Can you help me evaluate Verizon’s phone upgrade options?
January 29, 2015 2:24 PM Subscribe
My Droid Razr M recently went kerplunk, and boy, do I hate the phone upgrade process. Basically I want to have a working phone again as quickly as possible with as little lost data as possible with as little time spent on this as possible. I don’t relish this as an opportunity to get a new fun toy, but if you would, please live vicariously through me!
I tried both the cache wipe and factory reset options described in the link above and neither worked.
Here are my upgrade options: http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/2ypricea/
Can you tell me anything about any of them, good or bad? Objective reviews or comparison articles are good too. I've been looking at the CNET overviews.
This is the second Motorola I’ve had. I was happy with the first one (Motorola Droid X), but not so much with the second one: It seemed buggier – missed calls and texts, poor battery life.
I plan to go to the store and play with the phones, but here’s my user profile:
- I do not care about customizing and tinkering with the phone. I have never rooted my Android devices. I don’t want to.
- I drop my phone a lot, sans case. It worries me to see how many people are walking around with cracked iPhone screens. My Motorolas held up well to this abuse.
- I’m not sure how I would feel about an iPhone’s interface in the long term. I find my iPod easy to use but find Macbooks mystifying and not at all intuitive.
- I use the camera a lot.
- I use all three major communications functions of my phone (voice, text, data) a lot. Reliability with all three is important to me.
- I use Google maps a lot.
- I don’t play music or stream videos on my phone.
- I do not play games on the phone.
- I read webpages frequently on the phone but not books.
- I prefer to get one of the free options, but if it’s really worth it to drop a couple hundred on something, I’m willing to not be pennywise and pound foolish.
- This should last the full two years until my next upgrade.
- I drain my battery daily and have taken to carrying around a battery pack, though part of this was the phone’s performance degrading toward the end.
- I use a few apps but never had the experience of not being able to find the one I wanted for Android.
- I do not want an enormous phone that is basically a mini tablet.
Bonus question: I have been with Verizon a long time, and my experience has been that the reps in the store could not give less of a shit, but the people on the phone are generally happy to help you find ways to save money and are generous with things like credits to your bill. Consequently, I was not really going to try to angle for anything when renewing my contract, but should I? Overall I find Verizon way too expensive, and I find the low data cap (2GB) particularly obnoxious given what I am paying, but I travel to the sticks just frequently enough that I’m afraid to switch. They seem to have the best coverage there, and, as I said, reliability is important.
Thanks.
I tried both the cache wipe and factory reset options described in the link above and neither worked.
Here are my upgrade options: http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/2ypricea/
Can you tell me anything about any of them, good or bad? Objective reviews or comparison articles are good too. I've been looking at the CNET overviews.
This is the second Motorola I’ve had. I was happy with the first one (Motorola Droid X), but not so much with the second one: It seemed buggier – missed calls and texts, poor battery life.
I plan to go to the store and play with the phones, but here’s my user profile:
- I do not care about customizing and tinkering with the phone. I have never rooted my Android devices. I don’t want to.
- I drop my phone a lot, sans case. It worries me to see how many people are walking around with cracked iPhone screens. My Motorolas held up well to this abuse.
- I’m not sure how I would feel about an iPhone’s interface in the long term. I find my iPod easy to use but find Macbooks mystifying and not at all intuitive.
- I use the camera a lot.
- I use all three major communications functions of my phone (voice, text, data) a lot. Reliability with all three is important to me.
- I use Google maps a lot.
- I don’t play music or stream videos on my phone.
- I do not play games on the phone.
- I read webpages frequently on the phone but not books.
- I prefer to get one of the free options, but if it’s really worth it to drop a couple hundred on something, I’m willing to not be pennywise and pound foolish.
- This should last the full two years until my next upgrade.
- I drain my battery daily and have taken to carrying around a battery pack, though part of this was the phone’s performance degrading toward the end.
- I use a few apps but never had the experience of not being able to find the one I wanted for Android.
