For discussing the latest smartphones and helping people decide what phone they'd like to get. I think this thread will be more helpful for comparing/discussing multiple devices, instead of having to weed through the individual device threads.

Post questions or ask for suggestions. Include carrier and all relevant information/wants.

Please offer comparisons, features, user knowledge, pros/cons, etc. And let's keep the arguing, fanboyism, etc. to the threads for individual devices

That being said, I'm looking at upgrading my phone
- Currently have a BB curve
- Verizon
- Budget is no concern
- Looking for touchscreen
- Lots of texting/emailing
- I'm used to BB's email app, which is quite good, so I don't want to decrease that functionality. I'm using NCSU's gmail.
- Moderate amount of browsing
- Heavy use of maps (currently google maps)
- Would like a well-functioning voice command (my BB sucks)
- Considering Droid, Droidx, Droid Incredible, Droid Eris, HTC touch Pro2, etc.

Thanks

7/21/2010 1:31:20 PM

i like the incredible

7/21/2010 2:42:19 PM

Any of the Droid line will make you happy, especially if you use any flavor of Gmail. service is every bit as good as BB mail.

7/21/2010 2:44:49 PM

I still have the Droid at the top for best all-around. It's currently marked as EOL so it won't be available through verizon much longer but it's still a solid device. Rooted and unlocked bootloader gives you endless possibilities. The Incredible is nice but doesn't feel as rugged and battery life is meh along with the screen shortage. Droid x is a beast but locked bootloader and unrooted in it's present state so it's a wait and pray game. Droid 2 will be out in a month or so with the same 1GHz omap as the Droid x but it will likely have the same locked boot loader.

7/21/2010 3:43:51 PM

This thread is just going to turn into a fanboy argument between iPhones and Droids. You know it.

7/21/2010 3:45:50 PM

thanks for the responses

of the ones I listed, I liked the Droid x the best - the screen felt the most responsive and accurate to my touch.

I'm not familiar with rooting, etc., so I'm not sure if that will affect me much at all (though, I would like to look into, if I have a device that's rootable). Would the Droid 2 be worth waiting for? Without going into too much detail, I'll be changing phone plans soon, but before I do that I have to get a new phone. And I need to do this ASAP so I can get my 20% NCSU discount.

7/21/2010 3:49:36 PM

He said Verizon, iPhones need not apply.

I'd wait for Droid 2 if you like the size of the original Droid, otherwise Droid X probably has the best specs.

7/21/2010 3:51:07 PM

the only thing I can tell that the droid 2 has that I may want is the physical keyboard... not sure if I'd miss it though...

looks like people are reporting aug 23rd as the release date... I probably need to do this in the next week or so...

[Edited on July 21, 2010 at 3:54 PM. Reason : .]

7/21/2010 3:53:30 PM

Rooting allows apps like Wireless Tether which allows you to share an ad-hoc wireless network with compatible devices for free. Unlocked bootloader gives you overclocking ability and allows you to add custom roms that are much improved over stock and doesn't require waiting for Verizon to release and OS update. I've been running the latest Android 2.2 release for a while now while non-rooted users are stuck on 2.1 until Verizon pushes it out. If you don't plan on rooting, throw the droid out as it's way underpowered compared to the others. The droid 2 is an improvement over the original droid as it has nearly double the processing speed and a lot more app storage and ram. Keyboard is more spread out and improved over the original and it's nice to have. There's a rumor floating around that it could be released as early as Aug 12th. Also, you have a 30 day worry free guarantee with Verizon so you can get a phone now and exchange it for another one if it comes out within that time frame. You just pay a $35 restocking fee.

7/21/2010 3:57:05 PM

What you basically need to consider is if you really want/need the physical keyboard, versus the on-screen keyboard. There are pros and cons to each, but that's where you need to start. After that, consider screen size. The Droid X is a hoss of a phone, but screen space a plus. Droid 2 will more easily fit in a pocket without a bunch of stupid pervy jokes about pants bulges.

7/21/2010 4:03:34 PM

haha, thanks. how will the droid x compare to the droid 2 as far as performance/ram/storage? one thing I hate about my BB is its slow performance. as far as screen size, it's important, but when I was looking at the different phones in the store, none of them really struck me as being too small or much different than one another. And I'm a belt holster kind of guy and I'm used to carrying large objects, so size/weight won't really bother me (try carrying a fully loaded full-size .40 pistol around and you'll forget about that bulky cell phone )

and I'll definitely consider rooting. I guess I really need to look at some specs again, because I can't remember what's got what.

as for: "throw the droid out as it's way underpowered compared to the others."
you mean the droid, or all droid devices (x, htc, etc), save droid 2?

