Verizon Wireless users--I need your help.

erpadmin

Hey guys, I need help if you are on Verizon.

I'm eligible for an upgrade and I need to add a line so that the wife and I can have smartphones. Before I continue, I am going to state flat out that I will not be one of the masses buying an iPhone. I'm not looking to flame you if you bought one, or flame Apple in general, but it is a personal choice that not one dollar out of my pocket goes to buying an Apple product. Like Bill Gates though, I have no problem owning Apple stock through my funds. But I will not consume Apple. Please resist the urge and temptation from convincing me to get the iPhone, dissing Android, or extoling Apple and its "cool" iPhone, because I will not heed it; please don't even turn this into an Android vs. Apple thread because I have already made up my mind on the matter.

Now that that's settled, ideally, I would like to keep the dumb phone wifey uses and stay on that plan, and get the smartphone for myself (she doesn't need or want one and would find it complicated). The phones I'm looking at are either the Droid 2 or the Droid X. I am wondering if I should hold out for the Droid Bionic though. I am eligible for an upgrade now, but my contract expires in June. I would like to know if I have any leverage for a retention-based plan (read: discount) or probably not because of all the "record sales" of orders being placed for the iPhone.

I enjoy the service I have with Verizon...they do have the best coverage and I can be in the depths of Hades and get a call...as opposed to T-Mobile, when dropped calls were standard and part of the package. I'm not looking to leave them, but just want to know if I can get a decently priced data plan for being a two-year customer and what kind of Andriod phone I should get (the "X", the "2" or the "Bionic". )


Thanks guys, and if this post was a bit long-winded, sorry about that.

shaqazoolu

I switched to VZW when the original Droid came out so I am up for an upgrade pretty soon as well. The Bionic looks pretty legit, but personally I don't care for the giant screens that seem to be becoming the norm (X, Evo, Streak, etc.) and I really enjoy the physical keyboard. The original Droid I have now is pretty close to the perfect phone IMO. If I could just update the guts in it, I would keep this thing forever. I have also been kind of eyeballing the Nexus S, even though I'd probably have to switch carriers since it's GSM and I think VZW is CDMA.

As far as discounts go, best of luck. I don't really think anyone is in any position to hold anything over VZW right now. If you try and lowball them, they'll probably just tell you to get lost, especially with the Xoom coming out alongside the Bionic and, like you said, the iPhone, I don't think they are going to be hurting bad enough to cut any deals.

miller811

go with the Samsung Fascinate.... best phone out there...
I moved to a smartphone in December, got through Best Buy for $49.00.
We currently had a family share plan and I was able to move my phone to a smartphone and also lose the $9.99 per month for phone charges on it, since they had a promotion that if you upgraded they would credit it back for 2 years.

-Foxer-

My sister has a Droid X, and she really likes it. It is a pretty big phone though; I don't know if I'd want to carry it around. Android seems to be getting better and better. Personally, if you can wait, I'd probably wait for a newer phone, because the Droid X is pretty old (at least as far as cell phones go).

Can I ask what you have against apple? I understand that you don't want one and wont try and talk you into it, but it seems like you are taking a moral stand against them.

SteveO86

My only complaint with the Droid X is the battery life.. And the occasional reboot. Of course the reboot is most likely from a third party app.

Really all depends what you plan on using the phone for. If you want it for recreational purposes Droid, you don't want an iPhone for personal reasons (understandable). If you want a phone for pure messaging you really can't beat a Blackberry.. I know they are dated and do not have all the cool features of the iPhone/Droids but emails and messaging is much more streamlined.. Plus you don't have to worry about the battery as much.

I was a BlackBerry user for 3-4 years, got a Droid X maybe 2 months ago.. I love all the cool things I can do with the phone, but on more then one occasion have I looked at my phone and found it completely dead.

Droid X is also a very large phone you may want to hold it first (but the screen is just amazing). The Droid 2 is a normal sized phone, my co-worker has one of course he also mentioned the poor battery life compared to his first droid.

If you hold out a few more months the Droid Bionic is coming, 4G android I don't know if 4G coverage is where you are though. I do believe carries will charge and addition 10 bucks for 4G capable phones. I don't have 4G by me so 4G is irrelevant for me.

Psoasman

Most of the guys I work with have droids - 1 and 2. They all like them. One has the Samsung Fascinate, which is what I want, when I can upgrade.
VZ customer service is pretty good, especially when emailing them. I had a problem with several flip phones that kept breaking in the same place, but they would just give me the same stupid phone per the warranty at the store. I emailed that I would be closing my accounts if they didn't fix it. Next day, both of our upgrades were moved up,each with a $100 credit.

steve13ad

I have a rooted X, and I love it. Of course it has it's downsides, it's a biggie, meh battery life, and the occasional reboots.

Unfortunately I'm a sucker and paid full price @$200 a week before they went on sale.....

Amazon has the Xs for @20 ( AmazonWireless: Motorola DROID X Android Phone (Verizon Wireless) )

erpadmin

Thank you guys for your suggestions. I will look at the Samsung Fascinate and consider perhaps waiting for the Bionic. I'm not in a hurry for a smartphone, though I can afford one with a decent data plan right now. I'm in the Metro-NYC area, so 4G is guaranteed for me.

@Foxer, I normally would answer any inquiry and have strongly considered it in this case. But as I said, I don't want to have this thread deleted, locked or anything like that. So I will take the old advice of "If I don't have anything NICE to say, don't say anything at all..." So I'm going to leave it at that. PM me, if you're really curious, and I'll be very candid.

I know Blackberries are strong in the corporate e-mail segment. I want/need to be able to do more with mine, and while RIM has made improvements on web use, it's still, for the most part, just a nice mobile e-mail client, IMO.

What I'm looking to do with my Android phone is quick internet use when I want to do a search, take pictures, MP3 listening/video watching, and my all time want/need, a free GPS like Google Maps offer. I think "that's hot..." lol. Especially when I go to a place I don't know and want an Exxon gas station and/or a Bank of America ATM machine. I didn't have a need for this before, but since the price point is about right, I feel it's time to join the 21st century.

If folks can still heed my earlier request, I still welcome more suggestions.


Also, one other thing: how do I go about getting the best plan I can. I think shaqa is right; VZW is in a position to tell me to go stuff it...but I'll be happy with looking for current promotions. I don't want to screw myself out of a deal.