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which android device to choose?

Hello, I need advice which device to buy: Motorola XT720, HTC Desire or Samsung Galaxy S. The price is same for all that devices in my country.
Priorities:
*Good build quality
*Interface speed
*3D Speed(gaming)
*Good Hardware
XT720 - nice build quality; medium 3D perfomance, better than Desire, but lower than Galaxy S; slowest interface(default). Question: someone who have XT720, can you please XT720 test with 800MHz(overclocked) + Launcher Pro, how it works, enough smooth(also 256MB ram enough?)? like Desire with Sense?
Desire - medium build quality; poor 3D Perfomance, but better processor(interface smoother); Sense - good feature; pink AMOLED.
Galaxy S - build quality(also materials) is worst of all 3 devices; fastest 3D and best Hardware; TouchWizz 3.0 full of bugs; for normal use need lag fix.
So, what I should choose?
P.S. sorry for mistakes.

I've just come across from an iphone 3gs to the Desire and I can fully recommend it. The only downfall being the app market, but this is sure to pick up soon. The phone is very quick and customisable and it is good to be able to tweak the interface. A friend of mine has the Galaxy and he loves it but reckons my Desire is faster and has a better screen. I almost went for the iphone 4 over this but I'm glad I didn't. It is also due to get faster and better (internet MIFI capable) with the new 2.2 update shortly, which means I can use it as my ipad internet connection. Fully recommended. I bought it here in the UK for £310 on a pay and go contract and instantly unlocked it.

