First, don’t even mention an iPhone.
Now that we got that out of the way which Droid should I get on Verizon? I like the Pro because of the Blackberry-ish keyboard but the X has my interest spiked as well. What about the Incredible or the Samsungs?
Thanks.
While I don’t have a Verizon Droid, I have a Galaxy S phone from Tmobile. While it is a pretty powerful phone, I have been EXTREMELY disappointed in Samsung’s rollout of updates for the OS software. I’ve had this phone since July with no update to Froyo in sight. I’ve had the opportunity to play around with an Incredible from Verizon and it was a pretty good phone for its time. I also had some time on a Droid X and if I were to get any Verizon Droid, I’d probably get that. Phones smaller than the Galaxy S and Droid series are difficult for me to type on.
I like the Droid X because is has the ability to act as a hotspot for other devices.
The Pro does do it, I see, but I don’t like the standard QWERTY deal. I guess that’s a preference.
Currently have the iPhone on ATT and the Mifi2200 on Verizon.
Built by HTC. They are really quite durable. I have dropped, thrown, and even submerged mine for a brief time(thrown in pool). Still works, although mine might actually be covered in pixie dust!
You have to get updates from the manufacture and not directly from Google?
Droid X is HUGE!!! If you don’t mind the size, they’re cool as hell.
I carry an Incredible. Very tough as mentioned before (dropped it in the toilet, dried it out… still works. Don’t ask for more details hehe) I bought the Shell/Holder combo thingy to protect it. Works great for the bumps and drops that happen to phones.
Operating system is slick as shit once you learn all the nuances. I’d say it took me about a month to get comfortable with all the different things you can do with it. Still finding new stuff all the time after 7 months.
The apps available vary from Friggin’ awesome (usually around $5) to What the hell were they thinking. Always check to see if there’s a limited demo before buying, or check their webpage for details.
I have the original HTC droid Eris. Awesome phone. The thing has been beat up and down. Way faster then my friends’ 3g iphones. Runs great. I have no complaints whatsoever other then batt life… the new ones are supposed to be better.
I have the Droid X. I love the functionality and the large screen. It is fantastic for surfing the net. It even carries ok. The only two things I don’t like are the touch screen typing and the camera. The camera is not as good as I expected it to be and very awkward to use one-handed and/or on the move. Touch screen typing sucks no matter what, for me. Other people have no problem. I have thought about trading the Droid X in on the Droid 2. The screen is almost as big and it has a pull out keypad. I don’t know if the camera is any different or better.
The HTC phones all use a custom interface that HTC calls Sense. It’s a good interface that I’ve read fixes some quirks with the stock Android OS (I’m not sure what, I use an HTC Incredible). As a result, HTC releases updates to the carriers and then carriers roll them out. I’ve been extremely happy with the updates from HTC so far–the only complaint I had with the phone initially was poor battery life, but mine was doubled by a single update after the phone model was a month old. The advantage to Sense is that all HTC phones use the same interface regardless of the OS, so if Windows 7 phones shape up (and they actually seem pretty decent) and you want one for your next phone, you might not have to relearn a smart phone interface.
I’ve dropped my HTC Incredible a few times onto concrete, rolled onto it doing drills if I forget to take it out, etc, and it is no worse for the wear.
Oh, whatever you get make sure it has a dual core processor. Google is saying that a dual core processor will be a requirement for newer versions of Android OS, so if you’re buying now, future-proof now!
Have to, no. If you’re sufficiently fluent in geek you can brows the various android forums and find packages of updates that you can install by brute force on your android powered phone.
As I understand things, every phone manufacturer has certain customizations they make to the OS to run their hardware. Some (like HTC) even write their own custom GUI for the OS. Thus when a new version of android is released the question becomes whether or not the manufacturer of your phone will release a package for that model that installs over the air.
I have one of the original Motorolla Droid phones, for instance, and it took Motorolla a little bit of time to release OTA (over the air) updates to the OS on the phone, but they’ve been good about doing that consistently. I’m currently running android 2.2.1…which is the latest version as far as I know. Some android phones released earlier than my Droid by other manufacturers are still on 1.5.x. The users are stuck there unless they root the phone and install a new OS themselves…which could potentially be ugly.
I would look around and see what manufacturers have a good track record of doing updates if the update issue concerns you.
I have a Droid X since Day 1 of the release… Here are my thoughts as a tech person that doesn’t really have need for all the Droid can do… and it can do a lot!
The SWYPE technology is awesome! It makes texting so incredibly fast, faster than a “normal” person could ever be on a keypad. All you do is slide your finger back and forth over the letters on the screen keyboard and it “interpretes” the word you are doing and adds it in… It even adds punctuation and capitilization, as it knows what you are typing. On wierd words, you can always tap the screen on each letter or symbol… My favorite feature…
Running latest Android 2.2…
Tough! I am impressed so far…
I get 1 day average out of one charge if I use it often, two days if just on idle doing email tasks, updates, etc…
Some GREAT APPS!
Very nice camera and HD Video…
Large, but fits in chest pocket nicely. The little bump where camera is makes pulling the droid out of a pocket easy…
Cons:
Droid X is my third Android powered phone from Verizon after being with an original iPhone through the iPhone 3GS.
The Droid X is, without doubt, my favorite. I use it for absolutely everything and the amount of screen real estate is amazing. It is blindingly fast. Battery life is great for a phone with a screen this size. One day of battery life for what is basically a small laptop computer is amazing.
I can absolutely recommend the X.
Word from a friend is that there are two new amazing devices coming in February.
Wait for the HTC Thunderbolt and all the new 4G LTE phones to come out. Those should be amazing. That’s what I’m waiting for and hopefully I can download songs onto them to run through the interface in my car. Otherwise I’ll either consider the verizon iphone 4 or wait for the iphone 5 which shouldn’t be too far off.
iPhone
Please don’t ban me…
Go with an HTC or Motorola device if you ask me.
Any Android device can be a mobile hotspot. You may have to enter the geek side of things as JW alluded to if you want to get this functionality, but it’s really very easy if you are capable of following directions. Carrier-sanctioned functionality of this sort usually carries an additional monthly charge.
If I was going Verizon, I’d get the X. I’m on Sprint and have the 4G Evo, which is roughly equivalent to the X if you look at the specs. This is my second Android phone and the current gen of hardware is a vast improvement over the first gen. The big screen is fantastic and the 1GHz processor is smokin’.
I was hesitant to get a phone without a physical keyboard but I don’t miss it anymore. One of my coworkers doesn’t even use the physical keyboard on his Droid anymore. Swype does work very well.
Droid X
No, no worries. It just that the iPhone is easy to figure out. There’s one and that’s it. All the Driod models confuse me so that’s way I wanted to keep this thread focused on the Droids. The iPhone is still a possibility for me; the Mrs is definitely getting one next month.
I’ve had the original Droid, the HTC Evo, and the Droid X.
The Evo was really bad for me. I had a total of 4 of them before I changed to a different model.
The X is really as good as a phone could be. I can’t imagine a task that the screen size and processor speed couldnt handle. It’s the best phone I’ve ever owned (iPhone 3G, iPhone 4 included).
It is large but fits fine in a front or back pocket even with this Otterbox Case on it.
I love the X and highly recommend it.
Chatter box;)
Tagging since I am looking as well