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New phone?

Verizon sent me an update notification yesterday. I love my tbolt but am curious about things new. I'm not a fan of MOTO Blur so I'm not really into the Droid series unless someone convinces otherwise. It seems that's the only thing Verizon is promoting at the moment. Does HTC have a new monster release soon or do I need to settle? What is everyones opinion?

I didn't like the original Blur. Ninja, or whatever the launcher was called. New Blur is very sleak and pretty snappy, especially on a RAZR. My only issue with Motorola is the locked bootloader. Makes the developer scene kinda meh. I mean, HTC MIGHT be coming out with something big within the next couple months, but the Rezound is still holding pretty strong. Who knows, a new EVO is about to drop on Sprint, so maybe Verizon will get a taste of something.

According to phone arena HTC is supposed to be dropping a tb replacement in April. Obviously it's a rumor, but it wouldn't surprise me since they have talked about it since a month before the rezound dropped. I'm waiting till April to make my decision between the nexus and the new HTC phone that may or may not be coming. I have the TB and the bionic, and I HATE the bionic. As soon as the Ril is released and made compatible with twisted rom I may go back to the TB. Don't get anything moto, just my 0.02 oh, and I have more problems with lag and data on the bionic than I had with the TB.

They talked about it a month before the Rezound drop because it WAS the Rezound lol

Yeah, that's the reason they just wrote another article on it the other day talking about an April release date. I think it was code named the fireball, model number 6410. So yes, clearly it was the rezound. 6425.

I'm hanging on to my TBolt until something amazing comes out. When I leave my TBolt it's going to be for something that absolutely blows it away and something that shows great developer support.

I'm going back to tmobile as soon as my contract is up since the little lady and I can get on a family plan and cut down on the bills. I was offered a charge but no thanks!

Ryanmo5 said:
I'm going back to tmobile as soon as my contract is up since the little lady and I can get on a family plan and cut down on the bills. I was offered a charge but no thanks!
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Yep. Seems if you like Android, a GSM carrier (T-mo) is the way to go. I'm sticking with Big Red since they have LTE and I have unlimited data. As soon as they find a way to kill that, I'm out.

Ryanmo5 said:
I'm going back to tmobile as soon as my contract is up since the little lady and I can get on a family plan and cut down on the bills. I was offered a charge but no thanks!
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Say it ain't so!!
Sent from my HTC Mecha using xda premium

You said it perfectly.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt

mrkite38 said:
Yep. Seems if you like Android, a GSM carrier (T-mo) is the way to go. I'm sticking with Big Red since they have LTE and I have unlimited data. As soon as they find a way to kill that, I'm out.
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+1
sent from your moms room

I just got the RAZR MAXX last week, coming from the bolt, and am pretty happy with it. The new blur actually isn't bad at all. Definitely not as much on the dev side for it as the bolt, but we do have root and some custom ROMs, themeing and over clocking options. Also, we are rumored to be getting ICS this week! And even if that doesn't drop, there's a leaked version that you can load. Signal and battery life are excellent as well! Would I have paid $200+ for this phone with a 2 year contract? Probably not due to the locked bootloader! But for free...most certainly worth it!
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

The HTC One X just came out, or within the next week or so, on T-Mobile and I believe AT&T as well. IF a version comes out for Verizon, it will be HTC's flagship device of the year.
If I wasn't getting such a good deal with Verizon ($59.99 for unlimited data, text, and 450 mins), then I would probably switch to AT&T since they are pretty strong up here. US Cellular is my preferred choice of a carrier but they have horrible phones.

geoff5093 said:
The HTC One X just came out, or within the next week or so, on T-Mobile and I believe AT&T as well. IF a version comes out for Verizon, it will be HTC's flagship device of the year.
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Considering we get Flagship phones so late thanks to Verizon's over testing, we would get lucky if we get the One X before X-Mas.

The One X would probably be the first real tempting upgrade from the Thunderbolt. I doubt we'll see such a phone at Verizon though. We would have already heard the rumors.
The Incredible 4G will most likely be our closest counterpart of the One series.

Need advice on a new device!

