best android phone available on Verizon in the next couple months

[cmdrdredd]

I'm due for two upgrades and haven't been paying attention to specs etc. Now I saw the GS5 and it's not too impressive over the S4, but anyhow...

I'm looking to upgrade two lines soon, likely in the next two months. I don't have any major issues with our current phones (Galaxy Nexus and GS3) but the battery life on the nexus is a little down and my GS3 is showing it's age with only 1GB of memory for some of what I do and it has crashed back to the home screen a few times when I've got multiple things going. Both are rooted running custom roms etc. I'm not concerned about being able to root it as in time pretty much every major device will have a community that is working on it. I'm just wondering what everyone thinks is the current cream of the crop for android devices that is available on Verizon. I'm not interested in switching carriers, Verizon has a better network in my area. I am somewhat tied to Google because I've used it for so long and have paid apps and services that I use so I can't really switch to iPhone without basically starting over. I will say that I would like a screen bigger than the iPhone anyway.

If you need any more info just ask away.

 

[Zaap]

Lot of choices now. If you can I'd wait for the S5 and at least see one hands on. Otherwise the S4 will probably be a steal as it drops from flagship status. Nothing else yet made is preferable to the Note 3 for me, but it's not for everyone. Still, I'd recommend test driving one and see how you like it. I dont know anything about other brands.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Four big Android phones are being announced. The LG G Pro 2, Sony Xperia Z2, and Samsung Galaxy S5 have all been revealed and we now have to wait an entire month to see how the HTC "M8" compares.

Verizon is definitely getting the Galaxy S5, but I'm not sure if they'll get the others. The smaller phone manufactures seem to still be stuck in the bad habit of launching phones on a single carrier at first and AT&T seems to snag these often.

All four of these phones are going to have pretty much the same specs (though most went with 3GB of RAM and the Galaxy S5 is still only 2GB). So it's the extras these phones add that will differentiate them and each does have some notable extras.

I don't pay much attention to Sony, so I might be missing something big. But it seems their big thing is making thin and water proof phones. Meh, it's nice, but not really big extras that get me excited.

LG's extras are it's super thin bezels. The front of an LG phone is more display than any other phone I believe. And I also love the knock to wake feature. Also they've moved their buttons to the back of the phone, but I'm not sure that's something I'd like or not.

HTC's phone hasn't been announced yet, but going off the previous HTC One, I think it's safe to say it'll have those killer front facing stereo speakers. This might be my single favorite distinguishing feature. But it does cause for some larger than normal bezels. HTC will probably still have the aluminum body as well.

Samsung's Galaxy S5 appears to pack the most extras. There is the fingerprint scanner, IR blaster, and pulse monitor. Unfortunately the fingerprint scanner sounds like it's impossible to use one handed (have to swipe directly up/down on the scanner), and IR blaster and pulse monitor are neat, but not big to me.

For me I'm mostly impressed with LG's thin bezel and knock to wake and HTC's boom speakers than anything the Galaxy S5 has.

 

[Oyeve]

I get bored with my phones 6 months in. I love my note 3 but I'm bored already. Having all the galaxy phones and a few iphones, I think I will get a Windows phone just for the hell of it.

 

[s44]

S5 is the same weight as the Verizon GNex. IMO that was a bit too heavy, but if the GNex size worked for you...

Do you use the SD slots?

 

[Joe1987]

I get bored with my phones 6 months in. I love my note 3 but I'm bored already. Having all the galaxy phones and a few iphones, I think I will get a Windows phone just for the hell of it.

Heck, as long as you're going with masochism, get a BlackBerry :whiste:

 

[Zaap]

I get bored with my phones 6 months in. I love my note 3 but I'm bored already. Having all the galaxy phones and a few iphones, I think I will get a Windows phone just for the hell of it.

If the Note 3 takes 6 months to bore you, a Windows phone can do the trick in six days.

 

[bradly1101]

I need all my music with me, so I'd get whatever has a micro SD slot.

 

[cmdrdredd]

S5 is the same weight as the Verizon GNex. IMO that was a bit too heavy, but if the GNex size worked for you...

Do you use the SD slots?

I do use microSD but am not tied to it at all.

I'll keep an eye on the LG and Sony phones to see how they shape up and whether they come to Verizon. The note 3 looks nice too but is there any plans to bring out a note 4 this year? I think if AT&T was a better network in my area I would switch to get a better device selection. I wish the Nexus 5 worked on Verizon because I do like the stock OS better than touchwiz etc.

 

[Dari]

Four big Android phones are being announced. The LG G Pro 2, Sony Xperia Z2, and Samsung Galaxy S5 have all been revealed and we now have to wait an entire month to see how the HTC "M8" compares.

