Flashback: phones that weren’t, part 3: an award-winning design hobbled by an awful chipset

25 June 2023
The NuAns Neo was an ambitious phone with desktop capabilities and an easy to personalize design, but it had the insides of a $100 phone.

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Dave, 26 Jun 2023I used Windows Phone OS for a couple of years before it was... moreWell man thats you i had oppsote experiences with windows.
And as you said most apps werent supported so even app developers knew it will fail and it did.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • gqb
    • 27 Jun 2023

    Mario, 26 Jun 2023I would never have gone to Android if Windows phone continu... moreI'd still take Windows Phone over Android all day tbh. Windows Phone is much smoother and more fluid than Android, even at 512MB RAM.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • Ids
      • 26 Jun 2023

      Dave, 26 Jun 2023I used Windows Phone OS for a couple of years before it was... moreI remember my sister had a HTC HD7 powered by Windows. Though it had somewhat weak hardware it didn't lag. It was fast and cool. I will be happy if they start releasing Windows phones again. For computers nobody can stand against Windows.

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        • AnonD-1096870
        • nIq
        • 26 Jun 2023

        Dave, 26 Jun 2023I used Windows Phone OS for a couple of years before it was... moreTotally agree with what you say I loved it and wish it was still a thing.

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          • Anonymous
          • n1h
          • 26 Jun 2023

          Windows phone is repulsive, the whole UI looks alien and unintuitive. It's nothing like desktop where Windows is the king. Symbian was great, it was lightweight, fast, powerful and efficient, however It was made to appear otherwise deliberately by Nokia under Microsoft's influence with poor development and supplying with poor CPU, GPU and RAM. If Nokia 808 came out in 2010 instead of N8 (or if N8 had same hardware and software) it would be a completely different story. But they intentionally killed off Symbian. One reason could be that it was too simple, efficient, effective and easy-to-mod for today's bloatware, tracking and ad-infested, profiteering approach. Day by day, Android is increasingly bloatware, tracking and ad-infested and hard-to-mod.

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            • Dave
            • nFU
            • 26 Jun 2023

            Cpt.Power, 26 Jun 2023Well windows in phones failed. I dont know single person wh... moreI used Windows Phone OS for a couple of years before it was clear app developers were not going to ever support it. The OS was wonderful. The user experience was fantastic. It was, at the time, miles ahead of Android and iOS. However without apps it was never going to survive.

              Joker., 25 Jun 2023Nokia pureview with loseleas zoom / unlike the gmfake garba... moreWell, not really. True, about Nokia, but they just were and are not anymore.
              Sony on the other hand got a good intentions, but end result is:
              1. jack that we no longer need - as wireless is with anc, without of course, cables, and ones with cables need a dac and amp anyway.
              2.phone camera performance is best in low res, but it can be more useful sometimes as sdr hi res as you don't always need too much hdr/speed and need more detail instead.
              3. 8K got a lot of uses and is also in very pricy devices(if we don't count phones), so it got much value, again not on xperia.
              Phones can do hdr hi res now though, not to mention some brands lack in performance of superwide and tele (as in aperture, sensor size) and sony is one of them.
              Sony needs phone with 3x200mp if they want attention of any consumer, bigger screen, maybe even do some unique stuff like removing usbc - reason it's going away anyway but they don't do any radical nxt lvl stuff thats worth copying by other brands.
              Phone with not downgraded 8 or 10mp cameras for non-flagship would help too, or like gaming phone with big battery, gaming design, maybe even some - any fold thing.
              They just miss the obvious stuff they could do, after all they got alpha camera line, playstations and a lot of other inspirational things they just dont apply to their phones to improve and connect their image, whats the point of making it even if it brings some money then... not cool anyway.

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                • Mario
                • 0x9
                • 26 Jun 2023

                Cpt.Power, 26 Jun 2023Well windows in phones failed. I dont know single person wh... moreI would never have gone to Android if Windows phone continued its developement. Know three other people that still cry over Windows phone.

                  Well windows in phones failed. I dont know single person who would like to have windows in its phone.
                  But gllad we have a harmony instead of Windows which have best of obth worlds Android and IOS.