Guide for choosing an Android phone

I'm putting together a general guide for people to choose an Android phone because increasingly, there are so many choices. This guide will likely be more focused on North American customers at the moment, because that is where I come from and have the most knowledge. This is not going to be completely comprehensive (impossible), but it will be intended to be a good starting point.
I will be updating this thread as new phones emerge and removing older devices.
What to look for when buying a new phone:
Write down all of the features you want. Then take a look at the phones available and the carriers. Remember that specs are not everything (ex: higher megapixel does not mean better camera and clockspeed does not mean faster CPU). Look at how good a carrier is, their coverage, their price, and the customer service. Am I roaming? What are the terms of the contract?
When choosing a phone, remember that each manufacturer will have their flaws:
- HTC: Expensive phones (when buying unlocked), poor battery life, and poor cameras. On the plus side, HTC has the best upgrade record of the Android makers, generally good build quality, and easy to mod (most amount of development at XDA as well), although not always prompt at releasing source code. They use mainly Qualcomm Snapdragon CPUs with Adreno graphics. They are known for their distinct "Sense" UI.
- Samsung: Samsung phones have worse build quality than HTC (they seem to be very fond of soft-touch glossy plastic that makes their phones, even their flagships feel cheap) and they have a bad rep for their slow updates. Samsung generally will have some of the best displays (that is their speciality, although their SuperAMOLED is over saturated), good specs overall (they are a massively integrated company and make most of the parts in their phones themselves). They are also prompt in releasing source code. Cameras are also decent on Samsung phones. They use a variety of different CPUs.
- Motorola: Motorola has good update speed on the American phones, but in the rest of the world, updates are poor. One alarming recent trend is their locked bootloaders, which make it hard to load custom ROMs. They have generally good audio and call quality, but cameras are average. One noteworthy thing is the colour accuracy on their screens is excellent. They use mainly TI's OMAP series of CPUs, although an Nvidia Tegra 2 phone is expected.
- LG: LG has had tough times recently, but seems to be turning around. I have not had a lot of experience with their handsets, but it seems that the build quality is decent, judging by their Optimus series. I look forward to seeing whatever variant of the Optimus 2X ends up in North America.
The next step would be to consider your budget. Low end phones are generally less than $250 USD/about 200 Euros (things are more pricey in Europe), midrange would make up about $250 - $400 USD (200 Euros to maybe 350 Euros), and anything greater than $400 would be considered high end. Higher end phones generally have better build quality, resolution, processors, cameras, and are faster at getting updates, not to mention features that low end phones often skimp on.
Globally: Worldwide, phones will vary significantly based on carrier, coverage, and choice. High end phones tend to come out uniquely for North America and the rest of the world. There are going to be way too many choices to mention here, but here are the ones that stand out. In most cases, I'd recommend getting a phone at least 480x320, becuase that is the resolution that Android was intended for.
- Samsung Galaxy S: Super AMOLED screen, it's own unique variant of the buttons, front facing camera, 5 MP 720p camera, and SuperAMOLED screen. This phone is hampered by no LED flash and defective GPS units.
- Samsung Galaxy Apollo: Mid-range Android phone (need more details)
- Samsung Galaxy Europa: Need details, but looks like low-end phone
- HTC Desire HD: Essentially an Android GSM variant of the HTC HD2 and the HTC Evo. It has a large 4.3" screen, a camera with dual LED flash, standard 4 button Android configuration, but no front facing camera. It's hampered by the poor battery life.
- HTC Desire Z: A smaller variant of the Desire HD with a lower end processor, keyboard, and a smaller screen. I'm not comfortable with the durability of the hinge, but otherwise, an excellent phone.
- HTC Legend: Successor to the HTC Hero, this is phone is a midrange phone and feels pretty snappy. My choice for a midrange phone.
- HTC Wildfire: Lower-end phone (320 x 240), small screen, and light
- Sony Ericsson X10: Currently Sony's flagship. Hampered by Sony's slow updates, and no multitouch. Low storage. On the upside, it has a pretty good camera and a high-res screen.
- Sony Ericsson X8: Pretty decent mid-range phone. Comparable to the HTC Legend in specs, but only has Android 2.1.
- Sony Ericsson X10 Mini: Somewhere in between the X10 and the X8. It's similar to the X8 in most cases and feels like a pretty good phone overall.
- LG Optimus: Well priced mid-range handset. Build quality is pretty good and comparable to the X8 and the HTC Hero.
- Motorola Milestone 2: High end handset, but Motorola's seems to be slower with their international updates
- Motorola Defy: Durable handset, mid-range specs, but stuck on Android 2.1
There are many, many cheap phones coming in from China and India that are too numerous to mention here. I'd recommend looking at reviews and examining what you think is reliable based off of your best judgment. Some nations also have their own phones that cannot be bought elsewhere, such as the Meizu M9 and Sharp's IS03.
The North American Market:
North America uses what is known as a subsidy model. The carriers buy the phones from the manufacturers, brand them (often with their own bloatware), and in the case of GSM carriers, apply a SIM lock. I recommend that if you live in North America, that you only buy a high end phone if you are going on contract. The cost of a high end phone (an extra $150-$250 + tax) is not significant relative to the life of the contract. I suppose that if you are buying lower end phones, you could consider something less potent.
LG Optimus is my recommendation for a low-end phone. An alternative are the low-end HTC devices, most notable the HTC Wildfire and HTC Aria. I anticipate that as Android gains more traction here, that we'll begin to see low end, prepaid Android phones within the $100 mark.
Canada (my home country):
The Canadian market is dominated by 3 carriers (Bell, Telus - which shares infrastructure with Bell, and Rogers, the largest). Three drawbacks that we Canucks face is the poor choice of smartphones compared to the US, the expensive data plans, and the 3 year contracts. On the upside, buying a phone unlocked is cheaper than Europe (all electronics are generally cheaper than Europe, but cheaper still than in the US). They all use GSM and HSPA+ at this point, with their phones unlockable and interchangeable.:
Bell:
- Samsung Galaxy S (dubbed "Vibrant", although it is an i9000). Be careful about upgrading to Froyo, bricked devices have been reported.
- Desire Z (your choice if you want a keyboarded phone - luckily, it can be bought and unlocked. At $500 CAD, it isn't a bad deal either)
Telus:
- Samsung Fascinate (GSM version of the Verizon phone)
- HTC Desire (Nexus One Clone)
- It is expected that the HTC Desire HD will come onto Telus in H1 2011
Rogers (best coverage of the three carriers, but poorest Android support):
- Samsung Captivate (i896 - buy this instead of the i897 if you're going off contract; it doesn't seem to have the lag or GPS problems, plus no bloatware)
- Acer Liquid E (cheaper alternative)
I recommend against buying the Dell Streak (poor build quality overall) and the X10 (poor updates). For Rogers particularly, every year, there is a 6gb data promotion that I recommend holding off and waiting specifically for.
United States:
Dominated by 4 carriers, plus a host of smaller CDMA carriers.
Verizon: Largest carrier, CDMA; going to LTE. They seem to have lots of Motorola phones.
- Motorola Droid X (large screen, no keyboard)
- Motorola Droid 2 Global (keyboard, good for world travel as it has a SIM slot, although the GSM SIM card doesn't work on AT&T)
- Motorola Droid Pro (like a Blackberry sized version of the Droid 2)
- Samsung Fascinate (Galaxy S with LED flash, but less storage, and standard Android key layout); Bing
- Samsung Continuum (smaller Galaxy S with a "ticker on bottom")
- HTC Droid Incredible (older phone now, still pretty good device that appears to be derived from Nexus One)
AT&T: GSM carrier; second largest in North America. Be advised that AT&T locks down their phones, allowing no apps from unknown sources. A custom ROM is recommended.
- Samsung Captivate: Variant of Galaxy S; no front facing camera, standard Android button layout
I mentioned that I would only recommend high-end phones, because for the duration of a contract, the extra initial price is not significant. I do not recommend choosing the Sony X10 over the Captivate. AT&T does have a host of lower end phones, such as the HTC Aria and Motorola Backflip.
Sprint: CDMA carrier; currently rolling out WiMAX in many cities (be aware that WiMAX phones carry and extra $10/month charge):
- Samsung Epic 4G (Galaxy S phone with keyboard and standard Android button configuration. WiMAX. Also has LED flash, but less storage. Arguably the best of the Galaxy S variants).
- HTC EVO (first WiMAX design): Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 GHz, 4.3" LCD screen, front facing camera.
Note that there is a significant drop in battery life with WiMAX enabled and that the high frequency of WiMAX can make it hard to get a reliable signal in some buildings and underground. Not all cities have WiMAX yet either.
Recall what I said about getting a high-end phone in North America.
T-Mobile: T-Mobile is also a GSM carrier, using mainly AWS banded phones. They were the first Android supporter.
- Samsung Vibrant (not be confused with the Canadian Bell version, this is a variant of the Galaxy S with the standard Android button configuration)
- Nexus S (I'd recommend in most cases that you get this instead of the Vibrant between the two due to fast upgrades, NFC, and gyroscope. On the downside, the concave screen is more fragile, there is no microSD, and no HSPA+).
- HTC MyTouch 4G (latest version of MyTouch, comes with a variant of HTC Sense, and a trackpad)
- HTC G2 (basically a variant of the Desire Z intended for the T-Mobile bands; unique to this variant is that it is close to stock Android)
- HTC Nexus One (aging now, and not available for sale, but an worthy mention as this is the phone that made this generation of phones happen)
Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome.

