Well Crap...Which Phone? Droid Bionic, Droid 2, iPhone?

[speedyroo]

I was one of the first to get the first Droid and I'm sure there's several others in my position. I'll be eligible for an upgrade this summer. I am eligible for an upgrade NOW and there's so many phones I'm just itching to get. I want the Droid 2 Global! I want the Droid X! Then Verizon releases news about the iPhone and then I hear about the Droid Bionic.

I am totally at a loss as to what to do and which to get. Are the new 4G phones global compatible? I travel abroad a bit so that would be nice (which is why I was looking at the Droid 2 Global).

I was looking at the iPhone when it first came out but then I hear all these nightmares about their warranty - does anyone know about what warranty the Verizon iPhone warranty is going to be? I've been spoiled with being able to walk into a Verizon and having them replace my phone no questions asked.

And of course I'm just waiting for them to slip in another phone in there that's just going to make my head explode.

I'm not extraordinarily tech-savvy, but I do like a nice sexy phone with fun capabilities. I do skype a lot so that two-way camera on the Bionic is nice....I just am at a complete loss at all these OPTIONS!! I feel like a kid in a candy store!

 

[AlexSB]

I'm on the same boat man there's gonna be alot to choose from, and I can't really answer all your questions but I can answer some.

As for 4g, the iPhone 4 that just got released is only 3g compatible (from what I've heard). But rumors are saying iPhone 5 should be coming out in the summer which most likely will be 4g. I have the Droid 2 and it's only 3g, I'm pretty sure the D2 Global is only 3g as well, but I'm not 100% sure on that one. The Bionic will be 4g.

 

[cereal killer]

Yes the 4G phones are Global. As far the the D2G and X go into the store and try them out. They are great phones. If you can't wait until the Bionic is released in March/April grab one of the current devices.

 

[xRITE AIDEx]

Personally getting the Iphone knowing I have no 4g coverage, and I'm not in a hurry to switch.

Plus none of the 4g droids look great(I just don't like the look of them compared to my D1)

 

[rbruceporter]

I love my Droid 2 Global and I also travel overseas from time to time. I asked Verizon to unlock my SIM which they did, and now I can just pop a SIM into the phone when I get to where I am going and no worries!

No matter what phone you get, as soon as you do, there will be a bigger faster whatever model right behind it. So go for what works now! And then join the rest of us drooling over the latest phone when a coworker brings it in!

 

[speedyroo]

Yeah I am hesitant about jumping to switch to the 4G network without it having been out for awhile too - I'd like there to be more coverage before I do.

And the way I look at it as well - I compare it to this: you're standing in line at the grocery store and there's only 1 line open. Another line opens up (4g) and everyone goes into that line and that one clogs up quick, but if you stay in the current line, it ends up moving faster.....sooooo if everyone moves over to the 4G, I imagine the 3G's will be nice and quick. Although I really have nothing to complain about them now. I absolutely love my original Droid and have nothing to complain (altho I would like global coverage - that's the only thing I'd add).

 

[livetoskateaz]

iphone 4 for me as of late my droid x is acting all sorts of buggy and i don't want to wait for the droid bionic astheticly speaking it is not very impressive although it is at the top of the line as far as hardware and capabilities go i just want to get a phone that has some of the most amazing apps out there and well iphone 4 is where it is at! plus no idea when the bionic is going to be available for purchase...

 

[livetoskateaz]

and also i don't ever go out of this country so it being a non global phone doesnt bother me as well as it not being able to data and make phone calls because my droid x cant do that as well...

I compare it to this: you're standing in line at the grocery store and there's only 1 line open. Another line opens up (4g) and everyone goes into that line and that one clogs up quick, but if you stay in the current line, it ends up moving faster.....sooooo if everyone moves over to the 4G, I imagine the 3G's will be nice and quick.

absolutly correct...

 

[joker402]

Bionic, do you want to have last years Tech? Also with the newer processors and honeycomb on tablets, Devs are gonna bring the big guns now and better apps are going to start coming out.


If you insist on the iphone at least wait untill they find the iphone 5 in a bar again and see what else they did to it.

 

[hookbill]

We are a Droid Forum. Let's just leave the iPhone out of the discussion.

 

[kxoxo19]

Well, I'm not familiar with the DROID 2, and the DROID Bionic will be a great phone I'm sure, but I have the DROID incredible and love it! My friend has a DROID X, and I personally think the incredible is better then that. Iphone sucks!

 

[EgooEspada]

I was one of the first to get the first Droid and I'm sure there's several others in my position. I'll be eligible for an upgrade this summer. I am eligible for an upgrade NOW and there's so many phones I'm just itching to get. I want the Droid 2 Global! I want the Droid X! Then Verizon releases news about the iPhone and then I hear about the Droid Bionic.