[Edited on July 21, 2010 at 6:07 PM. Reason : .]

7/21/2010 6:04:09 PM

He's referring specifically to the original Droid model, not the line of phones. Percy might want to correct me on this one, but I thought that the Droid X and Droid 2 were going to have similar specs so far as processor and memory are concerned.

7/21/2010 6:12:23 PM

looks like the droid x only has 8GB of storage? and 512 MB ram?

and it says a 16gb card comes preinstalled? does that sound right?

wtf does wifi capable mean?

the droid site fucking sucks, btw.


[Edited on July 21, 2010 at 6:15 PM. Reason : .]

7/21/2010 6:13:26 PM

i'd suggest looking at the samsung galaxy s variant for verizon (the fascinate?) if you are into custom roms and whatnot.

assuming it roots the same what the others do, and assuming it won't be hard to port other galaxy s roms to it, it should have a lot of options. looks like cyanogenmod is going to be supported on the galaxy s's, and as many people that will have these phones plenty of modders will take a shot or three at it.

7/21/2010 6:50:39 PM

yeah, believe the Droid 2 has the same specs as the Droid X. Only difference is the Droid 2 will come with an 8GB sdcard and the X comes with a 16. Wifi capable just means that you have the option to use wifi.

Didn't even think about the Samsung Fascinate (verizon's Galaxy S). It has the PowerVR SGX540 and the Droid, Droid X and Droid 2 all have the SGX530 so the Fascinate is the better choice if you like games. 4" Super AMOLED screen makes it easier to see outdoors than the standard AMOLED that is on the incredible (HTC will be changing the screen type soon though due to the shortage) and it's more pocketable than the Droid X.

7/21/2010 9:05:03 PM

Random comment:

I just wanted to say that I have been fascinated by how much Android has been promoted in ads in Korea lately. Like crazy. It's like all the new Korean cell phones are shipping with Android, and they are hyping it up to the max.

Case in point: http://video.nate.com/213362933

(Notice the Andre Kim reference)

7/21/2010 11:10:02 PM

ars has a great (lengthy) review of the droid x. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/reviews/2010/07/ars-reviews-the-motorola-droid-x.ars/

ive yet to test out any droid phone, but they do look pretty cool

7/22/2010 12:51:11 AM

I'm pretty much in the same situation as wdprice3. I'm looking pretty strongly at the DroidX, but I may wait a little and see what the Droid 2 is all about. The review posted^ is very indepth about it and makes the Droid X very appealing to me.

From my experience with HTC, I would not consider their devices. The battery life is far too low, and in the ars review they mention the HTC EVO can not even last a full day when sitting idle on a desk, and that is insanely frustrating. I had the HTC Diamond Touch and its very limited battery life made me have to carry around means to recharge the damn thing after 5 hours of moderate use...or less. I can't imagine they fixed the problem with the HTC Touch Pro 2

The release date for the Droid 2 appears to be in late August, so I may end up waiting for that to come out and see what the options are then.

The Droid X has full Swype keyboards, which looks just damn cool
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/reviews/2010/07/hands-on-swype-keyboard-for-android-is-sweeptastic.ars

Also, this might be huge for you about the Droid X (from the ars review). I'm not very apt to replacing the ROM on my smartphone simply because I don't trust the practice, so it doesn't affect me too much, but definitely is an issue for other users.

Quote :

"Modding controversy Motorola has controversially elected to block users from flashing the Droid X with custom ROM images. This means that users cannot replace the operating system itself or use third-party images that have been "cooked" by the Android enthusiast community. Although none of the major handset makers officially support that kind of modding, very few have taken aggressive steps to deter the practice. The ability to install a custom ROM is typically considered advantageous for programmers who want to do Android platform development and technologists who want more control over their Android user experience. Motorola's move to block ROM flashing will make the X significantly less appealing to those audiences and seriously hinder third-party efforts to innovate on top of the hardware. It could also be problematic for users who want to continue updating the device to use new versions of the Android operating system after it is no longer supported at all by Verizon and Motorola. The X uses the same encrypted bootloader technology that Motorola deployed on the Milestone. It has not successfully been compromised yet, though efforts to do so are ongoing. Rumors recently began circulating that the X includes a hardware component that is designed to brick the device in the event that the bootloader is compromised. This raised serious concerns among Android enthusiasts, because a self-destruct mechanism of that nature would make it exceptionally difficult and costly to find a means of circumventing the bootloader lock. Fortunately, there is no truth to these rumors. Verizon has confirmed that the Droid X is not encumbered with a scorched earth trigger. Although the block on replacing the ROM image will likely not matter to the vast majority of users, it's still deeply disappointing and it undermines Android's strengths as an open platform. It's worth noting, however, that the Droid X is still more open than some competing devices from rival carriers. Support for application side-loading and USB debugging have not been removed."

