Updated September 7, 2014 – After a year-and-a-half on the Windows Phone platform and experiencing problems with devices made by both Nokia and HTC, I can no longer support or recommend the Windows Phone Platform.
When the folks at Microsoft reached out to me asking if The Rock Father would like to be a part of Team Windows Phone, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. After nearly three years as an iPhone user, it was time to ditch the 3G and make a change. My version of iOS was outdated so the new Apps wouldn’t run. The hardware was starting to show it’s age, and aside from the iPhone, I’ve never owned another Apple product. In fact, my whole digital world outside the phone has always been powered by Windows. With other choices out there (like Android), I’d been exploring the options, and while Windows Phone is a relative newcomer in the Smartphone realm, it caught my attention.
This is my new Windows Phone 8X by HTC. You’ll be hearing a lot about it in the months ahead, as it is a new weapon in my Daddy Blogger arsenal. As a work-from-home Dad with two young daughters, I take a ton of pictures – and while this will fuel that need, it also has beautiful HD video – a function that my last phone was lacking. All the fun pictures and videos that I’ll be posting on The Rock Father for the foreseeable future will all be shot with this device, so get ready. I’m running on AT&T’s 4G network with wi-fi connected here at Rock Father HQ. Skype is already installed for connecting with the Grandparents, and my social networks are connected. My point? I’m ready to rock. And it starts with the Start Screen.
Pictured Below: Me and my two girls at the end of a 14-hour day of adventures (pre-bedtime). Yes, my 3-year-old is throwing up “double metal” as she calls it – with “rock fingers” or “devil horns” (the goat!) being shown on both hands.
On a Windows Phone, your Start Screen is 100% customizable. You size the tiles to your liking, then arrange them however you like. It makes it easy to place the things you use most next to the people you connect with the most. My color scheme is red and black – a KNIGHT RIDER-inspired motif I’ve enjoyed for years (including in my cars). On the top are essential functions – messaging, mail, Internet, and store… right there above my phone and social networks. The “Me” tile makes it easy to post status updates to my networks quickly, and to see who needs to connect with me. Surrounding that are a few close family members, some photo tools, a one-tap link to the mobile version of this very website, and a little something called “Kids Corner” (which I’ll get into in a future post). If I were to scroll down (which isn’t pictured), I have my games, more people that I’m connected to, and a host of valuable tools.
While I haven’t had the Windows Phone 8X very long, I’m digging it thus far… so much that while Microsoft gave me my phone for free (being The Rock Father is a good gig!), I actually bought my wife one… along with a pair of cases, and a car charger. Now, the whole family is running on Windows Phone.
Content and/or other value provided to The Rock Father by my partner, Windows Phone.
