@Dashrender said:

It's my understanding that the 950XL will have the needed radios (at least the ones you can buy directly from Microsoft) but it's Verizon who is refusing to activate them.

It's also my understanding that that is now illegal. You should contact the insert correct government agency here and complain that Verizon is breaking the law. With enough complaints hopefully the government will step in and solve the problem.

As Paul Thurrott said on WW last week - All I want from my carrier is a connection, a pipe to the internet and phone calls.

That really makes sense...I mean, if these phones didn't have the required CDMA, Microsoft or Verizon would and should just come out and say so...

@Kelly said:

All that ranting aside, I don't have a good answer for the VZW/W10M issue. I'm hopeful MS and T-Mobile will kiss and make up, but that doesn't do much for you Garak.

The fact that there is some blame going around with the new Lumia Phones with Microsoft and Verizon tells me that there may be hope that Verizon users may soon one day be able to use an unlocked 950xl. No one on either side as truly come out and said this will NEVER work. Right now, all we know is it WON'T work.

But now that I've been spoiled a little on the Note 5 with some apps I do truly use and the stylus, it will be a hard sell to get a 950xl even if I could.

@Dashrender said:

@Jason said:

I can use any phone, I'm on an iPhone 6 right now because it just works. The only things I do on a phone are:

Email (Work Exchange, Personal Exchange and Gmail)
SMS sometimes
Pandora
Call

I don't Pandora, and I do game a bit - but yeah I'm about the same. While I have no desire to have an iPhone, I could be on one with little actual issue.

Adding to your list:
take pictures
surf the web
read ML

As an IT Geek as well as an IT Pro, I think that I am having an epiphany of sorts. Exorcising the idea of being "all in" an ecosystem. Realizing that choice and cross platform is the answer to a more productive and fun life!! The fanboy "demon" is starting to leave me. LOL...

@Dashrender said:

@garak0410 said:

@Dashrender said:

@garak0410 said:

going back to 8.1 for better battery would feel like going back to Windows 95.

Oh man, you can say that again. I really miss Windows 10 mobile. But after the update they released last May - I had to bail and haven't been back.

Yeah...I love the concept and improvements of it but I can't use my phone an hour without it being near drained...on this Note 5, I can use it for an hour and only be down 20% or so.

You are comparing a phone with a 2 year old battery (unless you replaced it recently). But yeah I've heard the beta's have battery issues.

Yeah, I did replace my ICON with one of the new ones the Microsoft Store has recently started selling again. Battery life on Windows 10 mobile is still very poor even with a new battery.

@coliver said:

As an avid Galaxy Note fan (I would still have one if I were on Verizon) I can't recommend the phablet enough. Perfect size for people with bigger hands, great usability and speed. When I was using the it I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Even the battery life with that massive screen was phenomenal.

I'm starting to be won over by it...I don't have a need to carry my Dell Venue 8 Pro now (for when I wanted an option for handwriting/notes and didn't want to take my Surface Pro 3)...

@Dashrender said:

@garak0410 said:

going back to 8.1 for better battery would feel like going back to Windows 95.

Oh man, you can say that again. I really miss Windows 10 mobile. But after the update they released last May - I had to bail and haven't been back.

Yeah...I love the concept and improvements of it but I can't use my phone an hour without it being near drained...on this Note 5, I can use it for an hour and only be down 20% or so.

Just me...

@Dashrender said:

I'm a bit surprised you're making this decision before the new devices are out.

I really want the quick access options for unlocking my device. I'm not completely sold on the iris scanner yet, but it's better than nothing.

The lack of a fingerprint reader is definitely frustrating for me.

Well, I am on Verizon and it could be 6-12 months before we see any Windows 10 device, specifically a non-Lumia. I've tested this Note 5 a lot, especially the camera and beyond a few mild quirks, I am not missing much from Windows Phone (ICON)....The battery drain on Windows 10 on the ICON makes it unusable and now tasting Windows 10 and the Note 5, going back to 8.1 for better battery would feel like going back to Windows 95.

