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Ask HN: Which Android Phone to Buy?

44 points by dpapathanasiou ↗ HN
Is the Nexus One from Google the best choice? Or, should I consider another device from Verizon, etc. instead?

Ideally, I'd like to have a simple pay-go plan, as opposed to a fixed cost per month.

115 comments

[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 152 ms ] thread
byoung2
It depends on what you want/need to do with your phone.

If you travel internationally, The Nexus One is a great choice because it's GSM. You'll have to put up with T-Mobile/AT&T in the states, but when you're abroad, just pop in a foreign SIM card and you're good to go.

If you want the fastest internet with no caps, look at the EVO from Sprint. With 4G speeds from 3-6Mbps in about 2 dozen cities and a hotspot supporting up to 8 devices, you can almost use it as your only internet connection at home.

If you do a lot of texting/emailing, the Droid from Verizon is about the best Android phone around with a slide out keyboard, plus you get a reliable network to back it up.

I guess in the end you have to decide what you want and go from there...

yoden
Also, the Droid X will launch in August or so, so if you go that route you may want to wait a few months (it also doesn't have the droid's fiddly d-pad.
jackowayed
The Droid X comes out in July and does not have a keyboard. It's basically an EVO clone.

You're probably thinking of the Droid 2.

billymeltdown
that's an interesting device. any word on the battery life?
megablast
There is always a new android phone coming out, which is bigger and better than the last. Some people like this, some people don't.
jrockway
There is always a new iPhone coming out, which is bigger and better than the last. Everyone seems to love this.
masklinn
That's sufficiently not true as to be completely false.
mkramlich
Douglas Adams? Dude, welcome back from the grave.
megablast
The difference being, that a new iPhone comes out once a year, at around the same time. So you can buy a new iPhone now, realising that there is no point updating it for a year.
jrockway
With mandatory two-year contracts, that makes for potential unhappiness.
megablast
Nope.

You can buy it outright in most of the world.

Lots of places have 12 month contracts (Optus in Australia).

And lots of companies are letting you get out early (ATT).

There seems to be lots of lies in this thread, something I don't expect to see on hacker news.

bdb
The Droid is a great phone too. I think I like the screen better than that of the Nexus One.

I just can't get into the Evo. If you haven't held one in your hand, you don't understand the size of this thing. It feels like talking into a paperback copy of The Catcher in the Rye.

byoung2
My girlfriend has an EVO and man is that thing huge. I have pretty big hands (i can span a tenth on a piano and palm a basketball) and my first thought was that the EVO is uncomfortable for me to hold as a phone. I say as a phone because I realized that she uses it as a replacement for her Viliv S5 tablet (before that she had a Nokia N800). Most of the time she uses it in landscape mode as more of an internet tablet (video chat, browsing, texting), and she never holds it up to her ear (uses bluetooth instead). When you look at it that way, it's not so big after all.
technomancy
> my first thought was that the EVO is uncomfortable for me to hold as a phone

FWIW, I still feel weird when I hold my Nexus up to my head to take a call. I don't think of it as a phone at all; it's a handheld computer that happens to be able to interface with the global legacy telephone system.

seancron
I do have to say I still haven't gotten entirely used to the keyboard on the Droid. It can be hard to tell where the individual keys are, and the keys are a little shallow so it's not the most responsive.

Another benefit for the Nexus One is that it does seem to get updates the soonest out of all the Android phones, whereas I'm still waiting for 2.2 on my Droid. Hopefully it'll be updated soon though now that Froyo has been open sourced.

biafra
UMTS (3G) with HSDPA is also 3-6Mbps. Depending on your carrier its available in all major cities in Germany.
zackola
I'll pay you 10 dollars to take my G1.
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peregrine
Have you by chance installed any of the custom roms on it yet? Makes the G1 feel like a new phone, still the best phone I've ever owned.

That said mine is definitely showing its age and I'm excited for my contract to be up this August.

