An iPhone user's (surprisingly positive) experience with Windows Phone

Just over a year ago, I experimented with an Android phone. I’d been curious about Android, and felt the best way to appreciate what it offers—and compare it to iOS—was to try it out in a real-world situation.

This past Christmas, a visitor proudly showed my his Windows phone, and I was intrigued. After getting a good tour of the Windows Phone OS, I decided to buy a cheap, unlocked phone and try it for myself. I’ve been using it off and on for the past two months. While I wouldn’t switch from my iPhone, I’m quite impressed by what Microsoft has done.

Getting the hardware
As with Android, there are lots of Windows phones to choose from. It’s not just a question of silver, space gray or gold; it’s a full line of phones at a wide range of prices, from multiple manufacturers. The phone I had seen at Christmas was the Lumia 930, Microsoft’s “flagship” phone, which is a well-built, attractive phone, but still about half the price of an iPhone. I didn’t want to spend that much money, so I opted for the £90 Lumia 535 (current price is the US, about $130–150). When I purchased it in January, the Microsoft-built Lumia 535 was the cheapest phone that shipped with Windows 8.1 Denim, the latest version of the Windows Phone OS.

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