Problems with Windows Phone OS

Microsoft is said to be emperor in Desktop Operating Systems market. They are like synonym to PC and also for laptops. Almost all these computers are installed with Microsoft’s Windows OS. But today, the whole picture is changed. Mobile phone market has overshadowed computers market and everyone measures technology with mobile phone markets.  Currently, Apple’s much anticipated iOS and Google’s Android has conquered mobile phone OS market. And it was in October 2012 when Microsoft also entered in this market with their Windows Mobile OS and tried to make some good numbers in this market. After almost one and half year, still Microsoft is significantly lagging behind iOS and Android.

In this article I am going to discuss about what are the major problems and issues in Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. I am writing this article by experiencing these by using Nokia Lumia phones, which are exclusively using Windows OS. First of all, let me clear that the hardware used by Nokia is great. According to me, they are still best hardware manufacturers. No problem with Nokia’s hardware. But the problem is inside of the phone, the much important part Operating System. Now let me come to the point and start to describe these issues.

1. No app transfer to micro SD card

Normally all Android phones comes with 4GB or 8GB of internal storage and even Windows phones also comes with these capacity. In Android phones, you can transfer your apps data to SD card and install more number of apps in your phone, in Windows phone it is a limiting factor. You cannot transfer apps into SD card.

Another issue is the apps designed for Windows phone consumes more space than Android games. For example, popular game Subway Surfer comes with a size of around 40MB on Android platform and same game comes with size of around 80MB on Windows platform. It clearly means that you will not be able to install more apps and games on your phone. 

2. Not having own file manager

This is probably one of the biggest drawback of Windows phone, you cannot get a native file manager app for your phone. You would be able to install third party file manager apps but still it is having limiting factor like you have one Read Only permissions of your SD card using your file manager. It’s kind of frustrating thing that you are not able to use all storage capacity of your micro SD card effectively.

3. Absense of LED notification light

Normally all Android phones comes with physical LED notification light which will blink whenever you will be having any missed call, Whatsapp message or a Facebook notification. On my Sony Xperia phone, whenever I have Whatsapp message it blinks with violet color, for Facebook notification it turns into blue and for a missed call it blinks with green. So it helps me a lot in everyday life of use. For a Windows phone, you will not be able for get this facility in any single model. This feature is more important if you are a busy and heavy user of Whatsapp and Facebook. 

Sony Xperia phone with notification light 

4. Notification bar problem

Biggest advantage of Windows phone is its Metro UI called Tile interface. It’s actually very innovative and easy to use this look. But it does not give you all notification in single screen. Like you have to scroll up and down to see notifications in their respective tiles. In Android phone, even latest iOS7 also have it's native notification bar in top of the phone and you will be able to see each and every notification very easily. 

Different notifications in their respective tile in Windows Metro UI

5. Not having integration with Google apps

If you are a heavy user of Gmail, Google Maps, Youtube and other native Google services then you will not have a good experience with Windows phone because Google does not provide their own apps for Windows mobile platform. You will be restricted to use Google services on Windows phone.

6. Instant toggle to specific shortcuts 

For Android and iOS phones, if you want to switch on/off Bluetooth or Wi-Fi then you can do it just in one click. You can get same other features like mobile data traffic, NFC, profile, auto-rotate shortcuts in upper notification bar. Thus you can toggle to specific setting very quickly. But this is not possible in Windows phone. You have to make at least 2-3 steps for starting that service. You can create these type of shortcuts in Windows phone, but again they will still require 2-3 steps.

shortcuts in notification bar in normal Android phone

7. USB OTG not supported

Windows phone does not support UTG OTG and it is kind of limiting factor when you want to use your other devices with your Windows phone. It means that you cannot connect USB flash drive, music player, digital camera or keyboard to your phone. 

8. Not support to third party web browsers

This is one of the biggest problems because without good internet browser you cannot use your phone effectively. Windows phone comes with default browser Internet Explorer and it also supports UC browsers and some less known ones. But still it misses some biggies like Firefox, Chrome and Opera Mini browser. So it is a huge drawback with Windows phone.

So, these are some issues or problems which I noticed in Windows phone OS. If you are agree with me or even don’t agree with me then also mention your precious comment below. Thank you and enjoy my other articles. 

Reasons to update or buy Windows 8.1

If you are using still Windows XP, Windows 7 or upgraded to Windows 8, then you have much reasons to upgrade Windows 8.1 (It is totally free for Windows 8 users).  

windows 8.1 start screen

These are the advantages or reasons or improvements or pros of Windows 8.1:

1. Ease of Search:

It is one of the major improvements which brings Windows 8.1 more closer to present user requirements. Just type anything using Start button and you can search anything from your PC or even on web. This is actually a Smart Search which is using Microsoft's default search engine Bing. 

windows 8.1 search screen

2. Superfast Multitasking:

In windows 8, there was an ability to do multitasking. But major problem with that feature was that, it did not have re-sizing applications according to your requirements. Even it was supporting maximum two apps. But Windows 8.1 brings major improvements my bringing it more user friendly like, you can re-size them with your needs. So it is quite similar to Samsung Galaxy Note series multi-window feature.

windows 8.1 mutitasking window

3. Less storage space:

If you are using Windows 8 right now then you may be quite wondering that your C drive consumes lot of space by just with Windows 8. Even you are not having more space in C drive for other applications. But Windows 8.1 is consumes almost 10-15% less hard disk space, even it gives us more features compared to previous version. 

