Author Topic: Help in choosing Verizon smarty-phone? (Read 3911 times)

Perd Hapley · « **on:** March 29, 2011, 05:01:45 PM »

I am going to get a Verizon phone that I can use to read email. Which ones are recommended, and what other features should I look for?

Twould be neat if I could also use it as an MP3 player, but that would just be gravy.

dogmush · « **Reply #1 on:** March 29, 2011, 05:37:29 PM »

Droid X, Droid Incredible or iPhone. iPhone if you just want the phone and don't want to learn to use it. One of the droids if you see yourself getting more into useing differnt apps.

(posted from my Droid X)

AmbulanceDriver · « **Reply #2 on:** March 29, 2011, 05:39:42 PM »

If you are considering getting a smart phone, I'd strongly recommend waiting a few more months (unless you absolutely have to have one now) until the Droid Bionic comes out. My understanding is that it's essentially a Droid X that will be 4G capable.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #3 on:** March 29, 2011, 05:56:18 PM »

4G is what? A faster wireless standard?

dogmush · « **Reply #4 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:02:22 PM »

Thunderbolt's out now, but I'm unconvinced the 4gLTE capability will be good enough and widespread enough inside the handset lifetime to make a first gen LTE devise worth the cost. Very Solid 3G smartphones are dirt cheap right now.

AJ Dual · « **Reply #5 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:16:34 PM »

Quote from: Fistful on March 29, 2011, 05:56:18 PM

4G is what? A faster wireless standard?

The ITTU standards for what constitutes "4G" is a whole range of things, but "faster" is one of them.

What most carriers here are calling "4G" is faster, but does not include a lot of other things that are also important in the standard, like no more "roaming" where the nets are equal, and just back-bill each other. And other technology aspects of the system and it's administration.

Although having tried 4G in Chicago while driving through, and comparing it to the 3G that's in Milwaukee, 4G is closer in speed and experience to surfing on WiFi backed up with cable modem/FIOS etc.

Ben · « **Reply #6 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:34:59 PM »

A buddy just got the Incredible for free last month (with 2 year contract). Some kind of unadvertised promotion, or possibly just from that store /region, I don't know.

If you want good capability and don't need the latest and greatest, you might check and see if you can get that deal.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #7 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:03:32 PM »

Turns out they have pre-owned phones available.

I can get a used Droid X for $100, so I will probably do that.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #8 on:** March 29, 2011, 11:59:13 PM »

Oh, wait. Best Buy sells shiny, new Droid Xs for $100.

Fitz · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2011, 07:56:06 AM »

I had a droid X for 6 months. After three phones, I came to the conclusion that the phone itself is a gigantic piece of *expletive deleted*it.

Wife had an HTC incredible and loved it. I got one of those to replace the droid x and I love it also.

I will never buy another motorola product after my Droid X experience.

If i was buying a new phone today, it'd be an HTC Thunderbolt, essentially an incredible with more of everything.

GigaBuist · « **Reply #10 on:** March 30, 2011, 09:46:10 AM »

Quote from: James Fitzer on March 30, 2011, 07:56:06 AM

I will never buy another motorola product after my Droid X experience.

I'm not terribly thrilled with my Droid either. Poor battery life, the finish is chipping off, and the physical keyboard is pretty much useless. Then I remember the LAST Motorola phone I had. A silly NexTel flip open deal that was really popular at the time. The thing broke in half within 2 years.

So, yeah. I'll probably steer clear of Motorola for a good long time. LG or HTC for my next Android phone I think.

Fitz · « **Reply #11 on:** March 30, 2011, 09:51:14 AM »

The HTC incredible that i have is fairly inexpensive now. It's a phenominal phone

dogmush · « **Reply #12 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:22:45 AM »

My wife rocks an incredible. It's a good phone. I like the Droid X's screen and camera better then HTC's. I however like HTC's UI better. My X seems to run the same apps just a touch faster then the incredible, and I have better battery life then she does.

