Choosing an Android Smartphone - That is the question

[DanielDuo]

Hi guys, whats up? I'm new to this forum, and I'd like to start my participation here with the hardest of all questions (at least for me, hehe) these days: which smartphone to buy.

First things first: I live in Brazil. Some manufacturers (like HTC) do not sell phones over here. So, even if I can buy from someone who bought it on the US, I'd still have to make it work on our service providers.

With that in mind, I started looking around for contenders. My current phone is a Nokia N8. It fits quite ok for me, and it has a nice camera which I like a lot. Problem is last month I had to fix it with Nokia itself, and the phone came back worse that it was at the first place. THe service there was really bad, and that made me give up on Nokia at least for now : /

So the contenders I found right now are:
1 - Motorola Razr Maxx
2 - Sony Xperia P
3 - Sony Xperia S

My first idea was to buy an Xperia P. I have a tablet, and then I thought: "Well, I can do almost everything I need on it, so why should I need a top class smartphone?". But then, the camera kinda let me down a lil. Like I said, I liked taking picture with my N8, and it does have one of the nicest cameras I've seen on a smartphone.

That's when I started thinking of the top level guys, like Xperia S. Its camera seems astounding, and it is quite elegant. That Bravia screen also made me want to buy it right at the spot, even though its case is made from plastic (Why isntit metal, like the Xperia P? Sony must be going nuts). Luckily, my girlfriend told me she read somewhere that it's battery had some issues. I came back home and started to search about that... What a disaster o.o

Aprently, some Xperia S battery won't last 10 hours! My N8 lasts 3 to 4 days. Truth be said, I'm not a heavy user. I turn wi-fi and 3g on for 1 hour per day (tops), and the rest is just idle and some fast phone calls (id say around 30 minutes a day). Well, it does't make much sense to have such a nice phone like the Xperia S and not being able to use it after lunchtime :P Some people said it got better after an update Sony released on June, and some said its just the same, if not worse.

And then theres the razr maxx. Its battery life is the best around from what I read. The camera seems nice-ish, but I couldn't find many example photos. The design makes it look ugly but that's not very important I guess... It has a kevlar casing on the back, and its price here is around the same as the Xperia S.

And now I'm kinda lost, hehe. There doesn't seem to be many smartphones being release for the next month or so on that level, and my good old N8 deserves an honorable retirement. What do you guys recomend? I prefer to stick do Android cellphones...

LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony are the main manufacturers we can find in my country.

Thanks in advance guys, sorry for the long text.

[chimeraX]

Welcome to Brighthand community. As a previous Nokia user I think you will find it hard to use Sony devices. One of Nokia’s advantages over all other phone manufacturer is that Nokia batteries last for a long time. Sony devices on the other hand had to be charged often. You will find this irritating. Motorola Razr Maxx is a good choice. But I think Samsung devices are now better than most of the devices available in the market. Their batteries also last for a long time like Nokia. When there is an Android update Samsung devices are mostly the first one to get the update. Samsung Galaxy S3 is a very good Smartphone (I am using it now). It is a bit costlier than Razr Maxx. It has got a lot of features. If money is your concern I suggest you to go with Razr Maxx or Samsung Galaxy S2. Both Samsung Galaxy S2 and Motorola Razr Maxx almost have the same features. There are lots of camera apps available for Android so you can capture better pictures. HTC like Sony drain batteries and won’t last for a long time. Go with either Motorola Razr Maxx or Samsung Galaxy S2.

[DanielDuo]

Welcome to Brighthand community. As a previous Nokia user I think you will find it hard to use Sony devices. One of Nokia’s advantages over all other phone manufacturer is that Nokia batteries last for a long time. Sony devices on the other hand had to be charged often. You will find this irritating. Motorola Razr Maxx is a good choice. But I think Samsung devices are now better than most of the devices available in the market. Their batteries also last for a long time like Nokia. When there is an Android update Samsung devices are mostly the first one to get the update. Samsung Galaxy S3 is a very good Smartphone (I am using it now). It is a bit costlier than Razr Maxx. It has got a lot of features. If money is your concern I suggest you to go with Razr Maxx or Samsung Galaxy S2. Both Samsung Galaxy S2 and Motorola Razr Maxx almost have the same features. There are lots of camera apps available for Android so you can capture better pictures. HTC like Sony drain batteries and won’t last for a long time. Go with either Motorola Razr Maxx or Samsung Galaxy S2.

Hi there Chimera, thanks for the fast answer.

A galaxy S III here is something like $ 150 dollars more expensive. If I can get it, is it worth that money difference? I mean, I could just wait a 1 month or so and I could afford to spend that much on it. I hear its plastic case makes it look "cheesy", never had one at hand. Maybe I should do another tour on stores and test it.
Also, is its camera much better than the S II and Maxx?