4. UI friendly Start Screen:

Many Windows 8 users were shocked with not having Start button in bottom left of task bar. But Windows 8.1 have Start menu back in action with latest Microsoft Windows symbol. One more surprise improvement is that, you can use Start menu even with your default desktop background. This is quite minor change, but traditional users of old Windows UI may feel some joy. 

5. App Updates:

In today's condition, your every gadget have so many apps. Even they require updates after some time. So if you are tired of being busy in such boring tasks. Then Windows 8.1 have features to update apps automatically. Even they will be updated in background. 

6. Better personalized lock screen:

In Windows 8.1, you have options to use multiple slideshow like images with your lock screen. You have option to check Emails, use calender,. even without unlocking the lock screen. It is quite user friendly and good improvement.

7. Skydrive integration:

Windows is looking for Cloud storage, and Skydrive is one step to achieve that integration. By using Skydrive, you can save your file on your computer and access it from anywhere. So it is like iCloud which is working on Apple devices. 

Nokia Lumia 1020 : Super Camera Phone

Last year when Nokia released Nokia PureView 808 with highest ever 41 Mega Pixel lens, it created waves but unfortunately it was a failure for them. But still Nokia is not loosing their confidence in their camera technology bonding with their smartphones. They are back with another flagship phone which is powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. 

                    

New Nokia Lumia also features same 41 MP lens which was introduced in earlier 808 PureView phone. Last month in Berlin, when Sony launched their latest flagship phone Xperia Z1 which have 20 MP camera and they claimed that their phone have best camera among all other phones. So Nokia comes back into the competition with another superior camera phone. Even Samsung also has Galaxy S4 Zoom with very advance camera. So according to me, after competition in display size. It is time to war in terms of camera between these multi national companies. So let's check camera performance of this phone.

Camera Review

The phone have a 41 mega pixel lens but practically you will only get 34 mega pixel resolution to capture a picture for 16:8 aspect ratio. If you want picture with 4:3 aspect ration then they can be captured at 38 mega pixels.

One very innovative feature in this phone is Looseless Zoom,where you can crop your picture from higher resolution picture without loosing any type of clarity of the picture. 

If you compare regular images with 5 mega pixel using this phone. Then I must say that they beats all the phones which have 5 mega pixel or even 8 mega pixel camera. Surely it's a clear winner. 

Other specifications of this phones camera are, 3X digital zoom, optical image stabilization, ISO settings 100 to 4000 and very important shutter speed which offers 1 to 16000, Smart Cam & Camera 360.

The phone captures excellent pictures in normal conditions. But I found out one big issue is, the processing rate of the picture is slow. If you want to picture very quickly one by one, then this can disappoint you.  Another issue is, pictures taken in artificial light and close up shots are above average. They are actually not good. 

So,overall the phone achieves our expectations with having great camera details. So thumbs up for this phone in terms of the camera department.

Rest of all

If you remove the 41 mega pixel camera from this phone, then it is totally Lumia 920. The phone have same hardware specifications and software. The phone heats up when you use the camera for long time. Except that, this phone runs really smooth with Windows Mobile OS.

Conclusion

Now last words, if you actually want a more camera then smartphone then this phone is really a hot choice. But if you want a better mixture of hardware, software and camera then you must consider other phones like iPhone 5 & 5S, Xperia Z1, Galaxy S4. 

Technical Specifications

• 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Dual core processor
• 2 GB RAM
• 41 MP PureView camera
• 1.2 MP front facing camera
• 4.5 AMOLED display with resolution of 768x1280 
• 332 PPI of pixel density
• 32 GB internal storage
• 2000 mAh battery

Microsoft Surface 2, Surface Pro 2 : First Look

After getting a new innovative tablets called as Surface. Microsoft is back with another updated device. Microsoft introduced with us, Surface Pro 2 & Surface 2. Actually I do not know what to call it because basically its like tablet and having a virtual keyboard for typing and also comes with an optional cover which works like a key board. So I am confused to call it a tablet or laptop.

Microsoft launched Surface Pro 2 in an event in New York for those professional people who want an experience of a laptop in a tablet like device. According to Microsoft, there is 75% of an improvement in battery life comparing it previous version of the surface tablet. They also give optional docking station and a new cover accessory. The price of Surface Pro 2 is $899 in US market.

The cheaper version called as Surface 2 comes at a price of $499 in US market. But both will be available in the market after 22nd October in US as well as a worldwide market. Both varients come with a 10.6 inch display.

microsoft surface pro 2 with dock

Another interesting thing is, Surface 2 runs on Windows RT operating system which is basically designed for running only application. Wheres Surface Pro 2 comes with a fully functional version of Windows OS.

