I’m looking for a new smartphone. My HTC Evo Shift 4G is not doing so well, in part because it fell onto a parking lot, screen-first. Even if it were still running perfectly, the hardware is starting to struggle with newer applications.
Right now, I also carry a flip phone, because the Evo does not have the battery capacity to keep up with the volume of calls and email I typically have. Ideally, I’d like one device with a bigger battery to replace both.
I’m on Sprint, but outside of contract, so I wouldn’t mind switching carriers for a better device or a cheaper unlimited plan.
Finally, it would be really nice to have a hardware keyboard, which seems to be a rare thing nowadays.
The cheapest way to do it is to get the Google Nexus 4 and the T-mobile $30/mo prepaid plan, in terms of getting both a good phone and a data plan. T-Mobile Has A $30 Unlimited Data Plan For People Who Aren’t Very Chatty, But Can Current Customers Get It? – Consumerist
Since you are Sprint already I presume you are probably in an urban area and can get T-mobile. If that is some kind of issue switch to Virgin mobile as they use sprint towers, you then have to buy the phone from them -the Galaxy S4 is also a great phone.
Edit to add, none of the very best phone have hardware keyboards. They exist, but they aren’t the flagship, super desirable, supported by third parties like cyanogenmod phones like the Nexus 4 and Galaxy S4, which are the two top android phones right now IMO.
The Nexus 4 does not have that great a battery life. The Droid Razr Maxx is specifically built for great battery life but does not have a hardware keyboard.
I’ve had my Galaxy S4 for a month now and love it. No idea how it would hold up for you with phone calls, but I use about 3gigs of data a month and haven’t run the battery under 30% on any given day so far. I do charge nightly though, out of habit from a couple phones ago, and since I use it as an alarm clock it’s no biggie to just plug it in on the nightstand.
They’re extra expense, but there are accessories you can buy to go along with your phone. There are extended battery backs you can replace the back cover with, like this. And there are bluetooth physical keyboards you can attach as a case, like this. Though both of those wouldn’t be compatible together. There are lots of other charging options in that link. I find with haptic feedback, a physical keyboard is really not needed, though I guess that’s pretty personal.
I have a Droid4 with Verizon. I picked it specifically because it a real keyboard. The battery makes it through a whole day with what might be considered modest use (I do a fair amount of streaming with Pandora). I like it a lot and it sounds like it would fit your requirements, so I encourage you to check it out.
Thanks for the suggestions. After some more research, I think I’m going to go with a phone that supports LTE, so the Nexus 4 is out. Sprint and Tmobile’s LTE performance look kind of poor compared to ATT and Verizon, so I’ll probably switch carriers, most likely to ATT since I have UVerse at my home and I expect there will be some kind of package deal.
The Droid 4 looks nice, but the battery isn’t much of an improvement over the Evo shift, so it sounds like the future will be sans keyboard for me.
On ATT I’ll probably get the Galaxy S4 over the Htc One because of its bigger battery. On Verizon, the Razer Max looks like the best fit.
I had the EVO on Sprint, then the iPhone on Sprint. I loved a lot of things about the EVO, but the battery life wasn’t one of them. I was pleasantly surprised at how long the battery lasts on the iPhone, but their 3G network sucks (4G wasn’t available in my area) and I found a lot of issues about not getting calls. People would say they called, but I would show no missed calls, no voicemail, nothing.
I switched to Verizon a couple months ago. Their network is fantastic. No missed calls, voicemail works like a champ, and the LTE is screaming fast. I went with the iPhone again because I like it. With moderate use I can usually get two days, however, I do use an extended battery case (which does increase the size & weight of the phone, but I’m weird in the fact that I like that) so I can usually up it to three or four days. Less if I use it more, obviously.
Since you’re switching to Verizon (or considering it) - I would recommend the Razer Maxx - my fiancé got that one based on my recommendations and I am impressed with the battery life on that thing. He uses it a lot (he doesn’t have a laptop or anything and uses that almost exclusively for internet when at home) and only charges it every few days.
I’m enjoying my Samsung Galaxy Note II - was debating whether to hold out a few weeks for the Galaxy S4 but as I was paying out of pocket (to keep my grandfathered unlimited data) I opted for the Note. No hardware keyboard though - but bear in mind that Swype does pretty well (especially with the larger form factor of my phone).
It has a changeable battery which was important to me (though it’s a pain in the ass to do so, you basically have to remove the entire back of the thing). It’s also huge (which for me was no big deal - I’m a large person so hence large pockets, and I like a large purse).