Hi all, I'm looking for a new phone to replace my Rezound. The Rez has been a great phone with CM10.1 installed, does everything I need and fairly quick too.
Here are my main criteria for selecting a new device (in order of importance):
Ability to keep my unlimited data plan, I'd rather not interact with VZW at all.
CM11 support with working camera/corder, navigation, and wifi tethering
Easy reliable root/s-off process
Excellent camera hardware. SGS5's kinda sucks, One M8 not bad, and we can't use LG GPro2 on VZW.
Excellent battery life, or option for extended battery. (With my usage habits I can get >52 hours from of my Rezound's extended batt and Kernel Tuner)
>32GB storage, prefferrably removable SDcard
As for keeping my data plan, I hope all I have to do is buy a phone from a 3rd party, swap in my SIM and continue life as normal. I know the current phones now use the mini-SIM or whatever, and that a normal SIM can be trimmed to fit. Will this work or do I have no choice but to involve VZW in the upgrade?
Thanks!
M8
The LG G2 is a good phone and it's battery will far surpass just about anything else out there, you can snag one for about $250-$300 on Swappa.com. It will meet most of your requirements.
If money isn't really a problem, I would wait and get the LG G3 and buy it outright.
As far as the SIM goes, just get a cheap cutter on Amazon or eBay, they work fine... even if you mess it up just take it in to a Verizon store and they will give you new one.
acejavelin said:
The LG G2 is a good phone and it's battery will far surpass just about anything else out there, you can snag one for about $250-$300 on Swappa.com. It will meet most of your requirements.
If money isn't really a problem, I would wait and get the LG G3 and buy it outright.
As far as the SIM goes, just get a cheap cutter on Amazon or eBay, they work fine... even if you mess it up just take it in to a Verizon store and they will give you new one.
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Click to collapse
G3 is not an option yet, bootloader is still locked and no AOSP ROMs.
One M8 looking like the best option at this point. :good:
md303 said:
G3 is not an option yet, bootloader is still locked and no AOSP ROMs.
One M8 looking like the best option at this point. :good:
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Click to collapse
You would likely be happy with either the G2, M8, or the G3... it is only a matter of time before the G3 is "broke" and ROMs will flood it, it's a flagship device with premium hardware and capabilities so devs will flock to it. We don't have an M8, either at home or work (odd, since we have over 60 cell phones at work), so I can't speak directly to it's battery life or capabilities but the people with M7s sure like them.
On a side note, it is interesting that Verizon is not preloading the G3 with Bloatware, it is downloaded and installed during the setup process (data free), and most can be uninstalled. Interesting change of "business as usual" for Verizon...
M8 is amazing! :good: I personally love it. Has a great battery life for me. I've pulled a good 6 hours SoT before, with an average of 5-5:30 hours of SoT. May not match the G2 or G3 but for a person who loves sense 5/6 (6 is stock) it's amazing!! :good:
Sent from my HTC One M8 Running Liquid Smooth. S-OFF
pball52998 said:
M8 is amazing! :good: I personally love it. Has a great battery life for me. I've pulled a good 6 hours SoT before, with an average of 5-5:30 hours of SoT. May not match the G2 or G3 but for a person who loves sense 5/6 (6 is stock) it's amazing!! :good:
Sent from my HTC One M8 Running Liquid Smooth. S-OFF
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Actually its not too far off. Max Ive pulled was a smidgen less than 7hrs. My take on the M8 G2 or G3 debackle;
M8 if you like Sense and if custom romming dont mind a small bug or six.
G2 if you're into custom roms and don't mind a bug here and there before getting corrected(stock rom is still great).
G3 if you're more into a probability of not getting custom roms(stock would be ok with you) but getting better hardware to surpass both.
Snuzzo said:
Actually its not too far off. Max Ive pulled was a smidgen less than 7hrs. My take on the M8 G2 or G3 debackle;
M8 if you like Sense and if custom romming dont mind a small bug or six.
