Best Unlocked Android Strategy?

Posted by AndrAppleFan on December 29, 2012 11:35 am 17

Decision time, and I need some help!

Situation:

I've had an iPhone 4 on AT&T for going on 3 years now, and it's definitely time to make a move. I've decided to go the "bring your own" unlocked phone route on T-Mobile, b/c their @$30/mo 100 minute/unlimited text/unlimited data plan is pretty much a perfect fit for me. Now I just have to figure out which phone to buy.

Options:

1. Nexus 4 16GB: I really like this phone, and I would already have bought it, but It's been sold out basically since the day after I made my carrier decision. I'll be making my purchase in about 3 weeks, so if it's available then, I'll probably go ahead and get it. However, I'm not really into the idea of waiting 2 months for a phone...

2. HTC One X: T-Mobile has refarmed their 1900 band in my area, so this phone will actually work on HSPA+ for me. I can get the AT&T version unlocked from Amazon for about $420, and that would give me the flexibility of switching to AT&T's LTE if I decide to ditch T-Mo at some point (or maybe T-Mo's LTE when they finish it). I'd probably put CM10 on this b/c I'm not a huge fan of Sense; though that would be my very first adventure in rooting and custom ROMs.

• I could also go for the International 32GB version, which would have better compatibility w/T-Mo, faster processer, and more space, but no option for LTE later on and about $100 more expensive

3. HTC One X+: Much the same as the One X, but more "future proof" w/64GB of storage, bigger battery, more GSM bands, and LTE available. However, bordering on really really expensive at around $600+ on E-bay.

4. Samsung Galaxy Nexus: A Nexus device, which is great. Cheap-ish (about $370 on Newegg right now). This is a pretty solid option that could hold me over till the next Nexus device comes out. Crappy camera, though, and no LTE. How does this one perform with JB? Any issues I should know about?

I would really really appreciate any advice folks have had or experience with any of these phones, especially if you're on T-Mobile's month-to-month or even StraightTalk.

PS - I'm not leaving the iOS ecosystem entirely. I plan to keep my iPhone 4 for use as an iPod for workouts and 'remote' for my AppleTV. I also want to get an iPad mini: my Nexus 7 is nice and all, but Android tablet apps are kinda lacking...

Thanks!!!