Thinking about getting a new phone

[riffdex]

I have a few questions:

1) How can I find out if I am eligible for an early upgrade for our primary line?

2) If I find out I am eligible for the early upgrade (I'm pretty sure I am), I was thinking about getting a Droid X. Would you suggest a different phone or the X? I really want a big screen and like the X form factor. I don't keep up with phones so there might be a similar, newer phone like the X on VZ? Also I was considering buying a used Droid X on craigslist and just saving my early upgrade? What do you guys think?

3) I was reading that the X has an "encrypted bootloader". How big of a problem is this and should I just ignore it and go ahead and get one? Basically everything I have read about the X makes me want it, except for that. Reviews tell me that the battery life is much better than the Droid (mine is lacking in that category), I love the size of the screen, reviews also tell me improved call quality, etc. Other than Motoblur its the only thing I found I don't like about the X. (I can deal with Motoblur but idk if I can deal without custom ROMs - but I might just have to.). Whereas my current Droid has many things I'm disappointed with that I would prefer fixed... Idk I guess I'm just asking for opinions from people if it is worth it to buy a phone that has an encrypted bootloader?

 

[Papadroid]

1. Login to your account online. Once logged in it shows you all phone numbers on your account and their elgibility.

Let's deal with question 3 first because it can affect the answer to question 2. If you don't care about loading custom ROMS then the locked bootloader will have no impact on you. You can still root the X but you are limited as to what can be done to your phone because of the locked bootloader. They basically have modified stock ROMs and themes for the device but as of now you can not load anything like Cyanogen.

Now on to question 2, if you're not interested in loading custom ROMs then the X is a good device. I'm usually one to say not to wait because there is always something better around the corner. But having said that the HTC Thunderbolt is rumored to release on the 14th of February. This will be the new flagship phone for Verizon for the time being and their first 4G phone. It will be a more powerful phone then the X and it will have a 4.3 inch screen just like the X. But ultimately it's your choice as to what you want.

 

[mobrienjr]

I say wait to see what phones come out in the following months. You already passed the magical Jan. 16th deadline when it comes to renewing your contract.

 

[riffdex]

1. Login to your account online. Once logged in it shows you all phone numbers on your account and their elgibility.

Let's deal with question 3 first because it can affect the answer to question 2. If you don't care about loading custom ROMS then the locked bootloader will have no impact on you. You can still root the X but you are limited as to what can be done to your phone because of the locked bootloader. They basically have modified stock ROMs and themes for the device but as of now you can not load anything like Cyanogen.

Now on to question 2, if you're not interested in loading custom ROMs then the X is a good device. I'm usually one to say not to wait because there is always something better around the corner. But having said that the HTC Thunderbolt is rumored to release on the 14th of February. This will be the new flagship phone for Verizon for the time being and their first 4G phone. It will be a more powerful phone then the X and it will have a 4.3 inch screen just like the X. But ultimately it's your choice as to what you want.

1. That only shows me 2 year upgrade date. I have read that the primary line of an account can get an early upgrade sooner.

Honestly I don't know if I need custom ROMs... I have a custom ROM on my Droid atm but I don't know what, specifically, is possible with encrypted bootloaders and without. I use root apps on a daily basis but Droid X is rootable right? I would like to be able to remove bloatware, would I need a custom ROM for that? Maybe I should flash my Droid over to a stock ROM (temporarily) and just try it out to see if I'm missing anything I need...

I don't want a 4G device for a few reasons:
1) I live in rural NC and I will never be in a 4G spot. I literally might be out of town and be in a 4G spot like one or two times a year. It's not worth paying out for a 4G connection.
2) Data tiers - I need unlimited data bc I don't want even a slight chance of going over my limit.
3) I have a feeling a 4G phone would simply waste more battery life searching for a 4G signal it's never going to find. Battery life is the number 1 reason why I am searching for a new phone.

I say wait to see what phones come out in the following months. You already passed the magical Jan. 16th deadline when it comes to renewing your contract.

As far as I am aware, using an "early upgrade" for my primary line will not make me lose my 2 year upgrades. I understand that the next time I use 2 year upgrades, I will no longer get anymore as we are past the Jan 16 deadline however.

Thanks for the input guys, if anyone has other advice keep em coming

 

[gwlaw99]

You have to select the phone number for the phone you want to upgrade. You will get one last new every two discount. You can get an upgrade after 20 months now (it used to be 10-12). So you might want to pay a little extra and only sign up for one year.

I would AT LEAST wait for the HTC Thunderbolt next month as it will have 4G LTE and a front facing camera and the new Snapdragon Processor. Personally I am waiting for the Droid Bionic or a similar spec'd phone.

 

[Papadroid]

As far as I know the upgrade early on the primary line is no longer available. And based off of what you have stated then the Droid X will be fine for you. It can be rooted and bloatware removed.