G2 if you're into custom roms and don't mind a bug here and there before getting corrected(stock rom is still great).
G3 if you're more into a probability of not getting custom roms(stock would be ok with you) but getting better hardware to surpass both.
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Click to collapse
Surprisingly M8 ROMs are getting bugs ironed out. Thank god I wasn't around during the encryption bug lol. The biggest bug right now is speakerphone not working right. As for the G3 it has the 801 and 3GB of RAM right? To me that's almost overkill... Isn't a 801 and 2GB enough but the camera. G3 has an awesome camera though. If I didn't like sense (I personally love it) I would have definitely gotten the G3. Hands down.
Sent from my HTC One M8 running Insert Coin. S-OFF.
5.5" IPS display also.
Sent from my LG-VS980 using Tapatalk 4
Related
Hey guys I'm trying to decide which of these devices I should upgrade to. Mainly asking the people who have had both the one and the g2.
I'm leaning towards the one because of the great speakers and I've heard the screen has more accurate colors. The screen is my biggest priority I want the most realistic looking screen for pics and vids. Do u notice the 40 pixel density difference? The difference in super LCD vs IPS?
Also will the g2 get decent dev support? Another reason im leaning towards the one.
Also interested in overall experience. Thanks for your input.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2447206
Display comparison: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7251/lg-g2-and-msm8974-snapdragon-800-a-quick-look/2
bryanhayn said:
Display comparison: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7251/lg-g2-and-msm8974-snapdragon-800-a-quick-look/2
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So it looks like the ones screen is better in most of those graphs?
I have both HTC one and LG G2 but I had sold the One already.
1. 5.2" > 4.7" (But the size & hand feel is similar)
2. Snapdragon 800 > Snapdragon 600
3. HTC One has purple camera issue (physical damage to CMOS due to over exposed, not fixable, need to send back to HTC to change the camera)
wwmkst said:
I have both HTC one and LG G2 but I had sold the One already.
1. 5.2" > 4.7" (But the size & hand feel is similar)
2. Snapdragon 800 > Snapdragon 600
3. HTC One has purple camera issue (physical damage to CMOS due to over exposed, not fixable, need to send back to HTC to change the camera)
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Click to collapse
Me too I am thinking of swapping my One with G2 because of the camera and screen (too small)
I am just afraid to miss the loud volume of the One,can you make the G2 as loud as the One thank to tweaks??
My HTC one had the purple camera. Battery life was horrid. Hated the blink feed as well lol. Loving this G2 so far
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk 2
Get the g2. Sold my one for the g2 and ddnt regret. The only good thing on the one against the g2 is the boomsound and thats it.
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk 2
So I take it most of you don't flash custom ROMs?
Heisenberg420 said:
So I take it most of you don't flash custom ROMs?
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Where are these G2 custom ROM'S you speak of?
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
imneveral0ne said:
Where are these G2 custom ROM'S you speak of?
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
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Exactly my point.. Obviously it's a new device but we already know the HTC ones dev support is going to be hard to beat.
Heisenberg420 said:
Exactly my point.. Obviously it's a new device but we already know the HTC ones dev support is going to be hard to beat.
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Click to collapse
HTC One dev support doesnt help on the VZW version (considering they quickly shut down the HTC Dev site before anyone could root/unlock bl)
I can see the G2 dev support being close to the same as the Gnex, and thats saying a lot.
Heisenberg420 said:
Exactly my point.. Obviously it's a new device but we already know the HTC ones dev support is going to be hard to beat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just give it some time
If you unlock it, they will come
Heisenberg420 said:
Exactly my point.. Obviously it's a new device but we already know the HTC ones dev support is going to be hard to beat.
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Click to collapse
Yeah that's right. Especially Viper ROM for the HTC One is the best custom ROM I've ever seen on any Android device. The possibilities for tweaking stuff are endless. It would be very hard for me to give up on this.
