I'm very hard on my phones. They seem to all last about a year before slowly ceasing to function. I was a Blackberry addict until I got a Droid 2, and then last year a Samsung Charge. On both Androids, performance was great initially, but over time things just stop working.
For example, on the Charge, I can't get any charger to physically remain seated and actually charge the Charge. I'll be across the room and hear it beeping low-battery-charge-me, on-charger, low-battery, repeat. I'm not even touching it. I've tried other microUSB chargers, same problem. If I wrap the cord around it tightly and set something heavy on top, I can still get it to charge, but it's getting ridiculous.
The GPS hardly works at all. It worked fine in the beginning; now, it takes forever to set up, and other people with me in the same place have no trouble locating. I have tried turning on all the possible assistance for location, but GPS now just stinks compared to other devices around me (including the history of this device). I assume it's been dropped one too many times.
Using the camera often hangs the system. Sometimes I wait several minutes and get nothing, and wind up having to pull the battery to get my phone back. Happens less often with a different camera app I tried (Vignette) but still does occur.
Random reboots occur when I least expect it. Happens more and more often. I'll be working, and boom, reboot.
Battery life is abysmal. I have an extended battery and it runs dry in very, very light use in half a day. I've gone through several batteries on this phone, and yes, it's better initially, a little, but not by much. Most of the battery is chewed up by display, even though it's on the dimmest setting all the time and I leave it on for as short a time as possible (defeating the fun in having a device like this).
I've rebuilt from factory settings a number of times, and I'm currently running Ninja (so that I could kill the verizon bloatware and hopefully improve things). Sadly, the problems seem to be hardware, and they get worse, and worse, and worse.
My work depends on having a phone readily available, 24/7. Between work and life, I need a good GPS, a great, speedy camera, reliable bluetooth, and fast response times. I switch between apps often and hate the lag time that accompanies that now (and the usual, but not always, total reload of the app when I do). I have the unlimited data on Verizon until they decide they really are getting rid of it forever, so I'm stuck paying full time for a device. But having a good phone is crucial to being able to work from anywhere, so that's OK.
I really miss the real keyboard on the droid 2. Swype's OK, but the beta of the new version introduces a lot I really don't like. For that reason alone, I seriously consider the Droid 4. I avoided the 3 and got the Charge because the specs just weren't there for the Droid 3. But I type SO MUCH into my phone that I miss that keyboard quite a bit.
I will root the phone. I can't stand the thought of paying an additional $40/mo to be a wifi hotspot for five or ten minutes a few times a year. The phone has the capability to do it, and dammit, I should be able to do it without paying a ridiculous fee for it. And the bloatware, oh the bloatware, I just can't stand seeing Blockbuster every single day. It must be gone. But I have little experience here, and I don't know if rooting is easily done or an device. I can follow the tutorials, get Odin running, etc, but it's been easy enough to do that I haven't learned much. I don't know if it's an issue on any particular phone.
So, ALL of that said... assuming that I'm not listing common, easily-fixed problems, which new phone? Most power, most speed, best battery life, strong GPS. And I drop phones. I'm clumsy. I couldn't find a good case for my Charge with the extended battery. Probably didn't help. I'm not knocking the Charge as a phone, but *mine* seems to be done. Also, it has to fit in my hand. I initially got the Bionic last year, but it was too large for my hands, and I couldn't type efficiently. Just a little too big.
I lean toward the Galaxy S3, possibly the note 2 if it isn't too big (though I don't know if I can hold out until they release), or the droid 4. Really torn, because the D4 looks to have shorter battery life and somewhat less horsepower, but I love the keyboard. Anyone have any practical advice??
For example, on the Charge, I can't get any charger to physically remain seated and actually charge the Charge. I'll be across the room and hear it beeping low-battery-charge-me, on-charger, low-battery, repeat. I'm not even touching it. I've tried other microUSB chargers, same problem. If I wrap the cord around it tightly and set something heavy on top, I can still get it to charge, but it's getting ridiculous.
The GPS hardly works at all. It worked fine in the beginning; now, it takes forever to set up, and other people with me in the same place have no trouble locating. I have tried turning on all the possible assistance for location, but GPS now just stinks compared to other devices around me (including the history of this device). I assume it's been dropped one too many times.
Using the camera often hangs the system. Sometimes I wait several minutes and get nothing, and wind up having to pull the battery to get my phone back. Happens less often with a different camera app I tried (Vignette) but still does occur.
Random reboots occur when I least expect it. Happens more and more often. I'll be working, and boom, reboot.
Battery life is abysmal. I have an extended battery and it runs dry in very, very light use in half a day. I've gone through several batteries on this phone, and yes, it's better initially, a little, but not by much. Most of the battery is chewed up by display, even though it's on the dimmest setting all the time and I leave it on for as short a time as possible (defeating the fun in having a device like this).
I've rebuilt from factory settings a number of times, and I'm currently running Ninja (so that I could kill the verizon bloatware and hopefully improve things). Sadly, the problems seem to be hardware, and they get worse, and worse, and worse.
My work depends on having a phone readily available, 24/7. Between work and life, I need a good GPS, a great, speedy camera, reliable bluetooth, and fast response times. I switch between apps often and hate the lag time that accompanies that now (and the usual, but not always, total reload of the app when I do). I have the unlimited data on Verizon until they decide they really are getting rid of it forever, so I'm stuck paying full time for a device. But having a good phone is crucial to being able to work from anywhere, so that's OK.
I really miss the real keyboard on the droid 2. Swype's OK, but the beta of the new version introduces a lot I really don't like. For that reason alone, I seriously consider the Droid 4. I avoided the 3 and got the Charge because the specs just weren't there for the Droid 3. But I type SO MUCH into my phone that I miss that keyboard quite a bit.
I will root the phone. I can't stand the thought of paying an additional $40/mo to be a wifi hotspot for five or ten minutes a few times a year. The phone has the capability to do it, and dammit, I should be able to do it without paying a ridiculous fee for it. And the bloatware, oh the bloatware, I just can't stand seeing Blockbuster every single day. It must be gone. But I have little experience here, and I don't know if rooting is easily done or an device. I can follow the tutorials, get Odin running, etc, but it's been easy enough to do that I haven't learned much. I don't know if it's an issue on any particular phone.
So, ALL of that said... assuming that I'm not listing common, easily-fixed problems, which new phone? Most power, most speed, best battery life, strong GPS. And I drop phones. I'm clumsy. I couldn't find a good case for my Charge with the extended battery. Probably didn't help. I'm not knocking the Charge as a phone, but *mine* seems to be done. Also, it has to fit in my hand. I initially got the Bionic last year, but it was too large for my hands, and I couldn't type efficiently. Just a little too big.
I lean toward the Galaxy S3, possibly the note 2 if it isn't too big (though I don't know if I can hold out until they release), or the droid 4. Really torn, because the D4 looks to have shorter battery life and somewhat less horsepower, but I love the keyboard. Anyone have any practical advice??
