buy X or wait for LTE phone?

[Eurosteve]

until verizon actually announces plans and pricing for 4g this is speculation at best

If this speculation about all-or-nothing 4G smartphone pricing is true, I would buy a non-LTE phone such as the Droid X. The 4G speeds aren't important enough to me, if I even get access to them, to pay even more money for a data plan. $30 a month is plenty to pay.

Update: I just saw supposed "end-of-life" dates for various Verizon phones. The Droid X is listed as ending it's life on 3/31/11. So the option for a non-LTE phone may disappear - at least in terms of purchasing from Verizon that is.

 

[Doit2it]

Yes, my comments were based on the current LTE modem rates.
I guess with everything else in the cell phone industry, it's "Wait and see".

 

[jreed2560]

Yes, my comments were based on the current LTE modem rates.
I guess with everything else in the cell phone industry, it's "Wait and see".

I hear ya on that one. I actually work for an indirect so If I hear anything about pricing before hand I will for sure post if it hasn't already been posted.

It kinda makes me nervous that Verizon hasn't officially announced anything. Kinda makes me thing they know people aren't going to like it

 

[chippy]

If you get a LTE phone you have to get a LTE plan, you can't still get the unlimited 3g

How can you know this? They haven't even released monthly pricing for 4g phone plans.

 

[eraursls1984]

How can you know this? They haven't even released monthly pricing for 4g phone plans.

Well I don't know for sure, just heard several Verizon employees saying there's not going to be a unlimited 4g plan. If that is/was the case they still have time to change that decision so their customers don't start migrating to the other carriers.

 

[mlclm]

How can you know this? They haven't even released monthly pricing for 4g phone plans.

Because it's the same situation as upgrading from a regular phone to a smartphone. There isn't any choice in getting the data package. It would be equivalent to getting a smartphone and attempting to keep the 150mb data plan.

 

[jreed2560]

You can keep the 150 mb plan with a smartphone

 

[Optimus]

Buy a new DroidX from ebay or a person (verify esn, if it bugs Verizon will ship u a replacer) avoiding contract..enjoy unlimited 3g and if you must have LTE wait for late summer or fall's android lineup.

 

[hahaha what]

arent they coming out with a droid x soon that has a dual core? if it had that and 1gb ram and a front facing camera it'd be the best phone in the world

 

[Outlaw71]

You can keep the 150 mb plan with a smartphone

I'm pretty sure what he means is that when you sign up for a 4G plan you're signing up to use the technology that accesses the 4G network, not the data cap. I don't see you being able to buy a phone capable of accessing the 4G network and then tell them, "just put me on a 3G plan because I won't be using the 4G network". If your phone is capable of using the 4G network then they will most likely (no, I can not say definately, but it only makes sense really) be putting you into a 4G plan.

It would be like going in and buying the DX and trying to tell them you won't be using the 3G network, only the 1X one. There's no way for them to cut off your phone's ability to access the 3G network, so obviously you will get billed for a 3G plan. In a few years time this will all be moot as every device will be 4G capable once they've standardized the industry. This will only be an issue for the next year or so, after that you won't be able to purchase a new phone that isn't 4G.

 

[Trooper]

Id wait for LTE, but if you like the Droid X, go for it! Great phone!

 

[Lars]

Yea don't forget about the DX2 with the Tegra, FF camera and 960x540 screen.

The iphone requires the $29 data plan. where does that lead?

Vodaphone is rolling out LTE. Likely VZW LTE phones would roam on it and work in EU. That might be reason for some to wait for LTE. Is for me but not a more expensive plan.

 

[Eurosteve]

Picking up an X at $149 (as an early upgrade) is looking more attractive, perhaps on a one year contract. I could then wait out the roll out of the latest crop of phones. I'm starting to interpret the delays in the Thunderbolt rollout as perhaps related to problems with this phone...

Still have some concerns about random reboots and lagging in the X but maybe these aren't that common after all.

 

[jreed2560]

149 is the two year contract price. Phones are ususally 50 to 80 bucks more for one year contracts

 

[DroidDaddy]

If you use MS Exchange/Outlook at work I'd seriously go with the Thunderbolt and HTC Sense. Both HTC and Motorola created their own email clients instead of using the stock Android email client. The HTC version is just leaps and bounds over the Motorola email client.

I've been playing with the HTC Inspire (nearly identical to the TB) for a few days (which has a slower processor than the Thunderbolt but still gets the same Quadrant scores as my un-rooted DX). I imagine the Thunderbolt, with a faster processor will get slightly better scores than the DX but not by much. Either of the three phones mentioned seem pretty fast enough to me (lag free most of the time). What I really like about HTC Sense is that I no longer bother downloading third-party widgets since everything I want is available as a built-in widget. I think it'll help me avoid any poorly written widgets/software. A lot of their widgets are even scrollable without having to buy something like LauncherPro (which tries to imitate HTC Sense in a lot of ways).

The only downside to the Thunderbolt might be that it's slightly wider and I find the DX easier to hold. There are no physical buttons so you have to reach up top to turn on the screen (on the DX the home key can wake it up.) There's no physical camera button on the Thunderbolt if that matters to you. The notification light (if it's the same as the Inspire) does blink on new emails, etc. but only for about 5 minutes before it stops blinking. I think my DX continues to blink (which I prefer) until I clear the notification.

I also want the front facing camera as I have relatives I think I'd enjoy doing the video chat thing with.

I've got a DX to sell btw... It's going up on Ebay Thursday.

 

[Wally World]

Will all the apps out there, there is no way any phone maker can guarantee how all of them will react with their OS. I wouldn't buy an android phone if you think it may at some point reboot itself or need to be rebooted-the chances are it's gonna happen with any phone.

 

[thehulk20]

as it stands, i love the X. thanks to everyone in this forum, i have been able to root..flash...etc. by far, the X is the best smartphone i have owned (and i have gone through a few).

with that been said, i learned a long time ago NOT to get the 1st version of the "next big thing" as it pertains to smartphones. i dont trust the makers of the device as much as i trust the true "testers". those testers being US...the real users of the phone.

i dont trust the inital reviews of the phones prior to their releases because i really dont believe that the devices have gone through its real paces as far as use.

i was really turned off by HTC because of the charging issues with the INC that HTC never recognized as being an issue. once again, it was the true users of the phone that discovered the problem. i'm not saying that future HTC phones will have the same problems, that's just me giving my two cents.

my upgrade is coming up soon. as of right now, i will probably just get another X.

by the way, prior to the switch to the smartphone world...what "dumb phone" did y'all have and what do you consider to be the best dumb phone?

for me...it was the samsung alias. i still have it. stored in a neoprene sleeve with no scratches whatsoever. not to mention, when i used it, i bought every accessory for the phone i could get.