Broke my Phone and need a new one tomorrow.. What should I get?

[lacofdfireman]

So my Flip Phone is gone. I need to replace it tomorrow. Can't wait for the Iphone to come out cause I need a phone sooner than it will show up at Verizon. So since I have never owned a Droid which on should I get? Here is what I would like to be able to do. Ability to tether. Even though it scares me and I am not sure I would know how to do it even if I have a droid. I looked at the Rooting guides and I am not sure if I am that advanced to be able to do it myself. Next I really like where the Iphone can listen to a song on the radio and tell you who sings it and what the song is. Can the Droid do this? Video Camera and decent still camera. Not a big Qwerty keyboard fan so don't need a Droid with a Slide. Also need to have one that is somewhat durable. Being a Fireman it "WILL" get dropped. So any suggestions? Also Verizon has a new $15per month Data plan. How much actual internet time is this if I like looking at Youtube etc? Will this be affected if the phone is rooted? Or is it untrackable? Any help would be greatly apprecated. Need to do this tomorrow!

 

[harrellj]

I believe tethering is only available if you root the phone, unless you pay Verizon for it or you use the PDANet application (on both computer and phone), which is free but after a month will restrict you to only http sites rather than https sites (aka, no secured sites like banks and such).

As for listening to a song, there's at least 2 apps on the Droid that will do it, one of which should be familiar if you're looking at iPhones: Shazam and Soundhound. Both give you 5 free tags a month with more avaiable for a fee.

All Android phones have decent cameras, though I'd say research them (Engadget's been pretty good about doing a full test comparing camera shots and video shots).

As for the data plan, I'd actually recommend not going that $15/mon route, especially if you plan on tethering. Granted, I use my phone extensively but only for basic browsing and widgets updating themselves and still run around 3Gb/month of usage. Tethering will push that higher and frequent Youtube use will as well. Since data goes through Verizon, it is trackable. The only way to not use data is to instead be purely wireless and have all the data go through your ISP instead of Verizon. Root doesn't affect this at all, its tracked on the VZW servers/routers.

 

[captaincanada84]

Do you need a slide/fold-out qwerty keyboard? If not, get the Droid X, if you do...try to wait a few more days and get the Droid 2 Global

 

[AL1EN DR01D]

Any Droid will Allow you to Tether; Depending on the App, you may or may not have to Root your phone. Tethering using an App VS. using Verizon Tethering Directly Might run a risk of getting caught, ONLY if you're eating up bandwidth like there's no tomorrow, (such as downloading multiple movies, large torrents, gigs upon gigs of file downloads, etc.) I personally use PDANet to tether my phone since i Decided NOT to Root the phone. Yes, after about a month PDANet will disable access to Secure websites (logging into Email accounts, Bank accounts, Facebook, etc.), and request that you pay them $15 (One Time Only) to continue using their tethering software. This is Actually ALOT more affordable considering that VZW will typically require you to pay $45 extra a MONTH just for tethering internet access on your phone. Compared to my previous method of Tethering a seperate phone that I had on a Prepaid Line where i was Dishing out at least $15 a month to keep the phone active (where I wasn't even using the phone for anything else BUT Internet Tethering), a One-Time $15 is literally a drop-in-the-bucket.

In regards to your data plan, you're essentially paying for Unlimited Data each month as part of your plan (however correct me if i'm wrong about this) since the Android is a smart phone, and all verizon smart phones require an always-connected Internet Data Connection charge being tacked onto your monthly bill, Though i'm a bit hazy on the pricing details on data plans.

Verizon's actually got a downloadable app under the android market called the VCast Song Identifier, This app includes Unlimited Song Identifications, and has the option to email the title of each identified song to yourself.

In regards to Which phone you want to get... it all depends on your preference, whether you want Strictly a Touch-Screen Phone, or a Touch Screen Phone with a Physical, Full QUERTY Keyboard, whichever one you'd be more comfortable working with, or whatever your price range may be more suited for, They're all Good, Sturdy phones, but Personally, if you're like me and prefer a physical keyboard, then Unfortunately you are limited to the Droid or Droid 2.

Hope this helps

 

[Droid_Boi86]

IPhone???...what??
do you want to be added to this diagram my friend...:icon_ banana:

 

[gunz.jones]

None of the touch screen only phones that I have seen are going to be the same heft as the iphone in the droid arena, at least to me. The keyboard inclusive phones are thicker and may hold up better if you're going to drop it. Rubberized cases could also help. My d2 has seen plenty of air time unfortunately in just two weeks as well as stood up to my sneaky 3 year old and my teething 5 month old. I believe they also have a case that flips over the screen if i'm not mistaken for some of these phones though for whichever poison you choose.

Sent from my DROID2 using DroidForums App

 

[Jboxen]

Droid 2 or Droid X, both are easily rootable for unlimited tethering.

The Droid X will be better if:
- You want an 8 megapixel camera versus a 5 megapixel camera
- You want a larger screen
- You want to hook up your phone to your TV via HDMI
- Battery life is slightly better than Droid 2

The Droid 2 will be better if:
- You would like a thicker phone but not as wide or long as the Droid X
- You would like to have the option of having a physical qwerty keyboard
- Your a star wars nut and would like to get the R2D2 Droid 2

Both run almost identicaly the same thing.

Each can have cases attached for extra durrability, although the case on the droid 2 makes it incredibly thick. Only thing about the Droid X is the screen is so big, if your planning on dropping it a lot it might crack the screen with a higher probability then the Droid 2.

As far as the data plan goes, go with unlimited if your planning on tethering because you will run dry that $15 a month plan fast.

Hope this helps!

 

[dezymond]

I believe tethering is only available if you root the phone, unless you pay Verizon for it or you use the PDANet application (on both computer and phone), which is free but after a month will restrict you to only http sites rather than https sites (aka, no secured sites like banks and such).

As for listening to a song, there's at least 2 apps on the Droid that will do it, one of which should be familiar if you're looking at iPhones: Shazam and Soundhound. Both give you 5 free tags a month with more avaiable for a fee.

All Android phones have decent cameras, though I'd say research them (Engadget's been pretty good about doing a full test comparing camera shots and video shots).

As for the data plan, I'd actually recommend not going that $15/mon route, especially if you plan on tethering. Granted, I use my phone extensively but only for basic browsing and widgets updating themselves and still run around 3Gb/month of usage. Tethering will push that higher and frequent Youtube use will as well. Since data goes through Verizon, it is trackable. The only way to not use data is to instead be purely wireless and have all the data go through your ISP instead of Verizon. Root doesn't affect this at all, its tracked on the VZW servers/routers.

i'm not rooted anymore and i use easytether, has to be through a usb cable though.