New Phone Recommendations (in Off-topic)

I am in the market for a new cell phone. I will be getting a smart phone. I do not want a iPhone, because I do not want to pay the ridiculous rates and have not been overly impressed. I am looking at one with the Android O/S.


What phones do you like and why?



Thanks for the info!

are you limited by the network?

I love my droid 1... couple friends have the droid x

Verizon however will attempt to gouge you just as hard as ATT

Droid 2, with Frozen Yogurt!

I am currently on ATT. I would like to remain due to the Satalite TV and land line, but by no means have to stay. I am likely dropping my Land line to all but the necessary for my DSL.

I know that they will all wring all money possible, but the iPhone charges are about $30-40 more a month than I can get with and Andoid phone.

Thanks again.

Of the few iPhone-esque phones I've played with, Droid 2 impressed me the most.

I just got an HTC Evo with Sprint. I love it, although it is my first smart phone so I can't speak much on any of the others.

i love my evo too! ; )

Would you prefer a physical keyboard, or a full touchscreen?

How important is size/speed to you?

Will you root?

I have a Droid X, and I love it. I've done basically everything you can do with it, rooted, deodexed, custom ROMs, custom themes, overclock, undervolt, etc. I'd recommend this to anyone, save people who can't handle a phone this large.

Reply from: Droid Incredible.

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy with the Android O/S, and I love it. :)

I have been looking at the Evo and the Galaxy and they both look very cool.


I am not sure about the keyboard. I have had physical keyboards, but always willing to try something new.

i was concerned about the keyboard as i have always had a physical one but with the ability for voice recognition i tend to use that much more than the keyboard. when i do have to use the keyboard it is just as usable as the ones i have had on my palm pre or a long line of treo's.

The Galaxy's Swype feature is SUPER nice. It makes extremely accurate guesses at the word you are swyping out, so most of the time you can just use that without going through and actually typing out the letters. I prefer it over a regular keyboard.

Just a quick related question.. Why did google choose Linux as the basis of the android OS and not windows? Was it a copyright issue where google did not want to pay millions to it's rival in Microsoft, or is Linux truly the better way to go when you build a mobile operating system?

Way better...

I had the honor of working with Win CE. Never ever want to do that again. ;) Linux is way better, highly configurable, supports even obscure architectures, and can be changed as one chooses.

They could have gone other routes (like OpenQNX, Symbian or other embedded OSes) but Linux seems like the natural choice.

linux is just better... in every way

I just got my HTC EVO 4G (On Sprint) and love it!!!!


Thanks for the help!

woot! i love mine still as well. ; )

Cool, glad you're enjoying it! Since it appears two other Evo users are here, I have a question. Do you guys know any ways to improve battery life? I got mine only a few weeks ago and the battery life is annoying. I run Advanced Task Killer all the time to get rid of background stuff, and still my battery usually is ready to die after a single day (even without use and wifi/4g/gps stuff turned off).

every smart phone that i have had (six now) has had this issue. i do believe that they make a larger battery for the evo which comes with its own back cover though.

Long(er) battery life new(er) Android phones...


1. Motorola Defy (BONUS : waterproof)

http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/XW-EN/Consumer-Products-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/ci.MOTOROLA-DEFY-XW-EN.alt
1540 mAh battery
TALK TIME (CONTINUOUS) : Up to 6.8 hours
STANDBY TIME : Up to 9.9 days


2. HTC Legend

http://www.htc.com/www/product/legend/specification.html
1300 mAh battery
Talk time: Up to 440 mins / 490 mins
Standby time: Up to 560 hours / 440 hours


3. HTC Desire HD

http://www.htc.com/www/product/desirehd/specification.html
1230 mAh battery
Talk time: Up to 320 mins / 550 mins
Standby time: Up to 490 hours / 420 hours


That's in order of what I would prefer to be buying for myself nowadays.
That is, if I would want a new mobile phone.
The darned things start to become more and more really tiny laptops, just look at the processor specification... I used to see weaker LAPTOPS all the time not a decade ago.
Heck, most of the new ones can easily play re-coded older PC games without even breaking the stride, and are better than handheld gaming consoled of not so long ago.

Nobody else feels like it's kind of getting to the point of ridiculous ?

Vaynard, I am considering getting the larger battery, that will last twice as long as normal one. I figure that I will work with it until after New Years and then decide.

I think you mean "ridiculously awesome"

There are many background programs you can use that kill battery comsuming programs on your smartphone. For Android based phones I personally use:

Brightness Level by Curvefish

Don't let the name fool you it has a lot of really nifty little features just most notably is lessens the brightness of your screen when you do not need it. With this program I can run my MotoDroid for 2 days with the Bluetooth connected.

i did assume that if you live in a non-4g area that you have already turned 4g off as that drains the battery super-fast.

I do... but I use an old cellphone that was FREE 5yrs ago when I got it... and has the antenna held on by Mighty Putty.

I honestly cannot see myself using 1/1000th of what a smartphone can do:
I don't like people, why should I be in continuous electronic contact with them?
I firmly believe that GPS is weak and that getting lost and dying in the wilderness (or Surrey) is a function of natural selection.
I don't care what Ashton tweets.
If I want to know the weather I'll look outside.
I am old, intractable, and scared to change. Your technology holds no power over me!

Oh, and congrats on your purchase, enjoy it!