I'm definitely looking to sell my one for the g2
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
chrisexv6 said:
I can see the G2 dev support being close to the same as the Gnex, and thats saying a lot.
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Just curious, what gives you that idea? It would be awesome if true, but it's kind of hard to believe. GNex support has been awesome since the beginning and, while tapering off now 2 years later, is still going strong.
I'm a manager at a verizon store and I own both devices right now. Personally the One is a good device and all but its already an old device and the dev support is there if you get s-off which by no means is easy. Hboot 1.54 is virtually impossible to get around at the moment unless you send your device somewhere to get it done. Even though I use apex launcher to skin Sense 5 wasn't horrible besides blinkfeed because you cant get rid of it at all. Battery sucks on the One also and there's no denying that. The one has a beautiful screen and the speakers and the build quality thats it. The g2 has awesome battery and the screen is awesome. Software wise I actually like there skin but you can easily root and change stuff. The g2 will have good dev support I believe. In the end its up to you though but either phone you will like. :good:
I'll chime in too.
I had the One and now the G2, with a brief two-week stint on an S4 as well. I prefer the G2 overall to all of these devices. The screen is fantastic and once you look at it, it's hard to go back to the 4.7" screen of the HTC One. I know the question was "which has more accurate colors?" but as far as usability and pleasing to the eyes, it's the G2 hands down (for me).
What completely sold me was the battery life of the G2. My One was dead by the end of my work day and the G2 battery life is easily hours longer. Strangely enough, the device does not feel any larger than the One in any way. I love the rear buttons, the camera is great and really the only thing I can see the One having is front-facing speakers. Yes, I will miss those, but it's a rare occasion where I actually rely on my phone speakers for entertainment.
All in all, I think the G2 is the best phone out right now. I would have tried the Xperia Z1, but I'm not playing the waiting game for a US release again (and it will probably be $759 anyhow). I walked into the AT&T store and paid the retail price of $579 for this G2 and will never look back. Yes, it's plastic, but it's built extremely well and just feel lovely to hold. It's so much phone for $579, especially considering the retail prices of the other two I had were higher, if not significantly.
Oh, one last thing - the G2 has a notification light that you can actually see. The One has one that you can see if you know which of the 200 speaker grill holes to look at
Edit: One last, last thing...I rooted mine, installed TWRP and flashed Scott's CleanROM this morning. With all the AT&T junk gone, this phone is darn near perfect.
-Collin-
Heisenberg420 said:
Hey guys I'm trying to decide which of these devices I should upgrade to. Mainly asking the people who have had both the one and the g2.
I'm leaning towards the one because of the great speakers and I've heard the screen has more accurate colors. The screen is my biggest priority I want the most realistic looking screen for pics and vids. Do u notice the 40 pixel density difference? The difference in super LCD vs IPS?
Also will the g2 get decent dev support? Another reason im leaning towards the one.
Also interested in overall experience. Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I called about 10 different Tmobile stores in the Western Chicagoland area. 8 of them have the phone in stock but none have it in white. I was told I would have to wait until Wednesday 9/25/13 to see if its available on the official launch day...
That sux. I had my One all packed up ready for exchange...
Personally, If you're choosing between them, I think your thread & my thread have just about all the different reasons why we should switch to the G2.
It seems the general consensus are people who had the HTC One are happier they switched to the G2 despite all the Boomsound speakers the One provides.
You lose that with the G2 but gain in all other departments. That's why I'm switching
NateK said:
Just curious, what gives you that idea? It would be awesome if true, but it's kind of hard to believe. GNex support has been awesome since the beginning and, while tapering off now 2 years later, is still going strong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Carried by all major carriers, and international
Spec-wise its a developers (and geeks) dream
Already been rooted and Loki-d so its ready to receive any custom ROM developed for it.
I don't think it will be very long before we see CM on it either. It seems to be that once CM is there, lots and lots follow.