Verizon is definitely getting the Galaxy S5, but I'm not sure if they'll get the others. The smaller phone manufactures seem to still be stuck in the bad habit of launching phones on a single carrier at first and AT&T seems to snag these often.

All four of these phones are going to have pretty much the same specs (though most went with 3GB of RAM and the Galaxy S5 is still only 2GB). So it's the extras these phones add that will differentiate them and each does have some notable extras.

I don't pay much attention to Sony, so I might be missing something big. But it seems their big thing is making thin and water proof phones. Meh, it's nice, but not really big extras that get me excited.

LG's extras are it's super thin bezels. The front of an LG phone is more display than any other phone I believe. And I also love the knock to wake feature. Also they've moved their buttons to the back of the phone, but I'm not sure that's something I'd like or not.

HTC's phone hasn't been announced yet, but going off the previous HTC One, I think it's safe to say it'll have those killer front facing stereo speakers. This might be my single favorite distinguishing feature. But it does cause for some larger than normal bezels. HTC will probably still have the aluminum body as well.

Samsung's Galaxy S5 appears to pack the most extras. There is the fingerprint scanner, IR blaster, and pulse monitor. Unfortunately the fingerprint scanner sounds like it's impossible to use one handed (have to swipe directly up/down on the scanner), and IR blaster and pulse monitor are neat, but not big to me.

For me I'm mostly impressed with LG's thin bezel and knock to wake and HTC's boom speakers than anything the Galaxy S5 has.

Most of the phones come to AT&T and T-Mobile because those two are GSM and GSM is what most of the rest of the world uses. Also, a lot of these carriers do not just want to be dumb pipes so they add their own gimmicks to whatever the OEMs have created. The only exception to that is Apple.

 

[paperwastage]

Most of the phones come to AT&T and T-Mobile because those two are GSM and GSM is what most of the rest of the world uses. Also, a lot of these carriers do not just want to be dumb pipes so they add their own gimmicks to whatever the OEMs have created. The only exception to that is Apple.

you mean take out gimmicks like FM radio, google wallet support, Flashlight apps, ...

 

[96Firebird]

I'm in the same boat as OP. With the lackluster release of the S5 details, not sure where I should look.

 

[cmdrdredd]

you mean take out gimmicks like FM radio, google wallet support, Flashlight apps, ...

Yeah I never understood why they remove features from a device before it goes on their network. Also to the GSM explination I understand that and as I said...if Verizon wasn't such a clearly better network here I would switch back to AT&T(I was with them when the first iPhone released) for the better device selection. I may have to ask around my area for people on AT&T and see how they feel about the service and speeds here...keep my options open. Maybe they have gotten better but one reason I switched was because AT&T had a bunch of dead zones that Verizon still serviced.

 

[slag]

Right now, the LG G2 is a pretty sweet phone. It can go all of 2 days between charges and is fast, responsive, and big. Great phone, leaps above the GS4.

 

[openwheel]

Note 3 is my vote if you need big battery. Note 4 won't come until November.

Moto X is my second if you prefer smaller form factor.

Verizon G2 has GPS issues and I still don't know if AWS LTE band is enabled on the G2. I would prefer the G2 but these issues concern me still.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Right now, the LG G2 is a pretty sweet phone. It can go all of 2 days between charges and is fast, responsive, and big. Great phone, leaps above the GS4.

The issues with the Verizon version bother me a bit. If I switch it is worth considering for sure.

 

[blairharrington]

I'm kinda in the same boat as OP. My family has Verizon but I left in 2008 to get an iPhone with AT&T. I've been thinking about jumping back to the family plan with VZ.

Definitely not getting the S5. I don't like the G2. I wish the iPhone 6 were out now but I really think it won't come till fall. Right now I'm leaning towards the Note 3 or new HTC flagship once I see the keynote next month.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I may too wait to see what HTC does. The Note 3 seems like my best option right now. The S4 will be perfect for the second line. iPhone might have been considered if not for the smaller screen size. After my S3 I can go up in size but not down. I've become accustomed to a larger screen.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Most of the phones come to AT&T and T-Mobile because those two are GSM and GSM is what most of the rest of the world uses. Also, a lot of these carriers do not just want to be dumb pipes so they add their own gimmicks to whatever the OEMs have created. The only exception to that is Apple.

That's a good point. But I think it's reckless of these smaller manufactures to just release their phone on AT&T and ignore the 200 million customers on the other major US carriers for a few months, like often HTC, LG, and Sony seem to be doing.