 

[The_Chief]

I say wait to see what phones come out in the following months. You already passed the magical Jan. 16th deadline when it comes to renewing your contract.

AMEN! I'm not going to limit myself to either the Bionic or the Thunderbolt, just because they're the next ones up to the plate. Imagine what's gonna come down the pipeline later in the year! NE2 or not, this old goat is waiting it out for the REAL superphones yet to be announced.

 

[jfe]

I am tempted to go for the Bionic, I see if I can hold up and wait for something else, I am eligible to upgrade in July (at least that is what it says on my account)

 

[riffdex]

You have to select the phone number for the phone you want to upgrade. You will get one last new every two discount. You can get an upgrade after 20 months now (it used to be 10-12). So you might want to pay a little extra and only sign up for one year.

I would AT LEAST wait for the HTC Thunderbolt next month as it will have 4G LTE and a front facing camera and the new Snapdragon Processor. Personally I am waiting for the Droid Bionic or a similar spec'd phone.

I did select the phone number but it didn't show that up. Like I said, I definitely don't want a 4G phone. There is absolutely no benefit of getting a 4G device for me, and the costs are great. What kind of processor does the DX have? My original Droid is pretty laggy on a regular basis (especially when exiting to the homescreen), but from every video I have seen, the X seems to perform very well.

As far as I know the upgrade early on the primary line is no longer available. And based off of what you have stated then the Droid X will be fine for you. It can be rooted and bloatware removed.

I don't see why the primary upgrade would have changed. There has been nothing said about that changing - only about 2 year upgrades changing. Either way, they can't exactly deny me something they promised me over a year ago, when I started my contract. At least they couldn't do that without getting sued out the ass. Maybe they ended the primary line early upgrades on Jan 16 for new contracts, but that should not affect my early upgrade at all. Theoretically I should still have my early upgrade this year, and NE2 next year (for all my phones). (After I use those NE2 I will not have NE2 after that point).

EDIT: Hey y'all.. I've been looking on ebay and have found postings of Droid X's that are listed as "bad ESN". Is there anyway to fix an ESN if I were to buy one or would it basically be unusable on VZ's network?

 

[Papadroid]

I don't see why the primary upgrade would have changed. There has been nothing said about that changing - only about 2 year upgrades changing. Either way, they can't exactly deny me something they promised me over a year ago, when I started my contract. At least they couldn't do that without getting sued out the ass. Maybe they ended the primary line early upgrades on Jan 16 for new contracts, but that should not affect my early upgrade at all. Theoretically I should still have my early upgrade this year, and NE2 next year (for all my phones). (After I use those NE2 I will not have NE2 after that point).

EDIT: Hey y'all.. I've been looking on ebay and have found postings of Droid X's that are listed as "bad ESN". Is there anyway to fix an ESN if I were to buy one or would it basically be unusable on VZ's network?

If it's part of your contract then you should be able to get the early upgrade. I'm just telling you what I remember from reading an article a while back about them getting rid of the early upgrade for the primary line.

As far as an X with a bad ESN, there is no way to get it to work on Verizon. They sell them on Ebay because some people will take them and flash them to MetroPCS or Boost Mobile.

 

[takeshi]

How can I find out if I am eligible for an early upgrade for our primary line?

Call and find out.

If I find out I am eligible for the early upgrade (I'm pretty sure I am), I was thinking about getting a Droid X. Would you suggest a different phone or the X? I really want a big screen and like the X form factor. I don't keep up with phones so there might be a similar, newer phone like the X on VZ?

Are those the only requirements? If so, shop the options and look at comparable devices. If you have more requirements they'll help to narrow down the possibilities.

Reviews tell me that the battery life is much better than the Droid (mine is lacking in that category)

Never assume that a device, battery app or any other quick fix will address your battery life concerns. Always analyze your usage and address your battery hogs. Your particular usage plays a major role in battery life.

As far as I know the upgrade early on the primary line is no longer available.

It is on my account. Again, call to verify. Early upgrade eligibility info isn't available online AFAIK.

 

[riffdex]

Verizon changing its upgrade policy; you'll have to wait 20 months for a new phone | Android Central

Well I just read this. Apparently the recent changes did affect annual upgrades, not just 2 year upgrades. However like I said I don't think it affects me as I started my contract a year ago. Do you guys think they could actually take my early upgrade away or only for customers who sign contracts now?

Call and find out.

Are those the only requirements? If so, shop the options and look at comparable devices. If you have more requirements they'll help to narrow down the possibilities.

Never assume that a device, battery app or any other quick fix will address your battery life concerns. Always analyze your usage and address your battery hogs. Your particular usage plays a major role in battery life.

