What Android Phone Should Rams Get?

[STLRamsFan]

Hey guys, after hearing the recent outrage about Verizon possibly making heck for Unlimited Data users pretty soon and with me getting an unlimited data account tomorrow with an upgrade, I was wondering what Android phone with LTE I should get?

Been looking around but am still at a loss at what the heck I should get. Money is NOT an issue at the moment as I won a pretty nice enough at a casino (:haw:) to pay for everything. What phones should I look at or what is coming out SOON? Just lemme know cause I do not want to drop my unlimited plan for awhile.

Note: I know there are ATT and Sprint only Android phones out there, not interested in those as I am currently in a government discounted family plan at the moment.

[jcap]

FYI, Verizon is coming out with shared data plans this summer. If you are on your own plan, it doesn't matter. But, if you share with your parents, you may only need to pay $10 instead of $30.

Switching to shared data will remove unlimited from your account.

Also, remember that in 2 years, when your contract is up for renewal, you will be forced into a metered plan.

HTC phones are beautiful, but they never get Android updates. The Galaxy Nexus is a great phone IMO, and it will get the Android updates since it's stock Android and supported by Google. The battery kinda sucks on it, and the signal isn't as strong as my old Droid Incredible (about 10db weaker). Google said they are launching like 5 new Android phones with Android 5 once it is released (probably a few months).

4G is nice in any phone, but the radio wastes battery life AND only limited areas support it. Only either CDMA/3G or 4G radio can operate at a time, so going between 3G and 4G zones will cause you to drop your signal as it switches radios. The Galaxy Nexus has a major problem that Verizon still has not updated yet where it takes several minutes for the radio to switch form 3G to 4G, so I leave it on 3G all the time and never have problems. 4G is pretty much for stationary use while tethering to your laptop.



Also, buy a GTX670 (and one for me plz, ty)

[STLRamsFan]

FYI, Verizon is coming out with shared data plans this summer. If you are on your own plan, it doesn't matter. But, if you share with your parents, you may only need to pay $10 instead of $30.

Switching to shared data will remove unlimited from your account.


Yea that's what I am trying to avoid with the upgrade that I have with the account that I am taking off. Figured I would do the upgrade before the policies take place and look into loopholes. My folks both have unlimited and do not have shared data plans and doubt they will change it to shared.

Looking into the Nexus and thought it was a pretty nice phone. What about the Razor or something? Some folks tell me it's better or just as good. The battery life doesn't really bother me much as long as I can get through at least a day (or close) for the most part. My iPhone 4 battery life wasn't that great towards the end but having to recharge at night never bothered me at all.

[jcap]

The problem is, many Android manufacturers are lazy bastards and they still haven't upgraded to Android 4 yet. Android 2.3 is a piece of shit in comparison. Most phones still come with 2.3 on it. I believe the Motorola phones still ship with Android 2.3, but they said that they will update to Android 4 sometime later this year. The problem is still that when you're not running stock Android, you are dependent on the manufacturers for their bloated updates. You can always use Cyanogen or some other community ROM to update to the latest version, but there's never any guarantee of whether your phone will be supported in the future, or if it will be stable enough for heavy use. From history, the "official" stock phones ALWAYS get updates, either from the manufacturers, or from the community. The Galaxy Nexus is an awesome phone that is going to be the center of attention for many future updates.


Edit: Oh, I need to say this...

One thing I really hate about my Galaxy Nexus is its size. The screen is sharp, beautiful, and responsive, but it is so bulky in my hands. With my Droid Incredible, the phone fit snugly in my hand and I could reach anywhere on the screen with my thumb. With the Galaxy Nexus, I have to hold it in both hands so it doesn't feel like it's going to fall out if I overreach. I don't understand why phones have to have such a dick measuring contest with their screens when it becomes counterproductive as it surpasses a certain size. I have average hands, and this is my opinion. I've heard from people with large hands (like 6'5") that the phone is comfortable in their grip.

[Limited]

Samsung Galaxy S 3, gets released May 29th and its going to piss all over hte competition.

