4G Android phone megathread
- Thread starter Foulkey Reese
- Start date
Don't ask me what the difference is, I just stumbled upon a supernova of outrage about it when looking through some Droid forums to find news on the SIII and the rumors about the mega new awesome HTC that is supposedly on the VZW roadmap for Septemberish.
I'm pretty sure what it boils down to is that they are going to start separating fees so they can advertise the lowest price for an upgrade. So maybe the net to you the consumer isn't that much different, but they still get to say your upgrade phone is less than $300 on the teevee.
I'm pretty sure what it boils down to is that they are going to start separating fees so they can advertise the lowest price for an upgrade. So maybe the net to you the consumer isn't that much different, but they still get to say your upgrade phone is less than $300 on the teevee.
I'm too damn busy at work for a liveblog tomorrow, unfortunately.
I am liking the looks of the SIII, curious to hear what the VZW version looks like. I do know that if the new HTC has all the features of the Rezound without a stupid name and with all new chip tech it will probably be my choice. The Rezound has the first great camera of the Android market, and I'm realizing that is important to me because I never ever carry my point and shoot anymore.
I am liking the looks of the SIII, curious to hear what the VZW version looks like. I do know that if the new HTC has all the features of the Rezound without a stupid name and with all new chip tech it will probably be my choice. The Rezound has the first great camera of the Android market, and I'm realizing that is important to me because I never ever carry my point and shoot anymore.
Apparently the Samsung event will be streamed live on facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/SamsungMobile/app_366547110058162
https://www.facebook.com/SamsungMobile/app_366547110058162
That phone, with ICS, would be a winner. I can't believe Motorola hasn't upgraded yet though. It's been almost 5 months since the Galaxy Nexus came out.
Nope, not that one. This is another rumor, I should have been specific. Seems like an upgraded One X badged for Verizon.
I've read that Verizon isn't going to offer quad-core (which the X is, but the S is not) for LTE phones any time soon. You've read something different?
If this is true, it seems like the "Fireball" (Verizon's One S) is it.
Totally rumor stage. BGR
Also, I thought "Fireball" was the Incredible 4G. Did they change and upgrade it? Because the leaked specs on the Incredible 4G were worse than Galaxy Nexus and Razr.
I'm not sure I want a 5 inch phone, but it looks like they are getting the hardware together. (I'm assuming LTE, but that seems like a safe assumption)
Also, I thought "Fireball" was the Incredible 4G. Did they change and upgrade it? Because the leaked specs on the Incredible 4G were worse than Galaxy Nexus and Razr.
That does look nice. If the Razr HD actually has a decent screen and the SIII is all that and a bag o'chips, then I probably will choose one of those and not wait.
My bad. In TtP's link, droid-life mentions that it's "similar to the HTC One S, not that it's Verizon's variant of it. But after comparing the specs, it's clearly inferior to even the S. Not sure why they said that.
The Tegra 3 ( quad core) does not support LTE. No quad cores in the market today do, and Qualcomm is having manufacturing issues so it's really 2013 for them.
So now that the picture is clearer, if I want a 4g phone and am willing to wait until midsummer, does it look like the SIII is my best bet?
When is the Galaxy 3 going to officially hit the market?
My wife is due for a new phone in June...she DESPERATELY needs one, and I want her to go top of the line this time around (she got a horrible Samsung Intercept 2 years ago that has been a pain in the ass sicne the day we bought it).
She is probably going to buy something the first or second week of June. Will this be available by then?
Edit- Ugh...seems that this phone is going to be a Verizon exclusive...that sucks. Sprint desperately needs a new high end phone. The EVO LTE looks ok...but the S3 looks better.
My wife is due for a new phone in June...she DESPERATELY needs one, and I want her to go top of the line this time around (she got a horrible Samsung Intercept 2 years ago that has been a pain in the ass sicne the day we bought it).
She is probably going to buy something the first or second week of June. Will this be available by then?
Edit- Ugh...seems that this phone is going to be a Verizon exclusive...that sucks. Sprint desperately needs a new high end phone. The EVO LTE looks ok...but the S3 looks better.
S3 will be on Sprint. The version on Sprint will probably be better than the version on VZW even.
Okay peeps, make this easy for me. I've got a 2 year old droid Incredible on Verizon, eligible for an upgrade but I'm not feeling the urgency. My phone is just fine so I've got time
So what do I do, target the release of the iphone 5 and see whats up with that. Any hot droid on the horizon? I make calls, text, web, twitter, take pics/vids of my sons baseball swing...and use it as a GPS, mp3 player, and the Bike app when I'm riding. Pretty much it.
I'm grandfathered with Verizon for unlimited data. Was at the store today and the salespeople didn't have much good to say about the iphone 4s. And he wasn't trying to talk me into anything as far as I could tell.
