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I live in Australia and we have UMTS 850 and 2100 so I can use the DNA, J Butterfly or International Butterfly, however I notice all of the developer support going out to the DNA and not the Butterfly. Will the same development work on both, for example kernel and ROM? The support already looks slow enough as it is, let alone none at all if I choose the wrong model! I wonder why there is no Butterfly sub section?
Is development always this slow for this phone or is it because it is a new device?
Depends on a lot of things.
Butterfly is not getting wide spread international release like most HTC phones do just yet. There is big question mark if it ever will. With their financial troubles and pulling out of many markets, they might skip widespread Butterfly launch and just go with M7 global launch.
Either way, DNA makes more sense at this point. Even if Butterfly releases widely internationally, the phone shares almost everything except modem with DNA. So any ROM that is released for Butterfly can and will be easily ported to DNA. If not the one that works for Verizon, then the one like Virtuous DNA+ which is dedicated ROM for 3G HSPA users like you and me.
So getting DNA makes more sense as it is global phone. So you have 2 development channels open. Easy ports of Butterfly ROMs and dedicated DNA development. I am sure most developers who will work on Butterfly in future will release simple port for DNA as it will increase their popularity and they will get more donations with minimal efforts.
And at the moment DNA is getting more development as you said as it released in the US as the only 1080P phone early.
Win win for DNA owners.
Funkym0nkey said:
Depends on a lot of things.
Butterfly is not getting wide spread international release like most HTC phones do just yet. There is big question mark if it ever will. With their financial troubles and pulling out of many markets, they might skip widespread Butterfly launch and just go with M7 global launch.
Either way, DNA makes more sense at this point. Even if Butterfly releases widely internationally, the phone shares almost everything except modem with DNA. So any ROM that is released for Butterfly can and will be easily ported to DNA. If not the one that works for Verizon, then the one like Virtuous DNA+ which is dedicated ROM for 3G HSPA users like you and me.
So getting DNA makes more sense as it is global phone. So you have 2 development channels open. Easy ports of Butterfly ROMs and dedicated DNA development. I am sure most developers who will work on Butterfly in future will release simple port for DNA as it will increase their popularity and they will get more donations with minimal efforts.
And at the moment DNA is getting more development as you said as it released in the US as the only 1080P phone early.
Win win for DNA owners.
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Thanks for that. I was at my local shops today about to purchase the Note 2, however it is too much like my last 3 phones SGS 1,2,3 and it was very uncomfortable to handle due to the nature of it's size. I was then looking at the Nexus 4 online and now the Droid DNA. I am having a hard time deciding on 1. I am blown away by all of the development for Nexus 4 and the front bezel looks sexy!. It is really sad to see little developers for DNA! - I am not used to little support, coming from a Samsung. I know for certain if the DNA threads were busier I would not hesitate to choose it over the Nexus 4.
the DNA is as wide as the S3 and taller, if you haven't compared the two yet
ML417 said:
the DNA is as wide as the S3 and taller, if you haven't compared the two yet
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I don't mind the size of my S3, however I wanted to try something away from Samsung now. I have been using them since Eclair. Like I said above, the only reason I am hesitant with this device now is it doesn't look to be flourishing in the development community!
I think HTC has become a little bit suspect over the last couple of years and that also worries me. I have owned a HTC Touch Diamond and a H2 (which I converted from windows to Android) and both of these phones overall weren't impressive to me at all. I just really hope if I buy a DNA/Butterfly, I won't regret it or be disappointed. Was anybody else on the fence with this device? if so what do you think now?
uppon2 said:
I don't mind the size of my S3, however I wanted to try something away from Samsung now. I have been using them since Eclair. Like I said above, the only reason I am hesitant with this device now is it doesn't look to be flourishing in the development community!
I think HTC has become a little bit suspect over the last couple of years and that also worries me. I have owned a HTC Touch Diamond and a H2 (which I converted from windows to Android) and both of these phones overall weren't impressive to me at all. I just really hope if I buy a DNA/Butterfly, I won't regret it or be disappointed. Was anybody else on the fence with this device? if so what do you think now?
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Well that is tricky one to be honest.
I have give more than fair chance to HTC over last few years. I had Hero, Desire, HD2, Sensation, Sensation XL and One X before DNA.
The One X I ditched purely out of frustration. It received fair share of development, but even lot of developers themselves were frustrated with S-ON and Tegra 3.
The S-ON blasphemy still lives on till today and that is the biggest caveat I have against HTC and same is the case with lot of developers. They just loathe the fact that you have to go through HTC DEV to unlock bootloader and S-ON putting extra restriction on them and one more step for end users to remember and make sure they dont mess up while flashing custom kernels and rolling back to stock.
The only reason I am even giving chance to DNA is purely because of Hardware. I am not a big fan of Sense either. But it can be refreshing for a while. I went to One X after using 2 back to back Samsung TWUI phones, and for a while it was great to use something else. In long run though that beautiful piece of hardware was nothing but disappointment. But I hope DNA is different. Even if it does not get as much development as Samsung, couple of key devs can make a lot of difference.
I just wish they do come here. We already have few good ones. But their interest needs to last.
In the end you can always ebay the phone if you take care of it properly (cosmetically) and recover large portion of your investment. Specially high end little exclusive device like DNA which is not easily accessible outside US is in great demand outside US.
DNA will never get as much developer support as Nexus 4. Its not happening, neither will it match Note 2 or SGS3 or upcoming SGS 4 for that matter. What we need is just enough developer involvement to address some critical issues or add some really beneficial features to a phone with stunning hardware. This time the hardware is all there. We just need little bit of development. I for one was willing to take that risk when I jumped in. If it works out, well and good. Or it hits ebay in month or two.
Usually it will take couple of months after device launch for developer section to start buzzing on the exclusive devices like DNA.
Funkym0nkey said:
Well that is tricky one to be honest.
I have give more than fair chance to HTC over last few years. I had Hero, Desire, HD2, Sensation, Sensation XL and One X before DNA.
The One X I ditched purely out of frustration. It received fair share of development, but even lot of developers themselves were frustrated with S-ON and Tegra 3.
The S-ON blasphemy still lives on till today and that is the biggest caveat I have against HTC and same is the case with lot of developers. They just loathe the fact that you have to go through HTC DEV to unlock bootloader and S-ON putting extra restriction on them and one more step for end users to remember and make sure they dont mess up while flashing custom kernels and rolling back to stock.
The only reason I am even giving chance to DNA is purely because of Hardware. I am not a big fan of Sense either. But it can be refreshing for a while. I went to One X after using 2 back to back Samsung TWUI phones, and for a while it was great to use something else. In long run though that beautiful piece of hardware was nothing but disappointment. But I hope DNA is different. Even if it does not get as much development as Samsung, couple of key devs can make a lot of difference.
I just wish they do come here. We already have few good ones. But their interest needs to last.
In the end you can always ebay the phone if you take care of it properly (cosmetically) and recover large portion of your investment. Specially high end little exclusive device like DNA which is not easily accessible outside US is in great demand outside US.
DNA will never get as much developer support as Nexus 4. Its not happening, neither will it match Note 2 or SGS3 or upcoming SGS 4 for that matter. What we need is just enough developer involvement to address some critical issues or add some really beneficial features to a phone with stunning hardware. This time the hardware is all there. We just need little bit of development. I for one was willing to take that risk when I jumped in. If it works out, well and good. Or it hits ebay in month or two.
Usually it will take couple of months after device launch for developer section to start buzzing on the exclusive devices like DNA.
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You raise some very good points. If the Nexus 4 had the same screen, I would not be typing this message. Thanks for your advice! Have you received the phone yet, if so how do you like it? - I understand that Samsung will win with development at this stage and it will take some time for HTC to gain back their audience. I just really hope for the same things you do with development!
I use a DNA on Telstra, am really enjoying it. Once you strip it down and cull the bloat, it goes well. Data on NextG works fine. I got MMS going with a few tricks, too. Happy to help if you decide to take the plunge!
Justin
uppon2 said:
You raise some very good points. If the Nexus 4 had the same screen, I would not be typing this message. Thanks for your advice! Have you received the phone yet, if so how do you like it? - I understand that Samsung will win with development at this stage and it will take some time for HTC to gain back their audience. I just really hope for the same things you do with development!
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Yes, I got phone few days ago. Been using it for a week or so now. Havent yet completely switched to it due to busy schedule so I can transfer all my data and files to this phone yet but using it daily as secondary phone for now.
I like the phone, the screen, the overall feel. Wish sense animation was little bit faster. Phone flies in apps which is to be expected thanks to the hardware, but sense feels slower than TWUI or AOSP UI. HTC has opted for that smooth transition effect which actually feels slower on such fast device. I am so used to Note 2 flying through home pages and app drawer that this will take some time getting used to. But there is very little wrong with the phone for day to day use.
