Android newbie with an upcoming upgrade

[lahaye12]

Hey everyone,
I have an upgrade coming up on the 10th, its my last "annual" upgrade as the primary line on my family's plan. I have been reading a lot of posts on here for a while now, and while I was initially sold on the Inc 2, VZW had to drop 4G in the Toledo area (where I'm at for school) and make this a hard choice. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make the jump to the Thunderbolt, but I'm going to have to wait until late August or early September to make the jump. I set my parents up with the Inc (dad) and the Droid X (mom) last year, and they love them, so in messing with their phones a while I decided on HTC Sense as my UI of choice. Browsing thru the threads I've stumbled on Widgetsoid for some 4G and other toggle action, but what else can I do to get the most out of the battery? I'm not going to use an extended battery, strictly the factory batt.

Also, can an android newbie get some tips on which is the best, most stable (and least buggy!!!) GB rom? I'll be using a mid-2010 MBP with Lion, if it makes any difference.

PS, I'm using a BB Bold 9650, and browsing this forum has driven me towards Android, but the Bold was pushing me away to begin with. Thanks guys!

 

[Jux]

If you're going to be waiting until late August or early Sept, I wouldn't rule out the Droid Bionic or (possibly) the Samsung Galaxy S II, which might be 4G. Although they won't have Sense, they will be dual core devices and will be worth a consideration - or at least some time in a store playing with them side by side.

There are a lot of ways to save battery on the Thunderbolt, and in fact by rooting it you will be able to get some really lightweight ROM's that show a great increase in battery. I'd recommend browsing each individual ROM thread to see what people are reporting on for battery and what they're doing to conserve life (aside from typical stuff like reducing the auto refresh rate, keeping brightness down, etc.). If you're a fan of the Sense UI, then a ROM like Das Bamf will be right up your alley, but the AOSP ROM's like Cyanogen Mod 7 typically have better battery life.

Good luck in choosing!

 

[FrankXS]

If you're going to be waiting until late August or early Sept, I wouldn't rule out the Droid Bionic or (possibly) the Samsung Galaxy S II, which might be 4G.

Yeah, why not wait on a new buggy phone that might be 4G instead of buying one that has 4G for sure and has finally got the bugs worked out

Sorry, I couldn't help it. Something to consider, though.

-Frank

 

[mightyfacundo]

Even though I've had a great experience with my Bolt, I'd probably wait a bit and see when the HTC Vigor will drop. But if you just can't wait to dump your BB (I know I couldn't), the Bolt is a great option. Take a look through the battery saving tips at the top of the forum; they've done a better job of covering this topic than I can.

 

[lahaye12]

I like the feel of HTC phones a whole lot more than Moto, and I despise Samsung phones as a whole, they are toys. I work around cars a lot so it has to be a bit more durable than a pane of glass
I'm not sure how much longer I can delay upgrading, just cannot wait to ditch this crapberry and finally have a SMARTphone. 8 days is about the longest I can fathom now hahaha.

Any other input would be great, as far as what case to get (skin-like, not trying to make a big phone too big to fit in my pocket) as well as screen protector (do I need one, which one to get, etc.)


Thanks for the help so far guys!

 

[zero neck]

The thunderbolt is a really good phone if you want 4g, sense, and an awesome dev community.

If the vigor is really coming out around september (which i highly doubt, these phones almost always have set backs), it would probably be worth waiting for. sgs2 supposedly has little to no chance of having lte, and bionic has motoblur and will likely have many of the same issues the current lte lineup has anyway.

screen protectors: stenheil (sgp) are my preferred type. the ultra crystal series feels just like glass. protection is medium to good - it doesnt absorb scratches like some screen protectors, but it feels so much nicer it's worth it to replace the protector slightly more often.

 

[mightyfacundo]

I like the feel of HTC phones a whole lot more than Moto, and I despise Samsung phones as a whole, they are toys. I work around cars a lot so it has to be a bit more durable than a pane of glass
I'm not sure how much longer I can delay upgrading, just cannot wait to ditch this crapberry and finally have a SMARTphone. 8 days is about the longest I can fathom now hahaha.

Any other input would be great, as far as what case to get (skin-like, not trying to make a big phone too big to fit in my pocket) as well as screen protector (do I need one, which one to get, etc.)


Thanks for the help so far guys!

I use the Seidio Active X case and I really like it. But I'm not sure it's slimming enough for you, even though it fits in my pocket without a problem.

I've tried expensive screen protectors and cheap ones, and I really can't tell much difference. Other people will probably disagree with me on that, but that's my take on it. I would definitely recommend using one though.

 

[lahaye12]

The Active X case is a bit large, might end up going with a cheapo silicone skin from the amazon. Which screen protectors are actually worth buying? I know the ones from Verizon are okay, but they distort the view of the screen on some devices, hopefully not the Bolt though.

 

[bjboucher]

The Active X case is a bit large, might end up going with a cheapo silicone skin from the amazon. Which screen protectors are actually worth buying? I know the ones from Verizon are okay, but they distort the view of the screen on some devices, hopefully not the Bolt though.

The verizon screen protectors do distort the screen but they do help with visibility in the sun. I switched to Steinheil protectors though. They're really nice....cost about $10-15 for 2 of othem. I went with the Ultra Clear but they have 3 or 4 different ones to choose from. They are the stick on kind, not wet which I like. I've read a few people have ruined their screens with the wet install kind.

The ActiveX case from Seidio shouldnt really add any more bulk than a silicone case. Its basically a silicone case with a small hardened shell imbedded in it. I love it.....even with the extended version that I have it still fits in my pocket.

 

[KJ78]

I really like my TB so I would highly recommend it. Go with something 4g especially since you will be spending time in a 4g area. Like previously mentioned, I would also consider the Moto Bionic.

 

[lahaye12]

Thanks for all the tips guys, and bjboucher I had to replace my friends screen on his phone after one of the "wet" screen protectors..what a pain. I'm definitely going with the Bolt, gotta have 4G if I'm going to be stuck with it for the next 20 months

Anyone try the wireless charging pad yet? Looking to grab the whole setup, but if the palm Touchstone chargers work that would be REALLY sweet, considering I have a few sitting around.