Good newbie Android phone 4" - 4.5"

[MathiasVerden]

I'm currently with Windows Phone 7.5 and HTC's Titan 1. I'd really like to go with Windows Phone 8, but the prices where I live are higher than a Nexus 4 with 16GB, and from what I've seen Jelly Bean can do everything I like and so much more. I couldn't care less about widgets and themes and wether the fonts are black or white.. I only care about the experience, and I want the phone to feel like browsing the web on a desktop, where you just go through pages with almost no loading and lag. I come from a 4.7" screen, and I'd really like to actually use my phone with one hand. I like it a little big though, so a 4.3" or 4.5" screen really fits me.

For some reason the Nexus 4 costs 700 dollars for 16GB, and I'm not that familiar with Android devices. Are there any devices out there with great hardware, great screens and a matte plastic back?

 

[MERCDROID]

I'm currently with Windows Phone 7.5 and HTC's Titan 1. I'd really like to go with Windows Phone 8, but the prices where I live are higher than a Nexus 4 with 16GB, and from what I've seen Jelly Bean can do everything I like and so much more. I couldn't care less about widgets and themes and wether the fonts are black or white.. I only care about the experience, and I want the phone to feel like browsing the web on a desktop, where you just go through pages with almost no loading and lag. I come from a 4.7" screen, and I'd really like to actually use my phone with one hand. I like it a little big though, so a 4.3" or 4.5" screen really fits me.

For some reason the Nexus 4 costs 700 dollars for 16GB, and I'm not that familiar with Android devices. Are there any devices out there with great hardware, great screens and a matte plastic back?

First of all, Welcome!!! I have to ask, where are you from? Here in the states, a 16GB Nexus 4 costs $349 before taxes and shipping. Although, with Google out of stock, many people have hiked the prices on eBay, etc, and local markets. Going from a Galaxy S3 with 4.0.4 ICS to a GSM Galaxy Nexus with 4.2 Jellybean, I can tell you that the difference is night and day (that may be subjective). Jellybean is the most polished iteration of Android since its inception. And using the Chrome (Google's) browser, web browsing is a breeze. If you use Chrome on a desktop, you can sign in to your Google account and synchronize your bookmarks between the desktop and your phone.

As for screen size, if you don't need the most "high-end" smartphone, there are quite a few choices to be had with devices ranging from 4.3" to 4.5". To be honest, I don't see too many handsets of that size being updated to Jellybean; if you were the type that rooted and romm'd, then that would be the more feasible route unless you went with a Nexus device.

Not sure why the 16GB Nexus would cost $700, unless you live in an area where it wasn't initially offered; or if someone is hiking the price due to supposed demand. The Sony Xperia line of phones feel good in the hand, have great screens, and have matte plastic backs. I think your best bet would be to go into a store and play around with a few phones; It's how I made the jump from Blackberry to Android. Cheers!!

 

[MathiasVerden]

I doubt there's high demand ( if any ) for the LG Nexus. I have watched a few videos about the Chrome experience, and it looks pretty amazing. I live in Denmark, which is why the price is so high ( I suppose ). There's a lot going around about the vanilla Android experience and how much better it is without all the bloatware.

 

[MERCDROID]

I doubt there's high demand ( if any ) for the LG Nexus. I have watched a few videos about the Chrome experience, and it looks pretty amazing. I live in Denmark, which is why the price is so high ( I suppose ). There's a lot going around about the vanilla Android experience and how much better it is without all the bloatware.

For some people, pure Android is great. The phone feels faster (and probably is) because of the lack of a manufacturer skin. Other people actually prefer the manufacturer skins. When I had the Galaxy S3, I actually liked the Touchwiz UX on it. It did add a lot of features that would otherwise be lacking with pure Android. However, as in love as I was with Touchwiz, I didn't like the fact that it had bloatware; and I didn't like how Touchwiz would crash at times when there was little to zero load on the phone. My Galaxy Nexus has not had that problem, at all. But, who knows: you may like a "skinned" phone, or you may like a Nexus. If I were you, I would go to a few stores and play around with a few phones. If you don't like the phones with skins, you can always try to find a GSM Nexus for cheap on eBay, Swappa, etc. Worst case scenario, if you don't like it, you could sell it and easily get your money back. Good luck!!

 

[claudeburdel]

I was interested to read this thread because my situation is similar. I was on an HTC Titan II, also a Windows 7.5 phone. I liked it but after six months, I decided it was simply too big. I have average-size guy's hands and the Titan II was awkward to hold in one hand. I appreciated the simplicity of Windows Phone, but it was starting to feel a little limiting. I really wanted to try out Swype, which you can only do on Android phones. So I looked around for a smaller Android phone which was fairly recent so I could take advantage of hardware and software advances. I'm in the US, and the only one I found was the Motorola Droid Razr M. Unfortunately it was sold by Verizon, and I was on AT&T. After thinking about it, I broke my contract with AT&T, paid the early termination fee, and switched to Verizon and got the Razr M yesterday.

So far I'm liking the Razr M a lot. It fits great in the hand. The phone is about the size and shape of the iPhone 5 but the display is larger, 4.3 inches. An update to Jelly Bean 4.1 just started rolling out for this phone in the last few days, and I was able to get the update by clicking on System Updates on the phone. I'm new to Android so I've been spending yesterday and today trying to get caught up on the OS and the phone's features. Windows Phone was visually appealing and stylish, but Android has a certain element of fun to it that I think is lacking in WP and iOS.

I don't know if the Droid Razr M is an option for you, but if it is, I'd recommend it. As I say, it was the only one I found that was a) relatively small, and b) relatively recent.