D3 or Charge? - Motorola Droid 3

My wife has a Droid 1 that I gave to her when I upgraded to the Charge.
I just used her upgrade to order a Droid 3.
Not accounting for 4g which I don't really care about for myself, which of the two phones would you keep for yourself? All I need to do is swap SIM cards if I decide to go with the Droid 3 for myself.

Well, it's not quite as easy as swapping SIM cards with those 2 phones, since the D3 has a global 3G SIM and the Charge has a 4G SIM. I had to take the two phones into a VZW store when I did the same thing last month.
As for which one to keep, it really depends on what you want out of your phone? Fan of physical keyboards and dual-core processors? Go for the Droid3. Fan of 4G, SAMOLED displays, and unlocked bootloaders? Go for the Charge. Fan of both? Well, now you're in a rough spot...
Honestly it's a tough choice. Both are very worthy phones, and I second-guess my decision to switch to the D3 to the Charge pretty often, because I loved the features of both. But I'm certainly not un-happy with my D3.
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Did Verizon charge you to do the sim swap when you went to the store?
And yeah, I'm a fan of both so I can't make up my mind lol.

Well, after talking to my wife, I think I'm taking the droid 3.
She will need the extended battery my Charge has to make it through the day in her building.
Cheers everyone.

Nope, they did not charge me for the sim swap. I was adding a new line of service though, so I'm not certain if that's just something that they'll always do free of charge.
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I have been into the verizon store multiple times because i switch phones all the time, they have never charged me for the sim swap.

tbh you dont need an extended battery with the droid 3, I use my droid 3 heavely and havent had a problem making through a day. if you got a bad d3 that I guess would make a difference.

Yeah, I know I won't need one. But she will. even her Droid 1 has problems. She is in an old school building with thick concrete and steel, so she searches for a signal constantly. So she gets the charge with the extended battery, and I get the new hotness with dual cores. I think we both win.

Related

How many are happy or not happy.