[lelisa13p]

Welcome to Brighthand, DanielDuo.

Before you make any decisions, let's wait and see what other opinions and recommendations will be offered.

[DanielDuo]

Hi there lelisa. Thanks for the advice, I'll sure wait for some more opinions : ]

Also guys, I made a mistake on my last post. The difference between the razor Maxx and the Galaxy S III in price is something like 230 dollars

[Varjak]

Daniel, I think you're smart to not put the newest OS necessarily at the top of your list of criteria. If battery life and construction are important (and cost), the Maxx might really make sense. There might be 'sexier' models; but sometimes pure function is really nice. But first, you should probably give us some more info (your desired carrier(s), cost considerations, contract or pay as you go, etc. Also remember as to battery life, a phone with a removable battery can half-way meet your battery life requirements (perhaps).

[DanielDuo]

Hey Varjak.

Well, battery life is something I look on smartphones, since they won't actually work when I need.
One thing I do care is construction. Before the N8, my last phone was a N95. They were both very rigid and not prone to to scratches and creases. Of course, a good plastic case might be quite resistant too, but the Galaxy S III (for example) did look frail. Don't know if it really is frail though...

Well, like I said I live in Brazil, and II couldn't find nice offers fromt he carriers around here.

I'll try to convert the prices for you guys, so that the cost makes a lil more sense:

Galaxy S III -> US$ 990,00
Motorola Razr Maxx -> US$ 620,00
Sony Xperia S -> US$ 745,00

If there are any other tips, I can look up their prices and all.

Those are prices of standalone hardware, so there's no plan or contract on these smartphone prices. I'd be willing to spend around US$ 800,00 on a cellphone now.
The Razr Maxx does seem tempting. Thing is, I've had my N8 for 2 years now. I wonder if, two years from now, Razr Maxx will still have the latest android. What's the average time for the OS to be updated after its release?

The S III is considered the best Android phone around now. I know don't really need such a high end cell phone, but like I said I like to have nice cameras on my smartphones. Usually, I use the camera at least once a day, and one of the strong points on SIII review on brighthand is its camera. Now, if that really makes a difference, I'd be willing to wait a lil and then get an SIII; my N8 is not dead after all. I don't need to choose and buy a smartphone immediatly. But hey, if the camera difference isn't big, I don't really see a reason to go for Samsung's big guy.

Oh, and about battery life: I don't think I'd need to use removable batteries. Well, I'm not a heavy user (like I said, I use 3g and wifi for around 30 minutes a day, and some quick calls (not even close to 30 mins), and I do realize that my next phone's battery will prolly not last as much as my N8 (which lasts around 4 to 5 days). If I have to charge my phone every 2 or 3 days, it is quite ok. I just don't wanna do it on daily basis, like the Xperia S owners aparently have to (I couldn't find anyone saying that there was an update from sony to try and fix that, so I guess the problem still exists right?).

Thanks for the help so far guys. Hope to hear more opinions and tips.

[Varjak]

My preferences are a bit like yours. I value battery capacity and construction pretty highly as well. One thing that might help is if you give us what bands you need for your phone to operate. Those prices you list are high, and maybe we can help you get a non-contract phone for less that works for you.

[weegie]

Don't know if I would consider any Samsung well built, or of high quality, more a case of usually sufficient for the purpose.
Samsung cameras are top notch imo, GSM Arena seemed to think the Xperia S and SII cameras were pretty similar, newer devices like the One X and SIII have faster cameras, but I personally don't think they take any better photos or videos.
Motorola cameras, along with their designs is what puts me off them, it would probably be safe to say the Maxx would give the best battery life by far, plus it has a microSD slot, the Xperia S has fairly average battery life but has a 30min charge to 80% feature which may negate that a bit for you, if 32GB is enough capacity for your needs the Xperia S and it's non expandable storage may be of little concern for you.

Not a fan of the SIII especially given it's premium pricing, to me it's shaped like an over sized suppository, plus I've hated the screens on all the half a dozen or so I've played with.
My vote goes to the Sony out of what you've mentioned fwiw.

[chimeraX]

I used Nokia long ago. Nokia users always want to have a reasonable battery capacity. Sony Ericsson or HTC phones don’t have a good battery capacity (or in other words their battery capacity is too low when compared to Nokia phones) and HTC phones mostly don’t have removable battery so if battery fails you have to go for a new device. If you use Sony devices you have to be constantly worried about battery capacity as they drain out faster. Samsung SIII is worth the money. If you can, do another tour on stores and test it. Almost all touch screen devices available in the market have gorilla glass. So don’t need to worry about scratches. Check Samsung Galaxy SII or Galaxy Note is available. Both the devices are good and won’t cost much like the SIII. SIII has a good camera because it is faster and the clarity is good. Motorola Razr Maxx is a good choice but before buying check Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note. SII is smaller than both SIII and Razr Maxx.