of those vendors, or even w/ Google.
If the last police shooting was any guide - where Mayor deBlassio went to Hamburg to join a protest demonstration while cops were morning a female black officer shot dead while she was just sitting in her car, it's blue lives that matter the least to the New York establishment!
The support. Also, as apps are getting yanked from the store, there's less reason to stay w/ it, when they are using features like E911, case management and special assignment apps.
Apple hasn't innovated since they introduced Apple Pay. Granted, few shops yet use it - usually, it's the ones w/ Verisign POS systems. But since then, nothing they've done can really be called innovative. No marks for making the iPhone 7 thinner or even waterproof - if you are in Houston and your iPhone 7 is under water, you'll probably need it replaced anyway. No points for removing the audio jack either, or giving us the audio to lightning dongle. Or the ear buds. The watch was interesting, but way overpriced, even as jewellery.
Fully agree! Anybody who wants an iPhone 6+/7+ should probably look at an iPad Mini - cellular. The 6/7 is fine. The 5 was good, and the right configuration would have been fine. Incidentally, how much would a 5s w/ 128GB storage cost, compared to a 6 or 7 w/ the same storage?
The watch - I haven't seen anyone w/ it, excepting sometimes passengers on flights. However, the way to look at it is as a jewellery piece, but even then, it seems way too expensive. My sister has an Apple TV, but I have no use for it: my laptop & tablet gives me whatever media I need to consume
For the next big transformation, why doesn't Apple migrate the entire Mac line to their A series of CPUs? That way, they leverage their own internal CPUs, which can go less into the underselling iPads and more into the Macs.
That would completely disrupt the business model that the iPhone was built on.
If one recalls, when this phone was introduced, it was introduced as a luxury phone, or a phone to be had due to brand vanity, like a Prada or a Gucci. Not something for every Sally down the street, but just the jet setters. Apple's stroke of luck was in that it became a fad and caught on. Granted, they made the UI state of the art, and had a whole bunch of apps that really exposed the power of this platform. And without reducing the prices much, and focussing on margins, rather than volumes, they made themselves the most valuable company, beating the likes of Microsoft and Google!
What's more - Apple has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by just having a few models every few years. If one thinks that's a bad strategy, look at either Samsung, w/ a slew of galaxies, or Nokia/Microsoft, w/ a slew of Lumias. Doesn't do much for them. Pick a few, w/ some common form factors (so that supporting accessories can be common (like a screen protector b/w a 6 & 7), and run w/ that.
All that said, IMO, phones have arrived where PCs had arrived a decade ago. When the iPhone 7 came out, I upgraded to it for a couple of reasons - needed more storage, and also, wanted Apple Pay. Now that I have a phone w/ 128GB of space, I don't anticipate upgrading it anytime (until it stops working, and then, I'll go w/ the entry level that matches or exceeds its specs that's available then)
Agree w/ this. Other than iPhone 7 and iPhone SE, what else could one need? What exactly are they adding to 7s/+ that we don't have in 7? Removing the home button? Sorry, but I like the home button in both my iPhone & iPad
Precisely! And there is a legitimate argument for not assuming the role of world police, which could be debated. But as you point out, not only is the US happy w/ its current borders, it has been resisting Puerto Rico becoming a state, regardless of how they vote. Can one imagine Egypt not annexing Cyrenaica if Cyrenaica were to vote to become a part of Egypt?
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Fully agree w/ you. My first smartphone was a Nokia Lumia 520 - the entry level phone in its time. Typing on that phone was a breeze: it had suggested words above the text box, but didn't get in your way, unlike the dumb phones that would try to guess what you were typing, and force you to follow the next character from what it had in its dictionary. Also, for comparison, at the time (around 2012), I tried both iOS and Android's typing interfaces, and they were a lot less smooth then (they've since caught up and are today at par). As a result, I started texting using that phone, something I never did previously.
The killer app you talk about is OneNote - although as AC above mentions, it's now also there on iOS and Android. But OneNote through its examples demonstrated some great things that could be done on this phone, like managing a shopping list, or a tour (noting things like ticket confirmation numbers, places to visit, et al). That phone also had HERE maps, which was great for navigating outside the US (although today, all 3 maps - Google, Apple & Bing - are at par, and there are things like Waze that improve the experience). And like you said, OneDrive integration was awesome!
Going from Windows Phone 8 to Windows 10 Mobile gave a more streamlined experience: there weren't multiple map apps - just the Bing one, and it integrated better w/ the desktop initially. But that's now gone: if you open Messenger on the desktop, even if it has the same Outlook login as your phone - your phone messages no longer appear on the desktop - as they previously did.
