From Android to Windows phone, Bad Idea?

[MitigationElf]

jnjroach hit the nail on the head. If you go Google, stay with Android. Microsoft software side has done an amazing job ensuring their products are cross-platform. Sometimes to the chagrin of us WinFans: We are sometimes the last to get a new app or service or don't get it at all. The native WinPhone mail/calendar/people client does easily sync with a google account. I am forced to use google for the college I am attending and it is simple to get the account set up and syncing on the phone.

The app situation is kind of frustrating. However, the number of apps a platform has absolutely bas nothing to do with the quality of those apps or the platform. Having said that, there are a number of major apps that are missing on WinPho and there are some areas that are woefully missing. I cannot find a TV schedule app. And most anything having to do with the legal field sits on the apple platform. If handwriting recognition would be put back into WinPhone (it was awesome on WionMo) I think it would really push the platform ahead. That and reintroduce Bing Maps from WinMo 6.5 and the maps integration that Win7 had.

 

[Arizona Willie]

Major banks won't make an app for Windows.
Neither Ally nor Wells Fargo has one, and they seem to have no intentions of making one.

The only way Microsoft is going to win over Android ( Android sells 10 to 1 over Iphone but you will never see the tech writers tell you that ) is to give phones away.

People would take them if they were free and THEN they would demand apps from major corporations.

Heck if they can give away the OS why not the phones ?

Dunno how they would make money but that's for another topic.

 

[CrippsCorner]

that's ground for dumping RIGHT THERE! Nuff said... LOL

To be fair to her she even prefers her Sony to her old iPhone which is a turn up for the books as she's a massive Apple fangirl!

 

[Pepper]

Major banks won't make an app for Windows.
Neither Ally nor Wells Fargo has one, and they seem to have no intentions of making one.

You sure about that?
https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/ally-bank/2335b2ab-cf5c-4c9b-9ff3-4ff4663743f0
https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/wells-fargo/fa2b5fd7-756d-468f-a813-30587f3cc701

 

[Arizona Willie]

Well, I'll be **)((* !!!!
Last time I checked neither one of these showed on the Bank websites only Apple and Android.

Imagine that!!

Me being wrong.

I will have to check these out.

Thanks for the links and correction.

Ahh, I see what has happened here.

Your link is to a windowsphone.com website.

I had always just looked at the bank websites and the Store and neither one of these apps is in the Windows Store.

WHY NOT?

They should work with both my desktop and Surface Pro but they aren't in the Store so unless someone went to the Windows Phone website they would never find these.

And who would think to go to the Windows Phone site to look for apps for their desktop or tablet?

I wouldn't.

Shows how stupid I am, eh?

2nd edit: Just tried to download those apps and it would not let me because I don't have a registered device ... a registered Windows Phone.

Now that is crazy.

Those apps should work perfectly fine on our SP's ... that's what the unified OS is all about.
But we can't have them because we don't have a Windows phone?

That's why the bank websites don't show them.

Perhaps they are not official bank created apps.

But it's good to know those apps are available ONCE I get a Windows phone.

I wonder if Microsoft created these apps and I also wonder why the banks involved don't know about them. When I asked an Ally rep he had no clue there was an app for Windows, although it is restricted to phones.

You sure about that?
https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/ally-bank/2335b2ab-cf5c-4c9b-9ff3-4ff4663743f0
https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/wells-fargo/fa2b5fd7-756d-468f-a813-30587f3cc701

 

[jnjroach]

Well, I'll be **)((* !!!!
Last time I checked neither one of these showed on the Bank websites only Apple and Android.

Imagine that!!

Me being wrong.

I will have to check these out.

Thanks for the links and correction.

Ahh, I see what has happened here.

Your link is to a windowsphone.com website.

I had always just looked at the bank websites and the Store and neither one of these apps is in the Windows Store.

WHY NOT?

They should work with both my desktop and Surface Pro but they aren't in the Store so unless someone went to the Windows Phone website they would never find these.

And who would think to go to the Windows Phone site to look for apps for their desktop or tablet?

I wouldn't.

Shows how stupid I am, eh?

2nd edit: Just tried to download those apps and it would not let me because I don't have a registered device ... a registered Windows Phone.

Now that is crazy.

Those apps should work perfectly fine on our SP's ... that's what the unified OS is all about.
But we can't have them because we don't have a Windows phone?

That's why the bank websites don't show them.

Perhaps they are not official bank created apps.

But it's good to know those apps are available ONCE I get a Windows phone.

I wonder if Microsoft created these apps and I also wonder why the banks involved don't know about them. When I asked an Ally rep he had no clue there was an app for Windows, although it is restricted to phones.

