1)What were your initial impressions and how did you find setting up the devices?
Initial impressions were good! For set up of the phone and the tablet, I was able to this with DS on my own (which is saying something given my technical abilities!) It was really straightforward but perhaps helped by the fact that I had an existing Microsoft email address so was able to log in straight away. I also had a Lumia phone before my current one so logging in downloaded most of my contacts. Relatively quickly after opening the boxes, we had the phone and tablet charged and ready for action.
I left the Xbox one set up to DH as I was a little more nervous on this one. His comments were that it was straightforward to set up. Good to have an HDMI cable in the box so again, soon after opening the box the whole system was set up and good to use. Initial impressions were that it was a sleek unit, looked good and we liked the newer subtle Xbox logo (totally shallow point but still….)
There were no problems getting the Xbox live account up and running and getting old accounts transferred across from the Xbox 360.
I was impressed with the ease of getting the TV control, V+ control setup.
2)Overall, what do you think of the following products? Do you like them? If so, why? If not, why not?
a.Microsoft Lumia 735
As I said above, I had the Lumia before my current iPhone.
I’m impressed with the improved camera and the selfie camera is a nice touch. I love the ability to drag my finger over letters for texting and I’m surprised at how accurate it is at picking up the words.
I’m still trying to get to grips with Cortana, it feels a little gimmicky and I can’t see it revolutionising my life or being a feature I’ll use on a regular basis. It’s worth noting I’ve never found the value add in Siri either. When I have tried it, Cortana consistently doesn’t pick up my words accurately though this may be an accent thing which is probably why I lose interest in it quickly (clearly I need to keep trying ?)
The apps - there is enough to keep anyone going but it feels like you may have to compromise and there just isn’t buy in from enough external app developers, it seems third in line to apple and android. This was one of the reasons I moved away from Lumia before.
In general, it’s a lovely bright screen, nice shape and clear to use, touch is responsive. Like the sharp contrast to the dark black background.
b.Xbox One console with Kinect
We have been impressed with the big improvements over the 360 Kinect. This feels like it has a much higher level of integration and the camera sensitivity is much improved. An example of this would be when the TV was on through the Xbox and when I walked in the room it said “hello MSTester” as it matched me to my profile. The control in the games and menus seems a lot sharper as well.
We were initially impressed at being able to route our V+ box through the Xbox and could see lots of benefits with the control all being linked together (smartglass on the Linx to select programmes and change channel, information about which programmes are trending etc.) In reality, we don’t always want the Xbox on just to watch TV, although fine for me or DH it’s too tricky for DD aged 5 to navigate and we’re disappointed that there is no HDMI pass through to let us do this.
Still we have found it easier to switch between different profiles and it is mostly intuitive to use, though we’re still working out the best (quickest?) way to make the Snap features work.
c.Linx tablet
We really like the feel of the tablet, it’s lightweight and the soft rubber backing feels nice to use and hold. It feels more expensive than we know it is. The screen, again, is lovely and bright, clear to use and navigate and feels really familiar due to similarity to the Lumia phone.
It’s good having all the Microsoft office applications as standard and it feels and seems like a more productive tool than the iPad. However, the menus, on anything other than the start page, appear to be designed for a stylus rather than a finger as you need quite a precise touch to select. We think it will be optimum with a stylus or a mouse plugged in.
3)Who uses each of the products the most and what do they use them for?
a.Microsoft Lumia 735 – me, though DS has been using it lots too and is making a bid for it!
b.Xbox One console with Kinect – everyone! My favourite game is the Kinect Sports because we can all play it together. DS is a real fan of the Zoo Tycoon and both he and DD have spent time playing this together, which has been great.
c.Linx tablet – Whoever gets there first but mostly DH and I. We’ve been using it for Christmas shopping, making lists (and sharing them) and trying to get to grips with One Note. I’m really keen to explore whether this is an application that I can use at work to get more organised.
4)If it came up in conversation, do you think you would recommend the Microsoft Lumia, Xbox One with Kinect and LInx tablet? If so, why? If not, why not?
Already, we’ve found ourselves discussing the products, particularly the Linx, with family and friends. There is some interest in it and what it can do, particularly given its cost. There is also a lot of interest in the Xbox One and DH has been discussing this with his colleagues at work.
I / We would definitely recommend the Linx and the Xbox. We’d also recommend the Kinect upgrade, despite DH previously questioning whether it was worth it. We think it is. On the phone, however, the jury is still out. This is less to do with the phone itself than the apps available.
5)Do you have a favourite aspect about any of the products? If so, what is it?
It’s probably the overall shared feel across the devices. Being able to use one login and transfer information between devices. We can see the potential to coordinate our lives using these.
