Top 7 Ways Windows Phone Must Improve

I’d like to start off saying Windows Phone is an amazing platform, and definitely my favorite of the top three (you can read why I have that opinion here). Not only that, but we’ve seen significant improvements over the years since Phone 7 and even since 7.5. Browsing files on the phone via PC, multicore support, screenshot capture, copy and paste, NFC, tethering support, higher resolutions, turn-by-turn navigation, general build quality, and a Halo Xbox exclusive title for WP are just some of the advancements. 

However, there are some features in Windows Phone that are sorely missing (still after three years of existing as a platform). I addressed some of the issues a few months ago, but would like to reevaluate the shortcomings of the platform. 

1. Still lacks basic volume options, including some sort of “Do Not Disturb” mode - This has been a problem since the beginning. Hitting the volume rocker buttons allows a user to toggle from vibrate+ring from vibrate or vice versa, but there is no silent option. You have to go into settings to turn both vibrate and ring off. Considering iOS 7 has a “Do Not Disturb” option right in their new command center, Windows Phone 8 has got to do something about it in WP 8.1. 

2. Still no unified notification center - This has been a complaint ever since it was supposed to be in Apollo. Live tiles and lockscreen icons alone don’t cut it for everyone. While personally, I have no need for a notification system like iOS or Android’s, many consider it a missing feature. 

3. Music management is still a nightmare - Zune has been missed sorely. Xbox Music is still rough to put it lightly (although the version in Windows 8.1 isn’t as bad), and using iTunes or Windows Media Player on desktop is just awkward. They need to fix this quickly. 

4. Can’t be charging and turned off at the same time - If you turn off your Windows Phone, and plug it in to charge overnight, it will turn on. It is impossible to charge your phone and have to stay “off.” This would likely be less of a problem if there was a “Do Not Disturb” option (see point #1 above). 

5. No custom text tones - Custom RINGTONES exist, but no custom text tone option unless you root your phone. This is silly, because it seems it would be a very easy feature to implement. 

6. No orientation Lock - This feature has been present on other platforms for a long time. It should be on Windows Phone, too. It’s frustrating sometimes to have the screen flip orientations on you when you’re trying to show a friend a picture from across the table or lay down on your side to read an article. 

7. Those capacitive buttons still somehow get in the way - If you’re a WP user, you know what I mean - maybe you’re browsing the web, or playing a game…but BOOM. All of a sudden, Bing is launched. You have no idea how it happened, and then you look down to see that your thumb had grazed the search button on your phone. Whoops. I’m not sure what Microsoft could do for this issue per sey, as this is a hardware issue. But this is still a problem that should be addressed. 

I was tempted to include the typical “WP needs more apps,” but I’m deciding not to list it at this point. Actually, this area is where Windows Phone is improving (albeit ever so gradually). More apps are coming to the platform than ever before, with over 165,000 currently in the Store. If an official app doesn’t come out, a third party developer is soon to make one instead. 

Still, the user experience as far as the app ecosystem is concerned is a bit fragmented. Users basically have to search for the official app they want, and either hope the third party version they see in their search result is any good, or scroll through the results to find the official app (if it exists). 

I hope Microsoft and the Windows Phone team can address these issues soon, because they need to for their own good and the survival of the platform.