Just wanna know how many people are happy with this phone and keeping it.
Vs
Returning it.
Besides the obvious bugs/screen etc.
I like it but I don't love it but not enough to return it.
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Love it. Keeping it.
Keeping it fersure... getting 10megabits down with 6/up. snappy and fast... rooted here.
came from a droid incredible with a dope rom from skyraider... I was running for 36 hours at a time with no kernel changes or undervolt... so my only complaint is the batt life sucks in comparison.
r4ph said:
Keeping it fersure... getting 10megabits down with 6/up. snappy and fast... rooted here.
came from a droid incredible with a dope rom from skyraider... I was running for 36 hours at a time with no kernel changes or undervolt... so my only complaint is the batt life sucks in comparison.
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Welcome to 4G. Its not the phone its 4G that sucks your battery. I will say this; The bionic is by FAR the best on battery life compared to all 4G phones on the market right now.
I adore it. I came from a Moto Droid that had a display that died on me, so I was waiting for this.
Yeah, the screen's pixels are a little annoying at times, but other than that its speeds are INCREDIBLE, the new motoblur or whatever it is called now isn't obtrusive (the phone is actually fast enough to run it where it is actually attractive), and best of all it feels great in the hand.
Also, the extended battery's replacement back for the phone doesn't add that much width to it, making it a really good purchase. Shame none of the cases they had in stock support the extended battery.
One thing that I think people ignore when writing about new phones is the sound quality, and many people I have called are astounded when I tell them that I'm on a cell phone. I was on the highway going 60 mph with the windows and roof open, trucks all around me, and my dad thought I was on a landline when I called him. However they made the microphone, they got it down perfectly.
Now, I *NEEDED* a phone because of work, so it isn't an option to wait for the Droid Prime or the iPhone 5. Am I happy with the Bionic? Absolutely. Would I have waited for an even better phone if I could have? Perhaps.
I feel like when phones come out, they are outdated within a few days unless it's an iPhone. Eventually you have to bite the bullet, and I think that the Bionic is the best bullet I've ever bitten into!
Feoen said:
I adore it. I came from a Moto Droid that had a display that died on me, so I was waiting for this.
Yeah, the screen's pixels are a little annoying at times, but other than that its speeds are INCREDIBLE, the new motoblur or whatever it is called now isn't obtrusive (the phone is actually fast enough to run it where it is actually attractive), and best of all it feels great in the hand.
Also, the extended battery's replacement back for the phone doesn't add that much width to it, making it a really good purchase. Shame none of the cases they had in stock support the extended battery.
One thing that I think people ignore when writing about new phones is the sound quality, and many people I have called are astounded when I tell them that I'm on a cell phone. I was on the highway going 60 mph with the windows and roof open, trucks all around me, and my dad thought I was on a landline when I called him. However they made the microphone, they got it down perfectly.
Now, I *NEEDED* a phone because of work, so it isn't an option to wait for the Droid Prime or the iPhone 5. Am I happy with the Bionic? Absolutely. Would I have waited for an even better phone if I could have? Perhaps.
I feel like when phones come out, they are outdated within a few days unless it's an iPhone. Eventually you have to bite the bullet, and I think that the Bionic is the best bullet I've ever bitten into!
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Yes the sound quality is superb. I don't sound like a robot coming from tb. My battery is awesome. From 630 to 12 only down 30% moderate use and that's alot. Glad that some peeps are happy.
Ill love it once I root this bad boy and get things going but man in so scared scratching this phone lol out of all th phones I've own this is the mother load of trying not to get it nik or so. It's so shiney and im ocd. About my phones lol. The case I got was from Verizon its that double layer case with ruber and hard screen and I like that.
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Case that i bought was already fitted for extended battery so i asked the rep how do i get extended battery and he said that he had one in the back bought it and been on battery since then phone is great keeping
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I also love my Bionic, having upgraded from the Droid I. The only thing which I think it's missing is a widget to turn on/off the 4g. Other then the already mentioned 4g battery woes it's awesome.
Wapples said:
I also love my Bionic, having upgraded from the Droid I. The only thing which I think it's missing is a widget to turn on/off the 4g. Other then the already mentioned 4g battery woes it's awesome.
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CM7 on the Tbolt has a toggle, but ya, I can see this as a pain on this phone. However, if you are using 4G - try juice defender. When the screen is off it will turn off data (and you can have your data turn on however often you wish to check for new data etc).
Highly recommend it.
I had to charge my phone yesterday twice. I went about 1.6hrs on the original charge then fully charged it. With heavy use it needed a charge around bedtime(2130). Today I got it off the charger at 0530 and used it heavy for about 40 mins, then barely touched it and it's at 70%. I have juice defender and it set to CDMA only. I do not like the battery life so far but I has ATK on it. I took it off and will see how it goes. I think the task killer is more harm then good.
Does anyone know the battery life with 4G turned off?
No 4G at all in my state yet, but our area should be getting it this year.
eakrish said:
I had to charge my phone yesterday twice. I went about 1.6hrs on the original charge then fully charged it. With heavy use it needed a charge around bedtime(2130). Today I got it off the charger at 0530 and used it heavy for about 40 mins, then barely touched it and it's at 70%. I have juice defender and it set to CDMA only. I do not like the battery life so far but I has ATK on it. I took it off and will see how it goes. I think the task killer is more harm then good.
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Yeah and I would imagine there is a lot of bloat that can be removed with custom ROM's or tweaking CPU settings.
//oops.. double post.
I am so temped to say forget and go back to old faithful.... Ip4. I can go like two entire days on a single charge. I admit I have never used an android phone without the ATK. Maybe that's my problem.....
I like it coming from two Htc phones. Im only having an issue with the vibrate sounding really annoying like its broken and the battery only dropping by the 10's. It dropped from 100 to 90 then to 80%. Nothing in between. Im on an extended battery and seems to be doing okay so far.
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How bad is the thickness with the extended battery, VZW is selling them local for 25 bux
And the battery by 10s is normal for the new motorola phones
Keeping. Best 4g phone on Verizon
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Toss me in on a keeper.
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DroidTh3ory said:
Toss me in on a keeper.
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Myself as well. My only complaint is that with the extended battery it makes it feel like I'm holding a brick when compared to regular battery, but that's a small complaint considering how well the battery performs... It's just how thin the device is when compared to other LTE devices with regular battery...
Rooted in seconds and im really happy with it now. Just make sure you update the bb binary once rooted. It makes a hell of a difference imo
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Droid4? LTE...

