Help me pick my next Android Phone

[darkufo]

Hi,

I currently have a Nexus One phone but I'm finding myself running a little low on the internal memory so I thought it was time to get myself a new phone.

My current contract runs out in November.

There are just so many to choose from.

So I was wondering if the people here could help recommend me a new phone.

I don't actually us the phone much as a phone but I still need a half decent one in terms of Phone and Messaging.

I mostly use my phone for email/google reader, and a variety of apps eg Tweetdeck, Google Maps, Google+, Tapatalk etc

I'd like ideally a dual-core one with a slightly bigger screen than my Nexus as well as having more internal memory etc.

I also use apps such as Maps/Calender/Remember the Milk, Google Docs, Lastpass, etc

I'd like it to come with 2.3.3 or 2.2 if an upgrade is forthcoming.

I'm also UK based.

Cost is no real issues, within reason as this will be a business expense.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

One phone that was recommended to me was the HTC Sensation. This looks like a great phone but are there any better?

 

[El Presidente]

If you've to wait until November, you might want to check out the Nexus Prime?

 

[darkufo]

Thanks again EL. I was under the impression that the Prime was single and not dual core. I could not find a lot of reliable info on the Prime. I guess we need to wait for official spec sheets to be released.

Are there any others comparable or better, in your opinion, than the HTC Sensation?

 

[El Presidente]

Hello again!

There's speculation about the rumoured spec of the phone here: http://androidforums.com/nexus-prim...tions-rumors-thread-updated-specs-9-15-a.html

It's Dual Core by all accounts and as it's strongly suspected to run Ice Cream Sandwich (Google's latest OS), I think it would be fair to assume it will be a dual core. That's the current trend with new smart phones so Google will want it to be as close to (if not better) specs than the top handsets on the market.

I like the look of the Sensation, but everyone says the Samsung Galaxy S2 is the phone to beat at the moment. Which country are you from? The Bionic is meant to be pretty good too, but it's not out in the UK yet.

 

[darkufo]

Thanks EL

Yep, from the UK. I agree it would seem odd that Google would not want the best of breed for it's flagship.

I've had the Nexus One since day one and still love it although the memory is the main issue with it and I have to keep moving stuff to SD, Clearing Cache and removing apps lol.

If the Nexus Prime is coming out around then and is available in the UK I think it might be the phone for me once I've checked the specs etc.

I've had a look at the Bionic stuff and it does look pretty nifty

The thing I love about the Nexus is that there is no bloatware, it's pure vanilla android. I suspect Bionic comes with a lot of "candy"

 

[El Presidente]

Hopefully all that sort of thing won't be an issue with the Prime

Yeah, the Bionic would come with Motorolas Motoblur overlay. A lot of major manufacturers do it, HTC have their own one called Sense, Samsung calls theirs Touchwiz. Sense does add some nice apps and touches, but like yourself, I much prefer the vanilla Android experience (although I wish I could have the sense camera on CM7!)

 

[darkufo]

Thanks again for all the info, much appreciated.

How easy is it to remove things like Touchwiz and Sense etc. Would I need to root?

 

[El Presidente]

Yeah, you'd need root and a custom ROM to remove them fully. You get Launchers (ADW, Launcher Pro, Go Launcher) which customise the way the handset looks and operates, but the manufacturers overlay still be there, just not actively running. Does that make sense?

 

[darkufo]

Perfect, yes

 

[chanchan05]

TW isnt actually adviseable to be removed just like that. It has too many dependencies. You need to find out which parts to remove, but wont it be easier to just not use it?

 

[darkufo]

Thanks chanchan05, I would probably leave them on anyway as I don't like to root my phone. I'll probably try to find a vanilla android phone which I hope the Nexus Prime will provide.