Ask HN: Which Android Phone to Buy?

Oh, Google doesn't appear to be developing Nexus One any further, unfortunately. So, IIWY, I'd avoid it.

I had the Moto Droid on Verizon. Hated it, too many little poorly implemented things (IMO).

I just got an HTC Incredible a few days ago, and so far it's very tolerable.

Android stil does not, IMO, have the usability and polish of the iPhone, but the HTC UI is pretty good overall.

I have both the Droid and Nexus One. Nifty keyboard aside, Nexus One is a much better phone hands down. Lot's of instability problems with the Droid, and performance overall is much slower (and the keyboard while neat does make the device heavier and clunkier).

I have an Incredible. Sense (HTC's UI tweaks) is very nice, and I thought it was a must have, but I played with someone's Nexus One, and I think it's fine. In some ways I prefer the stock UI, and getting all of the updates instantly would be really nice. (I'm still waiting impatiently on Froyo, which will come "in the 2nd half of the year" or when someone figured out how to root the Incredible :) )

I'm not sure how pay-as-you-go would work, but you definitely can be without a 2-year contract if you buy a Nexus One. (Though you probably could just pay full price to get an Incredible or the like and also do that.) If I had to guess, I'd say that people's pay-as-you-go data rates will be really high (since most people with pay-as-you plans don't have smartphones) that it won't be worth it. But if you do want to go that route, look at different companies' rates and see if it'll work.

I really like my Incredible, and I'm glad I got off AT&T since I'm heading to Silicon Valley in the fall, but I kind of wish I had gotten a Nexus One so I could get Froyo. It's going to be awhile 'til I get it, and when I do, it probably won't have WiFi hotspot, so I'm going to have to use PDANet or the like if I want tethering.

Here's the rundown of pros and cons as I see it:

* Nexus One--Get updates immediately without carrier interference. Nice hardware. Stock Android.

* HTC Incredible--Basically the same hardware as the Nexus One. 8MP camera instead of 5. Verizon. Takes awhile to get new Android versions.

* HTC EVO--Big screen, but also big physically (you have to carry it around in your pocket everywhere, remember). Apparently has pretty bad battery life. Have to be on Sprint. Same Sense pros and cons as the Incredible.

* Droid X--Also big like the EVO. Verizon. Pretty similar to it spec-wise. Has a special Motorola-branded Android, so also will probably be slow to get new updates. I generally consider HTC to make better hardware than Motorola. Hard to know too much since it's not out yet.

* Droid 2--hard to know too much since it's not out for awhile, but you probably don't want it unless you have to have a physical keyboard. You probably don't need one. The correction is pretty nice, and lately I've been using Swype, which allows me to type pretty fast.

If I were you, I'd get the Nexus One unless you really prefer Sense to stock Android or really prefer Verizon to AT&T/T-Mobile, in which case I'd get the Incredible.

Samsung Galaxy S, it's not getting as much attention as HTC or Motorola phones, but it's still got the features. Plus, it's available for the cheap (about $59 per month with 1GB data transfer here in Australia)