--

Read a review and a "How would you change the phone" of the Droid Incredible, and here's some quotes that makes me not want the phone:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/19/droid-incredible-review/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/12/how-would-you-change-htcs-droid-incredible/

Quote :

"Another somewhat major issue that we struggled with on the Incredible (just as we did on the Nexus One) was the awful screen visibility in bright daylight. We had numerous occasions where we simply could not answer a call or take a picture due to the AMOLED display's poor showing outdoors. In overcast settings (such as the one above) it was usually bearable, and If you crank the brightness all the way up on sunnier days you can get some visibility, though once you're outside and can't see the display, that's a bit of a challenge. In all honesty, we love certain aspects of these screens, but we're perplexed as to why HTC continues to use this same display when it's clear the daylight performance is hamstrung."

Quote :

"- It's driving me crazy that if I get a call and it's in the holster on my belt, I have to be careful getting it out or I accidentally hang up on the caller by hitting the power button! I'd LOVE to be able to disable that power button during calls! - Battery life SUCKS! They shouldn't have called it the "Incredible" unless they give you a decent battery so you can actually USE the thing the way it was intended to be used - and not just for the first 6-8 hours a day before it dies. - The camera may be 8mp - but the optics on it aren't great, and everything gets over-sharpened. - charging port on the side (as mentioned) is just STUPID! It's difficult to make a call or use the thing while connected to my car charger because the cord has to come all the way across to the left side of the device while I'm holding it. Put it on the bottom and get rid of that useless optical trackpad. - dedicated camera button on the right side would have been welcomed for activating the camera AND taking the shot (instead of pressing the trackpad, which is awkward) - While I appreciate the unique design of the backplate, it also makes the first point of contact when you lay it down THE CAMERA LENS! WTF were they thinking?!?! Oh...I know...we'll sell more cases that way!"

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 6:37 AM. Reason : moar]

I am writing off the Droid Eris because it is too old compared to these phones, especially when the Droid Incredible is already said to be vastly superior to it. So if I had to buy a phone right this second, I would get the Droid X

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 6:40 AM. Reason : final thought]

7/22/2010 6:14:04 AM

Is there still an app size limit on android phones? I know the droid has one. Is that the reason why there aren't big games for Android? That was one of the reasons why I was holding back. Myst on my iPhone is like 500MB+.

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 9:30 AM. Reason : f]

7/22/2010 9:29:25 AM

the iphone has Myst?!

7/22/2010 9:57:21 AM

Yeah Myst looks pretty sweet on the iPhone. Graphics/sound are redone. I just hope they update the graphics for the new iPhone 4 display soon. It'll look that much better. Playing it with headphones brings back so many memories of the 90's.

But yeah there's plenty of games that are a few hundred megs. A few apps top 2-3 gigs too. Mainly GPS apps.

Simcity 3000 on the iphone is one of my favorites. Almost a perfect port of the computer game. Sims 3 is alright. Most of the big name companies have atleast a game or two in the app store. I was just wondering how many of these games have made it to Android.

7/22/2010 10:06:48 AM

The fascinate has swype too doesn't it? I know the captivate does.

personally hardwarewise the captivate is the best phone out IMO. 4" is the perfect size for the screen, the super-AMOLED screen is the best available, and the chipset is superior to any other phone.

7/22/2010 1:04:12 PM

doesnt the generic galaxy S have a camera flash though? i read that the captivate doesnt have a flash.

7/22/2010 1:09:47 PM

you can't get the generic in our market though. it doesn't have a flash but the camera really isn't a dealbreaker. it has the fastest CPU and best GPU in any phone. the camera is very average, but i'm of the philosophy that if i want to take a good picture, i'd get an actual camera. if i want to take a decent picture when i'm on the go and don't have a camera on me, the captivate would do the trick.

typically if you need flash to take a picture on a camera phone, it'll be of poor quality.

7/22/2010 1:29:21 PM

I haven't seen the fascinate on verizon's site... guess it still hasn't been released yet.

I'm probably going to buy one this saturday and it's looking like it will be the droid x. if a better phone comes out within 30 days, I'll look at the new ones and consider switching them out.

7/22/2010 1:44:16 PM

verizon hasn't announced a release date yet, but yeah, if you're going to buy right now and aren't worried about the locked bootloader, there's no reason you shouldn't get that droid x.

if you were going to wait and stay with verizon I'd go with the fascinate, but the droid x is a very very good phone.