Andys
I love my G1. It feels solid.. yesterday I dropped it down a flight of concrete steps and its fine!
zackola
It's definitely a solid phone. When I got it (pre-order) I was worried about the hinge for the screen, but it's held up remarkably.
keefe
links to best roms / verified howto?
bdb
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php/Main_Page#Dream

If you have a Dream (G1/ADP1) or Magic (MT3G/ADP2?), highly recommended.

mr_justin
Approach this with care. I just bricked my G1 with DangerSPL. Followed the steps exactly, never made it past the SPL flash.
keefe
lol and this is why I haven't done this yet...
peregrine
I've flashed my SPL and my rom several times before. Getting close to 20 times I've flashed my rom and 5 times flashing my SPL and I've had little to no issues. Follow the instructions to the T and nandroid backup and you should be okay.
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zackola
Yes, I'd been running a pretty recent Cyanogen mod, but not one that was 2.1. I had been thinking about using a 2.1+ mod but haven't had the time to sit down and figure the whole process again. The keyboard on the G1 is great, but that's about it. After installing and using Cyanogen it always felt like the phone was laggy for doing the important things, answering calls, etc.

The best phone I've owned so far for functioning as a phone was a RAZR v3. The best smartphone up until about a year ago was the G1, but with limited ram the hardware has been unable to keep up it seems.

[dead] peregrine
Have you by chance installed any of the custom roms on it yet? Makes the G1 feel like a new phone, still the best phone I've ever owned.

That said mine is definitely showing its age and I'm excited for my contract to be up this August.

jchonphoenix
I wouldn't bother with getting a slide out keyboard. If you install Swype, your typing speeds can be faster than it is with a phone keyboard.
byoung2
I have a Touch Pro 2 (with slide out keyboard), and one not-so obvious advantage is that I can type without having an onscreen keyboard block half the screen.
ryandvm
Definitely. Swype is amazing. I'm using the beta right now, but when they decide to start asking for money I'll pay.
byoung2
I think their plan is to charge royalties to cellphone makers to include the technology in their phones.
Zak
Typing speed isn't the only advantage to a keyboard. Having the full screen available while you're entering text is a significant advantage in certain situations.
martythemaniak
The one thing I would definitely say is get one of the new, high-end ones - Droid / Droid 2, Droid Incredible, Droid X, Nexus One, Galaxy S and Evo.

From this bunch, it depends on which carrier / features you want. Some of them are physically larger, some have slide-out keyboards, etc etc.

enjo
For my money the Incredible is tops. I love the form factor. Feels good in hand. Very similar form factor (and DPI) to the iPhone 4.
billymeltdown
I've been told by a friend, who's opinion on these matters I dig, that he got his hands on an HTC Legend and said it was "Android done right." I think the HTC Incredible is available now and is of similar design, user interface wise. Apparently the HTC folks are making a lot of head-way there.

I've read some rough review and commentary about the EVO, think you might want to do your homework there.

bdb
The right answer is Nexus One on T-Mobile. I am not a huge fan of tmo's coverage here in San Francisco, but they have the best plans for what you want, I think.

Nexus One because it's unlocked and also: it's the phone that Google employees use most therefore your phone will run the newest builds/features before everyone else's.

When you get it: immediately root it ("fastboot oem unlock"). If you want to do it later, it will wipe your data first. And then toss the latest Froyo build on there - you will have to Google around to find it, but it's really good.

extension
The big problem with the N1 is the terrible touch screen. Quite often it won't register a touch on one or both axes and the "multi-touch" is a lie.
jrockway
I've played with a friend's Nexus One. You can pinch to zoom in Maps and the browser, so who cares about anything else?
cowmixtoo
I have to agree here. I love my N1 but the 'touch' part blows.
phuff
I'm thinking about getting an Android phone and like the idea of the unlockedness of the N1. Does the touch part suck enough that it makes it overly difficult to use the phone? I had a G1 before and it seemed usable enough...
GvS
I have unlocked N1 with Cyanogenmod and haven't noticed any problems with touch screen. I had G1 before and N1 is better, more sensitive.
strangecargo
The biggest downside to the Nexus One is the screen; it is almost impossible to use in direct sunlight and the PenTile subpixel layout makes everything look like it's been resampled. Anything bright with a straight edge over a dark background ends up with a red dotted line along the left edge. It's most noticeable in text.
alec
I looked into buying a used Droid off ebay and doing pay-as-you-go on Verizon; no luck, you must have a $30/month data plan to use a smartphone on Verizon.
eduardo_f
You are looking for Page Plus Cellular. Pay as you go on Verizon's network. That's what I do on my Droid. 50 MB limit on data though :(
billymeltdown
Oh, Google doesn't appear to be developing Nexus One any further, unfortunately. So, IIWY, I'd avoid it.
brk
I had the Moto Droid on Verizon. Hated it, too many little poorly implemented things (IMO).