I'm going to be pissed if this comes out soon. I just got my D3 a few months ago
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/27/motorola-droid-4-exposed-to-our-wandering-eyes-comes-with-lte-i/
If this is true my D3 will hit ebay and I'll buy a nexus. This is just bad business, asinine.
I don't see how they can do this to consumers and think it's okay. I signed an additional 2 years onto my 1 year for this phone, just to be ****ed in the ass 3 months later. I will not buy anything but nexus in the future. One phone a year, like it's supposed to be.
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/10/27/exclusive-first-pictures-of-the-droid4-by-motorola/
Can see VZ bloatware on one of the pics -- would assume this is fairly close. Moto/VZ appear to be really jerking around customers these days - I am sure Bionic customers are upset that the Droid RAZR came out so quickly (although the gap between Bionic and RAZR is much smaller), and now us Droid 3'ers have this Droid 4 coming out. I am more interested in how much RAM this thing has - LTE still sucks down too much battery life for my taste, and non-removable battery is non-ideal - I like the the slim Motorola extended batteries - the 1900 mah one for Droid 3 adds essentially no thickness and lasts a lot longer than stock 1500.
Rlin5741 said:
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/10/27/exclusive-first-pictures-of-the-droid4-by-motorola/
Can see VZ bloatware on one of the pics -- would assume this is fairly close. Moto/VZ appear to be really jerking around customers these days - I am sure Bionic customers are upset that the Droid RAZR came out so quickly (although the gap between Bionic and RAZR is much smaller), and now us Droid 3'ers have this Droid 4 coming out. I am more interested in how much RAM this thing has - LTE still sucks down too much battery life for my taste, and non-removable battery is non-ideal - I like the the slim Motorola extended batteries - the 1900 mah one for Droid 3 adds essentially no thickness and lasts a lot longer than stock 1500.
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Non removable battery is an instant do not want from me also, but I'm just pissed about this ****. I will never buy another motorola phone, I'm done. Give me Nexus or give me death.
I paid full retail for this phone right when it came out, I'm pretty pissed. If that comes out within the next few months (from the looks of it, it will) it'll be goodbye moto and hello nexus for me.
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Yeah ill be pretty frustrated @ moto too.... problem is I can't live without a keyboard and for some reason moto is the only company willing to put out higher end keyboard phones
Well, the Nexus looks great (as long as you are ok with something that big - I am not), and I do love the idea of a pure Google experience, but nobody has actually used one; we have no idea how good or bad it will be. And, this is a Samsung phone, and is coming out even closer to the launch of the Samsung Charge than any the presumed D4 is coming to the D3. This is the reality - you reach a point to get an upgrade, you get the upgrade, and you stop worrying whether something slightly better is coming out in a few months - because it is.
I'm ok with a thinner device with non-removable battery - I have chargers everywhere, including in my car, and there are plenty of great portable charging devices that you can get for phones like that. After tons of issue with the Bionic over two weeks dropping data (3G, in areas where I know I have a solid 3G signal), I'm happy to have the D3 for the next 19.5 months, and give plenty of time to Moto and VZW to get LTE truly ready for prime time - because it's not quite there now. The D3 is a great phone and I'll be fine with it; not a single data drop since I've had it, and battery life is about the same as the Bionic (when it was running CDMA only).
I do think that this angle-cornered design of the Razr and this prototype is a bit on the unattractive side, though, compared with the Bionic/D3.
I don't mind that they are putting out another version of the Droid soon. It's a losing battle to have the latest and greatest phone. What bothers me is what will happen to OS updates. Will phones get abandoned quicker?
Also did anyone else notice non-removable battery, looks like I wouldn't buy it. I pay an and a leg for a phone along with a plan and both Verizon and Motorola act like they own your phone. Do they not realize why people buy Android phones? I can upgrade/swap batteries, I can run whatever programs I want, I can add a memory card, etc.
for people like sims and whitty who have been doing a lot of work on the d3 and are being ostracized, i firmly believe this is an idiotic move on moto's side. I'm probably gonna go the nexus route if the d4 drops as soon as everyone is speculating it is. This is some major bs.
At least I have the Transformer Prime to look forward to....
But seriously. Ugh. Waco has no 4G of any kind and won't for years to come so this doesn't affect me too much, but still. This will take away a huge amount of potential users and will piss off all the D3 buyers, especially the ones like me who bought it on full retail.
I hope the D4 will have no global radio, so I will not be tempted. ;-)
Most people won't have 4G for at least another year. By then, that phone will be obsolete, I wouldn't sweat the small stuff.
*If you're not on Gingerbread, you should be shot*
Really, who cares about 4G when the 3G part is not on par with a 3 years old Sonyericsson phone ?
Good God some of you are getting worked up over a phone. It is not a big deal just let it go.
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MrObvious said:
Good God some of you are getting worked up over a phone. It is not a big deal just let it go.
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It is a big deal because if someone wants a qwerty are they going to buy the 3 or the 4? We'll be left behind with a smaller community, as great as it is. It's just frustrating and I've had it with moto's bull****.
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rweb said:
I hope the D4 will have no global radio, so I will not be tempted. ;-)
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Interesting point, if it does have a GSM radio, this will be the first Global capable phone with LTE. How wold that even work, 2 SIM cards?
Non-replaceable battery will keep it off my list too. I'm in the NYC Metro Area and I know a few people with LTE phones, Bionic, Charge and TB. All have the same complaint, the battery life is horrible and they have constant connection issues. I'm waiting until next year summer-fall when the 2nd or 3rd generation LTE chips come out.
i was pissed then i saw no removable battery the i was like i dont care lol. i choose unlimited 3g over limited 4g any day i got grandfatherd over so its all good
Motorola can't be serious, Droid 3 is only about 4 month old.
And I don't really like the curved design
jellman said:
i was pissed then i saw no removable battery the i was like i dont care lol. i choose unlimited 3g over limited 4g any day i got grandfatherd over so its all good
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If you're on unlimited data now (using 3G), when you switch to a 4G phone you stay on unlimited data (now using 4G).

