evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Tbh, it sounds like you weren't particularly interested in making the switch
I'm writing the eBay listings as we speak, actually. 
If poor-taste advertising were enough to get me to change my mind about things, then Apple's "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercials would have caused me to abandon humanity altogether. 
The point I was making was more about yet another example of how MS really make things difficult for themselves by being so pants at PR and marketing.
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Marc
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
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List of what you have and what you are replacing with?
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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iPhone 5 -> Nokia Lumia 920 with a couple of wireless charging pads
iPad 3rd gen -> Surface RT with type cover
Apple TV 3rd gen -> Xbox 360
Stuff I'm putting on eBay a) to make room for new Microsoft kit and b) to raise some cash towards it:
1 x iPhone 5 Black 16Gb unlocked
1 x iPhone 4 Black 16Gb unlocked (provisionally sold already)
1 x iPad 3rd Gen 32Gb 3G (provisionally sold already to the same person as above)
1 x White Macbook C2D 2.16ghz 3GB RAM 320Gb 7,200rpm hard drive
1 x iPad first gen 16Gb WiFi with Zaggmate Keyboard Case
1 x iPad first gen 32Gb WiFi
1 x PowerMac G5 1.6Ghz, 2GB RAM, 500Gb hard drive
1 x Apple TV 3rd Gen
1 x TomTom iPhone 4 cradle/handsfree kit
1 x Pink Smart Cover for iPad 2nd gen onwards (bought for the Mrs before she switched to Surface but never used as she found another case she liked more)
Possibly also going to shift my Apple bluetooth keyboard and Magic Mouse/Magic Trackpad as I won't need the keyboard with the Surface Touch keyboard cover, and I'm led to believe gestures work better with a Wedge mouse as there are no drivers for multitouch Apple devices in Windows RT.
Non-Apple stuff going on eBay:
1 x Blackberry Playbook 64gb with pretty much every accessory going (charging docks x 2, hdmi cable, leather envelope and book style cases) - don't laugh, it's great for loading up with movies for long journeys, and LogMeIn works on it with bluetooth keyboard and mouse!
1 x Canon IXUS 500HS 10MP camera
1 x Ouya Android console with two controllers (limited edition brown Kickstarter edition)
[Edited on 14-09-2013 by evilrob]
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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This review of the Lumia 920 was the tipping point for me:
Nokia Lumia 920
And a follow-up:
Nokia Lumia 920 extended review
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kz
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Registered: 9th Aug 02
Location: Southend, Essex Drives: Mini Cooper S
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Don't go for the Lumia 920, my girlfriend has it and hates it, can't wait to go back to an iPhone. At the very least get the Lumia 925 which is the updated (metal) version.
I have a Surface Pro, I'm on it now... it's my main machine. It's brilliant with the Type Cover, Sculpt mouse, bluetooth to RCA audio and (when I can afford it) Miracast. Nothing plugged in apart from power, it's a brilliant desktop replacement for me. I take it you're aware the new Surface machines are being revealed in a few weeks time? So obviously wait for that. The Touch Cover is awful, really bad. I'd definitely plump for the Type Cover, or even the Power Cover that is coming out which will include a battery.
Also I'm sure you're aware that the Xbox One comes out in a couple of months so might as well wait for that over the Xbox 360...
Good luck!
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by kz
Don't go for the Lumia 920, my girlfriend has it and hates it, can't wait to go back to an iPhone. At the very least get the Lumia 925 which is the updated (metal) version.
I prefer the look/feel of the 920, the hardware specs are largely the same but for some reason the 920 produces better photos, and the 925 does't have wireless charging built-in. Also, the 920 is cheaper cos it's older. I don't like the look of the 1020 and it will be too expensive.
I'm not fussed about having the latest and greatest; from what I've been reading the 920 is the better bet because it's been around longer and so a lot of niggles that were present at launch have been fixed.
quote:
Originally posted by kz
I have a Surface Pro, I'm on it now... it's my main machine. It's brilliant with the Type Cover, Sculpt mouse, bluetooth to RCA audio and (when I can afford it) Miracast. Nothing plugged in apart from power, it's a brilliant desktop replacement for me. I take it you're aware the new Surface machines are being revealed in a few weeks time? So obviously wait for that.
I will wait for the announcement on the 23rd, but I still think I'd be happy with the older model; it'll do what I need it to do. Maybe even cheaper once these new ones are out.
quote:
Originally posted by kzThe Touch Cover is awful, really bad. I'd definitely plump for the Type Cover, or even the Power Cover that is coming out which will include a battery.
I've already budgeted for the type cover - I agree the touch cover is pants.
quote:
Originally posted by kzAlso I'm sure you're aware that the Xbox One comes out in a couple of months so might as well wait for that over the Xbox 360...
Mostly getting the Xbox to play GTA V, Xbox One isn't backwards compatible as far as I'm aware, and there's no word on when there might be an Xbone version of GTA V.
quote:
Originally posted by kz
Good luck!
Cheers!
