Should I Get a Droid

[discohadestwo]

My wife & I are currently with AT&T, but they don't really have any decent Android phones. I'd really like to switch to Verizon to get the Droid, but I have some questions. I'll start off by telling you my current situation.

Right now, we have a 2 Line Family Plan with 700 minutes for 59.99 with an additional 200 Text plan for $10. Should be around $75 every month. Sometimes, we'll go over the texts & it'll be in the $80 range. We don't have any phones that require data plans or anything like that. This contract is up in October.

Are we able to just remove one line from the family plan & not have to pay the ETF charges? If not, any tips on talking the wife into switching over? Or any other way to avoid ETF charges? I know they changed the price of the data plan, but I don't have one, so I'm not sure if I could use that.

With Verizon, I'd like to get into a plan similar to the one we have with ATT, but obviously, I'll have to pay for the data plan. The closer we can get to the ATT price, the easier it will be to convince the old lady.

Now, when I switch to Verizon, I would like to get the Motorola Droid. I've read that some modders have recently jailbroken the Droid. What exactly can I do with a jailbroken Droid? I know my friend has a jailbroken iPhone & I guess there's a special market place where you can basically get any App for free. Is there something like that on the Droid?

Also, if there's any other information or tips you have for me. Opinions on switching. Anything at all, let me know. Thanks.

 

[PJnc284]

If a line is out of contract, you should be able to port that line into Verizon and convert the remaining line to a single line plan with AT&T. As for a plan, a 2-line family plan starts at $69.99 for 700 Min Talk plan or $99.99 700 Talk and Text which includes unlimited texting on both lines. Verizon also offers 250 texts for $5 so you could get 250 texts on both lines for $79.99. Then the smartphone data packages are $29.99 each so that makes it ~$140 without taxes and fees for 2 smartphones.

Yes the Droid is rooted. Rooted devices allow you to install Custom roms, overclock, enable wifi tethering, etc.

Currently the Motorola Droid is on BOGO for $149.99 so you could switch and get 2 Droids but you'll essentially be doubling the cost of your AT&T plan. The Droid 2 is around the corner and is rumored to be out in 2 months or so. Verizon will be having an announcement regarding the Droid 2 and/or Droid X (full touchscreen, no slideout keyboard) next Wednesday, so you may want to see what comes of that. Note that rooting requires time so the Droid 2 may not be rooted when it's released so you'll need to wait to get the benefits of rooting.

 

[asdr24]

My wife & I are currently with AT&T, but they don't really have any decent Android phones. I'd really like to switch to Verizon to get the Droid, but I have some questions. I'll start off by telling you my current situation.

Right now, we have a 2 Line Family Plan with 700 minutes for 59.99 with an additional 200 Text plan for $10. Should be around $75 every month. Sometimes, we'll go over the texts & it'll be in the $80 range. We don't have any phones that require data plans or anything like that. This contract is up in October.

Are we able to just remove one line from the family plan & not have to pay the ETF charges? If not, any tips on talking the wife into switching over? Or any other way to avoid ETF charges? I know they changed the price of the data plan, but I don't have one, so I'm not sure if I could use that.

With Verizon, I'd like to get into a plan similar to the one we have with ATT, but obviously, I'll have to pay for the data plan. The closer we can get to the ATT price, the easier it will be to convince the old lady.

Now, when I switch to Verizon, I would like to get the Motorola Droid. I've read that some modders have recently jailbroken the Droid. What exactly can I do with a jailbroken Droid? I know my friend has a jailbroken iPhone & I guess there's a special market place where you can basically get any App for free. Is there something like that on the Droid?

Also, if there's any other information or tips you have for me. Opinions on switching. Anything at all, let me know. Thanks.

Ok here's my .02 that might get me a bashing here lol. Are you sick of AT&T or just interested in getting a top of the line device that wipes iPhone off the map? (sorry had to take a quick shot at the iPhone, I was a former iPhone user and love the Android OS)

If you are wanting to switch networks I would say to wait for the Motorola Droid X which is expected to launch July 19th. Source The X will feature a 4.4 inch screen, 1GHz processor, 8 MP cam, 720p video recording, ultra slim, and best of all an HDMI output. It will not have a keyboard but if that's your kind of thing I would still wait for the Droid 2 which will launch soon as well.