So I currently have a Motorola Droid X2... I use cyanogenmod 7.2rc1 beta2 as a custom ROM. Besides that for stable ROMs it's really only eclipse 2.2, liberty, molten or stock 2.3.5 rooted. cm9/miui4 are both in alpha stages of development and have no working camera/data usage yet and mms is shotty as well as other glitches & bugs. having the locked bootloader and all. Plus we don't get official ICS :banghead::thumbdown:
I had a few questions... First off, my 2 year contract with Verizon Wireless USA is over in December however I am eligible for an upgrade in August. I think I remember reading somewhere after all these VZW/MOTO shenanigans you can get a free 3g upgrade, if eligible, but need to renew contract for a 4g device. I'm obviously very confused by these changes and need clarification.. Basically what I'm asking is, would I be able to cop a new phone in August without having to re-up my contract? Use the upgrade for the remaining months and then sell it along with my X2? Not sure how that works and honestly I don't want to call Verizon about it until I'm due for my upgrade.
Moving on to my next problem. I am going to need a new carrier/phone. I figure since sprint still has unlimited data and their service in my area isn't that bad compared to Verizon, I'll probably sign with them. As far as actual devices are concerned, I will only buy a phone with an unlocked bootloader. Since Motorola failed to live up to their promise of unlocking their bootloaders by the end of 2011, and their overall customer support, I am not interested in purchasing any Moto phones.
Which brings me back to Sprint, lol. I know several people who have been on Sprint for a long time and tell me they're okay as long as you don't break your phone. I've heard countless horror stories of friends/family having to jump through countless hoops just to get their defective phone replaced. I've already left AT&T and will never go back to them so my options are pretty limited. I can deal with less than perfect customer support from time to time as long as I have reliable service and a reliable phone I can hack.
I've been looking at the Dinc2, since my friend has one. I know that's unlocked already. I've heard a lot of fuss over its pentile screen, but that honestly doesn't bother me much. So that can be taken into consideration as well.
I appreciate any opinions you can personally offer as to an awesome, unlocked phone, decent carriers as well as new phone releases you are looking forward to. I'd love to hear what unlocked devices you guys have as well as your favorite custom ROMs for them.
Thanks!
Cyanogenmod all day

Well, if you upgrade your phone, you're more than likely going to have to re-up your contract for an additional 2 years. As of right now, for Verizon, I would probably look at the HTC Rezound, or Incredible 4G. If you go to Sprint, I would look at the Evo 4G LTE (HTC One for Sprint), or the Evo Design 4G, but by December, you'll also have the Galaxy S3 to consider. I'm biased towards HTC phones personally, but those are the options I would look at.

I forgot to mention I'm on a family plan with unlimited data...
Sent from my MB870 using XDA

I can't really suggest a phone but I read that you mentioned people having problems with Sprint with getting phones replaced after they get broke.
My sister is good at messing phones up and with the $8 a month insurance you basically can hardball any phone at a wall and they will replace it for $100. I think the one thing is you just never say that you did anything wrong and most sprint stores don't care. They have gotten much better. Whatever you do don't break your phone without insurance because they wont touch the phone in fear you might swear they broke it. Get the phone insured from day one if you are accident prone. That is about all the advice I can give. They have good phones and have good service (not verizon service but still good.)

Yeah, I treat these phones like royalty. Basically it's just a computer in the palm of my hand... Accidents do happen though and I always protect all devices with insurance.
I was in Sprint once with a friend of mine. Keep in mind he wasn't a smartphone owner, but this wasn't too long ago. He had a flip phone and he wanted it replaced. It was his 4th device experiencing the same hardware problems. When we got in there Sprint did pretty much everything in their power to make sure he did not leave with a brand new replacement. They went as far as to literally take the phone apart - right in front of us - and replace internal hardware. They'd put it back together and he'd show them it still wasn't working and they would try replacing something else.
Two and a half hours later of playing with the display evo and listening to "No I don't want you to fix it I want a new phone" and "Here, maybe this will fix it, let's give it a try..." we were finally out of there. They did not give a replacement that day. Just "fixed" it. Until we got back to his house. The very next day I was there when he called customer support. They gave him the business over the phone and were 0 help. We went back to the sprint store and finally got his replacement. I think the only reason they even actually helped him with a new device is because he was mad enough to break every display case and cell phone in the place - and they knew it. It wasn't like a "here let me help you get this resolved so you can enjoy your phone and service!!" Kinda deal it was more like "get him a new phone from the back so he doesn't make a scene and gets the hell out of my store" thing .... As we were leaving, the female rep not only told us we were lucky we even got a replacement in the first place- she did it in a snobby, attitude riddled tone of voice.
For reference this is when I was thinking of terminating vzw early and jumping to sprint. My friend told me sprint is full of people who either don't give two damns or are just plain stupid. He took me along to give me an idea of what I was in for. Needless to say I didn't switch.....
Sent from my MB870 using XDA