DROID 3 owners early upgrade petition!!!

droid 3 owners please sign this petition made by David Parrella to give droid 3 owneres early upgrades for the droid 4 http://t.co/HIpWwQZA
Signed.
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Signed.
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The Droid 3 was released before the Bionic and Razr. Phones take months to develop, they aren't put together overnight. Considering the Droid 3 was the first with the new version of motoblur and the new plaform (omap processor) it was probably the longest in development out of those three phones. The Droid 4 being released doesn't make the Droid 3 obsolete. Plus, plenty of other phones were released at that time with 3G, you don't see petitions for those phones, do you?
Everyone was fully aware 4G was going to be available at the time of the 3's release, if you wanted a 4G phone you should have waited for one.
Its not necessarily the 4g they are after. Its the 1G of ram, faster processor, keyboard setup the Droid 3 should have been.
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Darksurf said:
Its not necessarily the 4g they are after. Its the 1G of ram, faster processor, keyboard setup the Droid 3 should have been.
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It's still equally as ridiculous. Not every phone released is a high end phone. These companies develop midrange ones all the time. There were plenty of 512 phones being released at that time. Plus the bionic has the same processor.
And the keyboard, really? The Droid 3 keyboard was a huge step up over the 2 and Evo Slide or w/e. Should they just constantly delay the phones launch because they have people working on building better keyboards? Give me a break. Feature creep is the number one reason why companies lose money and their products are unsuccessful.
I mean this is really like people that complain their computers are obsolete after buying them. Welcome to the technology market. There are multiple teams working on multiple products.
Whatever, I don't even think 10,000 people bought the Droid 3, mostly because most of them recognized it was a terrible purchase at the time anyway. I mean I sat there and weighed the options of having a keyboard to having 1GB of ram and 4G (and most people at the time were saying the 1GB of ram wasn't really true, it was 512 for the phone 512 for the laptop dock). I choose the keyboard, but honestly the phone has other issues that bother me more than just lack of 4G. The fact that my multiple 32GB cards randomly loses music folders is way more annoying to me. That and how I'm on my third phone because the USB --> PC connection decides to stop working after lots of use.
I'm upgrading to the Galaxy Nexus as soon as possible.
Signed.
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I also signed....
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i4mt3hwin said:
It's still equally as ridiculous. Not every phone released is a high end phone. These companies develop midrange ones all the time. There were plenty of 512 phones being released at that time. Plus the bionic has the same processor.
And the keyboard, really? The Droid 3 keyboard was a huge step up over the 2 and Evo Slide or w/e. Should they just constantly delay the phones launch because they have people working on building better keyboards? Give me a break. Feature creep is the number one reason why companies lose money and their products are unsuccessful.
I mean this is really like people that complain their computers are obsolete after buying them. Welcome to the technology market. There are multiple teams working on multiple products.
Whatever, I don't even think 10,000 people bought the Droid 3, mostly because most of them recognized it was a terrible purchase at the time anyway. I mean I sat there and weighed the options of having a keyboard to having 1GB of ram and 4G (and most people at the time were saying the 1GB of ram wasn't really true, it was 512 for the phone 512 for the laptop dock). I choose the keyboard, but honestly the phone has other issues that bother me more than just lack of 4G. The fact that my multiple 32GB cards randomly loses music folders is way more annoying to me. That and how I'm on my third phone because the USB --> PC connection decides to stop working after lots of use.
I'm upgrading to the Galaxy Nexus as soon as possible.
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What I read there is " I hate my droid 3". How about ending the beotch fest and just sign the petition. Lol.
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I'm not gonna sign it because I know it won't do any good. Besides the only major upgrade is the 4G to me. The extra RAM isn't needed and we can already overclock our phones to the same speed so IMO it's not a huge upgrade. The D2->D3 was a more superior upgrade because of the dual core. I got my phone running nice and the battery actually runs good enough for me to be able to go ahead and go through the day without needing a charger most of the time provided I'm in a good 3G area or have Wi-Fi. But go ahead. Besides tell me one time Verizon has actually listened to a petition?
I signed it. I hope for an early upgrade.
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I dont know where the problem is, a new product gets realesed, if you have the money and you want it, you buy it. You should stop to care so much about your phone....its just a phone.
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I signed it, for what it's worth. I'm fine with my droid 3 and love it. I know it won't get us anywhere but it's worth a shot.
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Signed....
