Help Picking a New Cell Phone

[neil154]

I am having problems with my Thunderbolt and I am getting Verizon to swap my TB for another phone. My choices are a Samsung Droid Charge and Motorola Droid Bionic.

I would appreciate any comments from you helping me decide which one might be best. Also, if you know about battery life it would be helpful.

Also, I understand that the Bionic just had a major software update a few days ago, how has the upgrade affected the phone?

 

[sealevels]

What do you absolutely need the phone to do? Are you picky about screens? Do you need a fantastic camera?

The Charge is a little older than the Bionic and is JUST getting Gingerbread...the Bionic will get ICS in the spring/summer of next year. It's (the Charge) going for a good price now that it's the holidays and the Bionic is now $200 with a new 2-year contract.

The Bionic's battery life is nothing to write home about - I use the regular battery and text/play games lightly and maybe check Pulse and it's dead in about 5 hours. I don't know how that stacks up to the TBolt. I don't know about the update - with my luck, my Bionic will be the last to see it.

 

[waker]

Bionic update should help. Galaxy nexus is what you should get hands down if you can.

Sent from my Bolt via Tapatalk.

 

[neil154]

Thanks, camera is a non issue. I want a good fast 4G phone with reasonable battery life (I have an extended battery for the TB which I would hope that could get away without buying another one). Price is not an issue since VZ is replacing it.

5 hours of use for a battery does not sound very good to me

 

[sealevels]

onthewhole, the Nexus is a good idea...if it ever comes out.

Then again, Neil, I use the phone a lot. I'm 23 and I use the phone for much more than calls. Some people with the standard battery get 7,8, or 9 hours off a charge. I must be doing something wrong!

The Bionic is fast. Is it the fastest now? No. The Bionic's camera is not the greatest but it does everything else just fine, IMO.

I have used the Charge on occasion and the screen is nice...but I don't like "upgrading" to phones that are more than 2-3 months old, so I'm biased. They're both reasonably fast phones. Some people prefer the actual buttons to capacative buttons so it's really a matter of preference.

 

[neil154]

Sealevels - thanks for the info. I think it sounds like the Bionic is my best pick