[Q] Going from Galaxy Nexus to SGS3 Verizon?

So I currently own a galaxy nexus but after playing around with the S3 in stores, I'm really sold on it. However, I do not want to pay the unlocked price for this device. Currently my Gnex is rooted and unlocked but since I have factory images, I can relock my phone and flash the images and I will technically be back under warranty. I talked to a verizon rep about a screen issue on my Gnex and they are prepared to give me a brand new Gnex to trade for my older one. My question is, is it possible that I can convince them to give me a galaxy s3 instead since I paid 300 for my nexus?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

if you replace it three times in 6 months, they will change devices. or the device needs to be discontinued. they are just going to ship you a warranty replacement, you arent getting a new phone

So basically if I can get my replacement to get screen burn in, and the replacement to that to get screen burn in, I can switch devices? challenge accepted.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

You can certainly do what you want, but purposefully getting multiple phones replaced does not sound like the right thing to do, IMO. Doing so drives up the cost for everyone else. I would suggest either just pay the full price if you want the GS3 so badly, or... you could always use the upgrade from another line or open a new line and then just switch the phone to your line and put a dummy phone on the new line. Those are both legitimate ways of getting the new phone at the subsidized price. Since the GNex is still available, I highly doubt you're going to get them to give you a GS3 in place of the GNex.
Personally, I kept my GNex when upgrading to the GS3 because I still want to use the GNex to hack and install the newest updates from Google. It's easy to swap the sim between the GS3 and GNex.

Upgrading from a VZW Gnex to a a VZW S3, and I have 2 questions.

1) Are there any potential drawbacks to getting a "developer" Verizon S3 over a normal off-contract Verizon S3? I would get a 32 gb pebble blue either way, I heard that the developer edition is just the normal one with an unlocked bootloader, and I noticed that on Samsung's website the developer version is $50 less for some reason. Why would it cost $50 less for your phone to with an unlocked bootloader? I read some old threads about the normal version "having a bigger community." Huh? The developer edition wouldn't be incompatible with anything that the normal phone isn't, right?
2) Just to be sure, I will be able to take my sim card out of my gnex and put it in my S3 and that won't interfere with my Verizon plan, right? I'm not sure if it's relevant but I don't have unlimited data or anything, just a normal plan.

Wallace_Brownie said:
1) Are there any potential drawbacks to getting a "developer" Verizon S3 over a normal off-contract Verizon S3? I would get a 32 gb pebble blue either way, I heard that the developer edition is just the normal one with an unlocked bootloader, and I noticed that on Samsung's website the developer version is $50 less for some reason. Why would it cost $50 less for your phone to with an unlocked bootloader? I read some old threads about the normal version "having a bigger community." Huh? The developer edition wouldn't be incompatible with anything that the normal phone isn't, right?
2) Just to be sure, I will be able to take my sim card out of my gnex and put it in my S3 and that won't interfere with my Verizon plan, right? I'm not sure if it's relevant but I don't have unlimited data or anything, just a normal plan.
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A developer edition will have support through Samsung, not Verizon. Have problems - send to Samsung and be without a phone for weeks. You can unlock the bootloader easily and then return to stock if needed for warranty repair. Verizon phone here. I bought a certified used Samsung G3 off of Verizon's website for $450 (32GB).
Yes - take SIM out of old phone, put into new phone, boot it up. I just did this a few weeks ago.

