Finally ditching the Bionic (S4, Note 3, or other?)

[DisgruntledVirus]

It served its purpose. However it's seen better days and is time for a new phone. So the question becomes what phone on Verizon to pick up to replace it with? S4, Note 3, Droid Maxx, or something else? I want to be on the AWS band as it gets rolled out which makes me think the S4 or Note 3. Poll for kicks.

 

[lopri]

My current favorites on post-paid contracts are Moto X, Note 3, and the G2. Between the S4 and the Note 3, I would choose the Note 3 without a doubt.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

This is going to be VZW off contract FWIW.

 

[s44]

S4 if you go secondhand, because of the price advantage. Make sure you get a MDK.

That said, if you're buying new/the price doesn't matter and you can deal with the size, Note 3 is great.

 

[chin311]

S4. I've seen em like new/mint condition for 350 or so, can't beat that for off-contract pricing really. Note 3 too big to me!

 

[Oyeve]

I have an S4 and a Note 3. The S4 is my personal tmobile phone and the Note 3 is a job provided VZW phone, I previously had an iphone 5 from work.

I love the Note 3 so much that I changed the APN on it to work with my tmobile sim. I chopped the VZW sim to fit in my old iphone 5 and use it for work like I did previously and now the Note 3 is my personal phone. Its awesome. I am putting my old S4 on the market soon as I dont see myself ever going back to it.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The Note 3 is the best phone overall, it is just a little too big for me for one handed operation which is essential sometimes.

Plus I really like having a Google Experience ROM and the ability to hack it on there. I have an early AT&T S4 that I lokied and can now run whatever I want (AOKP currently). I happily trade the power difference and OIS and all the fancy Note upgrades to get away from the Touchwiz experience. I would buy a MDK S4.

But if you are a bigger person (or will never use one handed) and you don't mind Touchwiz than the Note 3 is THE phone of 2013.

 

[Zivic]

I would get the motoX or note 3... moto X is as close to a nexus device as you will get so that would get my top vote

 

[Sid59]

I'd go Note3 or MotoX

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Well I have people on my account that are up for renewal and will let me use their upgrade. So I could get the Note 3 for $299 on contract pricing (on one of their lines). Or I could get the S4 free and clear for $350-400 used in like new condition. I haven't looked at the Moto X at all.

I only do one handed password entry. Other than that I use two hands with my phone almost 100% of the time.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Sounds like you should get a Note 3 then!!!

 

[mnewsham]

Note 3 or LG G2

For me it's all about battery life and screen size.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I don't know where you guys are findings S4's at $350, but lightly used ones were going closer to $500 when I looked on eBay a month or so ago. Admittedly I didn't look very far.

The Moto X just got a price cut for both on and off contract pricing. I'm very happy with mine. It's as close to a Nexus experience as you'll get and Moto has been very good with updates so far. It's gotten one OTA to improve the camera and fix some bugs. Moto has also been piecing out major software components, like the camera, so it can be updated via Play instead of waiting on carriers (which Verizon is horrible about).

I think the biggest downside to the Moto X is ROM/community support for it is very minimal right now. I also think the Nexus 5 may steal the spotlight. I would expect root to come back for it, since it was lost after the new OTA, but maybe not much more. Though with Moto already guaranteeing 4.4 for the X, I'm not too worried about it. FoxFi works for tethering and that's all I need.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Note is way too big. It's novelty factor will wear off and then you're stuck lugging around a small laptop. Best thing ever getting away from the note and going s4 active.

 

[MBentz]

I just sold my soul and switched from an AT&T HTC One to a Verizon Droid Maxx. My head told me to go with the Note 3 or G2, but my heart said the Maxx. I just wanted to try something different. So far I absolutely love the Maxx. If you don't listen to the people telling you you NEED 1080p, quadcore, etc, I think you'll be quite happy with it.

 

[fbrdphreak]

If you don't listen to the people telling you you NEED 1080p, quadcore, etc, I think you'll be quite happy with it.

There's a lot of those type of people on this forum. I love my Moto X and never wish it had quad-cores or a 1080p screen. Bigger/faster != better

 

[mnewsham]

I just sold my soul and switched from an AT&T HTC One to a Verizon Droid Maxx. My head told me to go with the Note 3 or G2, but my heart said the Maxx. I just wanted to try something different. So far I absolutely love the Maxx. If you don't listen to the people telling you you NEED 1080p, quadcore, etc, I think you'll be quite happy with it.

You don't "need" it, but if it's out there and available why not get it...? the G2 for example has 2GB RAM, 5.2" 1920x1080, 3,000mAh battery, and 2.3Ghz Quad core snapdragon 800 for ~$500 (off contract)...

