Originally Posted by
Gum
something I'd like to have so that the phone doesn't get very outdated in the 2 years I'm gonna have it for before I can upgrade again.
Well, unfortunately, this is nearly inevitable. Science marches on, and my then-new Nexus S has fallen behind with the times in under two years.
But, as a flagship phone, it's one of the few phones still able to easily support a colossal majority of the newest Android Market apps n' 3D junk. The Galaxy S II... ehh. I've never been comfortable with them.
As of this post, my top two recommendations are both the flagship phones of their respective providers. The Galaxy Nexus from Samsung/Googleland and the new Android RAZR from Motorola. Both are dead sexy, have ungodly amounts of performance for a phone (though the GNex still has a couple compatibility issues with older apps due to all of the ice cream sandwiching), but both are guaranteed to remain current for a more than reasonable amount of time. I'm sure a quick search can pull up handfuls of comparisons between the two.
Do note that I'm Canadian and thus don't know which phones are carried by the worst American mobile network in existence. Contractless phones are always an option, and can pay off in the long run if you're smart about their usage.