Looking for new Android phone on Verizon


Recommended Posts

I just wanted to get some opinions from those with Android phones on Big Red. I currently have a Droid X and my 2 year contract just ran out a few weeks ago. I have been scouting phones, ie. Galaxy S3, Droid Razr and Razr Maxx etc and I can't decide which one I want to go with.

The Droid X I currently have is doing fine, but I wouldn't mine having the 4G speeds plus of course having the latest Android OS. The only real requirement I care about is for the phone to be Touchscreen only, never really cared for the keyboards. Any advice? Thank you kindly. FYI time frame to purchase would be sometime this month, beginning of January, unless you can give me a compelling reason to wait for a few coming out in a few months.

He said Big Red which is Verizon right? :)

Anyways, the HTC DNA is top dog now (or G Note 2 if you want to go that big, check around as some people here got it) :)

Then there's also the GS3 which i wouldn't mind if i was on the big V, decent phone for sure.

He said Big Red which is Verizon right? :)

Anyways, the HTC DNA is top dog now (or G Note 2 if you want to go that big, check around as some people here got it) :)

Then there's also the GS3 which i wouldn't mind if i was on the big V, decent phone for sure.

I was pretty interested in the 920, but that won't be an option unfortunately.

I took a look at the DNA and it looks pretty good. I guess i'm used to having a removable battery, will that become an issue if I have any battery problems? I've been pretty fortunate with my current phone and battery life. I just don't want to have battery issues and have to get the whole phone replaced if it doesn't hold its charge.

Top of the line: Droid DNA. Nothing can touch it right now with it's 1080p screen and S4 Pro CPU. And at $200 it's a good price compared to some of the top of the line phones hitting $300 right now.

If $200 is too much, there's the Galaxy Nexus for $100. Unfortunately the Nexus 4 doesn't work with Verizon, but the Galaxy Nexus is still a very respectable phone.

Of course there's always the Galaxy S III or the RAZR line, but you'd need the RAZR HD to compare to the others, and for the $200 price point of the RAZR HD, $249 for the Galaxy S III, or $299 for the RAZR MAXX HD, I don't see why you wouldn't get the DNA instead.

As for your comments on the DNA's battery, I don't think non-removable batteries are that big of a deal. Battery problems are rare, and if you get insurance for your phone, it should cover it. What's wrong with getting a whole new phone? Depending on who is fixing it, they MIGHT replace the battery, but a lot of times they'll just send you a refurb which really is typically as good as new. A lot of times it's a chance to get a fresh screen and case if you had any scratches. Besides, the iPhone has been like that forever and how often do you really hear people make that a big issue? These batteries don't usually just randomly go bad, and they can handle enough charge cycles to long last you into your next phone. If you REALLY need extra power on the go, get one of those boxes with 5000 mAh or so of battery that you can plug usb into and you can charge any device on the go. It's just my personal opinion, but I think that non-removable batteries offer more positives (thinner and stronger designs), than negatives because the negatives are rare.

  • Like 2

Top of the line: Droid DNA. Nothing can touch it right now with it's 1080p screen and S4 Pro CPU. And at $200 it's a good price compared to some of the top of the line phones hitting $300 right now.

If $200 is too much, there's the Galaxy Nexus for $100. Unfortunately the Nexus 4 doesn't work with Verizon, but the Galaxy Nexus is still a very respectable phone.

Of course there's always the Galaxy S III or the RAZR line, but you'd need the RAZR HD to compare to the others, and for the $200 price point of the RAZR HD, $249 for the Galaxy S III, or $299 for the RAZR MAXX HD, I don't see why you wouldn't get the DNA instead.

As for your comments on the DNA's battery, I don't think non-removable batteries are that big of a deal. Battery problems are rare, and if you get insurance for your phone, it should cover it. What's wrong with getting a whole new phone? Depending on who is fixing it, they MIGHT replace the battery, but a lot of times they'll just send you a refurb which really is typically as good as new. A lot of times it's a chance to get a fresh screen and case if you had any scratches. Besides, the iPhone has been like that forever and how often do you really hear people make that a big issue? These batteries don't usually just randomly go bad, and they can handle enough charge cycles to long last you into your next phone. If you REALLY need extra power on the go, get one of those boxes with 5000 mAh or so of battery that you can plug usb into and you can charge any device on the go. It's just my personal opinion, but I think that non-removable batteries offer more positives (thinner and stronger designs), than negatives because the negatives are rare.

Thanks for the thorough reply.

$200 is what I was expecting to pay. That was how much I paid for the Droid X, plus i'm going to purchase it at Best Buy and use some Rewardzone coupons to drop it down some more.

The battery thing is just something I have read on the forums from users as a concern. I guess personally it doesn't bother me. I have had issues where my X would lock up and it's nice to be able to just pop the battery out and be done with it. As far as getting it replaced, I typically don't purchase insurance, so my concern would be if it's past warranty date, do I have to pay for a new phone etc...

How do you use your phone - that will dictate your battery life. You don't have to get a new phone now. CES is not that far away, and Mobile World Congress is at the end of February. You'll benefit either way by waiting - because you can either A) get the latest and greatest phone or B) older phones that you're now considering will drop in price. However, if you have to upgrade now, out of the 3 phones you listed, I'd go with the S3. It's got the largest dev. community behind it, making it a great target for ROM's. The Motorola Droid lineup is meh. The only one worth while is Razr Maxx, if you need good battery life.

