[sc:mobile-category ]In my spare time I write some code for various reasons.  My next two projects I’m looking at both require some cross-platform support so it’s time to dive in to the big three tablet OS’s and take them for a spin.

Windows

First off is Windows 8.1, I’ve been using it for quite a while now and my current hardware is a Dell Venue Pro 8.  It’s fast and runs everything I need without a complaint.  I’ve written enough about Windows tablets I think so I’ll just say it works and works well.

Android

For my Android tablet I figured I might as well go to the source and ordered a Nexus 7 from the Google Play store.  It arrived exactly when Google said it would and overall the device is a nice little unit.

Android on the other hand is a mess, inconsistent design, many hold overs from the desktop metaphor and it’s almost as if touch was an after thought.  I have to admit I actively avoid using the Nexus for any reason it’s that bad.

I’m still trying to get it to recognize my Exchange server, which I suspect is broken because my Google account and Exchange domain are the same so it looks like I’ve added the same e-mail address twice, even though I haven’t.

Android is a perfect example of a time where it doesn’t take the best technology to win, just to be in the right place at the right time.

iOS

Finally iOS, I have been dreading this for a long time.  I haven’t owned an Apple product since the original Apple II.  I have used them since then, I think the last time I did any serious work on an Apple product was probably the mid 90’s.

I decided on the Retina iPad Mini, completing my trifecta of 8″ or below devices.  No one can argue with the build quality of the device.  It feels solid and professional.  I was a little surprised at how little difference there really was between the iPad Mini and the Venue Pro from a size and weight aspect.

However where the Venue is serviceable, the iPad feels much better made.  Though I really do like the textured back of the Venue over the iPad.

But the big thing with the iPad is the software.  Even with the recent visual update with iOS 7, it feels very much out of date in comparison to Windows 8.  Many of the touch areas are (almost too) small and while not as bad as Android, there’s a lot of hold over from the desktop metaphor as well.

Final Thoughts

On a daily basis there no question for me the Venue Pro wins hands down.  The iPad would probably be ok to work with but in does feel very limiting once you’ve gotten use to having the full Windows desktop available.

And Android?  Only to be used in a last resort.  A terrible experience from start to finish.  I dread having to develop for it, I can only image what the tools are like.

 

 

 

[sc:mobile-category ]Windows Phone 8.1 is coming “really soon now”® and it looks to get announced at the Microsoft Build conference.

We know quite a bit about what will be included in 8.1 and we would expect there to be even more that Microsoft has up its sleeve for the actual launch.  Some thoughts on the features we do know about:

• The Action Center will be nice to finally have, if only to be able to see notification you missed while away from your phone (I know, it’s supposed to be glued to your head ;).
• The automatic update of application is going to be most welcome, hopefully it will hook in to the notification system so you will be able to see what was installed.
• Calendar WEEK VIEW!  About time 🙂
• IE password storage.  This has been missing for far too long.  It really limits the usability of web apps to have to remember and type in passwords each time you load them.
• It looks like we’ll also lose the 6 tab limit for IE, which will be nice.
• VPN support will be interesting to see how they do, if it only supports DirectAccess then it won’t be much use.
• Back button no longer closes an app has been a nit pick of mind since WP7, nice to see it’s going away.
• Quiet Hours, which have had several third-party apps over the last month or so show up in the store, is going to be in the core OS.  This will be nice to be able to get precise control.  Hopefully they also add in GPS support so you can mute it based upon your location.
• Swipe keyboard.  I’ve tried this kind of keyboard before and found it a terrible way to input text, but perhaps with time it would be better.
• Miracast is looking to become the standard to wireless display, so this will be a welcome addition.
• Trusted app list for NFC.  When I got my Nokia 925, the NFC support for the accessories was cool, but having to “accept” the tag each time kind of defeated the purpose.  This should get rid of that requirement.

Overall it looks like  a great update and should cover off the remaining features that had been missing.

The other big part of the update will be to remove some of the hardware restrictions to make it easier for manufactures to re-use their Android designs for Windows Phone.  Overall I’m ok with that, I have to admit I really liked the design of the HTC One and would have loved to see Windows Phone running on it.

Hopefully Microsoft will announce 8.1  will be available either the same day or within a few weeks to at least developers and early access users.

We’ll know more soon enough!

[sc:mobile-category ]Looking back over some of my previous articles I found a post with the first ten free applications I installed on WP7, a post with my Apps on Windows Phone 7.5, but nothing about Windows Phone 8, so now it’s time to correct that oversight 🙂

I’m not going to list games here or the bundled vendor apps, I’m sure you can find those yourself.