sorry for bump, but what would you say is the best in the realms of prepaid-available phones?
note: i just got the optimus V from virgin mobile for cheap and have been playing with it, and am slightly dissapointed at it's quality, but impressed by virgin mobile's actual network service.

ICS phones?
Are there any ICS phones, I am fed up with hw buttons.

When it comes to phones use the tattoo theory. A good one ain't cheap, and a cheap one ain't good. I run on prepaid networks and after dealing with the craptastic phones now I just by any one I want that is GSM based and be happy.
The galaxy line has it burning am waiting till the quad core HTC is released. Hardware should start to slow down after that.

LukeQr said:
Are there any ICS phones, I am fed up with hw buttons.
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Maybe you can try more.

[Q] Phone choosing

What phone should i buy from this: atrix 4g, galaxy s2, sensation, optimus 3d?
What other phone you recomand me?(no evo 3d,is to expensive).
Which is the coolest phone?

Depends
It depends on what you are looking for. Of those mentioned, I like the Sensation and the Galaxy S2 the most, with the edge going to the Galaxy S2 because of its processing power, improved Touchwiz UI, and it's screen. The Sensation is a close second, less ram, great dual core processor [especially with the Revolution HD rom by mike1986], and a higher res screen than the Samsung. LG is just not a solid contender for me, they need to be along a while longer and have some phones that do very well with consumers before I trust them, and the Atrix 4G has that pentile screen and slightly laggier UI that I have not really like. If you are looking for the ability to have a full netbook style device with you on the go, the Atrix 4G wins of course because you can attach it to a laptop dock.