                    Healthyheart, 25 Jun 2023Beloved Windows Phone 8.1 Those days were amazing, lots ... moreMan 3OS dont forget about Harmony.
                    Or if we exclude jail like OS called IOS which restrict you from litterary everything yes we have 2 OS Android and Harmony.

                      blue, 25 Jun 2023It was nonsense. It nearly killed Motorola, because their t... moreI totally doubt it. Some Moto Mods add-ons like the Hasselblad True Zoom and Amazon Alexa Smart Speaker can completely cover off the phone's rear camera. Also, the bottom pogo pin can remain unchanged while using a different camera design. And here's another thing: the Moto Z3 and Moto Z4 have a height of 156.5 and 158 cm, yet there are loads of modern phones today with similar heights while using newer SoC*. Suffice it to say, Motorola can easily keep the Moto Z lineup alive without much problem.

                      *https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2019&nHeightMin=155&nHeightMax=160&sFormFactors=1,2,3,4,6,8,10&nOrder=1

                        Anonymous, 26 Jun 2023Keep on dreaming, it still does. The only way you can have ... moreWireless earbuds with a USB receiver? I got to try that out! I always prefer using a USB receiver since it has better stability than Bluetooth, so those Poly and JBL wireless earbuds definitely pique my interest.

                          3ogdy, 26 Jun 2023Don't get me wrong, the phone looks OK and I would... moreCompared to Android, Continuum is the one that gives the closest "computer-like" feel. It's like a mirror copy of the Windows 10 PC. If we really want a "computer-like" experience on Android, Google should adapt ChromeOS UI to Android Desktop Mode. Better still, converge both Android and ChromeOS together to maximize UX.

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                            • Anonymous
                            • tuh
                            • 26 Jun 2023

                            Ever own Nokia Lumia 930, just good what I paid for after move from android. Sadly after 2 years use windows phone, their decide to end its windows mobile, I move to iPhone.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • Ids
                              • 26 Jun 2023

                              Anonymous, 26 Jun 2023Keep on dreaming, it still does. The only way you can have ... moreI use them for music. I repeat again zero latency. If you are a gamer that's a different thing.

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                                • 3ogdy
                                • 0WT
                                • 26 Jun 2023

                                Don't get me wrong, the phone looks OK and I would've given it a chance.

                                I surely would've have avoided Windows Phone, which was really dumb.

                                Android was moving towards giving phones a more "computer-like" feel6, with characteristics that resembles many already present in Windows on PC.

                                Meanwhile, Microsoft, ayer having mastered the PC OS, decided to get retarded and go way back in time with the GUI on WP. And then there's the app ecosystem. The latter didn't grow because not enough people were adopting the OS. We hated the interface in Windows 8, so they put it on phones expecting it to be successful.

                                Oh, well.

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                                  • blue
                                  • 0BH
                                  • 26 Jun 2023

                                  Anonymous, 26 Jun 2023You aren't representing everyone here, so keep it to y... moreI certainly don't, but customers do. They decided.

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • gqb
                                    • 26 Jun 2023

                                    blue, 25 Jun 2023As you can see, people don't want it.You aren't representing everyone here, so keep it to yourself. 💁💁

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • gqb
                                      • 26 Jun 2023

                                      Anonymous, 26 Jun 2023No any latency. Stop complaining. Even cheap ones sound gre... moreKeep on dreaming, it still does. The only way you can have latency-free wireless audio is to have one with USB receiver puck like Poly Voyager Free 60 and JBL Quantum TWS. They can give equal sound quality to wired audio because of the receiver puck that completely eliminates latency.

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 61V
                                        • 26 Jun 2023

                                        Anonymous, 25 Jun 2023Continuum later copied by Samsung. Samsung is biggest c... moreWell if it was copying, then why Samsung has a permit to sell its phone worldwide legally?

                                        Also, why majority of people only know Samsung DeX? Because it was invented by Samsung and most people appreciate that.

                                        ZERO proof of copying. Samsung start developing new phone features 3-4 years before launch, not by stealing or copying.

                                        Samsung deserves to be the market leader for 12 consecutive years. Sony also deserved to have minuscule sales, like always.

                                        Thank you Samsung😎

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