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kz
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Registered: 9th Aug 02
Location: Southend, Essex Drives: Mini Cooper S
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Above all else, the main issue with my girlfriend's Lumia 920 is dropping calls and signal. Basically, 4G is shit on it.
EE blames Mircosoft and Nokia.
Microsoft blames Nokia and EE.
Nokia blames EE and Microsoft.
No one takes responsibility so she's left with a phone that only works properly half the time  hopefully you're going with a different company and will be alright!
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by kz
Above all else, the main issue with my girlfriend's Lumia 920 is dropping calls and signal. Basically, 4G is shit on it.
EE blames Mircosoft and Nokia.
Microsoft blames Nokia and EE.
Nokia blames EE and Microsoft.
No one takes responsibility so she's left with a phone that only works properly half the time hopefully you're going with a different company and will be alright!
Doing a quick search suggests that she's not alone with regards EE and the 920; apparently it doesn't play nice with the wonky EE mishmash of Orange/T-mobile towers. I'm on Three, so I should be alright (or at least I can't find any horror stories about the 920 on Three).
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Just in case anyone was thinking of getting a Lumia 920, Tesco are bashing out the yellow ones for £220 sim free:
http://www.tesco.com/direct/sim-free-unlocked-nokia-lumia-920-yellow/194-9876.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=194-9876
Also, Amazon are doing the black ones for the same:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00APVPLG2/ref=sr_1_15_olp?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379541331&sr=1-15&keywords=%22nokia+lumia+920%22&condition=new
[Edited on 18-09-2013 by evilrob]
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Brett
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Registered: 16th Dec 02
Location: Manchester
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quote:
Originally posted by kz
Don't go for the Lumia 920, my girlfriend has it and hates it, can't wait to go back to an iPhone. At the very least get the Lumia 925 which is the updated (metal) version.
I would never base a decision on what someone's girlfriend thinks
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IvIarkgraham
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Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
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why do you need to switch everything?
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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I don't *need* to change everything. Just bored of iOS and fancy a change. Not feeling Android, so Windows/Xbox it is.
The more I look into it, the more I find that Microsoft have actually done a good job with Windows Phone and Surface RT. The tech press pan the RT but most people who actually own one love it, especially those who have tried out the RT 8.1 beta.
Was going to get a console anyway for GTA V. Given that I already decided to get a Windows Phone, the Xbox makes sense as then it can also take the place of the Apple TV. To complete the set I might as well get a Windows tablet, as the iPad won't play as nicely with the phone/Xbox.
It's not really going to cost me anything as I have a pile of Apple and other stuff I'm bored of that will be going on eBay.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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Rob, you should think about getting a blog going as it'd be an interesting read 
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Not a bad idea, Dom. Where's a good place to get a blog? Self-hosted Wordpress or get an account somewhere so it's someone else's responsibility to deal with the security?
I've always avoided going down the blogging road because I've found the kind of people who have their own blogs are largely pretentious twats.
For once, though, I might actually have something worth writing about and sharing with the world!
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Dom
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Just grab a Wordpress.com blog; easiest way of doing it.
Edit - Just 2 pennies worth but it'd be nice to see what your current experience is with the Apple ecosystem, how it integrates, positives, niggles, negatives of it; then why you decided to move and then purchasing gear, setup, integration, day-to-day (or week-to-week) living with it the MS ecosystem, niggles, apps (alternatives as well as useful apps), tips etc.
Then a year or two down the line, do it all with Android 
[Edited on 19-09-2013 by Dom]
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Current situation:
I essentially use my non-laptop devices for internet, email, calls and texts, photos, and entertainment in the form of music, film and to a lesser extent, games.
The iPhone and iPad are lovely slabs of technology, but I'm just not feeling iOS 7 - it's too little, too late, badly implemented. I'm also bored of apps; I'd rather have a full web browser that doesn't default to mobile sites all the time. I will probably miss the TomTom app which is excellent. I was disappointed when I upgraded from an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 5 because the iPhone 4 felt more 'premium' - more substantial. I think the iPhone 5 feels less sturdy, and is too light.
In my current all-Apple setup, everything works beautifully. I can stream music/video from Macbook, iPhone and iPad to the telly via the Apple TV, or to my Apple iPod HiFi wireless speaker via the AirPlay protocol.
AirPlay is occasionally twitchy; sometimes takes a few goes to connect, sometimes drops - but show me a wireless protocol that has 100% connectivity 100% of the time. It's no worse than Bluetooth, and has a higher bandwidth.
iCloud does what it's supposed to - I can view my recent photos taken on the iPhone either on the iPad or on the telly via the Apple TV as they're all in my iCloud photostream, bookmarks/contacts/etc are synced up nicely between devices; it's really very nice. I also like being able to download again anything I've ever bought on iTunes on any of my devices.