If you are just wanting to switch for an Android device you might want to check out the Nexus One. The Nexus One has a faster 1 GHz snapdragon processor which makes it much snappier than the original Droid. It is also the first in line to get updates to the Android system since it is a full Google experience phone. Instead of ending your contract which may cost a pretty penny you can pick one of these up from Google which will save you the ETF and allow you to keep your AT&T contract.

Another benefit of moving to an Android device is the benefit of having a native Google Voice app. If you don't know much about GV feel free to ask but the most valuable feature is getting free unlimited SMS. This can save you some extra cash each month often enough in a year to justify switching to an Android device.

 

[asdr24]

With the iPhone you jailbreak which allows you to install unsigned code. Android is different and allows anyone to write for the platform in the first place so you don't have to worry about jailbreaking your device. Instead we have a process called rooting. With rooting you gain superuser access to the OS which lets you to install custom roms, overclock the processor, enable wifi tethering, add themes, etc. as PJnc284 already said.

 

[discohadestwo]

As much as I would love to get one of the newer phones, price is an issue for me. I've found the Droid for pretty cheap & to my knowledge, probably the cheapest one that can run all the apps. I could be wrong.

Are all Android phones compatible with all the apps?

Also, I was look through the apps & came across a lot of navigation apps. How well do these work compared to an actual GPS & do you need a special package through your provider for navigation to work?

 

[PJnc284]

Remember to look at the TOS if you plan on getting the phone from 3rd parties like Amazon, wirefly, etc. They usually require a secondary ETF and aren't as flexible as verizon on plan changes and removing phones since they usually won't let you downgrade to a lower cost plan or drop data packages by activating a dump phone on the line.

For the most part, the apps will work on all phones. There may be some issues if you're running Froyo until it's officially released or developers update their apps. As for GPS, the free Google Navigation included in all Android 1.6+ devices works well. Sometimes the routes it take you may not be the best, but I use it regular and have yet to have it get me lost. Work of advice though, if you're in an area where it's warm, you may not even want to look at the dash/window mount that verizon offers. The droid has a habit of getting so hot that it stops charging when in the window mount on warm days.

 

[discohadestwo]

So, I could get one of the android phones from AT&T & they'd be able to do everything the Droid could? Aside from the speed issues I've read about. Is there maybe something cheaper than a Droid I should get, or is the Droid as low as I should go for Android phones?

 

[discohadestwo]

& thanks for the tip about Amazon. I was definitely excited about that price. Haha.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

So, I could get one of the android phones from AT&T & they'd be able to do everything the Droid could? Aside from the speed issues I've read about. Is there maybe something cheaper than a Droid I should get, or is the Droid as low as I should go for Android phones?

Sure if you want a gimped phone... I mean they even gimped the Galaxy S, which was supposed to be as good as the Evo and Incredible for Pete's sake! Thus far all we know about is the front facing camera being nixed, but who knows what will surface once we start to see more leaks?

The only GOOD Android phone on AT&T now and for the foreseeable future (ie till the iPhone exclusive ends) is the Nexus One, which is several months old (but still a solid device) and that's only because AT&T and Stevo's minions were not allowed to get their grubby little hands on it because it is sold directly from Google.

If you are serious about Android, get as far from AT&T as possible (VZW or Tmo). I don't know what your timetable is but if it's immediate I would get the Droid yes, for what you want to do it is a hell of a phone and the fact that the boot loader is not locked will make loading custom roms a little easier. If you can wait a month or so I would give it a few days to see what the VZW Droid announcement shows us, and decide then if you want to wait a bit more. You may like the Droid X or Droid 2 better. I have a feeling Droid X is gonna blow Incredible, Evo, and Galaxy X (even the un gimped version) out of the water.

I get the money is a factor here, but understand that these things have more in common with computers than cel phone and the old adage when it comes to buying a computer still holds true: buy the best you can afford, and maybe a little more because the device is already no longer state of the art the second you get it.

 

[GynormousMellon#AC]

so true.....next day after purchase it's outdated but this is exciting times for smartphones

 

[Lancer033]

So, I could get one of the android phones from AT&T & they'd be able to do everything the Droid could? Aside from the speed issues I've read about. Is there maybe something cheaper than a Droid I should get, or is the Droid as low as I should go for Android phones?

AT&T locks down Android again with HTC Aria - Computerworld Blogs

This is the big issue with Android on AT&T

 

[SilverLight98]

Wait a month or two for Droid x or Droid 2

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