Checklist for Buying an Android Smartphone

Thinking about buying a Droid smartphone? Wanting to upgrade your existing Droid and think all the phones are the same? Keep in mind these tips when getting a new smartphone with the android OS.

• Not all phones with the android OS are the same. They are similar, but each manufacturer has the ability to customize the OS.
• Be sure to check the default search engine. This may surprise you, but some manufacturers, like Samsung, using Bing as their search engine. You can't uninstall it either. If you want Google as your search engine, you won't want to buy the Samsung Continnum.
• Be sure to check apps that are installed by default with the phone. HTC let's you uninstall their preloaded apps, but again Samsung doesn't. You will be stuck with a Blockbuster app and City ID app that you will not be able to get rid off. The biggest downfall here is that apps suck up your battery life. You will be forced to install and actively use an app killer. Not a bad idea in general to have an app killer, but better that you have the choice of which apps to have on your phone.
• Check call quality. They are not the same.
• Check the security features on the phone. Some have simple tools to lock the screen (like a puzzle) but not true security to help keep nosy friends from peeking into your phone. 
• Like to use your pictures as your background image? See how the phone treats these pictures. HTC is terrible at translating pictures to backgrounds, you end up with a out of proportion, zoomed in reproduction of your photo. 

These tips will help you know what to look for when you buy your next droid smartphone, aside from size and keyboard options. Overall, all these phones are a huge improvement over any kind of BlackBerry or regular phone but there are varying levels of features between manufacturers.