Need advice...

[Motivator]

Samsung Alias 2 just croaked a week or so ago, and frankly, where I've moved to in rural VA, it simply wasn't cutting it. Inside the house, it would be constantly roaming/searching for a signal (we live on the edge of the Verizon service map). I missed a call back from a few people on the phone because it simply wouldn't ring or give me voicemail alerts in a timely manner.

Now, the gf has a LG Vortex, and her phone rings in the house each time she's called, and she gets 3g data in most of the house. So I'm thinking that there must be a more robust antenna on the smartphone, or something of the sort.

Looking to get android myself, I have an upgrade available from Verizon. Max I'm looking to spend is $50. I read somewhere that Motorola tends to have the better antennas out of the lot. I narrowed down my preferences to the Motorola Droid Bionic and the Droid 3.

Any other recommendations or opinions?

 

[Creasty]

you can try to change the operating system of your phone.

 

[nobody_here]

Hrm.....I could not recommend either of the ones you have narrowed it down to. If you want a solid phone to use as a phone, I would recommend the Motorola Razr. You should spend some money to get a good phone, you pay the same thing for the service every month, might as well have a device you enjoy that also does LTE. Nothing is worse than being in a contract, with a sub par device, for the next 2 years. The Bionic isn't bad, but it's older and probably won't get ICS. You will want ICS in the next two years.

 

[BodyBagz]

you can try to change the operating system of your phone.

Hrm.....I could not recommend either of the ones you have narrowed it down to. If you want a solid phone to use as a phone, I would recommend the Motorola Razr. You should spend some money to get a good phone, you pay the same thing for the service every month, might as well have a device you enjoy that also does LTE. Nothing is worse than being in a contract, with a sub par device, for the next 2 years. The Bionic isn't bad, but it's older and probably won't get ICS. You will want ICS in the next two years.

Well, unlike nobody above, I can recommend the Bionic...for the price its hard to beat. The fact it is a 4G device, with decent specs goes without saying. Also, like most Moto phones of the last 2 years or so, its construction is pretty damn great, signal reception is on par with my Droid X (one of Motos strongest phones for call clarity and reception), large storage option..

Also, the Bionic is a great candidate for ICS, and if Motos upgrade docs are to be believed, there is a strong possibility that the Bionic Will In Fact receive ICS..Motorola's ICS Device Specific Update Plans Released Look at the pics of the device specific criteria and you will see that the Bionic does meet the necessary requirements to run ICS.

In the end OP, if all you want to spend is $50, and you can get the Bionic for that price and dont mind running it for a year or so, then by all means get it...there is plenty of Dev support for it and plenty of people wiling to help if something should come up...

 

[nobody_here]

ok sorry, i just can't recommend a phone that is already a bit dated, with the intention of being stuck with it for the next two years under a contract.

I would much rather spend a couple hundred bucks and get a newer faster, lighter thinner, better battery life phone with a guarantee to get ICS.......

The Bionic isn't bad, but it's not what I would choose for the next two years given the choices today.

 

[kilik64]

I agree with Nobody. Ideally you should always get the best phone that is currently out hardware wise when going with an android phone. Already dated tech is not really a great idea since the hardware moves so fast any more.

However for the premise given by the op (spending 50 bucks) you cant really go wrong with the Bionic. Its not got the greatest support on xda, but there is some out there for it. Personally I wouldnt pick that phone but you may not be as picky as the rest of us.

Long as you get signal, sounds like you dont care.

 

[BodyBagz]

ok sorry, i just can't recommend a phone that is already a bit dated, with the intention of being stuck with it for the next two years under a contract.

I would much rather spend a couple hundred bucks and get a newer faster, lighter thinner, better battery life phone with a guarantee to get ICS.......

The Bionic isn't bad, but it's not what I would choose for the next two years given the choices today.

I understand that, nor would I personally...but, thats not what the OP asked in his initial question. He asked of the 2 phones he had narrowed his selection down to, the Droid 3 or the Droid Bionic, which would be the better phone. Now, that is not an open ended question of opinion...the simple fact is the Droid Bionic is the better phone between the 2, and as such, if it can be had for $50, it is the phone to recommend for the OP`s purposes.

If money were no option, I would wholeheartedly tell the OP to get 1 of these 4 phones...
Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Razr/Razr Maxx, Droid 4 or The HTC Rezound..

 

[Motivator]

Ended up scoring the Bionic for free.

Considering that I've gone so long with a "dumb" phone, I think I can live with buying a "sub-uber" phone for now.

With no job on the horizon, price really did matter, and I got double the data, as well.

Creasty, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about?

Body and Kilik, thanks for the help.

Nobody, if the money wasn't such a huge issue, I'd be fine with that. But I did need a phone that would have reception, at least enough to tell me I've got a call coming in. I've been using Google voice as a home phone, but if my speakers are off, or if I'm outside/in another room, I can't hear the computer ring. Landlines around here are $50/mo, and supposedly actually aren't even landlines, according to what the fiance found when she looked into it, they run on a wireless signal too. But thanks for your opinion, anyway.

As far as being locked into the same phone, my parents have been gracious enough to keep me on their plan, and they have not expressed any remote interest in a smart phone for themselves (that's a lie. My father would love one, but he isn't allowed around expensive technology. He's a walking disaster.). So my brother and I both use the upgrades when they come up. My line had an upgrade coming up April '13, so by then, if I become concerned with the performance of my phone, I'll get a new one, or possibly be on my own plan by then, hopefully employed.

Phone had to ship up to NY because of VZ's policy, and it's going to be bounced back to me in a couple of days here in VA. I'll let you know how I find it. I'm sure, compared to my Alias2, the Krave before that, and the samsung whatever-it-was before that, I'll be pleased with my new phone. I've played with my brother's R2D2 Droid, and was impressed, and the same with the fiance's vortex (though it could use more onboard storage, since so many apps like to fight being put on an SD card).

Lucky me, the Bionic has 16gb onboard, and supposedly the new micro SDXC chips work with them. Probably going to go with a 32gb micro SDHC one for now though. Any suggestions on those? I've heard class4/6 for apps, class 10 if i'm going to be taking pictures a lot? Sound right?

My main issue still lies with getting signal. If it doesn't get signal, then I'm going to have to try to figure something else out.