I actually wish we get good stable and fast AOSP /AOKP release for this phone so I can switch to it. Simply switching launcher does not seem to give the desired effect on this phone.
But it is far from total disappointment. In fact it is good experience so far. Just want it to get little better :good:
juzz86 said:
I use a DNA on Telstra, am really enjoying it. Once you strip it down and cull the bloat, it goes well. Data on NextG works fine. I got MMS going with a few tricks, too. Happy to help if you decide to take the plunge!
Justin
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Thanks for the response mate. I appreciate the help. Why do you need to do anything to get working MMS?
Funkym0nkey said:
Yes, I got phone few days ago. Been using it for a week or so now. Havent yet completely switched to it due to busy schedule so I can transfer all my data and files to this phone yet but using it daily as secondary phone for now.
I like the phone, the screen, the overall feel. Wish sense animation was little bit faster. Phone flies in apps which is to be expected thanks to the hardware, but sense feels slower than TWUI or AOSP UI. HTC has opted for that smooth transition effect which actually feels slower on such fast device. I am so used to Note 2 flying through home pages and app drawer that this will take some time getting used to. But there is very little wrong with the phone for day to day use.
I actually wish we get good stable and fast AOSP /AOKP release for this phone so I can switch to it. Simply switching launcher does not seem to give the desired effect on this phone.
But it is far from total disappointment. In fact it is good experience so far. Just want it to get little better :good:
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Oh cool you have both phones then? The Note 2 is just a little bit too big for me. How do the screens compare to you? Anything else you might add you like or dislike about the 2 devices mate?
Funkym0nkey said:
Yes, I got phone few days ago. Been using it for a week or so now. Havent yet completely switched to it due to busy schedule so I can transfer all my data and files to this phone yet but using it daily as secondary phone for now.
I like the phone, the screen, the overall feel. Wish sense animation was little bit faster. Phone flies in apps which is to be expected thanks to the hardware, but sense feels slower than TWUI or AOSP UI. HTC has opted for that smooth transition effect which actually feels slower on such fast device. I am so used to Note 2 flying through home pages and app drawer that this will take some time getting used to. But there is very little wrong with the phone for day to day use.
I actually wish we get good stable and fast AOSP /AOKP release for this phone so I can switch to it. Simply switching launcher does not seem to give the desired effect on this phone.
But it is far from total disappointment. In fact it is good experience so far. Just want it to get little better :good:
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If you go into the advanced development settings menu, you can raise the animation speed from 1 to .5 and it makes it more like TW animation speed. :good:
MMS doesn't work outside VZV unless you edit a few things in the build.prop (they blacklisted the 'mms' APN). To do this, you need a kernel with /system write available, so your changes stick after a reboot. You also need to use a third-party messaging app like Go SMS Pro or something.
juzz86 said:
MMS doesn't work outside VZV unless you edit a few things in the build.prop (they blacklisted the 'mms' APN). To do this, you need a kernel with /system write available, so your changes stick after a reboot. You also need to use a third-party messaging app like Go SMS Pro or something.
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Ahh cool. I might ask you when I receive my phone. Just ordered it now. Costing me $598 delivered to Australia. It's fully unlocked and comes with an Otterbox Defender case. There weren't many deals going on and it took me a few days to even find this deal! I just sold a Nexus 4 for $550, so this is only costing me an extra $50 and it includes the case, so I'm happy. The phone has HTC USA 1 Yr Warranty. (Luckily for me my mother in-law lives in the US!
How much is the going price on the device outside of eBay? In the states for example.
uppon2 said:
Ahh cool. I might ask you when I receive my phone. Just ordered it now. Costing me $598 delivered to Australia. It's fully unlocked and comes with an Otterbox Defender case. There weren't many deals going on and it took me a few days to even find this deal! I just sold a Nexus 4 for $550, so this is only costing me an extra $50 and it includes the case, so I'm happy. The phone has HTC USA 1 Yr Warranty. (Luckily for me my mother in-law lives in the US!
How much is the going price on the device outside of eBay? In the states for example.
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Outside ebay its $599 + tax + shipping. So a lot more than what you paid. Even I got mine was way less than this from ebay only. Got mine for like 550 delivered. But yes I too had to wait for couple of weeks for right auction and little bit of luck with auction ending late local US time in the middle of night.
Most ebay phones are people who had upgrade option available and got the phone for $199 but decided to make some money by selling the phone on ebay and keep the old phone for another contract cycle.
This is what 99% of ebay deals are for phone like this. So we do save considerable amount by buying from ebay. If you have a look at the seller ratings, you are safe and covered by ebay guarantee which heavily favours buyers. So its pretty safe bet if you take minimal precautions.
---------- Post added at 01:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:30 PM ----------
uppon2 said:
Thanks for the response mate. I appreciate the help. Why do you need to do anything to get working MMS?
Oh cool you have both phones then? The Note 2 is just a little bit too big for me. How do the screens compare to you? Anything else you might add you like or dislike about the 2 devices mate?
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I am little bit of phone fanatic. I end up buying almost all high end phones from HTC, Samsung and sometimes some good chinese phones.
At the moment I have Xiaomi MI2, Note 2 and DNA with me. And just sold Nexus 4 few weeks ago, but you already had that so you know how it was.
Xiamoi is on par with DNA as far as performance is concerned. Its blazing fast and thats understandable as it has same chip. And no throttle issues like Nexus 4 on this phone. It just flies out of box. Mind boggling performance. It does out perform even DNA in benchmarks like Antutu as it has 720P screen and not 1080P. But you can feel the speed with this one. Total bang for buck for something I bought for less than $400 shipped. It does run out of battery quickly if you do anything processor intensive so it is mainly used as house phone.
Note 2 is a beast. Its screen is much better than SGS3. But DNA screen looks totally different. 1080P is heaven if you are viewing right content. Sadly somehow you feel sense is not making use of the real estate available. Specially those who have good vision and can live with smaller font or rather smaller icons / more grid lines as an option would have been nice. But thats fine. Nothing major. Sure someone will make a rom that will implement this down the line.
1080P and games that scale properly look super nice on this phone. But playing games with on screen controls is better experience on Note 2 thanks to bigger display. But I dont game much these days, not heavy gaming for sure. Just some 2d time pass games or sudoku, puzzle or jetpack joyride etc..
But the huge battery, and S-Pen make it much better productivity device. And I do have large hands.
I am totally in love with Note 2. I dont think that will change. It is better, more productive device at this stage of its development. But if you have problems with Note 2 size, DNA is definitely next best thing right now.
For development i say buy nexus.I had HTC desire and since then HTC changed, became a locked garden, Devs are moving away from HTC scene. However if you feel the need of some htc sense candy(i sometimes miss it) ,it is another story but i always flash an aosp rom usually so sense is kinda waste for me.Experience also taught me that software support is far superior as opposed to a slight advantage in hardware.Just my 2c though, it is your money and you decide how to us it at the end of the day
If not that why don't you Terry xperia z atm i don't really know about that line of phones but i only hear good things even from our beloved cody back at the sammy forums.
________________________________
I threw cm 10.1 off a rock and the rock broke.
Solid
Funkym0nkey said:
Outside ebay its $599 + tax + shipping. So a lot more than what you paid. Even I got mine was way less than this from ebay only. Got mine for like 550 delivered. But yes I too had to wait for couple of weeks for right auction and little bit of luck with auction ending late local US time in the middle of night.
Most ebay phones are people who had upgrade option available and got the phone for $199 but decided to make some money by selling the phone on ebay and keep the old phone for another contract cycle.
This is what 99% of ebay deals are for phone like this. So we do save considerable amount by buying from ebay. If you have a look at the seller ratings, you are safe and covered by ebay guarantee which heavily favours buyers. So its pretty safe bet if you take minimal precautions.
---------- Post added at 01:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:30 PM ----------
I am little bit of phone fanatic. I end up buying almost all high end phones from HTC, Samsung and sometimes some good chinese phones.
At the moment I have Xiaomi MI2, Note 2 and DNA with me. And just sold Nexus 4 few weeks ago, but you already had that so you know how it was.
Xiamoi is on par with DNA as far as performance is concerned. Its blazing fast and thats understandable as it has same chip. And no throttle issues like Nexus 4 on this phone. It just flies out of box. Mind boggling performance. It does out perform even DNA in benchmarks like Antutu as it has 720P screen and not 1080P. But you can feel the speed with this one. Total bang for buck for something I bought for less than $400 shipped. It does run out of battery quickly if you do anything processor intensive so it is mainly used as house phone.
Note 2 is a beast. Its screen is much better than SGS3. But DNA screen looks totally different. 1080P is heaven if you are viewing right content. Sadly somehow you feel sense is not making use of the real estate available. Specially those who have good vision and can live with smaller font or rather smaller icons / more grid lines as an option would have been nice. But thats fine. Nothing major. Sure someone will make a rom that will implement this down the line.
