Summary Lost in the fanfare of the latest and greatest phones on the market (iPhone 4S, RAZR and Galaxy Nexus/S2) is the Rezound. I had not planned on buying this phone. But once I held and played with the Rezound in person, I was impressed by its build quality and … Expand full review

Summary: Lost in the fanfare of the latest and greatest phones on the market (iPhone 4S, RAZR and Galaxy Nexus/S2) is the Rezound. I had not planned on buying this phone. But once I held and played with the Rezound in person, I was impressed by its build quality and speed. It also looks much nicer in person than it does in photos. The contoured back feels great; in contrast, the RAZR doesn’t feel as good due to its angled back with sharper edges. Come to a Verizon store and try it for yourself.

Since the technical details about the phone are explained in the CNET review, I will explain some of the qualitative reasons why I chose this over the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy Nexus:

The screen makes browsing the internet a joy. Once your eyes get used to the extra real estate, it’s hard to downgrade to a smaller screen (a la the iPhone 4S). The displays on the RAZR and Nexus are fantastic, too, but lag behind the 4S and the Rezound.

The Beats integration is nice, but is still a work in progress until the software gets integrated w/ Spotify, Winamp, Pandora, and other 3rd party services. The headphones that are included are fantastic. I personally love them. When you are using the standard music player, the Beats software and headphones combo make rock and hip hop awesome to listen to.

The Sense UI is nice, but can use Slim Fast. My old phone was a Motorola Droid, and I can tell the customizations are ever so slightly holding the phone back. Still, Sense is easy to understand. It’s easy to use the extras are fun. Plus, with a dual-core 1.5 GHZ processor, everything is fast and responsive.

Battery life is just OK. The Rezound ain’t bad, but the other phones sound like they will have better battery performance. If you are a super heavy media user, then you’re better off with the iPhone 4 (not the 4S) in my opinion. That thing sips on battery. For most people, battery life will be a minor issue. As of now, I’m at 85% and it’s lunch time for me. Shrug.

Given the steep level of competition, I’d strongly advise cross-shopping this phone w/ others. I’d still recommend the iPhone 4 or 4S for moms and dads for ease of use and battery life. If you want ICS now, then you should wait for the Nexus. BUT if you like Android, then this phone has a ton to offer. Thanks for reading.

Updated on Nov 21, 2011

Updated observations + shopping advice (Nov 21)

Cannot emphasize enough – visit a local Verizon retailer and play with all the phones you are cross-shopping with the Rezound! I would not buy ANY phone without seeing them in person.

Also, if you can, SLEEP ON IT! There are/will be some great deals online for these phones, as well as the release of the Galaxy Nexus. Waiting = more choice and possibly lower prices.

re battery life:
If you are coming from a non-4G smartphone, the battery life will be a step down. BUT, if you are coming from another 4G phone, this is a step UP. The Rezound should last an entire day with moderate use. Please buy a charger (or a micro USB cable) for the workplace OR a car charger – same goes for the Nexus, RAZR and iPhone 4S.

If you buy this phone, ask the Verizon rep to help you remove things like widgets that you don’t want or need. Should help a little bit w/ overall speed and battery life.