i have a galaxy nexus, and my brother has the new one

they're pretty good but the battery is shit

Droid RAZR Maxx HD has awesome battery life.

Otherwise, Galaxy S4 is a very solid choice.

if you are going for the RAZR Maxx, i may recommend that you wait until the Droid Maxx is released (upgrade of the phone, will either be way better or cause the razr maxx price to drop)

the S4 is a great choice, the HTC One comes out this month on Verizon

if you want to wait a little while, the Moto X is pretty good as well

if you are buying a phone at this moment -- your best bet is probably to go with the S4 (newest, should last you the longest)

if you are willing to wait like a month, maybe look into the Droid Maxx, HTC One or Galaxy S4

^^ Great advice. Solid on all points.

The google nexus 4 is really good and pretty cheap

Moto X comes out on Verizon August 23rd, HTC One is on Verizon August 29th.

I would recommend waiting for either of those. HTC one for raw specs, Moto X for user experience

nokia 3310

Yea it's a little old, but it get's the job done

HTC One has amazing build quality, speed, screen and a good battery life

Moto X has amazing build quality, is a tad slower than the HTC One and doesn't have as good of a screen resolution. But from the reviews I have read, it has nearly a 24 hour battery life.

If I had a choice, I would get the Moto X

i have a nokia lumia 700, and i love the interface and the shape of the phone, but the apps...
there just arent any apps on windows phones still. if you like/need apps, dont bother with windows phones
really gotta charge it every night no matter how long you use it for in a day.

My Galaxy S4's (Verizon) battery will last me the entire day, regardless of how heavy I use it (get up at 7:00 A.M. stream netflix while I shower. browse the internet and text during work/for the rest of the day). The camera is sharp and has some useful settings (I use panorama and HDR quite a bit, plus you can make gifs with it).

Thank you all! I'm probably gonna go with the S4. The moto X looks great but reviews say the camera isn't as good.

I would play around with the HTC One and the S4 before you pick. I hate the changes to android/UI on the Samsung and find the HTC One a lot more enjoyable to use. The HTC One is superior to the S4 in my opinion, and is only 2 weeks away.

HTC One if you're using a contract to get a discount, Nexus 4 if you can pay 300 upfront once to Google and be free of a contract.

You can't use the Nexus 4 on Verizon guys.

GET THE MOTO X.

Galaxy s3/4

I'd recommend the 3 only because it's $50 with a 2 year contract and still a great phone

I'm due for a new phone on Verizon and waiting for the moto X

just wait a few more weeks and get the g2

Moto X or HTC One

Galaxy 4 is made from the cheapest materials known to man

Have you held one? It's build quality is just as solid as the HTC one, there's just no metal backplate (though you can buy aluminum backplates for it). Not to mention, the HTC one's backplate isn't removable, so you can't change out the battery or add a micro SD card which is pretty ridiculous in my opinion.

I have held one, and its made from cheap plastic.
32 gigs is enough for my phone and I haven't needed to change the batter

Since I'm a smartphone fanatic here are some general points on each device listed here
S4:
+Best All-Round Camera out of the ones listed (13mp)
+Removable Battery and SD Card slot
+Solid internals
+1080p amoled screen true blacks but over saturated colors imo
+/- Bevy of "innovative" features
-> most not use full and slow down the device
-> The system image of the s4 is much bigger then the One and Stock android
- Interface is quite horrible (IMO)
- Not a fan of plastic
- Samsung is slow to update the system

HTC One :
+ 1080p LCD screen (best screen IMO)
+ Dual front speakers (they are very good)
+ Solid Internals
+ great in hand feel (aluminum + great quality build)
+/- 4MP "ultra pixel" camera, better in low light but far from perfect
+/- I'm not a fan of the interface (try it in a local store)
- no removable battery / no SD card slot
- HTC is kinda slow on updates

Moto X:
+ Great in hand feel (plastic but not like S4)
+ User customisable (wood backplate coming soonish)
+ Great interface (close to stock + smooth and clean)
+/- 720p amoled screen (720p is enough but 1080p is better)
+Fastest updates of all
+ useful and "innovative" features
-> hands free operating and contextual computing
- 10mp cam lacks color!
- comes at the same price as the s4 and one but with 16gb (32gb available for more)

As it comes to battery life:
Moto X > S4 > One
Real use performance and lag (from best to worst)
One/Moto X < S4 (slows down with many software features enabled)

Your best bet is to try each out once available
The new droids on Verizon should be sweet to
-> same as moto x but the maxx has way more battery life
-> same can and interface though

For reviews of the devices I can highly recommend http://pocketnow.com

iphone or bust, had the same 3gs for a while now and it still works great

htc one if you can wait for its release

tech sites like technobuffalo and phonedog rate the one better than the s4

Root your device. That's all that matters.

3GS is pretty garbage now, there's sub-$100 phones with better screens, processors, and cameras.

And later ones aren't really worth the premium.

yes that is all very obvious since this phone isn't new, me personally i dont have the desire to upgrade since this still works like new. just never been a fan of droids at all, the interface is pretty shite and the app's work like half the time

also this is all preference anyway, some people might rave about one phone but he might end up hating it. just gotta read a ton of reviews check em out in stores and its easier to decide if your friend has one so you can at least try it out first

Personally don't like iphones just because it's like a school computer, most developer functions are blocked, and with a jailbreak it's still pretty dumb to use most of them. Just like android better personally, especially rooted and with a custom rom.