9 Ways Windows Phone Can Beat Apple's iPhone

**August 9 News: The renowned website BusinessWeek published a commentary article titled "9 Ways Windows Phone Can Beat Apple's iPhone." Below is a summary of the full text:**

Although Windows Phone 8 has many flaws, it still has plenty of features to love. It’s a very unique mobile operating system. While Android often mimics the iPhone in many aspects, Windows Phone stands out as a distinctive mobile OS. Although the iPhone is currently the best-selling smartphone, Windows Phone excels in certain areas. The author tried out the Nokia Lumia 928, a Windows Phone 8 device, and discovered that some of its features indeed surpass those of the iPhone. The author lists the following 9 ways in which Windows Phone can beat Apple's iPhone:

1. **Some apps perform better on Windows Phone than on iPhone.**

It's well-known that Microsoft once struggled to get developers to create apps for Windows Phone 8. In fact, Microsoft even paid some developers to develop apps for their platform. However, many apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace are excellent. In many cases, these apps are better than their iPhone counterparts. The author highlights apps like Foursquare, Spotify, Evernote, and Facebook.

2. **Windows Phone’s built-in Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook aggregation app is very helpful.**

Windows Phone 8 has a convenient app called "People," where users can get updates from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all in one place. This allows users to see all their friends' updates without having to open each social media site individually, making it very convenient.

3. **Windows Phone has better multitasking.**

While the author doesn’t believe Windows Phone has the best multitasking (Android does), it is much better than what’s offered on the iPhone.

On Windows Phone, users just need to long-press the back button at the bottom of the device to see recently opened background apps, which are displayed in a slideshow format. Tapping an app reopens it.

On the other hand, iPhone requires users to double-tap the home button and then navigate through rows of icons to find the desired app, which can be difficult and is considered one of the biggest weaknesses of the iPhone software.

4. **iPhone lacks widgets, while Windows Phone has useful live tiles.**

Apple does not allow widgets on the home screen, which frustrates many users. Widgets are mini-apps that provide real-time information such as news and weather without needing to open the app itself.

Microsoft has a clever solution with live tiles on Windows Phone. Each app is represented by a live tile on the home screen, showing users what content is being updated within the app. For example, the Foursquare app can display recent check-ins by friends.

5. **Windows Phone 8 offers more hardware choices.**

Microsoft took a different approach when launching the Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system. They maintained strict requirements for hardware partners to ensure every Windows Phone device receives the latest software updates, apps, and system improvements.

As a result, consumers have many options if they want to use a Windows Phone 8 system. For example, there’s the HTC 8XT with Beats Audio, Samsung ATIV S and ATIV S Neo, and of course, the flagship Nokia Lumia 1020. If users desire more hardware variety, the Windows Phone platform is undoubtedly the best choice.

6. **Integration of SMS and Facebook messages.**

Like other smartphones, Windows Phone has basic SMS functionality. However, if users sync their phone with their Facebook account, they can easily switch between traditional SMS and Facebook chat. This helps limit the number of SMS messages sent in a month, saving on texting costs.

While the iPhone has iMessage, a free messaging tool within the platform, not everyone uses an iPhone.

7. **More useful information in contact profiles.**

Windows Phone 8 contact cards are more advanced than those on other devices. Typically, devices only show a contact's name, email, and phone number, but on Windows Phone 8, users can also see recent emails and texts exchanged with that contact. This feature is very helpful when users want to review all recent communications with a specific contact.

8. **No extra cost for editing documents.**

Windows Phone comes with Microsoft Office pre-installed. This means users can browse and edit all Word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on any Windows Phone.

There are similar apps available on the iPhone, but Apple charges users $10 for each app, including Keynote, Pages, and Numbers.

9. **The world’s most advanced smartphone camera is only available on the Windows Phone 8 platform.**

Many people don’t care about the megapixel count of their smartphone cameras as long as they take good photos.

However, for those seeking the best smartphone camera, the Nokia Lumia 1020, with its 41-megapixel camera, is a superior choice for capturing stunningly beautiful photos. The iPhone 5 doesn’t match up in this regard.