Best Verizon phone for original Droid users?

[JustSomeDude]

Since I am on sprint and know very little about Verizon phones, I was hoping to get some help/advice:

My girlfriend and her sister are on a family plan, and both have the original Motorola Droid. Their contract ends October 1st, and they want to resign a contact then to remove their brother from the plan and each get upgraded phones.

Some more background:

-They both love their keyboards, so I was leaning towards the Droid3, but I haven't seen great reviews for that one.

-They aren't power users, they just need everything to work right out of the box (their heavy use is mainly GPS, web browsing, texting, and calls, with some games like Angry Birds, etc).


So my question is, what phone should I recommend for them? I've considered the Droid3 and the X2, especially since those seem to have deal prices on many sites. (I also thought about the Bionic, but I'm not sure they'd go for each paying $300 up front).

(I also thought about asking them to wait to see what the rumored "Droid Prime" is all about, but they don't see to want to wait to remove their brother and change their plan).

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and/or advice you all can offer.

 

[dirkbonn]

Buying a phone is slightly personal, which you described by stating their usage habits. My recomendation would be for them to go to a Verizon store when they're ready to make a change and just start looking at the phones on display. The specs will be there and prices too. They can even play with them, hold them, and try the different keybords to see which they like, not what someone else likes.

To me, phones are like cars, when my friends or neighbors ask me about my car (or phone) I will tell them why I bought it and what I like about it, but I would never say, "I recommend you get one." That can come back to bite you if they have bad luck with it. I've been down that road with, "Well, you told me to buy it!"

So it's "Here's what I like about mine, but you should check them all out and make your own decision."

Best of luck.....

 

[vzwuser76]

As far as keyboard phones go their only options are either the Droid3, LG Ally or Enlighten, or the Samsung Stratosphere (coming soon). From what I understand, the Droid3 would be considered a top tier phone, while the LGs and the Samsung would be midrange (although the Sammy's supposed to be LTE equipped as well). As far as the experience, there is not a phone on Verizon currently that is stock android like the Droid1. The rumored Samsung Nexus device (or Droid Prime) coming to Verizon should be stock but there has been a little doubt there. Mainly because stock Nexus phones are not loaded down with bloatware, and Verizon isn't down with that. It may happen but I wouldn't hold your breath. Also it won't have a physical keyboard either.

My sister in law got the LG Ally and she likes it, but her other smartphone was a Samsung Blackjack with Windows Mobile so anything would be a step up. But I have been encouraging her to keep trying the touchscreen keyboard since that appears what phones will be going to. That's why I'm glad I waited for the Incredible rather than going with the Droid1. By forcing myself to use a touchscreen keyboard I can't see the benefits of a physical one (other than gaming).

But like the poster above me said, their best bet would be to go into a store and try out what's there. Even if they don't like the particular models that are there, it'll give them a better idea of what each manufacturer is like (by that I mean their skins like Sense, Touchwiz, Blur, etc.). That way if they don't like Sense or Touchwiz, they will be better able to make a decision with newer models that come out later.

 

[JustSomeDude]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Since for some reason they both want me to just tell them what to buy, I went in and played with a bunch of Verizon phones. I must say, I wasn't completely blown away by anything I saw. So I convinced them to wait a month or two to see if the rumored "Droid Prime" is released soon, since they aren't dying for a new phone right this second. (After playing with, and being truly impressed by, the SGSII at Sprint, I want to see if they will have something that compares to that on Verizon).

I did not get a chance to play with the Droid Bionic though, so maybe I should try and find one to see if that may be worth it...

 

[magdelaine]

They would be very smart to wait. Rumor has it that the D4 is just around the corner (although it may not be called that name). It is apparently very skinny for a slider and a big step up from the D3.

 

[jmt9779]

the HTC Vigor and the Prime are the two powerhouses that most everyone is waiting for by Thanksgiving (but no physical keyboards). however, if they really like their keyboards, they might wanna take a look at the Samsung Fascinate - I think it's coming out any day now. it was just formally anounced.