allowed to upgrade earlier, which phone should I get?

[JeffDenver]

Ok verizon decided to let me upgrade two months early. Which phone should I buy. Now they won't let me bill to account because I missed a payment in june.
I have narrowed it down to:
Galaxy Nexus
Razr Maxx
Rezound

Main things are: signal strength, battery and will it be upgraded to jelly bean and last me 18 months til next upgrade?

My thunderbolt is ok but definitely not as good as the original droid I had for over two years.

Of those three I would go with the Rezound.

- Rezound definitely will have better signal than the Nexus, and probably better than the Razr.
- The Maxx has a great battery, but an extended battery on the Rezound (and probably the Nexus) will outerperform it. And you can even use your original battery as a spare to extend battery life even more.
- Only the Nexus is guaranteed JB, but it is likely both the Razr and Rezound will get it via ROMs if nothing else. But you are only guaranteed JB on the Nexus.

The Rezound has the best hardware of the 3 IMO...better display (True 720p, with a higher pixel density than even the Retina display on the iPhone). Best camera (both front and back).

 

[JeffDenver]

The question with the nexus is will apple make owning one illegal? If they are banned what will happen to all of the samsung devices out there? Will samsung/google quit supporting them?

Not a chance. All they can do is ban imports of new devices.

Samsung will not stop supporting them because there are already tons of units sold, and they are still sold outside the US. Also, Nexus devices use vanilla Android anyway. For that reason alone it will get tons of support indefinitely no matter what happens. Even the Moto Xoom is already getting Jelly Bean.

 

[wvdroidman]

The nexus sounds good. Just am worried about screen breaking as I work outside and have my phone in my pocket and sometimes drop it or it gets wet.

 

[JeffDenver]

The nexus sounds good. Just am worried about screen breaking as I work outside and have my phone in my pocket and sometimes drop it or it gets wet.

No way around that. That will be true of any phone.

The Razr series is probably the most durable phone naked...but if you are worried about breakage you should just get a case for it.

 

[Garemlin]

I'm a little on how you are allowed an early upgrade but they are only allowing it on certain phones. Is this a courtesy upgrade due to a defective device???

But to answer your question you will not beat the Maxx for both signal strenght and battery life.

 

[wvdroidman]

yeah. They said since I am only 2 months before my upgrade date and my thunderbolt is acting up they will let me upgrade now. They said the S3 isn't in the early upgrade program until October.
I like the s3 but see lots of listings on ebay with cracked screens. The razr maxx looks good but I am worried about jelly bean upgrades plus I can't change out the battery later on.
The nexus looks like it might be for me but I am worried about the screen cracking (like the s3), the reception, and durability( like battery life, and what will happen if it is in my pocket all day and gets wet or dropped).
My thunderbolt has been a soldier for me. Got dropped and wet but still works despite a few bugs.

 

[jourdannick]

Yes unfortunately S3 screen breaks easily to the phone being so thin and bending easily.

 

[wvdroidman]

Yes unfortunately S3 screen breaks easily to the phone being so thin and bending easily.

As much as I would like to try the s3 I don't want it to break in my pocket.
That leaves it down to the razr, rezound and nexus.
I prefer the nexus or maxx. I know the maxx has a better battery and has the same build as the thunderbolt.
I also have heard great things about the nexus including it will get jellybean soon.
It's back to can the nexus last as long as my thunderbolt with me working outside all of the time.

 

[dezymond]

The Nexus, from what I heard, is already getting the JB OTA update. It might've been the "soak test" version, but there is a leak and instructions to install without root, think I saw it on DroidLife?

I've dropped my Nexus twice, from about 1ft and 4ft (thanks nephew) and the screen was fine. Some scuffs on the edges but the screen is in pristine condition. The reception issues were never an issue for me, but the new radios out now have even made my reception better. As I stated before I'm getting better signal in certain places. And the battery life on stock ROM has improved thanks to the 4.0.4 update and soon to be JB update, but nothing beats a quality ROM battery life with the right kernel. I can't say anything for durability as it's never gotten wet, but it's been in my pocket for majority of the day some days and it does just fine. Considering your occupation and work environment, I highly suggest no matter which phone you go with, get a quality case that will protect your phone. Sure cases seem expensive, but would you rather spend up to $40 on a case or $150+ on a replacement phone. If you hate having a case, just use it for work and take it off when you're off work, simple as that really. Normally my Nexus is naked, but when I'm outside playing ball or doing anything active, I got a TPU gel case I got for $8 and it's saved my phone from many scuffs and scratches.

 

[wvdroidman]

how is battery life with moderate use? Sometimes I like to listen to i heart radio at work.

 

[dezymond]

how is battery life with moderate use? Sometimes I like to listen to i heart radio at work.

With moderate use, I'm a heavy to moderate user, it's great. However, I've been ROMd pretty much ever since I got the thing and can't vouch for stock ROM battery life. Streaming will definitely suck some battery life, how much exactly? I'm not sure as I don't use my Nexus as my mp3 device. The few times I did use it for maybe 20 min, I don't think it drained more than 5%, but that was awhile back.

 

[wvdroidman]

I don't know. I have sooo many choices. Unfortunately I'm going to try to buy one on craigslist with cash so I can save my upgrade for later.

I like the nexus, s3, rezound and maxx. Unfortunately I don't have a store nearby to try them out. I have to drive 40 minutes as the independent retailers have just dummy phones.

 

[dezymond]

Nothing wrong with buying a phone from CL. Try Swappa as well

 

[wvdroidman]

is this www.modityspace.com any good?

 

[dezymond]

is this www.modityspace.com any good?

Never heard of it.