7/22/2010 2:21:29 PM

yeh, I've never done anything with rooting, etc, so I'm thinking I won't miss it. and I'm sure someone will break it soon enough.

7/22/2010 4:39:56 PM

Droid X has been rooted, so you can install non-store apps now. The only thing you can't do at this point is custom ROMs. Have fun!

7/22/2010 5:58:05 PM

I'm pretty sure you can do non-market apps on the droid x without root...

7/22/2010 6:44:18 PM

I don't what any of this shit means

well when I get it, who wants to teach me the ways? I'll buy the beer.

7/22/2010 7:43:46 PM

yeah, you can sideload apps without root where you basically just stick the app apk on your sd card open it and install. Verizon doesn't block it like AT&T. There are certain apps in the market that require a rooted device though.

7/22/2010 7:47:18 PM

Got my droid x damn thing is nice but too many options

7/27/2010 4:53:46 PM

anyone using the shell/holster + vehicle mount? I was told the phone would fit in the mount with the shell... but it doesn't

7/27/2010 6:46:07 PM

probably depends on the type of case. Believe there was a video somewhere where you had to file something down

7/27/2010 6:51:27 PM

yeh, I thought about filing the mount down, but I couldn't determine where all I needed to. I've been searching for instructions/that video, but haven't seen anything

7/27/2010 10:51:37 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaxqSDkcmP0

7/27/2010 11:13:11 PM

thanks.

damn using the real names of these products in my searches

7/27/2010 11:22:41 PM

that didn't work :/ guess I'll just deal with the hassle. it appears that the case is just too large all the way around.

thanks motorola

7/28/2010 2:00:07 PM

I just got my Samsung Epic 4G yesterday. So far I like it, although I will say that it has completely locked up twice. I had to take the battery out to reset. The battery life blows, but I guess that is to be expected

10/6/2010 10:23:28 AM

Give it a couple days on the battery life and it should improve. Still won't be great as Android phones are battery hogs but it should get through the day unless you don't put it down.

10/6/2010 12:18:03 PM

^^^^I guess we could just go back to the days of Nokia R2-D2-C3PO.

10/6/2010 1:13:06 PM

^^ yeah, it seems to be much better today. Probably just drained it yesterday because I was playing with it all day. I imagine I can probably get 2 days out of a charge if it keeps going the way it is today. It's definitely nice to be able to charge it from my computer though

10/6/2010 2:58:44 PM

I'm having trouble deciding between the HTC Incredible, the Droid 2, and the Fascinate. Here's what I see:

Incredible:
Pros - it is small, and has a better camera
Cons - battery life, possibly hard to read the screen in bright light?

Droid 2:
Pros - physical keyboard is not necessary but might be nice, and battery life is decent
Cons - a bit thicker than the others

Fascinate:
Pros - nice screen, and it's very thin
Cons - battery life?


What say you, TWW?

10/9/2010 3:12:04 PM

Out of curiosity, why not the droid x? It's really not much bigger than the fascinate at all. I was looking ar the same three plus the x and went with the x. Droid 2 was too thick and had the worst camera. Incredible had poor battery life and I didn't prefer the smiled screen. Fascinate's thinness was awesome and that was my main draw to it. In the end I just wasn't sure about the battery life and didn't care for the stock rom with bing and the consensus that Samsung is slow about releases and support. For the record it does have advantages over the x (camera and processor namely) but with the size being almost exactly the same, I felt the X's advantages won out (hard keyss, soft touch finish vs glossy, gorilla glass, "lighter" rom with google, stock 2.2 instead of 2.1).


So out of those 3 I'd recommend a fascinate but I'd really suggest taking another look at the droid x.

10/10/2010 10:40:53 AM

If I don't want to have to alter my phone much is it worth it to get a Droid? I am just lazy and don't care about rooting it (honestly I don't know what that even really means, just assuming), I just like to have a phone that works well out of the box and may need some minor tweaking.

I currently have a BB Bold 9000 with AT&T and my contract is up in November.

Details:
-Can switch to any carrier
-Price of smart phone is not an issue
-Love the email with the blackberry, and the bbm feature is nice since my wife and dad have them as well
-Use google maps a lot
-Do some web browsing but mainly if I need it in a crunch like looking up a recipe when I am at the grocery store or something like that or if I am bored somewhere. The Bold's web browser sucks though.
-I like a real keyboard but am not totally opposed to going away from it but still give a physical keyboard the nod
-It must function well as a phone (imagine that)
-Battery life is important to me

So tdub, what should I do in your opinion? Right now I am thinking Blackberry Torch or switch to Verizon and get the Droid 2 but I am definitely open for suggestions and I don't have a bias in the whole droid v iphone fanboy war, I will just get the best phone for me regardless.

