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Hello, I am switching carriers from AT&T to Virgin Mobile and giving up my Atrix. I was wondering if the OG droid unlocked would still be a good option, if not what other sub 300 dollar unlocked cdma handsets would you recommend? Thanks in advance.
If that's your price range I'd do it. Droid/Milestone is basically a carbon copy of the Atrix software-wise (I currently have both). It just has lower hardware specs that's all...
ccrows said:
If that's your price range I'd do it. Droid/Milestone is basically a carbon copy of the Atrix software-wise (I currently have both). It just has lower hardware specs that's all...
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Click to collapse
In what way? The Atrix has Blur and the Milestone/Droid has stock Froyo.
OP, the biggest performance issue with the Droid is the meagre amount of RAM. Overall the phone will feel a lot less snappy than the Atrix (but then most phone will, I guess) although I'm really pleased with my Milestone's build quality and feel, and I would be lost without a hardware keyboard.
If you can handle the low RAM of the phone and possible lagging if you use any 3rd party home replacements, the Droid is a 100% solid phone. I used mine for a year before upgrading to the Tbolt, but I still have it around and charged as a backup.
I go back and forth on this. I have an upgrade available, and I'm currently running a Droid 3 with AOKP. When I purchased my D3, I had wished there was a decent option for a 4g Verizon Keyboard phone. Only 2 and a half months after I purchased my d3, the d4 was released. I felt that had I done my research I might have waited.
Now, I'm doing my research. Seems to me that the hardware of the D4 will take time before becoming outdated, compared to the D3 which was more or less outdated when released. [Let's face it, 512mb of ram is not enough] and 4g was already in existence.
Is there another 4g keyboard phone that is known to be "just around the corner" from Verizon? Or should I jump on the D4 now, and enjoy 1 gig of ram, 4g connectivity, and ICS that works?
The_Joe said:
I go back and forth on this. I have an upgrade available, and I'm currently running a Droid 3 with AOKP. When I purchased my D3, I had wished there was a decent option for a 4g Verizon Keyboard phone. Only 2 and a half months after I purchased my d3, the d4 was released. I felt that had I done my research I might have waited.
Now, I'm doing my research. Seems to me that the hardware of the D4 will take time before becoming outdated, compared to the D3 which was more or less outdated when released. [Let's face it, 512mb of ram is not enough] and 4g was already in existence.
Is there another 4g keyboard phone that is known to be "just around the corner" from Verizon? Or should I jump on the D4 now, and enjoy 1 gig of ram, 4g connectivity, and ICS that works?
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Click to collapse
Let's really think about this, as I am pretty sure a lot of us are in the same boat as you are. You're probably upset about not having ICS on your D3, as am I. You understand that because the lack of memory in the d3 that it's a hardware limitation, and the 4G LTE service.
Let's look at some of the facts now:
1) D4 isn't slated to get ICS until Q3 2012, we're talking like 3-5 months out right now
2) The D4 only has 1GB RAM, a lot of phone manufacturers are starting to look at putting in 2GB memory... Why? I don't think we know yet.
3) the D3 has a nice removable battery, and if you're anything like me, you might have invested in an extended battery, screen protector and possibly a case, which won't fit the new D4.
4) Google I/O is coming around this week... They are slated to announce changes to the nexus device program. Android 5.0 is around the corner, think about it, ICS has been out on the GNEX for almost 6 months already, don't you think google will come out with their fancy new "jelleybean" os which would require 2GB ram?
5) none of Motorola's current hardware lineups have intel chipsets, or quad core in them... Don't you wonder what's in store?
Before I go through the motions of getting a new phone, I realized that I have a list of requirements. If you read above, those are the things that I'm most concerned with. Hashcode and dhacker got the ICS hwcodecs working on the razr with the razr build leak... If you ask me, I'm pretty confident they will figure out a solution for the folks who don't want to be on the leak....which should trickle down to us at some point.
My overall recommendation:
If you want ICS on a keyboard phone, wait for ICS to get pushed to D4, then buy it (are you missing out on anything by waiting?). If hashcode and the gang haven't figured out the d3 by then, I'msure d5 or d6 leaks will be coming out ;-)
Sent from my XT860 running ICS
Hasn't ICS been leaked for the D4? I though P3Droid tweeted about it the other day.
yea its out. official, and stable.
danifunker said:
Let's look at some of the facts now:
1) D4 isn't slated to get ICS until Q3 2012, we're talking like 3-5 months out right now
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Click to collapse
I'd expect it to be closer to the 3 months at most. There is an official ICS update that was leaked a couple of weeks ago for the D4 that reports show to be very stable and very complete. Might not be the final version...but it's very close.
2) The D4 only has 1GB RAM, a lot of phone manufacturers are starting to look at putting in 2GB memory... Why? I don't think we know yet.
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So far, only one phone manufacture and one device announced by them has 2 GB of RAM. This hasn't become a standard yet at all. 1 GB is the standard.
3) the D3 has a nice removable battery, and if you're anything like me, you might have invested in an extended battery, screen protector and possibly a case, which won't fit the new D4.
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Click to collapse
This applies to any device at any update/upgrade point. Minimal cost additions (case, dock, etc..) and can be sold with the older device to increase its sale potential/price.
4) Google I/O is coming around this week... They are slated to announce changes to the nexus device program. Android 5.0 is around the corner, think about it, ICS has been out on the GNEX for almost 6 months already, don't you think google will come out with their fancy new "jelleybean" os which would require 2GB ram?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no Google documents that say ICS requires 1 GB of RAM, why would "Jellybean" require 2 GB? Plus, even announcing a new version of the OS doesn't mean we'll see it anytime soon on any device other than a Nexus....which may not make it to Verizon this go.
5) none of Motorola's current hardware lineups have intel chipsets, or quad core in them... Don't you wonder what's in store?