By the way, 670 GTX (superclocked) are real nice :D

http://limited-development.net/images/pc/IMG_2313.png
Woot my rig /showoff

[jcap]

Oh yeah, forgot about that phone. It's going to run Android 4, I believe, and it's coming to Verizon. Definitely look into that.

[STLRamsFan]

Hmmm doesn't it come out later than May 29th? From what I understand that is for the UK while the US has to wait a bit... Unless I am reading that wrong. Trying to play my cards right before the Verizon policy goes into effect. But that does look like a swell phone from what I saw!

[BobtheGreatII]

I have a Galaxy Nexus. I love it to death. Just... Verizon canned updates, it's been 5 months since they've released an update for the thing. However, you can find leaked versions of 4.0.4 (what I'm running) and it works great. Definitely get a phone that is either going to be getting ICS or already has it. You'll be happy you did. Best Android OS so far.

[STLRamsFan]

What about the Droid Incredible 3? Is that phone any good?

[jcap]

Only problem with the DINC3 is that it runs HTC Sense 4, so all of your Android updates will be delayed by 6-12 months (if you even get an update at all).

...Unless you flash with a custom ROM.

[STLRamsFan]

Hmm, might be tempted to do that. Considering I rarely updated my iPhone when I had it, that wouldn't really bother me.

Edit: "rarely" not really

[Lightning]

Galaxy Nexus with AOKP (aokp.co)

No turning back, and the size grows on you VERY quickly.

Or wait for a Lumia 900-ish ;_;

[PlasbianX]

I have a droid razr maxx. Battery life on 4g is fantastic.

[STLRamsFan]

How bout the size of it? Any complaints about that?

[BobtheGreatII]

I hate to say it... but smart phones are starting to get bigger now. Mostly for the battery and screen size. The Razr Maxx is a good size.

http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/razr-maxx-dimensions-580x326.png

If I had to choose it would either be the Razr Maxx (normal Razr is fine, but the extra battery is nice) or a Galaxy Nexus like I have now.

​http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=18697&news=Samsung+Galaxy+Nexus+Motorola+Droid+RAZR+MAXX +Comparison+Verizon

[Masterz1337]

I'd get some used phone and wait and see what comes out. No matter what Android phone you use on Verizon is going to get shit updates and support. Just hold out to fall and get a nice Lumia running Apallo or the 6th gen iPhone.

Edit: Fuck the RAZR. It's not only low res, but pentile as well. Ugly as shit.

[BobtheGreatII]

Don't listen to Masterz, he's very biased. lol.

[jcap]

The UI of motorola phones is the worst of all UIs IMO.

[BobtheGreatII]

I would have to disagree. HTC Sense is the worst. Motoblur in close second. That's why I love a phone like the GNexus... Stock Android, the way it should be.

[STLRamsFan]

I'd get some used phone and wait and see what comes out

I'm actually seriously considering that. Very tempted to upgrade with the iPhone 4S and without opening the box, put it right onto ebay and bam profit, thus meaning my next phone is paid for.

[Masterz1337]

Aren't Verizon ones locked though?

[JackalStomper]

Its verizon. You know, the guys that still try to get away with stuff like this
http://www.verizonwireless.com/images_b2c/store/media_store_pods1.jpg

[BobtheGreatII]

Well if you're not a complete idiot, Verizon tends to be pretty alright.

[PlasbianX]

To the people complaining about the Razr Maxx size, its not bad at all. Size is perfect for me (i have large hands)
To masterz being a crybaby about motoblur, who the fuck uses stock on their phone (unless its vanilla android). That's what launchers are for. I have LP+ and my phone looks really damn nice when I mix minimalistic widgets onto my homescreen with LP+.

I love the maxx.