Some of these apps are hold overs from 7.5, but some are new, so here we go, in alphabetical order:

7digital

Many moons ago I used a music service in Canada from HMV, in a post I detailed how they dropped the service but the back-end provider was 7digital.  Well they provide a Windows Phone app which gets you access to your account and let’s you purchase music on the go.  A very serviceable application overall.

7Pass

On my desktop system I use KeePass Password Safe to store my various passwords and generate new passwords.  7Pass can read the same password database as KeePass which means I can always have a copy of my passwords with me on my phone.  The most complex part of this software is actually getting the password database on to the phone as MS has decided not to allow direct file access.  7Pass supports a couple of different options to transfer the database, including Dropbox, WebDAV, SkyDrive and a standard web server option.

Adobe Reader

I still have this installed, and I’ve even used it once or twice, but I don’t do all that much with PDF’s on my phone.  It’s a lot better than Microsoft’s PDF reader so it is a must have just in case.

AdoreSoftphone

This is a SIP based softphone, which doesn’t  yet seem to work with my SIP provider but it’s here so I can get updates and test with it.  The interface is kind of basic, but they’ve been adding features so I expect it will be a good option once they get a

Air Canada

Ok, this is a BAD application, it’s just a conversion of their web site and it’s done by Microsoft which has done a boat load of these over the last little while to drum up interest in the Store by some of the holdouts.  It’s still on my phone, but it will probably come off shortly.

Authenticator

Microsoft’s two factor authentication app works well, even if it the idea of two factor authentication is a bit arduous.

Battery Level for WP8

The first and still a great choice for battery status information, this provides the missing details that Microsoft left out (or buried deep in the settings pages).

Birthdays (by Jesper Larsen-Ledet)

This is a simple Live Tile that shows the next birthday from your contacts and also a complete list of birthdays.

Dev Center

This is Microsoft’s app for accessing your application statistics for Windows Phone Developers.  Handy but I have to admit I don’t use it all that often.  Usually I’m on the web page on my desktop for this information.

DuckDuckGo

The best alternative search engine around… period.

eBay

Access to your auctions and searches?  What more could you want.  Oh I know, how about access to my saved search that actually works?  It does in a pinch, but it could stand to use some more work on it.

FlightAware

Ok, I don’t really use this, but being able to see real-time flight information is just so cool 🙂

Flixster

Another app from the original list and I still use it when I’m checking movie times, a great app.

Fresh Paint

Microsoft’s doodling app is impressive, but it still can’t bring out the artist in my 🙁

GO Info

The GO Train here in Toronto is great for getting downtown and this app gives you access to the schedules and status of the service.

GolfLogix

This is a free golf course GPS app, I’ve been playing golf more often but I still don’t use this app.  Unfortunately it turns out that trying to use your phone and play golf at the same time doesn’t work very well so the phone usually just stays in my golf bag.

HERE Drive/Maps/Transit

Ok, I said no vendor apps, but these are available for any WP8 device so they don’t count 😉

They’re great, free and available now so they should be on every phone.

IMDb

It’s IMDb, how else do you look what movies someone you have never heard of before has been in?

INRIX Traffic

I do quite a bit of driving and INRIX is a great resource for traffic information, especially if you’re sitting on the highway not moving, its nice to know why 🙂

It is a bit of a data hog though, so I don’t use it as often as I could.

Instagram BETA

I’ve installed it, but never used it.  I guess if you like Instagram it would be more useful.

KAYAK

Kayak is great for comparing flights, but I find it doesn’t work as well as I expect.  I usually find better deals by going to the airlines sites directly.  Still a good resource to compare against.

Kik Messenger

One of the many instant messaging clients competing to replace SMS, Kik is installed but not used very often.  I only have one friend that uses it and they almost always SMS me anyway.

LinkedIn

Like all professions, I’m on LinkedIn and the Windows Phone app is nice.  I use it once in a while to see updates if I get notifications.

Live Tile Countdown

Pretty much what the title says, this app makes a live tile that counts down the number of days to an event.  Nice, easy to use and does what it says it does.

MPAtool

Microsoft REALLY wants you to buy an Xbox Music Pass, so much so they’ve crippled the artist and album graphics if you don’t have one.  This is a nice little tool that adds images for artists and albums that are in your collection, even without a Pass from Microsoft.

Netflix

Still installed, still don’t use it on my phone, but I do use Netflix.

