4S or wait for nexus prime

[ggamannom]

hey all,

living in north america with Verizon i just wanted your input as to what phone i should choose. this would be my first smartphone and i don't think i will be rooting or waiting for a jailbreak, but you never know since i like to change stuff on comp all the time i'm not all that blown away by the iphone 4S specs, would have loved to have gotten the galaxy s2 but nope. i heard the nexus prime is supposed to be a monster of a phone and i can afford to wait a little longer and i'm concerned about the rumors of a poor camera also. and i have questions about how much it would actually cost since bionic's still pretty expensive (i'm using an upgrade)

i would be using the internet in line with the 2gig plan verizon put out.. and assuming i don't root or jailbreak, what do you guys think the best choice would be?

i know.. kind of hard to advise on something that isn't even out yet

[Ian Brantford]

Hi there and welcome to HoFo. You'll need to provide more details before people here can help you.

What kind of use to you expect to make of a smartphone? Is it primarily a phone that can do a few extra things, or does it have to be a media powerhouse? If being an good phone is the priority, your focus should be on reception, audio quality, ringer volume, battery life (on standby or in a voice call) and overall reliability. If you want to expand to other interests, non-phone issues such as screen quality, memory capacity, ease of use, battery life with the screen on become important differentiators. Then there are outliers such as security and very smooth email experience (i.e. Blackberry versus everyone else) or operating as a WiFi hotspot.

You should also tell us specifically why the 4S and S2 fail to meet your wants and/or needs.

Previous Nexus models have simply been unlocked/unbranded versions of existing hardware, possibly with various niggles worked out. I REALLY like my Nexus S.

Since you don't already have a smartphone, my guess is that you are a patient person who can wait for just the right thing. That's a good position! I recommend that you wait for a couple of months for better supply of new models, as well as specials on plans, for the winter solstice season.

[ggamannom]

thanks for the input, i am mainly going to use the smartphone for phone functions (talking, texting) but with some games on the side. the things you mentioned like reception, audio quality, ringer volume, and battery life are HUGE. next would be the speed of the phone for apps and data usage. the things that are pointing me away from the 4S is mainly the structure of the phone and its small screen size and not a huge fan of apple products... I think a 4inch would be the most ideal for me as i don't like to carry heavy and bulky things in my pocket. a huge fan of S2 but i'm with verizon and can't switch over.

and regarding waiting a few months, is there a chance i might be able to find a plan that includes unlimited data but on an existing contract? i would think those benefits might be offered with new contracts and i cannot leave as we are in a family plan.

oh and i'm open to any suggestions of other smartphones

[Ian Brantford]

You are certainly hitting the sweet spot for where the smartphone market is going. There a lots of handsets with a screensize and features that you want, both on the market and coming onto the market.

In order to survey the market, you might want to try a phone-finder Web site. Here is a good one: http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/finder.php . You can enter many features and get a list of handsets that meets your criteria. That particular site only allows screen criteria of resolution instead of size. I found 15 models there that might possibly suit your needs, and that's excluding the contenders of iPhone and S2.

My search didn't include any Blackberry models. You might want to keep tabs on newer models that have larger screens (among blackberries) such as the Torch 2.

I also prefer to avoid the iPhone not because of the handset itself, but because of iTunes. Trying to use it to get home videos onto my original iPhone was quite a pain. I also have a accounts on a couple of carriers and I like to swap the SIM without doing anything fancy to the handset, so the factory unlocked/unbranded Nexus S is great.

[Ian Brantford]

This is very timely:

http://www.slashgear.com/iphone-4s-v...-g2x-04185386/

[Ian Brantford]

Another one: http://www.slashgear.com/windows-pho...view-04185509/

[ggamannom]

thanks for the help! after much thinking i think i'm more suited for the droids than iphones so I will wait for the nexus prime revealing to see what it offers. if that is enough, and hopefully it is because the only thing that might be holding me back is the rumored poor quality camera, i will jump on that wagon for sure! and the price of course haha

sounds like nexus prime could be the next smartphone to CATCH while 4S is already considered behind. again, thanks for your help! but one question, you mentioned special plans during holiday season, do you think they would offer special plans to EXISTING customers?

[Ian Brantford]

You are welcome. I wouln't worry too much about what shortcomings are rumoured for the Nexus Prime, nor look longingly at any advantages. There is so much rumour about that it's useless to spend mental energy on it. Look at all the people whe were certain of an iPhone 5 announcement this week!

For special offers on plans, check the Verizon forum here on Hofo. People will discuss any specials. If there isn't discussion of availability for existing customers, you can ask there. You might get information to prepare you for your call to customer support.

It's up to the individual carrier as to whether existing customers get new offers. As far as I know, most will let you get a special offer, though maybe they'll resist if you are on a term contract.

The bigger issue will be supply of a new, popular handset. We've seen reports here where individual dealers withhold limited-supply handsets to tempt new subscribers, quietly going against company policies. Frankly, your risk of that is not great with anything other than the iPhone.

[Drillbit]

To the OP,

I may wait and take a look at the Droid Prime aka Nexus Prime. The official announcement is only less than a week away to get you concrete data. There is also quite a number of other phones to look around in the meantime like Droid Bionic or Galaxy S2.

I can't be concerned about the quality of the camera as Samsung cameras tend to be quite good. I am quite impressed with the quality of the Nexus S camera (made by Samsung) but not so much on the Nexus One (made by HTC). HTC is improving their cameras based on the phones I've used, but generally among Androids, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and LG seems to have the better cameras.

.

[rambo47]

Seems the Nexus Prime has been delayed, no new date set.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/s...-galaxy-nexus/

[Drillbit]

Set now at October 27. In the meantime, the Samsung GT-i9250, with both AT&T and T-Mobile bands, have passed through the FCC. It looks like a multi-carrier launch. The Verizon phone should be the Samsung SCH-i515.

[Ian Brantford]

The "Prime" model was fabricated as a diversion. Surprise! However, there is officially a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The New Droid Razr is also a worthy contender. The next couple of months will be a great time to be phone shopping. There are so many good choices.

[Drillbit]

Its been officially announced now. Promo video for it. The phone design just owns and it has a lot of unexpected new features, like mobile data management.

http://www.youtube.com/android

[ijcy]

I was in same dilemma....But now i reached a conclusion and I say wait. You never know. Something awesome might come.

And when the GB comes out wait again for something better, like the quad core HTC edge, no but better wait still as something better will come out dor sure.... Do you catch my drift? whenever you need a phone buy the best that falls within your budget, otherwise you will be waiting forever.