This is just a little bit silly. Everyone that DECIDED to buy a D3 knew full well that they were compromising 4G AND 1G of RAM. If these were the things that were important to you at the time, then you could have got the Bionic. You can't blame any company for coming out with better devices too soon, you can only blame your own poor timing to make a purchase.
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Uh yeah... like this measly little petition is gonna get enough attention for Motorola wanting to lose millions of dollars on D3 owners because a few of them whined about a new phone coming out too soon.
My issue is then why buy a phone if 6 months later the same phone comes out that better. So if I buy the d4 then six months later a tripple core d5 comes out then what. Its stupid. The carriers don't care about you they want your money so the pump out these android phones as fastas they can. And stick you with there ui's and your current phone will always feel old. Now the d3 is still a good phone with its duel core but why did they come out with a d4 so soon. Makes me feel that they said oopps we should of made it 4g and more ram. So to bad for the d3 owners, so go out and get the new phone and pay full price becouse you already used your upgrade. More money in there pockets. That's why as soon as my upgrade is availible I'm getting the samsung nexus and I'm saying good buy to the carrier phone with there stupid skins and out dated software ( galaxy s is at 2.3.7 and my d3 is still at 2.3.4 and the s is a year old). And I will never look back. In fact I can't even recomend the d3 becouse of this, or any other carrier phone. Yes I know that the samsung nexus is still a carrier phone but goole is in control of it. That's why there are no stupid bloat ware on it. So the new stock look of 4.0 is so much better then any skin.
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spacecasespiff said:
My issue is then why buy a phone if 6 months later the same phone comes out that better. So if I buy the d4 then six months later a tripple core d5 comes out then what. Its stupid. The carriers don't care about you they want your money so the pump out these android phones as fastas they can. And stick you with there ui's and your current phone will always feel old. Now the d3 is still a good phone with its duel core but why did they come out with a d4 so soon. Makes me feel that they said oopps we should of made it 4g and more ram. So to bad for the d3 owners, so go out and get the new phone and pay full price becouse you already used your upgrade. More money in there pockets. That's why as soon as my upgrade is availible I'm getting the samsung nexus and I'm saying good buy to the carrier phone with there stupid skins and out dated software ( galaxy s is at 2.3.7 and my d3 is still at 2.3.4 and the s is a year old). And I will never look back. In fact I can't even recomend the d3 becouse of this, or any other carrier phone. Yes I know that the samsung nexus is still a carrier phone but goole is in control of it. That's why there are no stupid bloat ware on it. So the new stock look of 4.0 is so much better then any skin.
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So you're saying that these companies shouldn't produce phones so you can feel good about you having the best for a little longer? These companies are in the business to make money.
I find it amusing that people think they are entitled to stuff beyond what they've purchased. You bought a Droid 3, you got a Droid 3. Motorola doesn't owe you **** beyond what they gave you. If Motorola came out with a slightly improved Droid everyday it wouldn't and shouldn't make a difference. You knew what you were buying and you bought it. If you don't like it you have no one to blame but yourself.
Well, the thing is...when the iphone 4 came out...everyone who bought a 3gs like 4 or 5 months before was allowed an early upgrade. So why not us.
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I love these responses. This is great for a bored day at work.
1. Yes, you knew what you were buying. You may not have gotten exactly what you wanted, but you did get exactly what you paid for.
2. The economy is not governed by simply productivity. If that was the case, a new type of widget would be made every day because numbers would be the only thing that matters. The economy is governed by the desires of the people. While Verizon and Motorola may not care. They should provide a strong effort to give people a sporting chance. I have my Droid 3 after innumerable software issued with my D2G. Verizon gave it to me. That said, I always wanted a 4G qwerty slider. The Stratosphere is a poor substitute as its specs are last generation. Should Verizon offer Droid 3 owners something? Yes. Because its important to keep your customers happy. Case in point, I will NEVER buy another Motorola handset again. Samsung has better battery, and HTC has better UI. Keeping your customers happy is key. HTC knows this, and so does Samsung. In the next year, I suspect any device can be activated on any network, giving us more options of phones. And I'll take an Epic 4G anyday!
3. The petition may not work, but when has sitting your behind ever done anything helpful? Don't antagonize people for having hope, and standing on their principles. It is because of people with the courage to fight for what they believe that I can ride in the front of the bus. Principles are important.
4. FLAME ON!! The same people complaining about the petition, are likely the same people that vote for a party just because of the party. Or just let people walk all over them. If you feel the brown stain on your nose belongs there, good for you. Don't be upset that others have different opinions and act on them. I'd rather stand alone than sit amongst millions.
As I did not purchase the Droid 3, I have no right to sign. However, it remains true that when a new device is released, support for the current market of devices diminishes. That alone, should be enough to make you fight.