Ive used a ton of different ROMs on my Gnex but I keep coming back to the same 2 or 3, and I know at least one of them is fully prepared to port to the G2 if they can get the files/hardware they need.
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
I have a G2, love the phone, but am interested in the G3. I was wondering if any of you who have gotten the G3 came from the G2 and what your opinions and thoughts on the switch are.
bose301s said:
I have a G2, love the phone, but am interested in the G3. I was wondering if any of you who have gotten the G3 came from the G2 and what your opinions and thoughts on the switch are.
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Click to collapse
swapped an upgrade and am trying out a g3 right now... just got it tonight, so i'm not judging it quite yet. I think the new screen is really nice, not a huge difference off the 1080p screens, but still nice. battery seems meh so far, and I had awesome battery life on my G2.... i'm gonna give it the weekend and see how it does. Then again, my g2 was running Mahdi, etc, so it really isn't a fair comparison
Mike
Someone I work with got one and it seems really nice, the stock OS seems very nice and I really like the look of it, toned down and flattened out from the stock OS on the G2. With the G2 I will go back to stock but can never seem to stay there long before I miss CM11 and go back to it. Overall very happy with the G2 on CM11, just a nerd who likes having the latest and greatest lol.
I came from the VZW G2. I, too, was looking forward this phone as being the next greatest thing. I DO like the phone. I am still getting used to the size. When you hold the G2 and G3 together you can see that the G3 isn't hugely bigger than the G2. But to me it really FEELs bigger. Trying to decide if I really like that. I'm not a fan of the big phablets, and maybe the G2 is as big as I want to go. We'll see. I like the ability to have more memory with the SD card - that is a big difference. I always had to keep an eye on memory with my G2. Battery life is not as good as my G2. That may be better when we start to get some custom ROMs, but for the first time in many months I find myself below 30% at the end of the workday. I expected to be wowed by the screen and display. That didn't happen. It's fine, just not a "wow - look at that" kind of experience.
Well, hope this helps. As always, YMMV.
verizon g3
I came from the g2 also and I agree with everything that had been said, it's not a huge upgrade. I only paid 99 dollars so it was worth it for me and the memory card slot is a great add, plus the I love my g2 so getting the g3 was a no brainer for me. The battery dies faster for sure but last the whole day still, I've not had one problem with the phone at all yet.
LgG2-Ttrain said:
I came from the g2 also and I agree with everything that had been said, it's not a huge upgrade. I only paid 99 dollars so it was worth it for me and the memory card slot is a great add, plus the I love my g2 so getting the g3 was a no brainer for me. The battery dies faster for sure but last the whole day still, I've not had one problem with the phone at all yet.
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Ditto. ^^^^
If it wasn't for the $99, and I had to pay the $600, no way I'd switch. The G2's a great phone and will still be going strong a year from now. Heck, two years from now.
scottysize said:
Ditto. ^^^^
If it wasn't for the $99, and I had to pay the $600, no way I'd switch. The G2's a great phone and will still be going strong a year from now. Heck, two years from now.
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Click to collapse
Agreed!
I am just surprised at the weight, so light compared to G2.. hell I didn't think mine was a real G3 till I threw in the battery :laugh:
Love the extra real estate but gonna have to change DPI (things too big).
I came from a G2 as well and for me it was a game changer. I did not have very good signal with the G2 but with the G3, I am now getting signal everywhere and even in places where I wouldn't imagine. I really like my G3!
Sent from my VS985 4G using XDA Free mobile app
soccerdude77 said:
I came from a G2 as well and for me it was a game changer. I did not have very good signal with the G2 but with the G3, I am now getting signal everywhere and even in places where I wouldn't imagine. I really like my G3!
Sent from my VS985 4G using XDA Free mobile app
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I can second the boost in signal. My g2 was horrible at my house. G3 is a champ. Couple that with a larger screen, removable battery and expandable storage, a more premium feel and design that is the same as all other variants. (Something owners of the Verizon g2 had to deal with as far as cases) I think it's a worthy upgrade. Especially at the $99 price tag.