[Masterz1337]

LP+ is awesome. Still doesn't stop motoblur from being fucking gay. At least on the Atrix 1. The new ICS motoblur doesn't look all that bad though. Also pentile sucks. Dunno why they don't use the SAMOLED+ panel used in the Lumia 900 and GS2/Focus S

[PlasbianX]

LP+ is awesome. Still doesn't stop motoblur from being fucking gay. At least on the Atrix 1. The new ICS motoblur doesn't look all that bad though. Also pentile sucks. Dunno why they don't use the SAMOLED+ panel used in the Lumia 900 and GS2/Focus S

Yeah ICS motoblur isn't bad, but I think I'm going switch from LP+ to Apex launcher when the Maxx gets ICS. Apex looks pretty darn nice. I've heard the Atrix is pretty bad with bugs tho, so that may be the problem. Idk tho.

[Mr Buckshot]

I would have to disagree. HTC Sense is the worst. Motoblur in close second. That's why I love a phone like the GNexus... Stock Android, the way it should be.

This. HTC Sense blows. But you can always flash on CyanogenMod which is far better than stock android IMO (it defaults to resemble stock android visually, but go into the Settings menu and you'll love it). I am using a HTC Desire Z with CM7.1 overclocked to Nexus One speeds (ironically still having better battery life than under HTC Sense without OCing).

I don't have any incentive to get a new phone till a stable release of CM9 is out. Anyway, I don't have any real recommendations, but my advice would be to not get too swayed by "dual core" and "quad core" and other specs crap. Android's too fragmented for there to be many apps that actually take advantage of the extra power in these higher end phones (this is one field where WP7 has a huge advantage btw). Use the Nexus S's specs as your "baseline" and go for a midrange phone around that level if the price is good.

[Nero]

I have the Samsung Galaxy S2 LTE. Best phone I have ever come across. I dont even care for the s3, I just love this one SO much.

[BobtheGreatII]

Galaxy Nexus is getting 4.0.4 here real soon. Should be the phone you get. No joke.

[PlasbianX]

Galaxy Nexus is getting 4.0.4 here real soon. Should be the phone you get. No joke.

My friend has it, and while its a great device, it feels like it was made pretty cheap, its hard to get accessories for it, and battery life is terrible. While I hate motorola, I love my maxx :P

[STLRamsFan]

Well it looks like I'll have to wait on the Galaxy S3 until the pricing goes down for it as my upgrade got pushed until September for whatever reason :(... Oh well, no biggie. Now, I am looking at the Nexus for the price that they have it as on ebay. My question to you guys is whether or not I should stand pat until the new phones such as the Galaxy S3 comes out which should make the prices go down, or do you believe that it won't affect the pricing too much?

[STLRamsFan]

For those of you who have the Nexus or whatever, how's the new Icecream Sandwich OS (the one that came out yesterday I believe) working for you?

[PlasbianX]

For those of you who have the Nexus or whatever, how's the new Icecream Sandwich OS (the one that came out yesterday I believe) working for you?

Nexus has had ice cream since launch. It was just a minor update that came out.

[BobtheGreatII]

Nexus has had ice cream since launch. It was just a minor update that came out.

Don't let it fool you. It was a major updat to ICS. But yes... it was needed. ICS is the best OS out to date. And the most recent. So you can't go wrong. It's also much more widly supported than when it first came out. So most apps are already set. It's faster, smoother, and the GNexus handles it great. And it's pure Android... No crap shoved on top of it, and no bloatware that you get from Motorola or HTC.

[PlasbianX]

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/06/03/samsung-galaxy-siii-coming-to-5-u-s-carriers-staring-in-june/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DroidLife+%28droid+life%29&utm_content=FaceBook


Galaxy III news!

[STLRamsFan]

So, for those of you who have/had the Galaxy S3, how'd you like it compared to the Nexus? Also, how is the Jelly Bean OS if anyone had the chance to try it out.

[Warsaw]

I've spent considerable time messing with one while checking out phones for myself.

It is made out of the thinnest, glossiest, and overall most chintzy plastic Samsung could find. If you place it between your thumb and fore-finger and apply pressure, it will squeeze together. It's an increadibly cheap-feeling product and I would not recommend it, period. To make matters worse, the TouchWiz interface that Samsung overlaid onto ICS for the Galaxy S III basically makes the user experience advancements made in ICS all for nothing. If you want ICS, you want the HTC One S, One X, or Galaxy Nexus.

