Verizon user needing help selecting new phone (current phone OG Droid)

[velocity92c]

I'm having a very hard time trying to select which phone I want to get next. I absolutely love having a keyboard on my phone, I know most people couldn't care less but I text so much and can text so much faster with my hardware keyboard than with Swype or any of the other keyboard alternatives.

However, my girlfriend has the Vibrant from T-Mobile and wow it is slick. I know the Fascinate is a little different but all in all they're very similar. One thing I don't like is that the Fascinate was either the last or next to last Galaxy S to come out for the major carriers, therefore its hacking community is that much farther behind the other phones. I love hacking my phone, so this will also be an important choice for me.

As a Verizon user I feel as if I only really have 3 choices here. The D2 global, the DX or the Fascinate. I can get all 3 of them fairly cheap as I have an upgrade and Wirefly has great prices (39.99 is the highest, and that's for the Fascinate, the other 2 are free). My biggest beef with the Fascinate is that it doesn't have a camera flash, but it sure is pretty. I've never played with the DX but I bet typing on that giant screen would be easier. Then there's the D2 which has a keyboard but seems like it doesn't have nearly the userbase as other major phones, therefore its hacking community is probably pretty slim as well.

The D2 and DX also have locked bootloaders, don't they? Doesn't this limit hacking somehwat? I haven't been following Android news as much as I used to, so I'm not sure if this is still the case. Maybe someone can enlighten me?

Anyway, perhaps good old DroidForum can assist me in making my selection. Can people who have tried one or more of these phones please post any feedback you have for them? Preferably someone who has used 2 of the 3 or even all 3, I would REALLY appreciate any and all feedback you have.

The other option I was considering was waiting until the next generation of phones come out, as I know dual core phones are right around the corner. Any idea when the next major Verizon phone is going to come out? Thanks!


edit : I just read that the Fascinate does indeed have a camera flash. That's very good news. I would still appreciate feedback. Thanks!

 

[Palazuelosva]

Well I would advice to wait for a 4G phone from verizon which has facetime camera, that will make good use of ur upgrade. I had an OG and upgraded to the D2 which is way better to me. My brother has a DX which is a very cool phone but txting doesn't go with it. If u r wanting to hack ur phone and are a big txter too between the X and 2 I would pick the 2 since both have the stock rom. Its the same system. How ever the 2 allows u to txt much easier. There r many roms and themes out there as well as hacks for these phones, the bootloader is locked but it still makes a cool phone with infinite amount of things to hack. I faced my self with this same question of yours and I went with the D2. Its your choice and your money think about what ur phone needs r n which phone applies to most of ur needs.

Sent from my DROID2 using DroidForums App

 

[chrismoore]

HTC Announces 'Merge' Android CDMA World Slider Phone | News & Opinion | PCMag.com
^^^^if you want to wait for a htc keyboard phone^^^^
[video=youtube;kCdSyeo6KFY]http://youtu.be/kCdSyeo6KFY%20-link%20for%20review%20of%20the%20upcoming%20htc%20 thunderbolt-no%20keyboard%20but%20great%20phone"]http://youtu.be/kCdSyeo6KFY -link for review of the upcoming htc thunderbolt-no keyboard but great phone[/video]
^^^^^if you want to get the first 4g lte phone on verizon
-
Set Your Location
-
^^^^or the driod 2 is good but i've never used it might as well get in the r2-d2 styledancedroid
all good phones id go with the thunderbolt might be the 28th or 3rd/4th rumour but expect 10th

 

[Pixiefrogw]

I have the HTC Droid Incredible and love it, but if I could update I'd wait and get the Thunderbolt. I also do a lot of texting and wanted a physical keyboard but since the Incredible was free I decided to try it. Most of my previous phones had physical keyboards and I thought I'd miss it, but I don't. You can calibrate the screen to how you type. I also use the SwiftKey keyboard instead of the stock one because it has a better predictive text. I think I text faster on this phone then ever I did on my Palm.

 

[UltraDroid]

I'm having a very hard time trying to select which phone I want to get next. I absolutely love having a keyboard on my phone, I know most people couldn't care less but I text so much and can text so much faster with my hardware keyboard than with Swype or any of the other keyboard alternatives.

However, my girlfriend has the Vibrant from T-Mobile and wow it is slick. I know the Fascinate is a little different but all in all they're very similar. One thing I don't like is that the Fascinate was either the last or next to last Galaxy S to come out for the major carriers, therefore its hacking community is that much farther behind the other phones. I love hacking my phone, so this will also be an important choice for me.

