Verizon 4g Phone Options

[boozie]

Looking at getting my first Smartphone when my current Verizon plan ends early July. Because I get a discount through them I plan to stick with them. The question is which of the three 4g phones do I want to get:

HTC Thunderbolt
Samsung Droid Charge
LG Revolution

I don't care about the camera on it and I don't plan to tether (at least not if I have to pay for it). Other than that, I'm not really sure what criteria should dictate which phone I purchase. From the comparison chart on Verizon's site there isn't much difference, but I don't know anything about the actual phone performance.

 

[Red Storm]

The Charge has the best battery life, but no 4G phone on any carrier is stellar in that category, though the Charge does last me through a full day with 4G always on. It also has the best looking display in my opinion, and is lighter than the Thunderbolt (not sure about the Revolution). The real issue with the current crop of Verizon 4G phones is their hardware, which is "last gen" compared to newer phones.

The Galaxy S2 is supposedly coming to Verizon in late July, and I think it's still unknown if it will have 4G or not. I'm guessing probably not, but it's worth waiting for confirmation as that is a beast of a phone.

 

[Demo24]

The Charge has the best battery life, but no 4G phone on any carrier is stellar in that category, though the Charge does last me through a full day with 4G always on. It also has the best looking display in my opinion, and is lighter than the Thunderbolt (not sure about the Revolution). The real issue with the current crop of Verizon 4G phones is their hardware, which is "last gen" compared to newer phones.

The Galaxy S2 is supposedly coming to Verizon in late July, and I think it's still unknown if it will have 4G or not. I'm guessing probably not, but it's worth waiting for confirmation as that is a beast of a phone.

That rumor was regarding a tablet not the GS2, we still don't have a good idea when the GS2 will arrive in the US on any carrier.


As for these phones:

Thunderbolt: plain terrible battery life, but probably the cheapest
Charge: Decent to good battery life for many people, has a fantastic screen
Revolution: Haven't heard much about it other than it has Bing stuff installed, and overall it felt like a nice device to me. I'd probably get it over a thunderbolt and just install all the google stuff.

 

[bonkers325]

get a thunderbolt, root it, and install a custom ROM with a custom kernel. i run CM7 w/ leankernel and i can get 24 hours of moderate usage, easily.

 

[s44]

Charge (via Amazon/membershipwireless), or wait until 4G data plans are capped and get dual-core. Since you don't have a smartphone now, waiting is stupid.

You sure you can't renew before the contract is actually fully out? We know unlimited 4G plans will last at least through July 7 -- after that it's a crapshoot.

 

[disports]

Hmm couldn't you just let the contract run out and be month to month until you see a phone that you like and use the discount?

 

[Spoooon]

Hmm couldn't you just let the contract run out and be month to month until you see a phone that you like and use the discount?

For me, I want to be sure and get in on unlimited 4G. I imagine that may be the case with the OP.

Anyone have any ideas what besides games would demand multiple cores?

 

[disports]

For me, I want to be sure and get in on unlimited 4G. I imagine that may be the case with the OP.

Anyone have any ideas what besides games would demand multiple cores?

Ah well that makes sense. I still have till November to get that extra discount but I could also use my brother's upgrade (he's eligible) to get a smartphone before the tiered/capped data plans if necessary.

 

[Bman123]

Get a thunderbolt man. I got one and I get good battery life with mine.
The charge design is ugly, and the screen makes colors look fake
The rev is a LG phone with Bing
The bolt is well built

Don't worry about dual core, my bolt which is old tech flies on 4g man

 

[Geekbabe]

I've been holding out on making the jump to 4G hoping for newer hardware choices but it doesn't look like that's going to be happening.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I've been holding out on making the jump to 4G hoping for newer hardware choices but it doesn't look like that's going to be happening.

It will happen eventually, but first Verizon needs to get some of that investment back by selling first generation LTE phones with higher margins than the dual core modules we will be seeing this Christmas.

Verizon seems to really know how to make a buck. In comparison AT&T is incompetent. Not only are their 4G offerings not real 4G, but they released their flagship dual-core phone before all of their "milk the market" 4G offerings were released (such as the Infuse- the Charge of AT&T) AND they didn't promote that advantage worth a damn and so this flagship phone was on the clearance rack before Verizon even had a 3G dual core phone.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Score a thunderbolt, it has a ton of developer support... And get a 4G phone/contract before they cap the data plans...

 

[boomhower]

If the Charge wasn't so dang ugly that would be my choice for the screen. But since it is I would probably go with the Revolution if your going to keep it stock for the brighter display over the TB. If your into modding the TB is going to be your better bet.

 

[Bateluer]

Score a thunderbolt, it has a ton of developer support... And get a 4G phone/contract before they cap the data plans...

I think this is the best option right now. I like my TB, and it greats very solid battery life after you've tweaked it a little with a custom kernel, and flashed the newest MR2/2.5 radios.

Lock in the unlimited 4G data while you can.

 

[Pliablemoose]

The potential 4g caps are crazy to consider being able burn through them in a matter of hours...

 

[ew915]

The potential 4g caps are crazy to consider being able burn through them in a matter of hours...

Well if you tether you probably burn it in 1 hr

 

[boozie]

I think this is the best option right now. I like my TB, and it greats very solid battery life after you've tweaked it a little with a custom kernel, and flashed the newest MR2/2.5 radios.

Lock in the unlimited 4G data while you can.

This all sounds tempting but I have no experience with that type of stuff. I'm assuming that crap voids warranty? Would I even be able to cash in on my insurance on the phone if something happened to it?

 

[Fire&Blood]

Signing up for an unlimited plan before they are gone seems to worth "sacrificing" the phone discount for one. But know that all existing LTE handsets are inferior.

Other than tethering to devices that actually can, current phones can't take advantage of LTE, all are severely bottle-necked by existing SoC's.

By the time more capable phones come out, unlimited plans will be long gone.

 

[boozie]

It looks like the Netflix App can only be used with the LG Revoltion. http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReady...-d-n-587-netflixforandroidphone&trkid=4112558

Are there modded apps or other easy ways to stream netflix on the phone?

 

[s44]

Nope, it will work on basically any modern phone running Gingerbread and a few on Froyo. Netflix is planning to update to allow even more phones as well.

 

[boozie]

Nope, it will work on basically any modern phone running Gingerbread and a few on Froyo. Netflix is planning to update to allow even more phones as well.

Well I don't think the Verizon 4G phones use Gingerbread.

 

[thomsbrain]

Are there rumors of specific caps for 4G? There were always rumors of a cap for 3G but it never happened. My plan runs out in July, too.