The Apple TV to be fair is a cracking bit of kit - the selection of content is plentiful, and it delivers content reliably for the most part. It occasionally can't connect to the iTunes store and this necessitates a reboot or simply going away and coming back later, but when it isn't playing silly buggers you can rent an HD movie and have it playing in seconds, with very infrequent buffering interruptions. But that's all it does, the interface is looking tired and the remote is horrendous (I'm aware you can use a bluetooth keyboard to enter in search strings, but who wants to do that - I like the Xbox/WP SmartGlass feature which turns your phone into a fancy touchscreen remote control when you want to access online media via the Xbox).
Expectations:
What I'm expecting from Windows Phone is a stable and fluid user experience - all it has to do is phone calls, text/picture messages, take decent photos and a small amount of e-mail/internet when on the go. I'm looking forward to the bigger screen and added weight, as well as the allegedly excellent camera and wireless charging built-in.
The Surface will be for light tasks; basically anything I want to do that requires a bit more screen real estate than a phone, but doesn't require a full computer. I suspect I won't mind the lack of apps because of the fully-featured desktop-spec web browsing abilities - so I can use the proper websites (hello Spotify, on a tablet, with no need to pay for a premium subscription!) rather than apps.
The Xbox will cater for my gaming requirements, and replace the Apple TV functionality (with the added bonuses of nice integration with Windows Phone via SmartGlass to turn the phone into a fancy touchscreen remote control, and the ability to play content from the Phone/Surface directly to TV via the Xbox replicating AirPlay functionality)
Xbox Music and Xbox Video services (available on all three devices) should replace iTunes/Spotify for cross-device syncing of playlists and satisfy my music/film content requirements.
Skydrive/Outlook.com should replace the cross-device syncing afforded by iCloud.
What prompted the move is how difficult it is to get files in and out of an iPhone/iPad, no USB connectivity or storage expansion potential, the mess that is iOS 7, and just a general desire to try something new.
In theory, I should be well-caterered for. I guess we'll find out in the next month or so whether this was a success or not!
[Edited on 19-09-2013 by evilrob]
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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OK - Surface 2 looks the tits:
- Quad-core Tegra 4 1.70ghz
- 2Gb RAM
- 1080P screen
- Thinner/lighter/better battery life
- 200Gb SkyDrive space free for two years
- Free Skype calls for a year
- Thinner, backlit keyboard covers
- Kickstand now adjustable to two angles
- Better front/rear cameras
- USB 3.0 / Bluetooth 4.0
- Windows RT 8.1 with Office (including Outlook this time)
- Starting at £359 for 32Gb version
Seems to address most of the issues people had with the first gen Surface RT. Will wait for the reviews, but I reckon I'll probably have a punt on one, rather than a firesale first gen RT.
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Kyle T
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Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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That looks tempting 
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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kz
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Registered: 9th Aug 02
Location: Southend, Essex Drives: Mini Cooper S
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Surface Pro 2 all day long, looks really good. Kinda gutted it's coming out only 5 months after buying mine... but there you go. At least the accessories all work with the old one.
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by kz
Surface Pro 2 all day long, looks really good. Kinda gutted it's coming out only 5 months after buying mine... but there you go. At least the accessories all work with the old one.
I don't disagree with you - looks like a cracking bit of kit; but for me - I don't need/want a full PC in a tablet form. I just want a reasonably inexpensive internet/media consumption device - Surface 2 hits the sweet spot of price/features for me.
It does everything I *actually* do on an iPad but with 16:9 aspect ratio and desktop-spec web browsing. This means the scant library of "apps" is less of a problem as you can use the full websites (including Flash) instead of needing an app or suffering the mobile version that gets served up on most tablet browsers. Any traditional Windows applications, I'd run on a proper computer anyway, and if I *really* want to use a desktop app I can always Remote Desktop to a proper computer.
If I wanted a Haswell-based ultrabook-spec device (which I don't - I'm quite happy with my Macbook Air for now), I'd get an Asus Zenbook Infinity when they come out - looks lovely, in fact makes the Macbook Air look positively dated:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7035/asus-zenbook-infinity-hands-on-with-the-most-beautiful-notebook-at-computex
Surface Pro just doesn't stack up for me personally.
[Edited on 23-09-2013 by evilrob]
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A2H GO
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Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
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Looks like a cheap Chinese knock-off to me.
How to go from a fanboy to a hater overnight
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by A2H GO
Looks like a cheap Chinese knock-off to me.
How to go from a fanboy to a hater overnight
I wasn't a fanboy in the first place, nor am I a hater now - I said at the start I would be keeping my Macbook Air as my main computer. I am a bit pissed off about the latest update bricking my Apple TV, but I'm sure they'll sort it out.
I've just reevaluated my options with regards phone/tablet/TV, and I think the Microsoft ecosystem might serve my needs better at this point.
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Bart
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Registered: 19th Aug 02
Location: Midsomer Norton, Bristol Avon
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Its got to be said, the new Microsoft adverts for the Surface 2 are starting to look better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PuphrxrT6U
MS used to make awful, cringeworthy adverts.
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A2H GO
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Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
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Surface 2 specs looks good tbf.
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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Specs look good.
Now, do I wait to see the RT prices come down and pick one up cheap, or go for the new one.
UK prices out yet?
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