[Q] Help me pick a new phone (Htc Amaze vs Samsung s2)

I know there was a similar thread to this topic, but the thread was 9 days old and to me that's a big difference imo. So anyway, I'm stuck choosing either the samsung s2 or the htc amaze (both phones are the tmobile branded fyi) and i really like the build quality of the amaze and i heard the camera is better the s2 but i like the processor on the s2 even though the amaze has the same thing but the speed is almost similar and both of these phone way faster than my current phone (iphone 3g lol) and the screen of the s2 looks great but the amaze screen has more pixels. So right now i some advice on which phone is better, and please have some reason with your post, i dont want just a simple answer

samgung GSII is one of the best phones ever made. compare the specs list, look at some user reviews. i don't know the exact specs, so i can't say for why without a possible very large margin of error, but i do know the GSII is a better device.

These questions are always tricky, as much as you would hate to hear it, it comes down to personal preference..
Looking spec wise the processor of the Amaze is slightly faster (1.5ghz dual core vs 1.2ghz dual core) - The memory of the S2 can be exanded whereas I don't think the Amaze can be - Camera/Video quality is the same - Both have NFC support (Which is the next era of technology in my opinion) and the Amaze is being shipped with Gingerbread 2.3.4 I believe..
Sooo If you are looking spec wise and want the latest and greatest I would have to suggest the Amaze, I would prefer the S2 myself because all though it isn't quite as fast 1) I wouldn't notice the .3 ghz difference and 2) I prefer the squarer shape of the S2 as well as it being quite a lot lighter (Amaze=170grams vs S2 = 110grams).. But again that is my personal preference.. Heck I'm saving up to get a Nokia N9 over the S2, that's saying a few things about me.
Hope this has been of use,
MVP

im leaning towards the s2 and i was talking about the tmobile branded s2 not the international but thanks anyway

Why do you want the Nokia N9? Looked at the specs, doesnt look way better than the SGSII, am i missing the point?

Here are my thoughts:
-The Galaxy S II has a faster processor, running at 1.2ghz (Dual-Core). Overclockable (and stable) at 1.6ghz using a custom kernel here.
-The Galaxy S II has an AMAZING camera. VERY high quality and life-like. It's great!
-The Galaxy S II has the SAMOLD+ screen, which looks absolutely amazing. Simply put, extremely nice. When displaying the same picture on the Galaxy S II and the iPhone 4, the Galaxy S II just BLOWS the IP4(S) out of the water - not to mention it helps improve battery life.
-You should be safe if you drop the Galaxy S II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKxgsrJFhw

I looked at the specs of both galaxy S II and iphone 4s. Seems to me that iphone is much better. I have a captivate myself and plan to upgrade soon as well. If you have time, wait for something better to come along soon near thanksgiving or xmas break.

[Q] Which Phone to buy ?

I have used my not so powerful but beloved x8 for some time now,, its time to get a high end smartphone , but i am pretty confused on which one to buy?
I am currently considering Samsung galaxy s2, Samsung galaxy Nexus, Htc Sensation XE, Xperia Arc s(if only it had dual core!), Motorola Droid Razr ,, So which one do you guys prefer and why? and are there any other phone that i should consider?

Don't go for the razr.
I would not go for the Razr since the battery is pretty poor and not replaceable, although the Rarz maxx gives you plenty of juice.
I would prefer the GNex since it is the most advanced phone out there. Also it gives you a long period of rom-updates since its an development phone.
My second choice will be the SGS2, here in the Nederlands is has gone true an small price-drop since the GNex is in stores. so this option is more attractive now.

