Migrating from Android to Windows Phone 8

I’ve been curious about Windows Phone 8 for some time now and contemplated writing a couple of posts on the matter but I never really got round to it. I used four Android smartphones before I finally decided to give Windows Phone 8 a try a couple of months ago. Frankly, I was getting a little bored of Android and wanted to try out something different as an experiment.

I decided to go for the Nokia Lumia 520 which was available for just £79.99 without a contract from Carphone Warehouse. Naturally I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on an experiment but still wanted a device which would give me a good experience of the Windows Phone 8 platform. To that end, the Nokia Lumia 520 seemed a good fit.

This post is about my experience with Windows Phone 8 over the last three months, particularly the apps I’ve come to use on the new platform compared to Android. We keep hearing about the lack of apps on the Windows Phone platform and sure enough I have had to make some compromises here and there as you will come to read below.

APN Settings For Mobile Data Connection

I had two identical queries this week from a cousin and my brother-in-law about having no data connection on their Android phones – a HTC Desire S and Samsung Galaxy S3.

All they needed were the right APN settings for their network operators (T-Mobile and Three) which were easy enough to find on the Web. This inspired me to write this post here with links to the APN settings for some of the major UK network operators for future reference. I thought it might come in handy sometime.

Everything Everywhere (EE)
Vodafone
O2
Three (3)
Virgin
T-Mobile
Orange
Tesco Mobile
GiffGaff

PC AutoWaker

Problem solving doesn’t have to be technical. Sometimes the problem might be non-technical but the solution might be a technical one, or at least requires the use of technology in some shape or form. This post is about one of those times. 

SimpleNote (and FlickNote)

SimpleNote is a note-taking app which comes in a Web version along with various third party apps for smartphones which sync with the Web app, making it possible to take your note with you everywhere. Using SimpleNote is as simple as completing the very short online registration and finding a suitable app for your platform.

Having access to your notes everywhere, taking notes anywhere with your phone, access to previous versions of your notes – all that and more for free. What more do you want? Well, there is something actually… an app for your phone.