Current: Droid X, just over 2 years old. Intolerably, unacceptably slow at times no matter how careful I am to delete unneeded apps, I’ve even done “factory reset” several times which helps… briefly. Slowness is manifested, for example, when I try to make a call and it ignores me and I have no idea whether it’s even registered the button press, or when I’ve tried to answer a call and it ignores me until the caller has been sent to voicemail. Semi-frequent crashes/reboots (using it for navigation is one common trigger of that). Basically, it’s becoming unusable.
Target: Another Android phone. Mainly because I already have a lot of Android apps that I really love (some of which are better than their counterparts for the iPhone).
Constraint: Verizon-compatible. Also, I’ll be paying full price because we have unlimited data and using the subsidy option will void that.
Needs: decent on-board camera. Large screen a plus but not a requirement. The Samsung Galaxy Note (with stylus) sounds intriguing; as a former Palm user a stylus seems useful from time to time (though I suppose I could try to use one on any phone). Global-ready: not essential since I’ve no plans to travel outside the US any time soon, though it couldn’t hurt (or could it? might there be a performance tradeoff?).
Is it worth holding out for the Samsung Galaxy S4?
I don’t think you’d see much difference between an S3 and and S4. I absolutely loved my S3 - power, display, battery life. I was fortunate to be able to upgrade to a Note II, which is somewhat more powerful than the S3 but mostly larger, and as I use my phone mostly as a tablet that was a good thing. My wife has an S3 with the upgrade and even she’s impressed with it. (We switched from Sprint, which I was satisfied with but who had almost no footprint in our new locale, to Verizon, which is the only carrier that has solid 4G coverage in our neck of the woods.)
If you can handle the larger form (literally and figuratively), I’d recommend the Note II. If you use it more as a phone and can live with the smaller but still very generous screen size, get the S3 at the best price you can, leveraged against the upcoming S4.
ETA: I haven’t found any good use for the Note’s stylus. The fingertip controls on the larger screen are generations newer and better than anything from the Palm era and the stylus apps just seem complicated and gimmicky.
I’ve got an S3 and know several others who have same. I’ve got two co-workers with Note IIs.
Everybody is very happy with their phones. The Note IIs are HUGE - I didn’t get one because it wouldn’t fit in my pocket at all. Now I’m kinda jealous.
No opinion on the S4, haven’t really looked at it.
I just got an HTC 1 on Saturday. It’s beautiful. Still getting used to some of the features, as I’ve had Iphones for years, but so far it’s pretty cool.
I’m on AT&T, but they let me keep my unlimited data plan even with the subsidy.
It’s funny, the biggest downcheck everyone had for the S3 was that it was sooooo huuuuge… I guess if you’re used to carrying a phone the size of a stick of Juicy Fruit it would seem so. I found it completely comfortable to handle and use, especially with an aCase Superleggera shell case on it.
The Note being almost twice as big means I can’t put it in some t-shirt pockets, but otherwise I find it the ideal size for everything I use it for - other than as a phone, where it feels a bit like I’m holding a paperback book to my ear. As I use about 10 cell minutes a month and will probably wear out the screen with tablet use, that makes sense for me.
When I pick up my wife’s sooo huuuuge S3, it feels like an itty-bitty toy phone.
I wouldn’t want to use it without a bluetooth though. It’s a bit cumbersome to hold up to my ear.
I found a nice case for it too, that has a window for my drivers license and slots for my debit cards and cash. It’s the size of a wallet and very convenient.
I got the iphone 5 and while I like it, it could be better. The new OS update has caused some overheating issues and it’ll lose service if you try to do too much or run it for an extended period of time. Also it’s a delicate thing. Droids with their plastic bodies have much more give to it than the iphone. I’ve gone caseless a few times to alleviate part of the overheating issue but I’m paranoid as crap about doing so. My droid friends don’t give a case a second thought.