And yeah, I do like the fingerprint reader on the Note 5.

So, the day has come (or has it)...do I hold on to this Note 5 or go back to the beloved Windows Phone? Guess it shows you how loyal we Windows Phone users are...

I've just used the http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 site as all of our machines are OEM Dell's...

Though I've not rolled it out totally yet...Autodesk doesn't want to certify anything older than 2014 for Windows 10 use...

@scottalanmiller said:

WP?

Windows Phone...

@Dashrender said:

@garak0410 said:

@Dashrender said:

Have them use the email but instead of sending to you, send to support, or whatever other address you setup.

Tried that too...LOL. I am resigned to just keeping it as my own personal KB and I do love it...really helps a SOLO IT shop for sure. Since I've been test driving a Note 5 and contemplating leaving my beloved Windows Phone behind. The Spiceworks App (heck most of the missing apps_) has been like Christmas Morning to me.

LOL yeah I'd love to have my SB app back!

Won't take thread off topic but it is hurting to move away from WP right now.

@Dashrender said:

Have them use the email but instead of sending to you, send to support, or whatever other address you setup.

Tried that too...LOL. I am resigned to just keeping it as my own personal KB and I do love it...really helps a SOLO IT shop for sure. Since I've been test driving a Note 5 and contemplating leaving my beloved Windows Phone behind. The Spiceworks App (heck most of the missing apps_) has been like Christmas Morning to me.

@JaredBusch said:

I open the SSL port when I actually use it a lot. Most places I do not use it enough outside the network to need to.

I am the ONLY one who uses it...mainly for the network scanner and I do store my knowledge base there and I enter a ticket myself for all issues so I can refer back to them. Guess it doesn't hurt to take 2-3 steps to VPN so I can enter a ticket and take a glance at things. I've been trying for a while to get people to OPEN tickets themselves but we are just too small for that...easier to email or walk by.

Any Spiceheads out there using the Spiceworks app? If so, do you keep it more secure by only accessing it via VPN or do you follow this below?

http://community.spiceworks.com/help/Access_Spiceworks_With_Mobile_App

I'd love the convenience of not having to go through 2-3 steps to connect to VPN to use it but also worry about security.

Thanks...
Brian

I did fire back up my ICON for the rest of the weekend, just to get a feel of both in a short period of time...no Spiceworks app! LOL

I went back to the Note 5 within hours of firing up the ICON. Wanted to do some more testing.

I do have to come back to the "ain't about the apps" argument. Random thoughts on apps and functions:

• Facebook Messenger has pretty neat notifications with the circle of the person. You can either click on them to respond or drag to bottom to close. Very neat.

• We are more than likely going to sign a contract at work on Toshiba Copiers with a DocuWare solution and I really am going to need the apps.

• The Aforementioned Spiceworks app. So convenient.

• School - ClassDojo and EZSchool Pay apps are very nice.

• I can easily follow and manage my Yahoo! Fantasy Football now!

• The YouVersion App is so much more realized (like many Windows Phone apps, they are one and done and abandoned.)

Other Positives:

• This Note 5 is a beast in performance.

• SideSync is pretty nice. Reminds me of a similar app I had back in the Windows Mobile 6.5 days.

• The Camera is fantastic. Never thought something could beat my ICON.

• MangoLassi website renders and works great. :bowtie:

Quirks:

• Android Still seems Messy to Me.

• Groove Music is hit and miss and the aforementioned UNKNOWN Artist and Album Information.

• Do I dare say having more apps and notifications = more distractions, even if I tune down a lot of notifications.

For all of its advantages, it is so hard to leave the ICON behind but is now kind of hard to go back to it. Seems slower (with latest Windows 10 Mobile Insider) and left behind.

@dafyre said:

This is a good write up! Let us know if you decide to stick with Android or stick with Windows a bit longer?

