Leaving Sprint - on to Galaxy Nexus, Razr, or Bionic?

[philly]

Hey again,

I was just thinking back to how impressed I was with the loud speakers(s) on the Bionic. Are both screens in back of the device actually speakers? I could only get sound to come from one on a video I was playing, however, it was 10 times louder than any phone I have ever used.

That being the case, i was excited that the RAZR would also have a similar design... well, it appears that there is only one small slice in the back for the speaker on the RAZR, Can anyone attest to the sound quality or volume level?

The only bad thing I see about the Nexus is the small (which is the same as my NS4G) speaker in the back for audio... and the 5MP cam instead of 8MP...

HHmm....

First off.. congrats on leaving Sprint soon.. not a clue why people pay for data and phone service when they barely get coverage for either.

As far as your next phone, of course asking in the Nexus forum is going to be heavily favored torwards Nexus.. but it all depends on what your tastes are. My main qualities I wanted in a phone were Durability, Signl Strength, and GPS.. basically the primary functions I will need out of a phone. I will be doing plenty of Apps, web browsing, texting etc (one big reasons why im switching from a samsung phone is also the text missing problems I've been having.. missing texts daily.. its supposedly a problem specific to my phone Samsung Fascinate.. so I'm trusting Verizon on this one and not blaming their network.. I'll know for sure soon enough). And I can do all that on the phone I chose, which isnt the Nexus.. going with the Razr. I also think the SD card slot is pretty much a must have.

You have a Samsung Nexus S 4g so if you arent experiencing GPS issues with that, and the screen seems pretty scratch resistant.. then you can already check off a few of my concerns and maybe be more comfortable with the G-Nex then me.

I don't ever plan on rom'ing/root'ing/flashing the kernel etc.. so the main benefits of the G-Nex to me arent really benefits at all.. and I wouldnt use NFC and honestly cant recall a more overhyped feature on a phone.. ever. Another benefit of the G-nex is actually not a benefit for me and some others.. the software keys.. I love having the 4 hardware keys on my fascinate and the Razr has pretty much the exact same setup.

So factor everything in.. just remember the Galaxy Nexus might underperform phonewise to some of its competition.. even if it blows them out of the water in the dev/fondling dept.

 

[CynicX]

Developers devices are usually somewhat buggy. You are a Guinea pig using it. Manufactures UI clean up most bugs and then a couple of their own.

Case in point I have 2 moto xoom's one has the LTE upgrade and one is still 3g. The 3g just got an update to 3.2.1 and now its forcing apps closed constantly. I'm going to try tinkering with it removing a couple apps to see if that helps. Most likely I'll have to completely wipe it and systematically add apps to fix it, or wait 3 months for Google to fix it with an update.....

That's all part of a developers device though....So keep that in mind. I plan on still getting the GN I enjoy the tinkering part...

 

[ShinyTop]

I want the 720 screen which is the main reason I am not going with the Razr. I also want the ability to use an SD card. So I will wait for the reviews and probably wait until a phone comes along with 4g, ICS, 720 screen, and the ability to use an SD card. Replaceable battery is wanted but not required if battery life reports as good.

 

[KillerQ]

Thanks for the long response...

Honestly, I have the Nexus S 4g simply for the display. The NFC novelty wore off in a week, and the cell signal, wifi signal are actually horrible - not to mention the small, quiet speaker on the back.

If the Razr has a decently loud speaker, I think ill pick that up.

Anyone read any reviews that specifically address the speaker?

Thanks,

Matt!

 

[philly]

no prob.. I know you mentioned you liked the Bionics Loudspeakers in a previous post.. I surely would choose the Razr over it but if you are indeed looking to sign up to verizon you could get a brand new Bionic for very cheap now.. 119.99 @ wirefly.com or amazon wireless

DROID BIONIC 4G by MOTOROLA for Verizon Wireless - Wirefly.com

AmazonWireless: Motorola DROID BIONIC 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)

 

[KillerQ]

Philly,

Thanks again... I'll keep that in mind. I'll do some more research to try and make the Razr my primary choice (if the speaker is up to par). At that price, however, I may fall back on the Bionic - because in all honestly, the Bionic even with a subpar screen on Verizon is a welcomed change from even the best phone on the Sprint Network!

 

[intheb0x]

im a ns4g user from sprint, and i played with my cousins Bionic, rooted it, rom'd it and tested LTE with it, was blown away, with the cleaned up stock rom the thing was fast, pulled 28mbs down on LTE.

i would personally wait for the galaxy nexus, its worth the wait, but check them all out.

