I’ve spend the last two years in the Windows Phone ecosystem, and I’ve had a (mostly) wonderful time. The UI is buttery smooth, the hardware is solid (a little too solid in the case of the Lumia 930), and the A list apps are (mostly) all there.
But it’s time to move back to Android. At least for the next season.
Here’s some of my thinking.
flickr photo shared by Janitors under a Creative Commons ( BY ) license
My next season is Java and Google-centric
I entered the Microsoft Mobile ecosystem because I was day-jobbing in DotNet (had a wonderful time, but that’s the topic for next time).
I picked up a Windows Phone because I thought it would be good to drink deep of the platform. And to be honest I was shocked how great the UI on Windows Mobile is - seductively good (and certainly miles ahead of Android at the time - circa ICS).
It was a fun season - even though I only created a few sample apps and nothing worth publishing. I learned heaps about WPF, Azure, Keystoning and other MS tech. And enjoyed my time on the platform.
In this next season, I’ll be doing tons of Java work and getting into Kotlin in a big way (a popular choice for Android devs, apparently). I’ve also started subscribing to YouTube Red and making plenty of use of my Chromecast.
It’s going to be a Java/Google deep dive. With a little Node/Azure on the side ;-)
So it makes sense to have a device that works great in that environment. Hence the new arrival of my Nexus 5x. Great phone!
flickr photo shared by dagolsenhegnar under a Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons ( CC0 ) license
I don’t leave my Microsoft Apps behind
I journal in OneNote. Using Office Lens all the time. Subscribe to OneDrive for my cloud storage. And still have plenty of Office docs flying around.
I’m a MS-invested guy.
But moving to Android doesn’t mean I leave any of that behind. Many of those apps actually run better on Android.
This is the new Microsoft after all. Everything runs everywhere.
In a lot of ways I’m not giving up any of my favorite apps, but am just opening up a brave new world of Android ecosystem opportunities.
What do you miss, then?
To be brutally honest, not that much. All the same apps I was using run on both platforms - so there wasn’t much to “miss”.
Probably the only thing I really miss is Cortana. “Ok, Google” is not a patch on Cortana - and I can’t wait until MS release Cortana for Android in my region. Then my transition will be complete.
I probably also miss Live Tiles. They are a pretty great UI innovation for getting updates on your home screen without opening up an app.
But overall, I’m loving the Nexus 5x. The new Android Material Design stuff on Marshmallow is also pretty swish in its own way.
At the end of the day, I’m really loving how well my MS apps run on Android. It’s a totally winning situation for me!
Exciting season ahead…