Specifications:

Surface 2:

Processor:    nVidia Tegra 4

Storage:       32/64 GB varients

Battery:       Maximum 10 hours

OS:             Windows RT 8.1

Surface Pro 2

Processor:    intel core i5

Storage:       64/128/256/512 GB

Battery:       more than 75% previous version of surface

OS:              Windows 8.1

iPhone 5S & iPhone 5C : First Look

Its almost after one year when Apple released iPhone5 last year. There was too much curiosity in the market related to upcoming iPhone. The rumor was also there that Apple will launch two iPhone. Now its exactly same and all prediction become right. So, I will not get too much time and start our review. First of all we will talk about iPhone 5S. Because it is their flagship phone and having latest hardware. 

iPhone 5S

New iPhone 5S is the successor of iPhone 5. It has first ever in the world 64 bit processor. No other phone have 64 bit processor till date. 

• A7 Chip: It is 64 bit chip which is Apple's proprietary processor made specially for iPhone. This chip gives double performance then the previous A6 chip in CPU and GPU related tasks. There is another best combination with iOS7, because they specially made it for 64 bit chip.

• M7 co-processor: This new combination included in this iPhone 5S is like a master-slave combination. Because M7 co-processor works for some miscellaneous tasks like compass, accelerometer, gyroscope tasks. So all this will be done in M7 co-processor and it will directly reduce the burden from the A7 chip. Another huge pro is that, it will increase battery life.

• Camera:  There is no doubt that iPhone will have a great camera. Yes, again its much better improved then previous one. The iSight camera comes with 8 MP auto focus camera. It is basically a five element lens which have hybrid IR filter. The camera provides features like auto focus, tap focus, face detection, burst mode, panorama.,etc. 

• Display: This phone have 4 inch retina display having 1136 x 640 pixels resolution. It provides density of 336 ppi. One huge feature added in this display is this iPhone 5S can support 'finger print' scanning! So you can lock-unlock and even use finger print as password for phone and app store. 

After discussing these key features I must say that they did not invent or bring any hurricane in specification of this new phone. But as per company's brand value, iPhone 5S will also bring big success for Apple. iPhone 5S come with grey, gold and silver of bezel aluminium case. 

iPhone 5C

People were talking about that this time apple is going to unveil another 'cheap' iPhone for some economical users. So that's here. Again with this phone I am not that much impressed. Because the main aim of this phone was to gain good market share in Asian countries like China,India. So they have to keep the price of this phone as low as possible. But that does not practically happening. 

The configuration of this phone is same as one year before iPhone5. To reduce its price they put a poly carbonate cover like Samsung for this iPhone 5C. This phone comes in colors like green, yellow, blue, pink and white color. So this is its biggest plus point. Otherwise same hardware like iPhone5. So I do not want to discuss about it more. Just enjoy its colorful back cover pictures. One thing i noted in this phone is they made its edged with much sharp curve. So it looks really cool. 

End of Windows XP

Microsoft is going to stop providing updates and patches to their Windows XP users from April 8, 2014!! In August 2001, they introduces Windows XP to the world and till that date they have given three new Windows names as Vista, Seven and Eight. But no one had achieved the grand success of XP. 

At present scenario, only Windows 7 is ahead of XP. We can clearly assume that in this super fast changing technological world, an OS which is more 12 year old still having popular amongst the users is a remarkable achievement. Still over 38% market is shared by XP followed by Windows 7 with 44% market share. 

Microsoft has announced this date and told their users to upgrade to newer OS, right now they are giving support for Service Pack 3 of XP. I can not find any particular reason why they are stopping their popular OS, but they started a program called support cycle having 10 years of span. This 10 years are going to end this year and thats why they could be going to take this step. They already stopped their main support to XP in 2009 but now they are stopping the extended support also.

In Microsoft officials words, ' Use XP at your own RISK from next April,2014 if you will not upgrade to newer OS' !!!  

Revo uninstaller software

Let me explain one scenario that you are using a trial version of software which runs just 15 days  and after that you got a message that "the period is over and buy the original copy!!" Then the first step you will take would be uninstalling the software and again installing it extend the 15 day time period again.

But wait wait.. That will not be possible always.During installation of software it creates registry and when you install it again,that will detected and you can not use it again.

To overcome this problem my favorite software is used is Revo Uninstaller.
This software is mainly used for uninstallation process management and make it simple.
This also provides Master uninstall to overcome above mentioned problem.

This is the basic look of Revo uninstaller.You can download it from its website.

This software also provides some extra features. All those are discussed below:

Hunter mode: In which you can hunt for a software which can be malfunctioned for your pc and this mode will detect it and remove it.

Backup Manager:  This feature provides to take backup of your software so incase if you face any problem then you can not loose you important data. 

Auto Run Manager: This feature provides us ability to remove the auto run type of programs which can cause problems to your pc and effect like virus.

Browser Cleaner: It works same like deleting the browser history but it provides you to clean it permanently and no one can again recover that.

Windows Cleaner: It removes the windows files, some other temporary files and recycle bin which data is not used.

Evidence Remover: This is something very important feature for those who works with some secret software and data on their pc. This will remove all the evidence related to that and again no one can recover them.