So here's my comparison after shopping around in my area. I narrowed my carrier decision down to Verizon or T-mobile due to past experiences with AT&T and Sprint (ATT blows overall in my area, Sprint's data speeds are horrendous)
I went to the T-mobile and Verizon stores yesterday to do comparisons on the networks and in my area, t-mobile wins hands down. Their 4G HSPA+ speeds were screaming and faster than Verizon's 4G LTE in my area. I ran several speed tests on several 4g phones in each location and I was averaging about 17 Mbps down and 1.5 up on t-mobile and around 5 Mbps and 600k up on Verizon's 4G LTE. I also had full bars on t-mobile and Verizon had just barely 1-3 bars and I noticed the phones in the Verizon store periodically losing 4g data signals.
I then went on to compared the phones they had on hand. As I said I'm sick of waiting for the Nexus, and there are some things about it that I just flat out don't like.
The Motorola Razr:
The Razr had the best audio of the three (without headphones), but everything else was sub-par. The pixelation on the screen is highly noticeable and made for uncomfortable reading of text. Two Razr phones I tested in the store kept dropping data connection, and took the longest to load my test youtube video (the Jeb Corliss "Grinding the Crack" video in HD.. check it out if you have not, it's awesome). I also noticed the Razr screen got very, very hot after just a few seconds of playing said youtube video. The phone though thin is uncomfortable to hold in the hand. Not so much because it's wide, but the thinness of it actually makes it uncomfortable. I'd rather a design a bit more ergonomic.
The HTC Rezound:
The Rezound had good clarity on the screen, but the colors were very pale and washed out by comparison. It did give me the best reading experience overall, but the videos just lacked vibrancy and punch. I had my kids with me and even they immediately noticed the difference. I also found the Rezound to be too bulky for what is a state-of-the-art phone. I currently have a bulky phone, I don't want another. The audio quality without headphones was good, but not as good as on the Razr. It was about the same as on the S2. I'm not particularly in love with the HTC skin, it just doesn't do it for me. It seemed to have a better antennae than the Razr as it didn't lose 4g like the Razr did and had 3 solid bars for the most part (still not as good as t-mobile's offering). If the phone were less bulky it might have been my phone of choice, but the physical design of it is just a real turn-off.
Samsung Galaxy S2:
A lot has been made about the Nexus and other phone's high resolutions and PPI, so I went into the S2 expecting to be underwhelmed like I was with the Razr but I was pleasantly surprised. The screen in this phone is just gorgeous, even at the lower resolution and PPI. Reading e-book or browsing the web was a lot clearer than the Razr and almost on par with the Rezound. There is some pixelation but you have to look really, really hard to see it (unlike the Razr in which the pixelation is immediately noticeable). The colors were the best of the three phones. Everything was vibrant and beautiful. The Jeb Corliss video looked absolutely beautiful in HD streaming from Youtube and also loaded the fastest (again thanks to t-mobiles 4g network). The phone also felt the best in hand. Samsung found a nice balance between thinness and ergonomics. The metal outlining the T-mobile version also gives the phone a premium feel.
The camera on all three were very good in doors, though I didn't do any extensive, strenuous test on either.
So I ordered me a Samsung Galaxy S2 from t-mobile. T-mobile seemed to have the best reception and seemed to have the most positive carrier reviews for my area on cellreception dot com (can't post links). The phone itself just felt right, and overall I got the best deal price-wise of all the carriers with my corporate discount.