As a Verizon user I feel as if I only really have 3 choices here. The D2 global, the DX or the Fascinate. I can get all 3 of them fairly cheap as I have an upgrade and Wirefly has great prices (39.99 is the highest, and that's for the Fascinate, the other 2 are free). My biggest beef with the Fascinate is that it doesn't have a camera flash, but it sure is pretty. I've never played with the DX but I bet typing on that giant screen would be easier. Then there's the D2 which has a keyboard but seems like it doesn't have nearly the userbase as other major phones, therefore its hacking community is probably pretty slim as well.

The D2 and DX also have locked bootloaders, don't they? Doesn't this limit hacking somehwat? I haven't been following Android news as much as I used to, so I'm not sure if this is still the case. Maybe someone can enlighten me?

Anyway, perhaps good old DroidForum can assist me in making my selection. Can people who have tried one or more of these phones please post any feedback you have for them? Preferably someone who has used 2 of the 3 or even all 3, I would REALLY appreciate any and all feedback you have.

The other option I was considering was waiting until the next generation of phones come out, as I know dual core phones are right around the corner. Any idea when the next major Verizon phone is going to come out? Thanks!


edit : I just read that the Fascinate does indeed have a camera flash. That's very good news. I would still appreciate feedback. Thanks!

My next phone - when Verizon *finally* release the thing - is going to be the HTC Thunderbolt which from all I've read and seen, will be a SUPER phone. Think of it, in some respects, as a giant HTC Incredible.

-Mike

 

[Backnblack]

What's so hard about getting a phone?
Get the one you like....

 

[pc747]

What's so hard about getting a phone?
Get the one you like....

That is what's hard. Android has evolved since the OG droid. We have Motoblur (which I have a love/hate relationship with), SenseUI, Touchwiz, and we do not know where vzw is going this year. I mean is the Thunderbolt is the best phone out this year than you might as well stick with the droid x because the droid x was a better device that the evo hardware wise. The only think that people can complaint about the droid x is blur and the locked bootloader. I say this a lot, if motorola cleaned blur up where it was not running all the time so that you can have better performance and battery life and if you could unlock the bootloader than the motorola droid devices would be untouchable.The thunderbolt we know that you will need an extended battery out of box. The evo had bad battery life and the TB has a smaller battery.
I must admit I am back and forth myself about whether to go thunderbolt or bionic. The bionic display is better that the droid x where as the droid x display was much better than the evo. I struggle with choosing a phone with worse specs just so I can install roms.
This thunderbolt delay has been a blessing in disguise. I feel people's complaints about the delays. But the good thing is you will get a chance to see more reviews about other devices to help you make your decision. I am wanting to see reviews on the bionic just to see it in the hands of users.

 

[velocity92c]

Never even heard of the Bionic or the Thunderbolt. Can someone link me to some specs, and also will they be hackable?

To the user that said what's so hard about selecting a phone, it's one of the hardest decisions you can make. It's something you'll use more than your car, something that is within 5 feet of you 100% of the time, etc. Not all of us have enough money to buy a phone for its full price, so my upgrade is very valuable to me and I want to absorb all the information I can.

 

[UltraDroid]

Never even heard of the Bionic or the Thunderbolt. Can someone link me to some specs, and also will they be hackable?

To the user that said what's so hard about selecting a phone, it's one of the hardest decisions you can make. It's something you'll use more than your car, something that is within 5 feet of you 100% of the time, etc. Not all of us have enough money to buy a phone for its full price, so my upgrade is very valuable to me and I want to absorb all the information I can.

It is almost *guaranteed* that the Bionic, another Motorola offering, will have a bootloader that is locked and encrypted. Make of that what you will, or look up some of my prior rants about Motorola - I'll not repeat them here, As for the HTC Thunderbolt, all indications are that it will either have an unlocked bootloader, or one that is easily unlocked. The guys over on the XDA Developers forum have already succeeded in rooting the pre-production model, and Kush and his people at Cyanogen have stated they'll have a recovery system ready for the launch of the T-Bolt. Obviously, this will lead to custom roms and themes for the Thunderbolt in a short period of time.

As for the Bionic, well...

-Mike

 

[sal33n]

Never even heard of the Bionic or the Thunderbolt. Can someone link me to some specs, and also will they be hackable?

You have 318 posts on these forums and you have not heard of the Bionic or Thunderbolt? Just find that a little funny