I do have to have to say, the Microsoft ecosystem works pretty well in Android,. To be fair, I have an iPad Mini I have for work, mainly for troubleshooting and support of our iOS users that I've loaded a Microsoft Ecosystem on. I think I have to give the edge to Android due to Cortana being petty well integrated and the Microsoft apps being pretty good.

Will continue to give both phones a good run... I've had the ICON for 1 1/2 years and still love it...though I can for sure see some speed improvements in the NOTE 5.

The latest back and forth news of the new Lumia's coming to Verizon keeps getting more convoluted. With the sudden removal of 950XL's demo units, it is spurred speculation that the CDMA options may be unlocked or that just a real flaw may be discovered. Paul Thurrott thinks it is all but hopeless for us. Mary Jo Foley, a Verizon and Lumia ICON user things the CDMA is in there but that Microsoft locked it because Verizon is blocking activations of these "unlocked" phones.

Because of the hazy future of Windows Phone on Verizon, I am "test driving" a Note 5 just to see how well my heavily invested Microsoft Ecosystem handles it... random thoughts:

•Yes, it is nice to find most of all apps I am missing, We need to stop kidding ourselves if we try to use "it isn't about the apps."
•Spiceworks App! Wooo! Nuff said!
•Groove Music - It shows all artists and albums as UNKNOWN when streaming via Bluetooth. This is kind of an annoyance.
•Cortana - QUITE surprised how Cortana is working. She can be set as the default assistant (though I am sure the Google assist is still the boss) and I was able to do GPS reminders and they worked great, if not a little differently. Cortana doesn't get its calendar information from the OUTLOOK app but only the build in mail app, so if you turn off the mail app syncing, she doesn't think you have any appointments.
•Outlook - Outlook can be set as the main mail, contact and calendar app without the need to sync those things via Google. If I recall my past Android experiences, I couldn't turn this off.
•Office Apps - They work.
•OneDrive - Works well... though I miss pinning folders to start screen.
•Office 365 Administrator - Works the same as on Windows Phone.
•OneNote - Quite nice. Handwriting works great though not as sharp (as expected) as the Surface Pro 3.
•Bluetooth Text Read/Respond - Cortana spoiled me in this on Windows Phone 8.1 (never worked right with 10). No option (that I see) for the phone to read and let you respond hands free when driving via Bluetooth. I am left with my lackluster UConnect voice.
•I do miss live tiles. Static ICONS with number counts are dull and widgets can just look plain ugly.
•Camera - Seems on par but perhaps better than my Lumina ICON. And much faster too (camera is getting sluggish under Windows 10 on my ICON). I did try several videos last night, in landscape and a few of them defaulted to portrait mode (black bars)...not sure how that happened and it never happens on my ICON.

Overall, it is tempting to stay with the Note 5 as it seems like a more productive device with the addition of a few additional apps that I could really use on the go. The experience of Windows 10 on a phone is growing on me and I'd rather be in the 10 ecosystem (I use Windows Reading List a lot and as small of an app that is, it is huge for me). Though my heart is with in Windows 10 and my current ICON, I am tempted to stay with this Note for a while longer...

I did fire back up my ICON for the rest of the weekend, just to get a feel of both in a short period of time...no Spiceworks app! LOL

I think what is boils down to is added functionality of the Android versus the elegance and ease of Windows Phone. Do I need a few extra apps that I can still get via the web and mostly when at a desktop PC? The aforementioned Spiceworks app is kind of nice but I am really the only one who uses the HelpDesk app and mainly as a repository of fixes and things I can reference and cross reference to device. And again, I usually just use it when at my desktop.

One thing about Android, it still feels "messy" to me...not sure why.

@scottalanmiller said:

At least it is working now!

For sure...and I don't get frustrated or angry...it was just "bugging" me...LOL

@scottalanmiller said:

You should be able to allow the application rather than just opening ports. That is a more advanced and secure firewall methodology.

Yeah, sorry...one of the first things I did...I removed it and re-added it and now it works...go figure...