- I do not want an enormous phone that is basically a mini tablet.
Bonus question: I have been with Verizon a long time, and my experience has been that the reps in the store could not give less of a shit, but the people on the phone are generally happy to help you find ways to save money and are generous with things like credits to your bill. Consequently, I was not really going to try to angle for anything when renewing my contract, but should I? Overall I find Verizon way too expensive, and I find the low data cap (2GB) particularly obnoxious given what I am paying, but I travel to the sticks just frequently enough that I’m afraid to switch. They seem to have the best coverage there, and, as I said, reliability is important.
Thanks.
I'm with Verizon, have the HTC One M8 and love it. Battery life is great (I use my phone a little more than it sounds like you do, but for basic phoning/pics/texting and the occasional web surfing/navigation session I can easily get almost two full days out of my phone's battery), the HTC Sense interface that comes with it isn't intrusive and can be turned off if you really don't like it, and it's big-but-not-mammoth.
posted by pdb at 3:27 PM on January 29, 2015
posted by pdb at 3:27 PM on January 29, 2015
Motorola still makes great phones. i haven't run in to a single person who didn't like the new 2nd gen moto x.
It's cheap on any of the deals there, because it has a low actual purchase price. it's well made, feels nice, and has a pretty good to great everything.
The HTC M8 is a great phone and i almost got one a while back, but the camera is just terrible. The M9 is also coming out in just a few weeks, although it'll cost more.
if you care about the camera a lot, i'd say buy an iphone. iphones aren't more breakable than other phones, people are just more careless with them. i've had them since their inception and have never shattered one.
I prefer to get one of the free options, but if it’s really worth it to drop a couple hundred on something, I’m willing to not be pennywise and pound foolish.
- This should last the full two years until my next upgrade.
none of the free ones are worth signing a 2 year contract on. they're all cheapos or outdated already and would be showing their age very badly in 2 years.
The only "older" phone i think will age well on there is the iphone 5s. It's still faster than 90% of the phones out there(and only like, 20% slower than the new 6), has a top of the line camera, and is generally a great phone. It'll run solidly with newer software for a few more years yet.
So yea, i'd say you want either the moto x or the iphone 5s. i've owned other ones that are the same price on there(like the LG G3) and they had downsides you don't want, like for example being gigantic.
One thing i can say for the M8 if you try it and like it, is that you get a free screen replacement within the first six months if you accidentally break it... and it's very VERY well made. It feels, if anything, like it's built even nicer than the iphone.
I wouldn't use any of the mentioned phones besides MAYBE the M8 without some sort of light thin case. Falling face down is what breaks phones mostly, and a case with a small lip will save you ever time. I've used very light cases, with that lip, on most of my phones. Verizon often gives you half off on a case if you get a new phone, which makes them as cheap as on amazon or whatever and generally worth just buying there(also you can check them out in person and see if you hate them).
Oh and lastly,
I drain my battery daily and have taken to carrying around a battery pack, though part of this was the phone’s performance degrading toward the end.
I chose the phones i did because they have very good battery life. iPhones typically win most battery life battles, especially for stuff like reading a lot. The moto x also has nice battery life(and can be cheated in to running longer by reading white text on black, because the type of screen it uses only needs to power lit pixels)
Also, i have used both platforms a lot. I currently have an iphone 6. The battery life, and consistency of both the keyboard and scrolling behavior in the browser(especially when reading long things, or rotating the phone, or whatever) just feel superior to me.
For what it's worth, i also agree about the durability of motorolas though. I would feel comfortable using a moto x mk2 without a case probably. I don't think i would with an iphone, or most other phones. It just FEELS really strong. It would be susceptible to the face down plop problem though.
The iphone 5 is small and pocketable but has a decent sized screen. The moto x isn't a huge tablet slab, but it's larger. It's nicer to read stuff on, but definitely try it out and see if you want a phone that size. The M8 is slightly smaller. Most android phones are moto x sized now though(except for crap ones that aren't worth buying), you can't really get around that.
posted by emptythought at 5:00 PM on January 29, 2015
It's cheap on any of the deals there, because it has a low actual purchase price. it's well made, feels nice, and has a pretty good to great everything.
