Three Amigos

It looks to be a very nice Q4 if you're a Verizon customer and an Android fan.  Three hot new phones are coming out, and if you're due for an upgrade (or finagle things around so you can get a new phone -- I've been there!) you'll have a choice to make.  Do you choose the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and its Nexusy goodness, the Motorola Droid RAZR and its industrial design, or the HTC Rezound with Sense and Beats by Dre?

It's a tough call for many reasons.  We can't help you when it comes to your personal preference -- there's great reasons to want a Nexus, the Droid line, or HTC's latest sexy -- and on one level or another every choice is the right one.  But we can offer you up some tech specs, which we've done after the break.  Read the charts, read the news, and read the forums and you'll be better armed to make the right decision when it's time to buy.

Galaxy Nexus forums | Droid RAZR forums | HTC Rezound forums

 
Galaxy Nexus
Galaxy Nexus
Android Central
Droid RAZR
Android Central
HTC Rezound
Operating System
Android 4.x
Ice Cream Sandwich
Android 2.3.5
Gingerbread
w/ Blur
Android 2.3.x
Gingerbread
w/ HTC Sense
Screen
4.65-inch 1280x720 HD Super AMOLED
4.3-inch 540x960 Super AMOLED Advanced
4.3-inch 1280x720 HD
IPS LCD
Chipset
OMAP 4460
1.2GHz
dual-core
OMAP 4430
1.2GHz
dual-core
Qualcomm S3
1.5GHz
dual-core
Dimensions
135.5 x 67.94 x
8.94 mm
(GSM version)*
130.70 x 68.90 x
7.1 mm
129.54 x 66.04 x
13.72 mm
RAM
1GB
1GB
1GB
Internal Storage
16/32GB
16GB
16GB
SD card slot
no
yes (16GB included)
yes (16GB included)
Front Facing Camera
1.3MP
1.3MP
2MP
Rear Camera
5MP AF with LED Flash with zero shutter lag and fast shot2shot
8MP
8.0 megapixel camera with auto focus, /2.2, 28mm wide angle lens, 2 x LED flash
Video Recording
yes 1080p with stop motion
yes 1080p
yes 1080p with slow
motion
Bluetooth
3.0 with A2DP
Stereo Bluetooth Class 2, Version 4.0 LE+EDR
3.0+
Connectivity
GSM/HSPA+
or
CDMA/LTE
GSM/HSPA+
or
CDMA/LTE
CDMA/LTE**
Battery
1750mAh
(GSM Version)
1780mAh
Non-removable
1620mAh
Wifi
802.11 b/g/n
802.11 b/g/n
802.11 b/g/n
Price
$299.99 (Verizon)
$299.99 (Verizon)
$299.99 (Verizon)
Availability
soon
Nov 11
Nov 14
Special Features
It's a Nexus, on Verizon
Kevlar back
Beats audio and earbuds

* The size of the Galaxy Nexus is based on released specs for the GSM version.  We expect the Verizon version to be a bit larger because of the LTE radio.

** A GSM counterpart of the HTC Rezound is likely.  It just hasn't been announced yet.

A shout out to the geeks among us here.  If you're the hackery type, and just aren't happy until you've fooled around to the point of breaking your Android phone, here's my hackery scores:

Samsung Galaxy Nexus - 10

It will be OEM unlockable, with fastboot.  The only restrictions about what you can flash on the GNex will be how daring you're willing to be.  Expect a slew of custom ROM's, big names and small, as well as assorted hacks out the wazoo.

Motorola Droid RAZR - 7

The Verizon version will be locked up pretty tight.  But the international version will be the first Motorola phone to have an OEM unlock solution.  You can look at our Droid X forums and see what sort of hacks and custom ROM's you can expect for the RAZR, and if devs get the bootloader unlocked (using resources for the international version, luck, or an exploit) the hackery score changes to a 9.  Moto, learn to use fastboot on your consumer devices and you'll get a 10 here, too.

HTC Rezound - 5 (or ??)

Out of the box we don't expect an OEM unlock method for the Verizon version.  It will get cracked, just because it's an HTC phone and hackers love them.  The big names (like CyanogenMod) will get a custom ROM out for the Rezound, and because it's on Big Red you'll see a slew of themes and UI customizations once that happens.  If the rooting/S-Off method turns out to be easy, ?? changes to a 9.  Again, we want fastboot.

Regardless of your choice, you'll have a damn fine Android phone in your hands.  And that's the way we like it.