I have often said that it is both a gift and a curse that we as tech bloggers live so far out on the bleeding edge of the industry. Especially right now. There are mind-blowingly great phones about to come to market, yet we’re already focused on what is coming next. There’s always something better coming, especially in the mobile space. If your smartphone is “the best” on the market for more than 3 months, you’re more than lucky right now.
With that, sometimes it is not easy to answer one of the most commonly asked questions I get, “What phone should I get?” Do I tell you about the latest amazing rumor about the next big thing, or do I point you to the device that came out last week, which I put aside when it was announced a few months ago. It’s complicated, to say the least, and it can be either better or worse depending on carrier.
Verizon seems to be on the verge of what can only be described as a colossal drop of four really incredible phones between now and Christmas, and they are each capable of being Verizon’s next big thing. This is something of a first for Verizon, as each of the phones are shrouded in a fair bit of mystery and hype, driving more rumors and fanboy fighting than I think I’ve ever seen before. What are these phones? The Motorola Droid Bionic, the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Apple iPhone 5, and the Google Nexus Prime. Each of these phones could potentially bring new customers from all of the other carriers, as wel as bring many existing customers over to Verizon’s new plans and away from their existing unlimited plans.
What makes each of these devices so alluring?
Motorola Droid Bionic
Verizon’s initial offering of devices running on their shiny new, lightning fast LTE network. The three devices that have been released so far all bring something unique to the table, but none of them are truly competitive with the next generation of Android phones. An 8-megapixel camera, a dual core processor, and the next generation in screen technology are just samples of what the remodeled Droid Bionic will bring to Big Red’s LTE offerings.
With a Tegra 2 processor and a qHD screen with 1GB of RAM, the Bionic will be packing much the same hardware that we’re seeing in current Android tablets. The buzz and hype surrounding the Bionic since January has reached a fever pitch recently when Verizon made it clear they were gearing up for its release. While widely speculated, no official release date has been offered by Verizon.
Apple iPhone 5
Despite altering their typical release pattern this year, it is still widely anticipated that Apple’s next phone, the iPhone 5, will drop later this year. As with all Apple products before their launch, there’s little more than a mountain of speculation and rumors to go on. The most common rumors suggest that Apple is not willing or ready to deploy LTE on their phones until the hardware is right for them. Additionally, we’ve seen some really odd moves from competitors that Apple has bought parts from in the past.
For instance, LG, who was the manufacturer of the “Retina” display has upped the ante with the next generation of this tech, the Nova display. Currently, LG has only put this display in a single phone, the LG Optimus Black, and it has not been a part of their lineup since. Could Apple have simply bought them all up? The rumors fly all over when it comes to Apple’s toys, so its anyone’s guess, but like their previous devices I am sure the iPhone 5 will be a competitor on the network even without LTE.
Samsung Galaxy S2
This Galaxy S2 is already getting rave reviews and terrific sales in Europe. And it’s with good reason, as the phone is nothing short of a titan. Combine Samsung’s already pleasing hardware designs with an amazing Super Amoled Plus display, a shiny new Exynos dual core processor, 1GB of RAM, and reports of amazing battery life.
Now, Verizon hasn’t officially acknowledged this device yet, so there’s no news about whether or not it will support LTE, and there are even rumors floating about that the US version will use a Tegra 2 instead of the Samsung made Exynos processor. This rumor gives way to another point made earlier, since in the past Samsung has been the manufacturer of the processors in the iPhone, the processor move could be due to a shortage or inability to produce them fast enough. More on this will develop soon if the fall release date is accurate for this potentially amazing phone.
Google’s Nexus Prime
Rumors and speculation surround the next “Vanilla” Android phone from Google. It was confirmed at Google I/O this year that the next Nexus phone would come alongside the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. So far we’ve heard “tips” on other websites that nearly every major Android manufacturer has attempted to put a bid in for the Nexus, but it is down to LG or Samsung right now. Additionally, we’ve seen far too many tips to ignore that Verizon device evaluation teams have a nondescript phone from Google to test on their networks. There’s almost no real information about this device, and certainly nothing that will be confirmed anytime soon. To keep with the expected release cycle of Android, it’s expected that the Nexus Prime will be rearing its head before Christmas this year.
Which of these devices would you be the most interested in, or have we missed one? It seems like this Christmas we’ll see some of the most powerful mobile devices that have ever been made, and the industry shows no signs of slowing with things like Nvidia and Qualcomm’s quad core mobile platforms. So, will you be upgrading this fall, or will you be waiting for the next “next best thing”?
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