10/10/2010 12:17:39 PM

^Keep in mind that at least 95% of Android owners most likely never root and have no idea what it is. You can get along just fine in Android without rooting. I've had 4 different Blackberry devices and 2 Android. My first Android was a piece of shit (Eris) and I hated it, ESPECIALLY the email. I get anywhere from 30-50 emails a day and half of them are crap that I don't want to get on my phone. Since I was on POP3, I couldn't control what I got to the Eris so I went back to BB & the filters. I was never happy going back. Other than the email and a slow ass processor, everything else about the Eris was better. I finally upgraded my company to Google Apps last week and ordered Droid Xs to replace our Blackberries. I couldn't be happier now. Since I'm using Google Apps, I can control what labels are synced and my email delivery is better than it was with BB's filters. I also get an awesome browser, fantastic search capabilities (including voice), replacing my GPS & using Pandora in the car with the Car Mount, and it's also a better phone (signal, voice quality, & speakerphone). With the 4.3" screen, I don't miss the real kb (I'm prob. a little faster than the kb on the Tour & Bold and about the same as with my old Curve). Test out some on-screen kb's before you decide that you must have a physical kb. It seems that a lot of people end up not using them with Android.

Battery life was something that really concerned me but so far it's not too bad. I don't think I'll be able to beat my BB's life since I used a holster that took advantage of BB's sleep/hibernate functionality but so far it's been pretty good. I've been playing with it a lot but after tweaking the settings slightly, I've not run the battery down yet. It has not been through a full work day yet though so we'll see how that goes on Monday.

10/10/2010 1:14:10 PM

bump

10/26/2011 12:16:16 PM

Thanks fred.

Okay, folks. Everyone is talking about a Windows Phone and the iPhone, but there are a TON more smartphones out there.

From the Droid, to the Galaxy nexus, to the old reliable Pantech. (j/k)

Aside from the MAC/PC phones, which phones/networks do you have, and what do you like about it?

10/26/2011 12:26:08 PM

And, where do you go for reviews of the phones you are considering?

10/26/2011 12:27:36 PM

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/25/blackberry-a-metaphor-for-government/

Quote :

"Here in the land of BlackBerry, the man with two soup cans connected by a string is king. Of course, if you happen to have an iPhone, you live on a blissful island of brilliant technology, instant connection to email and the Internet, and a seamless interface with your computer back at the office and at home. But, as anyone in politics will bitterly tell you today, that iPhone has no place here. That is because in all its vast wisdom at picking winners and losers, the federal government early on decided to bet on BlackBerry. It is what email and computer systems in Congress were designed around. It is what lawmakers and staffers all over the federal government are issued for work, and it is what President Obama keeps strapped to his side. It is what most campaigns run on. The slow, halting and un-sleek device has been the government’s handheld going all the way back to the days of Al Gore hustling his nerdy self from meeting to meeting rewriting the entire federal code because, as former President Clinton shrewdly and devastatingly observed: “He was the only person that I could trust to read all 150,000 pages in the Code of Federal Regulations.” Which is about what it is like trying to operate a BlackBerry. Complaints are endless about emails inexplicably coming in hours after they are sent. Contacts repeatedly ejected from your address book for no reason. The Web browser is so achingly slow that it is basically useless. By the time the requested page comes up, you have entirely forgotten what you were looking for. The stupid thing chokes on simple commands, and the only way to unfreeze it is to take the back off, rip out the battery and reboot the whole thing. Ten minutes later, you are back up and running. Or crawling. Then there is the machine itself, which is clunky and prone to breaking. And when the trackpad goes out — which is fairly common — you are left with a car without a steering wheel. So it was only fitting that as the world celebrated the unrivaled brilliance of Steve Jobs and his unyielding pursuit of perfection as he revolutionized the world of handhelds with his iPhone, those shackled to BlackBerrys were consumed with something else. In addition to all the cracked screens, choked service and missed emails, the entire service from the Middle East, across Europe and finally the U.S., fell crippled to a massive outage that BlackBerry has still yet to fully explain. Oddly, the Edsel of handhelds is the one truly unifying thing in all of Washington. Antipathy for it is not a liberal or conservative thing. It’s not a PC versus Mac thing. It is just what happens when the government decides who wins and who loses, who lives and who dies."

10/26/2011 12:47:38 PM