Sent from my VS985 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
scottysize said:
Ditto. ^^^^
If it wasn't for the $99, and I had to pay the $600, no way I'd switch. The G2's a great phone and will still be going strong a year from now. Heck, two years from now.
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Click to collapse
Double ditto here. I LOVED my G2 (on Verizon), and even though I'm only a week in with the G3, I still miss it (a little) - the G3's pros:
*screen is bigger
*removable back/battery/SD card
*stock ROM is more tolerable (though I still use Nova Launcher)
*lighter than G2/feels better/back isn't gross
*rear keys are much improved
For me, it was a no brainer - sold my G2 to a buddy, then used the profit to do alternate upgrade and swap out the phones. Made a little cash and got a newer, free phone. At $199 or full retail I probably would have held only my G2 though. I will say my G3 seems to handle the 3G/4G handoffs a little better, my G2 (where I work, I get horrible, horrible signal strength) would get hot during the day and often I would shut off mobile data to preserve the battery. The G3 will get me thru a day at work even with the terrible connection without shutting data off. The battery life is very acceptable, with a fully day of usage (yesterday as an example on a 50/50 mix of LTE & WiFi I got to just over 5 hours SOT, 16 hours off a charge and had 6% left, and did a fair bit of video streaming during that time) for my needs easily.
For free/cheap, I'd say do it if the size doesn't bother you. Someone else in the thread mentioned it doesn't LOOK bigger, but it FEELS bigger. I'd say that nails it right on the head. At full retail, I'd say stick with what you've got.
Wife has the G2. I got it for her about 2 months ago.
If the G2 had a removable sd I would have gotten it over the GS4 I bought last year.
I came from a GS4.
Anyway, with the G2 and G3 side by side, you know they are both LG and Verizon.
G3 is a little taller but not much wider.
My wife has a bulkier case on her phone and I have a thin case on mine.
Now with them side by side they are about the same size.
If it's size you are worried about, I was too.
With the screen on the phone looks MASSIVE, because the screen is.
But on the positive, they were able to fit a phablet size screen in something that is about the same size as the G2, Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8.
I wouldn't take my GS4 back if you paid me.
But the G3 as an upgrade to a G2??? Only if a removable battery and/or SD support is important.
Only the SD is important to me.
I have to agree with 99% of the above statements. I went from a Note 2 to a G2 for a few months and now the G3. I really liked the smallness of the G2 compared to the bulk of the Note 2. Thought I was not going to like going back up to a 5.5 but LG made it more manageable. Overall upgrade from G2 to G3, I would not recommend unless you need the removable battery and SD card. No performance gain to be had, and some applications have proven it to take a hit between the two. I can imagine the screen makes for most of the performance hit. But it does look great and takes awesome pictures and video. The only reason I upgraded was the good price and the old G2 will be replacing a Nexus on another line.:good:
I'm about to upgrade phones and looking at options between SGS5 and LG G3. I'm coming from a SGS3, so most question are in relative terms to it.
Only down sides I see right now are: no bootloader unlock (on either), screen brightness/dimness not as good as SGS5 (amolded vs ips lcd), and battery life.
Bootloader I'm up to speed on (have actually been reloading a few pages way to often this evening, good things can happen on Monday's right?). Does root and xpoused modules replace enough functionality to be passable right now? I'm use to messing with everything (led, added onscreen nav to the SGS3, embedded tweaks in the ROM, hotspot) of the mindset that nothing should inaccessible.
For the screen: seems to that the SGS5 gets dimmer and brighter. I work outside and use it in bed a lot so this is a fairly important point. BUT, the SGS3 is fine. How does the screen bright/dark compare to the SGS3?