[BobtheGreatII]

I have jelly bean on my VZW nexus. It's beautiful. I didn't think they could expand on ICS... but it's amazing.

[PlasbianX]

So, for those of you who have/had the Galaxy S3, how'd you like it compared to the Nexus? Also, how is the Jelly Bean OS if anyone had the chance to try it out.


Jelly Bean is quite amazing. I'm still running ICS on my Razr Maxx, but im using Apex launcher and it has a few jelly bean features and it's amazing. My friend has a rooted phone running jelly bean and the new search on it really +1's the hell out of Siri. I'm tempted to root my phone now but I don't know if there's any decent roms for the razr yet or not. I've heard great things about CM10 though.

[STLRamsFan]

How is the battery life on the nexus? Have the droid charge (since it was 70 on ebay and needed a phone to last me for the summer) and I tell ya, the battery life on that phone is pathetic... Also, I heard nexus on Verizon had some problems with connection, is that still. the case?

[PlasbianX]

How is the battery life on the nexus? Have the droid charge (since it was 70 on ebay and needed a phone to last me for the summer) and I tell ya, the battery life on that phone is pathetic... Also, I heard nexus on Verizon had some problems with connection, is that still. the case?

My friend can get about ~10 hours on his nexus depending on how much he uses it. I can get about 15 on the maxx with moderate to heavy use, 20+ if I use smart actions to control my battery life. As for the nexus on verzion, yes it does have the same connection problems still.

[BobtheGreatII]

With Jelly Bean I'm getting 17 to 20 hrs of battery life.

The Galaxy Nexus doesn't have the poor connection problems like it did in 4.0.1 anymore. You can read this for more information on why the signal is the way it is:

http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25921-this-is-why-your-verizon-nexus-signal-sucks/
(http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25921-this-is-why-your-verizon-nexus-signal-sucks/)

[STLRamsFan]

Well, I just ordered the Nexus. Ordered off ebay to avoid the stupid policy of taking away unlimited when upgrading. Got it for a decent price too! Can anyone point me to where I can learn how to root my phone and get jelly bean on it?

[BobtheGreatII]

Droid Life is your one stop source for everything you're going to want to know. Check out their guide to everything you need:

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/12/15/galaxy-nexus-roundup-ice-cream-sandwich-tips-bootloaders-extended-batteries-day-one-thoughts-and-more/


(http://www.droid-life.com/2011/12/15/galaxy-nexus-roundup-ice-cream-sandwich-tips-bootloaders-extended-batteries-day-one-thoughts-and-more/)There are several versions of Jelly Bean out. I'm using a build that keeps it pretty vanilla. I don't like all the extra crap. I'm currently using:

http://rootzwiki.com/topic/28992-rom-razors-jelly-v26-verizonjelly-bean-41-8-july/

(http://rootzwiki.com/topic/28992-rom-razors-jelly-v26-verizonjelly-bean-41-8-july/)And this is where most of them are:

http://rootzwiki.com/forum/362-vzw-galaxy-nexus-development/

(http://rootzwiki.com/forum/362-vzw-galaxy-nexus-development/)Just make sure you're always downloading the stuff for the Verizon verison of the phone. You don't want to accidently throw something on there that shouldn't be there.

Be warned that with the Jelly Bean builds, there are still a lot of people working on them. So you may run in to a few bugs here and there. But over all the builds work great.

EDIT: 3,000 posts. Woooo. Only took 6 years.

[PlasbianX]

Well, I just ordered the Nexus. Ordered off ebay to avoid the stupid policy of taking away unlimited when upgrading. Got it for a decent price too! Can anyone point me to where I can learn how to root my phone and get jelly bean on it?

There's rumors that Verizon is allowing the upgrades to keep unlimited. They just told my dad today he could upgrade and keep his unlimited (although he went to best buy first and they said no)

Also, the Galaxy SIII is supposedly getting Jelly Bean soon.

[BobtheGreatII]

It'll more than likely be a modified version of Jelly Bean.

[Masterz1337]

Didn't google say the GN was getting JB in July?

