Which new phone should I get?

[djturnz]

I would like Help deciding which new phone to get.

I currently have the DROID RAZR MAXX HD (with the cool Limited Edition Red "Kevlar" back). I love my phone, but it's starting to have some issues. The most troublesome problem is the ear speaker is really getting bad. It works, but makes a crackling noise.

I am looking to move on and sign up for the Verizon Edge plan. I'm just not sure which phone to get. I've been leaning towards either the Droid Turbo or the Galaxy Note 4. I also own the Galaxy Tab2 7inch tablet, so I am at least as familiar with Samsung's version of the OS as that is concerned.

I think the Note Edge would be sweet, but it's not available at VZW yet.

I've watched some youtube comparisons, and read a few articles.

So if you would please, talk me into one phone over the other.

My next step is to pick a phone for my wife to replace her horrible iPhone 4. She wants to go back to Android, so at least I won that battle.

 

[joebloggs13]

Re: I would like Help deciding which new phone to get.

Have you looked at the lg g3? Big Quad HD screen, small form factor. I own it and it's the best phone I have owned to date. I came from the Samsung note series.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[HappyFunBall24]

Re: I would like Help deciding which new phone to get.

It depends on the features that you value more, but I'll summarize my selection process, which ended a week ago with me buying the Motorola Droid Turbo. I also came from the Motorola Razr Maxx HD and did a ton of research before narrowing it down to the Droid Turbo and Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which I determined to be the 2 best phones at the moment. They both have the very top of the line specs (shared only by the Nexus 6 currently) and a lot more. To me, the biggest pros/cons for each - leaving out the areas where their specs/hardware/features overlap:

DROID TURBO pros (these features settled it for me):

- more manageable size/form factor (actually one of the smallest top end smartphones, has tapered edges)
- best battery of any top smartphone
- lean, near-stock Android experience
- Motorola's reputation for build quality
- handy Moto voice, display, and other features (same as in Moto X)

Btw, an update yesterday introduced VoLTE functionality (biggest being HD voice & video calls, simultaneous voice & data when in Verizon 4g range; also fixed a few smaller complaints). The biggest cons for me:

- no sd card slot
- no image stabilization
- Verizon bloat (easily disabled)

NOTE 4 pros:

- great multitasking features
- useful S-Pen
- very good battery life
- one of the best cameras
- removable storage.

Biggest cons:

- TouchWiz distracts and/or bogs things down too much, to me
- Size is a bit unwieldly
- Samsung phone updates traditionally slower than others

Other top contenders to consider: Google/Motorola Nexus 6, LG G3, Motorola Moto X (2014 edition), HTC One M8, Sony Xperia Z3 Compact

The Nexus 6 is the giant that has the Droid Turbo's internals with better speakers & slightly better camera, but much worse battery life & is missing Moto features. The other four are great phones and each has an awesome, unique feature or two, but are in general a step or two below in terms of hardware specs - though current cost is definitely better.

I don't know if your wife wants to stay with the small form factor coming from the iPhone 4, but if so then the Z3 Compact is pretty much the reviewer consensus as best smaller-sized smartphone. I would've gotten this if I had wanted something smaller. Though, it's not available on Verizon, if that's important to you. Otherwise, not knowing her preferences, I'd make the same phone suggestions as for you.

Finally, I find that Phonearena and Gsmarena are two of the best, most helpful review sites out there, check em out. Sorry for going on so long. Hope it helps, good luck!

 

[djturnz]

Re: I would like Help deciding which new phone to get.

Thanks guys. Not having an SD card bugs me. I do like the Motorola hi though.

The wife does want to keep a similar size phone to the iPhone.

 

[Ivy Lin]

Re: I would like Help deciding which new phone to get.

For your wife, Samsung Galaxy S5 is a good phone. It's 5.1" but has a pretty small, compact form factor, and it's a good plain vanilla smart phone. Idk why people complain about Touchwiz bloatware. They are easily disabled -- a two minute search on youtube will be able to get most of the bloatware disabled.

Have you looked at the LG G3? A lot of people really like it, and it has removable storage.

 

[codeda]

Re: I would like Help deciding which new phone to get.

I would agree with the z3 compact for your wife or maybe the moto x. That's what I suggest to all my girlfriends that love android but don't want big phones.

 

[HappyFunBall24]

Re: I would like Help deciding which new phone to get.

^^^ Moto X 2013 is smaller, yes, but the 2014 edition is actually just about the same size as the Droid Turbo (slightly thinner) with a 5.2" screen, and the S5 as stated above. But of course these three are a bit smaller than every other current high end Android phone. It's odd to me (marketing-wise) how none of the top Androids are under 5" anymore except for the Z3 Compact, which was a good call by Sony.