I am totally at a loss as to what to do and which to get. Are the new 4G phones global compatible? I travel abroad a bit so that would be nice (which is why I was looking at the Droid 2 Global).

I was looking at the iPhone when it first came out but then I hear all these nightmares about their warranty - does anyone know about what warranty the Verizon iPhone warranty is going to be? I've been spoiled with being able to walk into a Verizon and having them replace my phone no questions asked.

And of course I'm just waiting for them to slip in another phone in there that's just going to make my head explode.

I'm not extraordinarily tech-savvy, but I do like a nice sexy phone with fun capabilities. I do skype a lot so that two-way camera on the Bionic is nice....I just am at a complete loss at all these OPTIONS!! I feel like a kid in a candy store!

I say wait till June to see the iPhone 5 and the Droid Bionic. Also whatever else is available around that time - then reevaluate the situation. But if you really had to get a phone now, I'd say get a Droid 2 Global to use when you travel, or an iPhone if that doesn't matter all that much to you.

 

[andjarnic]

Hey all,

Let me add a little detail to what is coming, that may help you decide.

As some said, iPhone 4 is 3G, and frankly, its a 1Ghz cpu that is comparable to Droid X and Droid 2. Droid 2 Global is a 1.2Ghz cpu. With iPhone 5 coming in June or July, it's unimaginable to me to think of going to an iPhone 4, if I was silly enough to consider an iPhone to begin with. All I can say on the iPhone/iPad front is, they better be releasing dual core, more memory, dual cameras, and a bunch of new sensors or they're going to be left in the dust with the new crop of phones coming to Android.

Now as for Android.. two very big things have happened recently that make me not even think of iPhone. First, as some said, the new Bionic (Atrix on ATT) and a slew of other companys (HTC, Samsung, etc) are all coming out with dual-core dual-camera phones, and tablets. To me, the overall feature set of the Bionic looks to be the best coming out in the next 6 months, and that's right near my update time (I too am an original droid owner). I am also salivating at finally seeing some tablets that look do be better than iPad.. the Xoom specifically looks so impressive.

Now, to me, the even bigger news is Android 2.3. If you don't know the details of 2.3, it should probably be a 3.0 release. It is finally adding all the native support for audio, sensors, inputs, and upgrading the graphics a bit too. FINALLY!! This means that finally, for the most part, Android devices will soon be seeing iPhone quality games and music apps. We've known the phones were coming, they always get better. We didn't know for sure when Google would gives us developers the features we need to provide users the games and music apps they have been clamoring for, for over a year now. It will still take a good six months or longer before you see games and such, especially since it will be at least that long before most of the big gun phones come out which will have 2.3 (some will still come with 2.2 but upgrade soon after). The only phone that I know of right now with 2.3 is the Nexus S.

Even more impressive is that Android 3.0 is close on it's heals. I am not sure what else 3.0 is bringing, but 2.3 is a huge update in my opinion. So for a full release version change, other than the newer GUI that is coming, I am really looking forward to seeing what other big changes are coming for 3.0. I've heard rumors that 2.4 is for phones and 3.0 is for tablets. Hopefully they keep it all the same and just have some way of querying the hardware for what it supports, so if it's a tablet without phone, it just doesnt show the phone dialer and such.

Anyway, for us original moto droid owners, rumor had it that android 2.3 and later would require a 1Ghz cpu, but google squelched those rumors not too long ago.. and they say 2.3 should run faster and better than 2.2. So we should be able to get 2.3 on our phones. The one thing I am not sure of is if each phone/device has to have new drivers written for it to handle the new audio/graphics/sensor/input updates 2.3 adds before we can see it work on our droid. Even so, I would guess 2.3 with all these new additions is a decent bit larger in size, so it may eat away at our precious droid small memory sizes compared to the newer phones that come with 512MB to 1GB ram. I forget, but I think the original droid only has 256MB ram. Thank God many apps can be put on the SD card now.

So.. my opinion, for those of you that can upgrade now, or early upgrade, I'd wait. At least wait until we find out what pricing is going to be like. I'll pay $300 for the Bionic, although I am hoping it's only $200 for the updated price. I'll also pay up to $500 for the XOOM, but hoping it's a bit less than the iPad to give it some real good competition. Until the iPhone 5 specs are due out, I wouldn't even consider it if you're even thinking of going to iPhone 4 now.