I just got an HTC Incredible a few days ago, and so far it's very tolerable.

Android stil does not, IMO, have the usability and polish of the iPhone, but the HTC UI is pretty good overall.

cageface
I like my droid. The keyboard is great for things like this post. It's fast. The screen is lovely. The integration with google services is smooth.

TBH I was a bit worried that I'd regret not getting another iPhone but I'd never go back to that world now.

superk
I have both the Droid and Nexus One. Nifty keyboard aside, Nexus One is a much better phone hands down. Lot's of instability problems with the Droid, and performance overall is much slower (and the keyboard while neat does make the device heavier and clunkier).
bockris
FWIW, I have essentially 0 stability problems with my Droid. (Can't speak to superk's other points because I haven't played with a Nexus One.)
luke_s
About a month ago, I ordered a HTC desire online from the UK (I'm in Australia). So far I couldn't be happier with it! The screen is large and responsive to touch. The entire experience is snappy, and the modifications HTC has made to the default Andriod look and feel work well. I highly recommend the desire.
jackowayed
I have an Incredible. Sense (HTC's UI tweaks) is very nice, and I thought it was a must have, but I played with someone's Nexus One, and I think it's fine. In some ways I prefer the stock UI, and getting all of the updates instantly would be really nice. (I'm still waiting impatiently on Froyo, which will come "in the 2nd half of the year" or when someone figured out how to root the Incredible :) )

I'm not sure how pay-as-you-go would work, but you definitely can be without a 2-year contract if you buy a Nexus One. (Though you probably could just pay full price to get an Incredible or the like and also do that.) If I had to guess, I'd say that people's pay-as-you-go data rates will be really high (since most people with pay-as-you plans don't have smartphones) that it won't be worth it. But if you do want to go that route, look at different companies' rates and see if it'll work.

I really like my Incredible, and I'm glad I got off AT&T since I'm heading to Silicon Valley in the fall, but I kind of wish I had gotten a Nexus One so I could get Froyo. It's going to be awhile 'til I get it, and when I do, it probably won't have WiFi hotspot, so I'm going to have to use PDANet or the like if I want tethering.

Here's the rundown of pros and cons as I see it:

* Nexus One--Get updates immediately without carrier interference. Nice hardware. Stock Android.

* HTC Incredible--Basically the same hardware as the Nexus One. 8MP camera instead of 5. Verizon. Takes awhile to get new Android versions.

* HTC EVO--Big screen, but also big physically (you have to carry it around in your pocket everywhere, remember). Apparently has pretty bad battery life. Have to be on Sprint. Same Sense pros and cons as the Incredible.

* Droid X--Also big like the EVO. Verizon. Pretty similar to it spec-wise. Has a special Motorola-branded Android, so also will probably be slow to get new updates. I generally consider HTC to make better hardware than Motorola. Hard to know too much since it's not out yet.

* Droid 2--hard to know too much since it's not out for awhile, but you probably don't want it unless you have to have a physical keyboard. You probably don't need one. The correction is pretty nice, and lately I've been using Swype, which allows me to type pretty fast.

If I were you, I'd get the Nexus One unless you really prefer Sense to stock Android or really prefer Verizon to AT&T/T-Mobile, in which case I'd get the Incredible.

megablast
Ever since people started talking about the battery problems on android devices, this is what I have been most concerned about. Apple, with the new iPhone addresses this issue with the iPhone 4, but android phone makers just seem to be making devices with bigger screens, with nobody trying to bring out a device with a better battery.
jackowayed
My Incredible's battery is at least as good as my old 2G iPhone.

