Holiday Smartphone Buyer's Guide
by Vivek Gowri on December 4, 2010 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Guides
- Holiday 2010
- Mobile
Verizon
In the past year, Big Red has gone from having a smartphone lineup almost completely dominated by Windows Mobile and BlackBerry devices, to arguably the forefront carrier for flagship Android devices. The Motorola Droid series of phones has been so aggressively marketed that it's virtually synonymous among laypeople with Android itself, nearly to the point of creating confusion.
Regardless, the choices we recommend on Verizon are differentiated by personal taste. If you want a huge screen, the Droid X is the phone for you. The device is now thankfully running Android 2.2 (we reviewed it when it was running 2.1 after launch), and there's very little to hold against the phone. I loved the hardware android buttons and the form factor and still think Android is completely usable without a hardware keyboard, especially thanks to Swype and Motorola's own multitouch keyboard being included. The other thing to mention about the Droid X is that its OMAP3630 supports 720P HD video encodes, whereas the OMAP3620 doesn't - the result is that the Droid X can shoot 720P video and the Droid 2 can't. The Droid X is currently $49.99 from Amazon Wireless or $199.99 from Verizon on contract.
If you want a keyboard however, the Droid 2 is the next best option. As I noted in our review, very little which is changed from the original Droid hardware wise except for some welcome changes to the keyboard which improve usability, and a slightly different shade of soft touch material. In the wild, the two are difficult to tell apart unless you know what you're looking for. To that extent, it's not really a necessary upgrade from the original Droid unless you absolutely need a faster platform, especially considering the original Droid is running stock Android 2.2. There's also a Droid 2 Global version which packs GSM support and a slightly higher clocked 1.2 GHz SoC as opposed to the 1.0 GHz OMAP3 in the Droid 2 sans Global. We haven't had the chance to fully review a Droid 2 Global yet, so jury is still out whether the $50 difference from Verizon ($199.99 for Droid 2 Global, $149.99 for Droid 2) is worth it, especially considering Android enthusiasts can root and overclock on their own. The Droid 2 Global is also available from Amazon Wireless for $79.99 on contract, curiously enough the Droid 2 is no longer available on Amazon. There’s also the BlackBerry-targeting Droid Pro, though this is another of the Droid newcomers we haven’t taken a look at.
The other tier-1 options on Verizon are the HTC Incredible and Samsung Fascinate. We reviewed both and liked the Incredible's form factor, and it's even better now thanks to Android 2.2. The Motorola Droids' OMAP3 bests the Droid Incredible's Snapdragon SoC in the performance space in almost every category save FPU heavy tasks, but the Incredible is by no means a weak performer. Likewise, the Fascinate bests both with its Hummingbird SoC. The only problem with the Fascinate is Verizon's conscious decision to mandate Bing throughout and strip the phone of almost all mention of Google. Again, the other problem is that the Fascinate like other Galaxy S devices still isn't running Android 2.2. Size and user preference is again what really dominates here - if you want a small Android 2.2 phone, the Incredible is your pick, whereas the Fascinate packs a 4" screen. The HTC Incredible can be had for $0.01 from Amazon Wireless, or $149.99 from Verizon, both on contract. The Fascinate is $39.99 from Amazon Wireless and $199.99 from Verizon on contract.
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jalsa777 - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
i do not know your visitor's demographics...But i am preety sure a lot of visitors are from outside the USA.
The article would be much better off if the phones were divided by segment or price band.
StormyParis - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
Agreed. I dropped the article when I realized the structure made no sense to me.Brian Klug - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
Hey Jalsa777,Definitely see page 5 - we do realize that a huge percentage of readers aren't from American markets and are really trying to get a more global spread of devices in coverage as well.
The LG Optimus One is probably our first real international device, and we've got an N8 review coming too. I know we have assets moving into place in the UK to start covering devices in Europe as well, so it's definitely happening. ;)
-Brian
Pataling - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
The Palm Pre 2 should have got a mention in the unlocked/international section. Won't Anandtech be reviewing it anytime soon? It is a "developer's phone" after all.jordanclock - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
I found it strange that it was only mentioned in the ATT section. Since it isn't available through ATT, it really should have been put in the Unlocked/International section, unless for some reason it can't do any frequencies except for ATTs.Rick83 - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
Yes, there are no cell network versions, but at their price points they offer quite a lot, and beg the question how apple and samsung end up charging the ridiculous amounts the do, for their hardware (which should be cheaper than netbooks, not more expensive...yay status-symbol-markup)It is them that also, more than a year ago, put one of the first Android Tablets on the market (my Archos 5 IT is a year old now....) and now they even made the move to capacitive touch screens (though I still prefer resistive....).
Anyway, their 70 and 101 models should be at least worth a mention, as they are actual products, and probably enjoy a bigger market share than the ViewSonic.
And not even listing Archos with the "also ran"? That's really questionable...
So anyway, if you're looking for a tablet for serious work, and not as a status symbol, give the Archos 70 a good look....USB host available via cheap adapter, priced low, connects via standard USB cable, HDMI out, micro SD.... Though apparently you give up 3g (...well, mifi is an option, or BT tethering to your cellphone) and GPS (that might hurt if you plan to use it for navigation...though 7 inch is a bit large for that kind of thing anyway.
Oh and there's a 10 incher as well, for a similar price.
Skott - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
Yes, I don't understand why they didn't look at Archos as well. Perhaps because they are not as big of a company as the others? That new Archos 101 (10.1) just released recently and if anything has a chance of matching or surpassing the iPad it would be it. It uses the newer version of FROYO 2.2. At $299 its very competitively priced.VivekGowri - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
You actually can't get the 101 or the 70 in the US yet, but yeah I did forget to mention them. I was really determined not to mention the Archos 9 PCtablet, since I've played with that a few times and found it a major disappointment (performance and resistive touchscreen, amongst other things). I'll probably add in a mention of the 101, cause that does have a really good price on the low end (the 16GB ends up pretty close to the Viewsonic, which is a lot more powerful.)Roland00Address - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
Make sure you do a mini review before and after you root the device. I am just wondering how useful the device will be with no app support.DigitalFreak - Saturday, December 4, 2010 - link
I bought a Viewsonic G tablet this past week. The stock software is ok, but not great. The latest update includes the Handigo app store, which is better than nothing but not anywhere near the Android Market.Where this device really shines is with the alternate roms. TNT Lite seems to be the best at the moment. It replaces the interface with the stock Android UI. There's hack that gets you the full Android Market and Flash support as well. Unfortunately, Android 2.2 doesn't support multi-core, so you're stuck using 1/2 the processing power of Tegra 2. Hopefully 2.3 will add that. Even with 2.2, it's still a fast device.
If you plan on keeping the G tab stock, then it's merely ok. If you like tweaking though, it's definitely worth the money. XDA has an forum dedicated to it.