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I'm an EVO guy so I thought I'd ask here as well. My brother is on Verizon and looking to get either a fascinate or the X. He asked me which I thought. So I popped into their development forums to have a peek.
There doesnt seem to be much at all for either verizon phone in the way of ROM's. Am I correct in assumng that the EVO community is just so much more badass? He likes the things I show him with my phone and wants to be able to do something similar.
Is there another phone, forum, or something I'm missing that could help me get some better info as to what to recommend to him? Or if anyone here has a little Verizon experience they can share with me. Thanks for any info at all!
supchaka said:
I'm an EVO guy so I thought I'd ask here as well. My brother is on Verizon and looking to get either a fascinate or the X. He asked me which I thought. So I popped into their development forums to have a peek.
There doesnt seem to be much at all for either verizon phone in the way of ROM's. Am I correct in assumng that the EVO community is just so much more badass? He likes the things I show him with my phone and wants to be able to do something similar.
Is there another phone, forum, or something I'm missing that could help me get some better info as to what to recommend to him? Or if anyone here has a little Verizon experience they can share with me. Thanks for any info at all!
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HTC phones have always gotten way more support. For example, the Incredible on Verizon probably gets as much support as the EVO.
As for the two you mentioned, the Droid X, as far as I know, still hasn't gotten cracked. You can root it but can't flash custom ROMs. The Fascinate I don't know much about. Cyanogen Mod is being ported to some Galaxy S phones but I'm not sure if that includes the Verizon one. Either way, Samsung dev support is always slower.
Edit: If he can wait, there's a Verizon branded G2/HTC Desire Z coming out soon (?). There's also rumors of a Motorola "super phone" that will ship with a dual core Tegra 2 by hopefully holiday season (or if not, Q1 2011).
Nice that you mention the Incredible, he currently has that so we're gonna root that and play with it for awhile see if he can hold off getting another phone till the next big thing comes out.
Thanks.
If he's going to get a phone right now, then one of the Droids, preferrably the Incredible. Droid X is 2nd, and Fascinate is last. Why? It's a Bingphone. Like the Kin, which died after just a few weeks. That's right, al of the Google apps have been removed and replaced by Bing apps, and the Google stuff on the Market are practically hidden.
If he has the incredible why does he want another phone? Like stated above, incredible gets almost the same amount of support the evo does.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
if he already has the Droid incredible he has no business getting a new phone. awesome dev community and still in the top tier of hardware. its pretty much a mini evo without 4g and hdmi.
in the coming months you will start to see phones that may actually be substantially better than the DINC, but nothing atm. i would hold on the the DINC for at least a year.
Stick with the incredible until the next HTC phone or something better is released.
Sent from my HTC Evo 4G using XDA app.
I think just because the fact that he's had the incredible so long, he assumed it was time to get a new one. He doesnt keep a phone too long, and me not being on Verizon I didnt know there was so much support for the incredible. I'm going to recommend he just hold onto that for now.
I will soon be adding a third line to my Verizon account. I currently own a Droid 2(which is great). My fiancee owns an LG Ally and we're not overly impressed. The plan is to give my fiancee my D2, give her daughter the Ally, and I will be getting a new phone. My question is, which Verizon phone should I get? I'm new to smartphones overall, but learning quickly. I've had my D2 for nearly a month and have Rooted, OCed, and tried various ROMs. It's become an obsession of sorts. I'd like something that is supported by a large community but more importantly is a great device. What are some opinions on the best handsets Verizon has to offer?
ender4212 said:
I will soon be adding a third line to my Verizon account. I currently own a Droid 2(which is great). My fiancee owns an LG Ally and we're not overly impressed. The plan is to give my fiancee my D2, give her daughter the Ally, and I will be getting a new phone. My question is, which Verizon phone should I get? I'm new to smartphones overall, but learning quickly. I've had my D2 for nearly a month and have Rooted, OCed, and tried various ROMs. It's become an obsession of sorts. I'd like something that is supported by a large community but more importantly is a great device. What are some opinions on the best handsets Verizon has to offer?