1080P and games that scale properly look super nice on this phone. But playing games with on screen controls is better experience on Note 2 thanks to bigger display. But I dont game much these days, not heavy gaming for sure. Just some 2d time pass games or sudoku, puzzle or jetpack joyride etc..
But the huge battery, and S-Pen make it much better productivity device. And I do have large hands.
I am totally in love with Note 2. I dont think that will change. It is better, more productive device at this stage of its development. But if you have problems with Note 2 size, DNA is definitely next best thing right now.
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Awesome! I already had the SGS 1 and 2. I then followed suit and bought the SGS 3. The phone was way too similar to the SGS 1 and 2. I got bored of it extremely fast, which was a first for me in a long time. I decided to flash a Samsung based ROM with AOSP apps, which I thought was pretty good for about a day and then flashed Paranoid, CM10.1 and AOKP over the next couple of weeks. I eventually just got sick of the look and feel of the device being too familiar to me.
At this point the nexus was the 1 and only phone for me....... I first thought. After using it for a while it didn't seem like the screen was even any bigger than even my SGS 2 as it loses so much screen real estate because of the OSKeys and it certainly didn't feel like an upgrade from the SGS 3, besides the fact it was extremely polished and fast being vanilla.
However, the thermal throttling and screen size pushed me away (Not to mention I was scared about the resell value if it eventually does come back in stock). So naturally I starting looking at the Note 2 (Which mind you is fantastic, but after using my friends over a weekend, I just found it to be so much like the SGS 1,2,3 in design and feel, with that same familiar Samsung feeling. Also it was very hard for me to handle while doing my day to day tasks. I did have a final play with it at the shops and it really just felt too strange to handle.
I am now taking a gamble on the DNA but oh well, it is selling in Australia for a lot more so I know if I want to resell it I won't lose any money! The screen looks brill and the muscle car chassis is dangerously gorgeous. I have never liked HTC phone after my previous attempts but fk it. At least I can give a complete comparison to others later on
Honestly, all of this fuss just for a phone which I will most likely sell to buy an Xperia Z or another 5"1080p phone by the second half of this year with perhaps the Adreno 330 or perhaps a comeback by Tegra? Who knows what the year will bring. All I know is their is a lot of competition that has yet to arrive from Sony, Oppo, Motorola, Acer, Asus.... and so on!
P.S It was refreshing to actually see some movement in the thread!
bartoloandre98 said:
For development i say buy nexus.I had HTC desire and since then HTC changed, became a locked garden, Devs are moving away from HTC scene. However if you feel the need of some htc sense candy(i sometimes miss it) ,it is another story but i always flash an aosp rom usually so sense is kinda waste for me.Experience also thought me that software support is far supurior as opposed to a slight asvantage in hardware.Just my 2c though, it is your money and you decide how to us it at the end of the day
________________________________
I threw cm 10.1 off a rock and the rock broke.
Solid
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Hey bart. Been a while mate. I don't think we have spoken since my fantastic post about the history of CheckROM and it's developers.
As for the N4, Been there already man. I loved the Nexus 4 for that pure clean experience. Above is my reasoning as to why I chose to leave it.
Oh god lol how can i forget that checkrom thread i still remember ur posts
Hehe k ,i suggest u look also at xperia z but,about tegra... i think you know how exynos is fked up in terms of supportthe grass at the tegra department is not greener
________________________________
I threw cm 10.1 off a rock and the rock broke.
Solid
bartoloandre98 said:
Oh god lol how can i forget that checkrom thread i still remember ur posts
Hehe k ,i suggest u look also at xperia z but,about tegra... i think you know how exynos is fked up in terms of supportthe grass at the tegra department is not greener
________________________________
I threw cm 10.1 off a rock and the rock broke.
Solid
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Yeah well the grass is never greener If you read my long boring post above from start to finish you would have seen me mention the Xperia Z near the end of the thesis
I am now again looking at buying the Droid DNA due to being screwed around by previous seller! I wanted to ask this: Everywhere seems to state that the Droid DNA is network unlocked. Is this true? If it is then why are people sometimes stating on eBay that only GSM will work and no DATA outside of Verizon and the US! (I live in Australia and this is obviously important)
I am seriously getting so confused because of mixed seller listings. Some people say it is factory unlocked and some people say it is locked to Verizon. What is the deal? Also if the phone has a bad ESN or they fail to make a payment later on down the track and it does become bad, does this mean it will stop working in Australia or is it solely based around US and Verizon in general?
About the seller on eBay, I have now been refunded my money for my recent transaction. The seller did not mention that the device didn't come with it's box, instructions, charger etc. He also has no intention of mentioning it because he has relisted it without even indicating it. He is just trying to get an international buyer to deal with it is my guess. It was just a handset and a case. Very misleading, I am lucky that I confirmed with him just before he was selling it. It was one of those buy it nows that need to be paid upfront.
Thanks guys
Sorry I know if everyone asked these general questions about what to buy the forums would be flooded. Hopefully posting in the general section I'm not getting in the way of any important development threads or anything. I wouldn't ask if I weren't really struggling with some indecision here.
I'm a Verizon customer, still have unlimited. Using a Droid Bionic with Carbon Rom. I'm planning to buy at full retail price to leave my data plan in tact.
LG wasn't really even on my radar. HTC One was originally what caught my eye for the styling and great reviews, then the new wave of Droids came out, and now the G2. I think I'm fairly decided in terms of currently available devices and don't need help there, I would get the G2 if it came down to what's on store shelves right now. I've seen comments on the HTC One camera ranging from amazing to garbage, and not sure I would like Blinkfeed. The One speakers would be nice but can't say I really need internal audio from my phone that much. Doesn't sound like the Droid Maxx battery is really thrilling anyone, plus with upgrading at full retail price it kinda isn't all that interesting to jump from one Moto Droid to another, it'll just feel like a differently shaped Bionic. Moto X seems interesting everyone keeps saying it's the best all around form factor and the most refined that an Android device has ever felt, but I think I'm ready for a bigger screen and battery.
I'm more a bit hesitant that I'll get the G2 and then the Nexus 5 or Note 3 is going to be amazing. Although I'm well aware of the crop of Nexus 5 rumors, apparently not having Verizon's LTE band (then counteracted by a newer rumor saying there may have been an FCC filing for a separate Verizon LG device that wasn't the G2 and could be their variant of the Nexus 5). Plus a rumored smaller battery for the Nexus compared to the G2 which would lower my interest in it. Note 3... I'm not really dying to own my first Samsung but it seems it might outdo the G2 in a few ways, more Ram, SD card slot, etc. Obviously anything compared to the Bionic I have will seem nice, 32GB (or the 20-whatever that's actually available after system install) on the G2 will be plenty, I am used to working with the 16gb I have on my Bionic and am used to having to send stuff to my PC harddrive if my phone gets too full.
I've owned LG in my cell phone history, had an LG Dare and then an Ally for my first Android phone. Their hardware is alright but if I recall correctly they are pretty iffy about timely updates and then just stop supporting devices once they hit a certain age. But then Motorola pulled the same stunt during my Bionic ownership and most of you will know about how long it took Bionic to get system updates. I don't think I ever really saw myself going back to LG as I've felt the same indifference towards them as the rest of the community for a while now, although it kinda says something about them that they're still good enough to keep getting contracted for the Nexus devices. And then this G2 landed on my radar out of nowhere.
G2 camera sounds great with a few reviews sprinkled in that suddenly didn't think it was all that amazing, but I take pictures like crazy, camera is important, I think I may even sell my Sony Nex 3 full size camera as a way to help pay for a phone upgrade, the big camera just sits here and collects dust when I can have a camera in my pocket all day in a phone.
Important aspects to me, battery life (sick of charging my Bionic constantly, I think my extended battery is wearing out because I can just watch the percentage drop like a rock as I use it), quality display would be nice after settling for the Bionic with it's blah pentile screen, camera as I mentioned above, other than that I browse, text message, need Tethering, and use Pandora in my car. And I do care about developer support, I like messing with Roms, but if the factory Rom is decent once you get it set up, I can live with not having as large of a dev community as S4 might have or whatever. So yeah with that said it seems like a no brainer saying display-battery-camera, G2 sounds to be the best at all of that right now, I'm just worried about what else is coming out this holiday season. I know the Nexus announcement is rumored for next month but I just hate to wait just to find out it's not coming to Verizon or is definitely going to have some lame 2300mah battery. You know how it is when you're ready to upgrade...
-I suppose we'd all be guessing, but how good are people feeling about the G2 getting a KitKat update in a reasonable time window? This is the LG flagship so I would hope for good support, but the LG skin and addons are so overwhelming and heavily skinned devices always take longer to get their updates out. I'd be thrilled to get this phone but that would quickly turn to disappointment if we're waiting for 4.4 longer than anyone else.