I made the switch and im iffy about it. I do miss my gnex but in time the gs3 will shine
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

I made the switch from a G.Nex to GS3 & I couldn't be happier.
The entire hardware system of the GS3 owns the G.Nex in every single way. Plus, there is a rich enough dev community for the GS3 to make me not miss ASOP on the G.Nex.
I thought I would hate TouchWiz, but I quickly came to really like it. It is in no way laggy or cumbersome, like most people complain about.
As far as getting a Developer version, that is wasted money, since you can unlock the bootloader yourself in under 5 minutes. Unlock/root/custom rom. No issues.

I switched from a Gnex to the S3 as well, best decision I ever made. And yeah as previously mentioned the process for unlocking the bootloader is extremely simple thanks to the great devs we have working on our device. I would just say go with whatever version is cheaper

No input on the first question.
Yes, just take your sim card out of the gnex and put it into the s3. It's that easy.
as far as the two phones are concerned, the S3 is insanely better/faster as far as hardware is concerned. The GNex owns the S3 in terms of AOSP compatibility. There are little nuances that don't work on the S3 like some of the power toggles, etc. That said, i'm sticking with CM10 because I do not like touchwiz at all.

thanks for the info guys, I feel more confident in my decision to make the switch.
My last important question though is: You can get an off-contract phone insured, right?

FYI i bought an unsubsidized (off contract) SGS3 for $500 including otterbox and sdcard.
As long have vzw as for carrier you can purchase insurance from them. I'm sure they'd love your money.
Sent from my CM10 Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2

I brought my GS3 from eBay for over $300. It had a small cream on the screen, but it was the 32gb version. I'm happy I made the switch. Just sold my Gnex on Craigslist 2 days ago. On the day I sold my nexus I accidently dropped the GS3 I had insurance on my phone line and got it replaced for $100.
The GS3 has some great roms available. It is very easy to root and if you mess any thing up you can always flash a stock room with Odin.
Real Life usage has been way better than the nexus. I look forward to this upgrade next year. The phone rocks with the extra ram. When they release the quad core version next year with 2gb ram, this phone will be even greater.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using xda app-developers app

They main difference for me when switching to the s3 was battery life. I get through a full day with the s3 when the gnex with extended battery would be dead by 3pm. That makes the s3 infinitely better for me. Also the camera is much better.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Wife went from a Nexus to a gs3. Better signal in her area at work (0% tws gs3 vs 20% tws nexus every day) and battery life. Not to mention the phone is just better all around for her.

Old guy buying technology needs help finding phone.

I know this is will more than likely be wide open to opinion but I am gonna give it a try. I have rooted and messed around with several phones in the past so I am kinda hip on things but it has been a long time and seems as though now I am light years behind the times so here I am seeking opinions on my possible next phone.
What I was "rocking" a Motarola M XT907 fully rooted w/custom rom. Seems like I had my old friend since I was a lad but now it has given up the ghost and put to pasture. So now I have a temp XT907 NON rooted, fully updated, all stock and has a cracked camera lens. I searched and found it might still be able to be rooted but may involve spending money (not sure on all this). So if I am going to spend any $$ on a phone I thought I would go for a different one unless I can get this thing to my needs. So here are my needs 1.) Must be usable with Verizon, 2) able to have free (non subscription) wireless tethering capabilities.
That's pretty much it for necessities. If this one can still be made to do that great, if not or not feasible to do so what would be the best phone to get to be able to do this. Also I don't want a HUGE phone but a little bigger would be fine. Also buying outright so not to give up any data plan so cheapest way to go would be a huge +.
Thanks all and remember to be kind