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The D2 was the first android phone I got and for the most part I really like it. Everything runs smooth the slide out keyboard is pretty good the only problem is the Bootloader is locked which turns a lot of dev's away. I would probably stick with my D2 just because of its fast processor and one of the only slide out keyboard phones on the market but when looking into the ROMs and such you may want to go with a different phone that can get different kernels.
I would go for a droid x. Essentially the same hardware as the d2 (besides a slighty newer processor version). It also has a larger screen and better camera.
True that with the efuse in motorola's phones has the bootloader is locked down tight and makes things difficult. However there are a couple of extremely good roms such as fission and squidly, and overclocking is possible.
IF you want different kernels and such, perhaps go with a droid incredible.
Sent from my Motorola Droid 2 with Fission 2.4.1
I'm with Verizon. Currently have the iPhone. Its garbage and wanting the droid x. I was just wondering what is the best phone with Verizon right now?
I'm in my 14 day trial so I'm debating on what phone I want.
I would suggest droidX if you are ok with touch keyboard, or droid 2, if you prefer physical keyboard. If you wait a couple of months, the droid X2 is due in the second quarter. I personally use droid x and it keeps me quiet merry. Large screen, great camera, fast enough and on and on...
qGa said:
I'm with Verizon. Currently have the iPhone. Its garbage and wanting the droid x. I was just wondering what is the best phone with Verizon right now?
I'm in my 14 day trial so I'm debating on what phone I want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The X is a great phone! It offers a bunch of great customization and a great team of developers that work on it. If you want to be able to TRULY run a custom ROM (custom kernel such as Cyanogen Mod) then the X may not be the phone for you at this time. Devs are still working on unlocking/bypassing the bootloader.
HTC generally makes some good unlocked phones as well. Not to dissuade you from the X, as I personally have one and love it.
1+ on both reviews. Coming from the Eris and 2 weeks now, very pleased. Haven't felt the need to root. (Waiting for cyanogen)
Just discovered its car dock/multimedia dock as another nice feature.
Good luck.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
Having had all the iPhones, which I dumped after trying out Android last year... and having/tried/using MANY others I have not been happier with my X... It has the screen I want, built like a tank even with all that glass, speed is great, battery life is VERY impressive (Added the OEM EB), and it is just a solid device inside and out.
Yes, the "modding" is limited and I really thought I was going to miss that because I enjoy testing, creating, etc.... but it really hasn't bother me, my only need for it was to add functionality that I couldn't get, but thanks to Bootstrap and multiple tweaks and mods, I am perfectly happy.
My opinion... You won't regret the switch.
Yup its an excellent phone. With 4g coming around, there will be many more choices with better features. Theyll also come with a bigger price tag and more expensive plans. For now the x is plenty for me.
After having had both Droid X and 2... go with the X. You wont be disappointed!
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
The Droid X I don't think will disappoint. I like mine a lot. If you are shopping for phones you might want the Fascinate as well.
maybe wait a little while and go with the thunderbolt? im done with motorola because i want to make sure that the bootloader wont be locked beyond what is necessary anymore.
Hello all,
I dropped my work cell, and jacked it up bad.
Good thing though, is I am eligible for an upgrade and the datacom ladies told me I can get any of the Verizon Android phones or an iPhone 4S.
I need some suggestions for new phones pretty quickly as I need to let my Director know by this Friday.
I love Android so I think the iPhone is out of the question. I have an HTC EVO for my personal phone. I am looking at the Motorola Droid Razr MAXX and the Galaxy Nexus.
Price doesn't really matter, as the company allows up to $300 for phone replacement every 2 years, so they would both be "free" to me.
I would like to be able to root the phone so I can tether. There is pretty good LTE 4G coverage in my area as well. What are some pros and cons to them? What phones do you suggest (Im open to other models as well).?
galaxy nezus!