-How is developer support looking? Have any big names pledged to add the G2 to their supported devices? I really like Carbon Rom on Bionic. I suppose it's a good sign that root and loki happened right away but so far Rom releases, especially for VZW, looks slow.
-Speaking of ROMs, do we have any idea if any of the stock stuff like knock-on etc will ever be able to be pulled and applied to a custom ROM, or is it pretty much a guarantee that if you switch to anything but stock you're going to be sacrificing a lot of the factory features?
-I noticed the G2 doesn't even come up on the Top Devices window at the first XDA forum portal, is that a bad sign for community interest in the device? HTC One, Note 3, etc all show up as the top devices on XDA right now. Is there a community behind this device or not really? Does everyone dig the specs but shy away from LG with their heavy skin?
-It WiFi tethering working with the current root exploit? I use my Bionic as my home internet access, on the stock ROM it seems like FoxFi will stop working after a couple of days like it's detecting that I'm tethering, on Carbon ROM I can tether for gig after gig of data and no issue.
-I've seen more than one person gripe about thermal throttling and the G2 starting to run like utter garbage in certain conditions. That would certainly suck to spend 600 on. Is this widespread?
I don't think I'd regret buying it immediately but I see the potential that only a few weeks into ownership the "oh crap why did I go with LG" feeling will start.
For the awesome specs...yes. Its a great deal for what you get. I don't know if tethering is working yet but I do know pda net works. Top be honest with my wife and I we were concerned about going share everything but I got a music unlimited service for 50 a year and downloaded everything instead of streaming. We went from using 6+ gb a month to under 2. And almost all the music is ultra high quality which works perfect with the 24 bit DAC. I stopped using Pandora because of this...I can skip all I want no commercials and choose weekday I want. I am very happy with the lg UI MINUS the giant size. So fast there had been a fantastic dev community modding the stock rom. Coming from a GNex I am ecstatic to get TWRP already. I wouldn't be too sure that anything coming out from Samsung will be crackle since the S4 is locked down now. Battery is about 9-10 hours of straight screen and 24+ with normal usage including hours on and off of heavy use. The only thing I don't like is the weak out of the box speaker but they have already modded ATT gain to make it better. The Btooth audio and head phone quality makes for this Times a million. I don't see anything else coming close unless you are Andre the Giant and like the phablet Note type. The one is bigger with a smaller washed out color LCD. The speakers rock but it's not worth the lack of general power. Grey a quick window case it's s fantastic.
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Wow. There's about 5 minutes I can't get back.
Nexus5 will most likely never hit Verizon.
Big name devs? This phone is like a week old. Time will tell.
Wi-Fi tethering not currently working.
Buy it. If you don't like it inside of 14 days, return it. By that time, news of the nexus 5 should be out.
Thank you Devs. From my LG G2.
Wifi tether wasn't working on the S4 or One, I just had both phones on Sprint and T-Mobile with various roms and kernels. The only other phone I considered was the Note 3 but I can't stand the home button, would have liked the extra real estate but the G2 is still manageable for me to use one handed and a stylus would have been wasted on me.
This phone doesn't even need roms tbh.
I'd buy this phone all over again. No other phone feels like this one a atm.
LG G2
I was following every phone to come down the pipe for the last six months or more. I had an LG Nitro HD for my last phone and my first was the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. The nitro was terrible. The only time that phone ran right was on stock gingerbread. The development was fairly slow and the community small because it was att only and wasn't popular at that. I was about as put off by LG as they come.
Two days ago, I bought the G2, and I absolutely love it. The battery life really is phenomenal. I say this because it had kept up with my initial high usage love for a new phone. I plugged in last night with 34% left after having almost six hours of screen on time at 80% brightness. The note 3 might be great,but then again it might not. Only 100mah larger battery with a .5in larger screen concerns me a bit. The processor is already insane in the G2 so that will likely not make a difference for a bit. The ram shouldn't be an issue for at least an upgrade cycle at minimum.
Honestly, the biggest difference between this and the nexus is battery and screen. Nexus is 5 in and only had 2300mah so unless Kit Kat has major battery improvements that phone was no longer a option for me. The tipping point for this phone over the moto x in my case? Development and community. This phone already has a larger forum Than the moto x. That's not the only determinant but helps significantly. Go check the nitro forum, this phone is already almost as large... this phone had root on day one I think it was and boot loader bypass within a week of launch. And a Rom 2days later. It may not be as fast some devices but that is still damn fast. Will this be a great dev phone? Too early to tell but it looks promising. And with the nexus being nearly identical hardware wise, that could help too.
Hope that helps.
Sent from my LG-D801 using xda app-developers app
Please use this thread to discuss devices other than and any comparisons with other devices on or about the Note III in this thread and any other off-topic issues that are not needing a new thread.
Post with respect, this is a helpful community, hope we all learn from this stuff in here.
I would like to see peoples opinion's on the note 3 compared to the LG G2. I am on the fence on the two. Im coming from the S3 so the note will be quite large. Being on Verizon we dont have the Nexus 5 option so it seems it is up to these two devices. My main hesitation on the Note is how locked down it is. We might not get customs roms on it at all. The LG G2 has Loki so we are good to go on that one. Both of the build qualities are lacking so thats a wash.
Joey, have you ever been in a... in a comaprison?
sorry title made me think of Airplane movie :fingers-crossed:
fletch33 said:
Joey, have you ever been in a... in a comaprison?
sorry title made me think of Airplane movie :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, THAT was one funny movie......
I'm on the fence about mine. I got in on the Verizon unlimited data glitch and have a Note 3 coming.
I have a Note 2 and if not for the glitch wouldn't have considered upgrading. The Note 3 just didn't excite me enough to spend the money. I HATE pentile matrix screens and I felt like the move to 5.7" wasn't enough. I want something in the 5.9" to 6.1" range.
With California taxes I'm in for about $385, and I figure I could sell the Note III for $700ish. Then in a couple months I could sell my Note II for around $300 and have a nice little fund for a new device. What I really want is the HTC One Max, but who knows if Verizon will ever get it?
I don't know what to do.
---------- Post added at 04:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
eddie33081 said:
I would like to see peoples opinion's on the note 3 compared to the LG G2. I am on the fence on the two. Im coming from the S3 so the note will be quite large. Being on Verizon we dont have the Nexus 5 option so it seems it is up to these two devices. My main hesitation on the Note is how locked down it is. We might not get customs roms on it at all. The LG G2 has Loki so we are good to go on that one. Both of the build qualities are lacking so thats a wash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G2 is a really nice device. I hate the buttons on the back, but everything else about the physical form factor is great.
The screen is really nice, it's fast, excellent camera and battery life. I hate LG's skin, but with Nova you can cover up a lot, and now that it's Loki'd I figure it's only a matter of time before AOSP roms are available.
SeanPlunk said:
I'm on the fence about mine. I got in on the Verizon unlimited data glitch and have a Note 3 coming.
I have a Note 2 and if not for the glitch wouldn't have considered upgrading. The Note 3 just didn't excite me enough to spend the money. I HATE pentile matrix screens and I felt like the move to 5.7" wasn't enough. I want something in the 5.9" to 6.1" range.
With California taxes I'm in for about $385, and I figure I could sell the Note III for $700ish. Then in a couple months I could sell my Note II for around $300 and have a nice little fund for a new device. What I really want is the HTC One Max, but who knows if Verizon will ever get it?
I don't know what to do.
---------- Post added at 04:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
The G2 is a really nice device. I hate the buttons on the back, but everything else about the physical form factor is great.
The screen is really nice, it's fast, excellent camera and battery life. I hate LG's skin, but with Nova you can cover up a lot, and now that it's Loki'd I figure it's only a matter of time before AOSP roms are available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the LG spectrum and it's a great phone except for cheap sensors. Before I ever buy lg again I will install android sensors or sensor box on the store demo first. Cheap sensors have a lower range and/or operate erratically. I.e. Magnetic sensor: og Droid 0-2000, gs3 0-20000 and LG Spectrum 0-200!
What's it mean? Compass apps not reliable or accurate, Google sky map to jittery to use, auto brightness works poorly, when on call screen takes longer to turn on for the keypad, etc. At first I thought I had a lemon but LG insisted it was the applications.
Sent from LG Spectrum using XDA app
contract up !!!! What to buy next?
My contract will be up soon. I am looking to replace Verizon samsung Galaxy Nexus which I loved. I was looking at the Note 3. I like the big screen.
I have a rooted phone and want to root this new phone. The main reason I root is for the hotspot feature. Anyone have any suggestions on what phone I should look at. I am using MIUI Android Rom right now. I would be open to even staying with original OS if it had everything I wanted.
Would also like a phone with a longer lasting battery.
Has the Note 2 had any problems I should be aware of?