Edit: I really wanted a note 2 but the dealbreaker was practicality. It won’t fit in a breast pocket (where I often keep my phone now) and I wouldn’t be able to double it as an ipod when I’m working out. I’ve noticed that not a lot of Droid users use their phone to listen to podcasts or music either. That was a huge selling point for me to go iphone as opposed to anything else.
I have Samsung Galaxy 2 and I love it. It’s less than a year old, so I’ll have it for awhile to upgrade but I’m no hurry. Friend of mine switched from a teeny-tiny Apple phone to the Note 2 at my suggestion and loves it. I’ll probably upgrade to a Galaxy 4 when the time comes, but even then, you’ll have to pry the Galaxy 2 from my hand.
I’ll have to check out the phones at the nearby Verizon store. The size shouldn’t be a huge issue - I carry a large purse. But if it’s too big to comfortably fit in my hand, that would be a drawback.
I don’t tend to use the phone aspect all that much, and that’s usually either hands/free speakerphone, or via the car’s bluetooth.
Mostly I’m concerned with reliability, battery life, and adequate responsiveness. It should not take 30-60 seconds to respond to the “answer the fucking call, you moron” button or to PLACE a call. Nor should it crash at random.
I’m jealous of AT&T users who keep their unlimited data plan. We got my husband’s smartphone right before Verizon locked down the unlimited plans for new customers, then of course a year later they locked it down for anyone. If we’re honest, the "share everything plan would probably be cheaper for us since none of us is a heavy user, but with a 4G phone that might change,
Your issues in this respect should fall to zero. I loved my Evo 4G, but it didn’t take long for it to be intolerably slow, cranky and battery-killing. The Samsung S series really is a wonderful, high plateau in phone tech, a huge improvement on everything that came before and standing above most of its competition.
WiFi eliminates the need for massive network data use. Stick WiFi Finder on your home screen and take a minute to register the free wifi everywhere you go (especially at home). Unless you want to watch the entire run of House of Cards on the beach somewhere, you won’t use much network data. We barely ding a shared gigabyte each month, even on trips.
Have you considered one of the “bumper” style cases? There’s no first-party bumper for the iPhone 5 (that I know of), but I bought a 3rd party one for mine and I’ve dropped it on asphalt - twice - with no damage to the phone.
Not that it’s invincible or anything, but I always assumed it would shatter the first time I dropped it.
Coming from a Droid X, which is probably running Android 2.3, to anything 4.0 or later is going to be a huge upgrade for you. You’ll be very pleased with its responsiveness and stability.
I’m actually considering a rubber bumper - just haven’t had the time to do consumer research yet. Is yours a soft or a hard bumper? I always assumed that it’d shatter even with a bumper and that you’d need the full case to sufficiently disseminate the shock from a drop.
If you buy direct from Google the Nexus 4 has to be the best bang-for-buck deal out there. Main weaknesses probably the camera in low light and the lack of SD card slot. These are not priorities for me - Great Phone.
I also have a Droid X and have been thinking of upgrading but I have what may seem like a stupid petty question: I play a lot of games on my phone. Is there a way to transfer them to the new Android phone so the progress is preserved? It isn’t my only issue but it is something I am curious about.
If they’re free, you can probably download new installations in about fifteen minutes total. If they’re registered, most will be available for new installation and whatever score or status updates they store online with your Google account.
Otherwise, it’s up to the game to permit save and restore, or transfer of status, or whatever.
It’s actually both - it has a rubber inner sleeve and a plastic frame that fits around it. I also thought it would shatter anyway if I dropped it; I only got it so the edges wouldn’t get scratched up from the crap in my briefcase. Pleasantly surprised. This is the one I got:
I don’t understand. I have an Android device and I can listen to all the podcasts and mp3s I want. BTW do you mean Androids generally or VZN Droids specifically? Older / low-end Android devices can certainly be limited in the amount of apps they can easily support, or the amount of downloaded podcasts or recorded music they can accommodate.