Galaxy Nexus has the full support of Google which means the best versions of Android. The nexus will be VERY easy to root and custom MOD to your hearts desire. It is the developer phone of choice because of the Nexus Line. Incredible screen, really big, really clear and detailed.
The Droid RAZR MAXX has the best bettery of life of almost any phone on the market and it probably has the best hardware too. Kevlar backing, metal frame. Motorola has gotten better in terms of software, Motoblur isn't quite so crappy. Motorola phones are harder to root and custom mod but they aren't impossible. The screen is smaller and less clear then the Nexus but Coming from and HTC EVO it is an improvement.
Recommendation for a WORK phone, i would recommend the RAZR MAXX. Its battery life is incredible. You have no worries about a dead battery halfway through the day
In fact,Motoblur is very good.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say Rezound, it has a lot going for it. It's a global device! Plus if you are already used to sense, and like it, you will know your way around it. Plus, it's unlockable through HTC dev. Super easy process. Then you only have to flash recovery, su binary, then download superuser and you are rooted.
Nexus is no longer going to be supported by Google as the issues with CDMA have become too much of a hassle.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I didnt even think about the Rezound.
I do like the high resolutions of the Nexus and the Rezound, but the battery life on the Razr Maxx is tempting.
For me I want to be able to root it, and have a good looking display, and a phone that is going to be smooth with ICS. I also need a phone that will be fairly durable, as it will see alot of use at the office as well as in the datacenter. Since I only get an upgrade from work every 2 years, I would like one that will "be around" for a while. My personal EVO has been a damn good phone and I would love to use one like it for work.
Whats the deal with Google and CDMA phones? I havent heard that.
I say the Razr Maxx if you want durability. Otherwise the Rezound is great all around.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW
BooDaddy said:
Whats the deal with Google and CDMA phones? I havent heard that.
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Nothing...they are very much still supported.
TheDroidURLookinFor said:
Nothing...they are very much still supported.
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Click to collapse
Not quite, Google is no longer directly supporting CDMA phones with full AOSP support.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW
So if we were to compare the resolutions alone, is there a huge difference in the Razr's lower resolution screens?
Rezound will be getting ICS as soon as HTC released Ville so probably a few months
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
I would say Moto Razr Maxx. Has awesome batter life its super sexy and will more that positively get ICS.
BooDaddy said:
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I didnt even think about the Rezound.
I do like the high resolutions of the Nexus and the Rezound, but the battery life on the Razr Maxx is tempting.
For me I want to be able to root it, and have a good looking display, and a phone that is going to be smooth with ICS. I also need a phone that will be fairly durable, as it will see alot of use at the office as well as in the datacenter. Since I only get an upgrade from work every 2 years, I would like one that will "be around" for a while. My personal EVO has been a damn good phone and I would love to use one like it for work.
Whats the deal with Google and CDMA phones? I havent heard that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Durability and battery life has to be the RAZR MAXX, it is built solid.
As for Google. It still supports CDMA devices but not directly through the Android Open Source Project. CDMA requires closed sourced sign apk's for the carriers in order to get data working. Google doesn't like that. Verizon leveraged that into bloating its version of the Nexus. Google STILL supports it, just not through AOSP
.
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BooDaddy said:
So if we were to compare the resolutions alone, is there a huge difference in the Razr's lower resolution screens?
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I've never used the Razr yet...but i've used just about all of motorola phones, pre-android and android...and although they're getting better...they're never as good their competitors... get the SGNEXUS!!!
A little background first. VZW is my only option due to my line being a corporate line. Roughly a year and a half ago, I got fed up with the crappy phone choices (only blackberry at the time), so I just started buying my own and calling the 3rd party service that runs our wireless operations and telling them "I just got a new phone, could you please do an ESN swap?". That has always worked. Recently, the phone choices have gotten much better and include a variety of BB, Android and iOS devices now. Over the last few years I've gone from DINC (personal device I had since it first came out) to blackberry to DINC2 to iPhone4 to currently the Razr M. Now with SIM cards it's super easy for me to use whatever device I prefer.