Any help is appreciated.
I have time so I am willing to wait if there is a good recommendation. I also don't want a bigger screen. The note 3 size seems to be perfect.
susieq29 said:
My contract will be up soon. I am looking to replace Verizon samsung Galaxy Nexus which I loved. I was looking at the Note 3. I like the big screen.
I have a rooted phone and want to root this new phone. The main reason I root is for the hotspot feature. Anyone have any suggestions on what phone I should look at. I am using MIUI Android Rom right now. I would be open to even staying with original OS if it had everything I wanted.
Would also like a phone with a longer lasting battery.
Has the Note 2 had any problems I should be aware of?
Any help is appreciated.
I have time so I am willing to wait if there is a good recommendation. I also don't want a bigger screen. The note 3 size seems to be perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Note 2, frankly... is incredible. I've had the verizon note 2 for a year now and i'm dying for the note 3. my note 2 is practically my best friend at this point. I know i sound like such a fanboy but i literally just smile when my friends complain about their phones, mine never has any of their stupid issues.
SeanPlunk said:
I HATE pentile matrix screens and I felt like the move to 5.7" wasn't enough..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I challenge you to take 2 1080p screens smaller than 6" and, without prior knowledge, tell anyone which is pentile and which is any other matrix with your naked eye.
susieq29 said:
Has the Note 2 had any problems I should be aware of?
Any help is appreciated.
I have time so I am willing to wait if there is a good recommendation. I also don't want a bigger screen. The note 3 size seems to be perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the Note2 for about six months... it is easily the best phone I've ever owned. Seriously, it absolutely blows the doors off the Galaxy Nexus, in performance, build quality, screen quality, battery, phone call quality... I wouldn't have upgraded to the Note3 if it wasn't for the Verizon glitch. ...that and my wife wanting my Note2!
Dan76 said:
I've had the Note2 for about six months... it is easily the best phone I've ever owned. Seriously, it absolutely blows the doors off the Galaxy Nexus, in performance, build quality, screen quality, battery, phone call quality... I wouldn't have upgraded to the Note3 if it wasn't for the Verizon glitch. ...that and my wife wanting my Note2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100 %.
The Note 2 is BY FAR the best phone I've ever owned and I have basically owned every high end phone ever made.
The N2 is the first phone I have ever owned that I was 100% totally satisfied with and haven't been impatiently waiting for the next phone to come out for an upgrade.
I will still probably buy the Note 3 at some point (I have a line I can use for an upgrade and keep my unlimited data), although I will wait and make sure it is at least rootable first as I just know I would never be totally happy with a 100% stock phone.
I'm intrigued by the HTC One Max. I don't use the s-pen or multi-window much and I do use the external speaker daily. I'm hoping for more information about the Max this week. Also, my eyes aren't what they used to be so the large screen may work. Then again the Note 3 is calling to me since I have loved my Note 2 since it's release.....we'll see
Oh_wow said:
I'm intrigued by the HTC One Max. I don't use the s-pen or multi-window much and I do use the external speaker daily. I'm hoping for more information about the Max this week. Also, my eyes aren't what they used to be so the large screen may work. Then again the Note 3 is calling to me since I have loved my Note 2 since it's release.....we'll see
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/07/verizon-htc-one-mac-fingerprint-scanner-removable-back/
Looks like an AWESOME phone to me, but I use the s-pen quite a bit.
This obviously is a question I can only answer myself but wanted some input from some people that have bathed themselves in note 3 info... lol and some likely coming from an s3.... I'm not eligible for a new phone until march 2014... however I'm sure I could call and call and eventually get an upgrade to edge anyway (done this before... it works.. just keep calling) edge obviously a bit of a rip off.. but i could kill a few other accounts i don't really use often to make up for the cost.... and obviously if i wanted to flip a phone i could do so in 12 months or so..... with that being said..
I do love the size.. and the bigger screen is preferable to me when it comes to videos.. and other things. The speed is obviously sweet and so is the size... however..
I use my phone to play general games.. not a huge gaming on phone person.. (less you could get league of legends on there lol)... i use my phone as a basic camera..... as well to surf the web... 75% of the time i have access to a desktop in which time i could use my phone as well... i do enjoy surfing whatever sitting on the couch obviously..... I'm really on the fence... I always get super hyped over a new phone (got s3 right away and it took several calls to Verizon to get it done) in which yes, its a nice phone with nice camera options... with that being said.. its still a phone... using it to call people is its basic purpose... i've started to utilize google calandar more and more as i have a disability that the meds hinders my short term memory..so that would be one nice thing.. the s pen is sweet.. looks so awesome.. but i don't see me using it much except to jot down phone numbers or addresses on the fly (which wouldn't be often.. i'm not a people person type of guy and my job doesn't require any use of cellphones) So i'm thinking a faster processor.. better camera..the faster processor and screen size would be the main reasons..... but do i really want to go for it? do i really want to get it now and go on the verizon edge program? I just feel like I may be jumping in and after a month regretting my decision... anyone coming from an S3 have an early opinion? ( i also am in an area where voice calling isn't that great... and i would hope it would be better with the s3 (its better on my wifes older galaxy nexus)... that would be something i suppose i would have to find out after the fact.. and use the 30day policy... to go or not to go..... been thinking about it A LOT for the past week.
Be careful... if you're on Sprint or Vzw, it's only a 14 day policy
loopers said:
This obviously is a question I can only answer myself but wanted some input from some people that have bathed themselves in note 3 info... lol and some likely coming from an s3.... I'm not eligible for a new phone until march 2014... however I'm sure I could call and call and eventually get an upgrade to edge anyway (done this before... it works.. just keep calling) edge obviously a bit of a rip off.. but i could kill a few other accounts i don't really use often to make up for the cost.... and obviously if i wanted to flip a phone i could do so in 12 months or so..... with that being said..
I do love the size.. and the bigger screen is preferable to me when it comes to videos.. and other things. The speed is obviously sweet and so is the size... however..
I use my phone to play general games.. not a huge gaming on phone person.. (less you could get league of legends on there lol)... i use my phone as a basic camera..... as well to surf the web... 75% of the time i have access to a desktop in which time i could use my phone as well... i do enjoy surfing whatever sitting on the couch obviously..... I'm really on the fence... I always get super hyped over a new phone (got s3 right away and it took several calls to Verizon to get it done) in which yes, its a nice phone with nice camera options... with that being said.. its still a phone... using it to call people is its basic purpose... i've started to utilize google calandar more and more as i have a disability that the meds hinders my short term memory..so that would be one nice thing.. the s pen is sweet.. looks so awesome.. but i don't see me using it much except to jot down phone numbers or addresses on the fly (which wouldn't be often.. i'm not a people person type of guy and my job doesn't require any use of cellphones) So i'm thinking a faster processor.. better camera..the faster processor and screen size would be the main reasons..... but do i really want to go for it? do i really want to get it now and go on the verizon edge program? I just feel like I may be jumping in and after a month regretting my decision... anyone coming from an S3 have an early opinion? ( i also am in an area where voice calling isn't that great... and i would hope it would be better with the s3 (its better on my wifes older galaxy nexus)... that would be something i suppose i would have to find out after the fact.. and use the 30day policy... to go or not to go..... been thinking about it A LOT for the past week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether or not you consider Edge to be a rip off, I prefer it to dropping $300 on the phone, plus paying my ETF for my old line. That is a total of roughly $310 +$50 for last bill + $300 + taxes for Note 3 = $660 on the lean side. With Edge I spent $102 with Priority Overnight shipping, screen protectors, first month of Edge, and taxes. Now when I sell my HTC One, I sell for around $400 after shipping and paypal fees, that leaves me with just enough to justify upgrading to Note 3. Now in 12 months, I will have paid $300 or so, and I can upgrade to the next Note 4 by then. I find this better.
Okay now on to your question: S3 is a good phone, but no Quad Core Processor, 2GB RAM is okay low compared to Note 3, but 1080p screen is a nice addition, makes watching 1080p movies so much better (based on my experience with 1080p on HTC One). No more scaling, or downsizing. Honestly if you can get the Note 3 at $299 or Edge it then do it. I recommend it.
N3 > LG2 because it has a micro sd slot and no annoying fixed nav bar taking up display space. What is the point of the bigger display if you end up having about the same space as a 5" display (if no nav bar)?