One advantage of the Android phones is that you can actually open them up and swap in a new battery (just like with every phone in the world besides the iPhone). So if you really find that it's a problem, you could buy a 2nd battery and take that with you sometimes. It's not optimal, but it would work.

jrockway
Also, the Android phones are trying to hit a price point, and usually skimp on the battery. Buying an aftermarket battery can greatly improve battery life.

(The Evo 4G ships with something like a 1400mAh battery, but you can get 1900mAh batteries that will fit in the same space.)

rphlx
And you can get 2 batteries w/ charger shipped from HK for like $12. There's really not much reason to worry about battery life now (except on the iPhone).
detst
The Droid X will have a 1540 mAh battery (big for a stock battery). This is the phone I would go with if you actually like the 4.3" screen, which I do.

If you want a slightly smaller screen with a physical keyboard, wait for the Droid 2 coming soon.

If you have even more patience, there are rumors of a 2Ghz Android phone coming in 4Q.

dagw
HTC has both the Desire and the Legend (not sure what the US names are) in their line up. The Desire is for people who want the hottest specs and the Legend is for people who want better battery life and design.
astine
I have an Incredible as well and my suggestion would be the same.

The weakest point on the Incredible is definitely the battery. If you use it like a phone (ie. just for calls) it will last a day or two without charging, but if you play with it a lot or browse the net regularly on it, you'll have to charge it every night at least.

Other than that, it's a great phone.

cheriot
Also with the Evo, depending on your location, you can get 4g service. It's important to note that 4g doesn't penetrate buildings as well as 3g. If one intends to use their phone for tethering, though, I imagine it will be nice. At least thats why I ordered one.
follower
> * Nexus One--Get updates immediately without carrier interference.

Keep in mind that there has been no official 2.2 release that has been widely distributed for the Nexus yet.

Aside from apparently some early review/press models there have been no general Over-The-Air 2.2 updates--people running 2.2. have had to manually install it.

(This is annoying. :) )

Supermighty
On my EVO I had to turn off wifi and the batter now seems better than my old iPhone 3G. There are supposed to be updates soon to fix the power/wifi issues.
GVRV
Samsung Galaxy S, it's not getting as much attention as HTC or Motorola phones, but it's still got the features. Plus, it's available for the cheap (about $59 per month with 1GB data transfer here in Australia)
Osiris
It's coming to the U.S. on both AT&T and T-mobile. The Super AMOLED screen is supposed to be very good and Samsung is holding out on shipping AMOLED's to HTC and others in order to keep them for the Galaxy S variants. I'm pretty tempted by this one, until I read that dual-core phones are on the way (Cortex-A9, maybe Tegra 2).
lleger
iPhone 4 is the best mobile phone on the market — period.
alextingle
...as long as you don't need to make a phone call.
lleger
This was downvoted because?
CrazedGeek
A. The poster wanted to know the best Android phone to get- chances are, he's already looked at the iPhone and decided it wasn't for him (or wants to develop for Android or something).

B. You gave absolutely zero support as to why you think the iPhone's better than any of the Android phones.

C. Also, you come off as a fanboy.

lleger
A. "Or, should I consider another device from Verizon, etc. instead?"

B. An opinion was asked and an opinion was given. I didn't proffer anything beyond what was requested.

C. And you and the people who downvoted me come off as Android fanboys.

CrazedGeek
The context to A implies a different Android device, not anything else. Also, it's pretty clear that the OP wanted reasons for going with one phone over another.
xenophanes
Next time include a substantive argument when you make an off topic and inflammatory comment. (And BTW I happen to agree with you about the iPhone.)
lleger
I fail to see how it's off topic ("Or, should I consider another device from Verizon, etc. instead?") or inflammatory (iPhone is a very good device).
alextingle
How can you "fail to see" how plugging an iPhone on a thread called "which Android should I get..." is off topic??? Are you just acting stupid, or actually?
lleger
To quote the poster: "Or, should I consider another device from Verizon, etc. instead?"

Suggesting the iPhone is perfectly fine because, as far as I'm aware, it falls under "another device."

mieses
Q: Which Denny's should I go to? The one on Main St or another one?