Here's my current "dilemma". I have a retail Razr M (which I picked up shortly after release). Definitely loving this phone and couldn't be more happy to be back on Android after a brief hiatus to iOS. Had to give it try. Big believer in "you can't bash something without trying it". But damn iOS gets boring fast. Ha! I was excited about the M due to it's smaller footprint AND high end internals. The only thing I don't like is the locked bootloader. I was quite the crack flasher with my DINC and DINC2. The locked bootloader has led me to have interest in the S3. But I've always had an aversion to large screen phones. I like to be able operate my phone one handed. So now I have a brand new S3 sitting on my desk and I'm unsure what to do with it. I'm really enjoying my M and Jelly Bean is (almost officially) here. But I'm very interested in some CM10 or AOKP. I definitely prefer the AOSP stuff.
So the question is, do I continue my "don't bash it without trying it" theory and move over to the S3 for some AOSP love??? Or stick with the M and live with whatever fate that lies ahead?? I can only keep one. Will sell the other.
(sorry for the novel)
hokieputter said:
A little background first. VZW is my only option due to my line being a corporate line. Roughly a year and a half ago, I got fed up with the crappy phone choices (only blackberry at the time), so I just started buying my own and calling the 3rd party service that runs our wireless operations and telling them "I just got a new phone, could you please do an ESN swap?". That has always worked. Recently, the phone choices have gotten much better and include a variety of BB, Android and iOS devices now. Over the last few years I've gone from DINC (personal device I had since it first came out) to blackberry to DINC2 to iPhone4 to currently the Razr M. Now with SIM cards it's super easy for me to use whatever device I prefer.
Here's my current "dilemma". I have a retail Razr M (which I picked up shortly after release). Definitely loving this phone and couldn't be more happy to be back on Android after a brief hiatus to iOS. Had to give it try. Big believer in "you can't bash something without trying it". But damn iOS gets boring fast. Ha! I was excited about the M due to it's smaller footprint AND high end internals. The only thing I don't like is the locked bootloader. I was quite the crack flasher with my DINC and DINC2. The locked bootloader has led me to have interest in the S3. But I've always had an aversion to large screen phones. I like to be able operate my phone one handed. So now I have a brand new S3 sitting on my desk and I'm unsure what to do with it. I'm really enjoying my M and Jelly Bean is (almost officially) here. But I'm very interested in some CM10 or AOKP. I definitely prefer the AOSP stuff.
So the question is, do I continue my "don't bash it without trying it" theory and move over to the S3 for some AOSP love??? Or stick with the M and live with whatever fate that lies ahead?? I can only keep one. Will sell the other.
(sorry for the novel)
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I'd say stick with the phone you like better. Yesterday I was analyzing what I'm missing without root (I'm on team EOS 3.0 on my Xoom) and I couldn't really come up with much. One of the biggest pluses: WiFi tethering, now can be done with any app on verizon because of that lawsuit. Other than that, TiBu is a loss, and maybe some OCing and performance but I mean I loaded up the phone and its still buttery smooth with good battery. Definitely the interface modding and some fun bells and whistles are missing without custom rom but it doesn't really add up to much.
The s3 is gigantic and more expensive. I'm happy with my choice.
Sent from my Xoom using xda app-developers app
Unfortunately, the two phones you've chosen represent opposite ends of the "experience spectrum" - so personal preference is going to play a big part. The only real thing the S3 has over the M that's not subjective is a better camera, and 2gb of ram vs. 1. The rest will depend on your preferences. Yes, the S3 will have more dev support. But the M won't be without it, either - root should be closer, though not guaranteed, based on a comment by P3 last night - but obviously rooting and romming are not always correlated.
Dyelon said:
I'd say stick with the phone you like better. Yesterday I was analyzing what I'm missing without root (I'm on team EOS 3.0 on my Xoom) and I couldn't really come up with much. One of the biggest pluses: WiFi tethering, now can be done with any app on verizon because of that lawsuit. Other than that, TiBu is a loss, and maybe some OCing and performance but I mean I loaded up the phone and its still buttery smooth with good battery. Definitely the interface modding and some fun bells and whistles are missing without custom rom but it doesn't really add up to much.