S3 and N3 seem IMO two different devices. I have medium hands and find the phablets too big for one hand operation and awkward (too big) to carry in a belt case compared to my S4. That said, if I did not have several tablets, I would choose the N3 as a true all-in-one device.
this. the htc one max has my attention but the biggest question is when will it come to verizon? remember the htc one? and if htc one max has removable sdcard i may have to buy it and have my note 3 and then decide which i like better. i love sense when it comes to htc phones but cant stand nonremovable battery and expandable storage so we will see. and i really like having an s pen if i dont use a whole lot when you need it, it comes in very handy but if the ppi is much higher and screen is better on one max i will be sure of that so it will be an interesting few weeks
oneandroidnut said:
this. the htc one max has my attention but the biggest question is when will it come to verizon? remember the htc one? and if htc one max has removable sdcard i may have to buy it and have my note 3 and then decide which i like better. i love sense when it comes to htc phones but cant stand nonremovable battery and expandable storage so we will see. and i really like having an s pen if i dont use a whole lot when you need it, it comes in very handy but if the ppi is much higher and screen is better on one max i will be sure of that so it will be an interesting few weeks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on this. Your signature shows that you have used several HTC devices. What's you overall opinion of them? thanx
oneandroidnut said:
this. the htc one max has my attention but the biggest question is when will it come to verizon? remember the htc one? and if htc one max has removable sdcard i may have to buy it and have my note 3 and then decide which i like better. i love sense when it comes to htc phones but cant stand nonremovable battery and expandable storage so we will see. and i really like having an s pen if i dont use a whole lot when you need it, it comes in very handy but if the ppi is much higher and screen is better on one max i will be sure of that so it will be an interesting few weeks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything I've read/seen shows a removable battery and 16-64GB on-board storage + Micro SD slot. Add this to the front speakers, S-Off having been developed for the VZ One variant, and the only shortcoming is the S-pen features that you won't get vs the N3. I've asked around recently to find out if any of that gets ported to ROMs, so if that's not available I think I finally know what I'm going to buy. I need a new phone immediately if not sooner, but just want to feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
I am on the fence here..Had Note 3 love Amoled but hate Tw and the plastic...I did have the M7 loved it, but camera was bad....Did not like the G3 ...thinking of the M8 or Note 4 ...I don't use the spen and want a premium phone!! Help!!
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
I loved my S3 but the M8 is light years ahead of samsung in my opinion. It's fast and just works like it's supposed to. Keep in mind that Samsung is locking all bootloaders and I don't know about you but waiting on safestrap only to flash modded stock roms doesn't do it for me. My only complaint is that it works too well and I don't find myself looking for mods and flashing new things, which is good, but bad if you like that diversion.
I am also comparing the g3 and the m8. Att is swapping out my s5 for another phone of my choice. Both phones seem nice. I guess I need to hit the store and play with them both.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium HD app
Intub8 said:
I am also comparing the g3 and the m8. Att is swapping out my s5 for another phone of my choice. Both phones seem nice. I guess I need to hit the store and play with them both.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the G 3 for three days ..did not like it....It's very laggy, heats up quickly..I rooted mine , debloated with xposed and still was slow. Another issue was wireless charging .Att&t only uses pma chargers and they make you buy their charging cover and base....no thanks.....m8 is light years better than the g3.
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
A few things
1. I'm going on 2 days without charging and I'm still at 20% - Amazing
2. Just look at the back of the "new" iPhone. Look familiar? Ya, that's what I thought. The design of the M8 is revolutionary.
3. What other cell phone has 2 forward facing speakers? And they sound better that anything out there.
4. Sense 6 is probably the best Android OEM skin ever. I'm with others that say while flashing ROM's is fun and the developers are great and make amazing ROM's but I've not had a reason to unlock and flash.
5. Just go hold one in your hand. Compare it to the plastic feel of other phones. No contest.
GalaxyNotesTx said:
I am on the fence here..Had Note 3 love Amoled but hate Tw and the plastic...I did have the M7 loved it, but camera was bad....Did not like the G3 ...thinking of the M8 or Note 4 ...I don't use the spen and want a premium phone!! Help!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a Samsung S 5 Active and an HTC One M8 at the same time, the S5 for my wife as we have different needs.
The S5 camera is better, is more waterproof and I prefer the hard-buttons (home, back, menu/windows.) In every other way, the M8 is better. Even though the S5 has a faster processor, the M8 seems faster. M8 feels slimmer and nicer (than either S5 model), battery lasts nearly double the time. And I happen to really like Dot View (and the ease of turning the display off by closing it. )
And iPhone wielding coworkers fondle the M8 in ways they wouldn't touch an S5.
In most ways, though, it's just different. I really don't like the Samsung interface, and replaced it on my Tab Pro, so it's no surprise that I don't like how the S5 menus and screens are laid out. Sense/Blink is okay, but I don't need either kind of live-feed so I put Nova on it anyhow.
I think the M8 is better. Like an Audi is better than a Honda - it doesn't get you from point A to B better, but the ride is more enjoyable. But you can be happy with either one.
I hope no one minds me adding a small question to this thread, as I'm also about to buy an M8:
I've read in many places that the finish on it makes it very slippery. How true is it? Do owners usually use a case or not? It would be a shame to put a case on such a nice looking phone!
if no case - is the back cover replaceable? If after a year mine gets all scratched, can I just replace it with a new one like I do on my S3?
thanks!
Well just tried to buy m8 two different stores and lte would not light up..says no apn settings. I'm in Houston...huge lte here..Never had this problem with any other phones before..looks to be HTC issue?
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
Slartibartfast_ said:
I hope no one minds me adding a small question to this thread, as I'm also about to buy an M8:
I've read in many places that the finish on it makes it very slippery. How true is it? Do owners usually use a case or not? It would be a shame to put a case on such a nice looking phone!
if no case - is the back cover replaceable? If after a year mine gets all scratched, can I just replace it with a new one like I do on my S3?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the problem with such a beautiful device. You don't want to cover it up with a case but want to protect it from everyday use. I use a thin TPU clear case at work and when I'm out but take it off when I'm home just to feel the quality of the M8. As far as slippery, yes it's a little slippery but not too bad. The back is not replacable like on a phone with a removable battery if that's what your thinking. E-bay (and I'm sure other places) have backs for sale but you'll have to take the phone apart to change it out since the phone is 90% one piece metal. Check out ifixit.com for the teardown and see if you can do it. Personally I don't think it is as bad as they say it is but I'm a mechanic and field service engineer so taking stuff apart and fixing them is what I do for a living.
---------- Post added at 06:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 PM ----------
GalaxyNotesTx said:
Well just tried to buy m8 two different stores and lte would not light up..says no apn settings. I'm in Houston...huge lte here..Never had this problem with any other phones before..looks to be HTC issue?
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe but I don't have that problem where I live (Washington DC area).
GalaxyNotesTx said:
I am on the fence here..Had Note 3 love Amoled but hate Tw and the plastic...I did have the M7 loved it, but camera was bad....Did not like the G3 ...thinking of the M8 or Note 4 ...I don't use the spen and want a premium phone!! Help!!
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an m8 and "please don't bash me for this m8 owners" the camera is absolutely horrible. Huge letdown with the m7 then again with the m8. I had the m8 and tried to convince myself that I loved it. As far as root and s-off, the m8 is awesome. The camera is horrible and the phone is too tall. I switched to the s5 once I heard they had root and couldn't be happier. These are just my opinions.
an0ther said:
I had an m8 and "please don't bash me for this m8 owners" the camera is absolutely horrible. Huge letdown with the m7 then again with the m8. I had the m8 and tried to convince myself that I loved it. As far as root and s-off, the m8 is awesome. The camera is horrible and the phone is too tall. I switched to the s5 once I heard they had root and couldn't be happier. These are just my opinions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree the camera could be better out of the box but if you play with the setting in manual mode you will get amazing results. Most users are just casual photogs so they need point and shoot and never mess with the other features. I only use my phones camera as a conveiance because when I go to events etc. I take my point and shoot and my HD camcorder. I too thought the form factor of this phone would be too big but after having it for a month or so it's really not that big feeling. It actually feels smaller than my Vivid in my pocket. We won't take your comments as a bash, at least you didn't go with the iPhone Plus.
S5 or M8?
I'm trying to decide between the S5 and the M8 also.
Sounds like everybody is generally in love with the M8 because of the look and feel. Personally, I have trouble understanding why people complain about the plastic on the Samsung phones. If you plan to use the phone naked, then the look would make a difference. I never feel comfortable using these flimsy phones without a TPU case, and once you put a case on it, you rarely see the back of the phone. To me that makes all of that lovely metal a waste.
Otherwise, the waterproof qualities of the Samsung are a plus and most people seem to think the camera is better. Also, the lack of an easily replaceable battery on the M8 is a concern for me.
It seems that Sense UI, the speakers, and the general experience of using it is the big advantage for the M8. Also unlocked bootloaders and the availability of multiple stock roms is a plus. I'm not sure which phone wins out on battery life, but the Samsung has the bigger battery.
All in all, I'm leaning toward the S5, but it's a very close call.
Do you use a case on your M8? If so, what's the advantage of the pretty back?