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Click to collapse
None of any manufactures lineups have intel chipsets and only a few are quad core...and 99% of all the LTE devices are being stepped down to dual core vs. their quad core counterparts (3G/GSM) variants.
I've made the jump....my Droid 4 will be here tomorrow. 1 GB RAM (vs. 512 MEG), LTE (vs. 3G), improved Keyboard, 1.2 Ghz CPU clock (vs. 1.0 Ghz), ICS officially coming....those were all good reasons (IMHO) to jump. With Verizon announcing the death of unlimited plans on renewals.......and I bet they also stop allowing 3G to 4G data changes at the same time....I wanted to be locked in on unlimited 4G now.....just to be safe.
I paid full retail, if an upgrade was available...I'd have done it the day my upgrade was available.
Tom
(Just my opinions...)
how long until vzw sends the d4 as a warranty replacement for dead d3's?
The_Joe said:
I go back and forth on this. I have an upgrade available, and I'm currently running a Droid 3 with AOKP. When I purchased my D3, I had wished there was a decent option for a 4g Verizon Keyboard phone. Only 2 and a half months after I purchased my d3, the d4 was released. I felt that had I done my research I might have waited.
Now, I'm doing my research. Seems to me that the hardware of the D4 will take time before becoming outdated, compared to the D3 which was more or less outdated when released. [Let's face it, 512mb of ram is not enough] and 4g was already in existence.
Is there another 4g keyboard phone that is known to be "just around the corner" from Verizon? Or should I jump on the D4 now, and enjoy 1 gig of ram, 4g connectivity, and ICS that works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, ratman's theory of phone purchases: Never spend more than $50 on a phone. That's why I, like you, got a D3 not long before the D4 release. My wife actually got her D3 for free AFTER the D4 release. when you only spend $50 or less on it then you don't feel so bad when it becomes obsolete a couple of months later (as they almost always do). We got our D1's when they were two for $99 with renewal BTW.
So, since you have an upgrade coming, I'd say wait. Unless you are just pining away for 4G, a D4 isn't all that big an upgrade compared to a D3 until ICS comes out for it. On that it depends if you insist on the VZW official release or are willing to accept a leaked variant. By the time an official VZW release comes out, there will be new phones out and the D4 will become the $50 bargain basement phone...but still a great phone..and that's the time to make the move. It will probably be a long time before something faster than 4G comes along and I think a D4 with ICS is going to have about as much "staying power" as any phone on the market.
Of course then, people will be whining about "why can't I get Android 5.0, or 6.0 or 27.6 etc, etc.
tcrews said:
I'd expect it to be closer to the 3 months at most. There is an official ICS update that was leaked a couple of weeks ago for the D4 that reports show to be very stable and very complete. Might not be the final version...but it's very close.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will you risk having your phone on an unsupported update path? If you do, that's fine, go with the D4 now, hashcode and crew will sure have vanilla ICS running with hwcomposer as soon as he gets his D4.
tcrews said:
So far, only one phone manufacture and one device announced by them has 2 GB of RAM. This hasn't become a standard yet at all. 1 GB is the standard.
There are no Google documents that say ICS requires 1 GB of RAM, why would "Jellybean" require 2 GB? Plus, even announcing a new version of the OS doesn't mean we'll see it anytime soon on any device other than a Nexus....which may not make it to Verizon this go.
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Click to collapse
I agree, Google doesn't have any specifications on this, but look at the amount of bloatware that Motorola has on their devices, "in order for carriers to sell their phones". Truley, I just want a stock android device with a keyboard. I don't think the RAZR or D4 will get the next up and coming version of android, and considering that the D3 hasn't even been out on the market for a year it makes me very uncomfortable as to what the requirements of the next version of Android will be. If you take a look at Nexus S, they got ICS since it is a stock experience, the bloat factor is removed. On the other hand, Galaxy S, didn't receive ICS since they had TouchWiz on it, and after putting ICS base on that hardware, they probably wouldn't be able to upgrade all of the components and still have it run smoothly (due to RAM restrictions).
In fact, the D3 running stock GB was pretty crap with all of the bloatware installed. The phone ran so slow from day 1. I don't know how bad the D4 runs since I've never tried it, but I find D3 runs AOKP 10x better than it ran stock.
tcrews said:
None of any manufactures lineups have intel chipsets and only a few are quad core...and 99% of all the LTE devices are being stepped down to dual core vs. their quad core counterparts (3G/GSM) variants.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, up in Canada here, our LTE is different. We only have it running on AWS bands, and I don't think the D4's LTE will be compatible with the Canadian standards. That's another reason I'm waiting to make the jump.
tcrews said:
I've made the jump....my Droid 4 will be here tomorrow. 1 GB RAM (vs. 512 MEG), LTE (vs. 3G), improved Keyboard, 1.2 Ghz CPU clock (vs. 1.0 Ghz), ICS officially coming....those were all good reasons (IMHO) to jump. With Verizon announcing the death of unlimited plans on renewals.......and I bet they also stop allowing 3G to 4G data changes at the same time....I wanted to be locked in on unlimited 4G now.....just to be safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, not applicable to Canada; we don't have Verizon changing our data policies down here. Although, the shared data option I don't think is too bad! I'd like to have my tablet and phone sharing the same data plan without incurring extra fees.
No, no intention of getting off the official update path. Just pointing out how complete the "leaked" ICS build is....that I expect the official release closer to a 3 month max time frame and not six months later.
The OP is on Verizon, so will have to worry about their data package plans/changes.
danifunker said:
Will you risk having your phone on an unsupported update path? If you do, that's fine, go with the D4 now, hashcode and crew will sure have vanilla ICS running with hwcomposer as soon as he gets his D4.