The s3 is gigantic and more expensive. I'm happy with my choice.
Sent from my Xoom using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I agree the S3 is gigantic. I also was trying to come up with things I miss by not having root and couldn't really come up with much that seemed overly important. All were smaller bells and whistles type things. Blur on this phone is very minimal, which I like and is a big plus (for me). I'm really enjoying the M. And love the size. I too am having a smooth experience with pretty solid battery life. No issues whatsoever thus far. Best bet is to probably stick with the M. I got a good deal on the S3 and should have no trouble getting back what I paid, maybe more.
Plus, I've been wanting a Nexus 7...
jntdroid said:
Unfortunately, the two phones you've chosen represent opposite ends of the "experience spectrum" - so personal preference is going to play a big part. The only real thing the S3 has over the M that's not subjective is a better camera, and 2gb of ram vs. 1. The rest will depend on your preferences. Yes, the S3 will have more dev support. But the M won't be without it, either - root should be closer, though not guaranteed, based on a comment by P3 last night - but obviously rooting and romming are not always correlated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, they are definitely very different experiences. My preference has always been for smaller, easily pocketable phones. Which exactly describes the M. I don't need/want a tablet in my pocket.
I agree about the camera, but overall the M hasn't really let me down. Sure it would be nice to have a better camera, but it's not a deal breaker for me. You just have to know the limitations that you're working with. And the extra ram would be nice too. But not sure either are worth giving up the form factor that I prefer.
And I have been following the dev support of the M closely as well. I saw the comments by P3 and his team. They are very promising. And definitely helping to influence my ultimate decision. Honestly, I don't really need (or want) to be able to flash billions of roms. Just looking for a (close to) stock experience that is snappy, fully functional and bug free. Which is what I've got right now with the M. Still running the stock ICS, have not updated to the JB leak.
(I think I'm confirming my gut feelings / answering my own questions as this thread moves along... Thanks for the dialogue)
The simplest choice would seem to be ordering a Developer Edition RAZR M. If you really like the M but want the ability to fiddle, that's your route. There are already recovery and root images available for it and I think the devs will be supporting it for a while especially since the RAZR HD and HD MAXX are also running the same internals.
As for the SGSIII - Verizon is the only carrier that doesn't sell it with an unlocked bootloader so technically you'd need to buy the developer edition of that to get what you want anyway.
Neither the RAZR M nor the SGSIII Dev Editions are available via Verizon subsidized contracts.
Personally I think Sammy missed the boat. If the SGSIII Mini did what the RAZR did (same internals with smaller screen) they might have won me over, but they really skimped on the thing. What a shame.
Just my $.02.
I'm a runner and a cyclist, so the smaller the better which is why I loved my Atrix 4G (which is now running JB). The RAZR M is a narrower phone with a bigger screen. It's great to simply stow and go.
Well, now that the M has root, I think your decision is a lot easier. I would say that seeing CM9 and/or 10 is a likely bet. However, the problem now is that anything after that may not run optimally, since the bootloader is still locked and we won't be able to run a kernel optimized for the newest version. That's the problem with my Pro. Somebody ported CM9 and an AOKP ICS ROM for it, and while it does run, it's not as good as it could be. We're still stuck on the Gingerbread kernel.
freak4dell said:
Well, now that the M has root, I think your decision is a lot easier. I would say that seeing CM9 and/or 10 is a likely bet. However, the problem now is that anything after that may not run optimally, since the bootloader is still locked and we won't be able to run a kernel optimized for the newest version. That's the problem with my Pro. Somebody ported CM9 and an AOKP ICS ROM for it, and while it does run, it's not as good as it could be. We're still stuck on the Gingerbread kernel.