The HTC M8 is a great phone and i almost got one a while back, but the camera is just terrible. The M9 is also coming out in just a few weeks, although it'll cost more.
if you care about the camera a lot, i'd say buy an iphone. iphones aren't more breakable than other phones, people are just more careless with them. i've had them since their inception and have never shattered one.
I prefer to get one of the free options, but if it’s really worth it to drop a couple hundred on something, I’m willing to not be pennywise and pound foolish.
- This should last the full two years until my next upgrade.
none of the free ones are worth signing a 2 year contract on. they're all cheapos or outdated already and would be showing their age very badly in 2 years.
The only "older" phone i think will age well on there is the iphone 5s. It's still faster than 90% of the phones out there(and only like, 20% slower than the new 6), has a top of the line camera, and is generally a great phone. It'll run solidly with newer software for a few more years yet.
So yea, i'd say you want either the moto x or the iphone 5s. i've owned other ones that are the same price on there(like the LG G3) and they had downsides you don't want, like for example being gigantic.
One thing i can say for the M8 if you try it and like it, is that you get a free screen replacement within the first six months if you accidentally break it... and it's very VERY well made. It feels, if anything, like it's built even nicer than the iphone.
I wouldn't use any of the mentioned phones besides MAYBE the M8 without some sort of light thin case. Falling face down is what breaks phones mostly, and a case with a small lip will save you ever time. I've used very light cases, with that lip, on most of my phones. Verizon often gives you half off on a case if you get a new phone, which makes them as cheap as on amazon or whatever and generally worth just buying there(also you can check them out in person and see if you hate them).
Oh and lastly,
I drain my battery daily and have taken to carrying around a battery pack, though part of this was the phone’s performance degrading toward the end.
I chose the phones i did because they have very good battery life. iPhones typically win most battery life battles, especially for stuff like reading a lot. The moto x also has nice battery life(and can be cheated in to running longer by reading white text on black, because the type of screen it uses only needs to power lit pixels)
Also, i have used both platforms a lot. I currently have an iphone 6. The battery life, and consistency of both the keyboard and scrolling behavior in the browser(especially when reading long things, or rotating the phone, or whatever) just feel superior to me.
For what it's worth, i also agree about the durability of motorolas though. I would feel comfortable using a moto x mk2 without a case probably. I don't think i would with an iphone, or most other phones. It just FEELS really strong. It would be susceptible to the face down plop problem though.
The iphone 5 is small and pocketable but has a decent sized screen. The moto x isn't a huge tablet slab, but it's larger. It's nicer to read stuff on, but definitely try it out and see if you want a phone that size. The M8 is slightly smaller. Most android phones are moto x sized now though(except for crap ones that aren't worth buying), you can't really get around that.
posted by emptythought at 5:00 PM on January 29, 2015
- I drop my phone a lot, sans case.
Get a case and a screen protector.
I recommend the LG G2, which is what I have, with a Trident Cyclops Case and a tempered glass screen protector. While I have rooted my phone and installed the CloudyG3 ROM, the stock ROM is actually pretty good. I like my G2 so much that when my company "upgraded" me to a Samsung Galaxy S5, I ended up switching back to my G2 (personally I'd avoid any Samsung device, YMMV). So I'm stuck with this phone for at least another year, probably 2, and I'm fine with that.
The camera's been great (though I did shell out for the XCam LG Settings app).
I've never had issues with texts, calls, or data. (It's a T-mobile phone that's now on AT&T's network).
Google maps has worked perfectly the few times I've used it.
Music doesn't sound so great, but that shouldn't bother you.
Chrome, Firefox, and Dolphin all work smoothly.
My battery life dropped off some switching to AT&T (and Verizon would probably be worse). But I still end most days around 40%. Including 1-2 hours of GPS (runkeeper/ingress) use.