The Droid Maxx can be found on ebay for $400-500 off contract. Pretty much exactly what the G2 would cost, same argument can be made for the S4 as well except the battery on the S4 will be worse. The note 3 will set you back $699 so I can see an argument made for the Maxx based on price, but if that were the case the G2 or S4 are the same price with just generally better specs.

Don't get me wrong, the Maxx is a fine phone, but unless it's free, I just can't see the value in it over the G2 or the Note 3 both of which have battery life rivalling the Maxx, and better specs in pretty much every other category.

 

[MBentz]

The Maxx felt signifactly better in my hand than the G2 did. The battery is better and it's running close to stock Android. Samsung and LG phones (of which I've had both) both look like Fisher Price My First Cell Phones with the way they make Android look. I've had my fill of rooting and ROMs and don't feel the need to pay hundreds of dollars on a phone with software I don't care for. The touchless controls on the Maxx are quite good and intuitive. Again, I realize people on this forum mostly care about specs, but there are other features of the phones that matter. And while the battery on the note and G2 are good, they arent as good as the Maxx's.

 

[mnewsham]

The Maxx felt signifactly better in my hand than the G2 did. The battery is better and it's running close to stock Android. Samsung and LG phones (of which I've had both) both look like Fisher Price My First Cell Phones with the way they make Android look. I've had my fill of rooting and ROMs and don't feel the need to pay hundreds of dollars on a phone with software I don't care for. The touchless controls on the Maxx are quite good and intuitive. Again, I realize people on this forum mostly care about specs, but there are other features of the phones that matter. And while the battery on the note and G2 are good, they arent as good as the Maxx's.

The G2 and the Note 3 have large enough batteries to last all day without charging, the Maxx could probably last a day and a half, maybe 2. But that seems fairly useless 90% of the time, because you go home and throw your phone on the charger, that is a nightly habit for me no matter what phone I have, with other android phones I end up charging at least once around mid afternoon, with the G2 and Note 3 though you make the full day (fairly easily I might add)

Now the extra ~500mAh in the Maxx could be useful in certain situations (travelling is my first thought, and camping) but that really is a niche area and the G2 and Note 3 are almost there with the battery so it's meh.


With regards to the close to android experience comment, I would point to the Nexus 5, $349 off contract, only thing is the 2,300mAh leaves a lot to be desired.

Also, I would argue loading custom ROMs and rooting your phone is actually part of the android experience, not everyone will or wants to do it, but the option is there if you don't like the software, change it up, and there are plenty of good ROMs for the Note 3 and the G2.

 

[MBentz]

Nevermind. Agree to disagree.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

The G2 and the Note 3 have large enough batteries to last all day without charging, the Maxx could probably last a day and a half, maybe 2. But that seems fairly useless 90% of the time, because you go home and throw your phone on the charger, that is a nightly habit for me no matter what phone I have, with other android phones I end up charging at least once around mid afternoon, with the G2 and Note 3 though you make the full day (fairly easily I might add)

Now the extra ~500mAh in the Maxx could be useful in certain situations (travelling is my first thought, and camping) but that really is a niche area and the G2 and Note 3 are almost there with the battery so it's meh.


With regards to the close to android experience comment, I would point to the Nexus 5, $349 off contract, only thing is the 2,300mAh leaves a lot to be desired.

Also, I would argue loading custom ROMs and rooting your phone is actually part of the android experience, not everyone will or wants to do it, but the option is there if you don't like the software, change it up, and there are plenty of good ROMs for the Note 3 and the G2.

Nexus 5 isn't available on VZW. Or I'd probably look at that.

I'm torn on rooting. My Bionic has kind of killed that though TBH. I was really hopeful for a lot of rom's but nope. So I might not use it, but I want a phone that has good support for it if I decide to.

 

[isekii]

You can get the pre-owned GS4 on craigslist off contract for pretty good price.
You can also flash the GPE rom on it for the google experience.

 

[s44]

If you can use someone else's upgrade, the MDK S4 (Swappa), G2 (contract or Swappa), and Note 3 are all reasonable choices at their price points.

Note 3 will have the best stock experience but the least custom ROM development. Verizon's lockdown means only Safestrap ROMs (TW only, no AOSP) for the foreseeable future. Then again.... AOSP would cost you the pen and multi-window. Both the MDK S4 and the G2 are fully moddable with Loki.

 

[poofyhairguy]

AOSP would cost you the pen and multi-window.

Actually you can get multi-window in some AOSP roms now or using Xposed.

 

[corkyg]

My Bionic has performed splendidly for the past 1.5 years. Other than occasional phone use, its main purpose is to provide a good hotspot for my laptop. I will be eligible to upgrade in April - will stick with Moto and VZW - they work where I travel. None of the other biggies do.