D2Dchris said:
I would not go for the Razr since the battery is pretty poor and not replaceable, although the Rarz maxx gives you plenty of juice.
I would prefer the GNex since it is the most advanced phone out there. Also it gives you a long period of rom-updates since its an development phone.
My second choice will be the SGS2, here in the Nederlands is has gone true an small price-drop since the GNex is in stores. so this option is more attractive now.
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wht i dont understand is that why would you say the razr's battery life is not good, according to almost all the test it came over galaxy nexus, actually galaxy nexus has the least battery life amongst all the phones i mentioned because of its high res screen. but the galaxy nexus's battery can be replaced so i guess that seems to be the best phone soo far

I would take the galaxy nexus too because you get all updates at first
Or you wait for the sony xperia s it will have a 1.5 ghz dual core processor it will come in march

phone
mytouch 4g

I would choose GS2 over Nexus. I am myself a GS2 user and played with galaxy nexus for some time. The very big difference between these two at first is the weight and user interface. Although it's possible to port ICS to galaxy S2 and yet it's very unstable compared to nexus. But on longer term, why GS2 over Nexus? I am an accessories lover and I like to have a cool unique looking phone. In my experience there still aren't a lot of cool accessories available for Nexus S. It's a new phone and the question is will there good looking accessories in the future. In my opinion, no there won't be. Like the previous model Nexus, the hype stays with the latest software, but no hype in expanding the use of it's phone in way of dressing the phone.
Little summary: GS2--> a lot of cases and accessories available. Gnex---> ICS
But hey, who knows maybe samsung comes with GS3 soon!!(expected in May)

An htc amaze is a nice phone
Sent from my Dell Streak 7 using XDA App

Hooride707 said:
An htc amaze is a nice phone
Sent from my Dell Streak 7 using XDA App
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The amaze is downright heavy bro

As a happy G2 owner i would say go for it. But the Nexus is pretty nice too. I was in love with the Razr until I saw it in store.

I would go with the SGS2 great phone with a huge dev community so lots of roms and lots of support. It's gonna be my next phone, unless htc really does come out with this quad core phone they keep leaking info on.

Try the Samsung Galaxy Note. Its the best of both worlds which is a smartphone and a tablet combine into 2. The 5.3 inch screen makes reading easier. Dual core at 1.4 GHz and can be easily rooted.

Buy SGS2. Great phone, having G9000 before, it was very goo, but has some performance issues. G9100 has solved it,working like charm, have Android 4.0.3 installed.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

Galaxy s2 it is than,,

pteols said:
Try the Samsung Galaxy Note. Its the best of both worlds which is a smartphone and a tablet combine into 2. The 5.3 inch screen makes reading easier. Dual core at 1.4 GHz and can be easily rooted.
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The note is out of the question,, nothing more than a bigger s2,, i dont see my self comfortably carrying that huge phone around if you know what i mean,,

AbirXtreme said:
wht i dont understand is that why would you say the razr's battery life is not good, according to almost all the test it came over galaxy nexus, actually galaxy nexus has the least battery life amongst all the phones i mentioned because of its high res screen. but the galaxy nexus's battery can be replaced so i guess that seems to be the best phone soo far
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The RAZR has a 680 mAh battery where the Nexus has a 1850 mah.
Better battery.
It really all depends on how you use it though.

Nexus!
Samsung Nexus has been one of the sexiest phones that I have ever owned. Straight Google support... can't beat that!

ValentineDROID said:
The RAZR has a 680 mAh battery where the Nexus has a 1850 mah.
Better battery.
It really all depends on how you use it though.
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thats some major wrong information you got there bro ,, the razr has a Li-Ion 1780 mAh battery and the galaxy s2 has a Li-Ion 1650 mAh battery,, and the nexus has Li-Ion 1750 mAh battery,, according to some global battery tests Galaxy s2 has the best battery life even with 1650 due to its lower pixel density compared to the razr and nexus,, the motorola droid razr comes in second and the nexus has the worst battery life of the lot,,(due to its massive screen and high pixel density), get you facts right bro, before you give information like that, and with 680 mah a dual core smart phone would not last half a day !!

I have a SGSII and I can recommend it. In the end for me it's about the hardware and the screen.
On the downside the battery is not great but it seems that all smartphones suffer from this.

skaapman101 said:
I have a SGSII and I can recommend it. In the end for me it's about the hardware and the screen.
On the downside the battery is not great but it seems that all smartphones suffer from this.
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The raze has almost the same specs and a higher pixel density super amoled screen, so would that be a better choice than the gs2?

I recommend the Galaxy Nexus. I mean what could be better than enjoying the pure Google experience? The GNexus has an awesome display and has the newest rom available from Android. You will be getting updates on this phone for a long time, and it will be up to par with other phones even when out of the 2 year contract. The Galaxy Nexus is the way to go.