Your Criteria of Size does tend to reduce the options. But I guess you know that already.
First Criteria, being able to work with VZW. That's pretty easy, especially considering you are going to buy it outright. What you are looking at is a phone that is marketed as for Verizon network. Or is "Unlocked". Just so we get the terms right, a unlocked phone represents a device that was originally meant for a different carrier but can now be under on Any Carrier. Some phones are Factory Unlocked by the Manufacturer. That means the same thing. Phones sold for Verizon Network are "Locked" to that Carrier and will only work with that Carrier's active account. Now Verizon has some attractive offers, you might want to consider those too.
As to your Other criteria of Tether, depending on which phone you are getting, the phone will have Out of Box tether capability. Now, I personally do not have experience on Verizon Network, but with other Carriers, you do get Tether enabled out out box. Only thing is, it costs extra per month. However If you are willing to Root, whatever phone you choose, you can add Tether Capability without monthly charges.
So that brings us to main question, which phone ? Your current Droid Razr is 4.82 x 2.40 x 0.33 in. The phones relatively similar sized and come to mind in no particular order are
Nexus 5 - All time favorite phone with several people, especially since its a Nexus. It comes factory unlocked and is pretty versatile. Released in 2013, its not the latest either but is only slightly bigger.
HTC One M9 - Released in April 2015, this is pretty newish phone. I am not that familiar with it, to say for a fact if it offers Tether. You might want to ask that question here if you wish. It too has people who swear by it.
Samsung Galaxy S4 - Its a 2012 phone, not the very latest but extremely rugged and decent jump from your Razr. The Galaxy s4 or s5 are better options but are larger sized. Also there's potential trouble of not being able to Root later versions of Samsung Phones. So trade carefully. If in doubt ask.
There are several other phones that come to my mind. however, they don't fit into either criteria so Skipping them for now.
You might be able to browse these phones either in BestBuy or elsewhere. All of phones mentioned above can be obtained on ebay or amazon. Should you choose to go with a preowned one, you can consider our sister site swappa.com
As you said, each person has a different opinion and you will get a plethora of opinions. the above is my 2 cents.

Perseus said:
Your Criteria of Size does tend to reduce the options. But I guess you know that already.
First Criteria, being able to work with VZW. That's pretty easy, especially considering you are going to buy it outright. What you are looking at is a phone that is marketed as for Verizon network. Or is "Unlocked". Just so we get the terms right, a unlocked phone represents a device that was originally meant for a different carrier but can now be under on Any Carrier. Some phones are Factory Unlocked by the Manufacturer. That means the same thing. Phones sold for Verizon Network are "Locked" to that Carrier and will only work with that Carrier's active account. Now Verizon has some attractive offers, you might want to consider those too.
As to your Other criteria of Tether, depending on which phone you are getting, the phone will have Out of Box tether capability. Now, I personally do not have experience on Verizon Network, but with other Carriers, you do get Tether enabled out out box. Only thing is, it costs extra per month. However If you are willing to Root, whatever phone you choose, you can add Tether Capability without monthly charges.
So that brings us to main question, which phone ? Your current Droid Razr is 4.82 x 2.40 x 0.33 in. The phones relatively similar sized and come to mind in no particular order are
Nexus 5 - All time favorite phone with several people, especially since its a Nexus. It comes factory unlocked and is pretty versatile. Released in 2013, its not the latest either but is only slightly bigger.
HTC One M9 - Released in April 2015, this is pretty newish phone. I am not that familiar with it, to say for a fact if it offers Tether. You might want to ask that question here if you wish. It too has people who swear by it.
Samsung Galaxy S4 - Its a 2012 phone, not the very latest but extremely rugged and decent jump from your Razr. The Galaxy s4 or s5 are better options but are larger sized. Also there's potential trouble of not being able to Root later versions of Samsung Phones. So trade carefully. If in doubt ask.
There are several other phones that come to my mind. however, they don't fit into either criteria so Skipping them for now.
You might be able to browse these phones either in BestBuy or elsewhere. All of phones mentioned above can be obtained on ebay or amazon. Should you choose to go with a preowned one, you can consider our sister site swappa.com
As you said, each person has a different opinion and you will get a plethora of opinions. the above is my 2 cents.
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Appreciate the reply, Used is not a problem. I'm not afraid to root and I guess that's why I came here some phones have a lot more options, (rom's , tether work arounds) or in general more dev interest than others. About the only two things I do on a phone these days are use it for home internet service (unlimited data with no tethering service plan) and talking to my friend google. Looks like the M9 may be a fit. Thanks again.

malloneem said:
Appreciate the reply, Used is not a problem. I'm not afraid to root and I guess that's why I came here some phones have a lot more options, (rom's , tether work arounds) or in general more dev interest than others. About the only two things I do on a phone these days are use it for home internet service (unlimited data with no tethering service plan) and talking to my friend google. Looks like the M9 may be a fit. Thanks again.
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If you are talking about Developer interest and Rom choices, I think any of the Nexus would be your better bet. As to the M9, there are 8 LP Roms and 6 MM roms that I see over here. Seems like Decent Choice to me. Wish you well.