Just got the M8 love it...very fast , very clean ui..no junk touchwiz here.... no complaints....This phone is very nice...only second generation...M9 will be even better....S5 feels and looks like my 9 year old niece designed ...good luck!
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
I too was in a position to choose between the M8 and S5 when my Galaxy Note II decided to finally give up the ghost only after 18 months of use. Despite a full restore it just kept freezing up and corrupted not only my 64 GB SD card, but also the internal memory. Because my phone is my lifeline, I couldn't afford to take any more time to try to fix it, and bought a replacement - the M8.
I have never had as many issues or physically destroyed a phone as quickly as the Note II. While I enjoyed the plastic at the beginning due to making the weight of the phone lighter, it was also more prone to scratches, cracks, abrasion marks, etc. Although I liked the Touchwiz features, I hated the FischerPrice design. Why are all of the icons huge on the screen? Nova launcher quickly became my friend.
I temporarily reverted to my Iphone 4 while shopping for a new phone. While I also hate IOS7, i did realize that I missed the feel and sturdiness of the metal chassis design. This swayed me to look at the M8 after I found out that the new model was almost all metal, unlike the M7.
I viewed the reviews and specs of both the M8 and S5. While the better camera on the S5 was definitely important, these were the factors that made me choose the M8:
1) Metal iPhone like build. I'm not too rough on my phones, but the even more plastic flimsy build of the S5 didn't seem like it would hold up any better than my Note 2 did. i also hated the new Band-Aid like design. The S5 looks like a toy.
2) Dual stereo speakers. I am a musician and DJ. Music is my life. While the volume of the Note 2 and S5 were "ok', there is no doubt that the M8 was not only superior in sound quality, but offered the rare stereo experience.
3) Camera - the M8 is adequate, but not up to par with other phones, especially the S5 and new LG. However, I weighed this against my use of the device for music. I rarely take photos or videos with my phone. Yeah, every once in a while as a spur of the moment keepsake, or to send to someone, but never to save and print, etc. I realized that the camera was the least important feature to me, so even though the S5 would win in this category, the M8 was sufficient for my needs. That being said, some of the camera features are very nice, and if you use manual mode, you can get some pretty decent shots.
4) Size - Although I liked the bigger screen on the S5, and prefer the technology, I found my Note 2 to be just a tad too big every once in a while. The slightly smaller M8 seemed to still give me the larger real estate that I wanted (compared to the minuscule iPhone 4, which I found unusable for non mobile web browsing). I was not mistaken.
5) Interface. I was very surprised with how clean the Sense 6 interface was. Although I don't use BlinkFeed (not customizable enough for me) it seems like so much more a native android experience. I don't feel like it gets in the way like TW did. I don't even use Nova anymore, simply because I love the weather clock widget. It was designed with simplicity in mind, but not to a point of making it toy like. If anything, it is elegant.
6) Internal memory. The S5 only has 16 GB of internal memory. The M8 has 32. Let's face it, there's a lot that can not be stored on an external SD card.
Other factors -
I really like the dot view case. While I thought it was gimmicky at first, I really find it helpful. The scrolling caller ID, the tap to view time/weather, the quick voice call feature, auto on/off when opening/closing the cover. Actually all very useful.
I do miss having a full RGB led notification indicator. However I'm finding it less important than I did on the Note 2.
I actually like the stock music player. I used Google Play Music on the Note, but now only use it for cloud based stuff (21K songs LOL). Otherwise I've been using the native player. I like the Music Channel feature with the scrolling lyrics.
One thing that almost made me overlook the M8 was that the M7 did not have a removable battery or SD slot. The M8 now features a micro SD slot (up to 128 GB!) so that's no longer an issue. While the M8 still does not have a removable battery, I find the battery life of the phone to be amazing. I do tend to have it on a charger most days, but yesterday I spent 14 hours at the casino. Even with constantly checking my phone, using it for several calls, texts, etc., I still had 20% at the end of the day without using power saver mode. My note would have been dead in 6-8 hours.
Even with the announcement of the New iPhone 6, I do not regret my choice of the M8. I really enjoy using this phone. YMMV, but the best thing to do would be to evaluate the features and how they fit your needs.
Both the M8 and G3 are badass phones. I have both and keep switching. Converted M8 to Dev and of course updates are like they are supposed to be. G3 no unlocked bootloader, can be a problem for some. The lag that those complain about on the G3 is virtually non-existent but sometimes can be seen. I think once LG issues an update, and they will, it won't even be a conversation anymore. I think LG is going straight to L, and will address everything at that point. Of course HTC will issue the same updates, probably faster too, but in the end, if LG fixes some of the "nagging" issues, it will be so much better.
---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:46 PM ----------
GalaxyNotesTx said:
Just got the M8 love it...very fast , very clean ui..no junk touchwiz here.... no complaints....This phone is very nice...only second generation...M9 will be even better....S5 feels and looks like my 9 year old niece designed ...good luck!
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
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Now that's funny. I say the same about my wifes Note 3, so cartoonish.
theandies said:
I agree the camera could be better out of the box but if you play with the setting in manual mode you will get amazing results. Most users are just casual photogs so they need point and shoot and never mess with the other features. I only use my phones camera as a conveiance because when I go to events etc. I take my point and shoot and my HD camcorder. I too thought the form factor of this phone would be too big but after having it for a month or so it's really not that big feeling. It actually feels smaller than my Vivid in my pocket. We won't take your comments as a bash, at least you didn't go with the iPhone Plus.
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I haven't had any trouble with camera and I prefer the luxury finish that gives the M8 over the S5.
I was gonna open a new thread but this is what I was looking for
Used iPhone 3G > Captivate > S3 > Note 2 ----> Got bored of Android, and more so with constant rooting and roms, and a times frustrating lag and crashing. So I bought into the hype and paid 1K for an iphone 6 64GB ( was waiting from Carrier too and then sell t but wait was 6 weeks ) , used for 3 days and realized I miss the Android control and usage. I sold the iPhone for 940, lost money and ordered an M8 from my Carrier - since I know its premium finish and I simply want to root it
I have been reading about GPE but most people say the stock is best itself
Have I picked the right phone as I want to stay away from the same Rom game and needs a smooth phone
inningsdefeat500 said:
Have I picked the right phone as I want to stay away from the same Rom game and needs a smooth phone
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Only you can answer if its the right phone for you.
But what I can say, is the stock experience is smooth, snappy and won't disappoint. To be honest, I've felt like HTC has gotten very close to having a great stock ROM experience for some time now. And that is pretty much realized with Sense 6, especially combined with the hardware on the M8. I mean, there is always tweaking that can be done with custom ROMs, and whether you want a custom ROM or not completely depends on your own preferences and usage. But I really feel that we are at a point where the stock software is stable, fast and smooth, and a custom ROM is not needed to get basic functionality or to overcome lag caused by Sense (as has been the case for older devices).
That being said, I went to a custom ROM early on (second day I owned the M8) because I can't stand AT&T's bloatware and limitations (blocked tethering if not on a tethering plan). But that is really another matter. Lag and performance are not an issue on the stock software.
Also, you can't really compare the M8 with Samsung devices. I have a current Samsung tablet (Tab Pro 8.4) and it lagged and crashed on TouchWiz, and all but forced me to go AOSP (which made it much faster and more stable). So don't take the Samsung experience as being indicative of all Android devices. The M8 is simply snappy in comparison.
redpoint73 said:
Only you can answer if its the right phone for you.
But what I can say, is the stock experience is smooth, snappy and won't disappoint. To be honest, I've felt like HTC has gotten very close to having a great stock ROM experience for some time now. And that is pretty much realized with Sense 6, especially combined with the hardware on the M8. I mean, there is always tweaking that can be done with custom ROMs, and whether you want a custom ROM or not completely depends on your own preferences and usage. But I really feel that we are at a point where the stock software is stable, fast and smooth, and a custom ROM is not needed to get basic functionality or to overcome lag caused by Sense (as has been the case for older devices).
That being said, I went to a custom ROM early on (second day I owned the M8) because I can't stand AT&T's bloatware and limitations (blocked tethering if not on a tethering plan). But that is really another matter. Lag and performance are not an issue on the stock software.
Also, you can't really compare the M8 with Samsung devices. I have a current Samsung tablet (Tab Pro 8.4) and it lagged and crashed on TouchWiz, and all but forced me to go AOSP (which made it much faster and more stable). So don't take the Samsung experience as being indicative of all Android devices. The M8 is simply snappy in comparison.