Trade in Bionic?

So I went from a thunderbolt to a bionic and not sure whether I like the bionic or not. I was thinking of trading it for a charge or even a x2. With the tbolt and bionic I constantly loose data and am without date for a while while my friends with 3g phones have service. What do you think is the best thing to do
Er, the Charge and X2 are both absolutely terrible phones, even compared to the BIONIC. I've used all three. The Charge has the same data-dropping issue. The Charge is also ungodly slow (Hummingbird processor - same as the original Galaxy S), extremely poorly built, and TouchWiz is awful. The only good thing about it is the display.
The DX2 is also very unimpressive in terms of performance, has very poor custom ROM support, and a terrible display. And 3G only? I guess if you live in an area without 4G, that's OK, but it's just an outdated piece of kit.
The BIONIC is vastly superior to both (except for the Charge's screen). Stick on Liberty ROM or a custom launcher, and the performance vastly improves. Data dropping is an issue with all Verizon 4G devices. Going for a DX2 or Charge would just be going from bad to worse.
So stock with what I got? The other reason I don't want the phone is because of the random reboots that happen. If I root will it correct that issue
Th3demolitionman said:
So stock with what I got? The other reason I don't want the phone is because of the random reboots that happen. If I root will it correct that issue
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Well if those are your only choices. The rezound is a much better device.
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After the thunderbolt, I'm not a big fan of htc
Th3demolitionman said:
After the thunderbolt, I'm not a big fan of htc
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Why? My thunderbolt works better. Thanks my bionic and it's 8 months old and was the first 4G LTE device. The bionic had like 7 more months in the oven and still doesn't work as well.
The rezound is fantastic.
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I would definately steer clear of the Charge. Slow and locks up, sketchy GPS and terrible connection to data. I had no connectivity issues with my Bionic. I loved that phone and the battery was good. I now have the Rezound. My son has the Bioninc. If you had connection issuses wiht one Motorola, probably gonna have them with another. I had worse data connections with the RAZR than the Bionic. you can just turn the Bionic to 3G only if that is what you are trying to do. If it does not hold a connection and continually reboots, might be the actual phone. Maybe get a different Bionic. I never had the reboot problems either and was fast between 3g and 4g and held a connection better thatn the Tbolt, Charge and revolution. Yes, I know, I have a phone problem. Had them all. If you have to get a new phone and dont want the bionic, stick with the Rezound. If you hate HTC, hold out for the Galaxy Nexus/Prime over the Charge.
+1 for avoiding the Charge. I had reception issues that caused voice calls to cut in and out. Also had major issues with GPS locking. Never had data issues with it, but that was about the only thing that worked well. Experienced lots of lag/redraw which I would assume can be attributed to the lack of RAM along with the dated processor.
Traded in the charge for the bionic and I was happy that I did. Charge locked up, and ran slow. I love my Bionic.
Thanks for the advice everyone, for now i will keep my bionic and search for someone who trade a rezound. I dont want to pay full retail for one, With both my bionic and thunderbolt i have date issues so i think its the carrier. With the thunderbolt i did like the screen and camera better but the bionic is a lot faster and all my sms.
I was thinking of the same thing: trade the bionic back in.
For work I end up going between 3g/4g and wifi a few times each day and the phone would lose data atleast 2-3 times every day. Most times airplane mode would fix it but there was a three weeks ago where i had to power cycle the phone twice in a row to get data to pick back up.... thats when i reactivated my OG droid incredible. I'll try the bionic when the next update comes out, see if that fixes my issues. Otherwise i'll wait for ICS.
I spoke to Verizon tech support who basically told me to wait for the update which should come out this week. They offered to "upgrade"my phone to a Droid 3 so I can have 3g at least. I refused and instead got credited for my data on my 3 lines. I'm trying to wait but I've had no internet about 75% of the day.
Data loss fix/bandaid that has reduced my data loss alot..
Set your battery mode to performance mode under settings. Also if you have juice defender installed remove that as well. Helped me.
It might be just a case of bad luck on phones you've received.
From my view, the Bionic was great...until the Razr, Rezound, Galaxy Nexus and ICS came onto the horizon. In the same boat as you are, and I have no idea what I'm going to do

