Does anyone else think the new Verzon phone options suck?

Well, a phone is only as good as it's network for its primary uses. It could always be worse. You could have an Atrix or a GX2 with neutered voice and data services or an iPhone you couldn't customize. Honestly, given those choices, I'll be happy with great 3G and 4G LTE service and wait for the hardware to get better.

 

Wait 'til the 26th...
LG Revolution coming to Verizon May 26, as well?

 

Good post man I'm in the same exact boat. I'm with the Incredible and wanted to grandfather into the unlimited LTE/4G before the tiers begin but there isn't a phone worth upgrading to.

VERY frustrating. How can the best reception carrier have the worst phone selection. It's looking like I won't be able to grandfather into unlimited LTE.

By the time something decent comes out plans will be like $50 for 5 gb

 

Count me as another. I'm ready for something better than my Incredible, but all I see are marginal upgrades available, and for comparatively unreasonable prices on a two year contract. I'm stuck going directly through Verizon for my annual upgrade unless I wait for my contract to be up at the end of December. I would jump on Galaxy SII spec'ed hardware from Verizon right now if it was available (and will the minute it comes available).

If I'm going to shell out $200 or more, I expect LTE and dual core (for the 1080p video capture capabilities). I really want qHD, but I'm fine with WVGA under the condition that it's no less than Super AMOLED Plus. The Droid Charge almost meets my criteria, but some dummy thought they should push it out with last year's processor on board, and furthermore, that dummy thought they should sell it for $299 on a two year contract. I would have probably just bit on it for $279 on a one year contract (which was discontinued). Clearly Verizon is way off.

I have to agree with the OP. All I see is average hardware available or on the horizon. They're dropping LTE into midrange handsets (what was last year's high end) and pricing them as super high end. Stupid.

 

^^^ q f t

 

Wow, a lot of us Incredible people looking for something better. I kind of broke and went out and got a Charge. By kind of, I mean, I got it from Costco which has a 90 day return policy (locked into the contract after 14 days, can change hardware within 90 days). I also didn't want to get locked out of the unlimited 4g plans. So far I am marginally impressed with the Charge. Mind you, once I have root, it should get much better. However, with Verizon pinning us down for 2 years now I can't see myself with this phone for two years. It is already out dated, with the exception of 4g and the display. Kind of off topic, but I do like the hard buttons and the charge isn't as ugly in person as it is in pictures. Especially when you light up the display.

Verizon is really making me depressed though. I follow all the tech/android blogs everyday and it seems everyday the other carriers are announcing a new souped up devices and all Verizon has to offer is an outdate Charge/Revolution/Thunderbolt. Come on where is the LG X2, HTC Sensation or SGSII varient?

As has been mentioned in plenty of other spots, Verizon is having serious issues getting LTE to play nice with either Tegra 2 or any dual-core processor. This is highly evident based on the Bionic delay (now targa) and the Xoom hardware upgrade being delayed, coupled with no other announced dual-core phones.

 

I have to agree. I recently left TMO after 7 years witht hem. I ironically went to TMO after poor coverage and dropped call swith VZ here in ATL back then. I just left TMO for VZ becasue TMO over the last 1-2 years has had degrading coverage and more dropped calls.. So I decide to go to VZ and test them out as I shop for a smartphone and must say VZ has depressed me so far. I find while the coverage is better, I find call quality to be only slightly better and honestly my gf left TMO at same time and she is testing ATT and her coverage and call quality has been better than my VZ. Maybe it is me but I find VZ CDMA call quality to sound slightly like you are under a little water. We each have VZ Home Connect as well and I beleive that TMO and ATT sound quality over was better. Now I am in a delemia, I want a smartphone, hate the selection of VZ phones and don't really want to deal with ATT tiers and I am pissed as they just started capping my UVerse as well. I might be more eager if the 4G phones did not have either poor battery or laggy UI. I mean they are jacking up the proces on these phones and they are rushed products with big compromises. VZ in the rush to be the leader in 4G forgot to have some stable industry leading phones to use on that industry leading 4G.

 

I agree, but the TB was $249 60 days ago and can be found for $129 now, so I figure the DC will be under $200 in about 30-45 days.

