Phone selection if you don't get 4G

[benstange]

I am an original Droid 1 owner and my wife still has an Env Touch. We are both due for upgrades and need some input. We are thinking we have probably narrowed it down to the Droid 3, the Thunderbolt, and the Bionic but the thing is we don't have 4G. Not only do we not have it, but we live in a town of about 20,000 so we're not getting it any time soon. While 4G is not important, we do use wifi and also don't want our phones to be out of date before our 2 years are up. We want phones to: video chat, email, facebook, random light internet usage, random apps (Slacker, Cardio Trainer, etc) and some videos (not Netflix or anything). We probably won't be loading any games. Please correct my thinking process if it's wrong...

Droid 3: Has a dual core processor which I think will keep it up to date for the next couple years. Has 3G which is all we need. It sounds like the camara and video aren't great which worries me. We will use wifi a lot but will the Droid 3 run as fast on wifi as 4G phones?

Thunderbolt: Great reviews! The only problem I hear is that it sucks battery on 4G but we won't be using 4G so it doesn't seem like a problem. It doens't have a dual core processor which worries me but I don't know if it should. I also don't like that it doesn't have an HDMI output but that's not too big a deal.

Bionic: Will have the dual core processor (and the HDMI output) but my wife WILL NOT wait till September so this may answer itself. Sounds like a great phone but is in necessary for us? We aren't very aggressive cell phone users... but again don't want to end up out of date by the fall.

So, what do we go with? If 4G (and thus battery life) is not an issue, is it worth it to wait for the Bionic? Will a dual core processor help the Droid 3 and Bionic outlast the Thunderbolt? Will 3G or 4G work at the same speed on wifi? Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[kookk]

I can vouch for the TB that the battery isn't that bad. It isn't great by far, but it gets me through an entire day. I haven't tried it on 4g but I have on very spotty 3g and I'm on 12 hours right now and my battery is about dead. Not too shabby. I went 23% of my on time with no service so it could have lasted much longer. (Granted I am rooted)

TB is also very easy to root and that can extend battery greatly. It has a great dev community and fantastic Rome.

The processor is a non issue in my eyes. The only difference I've noticed between my TB and my x2 is that the x2 installs things almost instantly and the TB takes about two seconds on most apps. That being said the TB is much faster than the x2 in ui aspects, camera, etc. The x2 is the only dual core I have been able to play with.. I held and messed with a d3 for about a minute and it seemed alsnappier tthan the x2

I also hated the pentile screen and love the super LCD.

I'd say go try all three, I can say you will not be disappointed with the TB, but you wont be with the others at the same time. At this point you just need to choose which one sits best with you after trying them all out in a store
Sent from my ThunderBolt

 

[saintlikesniper]

As with most phone request you will get multiple opinions. Some suggesting others and vice versa.

My opinion would be the Droid 3. Dual core will keep it updated especially if you don't receive 4G in your area. The new blur ui is toned down much to look like stock android. The only thing is blur animations and and its filled with bloatware as are most phones right now. Also with blur is its icons

The Droid 3's camera is claimed to have a slight blue tint video is good to me. The blue tint can be fixed by a different camera app or update via Verizon/Motorola. As for viewing and display pentile quality is personal choice I think it looks grand. Overall Droid 3 looks to own the 3g network world in phones right now hopes this helps in your choice

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums

 

[Brucew0617]

I'd like Incredible 2 still, I love the shape!

 

[JohnnyS101]

I would go with the droid 3 which I have. No point in a 4g phone if you won't get 4g soon at all because of battery. And the droid3 has good battery and a good camera if you know how to use it. Dual core processor will be good futureproof until the contract runs up and I am able to stream netflix with my 3g. Great phone and keyboard is sweet too. Also it is proven that the droid 3 runs faster than the thunderbolt and iphone 4 when put on the same wifi, making it an overall faster phone to surf on.

Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums

 

[benstange]

Thanks, this has all relaxed me a little and reminded me that there really is no bad answer (especially for my wife who will be getting rid of her Env). It's a relief to hear so many endorsements that are not based on following the next big thing. Thanks everyone... I'll let you know what we go with.

 

[DroidXDoes4G]

I would say Droid 3.
The keyboard is awesome, and the processor is very fast.

It has much less lag (if it even has any) than the Droid X2.

Its camera isn't the best, but definitely not bad.

And people underestimate how well a keyboard comes in handy. I would honestly take the Droid 3 over any of the 4G phones.
Its been nothing short of amazing so far, and I thought I'd never say this, but Blur is actually good on it.

 

[benstange]

One thing I hadn't really thought about with my Driod 1 is that while the keyboard is fine to type on, maybe the best part is that when you do type, you don't take up any screen space to do so... everything you were looking at is still right there even while you're typing. Again, just something I hadn't really though about.

 

[bendystrawboy]

No the droid3 on wifi isnt as fast as lte, unless you have fiber at your house......

If the cam can be fixed via software you may be ok.

 

[DroidXDoes4G]

No the droid3 on wifi isnt as fast as lte, unless you have fiber at your house......

If the cam can be fixed via software you may be ok.

Yea it can be... I got about 12mbps at my house on LTE.

My Wifi got around 34... lol

But it depends what type of it you have/are using.

 

[JohnnyS101]

Fiber is fast but lots of wifi get up to 50 mbs when 4g gets 10-25 mbs

Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums

 

[googlelover]

^^ Not many people have that speed.... In fact very few do. Cable maxes out at 20/1 and fiber is still pretty limited in deployment (last i remember)
To answer which phone you should get the only real advice anyone should give you on getting a phone is go into the store and check it out for yourself we don't know what you prefer in a phone and it could be completely different from ours. The only thing definite we can tell you is about the specs. and even that doesnt translate to real world performance. Oh and your going to be out of date within 2-6 months guaranteed its just how the tech industry works.