Honestly, Microsoft should sell the Windows Phone/Mobile platform to another company, and let them make something out of it, since Microsoft itself is incapable of it.
But only while they still have active support. If Microsoft is winding down their Lumia business and seems to have Windows 10 Mobile on the ropes, it's valid to look at alternatives. Nonetheless, iPhones look like a bigger risk for an organization that's building a lot on it than, say, a recent version of Android. They should have looked at a deal w/ Google.
IMO, Windows 10 Mobile happens to be better than Windows 10 desktop, which just crawls on my dual core Pentium w/ 4GB RAM and 500GB storage.
Androids have the problem of not being upgradable if one is talking about versions earlier than Lollipop. If one has one of those older tablets w/ Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Icecream Sandwich or Kitkat, one is SOL.
In fact, the minimum acceptable version of Android out there in the market is Marshmallow. Both my Android devices are Lollipop: I wish there was a way to upgrade them to one of the subsequent versions. Unfortunately, Verizon controls the upgrades, and I'm not a whiz at rooting phones
The Lumia 640XL came with Windows 10 Mobile. I'm not sure that the 830 supported such an upgrade. But Microsoft has stopped developing Windows 10 Mobile any further - from now on, they'll be just on maintenance.
You mean Replicant? I haven't seen one either!
This is a perfect example of wasteful government spending. Would any company in the world spend that much money on a short-lived program? A real company, accountable for its financial decisions would either slowly roll out another version as phones died and could not be supported, or figure out how to pay for extra support while developing an alternative.
Also, any IT guy worth 2 cents would never have chosen Microsoft phones for a fleet.
When they were in Nokia's hands, the Lumia did have a fair bit of marketshare, only that both Apple and Samsung increased the gap against them. Given that the phones had a shared ecosystem w/ Microsoft's mainstream Windows, and that Microsoft had overhauled Windows w/ the metro UI to look like the phone, it made perfect sense for a company to build a fleet around them.
Let's look at the apps that a company could use that Microsoft provided. There was Office - including OneNote and Outlook: OneNote alone made this phone worthwhile, and at the time, Microsoft wasn't aggressively promoting Office on Android or iOS. Then there was maps - both Bing and HERE maps. There were other apps like unit converters (now integrated in the calculator), currency converters and so on. Also, at the time, typing was a lot smoother on Windows Phone 8.1 than on the contemporary versions of either iOS or Android (both have caught up since). If the reason one wanted a phone was something to have their office data on, as opposed to playing Pokemon Go, this was a good phone. It did have some major shortcomings though - Uber was barely supported, Lyft wasn't, nor were there any VOIP apps, and this last, IMO, was a killer. Yeah, one could use Skype, but I've never found it smooth to use.
Also, at the time, Ballmer was at the helm and he was fanatical about this platform, so Microsoft was solidly behind it while he was around. Things changed once he was gone and Nadella took over.
Wiping a phone takes about 15 minutes - that's been my experience w/ Lumias. Never used eBay, so can't comment on the auctions.
Other thing that I wonder - did they use SD cards on the phones - for things like pictures, police data and so on? If yeah, the iPhone decision makes even less sense, since they won't be able to re-use them there. I can't imagine them not using it - the maximum internal storage any of the Lumias had was 32GB.
Full resets of Lumias are not daunting tasks - they may take a little while, but after one is done, it's as good as new. Only thing here - since they went for iPhones, these phones are useless. There had been talk about getting some Android versions on these phones, but not sure that that's still active. The cops might just toss them to family/friends/relatives or anyone remotely interested
Other app I noticed that disappeared was Fandango. Incidentally, Microsoft has ended the LinkedIn app for Windows 10 Mobile, and recommended people to use the browser. While all this happened, Lyft introduced their app for this phone years after Uber did, and Waze is still there.
With Android, they might have discovered some phone maker who provides that. In fact, had they put down a stake stating that Android 6 would be the basis of their platform, and built around that, that would have given them the maximum flexibility. They could have gotten phones from anybody that was inexpensive enough, but good enough to support their entire app suite
Ain't those the things that they decide they have no budget for in terms of personnel, and which they therefore decide to outsource to an IT company, who then shovels it to Bangalore? If that was the process here, I'm surprised that they recommended iPhone
That's what I wondered as well. They'd have had a choice of phone vendors - not just Samsung, but a whole bunch of others - Google, LG, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Blu... For their specialized software, they could have worked w/ Google and worked on a deal to get a particular Android version - say Marshmallow - on any phones they obtained.