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Click to collapse
I'm really hoping we can bust the M open over the next year or so =/
Sent from my XT907 using xda app-developers app
mk1151 said:
The simplest choice would seem to be ordering a Developer Edition RAZR M. If you really like the M but want the ability to fiddle, that's your route. There are already recovery and root images available for it and I think the devs will be supporting it for a while especially since the RAZR HD and HD MAXX are also running the same internals.
As for the SGSIII - Verizon is the only carrier that doesn't sell it with an unlocked bootloader so technically you'd need to buy the developer edition of that to get what you want anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon's bootloader can be unlocked with a single app from the play store. Super easy. The development on the S3 phone has been amazing thus far - currently on Liquid Smooth. I'm also considering switching to a smaller phone however and the M seems to be the only phone that's small with power. Following rooting and modding very closely on this phone before making the switch as I have gotten used to all the aokp+CM10 mods in the many S3 roms I've flashed.
You make an excellent point about the Razr HD and HD Maxx, I hope that helps this phone in the mod scene.
aznguyen316 said:
Verizon's bootloader can be unlocked with a single app from the play store. Super easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I said "technically"
But I do agree it is easier on the SGSIII. Part of that is that HTC and Samsung have not taken the time to build system safeguards into their products the way Motorola has.
Browser vendors take pride in the headaches they cause to hackers trying to find vulnerabilities. Handset manufacturers, IMO, should be thinking the same way. With all the personal data on your phone, do you really want to be able to unlock it and obtain root from an app in the Play Store?
This is one of the reasons I like Motorola devices, despite the very limited flexibility.
mk1151 said:
The simplest choice would seem to be ordering a Developer Edition RAZR M. If you really like the M but want the ability to fiddle, that's your route. There are already recovery and root images available for it and I think the devs will be supporting it for a while especially since the RAZR HD and HD MAXX are also running the same internals.
As for the SGSIII - Verizon is the only carrier that doesn't sell it with an unlocked bootloader so technically you'd need to buy the developer edition of that to get what you want anyway.
Neither the RAZR M nor the SGSIII Dev Editions are available via Verizon subsidized contracts.
Personally I think Sammy missed the boat. If the SGSIII Mini did what the RAZR did (same internals with smaller screen) they might have won me over, but they really skimped on the thing. What a shame.
Just my $.02.
I'm a runner and a cyclist, so the smaller the better which is why I loved my Atrix 4G (which is now running JB). The RAZR M is a narrower phone with a bigger screen. It's great to simply stow and go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The M is my first ever Motorola device. It's also my first device running ICS or JB (there were a few of us on here that had issues running ICS on our DINC2s). Spent a little time messing around installing the JB leak and flashing back to stock just to get used to using the stock recovery, fastboot etc. With wifi tether now working on the stock ROM and the ability to disable bloatware in ICS/JB, combined with the very minimal Blur skin, I don't really see the need to root this device right away. Plus, you really can't do everything you'd want to do without an unlockable bootloader. So I agree, the Developer Edition is the way to go if you want to ultimately fiddle with things at some point down the road. May have to pick one up at some point.
Couldn't agree more on Sammy missing the boat. The SG3 Mini would have won me over too if they hadn't watered it down. Maybe we'll see a slightly improved device ending up on VZW? I presume it will eventually come to VZW. Does that SoC they're using even support LTE? Who knows. Maybe wishful thinking. I love the M anyway. But it's always nice to have more options to consider.
mk1151 said:
With all the personal data on your phone, do you really want to be able to unlock it and obtain root from an app in the Play Store?
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Click to collapse
Good point. I don't..
I've definitely made my decision (which was realistically already made, just need to confirm). Let me know if you know anyone looking for a brand new blue SG3.
hokieputter said:
Good point. I don't..
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Well plenty of people have done it. Check the forums over there. There are other applications that can do it for u on your own pc if u wanted too. Just saying it's available now. Plus doesn't rooting your phone technically make it a little less secure anyway? That's what blizzards authenticator has lead me to believe Haha. But the point was a locked bootloader isn't end of the line.
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