I agree, Google doesn't have any specifications on this, but look at the amount of bloatware that Motorola has on their devices, "in order for carriers to sell their phones". Truley, I just want a stock android device with a keyboard. I don't think the RAZR or D4 will get the next up and coming version of android, and considering that the D3 hasn't even been out on the market for a year it makes me very uncomfortable as to what the requirements of the next version of Android will be. If you take a look at Nexus S, they got ICS since it is a stock experience, the bloat factor is removed. On the other hand, Galaxy S, didn't receive ICS since they had TouchWiz on it, and after putting ICS base on that hardware, they probably wouldn't be able to upgrade all of the components and still have it run smoothly (due to RAM restrictions).
In fact, the D3 running stock GB was pretty crap with all of the bloatware installed. The phone ran so slow from day 1. I don't know how bad the D4 runs since I've never tried it, but I find D3 runs AOKP 10x better than it ran stock.
Actually, up in Canada here, our LTE is different. We only have it running on AWS bands, and I don't think the D4's LTE will be compatible with the Canadian standards. That's another reason I'm waiting to make the jump.
Again, not applicable to Canada; we don't have Verizon changing our data policies down here. Although, the shared data option I don't think is too bad! I'd like to have my tablet and phone sharing the same data plan without incurring extra fees.
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Click to collapse
The_Joe said:
I go back and forth on this. I have an upgrade available, and I'm currently running a Droid 3 with AOKP. When I purchased my D3, I had wished there was a decent option for a 4g Verizon Keyboard phone. Only 2 and a half months after I purchased my d3, the d4 was released. I felt that had I done my research I might have waited.
Now, I'm doing my research. Seems to me that the hardware of the D4 will take time before becoming outdated, compared to the D3 which was more or less outdated when released. [Let's face it, 512mb of ram is not enough] and 4g was already in existence.
Is there another 4g keyboard phone that is known to be "just around the corner" from Verizon? Or should I jump on the D4 now, and enjoy 1 gig of ram, 4g connectivity, and ICS that works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What world do you live in that you dont think 512mb of ram is enough...
Danifunker yur speculations are pretty wild. To the OP. I recommend not getting moto at all. They are on a downhill path but if your looking for an awesome keyboard go for it. Its thinner, faster, and has ICS already. Its not official but i believe one of the posts in the dev forum showed an sbf workaround for that.
Standards do not upgrade very often. 2gb will probably be top of the line next year but 1gb phones will still be considered fast. 2gb will not become a standard for a long time because that would leave only one damn device able for the market. Meaning everyone without that device would be outdated. Sound right? No. His speculation was wild. D4 is an alright upgrade. Personally i would get off the moto path and go to samsung or htc. Either way, your device will be good for atleast a year. Even if the do the d5 in six months. Knowing moto, it wont run jellybean either.
Dri94 said:
Danifunker yur speculations are pretty wild. To the OP. I recommend not getting moto at all. They are on a downhill path but if your looking for an awesome keyboard go for it. Its thinner, faster, and has ICS already. Its not official but i believe one of the posts in the dev forum showed an sbf workaround for that.
Standards do not upgrade very often. 2gb will probably be top of the line next year but 1gb phones will still be considered fast. 2gb will not become a standard for a long time because that would leave only one damn device able for the market. Meaning everyone without that device would be outdated. Sound right? No. His speculation was wild. D4 is an alright upgrade. Personally i would get off the moto path and go to samsung or htc. Either way, your device will be good for atleast a year. Even if the do the d5 in six months. Knowing moto, it wont run jellybean either.
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Click to collapse
What is so much better about HTC than Samsung, besides the part that Moto makes your phone outdated every 4-6 months.
Wow, some amazing responses. If I got the D4 I would definitely be running the leaked ICS update. They have found a way to keep root when you update, and now that it has been released I assume custom ICS roms will be released on the fully functional Motorola kernel soon enough with working video camera and such.
(Excuse me if any of my term were wrong, I dont know as much as I pretend to.)
I also have no lack of faith in Hashcode, but from what I understand getting the video camera to ever work on the D3 running ICS is unlikely.
RAM, I only know that my D3 is always low on ram. I frequently like to run music in the background (Slacker radio, cached on my device) while also running navigation, and texting, and it has ram issues regularly. I have almost NO widgets, and I restart my phone twice a day. However, my tablet does great with its 1 gig of ram, never come close to having a ram problem. I know that not being a phone it has advantages, but still. I cannot imagine Android 5.0 or even 6.0 getting so bloated and horrific that it REQUIRED more than 1 gig of ram. 512 aint enough, but I cannot imagine how I would use 2 gigs....
So what could the Droid 5 (Or even the droid 6) have that the droid 4 doesnt?
-A quad core proccesor
-A removable battery
-Unlocked bootloader
-2 gigs of ram
-Higher clock speed (Of course)
I honestly wish there was a good alternative to Motorola. I would love a better option for a verizon 4g, duel core, 1 gig of ram, keyboard phone. Doesnt exist yet. =/
Thanks for all the helpful reply's, I still need to think through this some more!
The_Joe said:
Wow, some amazing responses. If I got the D4 I would definitely be running the leaked ICS update. They have found a way to keep root when you update, and now that it has been released I assume custom ICS roms will be released on the fully functional Motorola kernel soon enough with working video camera and such.
(Excuse me if any of my term were wrong, I dont know as much as I pretend to.)
I also have no lack of faith in Hashcode, but from what I understand getting the video camera to ever work on the D3 running ICS is unlikely.
RAM, I only know that my D3 is always low on ram. I frequently like to run music in the background (Slacker radio, cached on my device) while also running navigation, and texting, and it has ram issues regularly. I have almost NO widgets, and I restart my phone twice a day. However, my tablet does great with its 1 gig of ram, never come close to having a ram problem. I know that not being a phone it has advantages, but still. I cannot imagine Android 5.0 or even 6.0 getting so bloated and horrific that it REQUIRED more than 1 gig of ram. 512 aint enough, but I cannot imagine how I would use 2 gigs....
So what could the Droid 5 (Or even the droid 6) have that the droid 4 doesnt?
