New User Droid 3 looking to upgrade

[tonkatruk]

Hi all,

I am currently using a droid 3 (rooted).

I have been fairly happy with this model, except two years in and I still haven't gotten used to swype and the manual keyboard has issues with my fat fingers.

Recent issues that have developed: I cracked the corner of the screen and that has caused a few issues. Like the touch screen precision is off a little. The front camera (self facing) doesn't work real well. It causes the camera. App fails to initialize error when selected. Then I have to reboot to get the other camera to work again.

Of. Course most of these issues are due to dropping the phone, which let's face it, isn't the phone's fault.

Recently, the phone runs awfully slow no matter how many apps I remove. Even did a factory reset and it's still slow. Perhaps the os has bloated some more from verizon. Of course it could be that crack too. I think I got a little water in there or something ...

I'm iinterested in the d4. So, I'm looking at reviews and complaints to see if its worth a look at verizon.

 

[hotice]

Don't get a phone with a keyboard. Just get SwiftKey. Swipe wasn't for me either and I was skeptical of any third-party keyboard actually being worth buying but Swiftkey is great! It's easy to use and saves you time! It's also not just the prediction that makes it better. It gives faster access to more characters, has arrow keys, and you can swipe left on it. It even has an option to change the key height - which is great since there really isn't a reason for such high keys and you can then have more screen for viewing what you're working on. That helps make up for having on screen keys like Google is pushing.

I just got a Razr Maxx HD and am very happy with the battery life. It's a great phone overall. The Galaxy S3 is definilty a little smoother due to the 2GB of RAM but the Maxx HD is still fast and nothing else will stop you from using your phone when you need it like a dead battery. I also like the size and build of the Maxx HD better than the Galaxy S3. Do yourself a favor and don't put it in a case!

On the other hand, the Galaxy S3 is a great phone and a bargain at $100 (I think that's what it's going for on Amazon and WireFly. Keep in mind the Maxx HD has 32GB of built in storage where you'll only get 16GB on the $100 GS3 but that's still great and it will still have 2GB of RAM. I have heard of people having battery life problems on this after upgrading to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) until they disable Google Now (just a checkbox).

You'll love getting a big screen! I had a Droid X with a 4.3" screen and didn't think I'd notice much of a difference going to 4.7 but I do. It's very nice and helpful for browsing web pages or reading any small text without the need to zoom as much - of course resolution helps that too but you really need the size to go with the higher resolution.

Get anything with a Snapdragon S4 and you'll get better battery life then you have on your Droid 3. If you want a small phone the Razr M is really a great option with LTE, NFC, and a big battery for the phone, you could be very happy with that and the screen is still bigger than your Droid 3.

The Droid Incredible 4G LTE has a smaller screen and slower version of the snapdragon S4 (compared to the M or others for that matter) but it's going to have a better camera than any Moto phone. The Galaxy S3 has a good camera too.

The DNA has the best screen, best CPU and GPU, ok battery life, the best camera, and the best audio of the bunch. If it had a large battery it would be a real winner but people who have it seem to get decent battery life and can typically make it though a day without a problem.

I hope this helps! Have fun shopping!

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Hello and welcome aboard! Good luck on your phone search!

 

[CJM]

:welcome: to the forum! +1 for SwiftKey

Tapped from a Nexus

 

[SFGate]

Welcome to the site. DancingNexus

 

[justin82]

welcome to the forums swift key is awesome

 

[hotice]

Also wanted to mention, while the Droid 4 is an improvement over the Droid 3 with a larger battery and faster processor it still doesn't have a huge battery and will do much worse on battery compared to newer phones with the Snapdragon S4 chipset. The OMAP chipset in the Droid 3 and 4 is 45nm. The Snapdraon S4 is 28nm which saves a lot of power. Also, the LTE chipset is integrated on the S4 and uses much less power than the LTE chipset in the Droid 4. If you don't use your phone a whole lot or use much data and really like a physical keyboard you could be very happy with the Droid 4 but I think you'll like having a larger screen and swiftkey better You'll get better battery life with any current Snapdragon S4 plus based phone (that's basically all newer phones).

 

[tonkatruk]

thanks!

I appreciate you input! No, I'm not Johnny Five, but this is exactly why I joined and posted. I've been a fairly loyal droid fan. I'm sticking with an. Android based fone no matter motorolas hit or misses. The info about battery life seals it for me as my friends joke about me carrying around a jump box that I purchased for my car but have only used as a secondary battery charger for my D3. In fact, as I type this messsage the battery warning came on and I have had to plugto the w. My transgression? I left it off the charger last n ight and answered an email or two this morning while seemingly stupidly thinking I could get distracted on reddit.
My iphone friends all think its funny. I hate them, even as I drink all the spirits they have in order mask my embarassment and shame.

Snap dragon 4 huh? Well, it's a requirement now.

Thanks again!

 

[Shadez]

Welcome to the forums!

 

[JSM9872]

Welcome to Droid Forums!!

 

[94lt1]

Welcome aboard