Thanks for the thorough reply.

$200 is what I was expecting to pay. That was how much I paid for the Droid X, plus i'm going to purchase it at Best Buy and use some Rewardzone coupons to drop it down some more.

The battery thing is just something I have read on the forums from users as a concern. I guess personally it doesn't bother me. I have had issues where my X would lock up and it's nice to be able to just pop the battery out and be done with it. As far as getting it replaced, I typically don't purchase insurance, so my concern would be if it's past warranty date, do I have to pay for a new phone etc...

No, I do understand your concern. I just feel like it always ends up being more concern than reality. I've never had any issue with any cell phone's battery that I've ever had to be honest. If you are out of warranty there's always the option of opening it up and replacing it yourself if you're okay with that kind of thing. I'd suggest getting insurance and I'd suggest it from Ensquared. I've had good experiences with them and they will replace broken or stolen phones as well, and cost cheaper in the long run than your carrier insurance. With phones like these it's just kind of silly not to have insurance since they break so easy. You'd probably be in for somewhat costly repairs to get the battery replaced if it goes bad, but any out of warranty work is always expensive. So I guess it just comes down to what you feel comfortable with.

  • 2 weeks later...

Just wanted to update. I think i'm going to go with the S3. The DNA looks great, but I like the extra storage I can have with the S3 with the SD card. It's possible I may not use all the space, but it's nice to know that I won't be forced into a limit. Good news I saw is that Android 4.1 is supposed to be pushed out to Verizon users starting today, so I may wait until that is confirmed before I do anything. Thanks for the advice.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Each of the devices displayed on this page now has a little volume meter next to it to show if there is audio actively playing. About time.
    • Owing to the nature of Windows feature enablement updates, it was distributed over Windows Update services as a complete system upgrade rather than as an ordinary cumulative update
    • Microsoft confirms Windows 11 26H2, urges IT admins to prepare for release by Usama Jawad Windows 11 typically follows an annual update cycle, but Microsoft recently broke that tradition a bit by releasing a "26H1" version in the first half of this year as a "scoped" build for select new silicon PCs only. This version was not available for customers using 24H2 and 25H2 builds, as Microsoft is busy preparing version 26H2 for them, confirmed officially for the first time. In a Windows IT Pro blog, Microsoft has urged IT admins to prepare for the upcoming release of Windows 11 version 26H2. The company has confirmed that this will be a small enablement package (eKB) that will simply light up certain disabled features that are already present in the operating system's code base. This means that the "refined" Windows update and deployment experience will be simpler and quicker, with minimal disruptions, as the feature update will simply toggle a few flags rather than performing a complete replacement. Microsoft has explained that this is all possible because the standard Windows 11 releases share the same servicing branch and hence, the same source code. However, this also means that Windows 11 26H1 users won't be able to upgrade to 26H2 as that is a different branch, but this is something we have known for a while now. Similar to previous annual feature updates, Windows 11 26H2 will offer the following support cycles: 24 months of support for Home, Pro, Pro EDU, and Pro for Workstations editions 36 months of support for Enterprise, Education, IoT Enterprise, and Enterprise Multi-session editions Microsoft has not confirmed a concrete release date for Windows 11 26H2, but noted that it is "coming soon". If we go by the ongoing release cadence, we can expect it to begin rolling out in early October 2026. As such, IT admins have been encouraged to begin validating Windows Insider releases in the Experimental Channel, plan rollout rings, and strategize the utilization of their existing deployment tools.
    • Windows 11 gets new audio improvements in the latest builds by Taras Buria Today's Experimental builds (26H1 and Future Platforms, formerly Canary) pack several audio-related improvements. If your device is enrolled in the Experimental Channel (26H1), you can download build 28120.2315, while those in the Future Platforms version have build 29613.1000 to try. Here is what is new in build 29613.1000: [Audio] Following up on our previous improvements, we’re making some more adjustments to Settings > System > Sounds based on your feedback. Namely, we’ve updated the “All sound devices” page so: You now have the ability to change default devices from this page. Each of the devices displayed on this page now has a little volume meter next to it to show if there is audio actively playing. We’ve adjusted the page design slightly so now you can filter whether you’re viewing input or output devices. We’ve added toggles so you can choose if you want to hide or show disabled, disconnected, and unplugged devices on this page. We’ve also updated the input and output audio properties page for devices in Settings to now include jack information for those that need it. And here is the changelog for build 28120.2315: This update includes a small number of minor bug fixes and improvements. [Accessibility] This update improves caption style responsiveness by redrawing captions immediately for caption style changes. If no current caption is visible, a sample caption string is displayed. [Audio] This update improves the reliability of the inbox HD Audio driver. You can find the official release notes for build 28120.2315 here and for build 29613.1000 here.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Collaborator
      ryansurfer98 went up a rank
      Collaborator
    • Week One Done
      Eurosoft10 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Eurosoft10 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Year In
      Skeet Campbell earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      Sharbel earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      576
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      189
    3. 3
      Michael Scrip
      79
    4. 4
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      78
    5. 5
      neufuse
      72
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!