Battery life: on par with SGS5, with the sammy doing slightly better most likely due to the QHD. On my SGS3 I get average ~18.5hr (by GSam stats), custom ROM, kernel, tweaks, everything... Need better than this though, have a second battery almost everywhere (bag, car, work) if I need it, just depends how heavy the day gets. What has been the battery experience so far, and anticipate it getting better when the bootlock is shattered.
Nothing about the SGS5 moves me other than the IP67 rating, but the port plugs would get annoying with a case I think, and if it's bootloader is broken either not sure if I could stay with it and touchwiz taint.
Thanks for any input.
wrong thread, apologies, thought I was on the Q&A.
My G3 is much brighter in sun than my GS3. For max brightness, turn auto-off and slide to 100%.
My G3 gets way more battery life than my GS3. At the end of the GS3, maybe the batteries were just going bad, but I did have 2 different ones that I had swapped during the time I had it.
Root/Xposed gets me everything I want, so I don't really care about the bootloader. Actually, stock was pretty darn good as far as customization capabilities.
I agree with lexluthor. Brightness on the G3 is MUCH better than the GS3. I typically run 50% with auto brightness and I think that gets brighter than the GS3 did. The G3 does not get as dim though. I use my phone as my alarm clock and it took a while to get used to how bright it is at night even at 0% brightness.
G3 has much better battery life than the GS3. When I switched, I struggled to get through a day without having to charge. Now I usually have over 50% battery at the end of the day. However, I'm sure part of that was degradation of the battery after two years.
Screen on the g3 is brighter than the gs3 but not as bright as the gs5. Plenty bright to see outside IMO tho.
Battery life is slightly better (maybe) than the gs3 but it's negligible, not as good as the s5.
Xposed helps, and even tho the g3 still offers customization..it isn't as much as the g2 offered. Its give or take with the s5 because they both offer different customizations.
The g3 looks much better that the s5, even being bigger, it feels great.
You're splitting hairs between the 2, and honestly, the g3s major selling point over the s5 (QHD) is barely noticeable in most cases. The s5 still has one of the best displays available. The g3 and s5 both have exceptional displays.
There are some hiccups and imperfections throughout the g3 software, so just be aware of it. Great phone, but a lot of room for improvement
I just refuse to buy another Samsung phone due to KNOX and voiding your warranty even if you return to stock.
No thanks.
The G3 looks better and has better ergonomics.
Also the GS5 is 16GB Flash and 2GB RAM vs 32GB Flash and 3GB RAM for the G3.
You are less likely to get that "out of memory" or low memory warning on the G3.
I came from the gs3 and honestly i miss it. I was rooted running liquid smooth and that phone was a beast. Xposed on the g3help
g3 helps but still a lot to be desired. Bootloader is the key. To happiness for me.
jaguarpaw said:
I came from the gs3 and honestly i miss it. I was rooted running liquid smooth and that phone was a beast. Xposed on the g3help
g3 helps but still a lot to be desired. Bootloader is the key. To happiness for me.
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Click to collapse
Well, if that's the case you are more likely to see a LG G3 unlocked than the GS5.
The GS5 bootloader is signed with SHA256 just like the GS4 and there is a bounty of almost $20K that is still uncollected after a year.
After MDK on the GS4 there is no LOKI and only Safestrap.There is Safestrap for the S5 but you are limited to TW variants of ROMs.
Anyway, good luck.
I gave my GS4 to my daughter which was an upgrade from a GS3. I have not looked back.
Read lots of reviews on both. Gs5 five came out slightly ahead in most and lg in display. My wife has a gs4. She reminded me how well we loved lg phones. I had 4 and she had 3. I have been running mine 3 days now. Glad to be back.
tech_head said:
Well, if that's the case you are more likely to see a LG G3 unlocked than the GS5.
The GS5 bootloader is signed with SHA256 just like the GS4 and there is a bounty of almost $20K that is still uncollected after a year.
After MDK on the GS4 there is no LOKI and only Safestrap.There is Safestrap for the S5 but you are limited to TW variants of ROMs.
Anyway, good luck.