The article mentioned that they were using Microsoft's video surveillance software, but nothing about the underlying platforms. Were they Windows XP or 7 or 8? Since at the time they introduced it, the phones were based on Windows Phone 8.1.
If it was based on Windows 8/8.1, then you're right - there would have been the common underlying code base, w/ the major effort on the UI. But if it was based on Windows 7 or earlier, then there would be nothing in common, since Microsoft totally overhauled the UI. But while the NYPD is at it, they might as well replace their Windows computers w/ Macs
The thing that surprises me here is that neither the NYPD nor Microsoft decided to work on migrating Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 Mobile - the latter iirc which is already a default on the 640XL. Not sure about the 830, though.
I do think that the decision to go w/ iOS was a bad one, though. They just went through the experience of being sole sourced w/ Nokia/Microsoft and are now going sole sourced w/ Apple. They should have picked Android, which would have given them a vendor choice of Google, Samsung, Blu, Sony, LG et al. They could have then cut a deal w/ one of those vendors, or even w/ Google.
If the last police shooting was any guide - where Mayor deBlassio went to Hamburg to join a protest demonstration while cops were morning a female black officer shot dead while she was just sitting in her car, it's blue lives that matter the least to the New York establishment!
The blue screen of death is something that many officers don't want to deal with personally.
I've had 3 Windows phones over the years - a Lumia 520, an Icon and a 550. None of them ever gave me a blue screen of death!
When Windows phones work so great. /s
The support. Also, as apps are getting yanked from the store, there's less reason to stay w/ it, when they are using features like E911, case management and special assignment apps.
Apple hasn't innovated since they introduced Apple Pay. Granted, few shops yet use it - usually, it's the ones w/ Verisign POS systems. But since then, nothing they've done can really be called innovative. No marks for making the iPhone 7 thinner or even waterproof - if you are in Houston and your iPhone 7 is under water, you'll probably need it replaced anyway. No points for removing the audio jack either, or giving us the audio to lightning dongle. Or the ear buds. The watch was interesting, but way overpriced, even as jewellery.
Fully agree! Anybody who wants an iPhone 6+/7+ should probably look at an iPad Mini - cellular. The 6/7 is fine. The 5 was good, and the right configuration would have been fine. Incidentally, how much would a 5s w/ 128GB storage cost, compared to a 6 or 7 w/ the same storage?
The watch - I haven't seen anyone w/ it, excepting sometimes passengers on flights. However, the way to look at it is as a jewellery piece, but even then, it seems way too expensive. My sister has an Apple TV, but I have no use for it: my laptop & tablet gives me whatever media I need to consume
For the next big transformation, why doesn't Apple migrate the entire Mac line to their A series of CPUs? That way, they leverage their own internal CPUs, which can go less into the underselling iPads and more into the Macs.
That would completely disrupt the business model that the iPhone was built on.
If one recalls, when this phone was introduced, it was introduced as a luxury phone, or a phone to be had due to brand vanity, like a Prada or a Gucci. Not something for every Sally down the street, but just the jet setters. Apple's stroke of luck was in that it became a fad and caught on. Granted, they made the UI state of the art, and had a whole bunch of apps that really exposed the power of this platform. And without reducing the prices much, and focussing on margins, rather than volumes, they made themselves the most valuable company, beating the likes of Microsoft and Google!
What's more - Apple has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by just having a few models every few years. If one thinks that's a bad strategy, look at either Samsung, w/ a slew of galaxies, or Nokia/Microsoft, w/ a slew of Lumias. Doesn't do much for them. Pick a few, w/ some common form factors (so that supporting accessories can be common (like a screen protector b/w a 6 & 7), and run w/ that.
All that said, IMO, phones have arrived where PCs had arrived a decade ago. When the iPhone 7 came out, I upgraded to it for a couple of reasons - needed more storage, and also, wanted Apple Pay. Now that I have a phone w/ 128GB of space, I don't anticipate upgrading it anytime (until it stops working, and then, I'll go w/ the entry level that matches or exceeds its specs that's available then)
Agree w/ this. Other than iPhone 7 and iPhone SE, what else could one need? What exactly are they adding to 7s/+ that we don't have in 7? Removing the home button? Sorry, but I like the home button in both my iPhone & iPad
Precisely! And there is a legitimate argument for not assuming the role of world police, which could be debated. But as you point out, not only is the US happy w/ its current borders, it has been resisting Puerto Rico becoming a state, regardless of how they vote. Can one imagine Egypt not annexing Cyrenaica if Cyrenaica were to vote to become a part of Egypt?
Pretty much. When was the last time that the US annexed foreign territory since the Spanish-American War?