Android phone recommendations/discussion?

[dah328]

I'm up for a new phone with Verizon. Anyone familiar with the Razr MAXX, the Galaxy Nexus, or the HTC Rezound? How much should I care about Ice Cream Sandwich?

I'm upgrading from my old Droid X, which I was pretty contended with. I'm not a huge power user or anything.

Maxx would probably feel the most familiar as they're both Moto phones. I heard the battery life is quite impressive on that guy.
I have a Galaxy Nexus with the official Samsung extended battery and am very pleased with the whole package overall. I like ICS a lot.
Pass on the Rezound.

I'm leaning towards the Maxx, but it's kind of expensive. $150 more than the Nexus. I see rumors that ICS is coming out "soon" for the Maxx, and a lot of people are saying that's the only real advantage on the Nexus.

How much bulk does the extended battery add to the Nexus? My wife has a Charge and the extended battery makes it into a brick, although the normal battery life is so poor that I'm sure a lot of people do it.

If it were me and given that the Maxx is still priced at $300, I'd wait for the Droid Incredible 4G which is supposed to be coming out by the end of May and should be priced the same. Fast processor and 4G data, high quality but not obscenely large screen, and pretty reliable Droid design. I wish more manufacturers would make phones with 4" screens.

Edit: The Maxx is rumored to drop in price soon which is likely because it's several months old at this point and a variety of newer phones have come out since its release. If you're still set on it, you might wait a couple weeks for that to happen.

 

[whiteslashasian]



I'm leaning towards the Maxx, but it's kind of expensive. $150 more than the Nexus. I see rumors that ICS is coming out "soon" for the Maxx, and a lot of people are saying that's the only real advantage on the Nexus.
How much bulk does the extended battery add to the Nexus? My wife has a Charge and the extended battery makes it into a brick, although the normal battery life is so poor that I'm sure a lot of people do it.

The extended battery is almost imperceptibly thicker than the stock one. It weighs a little more which is actually pretty welcome for the phone as it feels almost too lightweight for the size.

 

[Nicola]



. I wish more manufacturers would make phones with 4" screens.
.

Who isn't making 4" screens? I thought most of the mid range phones were now basically 4". It's only the top level phones that are of course bigger.

 

[dah328]

. I wish more manufacturers would make phones with 4" screens.
.

Who isn't making 4" screens? I thought most of the mid range phones were now basically 4". It's only the top level phones that are of course bigger.

Yeah, I meant high-end phones. The desire for a decent processor, 4G, and halfway-decent design does not necessarily imply the desire for a huge screen.

 

[otc]



Yeah, I meant high-end phones. The desire for a decent processor, 4G, and halfway-decent design does not necessarily imply the desire for a huge screen.

+1

I've noticed that there is something about android that makes it a little tough to use on an iphone sized screen (probably just that all the app designers are designing for bigger screens) but I really don't want some huge 4.5" display in my pocket.

My galaxy S is a decent size (I think its an exact 4" with fairly trim margins) but these things just keep getting bigger and bigger.

 

[Gibonius]

I'm pretty happy with the screen on the Droid X, it's 4.3". I find iPhone sized phones useless for internet browsing, but I don't think I'm comfortable with some of the new monsters. I don't have tiny hands but some of these things are hard to hold much less fit comfortably in the pocket.

If it were me and given that the Maxx is still priced at $300, I'd wait for the Droid Incredible 4G which is supposed to be coming out by the end of May and should be priced the same. Fast processor and 4G data, high quality but not obscenely large screen, and pretty reliable Droid design. I wish more manufacturers would make phones with 4" screens.

Edit: The Maxx is rumored to drop in price soon which is likely because it's several months old at this point and a variety of newer phones have come out since its release. If you're still set on it, you might wait a couple weeks for that to happen.

Noted. I'm not in any big hurry, would gladly wait a few weeks to save some cash or have another good option. If my battery wasn't starting to go on the current phone, I really wouldn't care about replacing it at all.

Amazon has the Verizon Razr Maxx for $200, which is about as much as I'd care to spend.

 

[blairh]



I'm pretty happy with the screen on the Droid X, it's 4.3". I find iPhone sized phones useless for internet browsing, but I don't think I'm comfortable with some of the new monsters. I don't have tiny hands but some of these things are hard to hold much less fit comfortably in the pocket.

I find the iPhone 4 screen works for me when I browse my bookmarks that contain mobile versions. (Most sites I frequent have this.)

Of course I do find myself at times on a site and just wish the screen were a touch bigger. I think 4.3" would probably be ideal. The screen on the One X is astounding however I found the phone itself to be too big for comfortable one-handed use.

I think the current iPhone form factor would be perfect as a smartphone if you could make the entire front piece the screen with one software key home button a la Galaxy Nexus. Most people don't realize that iPhone 4/4S is 5" diagonally.

 

[dah328]



Amazon has the Verizon Razr Maxx for $200, which is about as much as I'd care to spend.

It just dropped to $199 at Verizon. I'm not sure if Amazon will drop a little more to maintain their price advantage.

 

[ysb]

Resurrecting this thread as in the coming weeks the Samsung Galaxy S5 is going to drop and the new HTC One (M8) released yesterday. I had a chance to play with it in the Verizon store and it's really nice. navigating through the phone software, opening up apps, maps, or the camera was very quick and responsive. It seems to me that the hardware for Android phones is finally starting to catch up with the iPhone in terms of smoothness.

I read a ton of reviews for the HTC One yesterday and like its predecessor, the camera caught a lot of flack for not having the resolution of its competitors such as the newer Lumia or the upcoming S5 or Note 3. but I think for my purposes the resolution was fine, and the effects of the dual lens (a second depth sensing camera) was really really cool.

Definitely going to wait to see the reviews for the S5, but the One is very tempting. I have an S3 that I use for work and it's been great, much better than the Droid Razr Maxx I've had for 2 years.

If I had more patience, I would definitely wait for the Note 4 to come out in the fall, but don't know if I can last that long.

Anyone else in the market for a new phone and going through this same choice?

 

[otc]

god damn, they just keep getting bigger don't they?

as mentioned in the moto x thread, I am still loving it and would buy another if I were making the phone choice today. Active notifications are awesome.

 

[dah328]

The choices for Android phones seem pretty straightforward these days. If you value the fastest software updates and a "stock" experience, the Nexus 5 is the clear choice. If build quality and premium feel are important to you, it's the HTC One M8. If overall usability and/or a smaller form factor is important, it's the Moto X. If you want a phablet, it's the Note 3. If you want to have a respectable but not especially remarkable phone that will nevertheless sell hundreds of millions of units, it's the Galaxy S5. On the one hand, there's not a ton of differentiation right now, but on the other hand, it's hard to go too wrong with any of those phones.

 

[Chong]

I have my eyes on Sony's Xperia Z2

 

[MikeDT]

I just bought myself an Oppo Find 7. Very nice, pleased with it.