I gave my GS4 to my daughter which was an upgrade from a GS3. I have not looked back.
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Click to collapse
I do agree that if we had to pick, the g3 would get a boot loader unlock first. It's a shame that nobody is able to defeat these new "security" measures.
Honestly. I don't think the g3 will ever see a boot loader unlock either. The phone just doesn't seem all that popular. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. I'm just irritated that we can't do as we please with phones we own anymore. It was so fun on the Evo, Evo 3d and Evo lte. There was plenty of development, themes, stock and aosp roms, MIUI. It was great..
I wouldn't switch back to the gs5 even though I love the amoeled with an all black theme. I'm guessing we have a better chance at unlocked boot loader with the g3 though. If you want to have full customizability maybe consider the M8. I also tried that phone and have the whole s-off ROM thing done but I'll stick with the g3. With the m8 the camera is what puts it out of the comparison for me. The gs5 and g3 both get much better pics IMO. Battery seemed best for me with the gs5 then the m8 and last g3. I'm always near a charger so battery have never been an issue with me. You coming from the gs3 will notice a huge difference.
Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
Thanks everyone.
Think that answers that, LG G3 it is. Just don't expect huge increase in battery and be patient and hopeful for the unlock.
@jaguarpaw - same here with LS, going to miss it but they'll get it running soon after unlock I'm sure.
Any case recommendations?
Running a Seido OBEX (worked in aquatic enviroment), can go a little lighter and not water-sealed but some would be nice.
Rippley05 said:
I do agree that if we had to pick, the g3 would get a boot loader unlock first. It's a shame that nobody is able to defeat these new "security" measures.
Honestly. I don't think the g3 will ever see a boot loader unlock either. The phone just doesn't seem all that popular. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. I'm just irritated that we can't do as we please with phones we own anymore. It was so fun on the Evo, Evo 3d and Evo lte. There was plenty of development, themes, stock and aosp roms, MIUI. It was great..
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Click to collapse
These new security features, especially those from Samsung, were co-developed by General Dynamics and the NSA so that GD could sell a secure phone. The previous phone was the Sectera Edge and it was based on old Windows Mobile.
See: http://www.gdc4s.com/secure-smartphones-prod-category-listing?taxonomyCat=511
The only way the Samsung phones are going to see the bootloader unlocked is if Samsung sells one that is unlocked.
There are no known backdoors for SHA256 and the computing time to brute force is just insane. So we know there is and will not be a bootloader unlock for the Samsung Galaxy "whatever".
HTC and LG currently do not sign their bootloaders with SHA256. There is hope.
HTC is easy, they have the S-OFF USB thing for people that refurb phones. Not cheap, but it works. They also will unlock the bootloader for all but AT$T and Veri$on.
Anyway, an unlocked bootloader is a "NICE" thing to have.
I will not buy a phone that cannot be rooted. Even if I have to stay on an older version of the firmware, root is a must for me.
Stock to stock from s3 to G3 is a no brainer. Now talking development, it's no where near the s3....yet. I'd imagine in time it will be.
I honestly haven't felt the need to root yet. I don't notice the lag people talk about but once in a blue moon on the apps drawer. I do at times run Nova and takes care of that.
Brightness is perfectly fine and should suffice for most. It's a little difficult in bright light, but no worse than my s3.
Battery life just depends what kind of user you are. Your s3 battery probably worse down after a while like mine did. Easy enough for our phones, just get a new battery. I generally get 16-18 hours in a work day with about 2 hours SOT. Off days, 13_14 hours with 3 hours SOT. Mix of 4G and wifi.
No idea how people off stock can get over 5 hours SOT. I am not one of those lucky ones.
Honestly never had amazing battery life besides getting extended batteries. Must just be hard on phones. Even get good signal most places as well...
Anyway, this is a great phone and much rather deal with lg software over Sammy... Way more polished and pleasing to the eye IMO.
