Best Verizon Android phone recommendation for certain purposes

smilejack1

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I'll be upgrading from the original Motorola Droid soon, and could use some advice. I have certain needs and priorities, and would like recommendations for the best phone to meet those needs. All advice is appreciated.

What I'm looking for (and I don't much care whether it's from Motorola or another manufacturer, as long as Verizon sells it):

  • System resources galore. I have a ton of apps and my current phone is really bogged down despite my having rooted, overclocked, and moved as many apps as possible to the SD card. I want to be loaded for bear.
  • A big viewscreen w/ great text display. I read a lot on my phone, and my eyes aren't getting any younger, so I need really crisp text and room to expand it when necessary. Media display, on the other hand, isn't a big deal for me.
  • Good pics, especially in less than optimum environments. I can figure out which phone has the best resolution, but there's more to good pics than megapixels. What I'm looking for here is input on which phones have superior focusing and better light meters and so forth. My current Droid has not impressed in this regard.
  • Extremely good sound, from the phone and the headphone. My ears aren't getting any younger, either.
  • Good battery life, but it doesn't have to be great.
  • 4g capable.
  • The damn thing should work, extremely well.
  • A hardware keyboard would be nice, but then again, I found the keyboard on my current to be disappointing, and unless I find something that is much more impressive, I won't bother.
  • A front-facing camera would be nice, too, but not essential.
What I'm not looking for:

  • Bells and whistles. The very idea of Vcast annoys me, and I don't use most system apps because third-party apps are invariably better.
  • Lots of crap in the OS. Manufacturer mods of the Android OS also annoy me.
Again, all advice is appreciated.
 

dezymond

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Judging by your first need, you can count the Nexus out. However, the Droid4, seems to fit your needs the most. I don't know the estimated release date, but many sources say that it's close to being done so maybe before the end of 2011? The razr may be another nice option for you, but no physical keyboard. I believe both have SD card support (which you stated you needed). The only downside is non-removable batteries, I know the Razr won't have a removable battery, not sure on the D4, but doesn't look like it will either.

As for what you're not looking for, unless you go with the Nexus, you're going to be getting the bells and whistles. Vcast, manufacturer modded OS, etc. The only phone that is going to be vanilla android is the Nexus.

With all that being said, any phone coming out in the next 2 months will be a significant upgrade over your D1
 

akhi216

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You definitely want to wait on the Droid 4. Per your post, the Droid 4 will have more pluses than minuses than any other phone.

Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums
 
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smilejack1

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Do you guys know the release dates on those? I was planning to upgrade before Thanksgiving...
 

dezymond

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Do you guys know the release dates on those? I was planning to upgrade before Thanksgiving...

Nexus the rumor is 11/10.
Droid 4, no idea, but it's mostly complete according to multiple sources, so maybe even before '11 ends?
 
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