Idiot replies: The KFC on State St is the best.

lleger
It's more like:

Q: Which Denny's should I go to: the one on Main St or another one?

A: You should go to the IHOP on First St. It's the best all-day breakfast restaurant in town.

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goodside
I have a Droid on Verizon. Do not let the keyboard influence you too much, because it sucks. I almost always use the onscreen keyboard instead of bothering to open it. The only situation where I ever use the keyboard is for games that benefit from having physical buttons, Tetris clones in particular. Everyone seems to think that a keyboard is a make-or-break issue for them, and I felt exactly the same way until I actually had one.
Zak
The Droid's keyboard is awful. The keys are flat and require quite a bit of pressure. I recently spent some time using an LG Ally, and found that it's almost always worth opening to use the physical keyboard.
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biafra
I have a Milestone, an ADP1 and a Nexus One. I use the Milestone because it has the physical keyboard. It is not as good as the keyboard on the ADP1 but its not awful.

So I guess everyone thinking about a physical keyboard has to try it to know whats better.

psyklic
Its keyboard is nonetheless a lot faster than using the onscreen one ... and when it was released it was the only device in its category to have a physical keyboard at all.
dotBen
I'm onto my 3rd Android, an HTC EVO. The screen is amazing - yes it is big and makes the phone big but I don't really find that a problem in my pocket.

My Sprint plan is $60/month for unlimited data, texts, calls to mobiles, calls at weekends... the only metered calling is landlines during the working day, which I have 500 mins/month on. That for me is = unlimited all the way through.

The 4G is amazing, although not available yet in SF.

Reported battery problems are solved if you install custom ROMS (which you'll want to do anyway to get root, wifi tethering at no extra cost, etc)

d2viant
From what I understand, Sprint's service is not really 4G, it's WiMax that has been rebranded.

http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/141144

nicholasreed
I just tested "4G" in Chicago on an Evo and it is blazing fast. The Evo's hotspot ability and screen clarity are amazing! Also, the fact that I pay $50 less per month vs Verizon for great coverage and fast data makes the whole experience even better.
dotBen
Oh, it's not 4G by international telephone standards.

But then I say this as a European living in the US that America's telephone and connectivity network is still back in the dark ages.

jallmann
WiMax has enough bandwidth to be considered 4G, but the tech is closer to WiFi than traditional cellular. And the rebranding you're thinking of is Clear from Clearwire -- WiMax is just the radio standard that they're using.

The other 4G will be LTE. WiMax/LTE is akin to HSDPA and EV-DO -- different standards that fall under the 3G umbrella. But if you want to be really pedantic, apparently wimax falls under 3G also (according to wikipeda).

djb_hackernews
Are you on a special plan to get $60/mo? I thought the basic everything plan from sprint was 59.99/mo + the 10/mo for the 4g device.

I am a sprint customer and ready for a new phone and I know Sprint has great retention deals if you ask, wondering if you went that route.

dotBen
I have a former-SERO (Sprint Employee Referral Offer) plan, now known as Everything Data Plus 500.

You can get that via instructions at http://www.cellfanatic.com/2008/07/24/sprint-sero-plans-now-... (See the image for "Russ McGuire"'s info as your referree).

I got my EVO at Google I/O and so when I called up to put the phone on my plan they didn't ask what phone I had and so didn't make me take their kinda pointless $10 EVO tax. I've heard long-standing customers can usually ask retentions to drop it.

I also have an employer discount on there, but they now appear to be hard to get applied on already discount plans. So YMMV. Good luck

I have my phone rooted, so I can run the open source wifi tether and not need to pay Sprint to use the on that comes with the phone.

Also, it's all still cheaper than AT&T

djb_hackernews
Hmm, I also jumped on SERO a long time ago, and it's really the only thing keeping me from upgrading to an android phone. To upgrade to any of the plans they offer for their android phones would double my current monthly bill. I've heard reports that its near impossible to keep SERO and have an android phone. I've been a sprint customer for 10 years, i hope to use that to get some discount.
thethimble
Would it be worth waiting for the next iteration of Android phones to come out?

