Looking for new Android phone on Verizon


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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.

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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.

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    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
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