So what do I do, target the release of the iphone 5 and see whats up with that. Any hot droid on the horizon? I make calls, text, web, twitter, take pics/vids of my sons baseball swing...and use it as a GPS, mp3 player, and the Bike app when I'm riding. Pretty much it.
I'm grandfathered with Verizon for unlimited data. Was at the store today and the salespeople didn't have much good to say about the iphone 4s. And he wasn't trying to talk me into anything as far as I could tell.
Well, it's really just that what I have seen of the S3 looks better.
Look, I own the original EVO. I am in NO rush to upgrade as I am still very happy with this phone. That said, the last few efforts out of HTC, which I HAVE played with, weer unimpressive to me. I don't see the LTE as being particularly gamechanging. We'll see.
I came from the Incredible and picked up the Razr Maxx and have been extremely happy. The battery life is absolutely crazy, I have routinely gone 24-30 hours between charges with normal usage and most evenings at 16 hours from charge on light usage days I'm at 50-60% battery life left. It has done all the things above you mentioned nicely for me... In our area cell reception can be spotty and I work with EMS/Fire and strong battery life has been critical and I've yet to see or hear of any phone logging the up-times this phone routinely does.
Only negative is I did like HTC sync better then the Motorola add-ons, and I'm not blown away by the camera on the Razr - it's ok but not as good as the iphone's or several others on the market if the camera is of major importance to you.
Internet sites claim the Razr maxx is going to be $199 soon, which means the Razr HD is on the way.
http://www.gottabemo...-dropping-soon/
Strangely enough, I'm in the exact same boat, right down to the 2 year old Incredible.
For good battery life, a good camera, and fast processor, should I go ahead and get something next week when my upgrade is available, or is there anything special coming out this summer that I should hold off for? Thanks.
What little research I've done shows the Droid Razr as a top Verizon smartphone. The Maxx is the crazy battery life version of the same phone. The next things coming seem to be the Razr HD, which is due soon and the Incredible 4G, which is probably coming out sooner than the new Razr. The only other thought for me is to maintain, wait and see what happens with the Iphone5 and make the decision then.
The kids couldn't wait and both got Droid Razr's yesterday. Both are psyched and were upgrading from non impressive phones and didn't want to wait.
The kids couldn't wait and both got Droid Razr's yesterday. Both are psyched and were upgrading from non impressive phones and didn't want to wait.
The thing about Android is this, if you decide to wait for the next best thing, you're constantly going to be waiting. Before the next great thing has even hit the shelves, it's predecessor has already been leaked. Nothing you can do about that. So if you're committed to Android, I would just select a device right now that you think would best suit your needs not only now but in the foreseeable future. Honestly, if I was still using an Android device on Verizon and due for an upgrade, I'd get a Galaxy Nexus or Incredible 4G and call it a day. With the GN you're at least getting the assurance of receiving timely updates for the next couple years. Whereas the specs on the Inc. 4G are pretty sweet, and it's probably pretty easily hacked so you could run Cyan9 if you felt the need.
The only thing that I would recommend is waiting to see what the iPhone 5 brings to the table, but then again that's probably not going to happen until Fall of this year. Quite a wait if you're antsy to get a new device.
Just for clarity, this is coming from a former Android, now iPhone user.
The only thing that I would recommend is waiting to see what the iPhone 5 brings to the table, but then again that's probably not going to happen until Fall of this year. Quite a wait if you're antsy to get a new device.
Just for clarity, this is coming from a former Android, now iPhone user.
This is exactly the reason I went with the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket. When I got it, it was the best 4G LTE Android phone that AT&T had. I became even more encouraged when it was confirmed by Samsung that the Skyrocket will, indeed, be getting ICS.
It has plenty of storage capacity (up to 32 GB), CPU (1.5 GHz, dual-core Snapdragon) and features to keep me from being too envious for at least a year.
This may have already been covered, but what's the difference(s) between the Galaxy Nexus, the Galaxy SII and the Galaxy SIII? I'm due for a new phone from Sprint soon and I don't know what to get or if I should wait for the SIII or the Evo, or get one that's currently available. I'm not in a big rush to buy something so if it's worth waiting a few weeks I'd do that.
Is that supposed to be the best of the bunch? I'm on my second HTC phone and I really like them, so all things being equal I'd probably lean towards the Evo.
Supposedly it is.
- Sprint also has the Galaxy Nexus now so you can go in a store on the 18th and compare them. I guess the question is whether there's a reason to wait for the SIII. I plan on getting the EVO LTE, but I'm waiting for proclips to have a car mount for it.
With the $100 price drop on the RAZR Maxx happening yesterday I finally went ahead and upgraded from my first-generation Droid. I'm blown away by how fast this thing is. I'm still getting used to it and what it can do, but wow. Stood around fiddling with it and the Galaxy Nexus in the store yesterday trying to pick one and eventually battery won out over screen size/quality.
