<p>My son, who has been using my old iPhone 3G, is eligible for a new phone on AT&T. He was thinking of going Android, but after reading about the Nokia Lumia, he’s thinking about that. The phone has received very good reviews, and he’s already a bit of an outlier since he’s been using Zune Pass and a Zune for music. The Zune Pass is an all you can eat music service for $14.95 a month, and he has 11,000 songs–something that would cost thousands at iTunes, plus you get 10 free tracks a month. He’d be able to use the Lumia as a Zune, and eliminate a physical device. I asked him if he has any concern about having an outlier phone and he responded that Microsoft has been supporting Zune for years, and it’s not a fly by night company. And he’s a big Xbox guy, and there’s some kind of integration. You can use the phone as a controller. Normally, the phone sells for $99 at AT&T–cheaper than equivalent smart phones because they’re fighting for market share–but it’s only $19.95 at Amazon. So not only is he tempted but when my wife heard of the deal, she is tempted too. Plus, she’s also part Finn and so is my son through her–so there’s that angle too.</p>
<p>Anyone here have a Lumia, or other windows phone, and/or thoughts about it?</p>
<p>My daughter and I both received Nokia Lumia 710 phones from T-mobile about 2 months ago. We are very happy with them. I am not very tech savvy; honestly, I retired a very old flip phone that was reinforced with duck tape so this was a real step up for me! The battery life is good, a full charge at night lasts all day and this includes a couple hours of internet and e-mail use on my daily bus commute. Im finding the Windows software makes the phone really easy to navigate. It has been easy to synch my email accounts and calendar between my PC and phone. The Apps are good, I especially like the Nokia Transit it uses the GPS to give me real-time bus schedule information. Its also very easy to upload photos and connect to Facebook. And Im having fun with the voice texting.
Now if you were to ask my daughter about this phone, she would also give it a great review and Im sure she is utilizing more of the phones features than I am. She is the one that insisted that we get windows phones and not Android for the uncomplicated navigation. These are our first smart phones and we are really enjoying them. And by dropping AT&T and going back to T-mobile, we are paying almost the same monthly for unlimited texting and data plan on both phones that we paid AT&T previously for a basic phone plan with texting only on one phone and no data plan. Keeping in touch when she leaves for college this fall will be much easier for us now.</p>
<p>I have a Samsung Focus and absolutely love it. I’m a software developer that creates code for mobile communications and have an Android (Droid Razr) and iPhone (3GS, what’s up with that boss?) for testing. Yet my personal phone is a Windows Phone. </p>
<p>I love Facebook/LinkedIn integration, it does what it’s supposed to, the Nokia Maps and apps available on the Nokias are awesome, and it just works. I am a big gamer and true, there are games that are not on it, but the popular ones are. Apps are not an issue but you really don’t need all that many.</p>
<p>I also have a Samsung Focus & love it. It was a little clunky with the original Windows 7 version, but thing are wonderful since they pushed out the Mango upgrade. I also love the way everything is integrated. The phone does everything I could possibly want and I never have to think about it. </p>
<p>Just a word of caution: I don’t usually listen to music with my phone. When I do, I have learned pretty quickly that streaming music uses up bandwidth very fast. Not a problem if there is a wireless connection, but it can run up otherwise. So you really have to monitor data usage. I don’t know what sort of data plans are offered with the Lumia, but that’s an area where you want to be very sure you are clear of what is being charged and when.</p>
<p>Sounds like a good phone, and Amazon has mostly 5 star reviews. But this could split my family apart with my son and maybe my wife in Windows land. I’m loathe to leave the iPhone bubble, and my daughter is insisting on an iPhone for high school graduation, and I’m having a hard time convincing her to wait until the iPhone 5 comes out.</p>
<p>Incidentally, on a slightly different topic, I’ve been reading that now that prepaid plans for iPhones are available, it’s cheaper over a two year period to buy the phone at an unsubsidizwd rate and pay less per month–by as much as $1K.</p>
<p>Pulled the trigger on the Lumia. Amazing buy for $20 at Amazon? My understated son went for the back over the blue. He and his phone will be the family guineau pig for the Windows ecosystem. I would miss iTunes University, but I still have an iPad, computers, and my iPhone would still work as an iPod. </p>
<p>There is no particular reason that multiple family members need to be using the same system. On our family plan, my daughter and I have Windows phones, my son has an Android. My daughter’s phone is an upgrade from a Blackberry, so she’s got a grandfathered unlimited data plan. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t want an iPhone. I’ve been watching tv commercials and apparently iPhones are for people who want to be able to have conversations with their phone rather than using it to call other people. My Windows phone does take dictation for text messages and is happy to read text messages and driving directions aloud to me, but does not offer its own opinions.</p>
<p>I’m the lone Androider in an otherwise iPhoned family. It doesn’t cause any problems. Since I don’t often watch video on my phone, and use the data features mostly when lying in bed at night over the WiFi, the lack of an unlimited data plan (which wife and both kids have, and need) is not a problem at all - I’ve never maxed out on my 2 GB plan.</p>