Not too surprising; outside HN comments I have yet to find anyone actually liking these phones here (in the EU). Most people I know who have one (including me) like the hardware but not the software and they don't like the hardware enough to not get an iPhone or Android. I tried to like it but it's gathering dust only to be swept off when a client wants to order an app for it from us. After that it goes into the drawer again.
From non tech people I usually hear complaints about it still just not working all too well (annoying to hook up to computers, not being able to easily put movies and music on them compared to android/ios, no worthwhile apps compared, random crashes).
Like said; the only positive things I hear about it are raving HN'ers here or MS employees on Facebook.
Probably get accused of being a shill seeing as this is a new account (I'm not and I don't work for Microsoft and never have), but I'm a Lumia user (820) in Europe (UK) and I've had precisely no complaints about it.
The hardware is better than the software, I'll give you that, but the bad reputation is unjustified.
Not only has it never crashed, not even once in the year I've had it, but it's a hell of a lot easier to get music onto than an any Apple product. I have three iPads in my house for the wife and kids and it's hell keeping them all in sync with iTunes and managing apps and backups. Especially with the whole library deletion and Apple account thing. WiFi sync is a broken pile of crap as well.
I just plug the winphone in and use it as an MTP device. It even works on CentOS 6.5 to my surprise. Just copy mp3 files onto it.
I don't use any apps worth mentioning apart from Nokia HERE drive. The built in mail, people and calendar are pretty good and it connects to my gmail/exchange accounts fine.
Moto G is the only thing that gets close in price vs performance stats.
I think people just buy phones like fashion items these days. It's good enough but they don't like the club.
As one of those raving HN'ers (although not an MS employee) who now uses an iPhone, all of those things you mention are legitimate issues, and I don't know many WP owners who would disagree. The real heartbreaker is that even with these seemingly show-stopping issues, WP combined with Nokia hardware is so good that it's hard to turn away from. Even though the software has so many issues that have been unresolved for so long, it's still that good. It was a tough choice to give it up, I only did so because it had let me down on more than a few occasions where I really needed it.
The last time I found a mobile OS that instilled that level of "so good it doesn't matter that it's bad" was WebOS, and I frequently compare the two. Unfortunately, I see the same future for WP as what WebOS got.
This was the feeling I had when I had played with the recent versions of WP. It felt like a fantastic OS, and the hardware ran it brilliantly.
My own personal showstopper isn't a fault with the OS, but with how the phones look. Nokia just seems so far behind in terms of designing an attractive phone.
If Nokia were to release a phone that looked as nice as my Galaxy Nexus, had a large screen, and didn't cost an absolute bomb I'd probably go for WP over Android.
I'll have to disagree with you on the design aspect. In my opinion Nokia N9 has been the nicest looking and feeling phone ever. When you have it in your hand the finishing feels great, especially the subtly curved screen that has deep enough blacks that blend into the black borders seamlessly.
Personally I loved the design of the phone most of all (plus how rugged it is). I got the iPhone 5C when I switched because I like the feel of the high quality plastic better. Unfortunately the iPhone isn't quite the same; it's slippery as hell and the colors are more pastel than the bold colors of the Nokia. In my mind the Lumia 920 was the best designed phone I've ever seen, but obviously that's just one man's opinion.
I'm in Denmark, and I actually find the Windows Phone to be a nicer OS than android.
I had a Nokia Lumia 920, and then later got a Nexus 4 for free, that i'm using for now, since the Lumia had a broken screen after I dropped it.
Android feels like a messy phone, with enourmous screen space waste, and only few apps have a widget that is half decent.
It reminds me of some iphone knockoff, that for the most part has the same bells and whistles, but it's just not polished.
PS.
Denmark has a 67% iOS, and something like 30% android & 2% WP
My anecdotal experience is that for elder people and truly non-tech people (i.e. they just know they got "a new phone"), WP is fantastic, iOS is fine and Android is clumsy. If I ever replaced my dad's dumbphone with a smart one, I would definitely shoot for a WP. But it would be the cheapest Lumia I could find. :)
I really like the look and feel of my Lumia 920, but I only use it for phone calls, text messages and on rare occasions email. Because I don't use the smartphone features, iPhone and Android phones don't hold much appeal.
When the Lumia needs replacement, I don't know what else to get, iPhones seems to break easily, and the build quality of most of the non-Nokia phones seems a bit lower than I would like. Maybe I'll try the Jolla.
People like me seems to be an edge cases, and I doubt that any phone companies would be able to build a business on it.
>"From non tech people I usually hear complaints about it still just not working all too well (annoying to hook up to computers, not being able to easily put movies and music on them compared to android/ios, no worthwhile apps compared, random crashes)"
It is interesting since I have the opposite experience. I have a Lumia 920 and I find it way easier to hookup and way more stable when I compare it with my previous Android.
From non tech people I usually hear complaints about it still just not working all too well (annoying to hook up to computers, not being able to easily put movies and music on them compared to android/ios, no worthwhile apps compared, random crashes).
Like said; the only positive things I hear about it are raving HN'ers here or MS employees on Facebook.