My personal experience is with Blackberrys (ages and ages ago) , iphones, and Android.

The two knocks I've heard about the Windows phone system is the lack of hardware choices and a less than robust app environment. Both of these factors probably stem from the fact that the Win Phone market share is so small that many of the relevant suppliers don't think it's worth the effort.

I'm sure having one would work fine for you. If you're not an big app user, then that may not matter. Microsoft bought Nokia (the main user of the Win Phone system) because it has been struggling due to lack of sales. MS couldn't afford for its flagship hardware producer to sink.

The truth is that whether an iphone, an Android, or whatever, smartphones all do about the same thing. There can be hardware differences from one to the next, but it's not like the experiences between them are that vastly different. In my opinion.

I presume for your home provider, you mean to say Comcast? Your phone, as well as your PCs, connect to the internet though a router. All are ultimately blind and indifferent as to what kind of wire the signal is carried on.

Thanks for weighing in! I'd read those same things about Windows Phone. I think I'll be OK with the apps that are available; just wondering if anyone else had used one. The young lady at the store (the carrier store) hadn't tried a Windows phone because she said she couldn't do without an Instagram app. I had never even heard of Instagram before this past summer, so I think I would probably survive. haha.

It's Chromecast we have, the device that allows streaming of (very few) video sites to an HDMI-capable TV by way of the Chrome browser on a computer or the Chromecast app on a smartphone/tablet. We've been using our phones sort of as remote controls to stream Netflix to the TV, and very handy it is for that, too; but I had heard that due to some disagreement between the companies, Chromecast wasn't available on Windows phones. But I don't know if that's still true or if it's going to be changing.

My SIL has had an iPhone, Samsung S3 and now a Nokia Lumia 925 running Windows Phone 8.

Her favorite is the Windows 8 Nokia. The iPhone screen was too small and the Samsung screen was too large. Guess that makes the Nokia the Goldilocks screen. She also believes Win Phone 8 is the easiest and most intuitive to use. It's fast and also has Gorilla Glass which is great if you have butterfingers like my SIL.

Thanks! That, of course, is what I was hoping to hear. [grin] Actually one of the reasons I am thinking of getting a different phone in the first place is also size -- not screen size necessarily, but my current phone is heavy and wide enough (for a phone) to aggravate a minor problem with my thumb, and it just went off contract so I can switch without penalty. I'll have to check the Nokias, but there is an HTC that is much lighter and a bit slimmer than the one I'm using now. I know the new iPhone looks small too, but iTunes drives me nuts so I'd rather not get another iThing.

I'd be glad to hear from anyone who doesn't like their Windows phone as well. Probably there aren't too many people out there who have one, though.

My Dh has a Windows 8 phone. It
was a gift from my son and DH is on HIS family plan. We ( I am still) were Tracfone users, ($16/month, now $10) as we didn't text or surf the web. But DH thought it would be fun as his cronies all had smartphones.
DH is not a technophile, can't program the VCR etc. Son programed the phone for him and he is very happy. He really likes the voice applications as typing text is very cumbersome.
I am happy too, as now he can surf the net while I am on the PC.

Glad your DH likes it! I can't get the voice recognition to work well on my current phone; I wonder if that's a software difference or my accent. I used to joke that my phone didn't speak Southern. Trying to type on these things is frustrating for me too. Five years ago I never would have believed that we (my family) would "need" as many Internet-connecting devices as we have, and really, we don't. They're fun and a convenience if you can afford them, that's all. (Still not getting phones for the kids yet, though.)