What's the next "big" Android launch supposed to be (the next HTC EVO)?

ZeroGravitas
All the Samsung "Galaxy S" models are being announced for the US right about now, some available immediately, some in the next couple of months.

http://www.engadget.com/tag/GalaxyS/

Key features common to the range are the Super-(i.e. works in sunlight)-AMOLED screens and the 1GHz Hummingbird SoC (basically the same as the iPad/iPhone 4 except the iPhone 4 is downclocked).

But you get the choice of carrier and hardware keyboard, 3G/4G etc. that you'd expect.

joanou
I really like my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide. It is the right form factor for me and has a usable keyboard. Only 600Mhz but plenty fast and will be much faster when Froyo is available later this year. Plus I tether it via usb cable when I travel. The network speed is quite good in my area 1.5Mbps up and down.

I looked at the EVO, but it was too big and power hungry for my liking. And I didn't want to root the phone to "fix" it. Great screen though.

durbin
Italian prepaid users get 2.6 GB of data for € 10.00/month. Best rate in the US for prepaid data is AT&T’s $20 for 100 MB,36X more. http://twitter.com/martinvars/status/16928415972

Hooray Free Markets and invisible hands! Don't get me started on US Broadband.

technomancy
I got a Nexus One because the idea of a device that imposes restrictions against the user on the behalf of the manufacturer or carrier is deeply offensive.

It's possible to root most other high-end Android phones in order to install something like Cyanogen, but you're fighting against the current in those cases. If the exploit used to root it gets "fixed", then you might have trouble in the future. Plus you're supporting a fundamentally broken model.

tldr: software freedom is kind of a big deal.

Scriptor
Are you using it with T-Mobile? If so, how is their service?
technomancy
The best thing about T-Mobile is going to a big tech conference where AT&T's network is floundering and getting a great signal to rub in the iPhone users' faces.

On a more serious note, I've only used it in SF and Seattle, but it's great there. I only pay $40/mo for unlimited data. (No minutes since I use VoIP.)

rphlx
How did you get a plan w/o voice mins? Every carrier fears those like the plague.
technomancy
I don't know about other carriers, but T-mobile actually makes it pretty obvious. T-mobile seems a lot less consumer-hostile regarding these kinds of things than either AT&T or Verizon in my experience.

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/Cell-Phone-Plans.aspx?cat...

Though it looks like the $40/mo plan now has a 5GB cap; I got mine when it was unlimited.

jallmann
You can ask for one. That's what I did.

Unlimited data (with messaging) on my Droid for $55/mo. Reps might have to dig into their system for it, but it's there. Pretty good deal, esp on Verizon.

Tichy
I have a N1 and I am happy with it. Even though some newer Androids are perhaps slightly nicer in terms of hardware, I would also still recommend the N1 for the same reasons - I hate it when vendors impose their silly UI candy on me and in turn prevent me from getting timely updates.
SingAlong
I highly recommend Desire. Sort of a no-glitch phone. And it comes with the same class of 1ghz processors that most of the recent phones have come with. If you don't mind the delays in getting the newer versions of Android unlike nexus one, then go for the Desire.

I would insist of getting a phone with 1ghz (or faster if available) processors and around 512mb (N1) or 576mb (Desire) ram. That way you could be sure that these phones would get an upgrade to newer versions of Android and would be able to run them properly.

And going by manufacturer's commitment to offering upgrades to newer versions of Android, I would rank Google on top, HTC next and the others follow.

Maybe HTC delayed the Hero update for close to 1yr, but they did release an update.

P.S: HTC's site isn't cluttered like the other manufacturer sites. Easy navigation to support and updates pages on their site is a must for me (which is why i hate Nokia's site).

chmike
The HTC Desire is a better Nexus One becaus HTC fixed many issues. I have mine for a week now and I am very impressed by its usability. The only problem left I could find is the speaker that distort sound when too loud. Not so good for the ring tones. Reagrding battery lifetime, 3g and especially wifi or GPS must be turned off when not using them. Otherwise it is true that the device won't last more than a day. Wifi is the worst battery drain.