 

I went to a Verizon store today and played with the Incredible 2 and Droid Charge (had not previously seen these in person). Thought the Incredible 2 was nice. Seemed thinner and felt nicer in my hand than my Incredible. I was impressed with the form of the Droid Charge. I didn't find it to be too thick and would have been fine if they pushed it out with dual core as a SGSII variant without the 8.49mm slimness. Too bad. Display was beautiful and crisp with the SA+. Didn't care for the hardware buttons. It felt surprisingly light. All-in-all, aside from the 4G, it didn't blow me away. I expect my socks to be knocked off for $299. They weren't.

BTW, what's up with Verizon's website advertising the Charge for $579 contract-free, yet only providing a paltry $280 subsidy for a two year contract? The iphone subsidy is $500. The decision makers at corporate are fully baked.

I understand people have been reporting issues with the Tegra 2 and LTE, but I would expect a Qualcomm solution to play nice, especially if they're integrating the modem. Nothing to suggest Samsung's Exynos would have a problem, either. We just don't know if it's anything beyond an nVidia issue.

 

Still not acceptable. If I'm already hesitant based on the outdated hardware, waiting for the price to come down just puts the thing closer to obsolete before the contract clock even starts ticking. I fully expect the Samsung presser to be re-scheduled for sometime in the next 30-45 days. If by then they announce a Verizon SGSII a few months away, are you going to get a Droid Charge with a last gen processor even for under $200? It should have been released for under $200. The TB is a better hardware set, but I'm steering away from HTC this next time around because their reputation for battery life isn't very good (confirmed in my Incredible experience).

 

I'm holding onto my Incredible until I feel like I have no other option but to get whatever phone is grabbing my attention. No such phone has been released, so I will save my upgrade for now

 

Not a bad plan. Rooted and romed correctly the incredible is on par with the best vzw has to offer to date, minus 4g. I don't want to roll the dice on the unlimited 4g, so I broke and got the charge.

 

Hmmmm........... So the only real problem with dual core phones getting to us Verizon folk is because LTE doesn't play well with the existing chip sets available on the market? Seems like hardware makers would be tripping over each other to get their stuff to work with the largest potential 4G market in North America. I also wonder if Verizon didn't give phone makers enough info on how it's network was going to function for them to engineer properly.

 

Fixed it for you.

I don't believe the Exynos, OMAP4, or Snapdragon dual core has been used/tested with LTE to any great extent yet because parts are just coming available. The Tegra 2 was available by the beginning of the year.

There aren't any current mobile processors available with an integrated LTE modem. Qualcomm will be integrating it in an upcoming model, and I read somewhere that Samsung has been working on integrating it into the Exynos (future model?). Besides integrating the function, this will help the handsets get thinner. Currently, the T-bolt is pairing an external Qualcomm modem chip with a Qualcomm processor. That was confirmed in a teardown. I believe the just-released Charge is pairing the same Qualcomm modem chip with the Hummingbird. And I would assume the Revolution being Snapdragon will be in the same boat as the T-bolt. Could very well be that the Tegra 2 has compatibility issues with the Qualcomm LTE modem chip. All just a hypothesis.

 

All I know is VZW is seriously lacking in the hardware. I mean, they have never been the leader in hardware, but at no time have they been this far behind. What they are putting out is almost laughable. If I were AT&T-Mobile I would create a commercial poking fun at VZW's 2010 hardware.

Too bad they have my wife by the balls, cause I would drop it like its hot if I could.

 

I have a question about your wife...

 

X2

 

Yes, because they weren't far behind before the Droid came out. You guys crack me up. In all fairness, a guy on the bus last month asked me if my Xoom was new. I looked at him like he had 3 heads and said "No." I spent the rest of the commute in a daze because I had just remembered that only phone geeks really care about the latest and greatest or would consider something like this "old."

 

Well the other carriers don't have issues catering to us phone geeks!

 

Then the course of action is clear!

 

There inlies the issue, I would love to leave VZW but my wife isn't having it.

 

Well, my NE2(yes, they tell me I still have it) will be coming up about the time the Galaxy S II phones hit the market. My Fascinate is now working pretty well with Froyo and I plan to root 'n rom it which should keep me occupied until then. I just read there is a new unofficial Gingerbread rom out for the Fascinate and other current phones. Of course if you have to decide right now, it's not really the best of times for VZW. VZW lags behind in new hardware because they are too busy thinking of ways to cripple the phone and install their own bloatware and making it very hard to get rid of said bloatware.