Droid 4 worth getting still?

I am up for an upgrade on my company cell phone through Verizon. I have been looking forward to a physical keyboard hoping to see the Droid 5 by now.
At this stage, is the Droid 4 still a decent phone?
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
dmwagner said:
I am up for an upgrade on my company cell phone through Verizon. I have been looking forward to a physical keyboard hoping to see the Droid 5 by now.
At this stage, is the Droid 4 still a decent phone?
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
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Click to collapse
Of course it is. Motorola is doing away with the droid series. X phone here I come!. Lol
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Sure. The phone isnt bad. The battery just comes from a subpar time period. Be ready for that going in.
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I am coming from a Droid Charge which makes it to about 2pm each day before needing the battery changed out.
The Droid 4's battery, is it accessible to be swapped out easily?
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dmwagner said:
I am coming from a Droid Charge which makes it to about 2pm each day before needing the battery changed out.
The Droid 4's battery, is it accessible to be swapped out easily?
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2
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Quite the opposite. Its fixed to the phone by screws and a ton of glue.
Its a bit of an issue but for people who can charge often not so bad.
If im honest with you ide avoid the droid 4 now. I love it but thats only because of the fold out keyboard which i cannot survive without. So it depends on what you need it for. If there were a better option with a keyboard like this ide be straight on it
Battery life is much much better than the Droid Charge. Overall the phone itself is a pretty significant improvement over the Charge.
If a slide out physical keyboard is on your must have list, the Droid 4 is still a fantastic phone.
I take mine off the charger at 6:30 am and put it back on the charger around 11:00 pm (at @ 20% battery). I don't use it much for phone calls really....as I just don't care to talk on the phone. Texts, emails, apps primarily......
Rooted with cm10.1 and nos entropy scripts and my battery lasts all day cuz of entropies battery calibration
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Still the best qwerty on Verizon
I LOVE my Droid 4, especially after rooting and using Eclipse JB right now. Looking forward to trying out other ROMs including CM10.1, since with Safestrap this phone is so easy to play with ROMs on since you get different rom slots you can install into. I find the battery life entirely acceptable under Eclipse, which is already improved over how it was stock. The Jelly Bean update that was pushed out recently improved performance on this device and the keyboard is by far the best qwerty keyboard out there. Unless you can pick up a Photon Q on Sprint, I'd say the Droid 4 is a safe bet, and will blow away your old Droid Charge easily. If you can wait, X Phone might be something fancy if it's announced at I/O next weekend, but I doubt it'll have a keyboard or physical buttons
There is no question that the Droid 4 is still the best hardware keyboard option on VZW.
Battery life is sufficient for most users to make it through a day of use without needing a recharge but is heavily dependent on specific network conditions and usage patterns.
The radios are excellent and the 4.1.2 JB release has the closest to AOSP UI of any of the OEMs and functions well even for users that are not interested in rooting and ROMs and other modifications of the device.
I still love my Droid 4. Even though it is outdated hardware-wise, it still deals with everything thrown at it very nicely. The keyboard is incredible, and if that is important to you, it's absolutely worth it. I weep at the thought of having to get a non-qwerty phone
Thanks for all the input here.
After some serious soul searching I have concluded that the most important feature in a phone to me isn't a keyboard, it's battery life. I think I am going to go with the Droid Razr Maxx HD.
dmwagner said:
Thanks for all the input here.
After some serious soul searching I have concluded that the most important feature in a phone to me isn't a keyboard, it's battery life. I think I am going to go with the Droid Razr Maxx HD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great choice there, easily the best phone on verizon right now (............x phone anyone?)
Droid 4 is the best hardware keyboard phone there is ATM. There are phones that are better in every other way but if you want a keyboard you want the driod 4.