OneNote

I finally broke down and stopped using my Exchange “Notes” folder for storing my quick snippets of information.  And I can’t say I’m sorry either.  OneNote is a great application worth checking out if you don’t use it already.

Opera Link for WP7

As I’ve noted before on this blog, I use Opera as my web browser and this gives me access to all my bookmarks etc on my phone.  It has had a few issues in the past with Opera changing the API or other issues, but the developer does eventually fix it when it breaks so no complaints from me.

PayPal

Another serviceable application for a major site, PayPal does what is needed and does so without fussing around about it.

PGA TOUR

I play golf, I watch golf, PGA Tour keeps me up to date when I can’t do either of the previous things 🙂

Poynt

Poynt has had a lot of press in Canada as it’s a Canadian company with over 6 million users, but I don’t find I use it very often, it stays on my phone for when I do need it.

PRESTO Card

A payment card system for GO Transit, this app let’s you see your balance quickly and easily.

REALTOR.ca

This used to be a full-blown application for WP7, but they yanked it from the store and instead this is another one of the “WebApps” from Microsoft.  Crap but still on my phone for the time being.

Remote PVR

This is an app from Bell, which gives me access to my ExpressVu PVR at home.  Visually it’s a little bit outdated, but it works.

Series Tracker

I keep looking for a good way to keep track of TV shows and this is the latest attempt.  I haven’t had much time to work with it but I’m hoping it will work well.

Settings Plus

Pinable tiles for some of the common settings you use, like WiFi and Bluetooth.  Microsoft should really get these built-in to the OS, but until then this works well.

SHOTLY Golf

Another golf app, see the notes on GolfLogix for more.

Simple Calendar

The live tile for Microsoft’s Calendar app doesn’t have many options, Simple Calendar fixes that and I have to admit it’s the primary use I have for the app.  I don’t very often go in to the app as the month view is too small to be useful.  They have just added a weekly view which may be better, but it is too broken at this point to use.

SkyDrive

Access to your SkyDrive files from Microsoft, it works but isn’t much use on a phone.

socl

Microsoft’s social network, I’ve installed it to play with, but that’s it.

The Weather Network

Another one of the long list of weather apps I’ve tried and not been happy with, but it’s better than most so I keep it around.

Tile Me!

An interesting little app, it can create an animated GIF that looks like the “Me” tile.

TripAdvisor

The popular website’s WP8 app.  It work, but I find the phone just isn’t the place I look for this kind of information on.  The screen is just too small.

Twitter

It’s there for when the built-in functionality of WP8 just isn’t enough.

Viber

Another IM client, another one I don’t use all that much.  But it is nice that it has a desktop version as well.

Vine

Like Instagram, I’ve installed it but never used it.

Vintage Ringtones

Want the classic phone ringers from the past?  This will get the job done.

Waze

This was just released and like INRIX, seems like it will be useful in the right situations.

WeatherMaster

My primary weather app, it has great details on the live tile.  I did move away from it for a little while as the forecasts in my area seem to go down in quality, but they’ve returned to their former goodness so I’m back with this app as well.

WhatsApp

The third and final of my IM clients, this is the one I use the most.

Wikipedia

Much like IMDb, this is just too useful not to have on the phone.

Windows Phone Insider

Microsoft’s original “Magazine” app, I look at it once in a while, but there’s seldom anything of interest.

WordPress

This is the official WordPress app so I can delete all those spam pingbacks on this blog ;).

Xbox Music/Video

Microsoft just released these but I doubt I’ll use them as they rely on Microsoft’s services that I don’t have.

Yellow Pages Canada

Another app from the original list it’s not used much, but useful when needed.

YouTube

Microsoft’s YouTube app has gone from useless to useful to useless again due to Google’s lack of support.  It’s still here and I hope one day it will become useful again.

YouTube HD

Since the official app is useless, this is a third-party app that fixes many of the issues.

[sc:mobile-category ]Last month I wrote about my experience with Bell’s roaming package to the US, I received my bill for that trip just the other day.  So how did Bell do at getting the mess sorted out…

In a word: Terrible.

Here’s what my Phone bill looked like this month:

Now notice the last four items:

The “US Roaming 25 30day” item is the original travel package I purchased before my trip.

The “US Voice & Text $30 – 30day” is the new package for voice and text.

The “Travel US Package – 30day” is the new package for data, however the actual charge is in the last line in “Usage” here:

So my $25 package became a $55 package.

A call in to Bell was quick and easily resolved it back to what I had been promised during the trip, a $25 charge.  But it does mean that future trips will be a $55 package if I want to roam in the US again.