-A quad core proccesor
-A removable battery
-Unlocked bootloader
-2 gigs of ram
-Higher clock speed (Of course)
I honestly wish there was a good alternative to Motorola. I would love a better option for a verizon 4g, duel core, 1 gig of ram, keyboard phone. Doesnt exist yet. =/
Thanks for all the helpful reply's, I still need to think through this some more!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Droid 5 will most likely have another redesign.. or just a sharper looking razr. Def 720p Super Amoled. Doubt it iwll have quad core, prob dual core s4 or superly high clocked omap. Unlocked bootloader is unlikely, so is removable battery, unless it gets a redesign and is not like the razr anymore. Most of motos upgrades from phones, are nothing but a redesign and newer software.. pretty sad how phones they made last year are still just as good as the ones this year.
TheMuffStuff said:
What world do you live in that you dont think 512mb of ram is enough...
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Click to collapse
What rom are you running, and what apps do you use? Because I've been on stock ROM on and off since I got my D3 six months ago, and it's absolutely not enough. Launching the camera closes the launcher. Load a WAP site on the browser, hit Home to load the launcher and go immediately back into the browser and it still has to query the network to refresh all 10k of that mobile webpage. Facebook takes a full 15 seconds over a 18mbps Wifi connection to load a photo. Sometimes the launcher gets so slow you have to pull the battery to restart the phone, and all this is AFTER the official OTA upgrade released a few weeks ago.
I'm absolutely not arguing that 512MB shouldn't be enough RAM for Android, as somehow 256MB was enough to run Gingerbread on my HTC Aria with none of these symptoms. It's just not enough on THIS phone for the software it ships with.
AND OF COURSE, WHY THE FSCK DID IT SHIP WITH 512MB OF RAM IN THE FIRST PLACE AFTER THE ATRIX SHIPPED EIGHT MONTHS PREVIOUS WITH 1GB.
TheMuffStuff said:
What is so much better about HTC than Samsung, besides the part that Moto makes your phone outdated every 4-6 months.
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Click to collapse
See, I could never get another HTC phone because no phone with Sense works with Bluetooth controllers of any kind, that I know of. Or did they change that? All the Market apps I can find that work with a PS3 or Wiimote still say Sense phones won't work. Plus, do you know they launched the Aria on AT&T but never made a single accessory for it, not a car charger, dock, cradle, nothing? I can't have that absolute lack of accessory support, which is one thing that keeps me with Motorola in the end.
TheMuffStuff said:
Droid 5 will most likely have another redesign.. or just a sharper looking razr. Def 720p Super Amoled. Doubt it iwll have quad core, prob dual core s4 or superly high clocked omap. Unlocked bootloader is unlikely, so is removable battery, unless it gets a redesign and is not like the razr anymore. Most of motos upgrades from phones, are nothing but a redesign and newer software.. pretty sad how phones they made last year are still just as good as the ones this year.
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Click to collapse
I kind of agree, It unlikely the Droid 5 will be THAT much greater than the Droid 4. Which is why I am tempted to get the Droid 4, and just plan of having it a long time. My favorite thing about ICS is the built in spell check, and I dont know a damn thing about Jelly bean, or what will make it so incredible.
Having stable ICS, LTE, and a gig of ram just seems like it is SOO much better, and I have difficultly imagining finding that to be not enough. That said, I know three months after I get it, they will release something so much better that I will kick myself for ever buying the Droid 4.
What could they release? Idk, a phone with a month long battery or some other science fictioness? Or maybe HTC will make a keyboard phone with an unlocked bootloader.... >.<
savedR said:
What rom are you running, and what apps do you use? Because I've been on stock ROM on and off since I got my D3 six months ago, and it's absolutely not enough. Launching the camera closes the launcher. Load a WAP site on the browser, hit Home to load the launcher and go immediately back into the browser and it still has to query the network to refresh all 10k of that mobile webpage. Facebook takes a full 15 seconds over a 18mbps Wifi connection to load a photo. Sometimes the launcher gets so slow you have to pull the battery to restart the phone, and all this is AFTER the official OTA upgrade released a few weeks ago.
I'm absolutely not arguing that 512MB shouldn't be enough RAM for Android, as somehow 256MB was enough to run Gingerbread on my HTC Aria with none of these symptoms. It's just not enough on THIS phone for the software it ships with.
AND OF COURSE, WHY THE FSCK DID IT SHIP WITH 512MB OF RAM IN THE FIRST PLACE AFTER THE ATRIX SHIPPED EIGHT MONTHS PREVIOUS WITH 1GB.
See, I could never get another HTC phone because no phone with Sense works with Bluetooth controllers of any kind, that I know of. Or did they change that? All the Market apps I can find that work with a PS3 or Wiimote still say Sense phones won't work. Plus, do you know they launched the Aria on AT&T but never made a single accessory for it, not a car charger, dock, cradle, nothing? I can't have that absolute lack of accessory support, which is one thing that keeps me with Motorola in the end.
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Click to collapse
I meant to say Moto over HTC. And 512 is fine for me, I have no problems at all with my phone. Never use any more than 300mb of ram. But yeah, moto is dumb. Phones out with 720p screens a year before moto can do it.. but at least they can get a battery right
The_Joe said:
I kind of agree, It unlikely the Droid 5 will be THAT much greater than the Droid 4. Which is why I am tempted to get the Droid 4, and just plan of having it a long time. My favorite thing about ICS is the built in spell check, and I dont know a damn thing about Jelly bean, or what will make it so incredible.
Having stable ICS, LTE, and a gig of ram just seems like it is SOO much better, and I have difficultly imagining finding that to be not enough. That said, I know three months after I get it, they will release something so much better that I will kick myself for ever buying the Droid 4.
What could they release? Idk, a phone with a month long battery or some other science fictioness? Or maybe HTC will make a keyboard phone with an unlocked bootloader.... >.<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who knows what's really in the works now, but there haven't been many 2012 phones announced yet this year other than the HTC one series, a couple of LG phones and the galaxy S3. Motorola did say that they will be partnering up with Intel, with their medfield architecture earlier this year. I'm just saying, we don't know what's coming this year.