Enjoying the discussion in this thread. I also have the S3 and the only reason I haven't bought the G3 is because of my love of tinkering with the OS.
I've had the OG Moto Droid (physical keyboard), Verizon Nexus, and S3... all 'hackable'. I can't quite come to terms with the potential of not having my bootloader unlocked for 2 years yet.
So I am looking to get a new phone. I actually bought an iPhone and sold it and was planning on getting the new Nexus phone. However, I was banking on the price of the new Nexus phone to be $350-400. Now that it looks like the phone will be much more ($650) and also the fact that it is WAY too big, I have mostly ruled out getting the Nexus 6.
My backup option was going to be the new Moto X, but now Sprint isn't carrying it. So now what?
Is my best option the G3. My last two phone have been from LG, the Optimus One and the Optimus G is my current phone. My complaint with LG is manly around updates. Custom ROMs have helped ease this issue, but I usually end up falling back to a stock based Rom, so I would like if LG was better at updating their stuff.
The only other phone I am interested in is the HTC One M8. I like the hardware and the developer community seems to be bigger than the G3, also HTC is committed to providing better updates.
I am torn. What is your opinion of the G3 and does anyone have experience with both the HTC One and the LG G3? Is there something I should wait for?
Thanks, Jon.
jonnyg333 said:
So I am looking to get a new phone. I actually bought an iPhone and sold it and was planning on getting the new Nexus phone. However, I was banking on the price of the new Nexus phone to be $350-400. Now that it looks like the phone will be much more ($650) and also the fact that it is WAY too big, I have mostly ruled out getting the Nexus 6.
My backup option was going to be the new Moto X, but now Sprint isn't carrying it. So now what?
Is my best option the G3. My last two phone have been from LG, the Optimus One and the Optimus G is my current phone. My complaint with LG is manly around updates. Custom ROMs have helped ease this issue, but I usually end up falling back to a stock based Rom, so I would like if LG was better at updating their stuff.
The only other phone I am interested in is the HTC One M8. I like the hardware and the developer community seems to be bigger than the G3, also HTC is committed to providing better updates.
I am torn. What is your opinion of the G3 and does anyone have experience with both the HTC One and the LG G3? Is there something I should wait for?
Thanks, Jon.
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Click to collapse
I like mine, dude... Oddly, there's a little lag here and there, but it hasn't even had its first update yet... The lag isn't a deal breaker and it's easily fixed by switching from Dalvik to Art, but they may affect a few apps.... It's finally unlocked, so we'll have some ROMS here soon and it'll be a beast. The screen is REALLY nice, but at full brightness it IS a battery hog. I came from the Note 2, so i got the same screen size on the G3 with a smaller phone!
My wife has the S5 and it's pretty awesome too ... I was torn between the two, but i've had Samsung for the past like 5 years and wanted something different. I honestly would have been happy with either phone. Don't forget, the Note 4 is coming out too. But, that's a huge bastard. The Note 2 was just big enough for me and I would NOT want to go any bigger just because of how it feels in the pocket.
I have a HTC One M8 and I just got my wife a LG G3 today. When I was shopping I was torn between the two. I chose the M8 for the front facing speakers. The G3 is a very nice phone also. I don't think you could go wrong with either phone.
I like my G3. There's a bit of lag, but since you're willing to root it's really easy to get rid of, and there are good threads on XDA (both here in the Sprint section and the general G3 section) on what you can do. Just installing something like Nova launcher and a 3rd party keyboard makes a big difference.
Now that the locked bootloader has been overcome, we're starting to see ROM development. How active it will turn out to be, who can say, but there are definitely multiple people / groups working on them, including stock based ones.
I personally don't like the One M8 all that much. The only other phones on Sprint I would go for are the S5 or Note 4 (but like the Nexus it's really too big). The best screens in the business, and great developer support. But the S5, in particular, is just so ugly.
I have no real complaints about the G3. If it had Samsung's SAMOLED screen, it's be darn close to perfect.