High end phone recommendation - coming from BB

[pooger]

I'd like to try an android phone since I've been hearing that they've changed a lot in the last few years. Looking for a recommendations. I'm looking for top of the line.

Carrier: Verizon Wireless

I come from Blackberry. Here are my most important features:
1. easy to use keyboard
2. excellent call quality
3. excellent battery life
4. google maps
5. easy to use & read email/text/voicemail interface
6. waze
7. good browser
8. good camera
9. forever email search capability
10. contacts and calendar syncing with either outlook.com or gmail.com

 

[BobR1908]

I'd like to try an android phone since I've been hearing that they've changed a lot in the last few years. Looking for a recommendations. I'm looking for top of the line.

Carrier: Verizon Wireless

I come from Blackberry. Here are my most important features:
1. easy to use keyboard
2. excellent call quality
3. excellent battery life
4. google maps
5. easy to use & read email/text/voicemail interface
6. waze
7. good browser
8. good camera
9. forever email search capability
10. contacts and calendar syncing with either outlook.com or gmail.com

Highly recommend the Note 2 or Galaxy S4 - both are GREAT phones!

New Note 3 is coming out next month if you can wait, however the Note 2 will do everything you need it to and more. The Note 2 has an amazing battery, big bright and beautiful screen and the S-Pen has a lot of great uses.

 

[benhmadison]

I'd like to try an android phone since I've been hearing that they've changed a lot in the last few years. Looking for a recommendations. I'm looking for top of the line.

Carrier: Verizon Wireless

I come from Blackberry. Here are my most important features:
1. easy to use keyboard
2. excellent call quality
3. excellent battery life
4. google maps
5. easy to use & read email/text/voicemail interface
6. waze
7. good browser
8. good camera
9. forever email search capability
10. contacts and calendar syncing with either outlook.com or gmail.com

The best 2 devices right now are the HTC ONE and the Galaxy S4. If you like a removable battery and sd card slot then go with the S4. I have extensively used both and I think the ONE is the best smartphone so far this year on any platform. That's just my opinion and others will disagree. I would recommend going to your carriers store and spend some time playing with any that you are interested in since each person is different.

 

[pooger]

Thanks for the help so far.

I forgot to mention some other things I'd like:

11. Good multitasking
12. Not too large of a screen
13. Easy to use cut/paste

Is the note 3 going to be better than the S4 and HTC One?

 

[zorak950]

4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 13 are more a function of Android itself; you'll get the same experience no matter which phone you pick. If I were you, I'd focus on the other criteria, which will be more likely to vary based on hardware.

 

[outlooker]

I think the Nexus 4 or the Moto X would be the device for you. The screen isn't huge, it has everything you're looking for. And believe me, they are FAR easier to use than most high end Samsungs and HTCs.
I'm a lot like you, I was a loyal BlackBerry user for a long time and a couple of months ago I immigrated into Android. I went with the Nexus 4 and was very pleased.
Though the Moto X, which will be available soon, would be simply perfect for you, alongside the Nexus 4.
Do some research on these two phones and I'm sure you'll like the experience.

Posted via a naked Nexus 4 running 4.3 (No cover for me!)

 

[outlooker]

I personally find that almost everything you listed is pretty much standard for most Androids these days, except for the screen size. The screen sizes are getting bigger and bigger, 5 inch seems to be the latest trends. From your post I think that five inches would be too big for you. Go with a 4.7 inch screen like the Nexus 4 or the Moto X. Everything else on your list is covered no matter what you buy.
The reason I recommend these two devices is their user friendliness. Samsung and HTC phones HUGELY modify the Android software and tweak it to high levels of sophistication. The Nexus 4 and the Moto X essentially are just as good (or maybe even better) as other phone software wise. The interface in these two devices are simply gorgeous with ease and simplicity. Perfect for someone coming from BlackBerry. BlackBerry OS is also very simple yet capable.

Also, you may want to consider the new Google Edition devices. There very similar, software wise, to the above two devices, but only bigger.
Anyway, what BlackBerry are you coming from, 10 OS or 7 OS?

Posted via a naked Nexus 4 running 4.3 (No cover for me!)

 

[benhmadison]

Thanks for the help so far.

I forgot to mention some other things I'd like:

11. Good multitasking
12. Not too large of a screen
13. Easy to use cut/paste

Is the note 3 going to be better than the S4 and HTC One?

As far as specs go the Note 3 will be better. If you aren't looking for a large device then you should definitely stay away from the Note series since it is significantly larger than even the S4. As far as multitasking, that is built in to each android device regardless of the manufacturer. I think the best manufacturer skin as far as how the menu's and such are set up is HTC's Sense 5. It is light and fast just like stock android, but it adds several useful benefits. Only you can decide what is best and all devices recommended to you so far would all be good choices.

 

[petaf]

I think the Nexus 4 or the Moto X would be the device for you. The screen isn't huge, it has everything you're looking for. And believe me, they are FAR easier to use than most high end Samsungs and HTCs.
I'm a lot like you, I was a loyal BlackBerry user for a long time and a couple of months ago I immigrated into Android. I went with the Nexus 4 and was very pleased.
Though the Moto X, which will be available soon, would be simply perfect for you, alongside the Nexus 4.
Do some research on these two phones and I'm sure you'll like the experience.

Posted via a naked Nexus 4 running 4.3 (No cover for me!)

He's on Verizon. No Nexus 4. Unless I'm very much mistaken.

 

[garublador]

Samsung and HTC phones HUGELY modify the Android software and tweak it to high levels of sophistication.

I'm not sure I agree with this. They look a bit different but nothing is wildly different or difficult to understand. It's all customizable, anyway.

The Moto X looks like a good contender if you want the extra voice features it has but don't need a ton of storage. Otherwise if you're on Verizon the S4 and HTC One (in the future) are pretty much the top two phones. I'm not sure if Verizon is getting the 64GB One or not. If you don't mind waiting a bit, I think there are some other Motorola phones coming to Verizon this month, one of them focusing on battery life. That one (the Maxx) might be worth considering. It all sort of depends on how you rank stuff like screen quality, battery life, processing power, storage options and camera quality.

 

[Haalcyon]

The HTC One, Galaxy S4 or Note 2 (if you want a something that looks like a phone and tablet copulated and produced offspring). As mentioned previously, the Note 3 is coming so if you like your phones supersized it may be just the thing.

Sent from my Note 8.0 LTE

 

[atomic_squid]

The best 2 devices right now are the HTC ONE and the Galaxy S4. If you like a removable battery and sd card slot then go with the S4. I have extensively used both and I think the ONE is the best smartphone so far this year on any platform. That's just my opinion and others will disagree. I would recommend going to your carriers store and spend some time playing with any that you are interested in since each person is different.

Another excellent choice is the Optimus G Pro, or eventually the G2. They have hardware easily on par with the One/S4.

Sent from my LG-E980 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[RunawayBeing]

Agree with atomic_squid, a colleague of mine also has the Optimus G Pro and although it gets defeated by GS4 on the benchmarks front, it does have a 5.5" screen alongwith N2 like specs going for it.