The one question I have for anyone that knows.. I hope this is the case.. if you get a phone with the LTE 4G, will it drop back to 3G if not in a 4G area.. or do you get stuck in the horribly slow old speeds? I would hope it goes back to 3G if possible. Oh.. and the other part of that question.. is it going to cost us more per month for 4G or the same $30 unlimited data plan (at least on Verizon)?

 

[AlexSB]

Hey all,

Let me add a little detail to what is coming, that may help you decide.

As some said, iPhone 4 is 3G, and frankly, its a 1Ghz cpu that is comparable to Droid X and Droid 2. Droid 2 Global is a 1.2Ghz cpu. With iPhone 5 coming in June or July, it's unimaginable to me to think of going to an iPhone 4, if I was silly enough to consider an iPhone to begin with. All I can say on the iPhone/iPad front is, they better be releasing dual core, more memory, dual cameras, and a bunch of new sensors or they're going to be left in the dust with the new crop of phones coming to Android.

Now as for Android.. two very big things have happened recently that make me not even think of iPhone. First, as some said, the new Bionic (Atrix on ATT) and a slew of other companys (HTC, Samsung, etc) are all coming out with dual-core dual-camera phones, and tablets. To me, the overall feature set of the Bionic looks to be the best coming out in the next 6 months, and that's right near my update time (I too am an original droid owner). I am also salivating at finally seeing some tablets that look do be better than iPad.. the Xoom specifically looks so impressive.

Now, to me, the even bigger news is Android 2.3. If you don't know the details of 2.3, it should probably be a 3.0 release. It is finally adding all the native support for audio, sensors, inputs, and upgrading the graphics a bit too. FINALLY!! This means that finally, for the most part, Android devices will soon be seeing iPhone quality games and music apps. We've known the phones were coming, they always get better. We didn't know for sure when Google would gives us developers the features we need to provide users the games and music apps they have been clamoring for, for over a year now. It will still take a good six months or longer before you see games and such, especially since it will be at least that long before most of the big gun phones come out which will have 2.3 (some will still come with 2.2 but upgrade soon after). The only phone that I know of right now with 2.3 is the Nexus S.

Even more impressive is that Android 3.0 is close on it's heals. I am not sure what else 3.0 is bringing, but 2.3 is a huge update in my opinion. So for a full release version change, other than the newer GUI that is coming, I am really looking forward to seeing what other big changes are coming for 3.0. I've heard rumors that 2.4 is for phones and 3.0 is for tablets. Hopefully they keep it all the same and just have some way of querying the hardware for what it supports, so if it's a tablet without phone, it just doesnt show the phone dialer and such.

Anyway, for us original moto droid owners, rumor had it that android 2.3 and later would require a 1Ghz cpu, but google squelched those rumors not too long ago.. and they say 2.3 should run faster and better than 2.2. So we should be able to get 2.3 on our phones. The one thing I am not sure of is if each phone/device has to have new drivers written for it to handle the new audio/graphics/sensor/input updates 2.3 adds before we can see it work on our droid. Even so, I would guess 2.3 with all these new additions is a decent bit larger in size, so it may eat away at our precious droid small memory sizes compared to the newer phones that come with 512MB to 1GB ram. I forget, but I think the original droid only has 256MB ram. Thank God many apps can be put on the SD card now.

So.. my opinion, for those of you that can upgrade now, or early upgrade, I'd wait. At least wait until we find out what pricing is going to be like. I'll pay $300 for the Bionic, although I am hoping it's only $200 for the updated price. I'll also pay up to $500 for the XOOM, but hoping it's a bit less than the iPad to give it some real good competition. Until the iPhone 5 specs are due out, I wouldn't even consider it if you're even thinking of going to iPhone 4 now.

The one question I have for anyone that knows.. I hope this is the case.. if you get a phone with the LTE 4G, will it drop back to 3G if not in a 4G area.. or do you get stuck in the horribly slow old speeds? I would hope it goes back to 3G if possible. Oh.. and the other part of that question.. is it going to cost us more per month for 4G or the same $30 unlimited data plan (at least on Verizon)?

Wow what a post lol it was a good read though =) as for your question I've read around that yes, if you don't 4g coverage you'll drop back to 3g, but you'll still be paying the 4g price. And I think 4g is gonna see some higher prices, there's rumors of there being caps too something like 5 and 10gb data caps or something along those lines.

That's what I've read around, nothing official yet though.

Sent from my D2 running squidlys mod

 

[Phantom99]

Have a Droid X and love it! Don't miss my iphone that I left for it. Don't get me wrong the iphone is a great phone but I love my DX lots more. But it is only 3G, from the 4G phones I've seen press releases on the Bionic has me drooling and having nerdgasims. Just my 2¢.

Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App