Lifehacker has an unbiased comparison of current Windows Phones with their Android and iOS equivilents here.
I've been watching Microsoft for a while now. I think the direction they're heading in is perfect. I say that because they are trying to stay competitive with Android and iOS. If you look at their Windows 8 platform, its on their Surface Tablet, PC, and Windows phone. Thus, competing directly against them. My only concern is with the PC. The Windows 8 OS, in my opinion, is designed around having a touch screen. As such, unless your monitor, at home, is a touch screen, you're missing out on a lot of the functionality. This goes back to another post in regards to Microsoft partnering with hardware producers. More money for these companies as folks begin converting their standard monitor for a touch screen. I have Windows 8 installed on my home PC with (2) standard monitors. Until it goes up, I don't plan on buying a touch screen. Even then I'd be hard pressed to spend that extra money. However, I'm still staying tuned into Microsoft to see what's next for them. It should be interesting.
The Metro UI is the only problem I have with Windows 8. Besides that, it is awesome. You can get around the Metro UI with 3rd party apps like Classic Shell. Windows Phone is completely different. Because it is a closed system like iOS...and that is the main problem I have with it. It does nothing better than Android, but has a lot more restrictions.
Yeah, the UI on Windows 8 is a bit cumbersome. I tend to work solely from the desktop and not really mess around too much with the Metro UI. This is where I believe the touch screen will become vital to it's usefulness. I just don't plan on buying a monitor for that sole reason. I've been contemplating on to re-image my home PC, but I know my wife needs something simple to use, Windows is just that option. So I keep things on the desktop all the time for and don't really leave it on the Metro UI too much. Plus she only turns on 1 of the monitors when she uses the PC, doesn't really get into the whole point of the dual monitors. Every iDevice I've ever owned has been updated to the latest iOS that can be jailbroken, then it's jailbroken. I don't care for a locked down system as it's my device, not theirs. I will give Steve Jobs a lot of credit, that's one of the areas where I say 'NO, bad Job(s)...bad'. With my LG Optimus G, they've also locked down their phone to where it's hard to do things on it. In order for me to flash the device to the latest 'Jelly Bean' OS, I need to trick the phone into thinking it's a Nexus 4, then re-flash it with the CM jelly bean mod. I just rooted it yesterday (bored), that was fairly easy. Now I need to find a compatible ClockwordMod for my device, in order to get the Nexus 4 ROM flashed onto my device. Found a tutorial on it, we'll see how it goes later on tonight. Hope to get Jelly Bean installed before EOD. The only reason why I like iOS better, so much easier to hack. Although, it's just merely LG that makes it harder, not necessarily Android. However, it still amazes me that Windows has their devices locked completely down. People like that sort of thing. From the looks of the reviews, most people feel as though Windows 8 Phone works exactly as they expect it to. Some folks want some additional things that aren't included (IE: File management), but I think, for the most people, folks are content with the way the Windows Phone is currently setup. I know Nokia is doing fairly well because of their Lumia phone. We'll see if anyone decides to combine efforts with Microsoft.
A touchscreen monitor will not make Windows 8 Metro less cumbersome to use. No one will use the touchscreen in place of the mouse. Not on a desktop PC. More dangerous as well. If Apple catches you doing it, they will void your warranty. By contrast, that is not always true with Android. I rooted my HTC Rezound. My warranty is still valid through the manufacturer.
Maybe so that's the point of Windows 8. If you look at the other 2 devices (Tablet & Phone), they're both used with a touch screen. Even the commercials for Windows 8 on the PC, they're using a touch screen. Microsoft is advocating hard for the touch screen. I, also, wouldn't necessarily say 'no one will use the touchscreen'. Maybe not everyone, but I'm fairly certain there will be some one who would be more inclined to use the touch screen over their mouse. Most of the devices we use today are touch screen. Only seems fitting that touch screens would become more relevant on our desktops. Not saying it will be the de facto, but it will become more relevant, nonetheless. Agreed that it voids your warranty, only if they know it is. I back up my Apple device right before I jail break and ensure that I'm always taking valid backups. If something happens to the device, I simply re-image it back to it's un-jailbroke state and take it into the Apple store. If you drop it in liquid, it's unusable anyway and they'll never know it's jailbroke. Some Android devices don't void your warranty. With my LG being root, I've already voided the warranty, without even flashing it to anything else. So it definitely varies by phone.