For battery I and others have tried the make an extended battery pack using the charge back. For my part all I got out of it was 2 bricked phones.
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app
I came from the original Droid, and swore to get another physical keyboard and ended ordering the Droid 4 on release. I've had the phone for a about a year and 3 months now, and I'm still using the same phone. That being said, there are a few things about the phone I regret, or wish it had.
There is a common problem with a crackling speaker. I don't hear as much about this issue anymore, so maybe they fixed it. I'm often working in loud enviromments where I need to turn the phones volume to max, but often times it's still not enough. I've used other peoples phones before (Blackberry, Samsung) and was able to hear just phone in the same place.
I've started using Swype in the last 9 months or so, and since then, I hardly ever use the physical keyboard. Swype just seems so "smooth" for lack of a better term. No constantly tapping on the keyboard or glass, and it's really fast just using my thumb to type. Looking back, I would have liked to get a phone without a keyboard for a thinner device.
Lack of support from Motorola to developers is a HUGE one for me, and I will mostly likely not purchase another Motorola phone unless something changes. I don't know if this is because of the contracts Motorola has with Verizon, or for other reasons. There are other brands and phones out there that are capable of running their own unique kernel, without having to use KEXEC to get around it.
On the positive side of things, I've felt no lack in this phone for horsepower or capability. I almost never have a problem with signal strength, and I've never seen this phone struggle to run any programs. The battery life is okay and enough to get me through the day to put on the charger again at bedside.
Yes, I would recommend it!
Unless the next generation of Motorola smartphones includes a high-spec QWERTY in their ranks, I'd definitely recommend this phone. The screen isn't the best, sure. But I'm a power user, and I love it. Yeah you'll have to charge it a good amount throughout the day, but for the ease of typing for a social-networking and text-maniac like myself, this thing is PERFECT!
In terms of qwerty phones, the Droid 4 is still one of the best (and on VZW it's pretty much the only). For the past few weeks I've been running Eclipse JB and my battery lasts all day and then some - that's with emails, texts, taking pictures, videos, a few games, the works. I've found that the stock JB sucks battery power, but a lot of the ROMs are much more efficient. CM10.1 has come a long way and will probably be my new main. Even the stock JB is fast and responsive, if you're not into rooting and installing a ROM.
The keyboard is excellent, and it looks like this might be one of the last qwerty phones for a while... which is discouraging, but if a hardware keyboard is big priority then I'd highly recommend grabbing a D4 before they're all gone. The lack of removable battery is a bummer, because that means that the phone will require service or some creative "surgery" when the battery eventually goes bad and needs to be replaced, but I'm hoping there will be a new flagship qwerty phone by then (or aftermarket batteries available for the D4). \
Bottom line, get this phone!
After flashing cm10 and using nos entropy and its battery tweaks and ram tweaks I have no lag or battery issues. Phone usually comes off charger at 7am and goes on charger around 1am and still has 20%+ and that's heavy use of 4g GPS and music. Absolutely get this phone. Take the time to root install safe strap and cm10 + nos entropy ram and battery scripts. Plus nova launcher? Perfection IMHO.
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I love my D4. Still a great phone for cheap compared to what's out there now. Love the physical keyboard, and a dedicated number row is fantastic.
I looooooooove the keyboard on the D4. It's so awesome, especially with real number keys. It makes entering the MyCoke Rewards codes a breeze. I really hope to get a few years of use out of this phone or until another awesome keyboard phone comes out. If one doesn't, I suppose I'll eventually have to embrace onscreen keyboards, but am not looking forward to that day.
Don't have a droid 4 I have a sidekick 4g but I am looking into this phone
An for on screen keyboards search the phones name and bluetooth keyboard an find on that is like a case an there you go never have to deal with on screen keyboards again c:
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