Going all-Microsoft - UPDATE: Got a Lumia 930; tis brilliant

[evilrob]

I'd love to be able to tell you what I think of it, but an hour later... installing update 62 of 80...

 

[Cartman]

LOL :grin:

my surface was the same endless uppdates but do yourselfe a fawor, and uppgrade to 8.1 if it's not already done

I absolutly agree whit you on the ms store issue, they could have snendt an e-mail...

 

[evilrob]

I'm doing the 8.1 upgrade now; wouldn't let me until I'd done the first 80 updates!

 

[evilrob]

Had a good play with this over the weekend - Surface Pro is fucking brilliant. I think I like it more than my Macbook Air; and that's saying something.

For shits and giggles, I installed Steam on it to try out a game or two. Wasn't really expecting it anything be playable - it's actually a really capable machine. Works with Xbox 360 Controller for Windows. Very impressed with Surface Pro.

I was so impressed, I thought I'd try a new game - South Park Stick of Truth:

Steam code available from Amazon for £30 - £10 cheaper than on actual Steam.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/South-Park-Stick-Uncensored-Online/dp/B00ICSSO78/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394370640&sr=8-2&keywords=south+park+stick+of+truth+pc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note: Remember to set your power profile to 'performance' - in case you've throttled CPU or whatever on 'battery saver' or 'balanced' modes.

 

[evilrob]

£50 cashback and free touch cover offer with purchase of Surface RT or first-gen Surface Pro back on at Quidco for three days:
http://www.quidco.com/microsoft-store/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[evilrob]

Upgraded the Lumia 920 to Windows Phone 8.1 today following these instructions - everything feels a bit snappier and it's removed several of my biggest annoyances with Windows Phone:

1. Quiet Hours - you can now set the phone to not disturb you during certain hours or when your calendar shows you are in a meeting
2. Notification centre - there is one.
3. Separate volume controls for applications/music and ringtones/alerts.
4. IE now remembers passwords if you ask it to

I'm struggling to think of anything I don't like about Windows Phone now.

I will definitely be getting a 930 when they're available:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7eMY45Fw0M[/youtube]

Specs:
5" AMOLED 1080P Screen
20MP PureView camera
Quad Core Snapdragon 2.2ghz processor
2Gb RAM
32Gb storage (+7gb cloud storage via Onedrive)
2420mAh battery
Wireless charging: Built-in (Qi standard)

In other news, Surface Pro is still excellent, recently updated to Windows 8.1 Update 1 and I bought one of these bad boys for use with it when at a desk doing proper work:

More info:
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-gb/p/sculpt-ergonomic-desktop/L5V-00006" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's pretty good, I like it - I already used a Microsoft Natural Keyboard 4000, which was full of about 7 years' worth of toast crumbs, bogeys and general smeg; it was utterly revolting and knackered - all the print had rubbed off the keys so it looked like a Das Keyboard. It was well overdue a replacement, and this does the job nicely - it feels much better made than my old one - really solid. Overall - thumbs up from me if you like a bendy keyboard.

 

[evilrob]

So this happened recently:

Came with all this (as part of a launch offer for all 930s bought before 31st July - so there's still time to get involved if you're in the market for an uncommon new phone):

1 x DC-50 portable wireless charging plate
1 x MD-12 portable wireless bluetooth speaker / speakerphone accessory
1 x WS-2 treasure tag (only available if bought through Phones4U)
1 x £20 Microsoft Store credit voucher

Charging plate is cool. Speaker sounds OK, not going to replace your hifi but stick it on something hollow like a chest of drawers and the bass it produces is bonkers for its size. Treasure tag is cool - you can trace its last known location, send it a ping to make a noise so you can find it if whatever you've attached it to has fallen down the back of the sofa or whatever, or set it up to make your phone go mental if you leave the house without it - I've attached it to my work pass which I frequently forget and then have to sign in at security which is at the other end of the campus, and have the shame of walking around all day with a gay 'guest' pass.

All in all, loving my 930 experience so far. Hands down the best phone I have ever had.

 

[Cartman]

+1 on that last statement i love my 930 too

 

[red]

The 930 does look nice!

 

[ethanfitz]

i was just looking at this phone yesterday before i saw this lol looks really nice im thinking about upgrading my Lumia 800 to it... what deal did you get on it?

 

[evilrob]

Got it from Phones4U (who have the exclusive on the white colour I wanted) on EE for no money upfront, £29 a month on a 24 month contract, 1,000 minutes / unlimited texts / 1Gb 4G data.

You don't get the treasure tag included in the free bundle from anywhere other than Phones4U either.

Upgrading from an 800 will blow your mind. Do it quickly though - offer on the free stuff runs out tomorrow!

edit: edit in red to clarify

 

[YOG]

You don't get the treasure tag from anywhere other than Phones4U either.

You can get them from Amazon (if you pay for them):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Nokia%20Treasure%20Tag" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Dal]

Is 1GB a month data enough for a 4G phone where you'll more likely be streaming etc?

I use about that just keeping my 3G phone data on all month with the odd streaming now and then. Now I've started to stream internet radio through it at work I'm glad I'm on unlimited data for £12 p.m.

 

[evilrob]

You don't get the treasure tag from anywhere other than Phones4U either.

You can get them from Amazon (if you pay for them):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Nokia%20Treasure%20Tag" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I meant as part of the free bundle.

 

[ethanfitz]

sweet thanks rob im going to have a little nose around phones for you etc now :grin:

 

[evilrob]

Is 1GB a month data enough for a 4G phone where you'll more likely be streaming etc?

I use about that just keeping my 3G phone data on all month with the odd streaming now and then. Now I've started to stream internet radio through it at work I'm glad I'm on unlimited data for £12 p.m.

I typically use 300-400Mb of mobile data a month historically; very lean data requirements. I don't do streaming of any sort when not on WiFi.

On EE it's a hard stop when you hit your cap so there won't be any nasty surprises; I can bump it up to 2Gb for couple of quid extra per month if necessary.

 

[evilrob]

sweet thanks rob im going to have a little nose around phones for you etc now :grin:

Cool. Let us know how you get on.

 

[red]

I'm usually the same, haven't been over 300Mb for over 12 months which is which I reduced my data allowance, I was always convinced I would need 1GB.

 

[evilrob]

Just checked my Windows Phone "Data Sense" feature - it knows I have a 1Gb limit, and will intelligently start compressing images and restricting background data usage and stuff the closer you get to the limit to eke out your allowance.

Data Sense reckons I've used 112Mb of mobile data, I've had the phone 10 days - bang on average.

 

[Cartman]

I'm the same way, I hardly use 4G data. only about 300 to 500 mb a month, some times more, some times less,. I'm conected to WiFi both at home, and at work, so I'm hardly ever out of wifi cover