[BobtheGreatII]

The HSPA version already has the official 4.1.1 update. Usually when google is talking about the Nexus they aren't talking about the Verizon one.

[STLRamsFan]

There's rumors that Verizon is allowing the upgrades to keep unlimited. They just told my dad today he could upgrade and keep his unlimited (although he went to best buy first and they said no)

Also, the Galaxy SIII is supposedly getting Jelly Bean soon.

Apparently that was an error in the system and from what I've heard that has already been fixed (sadly). Plus my actual upgrade isn't for awhile and I doubt my folks would be willing to give up their unlimited for me to use an upgrade haha. Regardless, the Nexus doesn't seem like a bad phone at all anyway, should be good for my needs. Nice thing about the package I'm getting is it includes both the normal and extended battery which'll definitely come in handy. Then again anything's better than the Charge...

I do like the S3 but the price is just too much right now. Maybe later down the road I'll sell the Nexus and get the S3, but with the price of the package I bought, this'll do just fine. :)

[PlasbianX]

Make sure with that extended battery you let it die before you charge it initially. It'll run a considerable amount longer for ya.

[BobtheGreatII]

Good thing to do with just about any battery. It also resets the battery sensor.

[STLRamsFan]

Well I'm playing around with the Nexus and so far I'm loving it. Haven't gotten to rooting it or anything just yet, just am getting used to ICS and all before I do anything. A few questions though:

- Is there a way to add the feature where you're texting someone and all of the sudden you want to call them so you just place your ear on the phone and it calls? (Direct call I think it was called)
- Anyway to add a swipe to capture feature? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kctRxOMVfEU)
- What about multitasking videos? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBV94S7o56Q)

Liked a few of those features from the S3 and wondered if there was anyway to add them if possible.

[BobtheGreatII]

Honestly I'm not too sure. The swipe to capture thing seems a little gimicky since it only requires you to press volume down and power to take a screenshot. The multitasking video thing is kinda neat. But judging by that video, it looks like it has quite the performance drop when he switches to the home screen. All the same, it's something kinda cool that would be neat. As for the direct call. I hadn't heard of anything like that. That's kinda cool though. My only problem I really see with it is that if you have multiple numbers for the person (Home, work, cell, etc.), but I'm sure it was taken care of. Your best bet is to google around. XDA, Rootz Wiki, Droid Central, and Droid-Life are probably your best bet to look for that kind of stuff. My guess is that it won't be something like an .apk that you can install, but would probably be something that's only in a custom rom. But you never know.

[NullZero]

You're not on Jelly Bean yet? :O

[PlasbianX]

For direct call, you might wanna check out Tasker Pro. Its like a 6 dollar app but its a programmer's dream app. You could easily setup a trigger that detects if your texting is your default app and the trigger for being held up to an ear is detected, call the number your texting. The app is great for custom stuff like that.

[STLRamsFan]

I'm guessing something like this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715549

By the way, has anyone using Verizon and has the Unlimited plan actually been warned regarding the tethering hotspot lately? Tried it out as my Wii modem (which shockingly only used up 10 megs in 20 minutes) and it worked nicely, would be a huge help for when I go back to Colorado since my apartment Wi-Fi doesn't allow game console gaming for some reason. :|

[Warsaw]

Well, if they give you lip you can tell them to shove it since it was ruled illegal for them to charge for 4G tethering and/or otherwise lock it out.

[BobtheGreatII]

Well, if they give you lip you can tell them to shove it since it was ruled illegal for them to charge for 4G tethering and/or otherwise lock it out.

This.

[PlasbianX]

I'm guessing something like this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715549

By the way, has anyone using Verizon and has the Unlimited plan actually been warned regarding the tethering hotspot lately? Tried it out as my Wii modem (which shockingly only used up 10 megs in 20 minutes) and it worked nicely, would be a huge help for when I go back to Colorado since my apartment Wi-Fi doesn't allow game console gaming for some reason. :|

Idk if it works on other phones or not, but ive been using the app "FoxFi" for months and I've never had anything said to me from verizon.