As emptythought mentioned, most Android phones are trending up in size. To compensate for this, LG has a one handed operation setting that allows you to shift the keyboard and/or keypad right or left.
Of course my favorite feature of the LG G2 is the Knock On/Off. The KnockCode is pretty cool too.
posted by zinon at 6:27 PM on January 29, 2015
Get a case and a screen protector.
I recommend the LG G2, which is what I have, with a Trident Cyclops Case and a tempered glass screen protector. While I have rooted my phone and installed the CloudyG3 ROM, the stock ROM is actually pretty good. I like my G2 so much that when my company "upgraded" me to a Samsung Galaxy S5, I ended up switching back to my G2 (personally I'd avoid any Samsung device, YMMV). So I'm stuck with this phone for at least another year, probably 2, and I'm fine with that.
The camera's been great (though I did shell out for the XCam LG Settings app).
I've never had issues with texts, calls, or data. (It's a T-mobile phone that's now on AT&T's network).
Google maps has worked perfectly the few times I've used it.
Music doesn't sound so great, but that shouldn't bother you.
Chrome, Firefox, and Dolphin all work smoothly.
My battery life dropped off some switching to AT&T (and Verizon would probably be worse). But I still end most days around 40%. Including 1-2 hours of GPS (runkeeper/ingress) use.
As emptythought mentioned, most Android phones are trending up in size. To compensate for this, LG has a one handed operation setting that allows you to shift the keyboard and/or keypad right or left.
Of course my favorite feature of the LG G2 is the Knock On/Off. The KnockCode is pretty cool too.
posted by zinon at 6:27 PM on January 29, 2015
Previous Droid Razr M user here. I liked the form factor of the Razr M but the battery life and bugginess drove me nuts. But I did enjoy the Motorola functionalities.
I went with the Droid Turbo. I thought it would be too big, and it is at times, but the battery life is AMAZING. Add wireless charging and a few of the Moto touches and its my all time favorite phone. Check it out, but for battery life nothing else comes close.
posted by wile e at 6:46 PM on January 30, 2015
I went with the Droid Turbo. I thought it would be too big, and it is at times, but the battery life is AMAZING. Add wireless charging and a few of the Moto touches and its my all time favorite phone. Check it out, but for battery life nothing else comes close.
posted by wile e at 6:46 PM on January 30, 2015
I went with the Droid Turbo. I thought it would be too big, and it is at times, but the battery life is AMAZING.
I can second this. I play a location-aware phone game that's infamous for how quickly it can kill a battery, as it requires the screen to be on constantly, while rendering 3D particle effects, using mobile data constantly, while having the GPS in high accuracy mode. Under those worst case scenario conditions, I still get like 3-4 hours on one charge on my Droid Turbo (ok, I actually have the international version, the Moto Maxx, but it's essentially the same phone, minus the Verizon branding).
posted by radwolf76 at 8:49 PM on February 1, 2015
I can second this. I play a location-aware phone game that's infamous for how quickly it can kill a battery, as it requires the screen to be on constantly, while rendering 3D particle effects, using mobile data constantly, while having the GPS in high accuracy mode. Under those worst case scenario conditions, I still get like 3-4 hours on one charge on my Droid Turbo (ok, I actually have the international version, the Moto Maxx, but it's essentially the same phone, minus the Verizon branding).
posted by radwolf76 at 8:49 PM on February 1, 2015
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I would buy a case and screen protector though.
It's a big phone, but not a "phablet" like the Galaxy Note or whatever. I'm a big guy with big hands and big pockets most of the time, so ymmv.
My battery lasts a long time. Today I streamed some music, played some light games, surfed the web, made a couple calls and have 66% left after about ten hours. I will consistently go a day and a half or two days without charging.
Anyway, I like it. Regardless of how you go about this, just DO NOT get talked into the Edge program. It is a complete rip off and honestly sort of disgusting.
posted by papayaninja at 3:25 PM on January 29, 2015 [1 favorite]