This is a thread about Windows Phone so that is why were talking about the Windows Phone Store. All of these Banks websites work on an X86 tablet.

 

[Arizona Willie]

Yes, the bank website works on the SP but the APPS do not. Microsoft Phone store won't even let me have the app because I don't have a Windows Phone registered.

And, on the bank websites == the last time I checked --- they don't even tell you there IS a Windows Phone app, they only showed Android and Apple apps.

The big question is, since Windows is trying to be a cross platform operating system === why won't the Windows Phone apps work on my SP tablet?

They might, but Microsoft won't even let us try them.

I wonder why.

OK, I just checked Wells Fargo site and when I dug deep enough I found a link to the Windows Phone app that didn't specify it was for the Windows phone store it only said Windows Store but when I clicked on the link it took me to the Windows Phone store.

So I have to apologize to Wells Fargo, they DO have a Windows Phone app.

But I still have no idea why they restrict it to the Windows phone and don't make it work on desktops and tablets running Windows.

I have both of those but do not have a Windows phone.

So, for me, there is < currently > no Windows banking app because I believe Ally is the same way. But I will check them again because it's been awhile ... at least a couple of weeks and things change fast.

Yep, just checked and Ally now has the same as Wells Fargo.

A Windows Phone app only.

It would probably work fine on the desktops and tablets but Microsoft apparently doesn't want us to have it.

Which is bad.

I'm in the process of moving all my banking to Ally and once I do I will have to mail checks in because I have no way to scan them because there is no app for regular Windows Desktops / tablets.

I have an old Xoom tablet that is Android. I think I'll charge it up and see if it will get the latest Android OS and see if the Android phone apps will work on it.

This is a thread about Windows Phone so that is why were talking about the Windows Phone Store. All of these Banks websites work on an X86 tablet.

 

[jnjroach]

Yes, the bank website works on the SP but the APPS do not. Microsoft Phone store won't even let me have the app because I don't have a Windows Phone registered.

And, on the bank websites == the last time I checked --- they don't even tell you there IS a Windows Phone app, they only showed Android and Apple apps.

The big question is, since Windows is trying to be a cross platform operating system === why won't the Windows Phone apps work on my SP tablet?

They might, but Microsoft won't even let us try them.

I wonder why.

OK, I just checked Wells Fargo site and when I dug deep enough I found a link to the Windows Phone app that didn't specify it was for the Windows phone store it only said Windows Store but when I clicked on the link it took me to the Windows Phone store.

So I have to apologize to Wells Fargo, they DO have a Windows Phone app.

But I still have no idea why they restrict it to the Windows phone and don't make it work on desktops and tablets running Windows.

I have both of those but do not have a Windows phone.

So, for me, there is < currently > no Windows banking app because I believe Ally is the same way. But I will check them again because it's been awhile ... at least a couple of weeks and things change fast.

Yep, just checked and Ally now has the same as Wells Fargo.

A Windows Phone app only.

It would probably work fine on the desktops and tablets but Microsoft apparently doesn't want us to have it.

Which is bad.

I'm in the process of moving all my banking to Ally and once I do I will have to mail checks in because I have no way to scan them because there is no app for regular Windows Desktops / tablets.

I have an old Xoom tablet that is Android. I think I'll charge it up and see if it will get the latest Android OS and see if the Android phone apps will work on it.

Windows MUI Apps and Windows Phone Apps are not the same thing, Windows Phone still allows for legacy Silverlight and XNA based Apps. For the past 12 months developers can create "Universal Apps" with Visual Studio 2013 or later, but that still meant having 4 Packages to upload (Windows on ARM, x86, x64 and Phone) into 2 different Stores.

With Windows 10 there will be true Universal Windows Apps, but these need to be coded as such, these will also work on the Xbox One when it is updated to Windows 10.

 

[Arizona Willie]

How hard would it be for an app programmer to convert the Windows Phone bank apps to Windows 8.1 desktop / tablet apps?

 

[malberttoo]

Windows MUI Apps and Windows Phone Apps are not the same thing, Windows Phone still allows for legacy Silverlight and XNA based Apps. For the past 12 months developers can create "Universal Apps" with Visual Studio 2013 or later, but that still meant having 4 Packages to upload (Windows on ARM, x86, x64 and Phone) into 2 different Stores.

With Windows 10 there will be true Universal Windows Apps, but these need to be coded as such, these will also work on the Xbox One when it is updated to Windows 10.

Wow, good info, thanks Jeff.

 

[CrippsCorner]

The exodus from the Windows Phone Ecosystem