However, the Droid X is pretty darn big. Play with both in a store, and see which you like better. HTC makes a solid phone.

BlueStarLizzard · « **Reply #13 on:** March 30, 2011, 05:34:09 PM »

I have a droid x.

Got it in january. No issues so far and i'm using it ALL THE TIME.

seeker_two · « **Reply #14 on:** March 30, 2011, 06:48:14 PM »

I really like my Blackberry....I don't see the Torch being offered, but they have some other good deals....

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewAllPhones&osName=BlackBerry

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #15 on:** March 30, 2011, 07:15:52 PM »

Huh. The Incredible also sells at Best Buy for a hunnert bucks.

So what's the deal with getting a phone at Best Buy? Is there some advantage to buying the phone at Verizon that explains the huge price difference, or is that just a tax on people who don't know any better?

Scout26 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:05:19 PM »

I got a Blackberry Curve for free with Verizon....and I'm still trying to learn all the neat crap it can do...

BReilley · « **Reply #17 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:18:01 PM »

My wife and I got a pair of Droid 2's on a 2-for-1 sale(at Verizon) a couple months ago. I have been unimpressed with battery life - it must be charged after every work day - and 3G coverage is sketchy at my house, but overall it does what it's supposed to do. Some apps are neat-o, particularly Google Maps and the various internet-"radio" services.

Get a hard-shell case and screen protectors.

I do not use my phone as an MP3 player due to battery usage concerns... didn't you post a while back about getting a cheapo music player? I'd stick with that(I use a Sansa Fuse 2GB through my work-day, and it can play for a good twelve hours between charges)

Also, do pay for the unlimited data package. I used some 400MB during the first few weeks(granted, I was downloading apps and updates, and using GPS and stuff just to use it, but still...) and the $15 package gets you only 150MB.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #18 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:39:28 PM »

Quote from: BReilley on March 30, 2011, 10:18:01 PM

I do not use my phone as an MP3 player due to battery usage concerns... didn't you post a while back about getting a cheapo music player? I'd stick with that

Decided not to get one. As much as I love the idea of a tiny, portable hard drive full of music in my particular (very particular) taste, I'm just not sure I would be able to walk around with earphones in. I figured I would use it in my vehicle, but it turns out my car stereo doesn't have a jack.

Yet I still want to try it.

Quote

Also, do pay for the unlimited data package. I used some 400MB during the first few weeks(granted, I was downloading apps and updates, and using GPS and stuff just to use it, but still...) and the $15 package gets you only 150MB.

The minimum is 30/month, and it's unlimited.

AJ Dual · « **Reply #19 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:42:25 PM »

LOL... I average 8-12gb a month.

never_retreat · « **Reply #20 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:51:01 PM »

Don't forget the crack berries.
First smart'ish phone I've owned. I phones suck IMO.
The only glitch I had with mine was when I was in Spain, Phone is a multi mode unit, called verzion added the cheep international plan (5 bucks) knocks the price to cents a minute instead of dollars a minute.
Did not work at all. Tried changing all the setting, manually picking a network, nada. Several other people with verzion crack-berries had the same problems.
That reminds me I need to call them and get my 5 bucks back and rip some one a new corn hole.

RaspberrySurprise · « **Reply #21 on:** March 30, 2011, 11:27:29 PM »

Could be a crackberry problem not a verizon problem.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #22 on:** March 30, 2011, 11:32:39 PM »

How concerned should I be with having the latest version of Android? A lot of the phones have 2.1 (Eclair), but 2.2 (Froyo) is out now. Does it matter much?

AmbulanceDriver · « **Reply #23 on:** March 30, 2011, 11:35:51 PM »

Most of them, if they don't have the latest version of Android will update when the latest version is released for their particular device.

MillCreek · « **Reply #24 on:** March 30, 2011, 11:39:34 PM »

If you can live with either the Optimus V or Samsung Intercept android phones, it is hard to beat the virgin mobile deal.

News:

Author Topic: Help in choosing Verizon smarty-phone? (Read 3911 times)