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tx man, I have 8.4 Tab Pro too. Lot of the comments on this thread are so similar to my past usage with Samsung - man it feels good to be back with Android. I was SO missing the back button the iphone and unlocking with fingerprint was a bore, had to wait till it opens, keep eye on the phone to swap channels on Tune in radio whereas in droid, u can simply swipe w/o looking. Lot of other small things make the difference
I was deeply torn between an S5 and the M8. My wife actually poked fun at me for not being able to decide. They are both solid phones, but ultimately I wasn't able to give up the freedom to tinker. The S5 is locked down hard on AT&T, and while it has root, at some point it's going to be totally closed - or at least developers are going to be stuck on the last officially supported kernel until people get tired of it. There is safestrap, and I looked into it, but it sounds like people are already getting weary of development on the locked versions. Thus, there will likely never be a non-TW ROM for it. The T-mobile version isn't locked, but apparently doesn't perform as well on AT&T networks, and you would have to find a way to get one without switching carriers.
The M8, on the other hand, has a future. Even once HTC gets tired of supporting it, being able to unlock the bootloader (either officially or unofficially) and S-off means that people will be creating new ROMs for it until it, like my old Skyrocket, just get so old that no one has them anymore. That was the deciding factor for me, especially in light of the fact that I switched to Cyanogenmod a long time ago on my Skyrocket, and never looked back. So, in a way, firewater (and ultimately Sunshine) sold me on the M8.
Now, the fact is that I have come to really like Sense. Sure, it doesn't have every option I'm used to in CM, but it's a solid skin that doesn't get in the way. I opted for a full (including CID) conversion to the Developer Edition, and have stuck with it for now. Thus, the ultimate irony is that I have the ability to do whatever I like to my phone, and I'm so happy with stock that I've not installed a single alternate ROM. However, I am also happy knowing that one day I will be able to.
Forgive me, I'm sure these posts keep cropping up but I just had to share.
Got a Samsung Note 4, and yes, it does a lot, and does it quickly. But....
Believe it or not, my G2 keeps up with it on all fronts and on many of them, surges ahead.
1st, the screen that the G2 got is still nearly unbeatable. I know the Note four is higher res, but the G2 screen is bright and clear, the colors are snappy and the thing pops. It's far more 'exciting' to look at and you really can't tell the difference in res. Further, the glass on the G2 is the most glorious I've used, very smooth and very, very hard. 2 years on, it still feels like liquid with very few scratches on it, without ever having used a case. The Note four, 2 weeks old, micro-scratch hell.
2nd, the battery kills the Note, hands down. I'm rooted and haven't refreshed in many months so it's settled down, I use DS battery saver and SD maid, and consistently the phone that's still living at 11pm is the G2. All the rest have collapsed and are recuperating with their chargers.
And lastly, speed. The Note does a lot of things. It's a productivity demon, it can multi-task very many different functions without ever slowing down, it's consistent and whatever you throw at it -games open, internetting, office+cloud, video/music, Facebook, split window, multi-window, window-in-window, - all AT THE SAME TIME, it doesn't stumble. Doesn't even cough.
But.
The G2 is faster. Imagine that. At everything it does within its system, it's faster. Once on the net no phone can beat the Note's vicious engine but everything within the G2's system is quicker. Opening and switching Apps, gliding through screens etc is not only very fast but very smooth, and.... The experience is like no other because of that wonderfully curved, beautifully coated, extra tough glass.
A bonus: that beautifully constructed, stock G2 home launcher! Yeah, I know, I'm the first to change launchers, used them ALL trust me, all, the stock G2 launcher is the slickest.
I was going to sell my G2 but I'm going to keep it. For life. Once in a while a company gets it right, and the G2 got it right. The few things it didn't, it tried to correct for in the G3 - the measly 16gb which just doesn't cut it these days, no access to the battery or to expandable memory -these things hurt it but the G3 is a completely different machine. And it's not as good.
The LgG2 chassis has become quite simply, one of the best I've ever owned. Things came together for LG here like a good number one hit - very hard to replicate. I hope they manage to pull something off with the G4 that erases their rush with the G3 - not that it's a bad Phone.
Sorry for my rant but there it is. After a month with both phones side-by-side, I had to let you all know. The G2 rocks properly. Like nothing else out there. Still.
Sent from my SM-N910H using XDA Premium HD app
Agreed... I have had mine for over a year Now...I used to be a phone addict always wanting something faster...well the lg g2 is the only phone that has felt "fast" enough...the battery is amazing and the screen is amazing as well..I kivr the bezel and lg's software...hands down the best phone I have ever owned still 1 year down the road.
G2 r0cKz
I have g2. Not selling yet. But I like g3 and note 4 is really good. I think I can keep g2 for this year.
Ive note 3 and g2...love them both so much...g2 got better screen and the battery life is amazingggg...like u said this phone is rock still
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Free mobile app
Still rocking my g2 but a lot of your post is just patently false from using my gf's Note 4. The res is distinguishable, text looks a lot crisper on the note and that's something I noticed from first glance. Same for performance, I'm satisfied with my G2's performance but the G3 and Note 4 are just snappier. Only thing I can't speak definitively on is battery life as I haven't used the Note 4 for extended periods of time but I don't see how a used G2 battery is beating a brand new phone's battery, even if the resolution is higher the note is also amoled which will save power in certain circumstances. That sounds more like app/wakelock differences or one phone being rooted with the correct kernels/changes while the other is not.
We can love our G2 because it's still a great phone without hyping it against newer models. I'll probably have my g2 until the G4 or some other phone comes out later this year but I won't delude myself into thinking it's an objectively better phone than things with objectively better screens/processors/battery.
I got my G2 bundled with a postpaid plan on a 2-year contract. At the time, I was expecting that, after a year, I'd be looking for a replacement phone just to keep up with the times. But it's already been 16 months, and I still can't find any reason to drop this phone and get a new one. Heck, I even like this better than the G3, TBH. I even think that I'll be keeping this one active even after I renew my contract and get a new phone, maybe the next Note.
Agree G2 is perfect sized phone. Especially with the Verzion version having wireless charging. Do wish it had microSD slot. Thankfully Google+ backup fixes that.
Obsessive
Speed, Display, Power, Features and whatnot? You name it and we have it. Salute to the LG for pulling up a truly smartphone. Truly Amazing.
MicroMod777 said:
Agree G2 is perfect sized phone. Especially with the Verzion version having wireless charging. Do wish it had microSD slot. Thankfully Google+ backup fixes that.
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Manbot27 said:
Still rocking my g2 but a lot of your post is just patently false from using my gf's Note 4. The res is distinguishable...I'm satisfied with my G2's performance but the G3 and Note 4 are just snappier...I don't see how a used G2 battery is beating a brand new phone's battery, even if the resolution is higher...
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I don't think you have lived with both phones. The LgG2 screen is immediately richer and more iridescent than the Note 4. It is only on prolonged use that res begins to show, and only because the Note uses and handles small text better and has deeper Black's on images. You DO realise after a while that indeed, the qHD on the Samsung is the best on the market - you get it when you try to go back to full HD, don't let anyone kid you - and it becomes clear that LG accentuates the brilliance of its screens - but that's not the point. In use, the LgG2 remains an exciting display, and the glass on it is unsurpassed even by the Note 4.
The battery in the LgG2 only seems to get better, the longer the phone sits on its hardware undisturbed, and is factually, longer-lasting than the Note 4. In fact, battery life is the main issue facing the Note. You will need your spare before the day is over and I suspect all firmware updates will be focused on this for a while.
The Note is a beast, no doubt. The point here is not comparison. It is that the LgG2 in particular, 2 years into the fray, is no slacker.
The G3? The jury is back on that one - they'll have to fix it with the G4 - the reviewers are well aware of that, it's all over the place. Where the G2 was splendid, the G3 was just the 1st with qHD.
It will need more than that this year.
Just saying.
Sent from my SM-N910H using XDA Premium HD app
I love my G2(d802). Powerful phone, great battery, beautiful experience. I wait official lollipop with new UI. I will skip G3, i dont like ever this phone. Maybe G4 will be my next baby, until G4 im happy with my baby G2.
Yes - I tried friends G3 and hardware looks great but animations are very choppy, not fluid
cile1977 said:
Yes - I tried friends G3 and hardware looks great but animations are very choppy, not fluid
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...and G2 display is more brightness than G3 display. On G3 display white background looks like is yellow
Look here the diference, watch white background on both devices
http://youtu.be/nipun6-Grpk
I agree! I sold mine last year and have had numerous phones since then. Some of them multiple times! The G2 remains my favorite. I currently have the 6 Plus, and decided the other day to sell it and grab me a 128gb iPad Air 2 and pick up an older phone. I'll end up about even on the deal. Well, I have a mint Nexus 5, a mint LG G2, and a new LG G2 in the mail heading my way. Found a great deal on the new one after buying the mint condition and couldn't pass it up. I'm not sure whether I'll keep the Nexus or the G2, but I'm excited to give the G2 another run!
Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk
I still enjoy my G2, still performs just as sharp as the day I got it about 13 months ago. Because it's a D800, I expect AT&T to have us wait for the Lollipop update. Rooting is out of the question for me, as I have experienced overheating both times I tried it.