Within the space of nine months I will be returning from Japan to the United States, meaning that the iPhone 4 I got for free with a two year contract with Softbank is no longer necessarily the most economical choice for me to be making in terms of either owning a cell phone. I'm going to be left with the choice of either getting a new cell phone and data plan for my iPhone 4 in the USA or switching to a different smartphone. What I've been currently using is an iPhone 4 with an iBuffalo keyboard to make it easier to type.

The iPhone 4 is greatly out of date but I'm not sure if I actually want to upgrade to the iPhone 5. I love the iPhone, but a great deal of the most useful programs for my iPhone required that I jailbreak my phone ( essentially meaning that what I like about the iPhone has little to nothing to do with the iPhone itself ). I like the ability to synch my iCloud account with the phone, but the convenience of iCloud has been seeming less and less like a reward and more and more like it's forcing me to do everything through the Apple bundled software.

So my question is this. Ignoring the iPhone 5 and apple products entirely, which is the best smartphone currently on the market and what is it that makes it so great?

Jesus, here we go. Didn't we have a thread like this just the other week?

Anyway, are you concerned with cost, or your need for things like hardware keyboards and custom whatevers? Anyone who can answer a stupid question like 'what is the best smartphone' is probably retarded, but I'd probably fall down and speak in tongues if the response wasn't overwhelmingly one-way.

You did but I only noticed it after the fact and it didn't really answer my question. My smartphone is both my primary method of internet access (on the phone and via tethering) and what i use for the majority of my presentations from my phone to a projector. I've been using my phone as a remote for my TV and a mouse for my desktop computer. i also use it for a lot of japan exclusive functions that will soon cease to be relevant.

I'm not opposed to spending as much as the cost of the iPhone 5 for better preformance, but I would be lying to say cheaper isn't preferred. And peripeherals are totally fine if they improve preformance.

My advice to anyone in the US would eb to actually cough up the cost of the phone up front and buy a device that is NOT operator-locked. Then get a data plan and if you need to switch providers, you're not tied to fixed length contract.

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Warwolf Urban Combat Specialist

Why is it so goddamned hard to get little assholes like you to admit it when you fuck up? Is it pride? What gives you the right to have any pride?
–Darth Wong to vivftp

GOP message? Why don't they just come out of the closet: FASCISTS R' US –Patrick Degan

The GOP has a problem with anyone coming out of the closet. –18-till-I-die

Nexus 4. Nothing on the market can beat $300 for a top-of-the-line unlocked smartphone. I will buy one for $300 and use it with my prepaid T-Mobile $30/month plan. You won't be able to get a deal anything like this with a contract phone.

Here is an article about someone with exactly the same setup as me. The Nexus 4 will make this even more awesome.

As a note, the Nexus 4 is limited to UMTS providers in the US (AT&T, T-Mobile and MVNOs that use those networks). You will not be able to use it on legacy-CDMA providers (Verizon, Sprint and associated MVNOs). It doesn't support LTE, either.

I'd rather take an anthrax shot to the testicle than lose LTE.

I'd have to find a unlocked AT&T phone w/LTE and a Straight Talk sim or something.

No LTE on Straight Talk

What is LTE?

Long Term Evolution, AKA a cellular data connection that doesn't suck for everything but reading webpages.

Tmobile's HSPA+ 42mbps has similar speeds to At&t's LTE.

LTE has much lower average and median latency, though.

That and much higher upload speeds. nevertheless HSPA+ 42mbps is good enough.

Latency's the big thing; Anand's measurements of DC-HSPA shows latency can be as high as 1-1.5seconds(!); LTE never is that bad. It really does change how things feel when you're browsing around.