HTC Raider v Nexus S v LG Optimus v ???

[CalgaryRichard]

I am a Bell Mobilty customer in Calgary. I am due an upgrade just before Christmas. My iPhone 3GS recently broke (I dropped it once to often, without my Otter case on it) I am currently using an old Samsung flip and will wait it out until upgrade day.

I have decided to switch to Team 'Droid and am looking to buy a phone not only for today but for the next year to two years.

So far the phones which seem to be the top of the pile are the 3 listed in my post title... Any ideas?

While I am not a real tech guru, the idea of rooting the phone is appealing, if it provides a meaningful layout/performance benefit.

I have been to 2 different Bell locations, at one they seemed pretty set on the LG, the other the HTC. Having (briefly) held both the HTC did seem more solid (might have just been the weight of the phone). Since the Galaxy Nexus hasn't been released yet, no one was (yet?) raving about that phone, possibly this will change when it is released in a few days.

Does anyone have any advice on this topic?

Thank you.

[xperiax10]

While all the phones you listed have similar performance, I would include the galaxy s 2 in there , since once it gets the new android 4.0 update in march/april it will be a better phone spec wise than the rest of the phones you listed. Cpu speed from 1.2ghz to 1.5ghz is barely noticeable, but the gpu is much more important since android 4.0 introduces gpu accelerated UI. Also the two phones that will have the most dev support are the nexus and the s2.

Since you said you want to get into rooting your phone , head over to xda developer forums and have a look at how these things are done, just make sure you read stuff over and over until you feel comfortable doing it to your phone. Screwing something up could happen , only if you don't follow the steps that are listed.

If i was you i wouldnt touch the HTC phone since it runs a heavy cpu skin called the Sense, which does look really nice, but eats battery. I own a htc sensation that I had removed all traces of sense and had to undervolt the cpu and I'm getting decent battery life.

The LG phone seems to be nice spec wise, but no one knows if the same crappy build quality that the LG 2X had with screen bleeding,random freezing will be carried on to this new LG phone. Other than that the screen is super nice, as you can see on the mobilesyrup review of the phone.

[CalgaryRichard]

A good friend got the Galaxy s2 with Telus over the summer and he has been a major influence in convincing me to join Team 'Droid. I have used his phone numerous times, and it works great, if a little 'flimsy' feeling (I know it isn't just the thinness makes it feel that way.)

I notice however, that neither the Nexus S nor the Galaxy s2 are LTE phones, I am/was under the impression that this is the wave of the future and maybe a must have feature, if not today in a year +. Or is this a case of not getting it today, and making sure my next "superphone" has it?

[xperiax10]

Yea the S2 does feel weird in the hand because of how thin it is, i noticed that too when was playing with one.

The thing about LTE is that its a brand new technology and last i heard its only launched in few major cities, Vancouver,Toronto and Montreal. The thing is while its nice having 50mb/s download speed on your phone, you do take a big hit on battery life because of the LTE use. There are few phones like the LG Optimus 4G LTE and Rogers version of galaxy s2 that will go down to HPSA+(4G) when LTE signal is not available and that could be one of your options, but personally i dont see the need for 50mb/s download capability on your phone unless you tether from your phone at home/school, even then you will reach the 5-6gb limit quite fast if you do decide to download movies or stream movies.

I would pass on LTE version of phones for now since by the time you get your next phone , there will probably be 2nd gen LTE chips in phones that will have less battery drain than these 1st gen LTE chips.

Also if you are gonna re sign a 3 year deal with Bell call them and when you get an agent ask to be put through retention department, than work out a good plan with them. It doesnt hurt to call the other big carriers like rogers and telus and talk to their retention department and than decide who gives you a better plan. Make sure you have a general idea of what you would want in a plan before you call , it makes it easier and quicker to negotiate your plan.

[Phyxius]

It doesnt hurt to call the other big carriers like rogers and telus and talk to their retention department and than decide who gives you a better plan. Make sure you have a general idea of what you would want in a plan before you call , it makes it easier and quicker to negotiate your plan.

if you aren't an already existing client, with Telus(i can't vouch for Rogers) they won't let you speak to retention... retention is there to save clients, they have outbound sales maybe that can do something but forget retention as a new potential client, they will tell you the current plans are what is available to you. even with current clients they are cracking down on what they are giving out for free, they are pushing more and more the current rate plans and free ftre's they are being very tough on it now... word to the wise.