Just wanted to generally extend my thanks to those in here discussing the relative merits of the 4G phones. Definitely allowed me to narrow down the options to a manageable few.
Just wanted to generally extend my thanks to those in here discussing the relative merits of the 4G phones. Definitely allowed me to narrow down the options to a manageable few.
[quote name='Trautwein's Degree' timestamp='1337099105' post='4132079']
Sprint calling it the Evo LTE is such a joke. Sprint's LTE network won't come online until September at the earliest. If past is predicate, in 10 years it'll be half as robust as Verizon's network is now.
[/quote]
I'm in Atlanta - there are reports of people getting Sprint LTE signals here now - though the network isn't officially turned on. It will be long before Sept, though.
Sprint calling it the Evo LTE is such a joke. Sprint's LTE network won't come online until September at the earliest. If past is predicate, in 10 years it'll be half as robust as Verizon's network is now.
[/quote]
I'm in Atlanta - there are reports of people getting Sprint LTE signals here now - though the network isn't officially turned on. It will be long before Sept, though.
So I picked up the HTC One x on Monday. This thing is sweet. First of all the ATT 4G signal here is so much better than my previous T-Mobile 3G signal way out in the boonies. I'll use mostly wifi at home, but I have the option to use the cell data and I'm getting about 4.5 dl speeds. When I'm at work or otherwise in boston or anywhere with full LTE, I'm getting over 21 down and 17 up.
The battery so far is terrific and I'm assuming will get better before it gets worse. I've had the one full battery charge Monday night, and right now up to 1 day 5 hours 35 minutes with 20% remaining with what is pretty typical use for me (Browsing, email reading, on the hour-long each way commuter rail ride to and from work, several calls and some browsing, texting, facebook and showing the thing off during the day. I'll let it completely die down today before giving it another full charge and then start using it normally.
I had got used to some custom gb and ics roms on my prior phone, so it's taking me some time to find everything this stock ICS/Sense rom that comes with it, and I will have to wait for some nerd to hack the bootloader if i want to get back to doing that, but I'm pretty happy with not having to deal with any of that tweaking right now and just play with all the Sense widgets and themes and figure out what I like. I also didn't realize how bad the responsiveness issues were with the Nexus One touch screen until I have this unbelievably fast and responsive device.
I'm a happy boy.
The battery so far is terrific and I'm assuming will get better before it gets worse. I've had the one full battery charge Monday night, and right now up to 1 day 5 hours 35 minutes with 20% remaining with what is pretty typical use for me (Browsing, email reading, on the hour-long each way commuter rail ride to and from work, several calls and some browsing, texting, facebook and showing the thing off during the day. I'll let it completely die down today before giving it another full charge and then start using it normally.
I had got used to some custom gb and ics roms on my prior phone, so it's taking me some time to find everything this stock ICS/Sense rom that comes with it, and I will have to wait for some nerd to hack the bootloader if i want to get back to doing that, but I'm pretty happy with not having to deal with any of that tweaking right now and just play with all the Sense widgets and themes and figure out what I like. I also didn't realize how bad the responsiveness issues were with the Nexus One touch screen until I have this unbelievably fast and responsive device.
I'm a happy boy.
How do you like the task switcher? I've heard some complaints about it. Sick phone though. Would be my number one choice if I was in the market.
It's kind of slick (in a windows 7 UI kind of way). I can see why people have the complaints, because if you switch without using the task switcher -- just using the home button or whatever -- the apps do seem to reload from scratch. But i've gotten used to it and now I like it.
The display on this thing is so good.
Not on Verizon, where the GN is still stuck on 4.0.2. 4.0.3 came out the day after the VZW GN back in December. Sprint's GN has the most-up-to-date 4.0.4 software, which is now six weeks old.
Those on Verizon with Grandfathered data plans may want to consider upgrade before the summer if verizon goes through with the plan to not allow upgraded devices to grandfather those plans forward. http://www.tomsguide.com/us/verizon-unlimited-data-4G-LTE-Fran-Shammo,news-15242.html
By the looks it will be July, so hopefully those of you waiting for a few phones to be released will slip under the wire.
By the looks it will be July, so hopefully those of you waiting for a few phones to be released will slip under the wire.
"Everyone will be on data share."
How does this affect people with unlimited 4g plans who never renew their contracts and instead opt to buy year-old 4g phones off-contract?
I suppose I should be ripshit, but according to my bill, over the last six months the most data I've used is 1.2 GB.
Of course, in that time I've used at most 32 of the 450 minimum voice minutes I have to pay for.
Of course, in that time I've used at most 32 of the 450 minimum voice minutes I have to pay for.