Sent from my A100 using Tapatalk 2
TheMuffStuff said:
...Most of motos upgrades from phones, are nothing but a redesign and newer software.. pretty sad how phones they made last year are still just as good as the ones this year.
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Click to collapse
Personally I don't find that sad at all. I think the expectations are too high as far as wanting to see a breakthrough device every time. I think the Original Droid (D1) was such a device but those are going to be very few and far between regardless of manufacturer. You don't expect a breakthrough in desktop or laptop PC's every single year, do you? Its a sign of an industry reaching maturity.
When an industry is new, technology as well as the uses people find for the technology advance rapidly. But that can't go on forever. As a technology becomes more mature the pace slows down as does the urge for constant upgrades. Once again looking at desktop PC's, for most people once they had a Core 2 Duo generation machine, they finally had something that could do pretty much everything they wanted to do with such a device. The majority of people can't do their work any faster or better with the latest and greatest i7 quad core. Phones will eventually be the same.
That's why I say get off the upgrade treadmill. As I have said before I never pay more than $50 for a phone. If next year's phones are little better than this year's, so what? Then the D4 will be the $50 phone and that's the time to get one.
ratman6161 said:
Personally I don't find that sad at all. I think the expectations are too high as far as wanting to see a breakthrough device every time. I think the Original Droid (D1) was such a device but those are going to be very few and far between regardless of manufacturer. You don't expect a breakthrough in desktop or laptop PC's every single year, do you? Its a sign of an industry reaching maturity.
When an industry is new, technology as well as the uses people find for the technology advance rapidly. But that can't go on forever. As a technology becomes more mature the pace slows down as does the urge for constant upgrades. Once again looking at desktop PC's, for most people once they had a Core 2 Duo generation machine, they finally had something that could do pretty much everything they wanted to do with such a device. The majority of people can't do their work any faster or better with the latest and greatest i7 quad core. Phones will eventually be the same.
That's why I say get off the upgrade treadmill. As I have said before I never pay more than $50 for a phone. If next year's phones are little better than this year's, so what? Then the D4 will be the $50 phone and that's the time to get one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont expect every release to be a breakthrough, but at least significantly better, if its not going to be they should stop coming out with so many new devices. D2 was what the droid 3 should have been, droid 4 should have been droid 3. X2 should have been bionic, bionic should have been razr, razr should have been what this new upcoming fighter should be. Motorola sucks.
I got a GS3 because it's the last subsidized upgrade I'll ever get through Verizon (and keep unlimited data).
Pros of gs3:
Nicer screen (but too big for easy one handed use)
Lighter weight
Other than that, in the real world there are no other advantages. With the .232 leak, the Bionic seems just as fast, and this includes gaming so far. The Bionic build quality is better, the radios are at least as good, and it actually feels better in the hand (the sg3 is BIG). And I already miss my Lapdoc.
Bottom line is that the Bionic is still a great phone with a new lease on life with ics. You ain't missing much other than the latest new device buzz.
I'm actually coming to the Bionic from a different Samsung device (Charge). I wouldn't have high hopes for the radios if I were you. Samsung still hasn't proven that they can get them right as seen by complaints with the Nexus. Maybe the S3 is different...I sure hope so.
That said, they do lots of things really well. I'm anxious to put the Bionic through its paces because, for me, this is an upgrade in every sense of the word.
My girlfriend had a Droid 2 global and I have a DX2 work phone. Both the DX2 and D2g are horrible phones. Girlfriend accidently dropped the D2G in the toilet (where it belongs) and I begged and pleaded for asurion to give us a non-moto phone. She ended up getting the bionic and she's happy, and fiddling with it the other day I'm actually quite impressed as well with it.
I'll stick with my nexus till verizons contract expired and I'm done with them though.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
That is a good question: what new phone is worth upgrading to from the Bionic?
ronaldheld said:
That is a good question: what new phone is worth upgrading to from the Bionic?
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hardware wise there is nothing mind blowing right now that I would upgrade to but I would definitely suggest the Galaxy Nexus if you prefer tinkering more as the Nexus lineup is the most "open" of any Android phone and would provide you with the best user community
I'm happy with my Bionic, but the GS3 blows it out of the water.
Nothing out now is worth upgrading from a Bionic. I'll be waiting for a device with an OLED screen (not massive hopefully) and an OMAP5 beast of a processor. I'm perfectly happy with my Bionic until then.
My wife had a HTC Thunderbolt and it is quickly showing its age so we were able to get her a Galaxy S3 which I got to setup and play with.
Compared to the Bionic from a hardware standpoint, both devices are similar performance wise. The SGS3 has a little better of a gpu on it, a faster cpu and has double the ram of the Bionic, but the difference is still minimal spec wise. The biggest difference is the screen, the SGS3 has a MUCH nicer screen and the size is great. Finally I like that Samsung put a big enough battery in the SGS3 (2100mAh) compared to the Bionic's 1730 mAh battery which isnt big enough IMO.
From a software standpoint my Bionic on the ICS leak is just as smooth and seems about as fast as the SGS3. I also like the new Blur a lot more than Touchwiz though both are pretty nice. Other than that? I like the overall build quality of my Bionic better and it seems like Motorola has finally got the radios down with the basebands in the ICS leaks.
Would I trade my Bionic for a SGS if it was free? Not sure but I definitely wouldn't pay for one. Since I am grandfathered in on unlimited data with Verizon, my next phone will not have a subsidy unless I am willing to give up my unlimited data (which I am not) so I will have to pay full price. That means my next phone will have to blow my Bionic out of the water and I don't see any of the current devices out there doing that....not even the upcoming rumored Razr HD.
TY for the little review of the SGS3 vs our Bionic. I hated the fact that everyone shunned the Bionic. Coming from an OG Droid it was a definite upgrade. With the announcement of the RAZR, RAZR Maxx, and Galaxy Nexus everyone seemed to jump off ship too quick. Everyone complanied about the screen, the dropped network, etc...everyone was quick to point out what i believe are small flaws. For me the Bionic was the phone I wanted and am not dissapointed in it. The locked bootloader made the development community small. Without roms like those from Dhacker, DroidTheory, Eclipse team, and Liberty team, our phones would be very bland. I never gave hope on it. I was bummed when we lost a few of the devs due to the ungrateful people who didn't appreciate their hard work. I was really stoked with the announcement of ICS for our phones. And now with the leaks out I am much happier with my phone until the eventual upgrade. The SGS3 is nice but it not a worthy upgrade imo now that we have leaks and eventually an official ICS. Sorry if I took this off track.
amageus said:
TY for the little review of the SGS3 vs our Bionic. I hated the fact that everyone shunned the Bionic. Coming from an OG Droid it was a definite upgrade. With the announcement of the RAZR, RAZR Maxx, and Galaxy Nexus everyone seemed to jump off ship too quick. Everyone complanied about the screen, the dropped network, etc...everyone was quick to point out what i believe are small flaws. For me the Bionic was the phone I wanted and am not dissapointed in it. The locked bootloader made the development community small. Without roms like those from Dhacker, DroidTheory, Eclipse team, and Liberty team, our phones would be very bland. I never gave hope on it. I was bummed when we lost a few of the devs due to the ungrateful people who didn't appreciate their hard work. I was really stoked with the announcement of ICS for our phones. And now with the leaks out I am much happier with my phone until the eventual upgrade. The SGS3 is nice but it not a worthy upgrade imo now that we have leaks and eventually an official ICS. Sorry if I took this off track.
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I like Moto's phones i also came from the OG droid. i think Moto does a good job on quality. i want something built good not some flimsy little piece of plastic. i figured the SGSIII would blow the bionic away but from everything i have read it is not so. I will keep my Bionic and my unlimited data until Moto comes out with a quad core than i might think about moving on but not until then.
i would also like to state that it also will depend on what the dev community moves onto as well since it seems that phones from VZW will now always be locked down.
Personally I think the Bionic is the most underrated phone in Android history. I bought mine on release day, upgrading from the OG Droid, and have been happy with it ever since. Now with the ICS leak, combined with my extended battery, 32Gb Class 10 SD card, and Lapdock 500, I have to say it's the closest thing to a perfect device I've ever owned (the one flaw being the locked bootloader).
amageus said:
..... Without roms like those from Dhacker, DroidTheory, Eclipse team, and Liberty team, our phones would be very bland....
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and sparkyman216 - get on that train Bionic faithful!
I too went from a Bionic to the SGSIII. I wanted one final subsidized device so I could keep my grandfathered unlimited plan as well.
I will admit, my biggest gripe with the Bionic (aside from the lack of an official ICS release) is its pitiful camera. I'd also really like to have a 720p screen and/or a little bigger screen area and some more internal storage since you don't get the "full" 16Gb internally on the Bionic.
At any rate, I got the GSIII and I have to say I am quite underwhelmed in several key areas. The camea is awesome in comparison to all of my various Moto devices over the years but it still seems slower to focus compared to my coworkers' iPhone 4S or even the HTC One X/Evo 4G LTE.
Probably my biggest gripe with the GSIII is its diminished battery life compared to the Bionic with an extended battery. Yes, it's a lot thinner but I'd gladly add a hump to the GSIII to get another 2 hours of runtime out of it. Gaming sucks when you are in CPU power saving mode!
The GSIII is also quite slippery and if I keep it I will investiage some kind of textured battery door or thin skin case.
As far as the pros, its reception is STRONGER than my Moto in strong areas (but weaker in fringe areas) and the call quality is really superb--a first for a Samsung! That screen is fabulous and I feel that 4.7" to 4.8" is the perfect maximum usable screen sizefor a modern smartphone. The S4 CPU flies and gaming is a total job on this device.
While I didn't think it would be a problem, I have grown to DETEST the capacitive buttons on the GSIII, especially when trying to type in landscape mode. I have big hands and my right hand is always hitting the menu button by accident. I also miss a side-mounted microUSB port and I miss having a standard microHDMI port. I have the 232 leak of ICS on my Bionic and I have a new appreciation of the HDMI port due to the revamped ICS Webtop mode and losing it is gonna really suck!
Not sure which way I will end up going as I really feel 50/50 about hanging onto the ol' Moto or jumping ship to the Sammy.
unbesorgt said:
Personally I think the Bionic is the most underrated phone in Android history. I bought mine on release day, upgrading from the OG Droid, and have been happy with it ever since. Now with the ICS leak, combined with my extended battery, 32Gb Class 10 SD card, and Lapdock 500, I have to say it's the closest thing to a perfect device I've ever owned (the one flaw being the locked bootloader).
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Completely agree.
And
unbesorgt said:
Personally I think the Bionic is the most underrated phone in Android history. I bought mine on release day, upgrading from the OG Droid, and have been happy with it ever since. Now with the ICS leak, combined with my extended battery, 32Gb Class 10 SD card, and Lapdock 500, I have to say it's the closest thing to a perfect device I've ever owned (the one flaw being the locked bootloader).
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The Bionic and the Rezound are both the most underrated android devices ever, and I own both.
I'd get the G3 if it had quad core in the US. But I'm real happy with the bionic/lapdoc combo with ICS. I don't think there is a more usable/versatile use of a phone with that.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 (SGS3 from here on..) on my desk for work.
Let me start by first saying the .232 ICS leak on the Bionic finally resolved my data drop issues, where data went away for no reason and it took a battery pull or airplane mode toggle to bring it back, although 3G <-> 4G hand offs are extremely slow. The Bionic with the 6.7.232 ICS leak is what I expected the Bionic to be (except the screen is worse than I expected) when it was sent to me in Sept 2011. Camera is typical Moto "phone" camera quality. Reception (with this leak) is great, battery life is very good (for an Android phone), etc.
I still use my Thunderbolt as my "daily driver" due to its screen and camera and general phone/email performance. With the Rezound 1620mah battery, and the stock 1400 as a spare, I can last as long as I need to between charges.
I hate touchwiz (both on my T-Mobile SGS2 with GB and ICS, and the VZW SGS3). Blur on the Bionic is "just enough" to help but not get in the way, and actually looks good. While touchwiz on the SGS3 "looks" better, it still looks "cartoony."
In day to day use (so not looking at every single feature/function, but rather only those I actually use), I like the calendar of the SGS3, its camera and its display quality over the Bionic. I also like that the SGS3 supports simultaneous voice/data over 3G. Those are 3 areas the Bionic doesn't keep up. Beyond that, the Bionic (with 6.7.232 ICS Leak) now has better reception, and the rest is a tie.
Would I buy an SGS3 if my Bionic was my daily driver (ICS or GB on the Bionic, assuming I didn't have the data drop problem)... I don't think so. While the camera and screen (colors, sharpness, readability, etc) are better on the SGS3, I don't think its worth spending the money.
Will I use the TB or the Bionic as my daily driver? Because of the screen and camera, I'm back on the TB for now.
I plan on buying a GS3 once I have the money, but it will be hard for a bit. The Bionic, my first smartphone, has been damn near perfect. Awesome ROMs once I worked up the bravery, made it even better. And now with official ICS, it has a new life and I love it. But I'm ready and begging for something new to play with and the GS3 is looking perfect.
I definitely agree with others who say the Bionic is overrated. I would argue that until that besides the Galaxy Nexus, the Bionic was pretty much the best phone on the US market until 2012's powerhouse phones dropped. On Verizon alone, I would take the Bionic over any phone until the GS3.
i think the camera is software limited, the post processing "magic", jpeg compression, noise handling, or maybe the auto-focus algorithm
samsung has digital camera worked together with SGS development
Let me preface by saying that I am one of the official testers of phones for my public safety department that are issued to our administrators of which I am one. Because of Sprint's slow and horrible data connection speeds, they have been bounced in favor of Verizon's network. I also have a personal phone which until recently was also on Sprint's network. I was so impressed with Verizon's 4G data that I paid the ETF and switched to Verizon. As such my phone history has been (after we jettisoned Blackberry in obscurity which I am not counting):
Work
Motorola Xprt
Motorola Admiral
Droid 4
Bionic
Personal
Hero
Evo
Galaxy S1
Evo 3D
Galaxy S3
As such I've had the opportunity to watch "generational" leaps in phone technology. The Hero to the Evo was such a leap. The Evo to the Bionic was such a leap. And now the Bionic to the Galaxy S3 is another evolutionary leap in technology. Keep in mind that I carry (as do most of our administrators) the Bionic. I recommended the Bionic because it met our tight security standards yet was fast, well built, and did everything well. That it would eventually see the next generation of Android was a plus and of course I have already previewed the unofficial pre-release unofficially . I determined that the Razr was not the leap in technology that warranted much excitement. It wasn't an option to be fair.
Now saying all that I steadfastly disagree with the notion that the Bionic is in the same league with the Galaxy S3. Sure, they do basic functions and the Bionic which has been woefully underrated and Verizon's EOL little gem, stands toe to toe with the best of them. However, the Galaxy S3 just does everything better and gives you more. Screen to screen there is no comparison. Speed, responsiveness, smoothness, software, hidden features, ergonomics, call quality, picture quality, video the list goes on...the Galaxy just does it all better. It is in my opinion a "generational" leap in technology. This is my unbiased opinion and mind you that on my recommendation, we carry the Bionic as the official work phone for my department. But for personal use, the Galaxy is a technological wonder and is arguably the best phone on the market; yes besting the One X as an overall better kit. Unfortunately we will not see the Galaxy S3 issued due to cost and security concerns, but really don't kid yourselves, the Galaxy S3 right now is in a league of it's own.
I recently bought an HTC Desire Z but was given the T-mobile model which doesn't suppport 850Mhz 3G, which is what my local network runs. The eBay seller has a Droid 3 XT883 that he can exchange my HTC for, would you recommend your Droid?
I really like the QWERTY keyboard on the HTC but there seems to be less in the way of ROMs for the Droid. Any other models you can suggest?
ashok_fernandez said:
I recently bought an HTC Desire Z but was given the T-mobile model which doesn't suppport 850Mhz 3G, which is what my local network runs. The eBay seller has a Droid 3 XT883 that he can exchange my HTC for, would you recommend your Droid?
I really like the QWERTY keyboard on the HTC but there seems to be less in the way of ROMs for the Droid. Any other models you can suggest?
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Its not a bad device, its got a solid cpu and ram which is still pretty speedy, the keyboard is one of the best available ( besides the droid 4's ), but in terms of roms and dev support its almost dead. They devs still around are still working very hard but sometimes a lot of things are outdated , and if you get brick it can be hard with limited support.
It is quite durable and reliable, easy to root as well, once hash develops the JB ROM it'll be a solid phone. I use mine day to day, on an ICS ROM, and it works well. However, doesn't mean I won't buy the fighter once is out, due to the fact that its a bit old. But I would recommend it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers
Never even approach to this phone. It is the worst smartphone I have ever not only owned, but even held in my hand. This phone has managed to disappoint me not even in Motorola, but in whole Android. I'm pulling the thread to get brand new flagship on WP8 - thankfully we will never see WP8 on Motos. F..k Moto, damn droid!
the biggest pro to this phone, the keyboard, sucks for me. i've had 2 now and both have had problems with double pressing keys and some keys (particularly the question mark) not wanting to register. plus there's very little support. stay away
edit: on the pro side i can use it to open my beer bottles because of the metal bezel
DROID 3 - good specs, terrible support/updates. biggest drawback at the moment is the locked bootloader. i'm currently trying to decide whether to keep it (hoping we can actually get an OS update) or sell it.
if you're looking for the QWERTY keyboard and full 3G band support, have a look at the Xperia Pro mk16a. It's a good piece of equipment already running Jelly Bean.
Droid 3 could be good for you
If the following apply to you, the Droid 3 is a great phone:
1. You are OK with not having the latest and greatest version of Android
2. You don't mind rooting
3. 3G rather than 4G is OK for your purposes
Number two kind of applies to all Verizon Android phones in my book. They are so incredibly full of crapware as they come from Verizon that the hardware seems basically crippled by it. However rooting it and installing Titanium backup and then freezing all the crapware so it can't run transforms the phone. Personally I don't much care if I ever get ICS or JB on it. Once de-crapified the version it has is fine in my book. Then again my needs are probably less demanding than others. For me my phone is just a glorified PDA for getting my email, providing appointment notifications and storing my contacts. I use Touchdown for those things and that is going to be pretty much the same no matter what phone I use it on.
The speakerphone is the best I've had so far, very clear sound. The camera is above par as well, crisp and little grain, certainly better than my Atrix.
Absolutely
On a Thunderbolt now and one of the few to still have true unlimited data.. I miss a keyboard, new to the D4 area and getting familiar w/ ROMs and what not, just wondering if you'd recommend it. Mainly just want to keep my 4G and get a keyboard. ICS will be nice but never messed w/ it much on my Thunderbolt.
Thanks in advance!
Just a week ago, I picked up a used Droid 4 as a replacement for my ailing (and LTE'less) droid 3.
Overall I am very happy with it, and I have to say, I can type faster on this keyboard than any other keyboard phone I've had. It's wonderful.
That said, it's still a midrange phone with a somewhat mediocre display... but all the mediocrity is absolutely worth having a keyboard IMO.
It's a good phone if you need a keyboard. I'm jealous of all the development going on with the Razr HD so I'm slowly practicing using the onscreen keyboard and in a couple months when I'm eligible to upgrade I will. The only thing that disappoints me about the Razr HD is that they didn't put 2gb of ram which I think should be the standard for a company's topline phone.
This is good input. I don't need high resolution, I need stability, battery life, and a keyboard, even if its a little bulkier. I also need VZN out of my pockets and lack budget to get anything newer at non upgrade prices. Thanks gents.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium
I just came from a droid 3. Let's be honest...this is a flagship phone! The specs are not mid range, they are top notch when the phone was released. The device is is sweet. I get amazing battery on stock rom. Some apps I froze...its smooth. I usually turn off animation to increase speed...I haven't had to yet. I got a deal on mine, but for brand new, I would gladly pay 150.
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app
It's absolutely worth that. I'm coming from an LG Revolution, which has performance very similar to your Thunderbolt. Trust me, the D4 is quite a bit better. Yes, the screen was never going to win any awards, but otherwise it performs very well, and the screen's shortcomings are rarely a real issue in actual use. And the battery life, while not up to Razr Maxx standards, is still decent. And then there's the keyboard...just superb. It puts this phone (and now the Photon Q) in a class of its own.
The Kraken! said:
It's absolutely worth that. I'm coming from an LG Revolution, which has performance very similar to your Thunderbolt. Trust me, the D4 is quite a bit better. Yes, the screen was never going to win any awards, but otherwise it performs very well, and the screen's shortcomings are rarely a real issue in actual use. And the battery life, while not up to Razr Maxx standards, is still decent. And then there's the keyboard...just superb. It puts this phone (and now the Photon Q) in a class of its own.
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You know what, after using my D4 for awhile, you're absolutely right. The Performance of my D4 is well worth the upgrade from the D3, not something I necessarily expected. The screen still sucks in some ways, but it looks great when it's turned up all the way. Better than my D3 as well. and lastly, the battery life is also way better than my D3 (which probably actually had a battery that was on it's way out).
I couldn't be happier with my purchase, especially the magnificent keyboard. I can type SO FAST on my phone, so much faster than my D3. I love it.
Droid 4 really is an exceptional keyboard phone. I really am sad that there probably won't be a Droid 5.
Yeah, you may be right. I'll be sad if they don't make a D5. But who knows, that they bothered to make the Photon Q might be a sign that they're not giving up on the slide out form factor. We can hope.
I love mine
I've had my Droid 4 for a few months now and I must say that I absolutely love this device. Its fast, the keyboard feels great and the display is awesome. It will be hard to top this device for me as I require a keyboard.
It's Heavy. Which actually is noticeable when you're trying to relax in bed and check some news or play a game. I came from a Droid X to this Droid 4. I missed the keyboard of my other phone that I had long ago (LG enV2, lol). I thought it would be nice to text with a keyboard again, since being with a all touch screen phone got annoying (I loved Swiftkey tho at the time I made this decision) and I didn't really like Swype, it had some bugs and it's predictions weren't as nice as Swiftkey. Now that Swiftkey Flow is coming out and even usable in beta form... I decided I made the wrong mistake. Swype was proven to be faster than physical keyboards and now Swiftkey Flow improved upon it even further. Also, all this locked bootloader crap is annoying. I think this will be my last Motorola phone, since I had so much fun with my Droid X and this phone all I do is wait for Hashcode day after day. It's old. Keep in mind, there are many apps like Airdroid, which you can type from your pc (you must be connected to the same router on the pc and phone) with your keyboard and have all your Android info right there. Depending on the status of the next Moto device, probably the "X", that will determine what I will get next year around October. If you really enjoy modding your OS and phone, I highly recommend just using Swiftkey Flow and getting a nice screened phone and unlockable bootloader. However, the build quality is amazing and the keyboard also looks amazing and it has never missed a key-press.