It is on my account. Again, call to verify. Early upgrade eligibility info isn't available online AFAIK.

I will definitely be looking around a little bit more, but I'm afraid any new devices coming out will be 4G devices :/ I do not want a 4G so my best bet might be the X. But thanks for suggestion I will definitely take a look around to make sure..

I think it's safe to say that the Droid X is inherently superior to the Droid in terms of battery life. There are rare and extreme circumstances where I hear of a Droid owner who gets reasonable battery life, but ask a random Droid owner and most will say that the Droid is not very good on battery life. When every review of the X that I have read (I have read many) cites it's good battery life, especially in comparison to the original Droid, it becomes clear that it is better. Even if it's possible to get a reasonable battery life out of the Droid (I'm sure it is - but I don't), the Droid X is still comparatively better on battery, according to the reviews.

So are you saying you still have an early upgrade available on your account after this change took place? And on the website it still shows your 2 year upgrade date, but you called in and they say you have an early upgrade available? I was kind of scared I lost my early upgrade bc the website says my primary line does not have an upgrade until 9/26/2011 :/ But then again I never checked if it said that sort of thing on the website before. Also, do I need to get a special email to get an early upgrade or do I just basically call in and tell them how long I've had my contract and they'll set me up?

 

[mobrienjr]

when my primary phone became eligible for an early upgrade they sent me an email. Through verizon they add on another $20 to the price. If you go to costco they do not do that. Bestbuy will not do the early upgrade just as an FYI.

 

[riffdex]

when my primary phone became eligible for an early upgrade they sent me an email. Through verizon they add on another $20 to the price. If you go to costco they do not do that. Bestbuy will not do the early upgrade just as an FYI.

I do not have a Costco nearby so I'll prolly have to go through Verizon.

When you called in and got your early upgrade (I assume you have used an early upgrade), did you have to tell them a code or anything to verify that you got an email (or did they verify that their system had sent out an email to you)? I figure once I make it to a year, I'll call in a tell them I got an email about an early upgrade, even if I don't. Think they will double check me for it or just check to see if I'm a year into my contract?

 

[Eurosteve]

I'm in month 14 of a two year contract. When I go to My Verizon online, it shows there that I can upgrade at a discounted price. For the Droid X the price is $199, after rebate. It also shows that I am eligible for my regular update in July. No need to call Verizon about this.

Is it true that Costco will sell phones at the early upgrade prices?

 

[riffdex]

Costco will sell phones at the early upgrade prices?

Hey don't hi-jack my thread!! d: jk
Yeah from what he's saying I guess so... I kinda thought early upgrade was something you had to go through VZ for..

 

[Eurosteve]

Hey don't hi-jack my thread!! d: jk
Yeah from what he's saying I guess so... I kinda thought early upgrade was something you had to go through VZ for..

Back to your thread - I'm in the same position as you. I'm ready for a new 4.3 inch phone but I don't want to get trapped into a 4g phone - since who knows when 4g will come to my area and at what cost? Also thinking about the Droid X.

 

[coloradogregg]

I'm available for an upgrade now but to be honest nothing has struck my fancy.

My D1 is still running strong.

 

[mobrienjr]

I'm in month 14 of a two year contract. When I go to My Verizon online, it shows there that I can upgrade at a discounted price. For the Droid X the price is $199, after rebate. It also shows that I am eligible for my regular update in July. No need to call Verizon about this.

Is it true that Costco will sell phones at the early upgrade prices?

Yes, Costco is one of the only, if not the only outside retailer that will upgrade your phone at the early upgrade price. When I went to best buy because my wife wanted a Fascinate and they have the white one, best buy told me that they can not do it and to go to the verizon store. Costco prices are a little higher then best buy, wal mart, or most of the other retailers, but its still cheaper than verizon. Like I said I got the fascinate, car charger, case, and ear buds for $163.xx after taxes. No fee to activate or anything like that.

 

[juergen99]

I have had my Droid since the day it came out. I can usually go an entire day on a charge but I usually put it in the charger over the lunch hour anyway. Are you still using your original battery? If so I would suggest replacing it. Over time batteries hold less charge. I have always changed my cellphone battery every 9 months to a year. I am on my 3rd Droid battery. I got my last one for around $9 with shipping. You will definitely notice a difference.

I plan on getting the Thunderbolt in a few weeks on a 1 year contract. In ten months I will be eligible for a new phone and I can see what dual core phones are available at that time. Hopefully we will know if the Bionic is ROMable by then.

 

[mobrienjr]

I have had my droid for a year and I just replaced the battery. Funny thing with the batteries is that they are rated for about 300 full discharges, give or take some. So pretty much you may get a year out of them, but most likely about 9 months.

oh, BTW you can buy a brand new OEM motorola battery on amazon for $6.