Thinking about making a move to android.

[glbtrekker]

I'm still relatively new to smartphones and have owned a BB Storm 2 for about 18 months now and I can not stand it. It's way too slow, crashes all the time and the apps that I want are never available for BB. Anyway, I'm looking for my next platform, but am overwhelmed by the vast majority of options.

In short I'm looking for the following options on my new phone in order of importance.

1. Blazing fast internet speeds
2. Large, bright screen
3. Ability to sync with Outlook
4. Huge app store
5. Ability to play flash videos

My current choices are as follows.

1. Droid X (love the big, bright screen)
2. Samsung fascinate (my main gripe here is that the screen seems dim by comparison to others)
3. iphone4 (screen isn't large enough)
4. New phones?

Can anybody provide pros and cons of each choice? What are the biggest differences between android and iphone? Also, is there something new on the horizon that I should wait for (bionic?)? I'm not in an area that has 4g service.

Thanks.

 

[No_u]

1,3 and 4 are already covered on all phones.

You need to look for a phone with AT LEAST Android 2.2, which supports Adobe Flash 10.2.

Judging from the fact that you have the fascinate as choice I guess you're with Verizon. Are you able to switch carriers? Have you had a look at the HTC Thunderbolt? HTC has incredibly well constructed phones.

 

[PSkeptic]

Just bear in mind, the Fascinate, by default will NOT do Flash, as Flash requires Froyo. And, Froyo has not been officially released yet for it.

Now, with rooting, and flashing a custom ROM, you can do Flash.

 

[glbtrekker]

1,3 and 4 are already covered on all phones.

You need to look for a phone with AT LEAST Android 2.2, which supports Adobe Flash 10.2.

Judging from the fact that you have the fascinate as choice I guess you're with Verizon. Are you able to switch carriers? Have you had a look at the HTC Thunderbolt? HTC has incredibly well constructed phones.

Yes I'm with Verizon and I cannot switch carriers (I cannot get reception with any other carrier where I live).

Also, if I get a 4g phone will it work on a 3g network? No 4g in my area for a long time.

 

[bnas]

Yes. 4G phone will work on all 3G networks. iPhones are just that.. iPhones. Unless jailbroken, you can't do much with them. Pros - Better display, better battery life. CONS - IT'S AN iPHONE.
Galaxy S (Fascinate) is an awesome phone but the battery life sucks. Other than that, its all about personal preference. Most smartphone today all do just about the same thing.

 

[No_u]

Look at it from this perspective:
If you're going to get 4G in the coming 2 years (I assume you're taking that contract) you will be able to take advantage of it

The Thunderbolt is a great phone, the only thing it lacks is a dual core processor. You can always wait for the HTC Pyramid, but I don't know what carrier that's on.

 

[novox77]

In short I'm looking for the following options on my new phone in order of importance.

1. Blazing fast internet speeds
2. Large, bright screen
3. Ability to sync with Outlook
4. Huge app store
5. Ability to play flash videos

1. this is more dependent on the carrier or the wifi network you're connected to. It's not the phone.

2. if you want a large screen, stay away from the iphone. I personally think 3.5" is rediculously small for touchscreen use. Unless you have small hands. My HTC Evo is very bright. So I'd imagine the Thunderbolt will have a bright screen.

3. not sure what you're referring to. You need to sync your outlook contact and calendars? Android doesn't interface with outlook, which is itself a client that gets its info from a mail server. Instead, Android interfaces directly with the server, such as an exchange server or a POP3 account. If you use gmail, google calendars, etc, all that stuff syncs automatically when you first use your phone.

4. Google's Android market is huge. And now there's the Amazon Android Appstore. You'll find pretty much everything you ever need for your phone.

5. Androids play flash. Flash lite on Android 2.1. Full Flash on Android 2.2+.

You say you are stuck with Verizon. Then I recommend the Thunderbolt. Stay away from Motorola. Their UI overlay is considered the worst, and they have a policy of encrypting their bootloaders, which limits what you can do with the phone once rooted. If you never plan to root, no big deal. HTC has the best track record for getting new updates, and they have a huge rooting community.

 

[Tumeg]

May I ask why you didn't include the HTC Thunderbolt on your original list?

I bought the Droid X at launch (my first Android phone, coming from an iPhone 3G S) - I absolutely HATED it. MotoBlur (Motorola's version of Android - which should be outlawed in the US) sucks, and Motorola just sucks in general. I had the phone replaced 5 times (Problems with the hardware), and I needed a 6th, but Verizon & Motorola both told me that I couldn't get another replacement because they "have a limit" (wtf?). That phone was buggy, jumpy, laggy, slow, and required a battery-pull at LEAST twice a day (I ran tests even with the phone completely stock, it would lock up COMPLETELY).

But - enough on that...

I have the HTC Thunderbolt now, and am SOOO much happier with Android! Sense is 100x better than Motoblur, and it is a MUCH MUCH better Android experience.

You should definitely consider, and switch to, the Thunderbolt.

 

[Usta]

May I ask why you didn't include the HTC Thunderbolt on your original list?

I bought the Droid X at launch (my first Android phone, coming from an iPhone 3G S) - I absolutely HATED it. MotoBlur (Motorola's version of Android - which should be outlawed in the US) sucks, and Motorola just sucks in general. I had the phone replaced 5 times (Problems with the hardware), and I needed a 6th, but Verizon & Motorola both told me that I couldn't get another replacement because they "have a limit" (wtf?). That phone was buggy, jumpy, laggy, slow, and required a battery-pull at LEAST twice a day (I ran tests even with the phone completely stock, it would lock up COMPLETELY).

But - enough on that...

I have the HTC Thunderbolt now, and am SOOO much happier with Android! Sense is 100x better than Motoblur, and it is a MUCH MUCH better Android experience.

You should definitely consider, and switch to, the Thunderbolt.

Absolutely agree. I've tried Motoblur and I run back to HTC Sense as fast as I could...

On another note, I hear there are more Thunderbolts sold than iphone 4s...

HTC ThunderBolt outselling iPhone 4 at Verizon Wireless stores, analyst claims | BGR