[STLRamsFan]

Yea that's what I've been trying out. And I'm assuming that's with unlimited data?

[PlasbianX]

Yea that's what I've been trying out. And I'm assuming that's with unlimited data?

Correct, I am on verizon's unlimited data plan still

[BobtheGreatII]

Hey just so you know, the build of Jelly Bean 4.1.1 just got a custom (stock) rom built for flashing. The latest version, and plane vanilla except for root. I'm downloading it now.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1762846

[STLRamsFan]

Just rooted and installed it. It's pretty nice, I like it. What rooted apps/goodies should I now look at installing or doing? Already gotten the typical backup app, es explorer, and all that normal typical stuff. But what other stuff should I look at?

Is there a notification bar type thing that is kind of like IOS's in a way? Where the notification bar popup will actually appear even if you're looking at a movie or playing a game and you can actually just click it and you'll go right into whatever it is.

[BobtheGreatII]

I believe that's handled from app to app. You can look around, but it's usually the app itself that makes the bar go away. Someone might have made a workaround, but I don't know why you would want it taking up your screen space. There's a reason the Nexus has on screen buttons, so that the notification area and those buttons fade away to give you the most room on your screen.

[BobtheGreatII]

Hey. In case you didn't know. Jelly Bean for the LTE Galaxy Nexus is officially out. Check your phone for updates. If you have a custom ROM you'll have to go back to stock I think. Check droid-life for more info.

[Warsaw]

On a different note, I'm probably going to grab the RAZR M for AT&T when the international version shows up on Amazon.

Anybody have better suggestions? My requirements are:

-Easy to hold
-Fits in pocket
-Fast
-Solid build quality
-Stock-ish UI out of the box...TouchWiz and Sense need not apply

I'm not huge on ROM swapping, I'd prefer something that just works without too much fiddling.

[BobtheGreatII]

Be careful with Motorola. You're still going to wind up with moto-blur. And you won't have to worry about installing Roms since it has a locked bootloader. That being said. The RazrM seems like a nice enough phone. Go to Droid-Life and watch their review. They're usually pretty straight forward.

[Warsaw]

The Verizon version has the locked bootloaders and all, since Verizon doesn't want people circumventing its "security" measures. I'm looking at the international GSM variant (not on shelves yet, also doesn't carry DROID branding). As far as I know, those are pretty unmolested.

One of my friends did buy the VZW DROID RAZR M this past week, and I liked it well enough. Previously I had planned on grabbing an HTC One S later this year, but I preferred the Moto interface after playing with it. It really is pretty much stock ICS except some of the icons have been altered and they added this Circles widget...which is nifty and far more useful than the HTC weather and clock widgets. After seeing some of the HTC WP8 offerings, I'm a little on the fence, but I'm still leaning toward Android for this go around. WP7 was fun when it was new, but it has failed to move forward.

Related: it's fantastic to be on a GSM carrier and be able to bring my own device. Just have to pay attention to those carrier wavelengths. :-3

[STLRamsFan]

RIP Galaxy Nexus... Dropped it ONE FRECKING TIME with a case and the screen is ruined. No point of paying over $160 of repairs for it when I could just as easily get the S3 for just a bit more. Hopefully I'll be allowed to use one of my parent's upgrades since I have 0 interest in losing unlimited data (12gigs this month alone, yikes).

[STLRamsFan]

Seems like Verizon marked it down to $30. Not bad. So what you think, S3 or still stay with the Nexus despite the newer one coming out? Those are my only two choices at this point.

[BobtheGreatII]

The Nexus will probably see Keylime Pie (4.2) before the S3, but it's really your call. Both are pretty good phones I think.

[STLRamsFan]

I mean I can just as easily flash it to the S3 once the time comes, no biggie. Did that with Jellybean for the Nexus. Need a phone since I do so much school stuff on it so it might as well be a phone that's worth upgrading for instead of paying just $30 for a phone that'll be completely dull in two years (since it'll be 3 by the time the contract would have expired).

[BobtheGreatII]

I think Google is going to announce some new stuff here on the 29th I believe. So you might hold off if you can, there might be some cool stuff.