We live in an amazing time. So many things we have access to that would be impossible even ten years ago. Yet we take it for granted on a daily basis. One of these modern miracles is the rise of the smartphone era over the last several years. A lot of people have their favorite platforms, and that’s cool. It’s good that we have choices and variety to choose from. I just don’t think it’s something we need to argue about, especially in a world where there are real problems every day that people have to deal with. Such petty arguments are pointless, and that energy could, and should, really be used to do other things.

That being said, I would like to discuss for a bit my reason for choosing Windows Phone over everything else out there. I started my smartphone journey many years ago with a Windows Mobile device. I think this was around 2005 or 2006, I don’t recall exactly. At the time, I thought it was actually really amazing. We take for granted smartphones now, but at that time it was a whole new world that I never experienced before. I moved on from Windows Mobile to an IPhone sometime around 2008. Again I was amazed by the technology, but after a couple years I quickly became bored. Sure, there were apps, but the phone UI itself and the hardware just didn’t excite me. I was beginning to have issues with the phone at that time and thought it was time to switch. I chose an Android device next, thinking I would at least see what the other side of the fence was like. Keep in mind that regardless of what was available, my mind was already thinking that there were only two choices available. IPhone or Android. I never thought about Windows Mobile again.

I used Android just long enough to realize it was not for me. I hold nothing against it, nor those that like it. If it’s your thing, then great. To me it was nothing more than a mess that I really don’t want to get into. I then went back to the IPhone, thinking that was it, just mediocre forever.

Then I started seeing news about Windows Phone. Something new that Microsoft was coming out with. I saw screenshots of the UI and thought that it was really revolutionary. The concept of “live tiles” really intrigued me. I liked the idea that I could access information on the fly, in real time, without having to open an app to get it. I like how smooth it looked, and how different it was. So on launch day I picked up a HTC Surround just to see what all this was about.

Almost immediately I felt like I was where I needed to be.

Yes, it was flawed. It was unperfected. There were scant apps, you know the bullet points probably better than I do. What it lacked in supposed features, it made up in other ways. The access to real time information was amazing, and I found that I enjoyed using a smartphone again. It was not boring, I could change my screen as often as I liked and keep things new and exciting whenever I wished. The point is, despite all of its flaws, it was the phone for me, because it was “about” me. To me that was a huge difference. One that most people seemed to forget, or not understand, but one that I felt deeply aware of.

My thinking was that it mattered little how many apps I had access to, if the overall experience was one that I didn’t care for, or didn’t like. I will be the first person to state that I am not an app person to begin with, much preferring my OS to have most of the features I care about baked into the OS without having to access an app. I know this makes it a deal breaker for a lot of people, and that’s ok, I understand that. What people don’t realize there is more to life than the latest flavor of the month app, that you will use a few times than never think about it again. There are those like myself, which are more concerned with getting my daily grind over in the easiest way possible. That means I need quick and ready access to things like Nokia Maps, Facebook, Twitter, news with apps like Collector or Weave, and people I care about by pinning their live tile to my start screen. A start screen that if I get bored with it I can swap things out, move them around, and never lose the flow of information that I have come to depend upon.

While Windows Phone still needs work, it’s still the phone for me. It has come a long way from its humble beginnings, and I believe it will get better as time progresses. For those that don’t care for it. I respect your opinion, and wish you the best, for those that love it as I do, may your live tiles always show you what you need.

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