 

[LowRentTechGuy]

I am actually looking forward to the fact that they are starting to add NFC functionality into phones. I think the reason America doesn't care is it never having wide spread use in our everyday life. I say bring on the change, its what makes the tech industry so interesting.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[mhans311]

I probably won't get either the GN or the RAZR, but if I were to make a switch, I would probably opt for the RAZR. The main reason for me would be the SD card slot. Especially with the 2gb cap, for me it would be even more important to carry my own music/videos if I don't want to be streaming it all (luckily I'm still on the grandfathered unlimited plan for now). Also, the RAZR has bluetooth 4.0 which is full of potential. Besides, I like the design of the RAZR much more, but that's obviously personal preference

Oh and one more thing, I've learned not to listen to people who are biased against a certain manufacturer. They may have had one faulty device and are now holding on to a useless grudge. I have had many Motorola phones (Moto Q, Q9M, OG Droid, and now Droid X) and I haven't had a problem with any of them. There are haters of every manufacturer.

 

[nemov]

Oh and one more thing, I've learned not to listen to people who are biased against a certain manufacturer. They may have had one faulty device and are now holding on to a useless grudge. I have had many Motorola phones (Moto Q, Q9M, OG Droid, and now Droid X) and I haven't had a problem with any of them. There are haters of every manufacturer.

I love the OG Droid so I'm not a Moto hater, but I don't like blur. As long as Motorola keeps clogging their phones with their UI their phones of are no interest to me.

Obviously, many people aren't concerned by Blur. There are reasons not to like the current crop of Moto phones other than a "useless grudge."

 

[mhans311]

I love the OG Droid so I'm not a Moto hater, but I don't like blur. As long as Motorola keeps clogging their phones with their UI their phones of are no interest to me.

Obviously, many people aren't concerned by Blur. There are reasons not to like the current crop of Moto phones other than a "useless grudge."

Good point. I can see why some people don't like blur. I personally don't mind it and there are actually a few blur apps that I prefer to stock android (camera and gallery for example). Besides, I usually am on a custom rom anyway.

I'm just saying that there are reasons not to like any manufacturer. There are a lot of people who don't like Samsung, and others who don't like HTC, etc. Every manufacturer has pros and cons.

 

[KillerQ]

Nemov,

Is MotoBlur still an issue if you use a replacement launcher?

Thanks,

Matt!

 

[philly]

Nemov,

Is MotoBlur still an issue if you use a replacement launcher?

Thanks,

Matt!

nope.. tbh a custom launcher will hide the entire UI that Motorola, HTC, or Samsung put on the phone.

Which makes me wonder why so many people that complain about the MFG UI's have also posted that they plan on getting the Nexus and using Launcher Pro Pus on it..

 

[anon(512898)]

Nemov,

Is MotoBlur still an issue if you use a replacement launcher?

Thanks,

Matt!

Yes because it replaces the other stock apps as well, not just the launcher. It still runs background services and it still slows down update schedules

 

[nemov]

Yes because it replaces the other stock apps as well, not just the launcher. It still runs background services and it still slows down update schedules

This is exactly the reason why UI over Android are annoying. I used a launcher on the OG droid because I wanted more screens and it significantly slowed down the phone until eventually had to remove it.

The only way to really rid the phone of bloat is rooting it and I simply don't have the time to mess with it.

 

[qnet]

nope.. tbh a custom launcher will hide the entire UI that Motorola, HTC, or Samsung put on the phone.

Which makes me wonder why so many people that complain about the MFG UI's have also posted that they plan on getting the Nexus and using Launcher Pro Pus on it..

I'd have to agree with that, I don't want to put Launcher Pro on the Galaxy Nexus. What I don't like about the launchers is, they take over too much.

When I had the Bionic, there were some things I liked about the Motoblur such as, the smooth transitions between homescreens and, the favorite contacts widget. I only wanted to change the look of the dock because, I liked the one Launcher Pro had better but, it took over and I couldn't use the things I like about blur.

I like the dock and, the entire look of ICS so, I don't want to add or change anything. The new UI is doing everything I wanted and then some. Having said that, everyone is different and, they might not like what I like.

 

[turb0wned]

A must why? Unless you stream music or vids all the time or tether I don't think so. At least not in my case. I web browse a lot and YouTube some and have only gone over 2gb once. At that was by less than one gig so was what 10 bucks? Depends on your usage really. I am usually on wifi anyway

Sorry but I live by the, it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

More and more things need data now.

You know what it is to switch to Verizon and pay $30 for 2GB while the rest of us are paying $30 for unlimited....

 

[paul-c]

^ Real talk.

 

[KillerQ]

Sorry but I live by the, it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

More and more things need data now.

You know what it is to switch to Verizon and pay $30 for 2GB while the rest of us are paying $30 for unlimited....

turb0wned,

Trust me, I understand.... But as I mentioned having .09 megabytes per second on my Sprint 4g phone is f*cking painful when the verizon phone next to me is getting 12 megs per second. Too little, too late for Sprint. I'll GLADLY pay $10 more for each additional gig, or move up to $50 for 5 GB if I have too. I'll rarely touch 2GB.... but to be able to have high speeds is worth the price difference...


Thanks,

Matt!

 

[KillerQ]

I just checked out the bionic in-hand. Other than the display being sub-par, this phone is great. The Galaxy Nexus only has a 5MP camera, and the razr doesn't have a removeable battery - that's what I'm using to talk myself into the bionic.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk