Smartphone Recommendations???

[NorcalBassin]

I'm about to make the jump to a smartphone, which is something I didn't think I'd ever do. I currently just use a cheap pay as you go flip phone from Wal-Mart, but I got a promotion at work and need to be "reachable" pretty much every day. My employer will help pay the bill (Verizon), but I also get to use it for for whatever I want outside of work.

I am pretty much clueless about smartphones, but the Razr Maxx has my attention at this point due to the extended battery. I have buddies that are major Mac fanboys and call them Mac snobs (in a joking manner), so there is pretty much no way I could get an I-phone without eating a ton of crow. With that in mind, what droids do you guys recommend getting or staying away from? Thanks!

[SirSnookalot]

I'm probably not smart phone material, but I do have one. When my contract is up I'll be looking for something different. At present I have a Casio Commando (not my first sm phone), very rugged and the best actual phone quality I have used, that said the camera feature imo is lackluster. It does not have a dedicated flash, many phones have no flash at all, it's 5 mega pixels do not offer the best camera photos I have seen. The battery life could be better too.

Each one of my 4 kids and 5 gr kids are i-phoners, and nothing but praise from them, it's a phone I will be taking a good look at.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

The Razer is a very good phone. Everyone I've talked with love's theirs. Pretty much any of the droid phones are good. Plus if you root them you can do all kinds of cool stuff with them. The all use the android operating system which is nice. I would say go with the Razr.

[MrSwimJig]

Any of the Droid phones are going to be nice. I am or was a big Android user till I got my iPhone for work. Know I catch all the crap I use to give people who use the iPhone. It is worth it for sure. I have my 4S jailbroken and am running all sorts of custom tweaks and it just really out performs and Android phone I have had.

But as far as Droid phones for Verizon go I would look at the Galaxy S III or the Galaxy Nexus, both great phones with lots of great support on the different forums.

[Jake P]

I'm about to make the jump to a smartphone, which is something I didn't think I'd ever do. I currently just use a cheap pay as you go flip phone from Wal-Mart, but I got a promotion at work and need to be "reachable" pretty much every day. My employer will help pay the bill (Verizon), but I also get to use it for for whatever I want outside of work.

I am pretty much clueless about smartphones, but the Razr Maxx has my attention at this point due to the extended battery. I have buddies that are major Mac fanboys and call them Mac snobs (in a joking manner), so there is pretty much no way I could get an I-phone without eating a ton of crow. With that in mind, what droids do you guys recommend getting or staying away from? Thanks!

Do NOT get an HTC. This phone was junk after about a week. Got another model, it was the same. DO get a samsung Galaxy. S2 or S3, i can promise you you wont be dissapointed. Very easy to use if your not used to a smart phone, nice size screen but not too big where its like a mini laptop. Cant say enough good things about the galaxy! Good luck with whatever you pick!

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Love my iPhone. Couldn't be much happier with it. Being able to use flash would be nice, but it's really not that big of a deal.

[clayton86]

I hated my droids switched to iPhone I hate that heap of **** to im done with cell phones lol

[Bassin' gal]

I am NOT smartphone material at all but I do love my Samsung Galaxy. Thank goodness for my kids who can show me how to use it. Excellent camera but no flash.

[unionman]

Droid Charge. The camera and its options are awesome. Pair those with a photo editing app like "Fotolr PS" (free app) and you can do anything to the pics you take with ease.

[craww]

I'm a Samsung nut. I think Verizon calls their's the nexus iirc. I've owned the first galaxy and will be getting the S3 on the 21st. Android is the way to go IMO. Not a fan of apple and all their exclusive content junk.

My wife has the razor Maxx. Its nice, big screen, super fast, holds a charge for a long time. Cons? Camera leaves a bit to be desired, and the non removable battery.

[tomustang]

Both sill aren't good. iPhone software only let's you to do specifically what they want you to do, and android is just a mess of a operating system.

The galaxy S2 is a nice phone, and has been advertised at several places for $50

[jeb2]

My wife and my HTC Evo's have been awesome phones. Coming up on 2 years this fall and they've been flawless. HTC makes some great phones that always rank well in Consumer Reports. A lot of the negative stuff you read about Android phones are about older phones with the older operating systems. Most of them are really slick and polished now. Add to that the bigger screens that are available than the iSheep products, and you really have some much better choices in the Android realm.

[craww]

Agreed. Androids gotten just as user friendly as apple, while still being "tweekable". Its not hard to do things like remove bloatware, remove ads from apps, add a custom rom, etc. The app market has caught also.

Not to hate on the iPhone itself, they're the phones all others are measured against for a reason. They do just about everything quite well.

The windows phones are VERY NICE also. User friendly and well thought out.

[NorcalBassin]

Thanks for all the help. I've pretty much narrowed it down between the Razr Maxx and the Samsung Galaxy S III that comes out in another 3-4 weeks (for Verizon). The Galaxy III is allegedly the best ever smartphone, so should I just "go big" since it will cost me the same as the Maxx???

[craww]

If you can wait, yes IMO. My wifes had a few issues with her maxx. Something about it resetting to "internet off" automatically.

I am currently waiting on the S3 as well. It came down to it and the HTC X. The HTC not having a media card slot sealed the deal.....Eleven more days!!!

[telmomarques]

i just bought the razr maxx, and i can say i love it more than my old samsung s2

[nick76]

If you want a phone you can pull out of the box and it works then go with an iPhone. If you want something you can tweak and customize then go with an Android based phone.

I am a Samsung supporter. They offered the original Samsung Fascinate for Verizon and I am still using mine as I type. I have upgraded the SD card to a larger one and have been running custom Android software for about 18-20 months on this phone. Samsung did not release the SG2 for Verizon so do not bother looking. They released the Galaxy Nexus. It is a nice phone as well. My wife owns it. My only problem with it is that there is no SD card slot to upgrade the memory. They will BS releasing the SG3 in July and it will have a SD card slot to upgrade.

If you are looking at something other than a Samsung then you have a couple of decisions to make. If you want to customize the Android software then you need to make sure it can be "rooted". Some have locked bootloaders that are not able to be rooted. You also need to decide between 3g and 4g service. Check to see what is available to you.

As with any new phone, expect a learning curve. These things are micro computers as much as they are phones. Get the larger data plan if available to you. You will need it when you get used to using it.

[Glenn]

Get a Galaxy S III. Seriously. It's good. Really good. All the carriers will have it, so you're not locked into Verizon's high prices either.

[GrundleLove]

I have a RAZR MAXX and its probably the best phone ive ever had. ever. peroid.

what is the #1 thing people ***** about when it comes to smartphones? the battery life.

i charge my MAXX once every 3 days. its 2legit2quit

[jeb2]

One other thing to keep in mind is the camera. That is one area I'm pretty disappointed in with my HTC Evo 4G. Hard to take consistently good pictures with it. And it is THE reason I will be trading up when my contract is up in a few months. Being fishermen, most of us have common opportunities to take a quick picture. So having a good camera on your phone can be important. The iPhone has a great camera, but I've heard the HTC One blows it away.

[Glenn]

T-Mobile will have ALL of their 4G smartphones for free this weekend. Sorry man. Your choices just got harder.

[FD.]

I had a galaxy facinate until I crushed it with a dozer (by accident). I liked it but decided to replace it with an I phone. Could not be happier. I an not a techno guru so the iphone seems a lot easier to use with more apps that I like. If it were me I would take the crap and get an iphone.

[NorcalBassin]

T-Mobile will have ALL of their 4G smartphones for free this weekend. Sorry man. Your choices just got harder.

Not quite as bad for me (unfortunately). I live up in the Sierras and my only two options are Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile up here is about as good as tying two cans together.

If it were me I would take the crap and get an iphone.

That's pretty funny right there... just can't allow myself to go to the darkside. Just asking about I-phones this week at work has reulted in a ton of it and I can only imagine what it would be like if I actually bought one.

[SirSnookalot]

Probably the biggest complaint about my smart phone (Casio Commando) it's hard to see in sunlight, indoors it's fine.