Phone decision time..

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FnordMan

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
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So.. yeah, my (Sprint) contract is up and it's new phone time.

After much research and looking around i've got two choices here

LG G2: main advantage here is the built-in FM radio. (I use it quite a bit during weekdays at work) Main disadvantage is that odd button setup on the back. (I checked, Spirit FM (2) added support for the sprint edition recently)

Nexus 5: Main advantage here is that I could pick one up from the play store and still stay contract free. Advantage #2 is wireless charging. Disadvantage of course is the lack of an FM Radio so i'd need to pick up something like the Sony SBH50. (edit: derp.. wrong model number)

Disadvantages of both: No svdo or svlte... While I don't talk and use data at the same time I do stream from time to time and would still like the phone to be available to take calls.

Plan on putting Cyanogenmod 11 on whichever phone I get. Haven't looked at how difficult it is to get the G2 unlocked and rooted yet but if the N5 is anything like the (2013) Nexus I have that one will be cake.

I've played with both in a local store, still can't make up my mind, hence calling for opinions. I just can't seem to make up my mind right now.
 
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If you are going to root, install custom rom's, etc. Nexus 5. Huge developer attention at XDA and will continue to be so through the next Nexus release. The G2 has a lot of fans, but development will tail as time moves on.

You can also buy the Nexus 5 from Best Buy contract free and get them to Price Match Google Play price. That's where I got my 2nd one from. Just tell them you want to buy one full retail and ask them to price match Google Play Store.
 
I'm not going to tell you what to buy, but if you want freedom buy it from a manufacturer and not a carrier.
Allow me to give you an example: I bought a nokia 925, great phone, but since i bought it from tmobile even though they unlocked it after 3 months of hassle, i can't use the tether feature. I personally really like windows phone, but looking back on it i'd get a nexus 5 since i can get it unlocked from google.
 
Hmm, very good points there. Leaning more towards the Nexus 5 now.

Will probably still have to run by a Sprint store and play with the nexus 5 a bit. see what it does with incoming calls when the thing's using 3g data. If I like it i'll buy the thing elsewhere.

edit: just realized a flaw with the Nexus 5 plan.. Namely, i'm relying on the fm+bluetooth thing there doing what I want. Should probably order one of those first, see if it'll work. Can try it out with my current phone.
 
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FnordMan said:
Hmm, very good points there. Leaning more towards the Nexus 5 now.

Will probably still have to run by a Sprint store and play with the nexus 5 a bit. see what it does with incoming calls when the thing's using 3g data. If I like it i'll buy the thing elsewhere.

edit: just realized a flaw with the Nexus 5 plan.. Namely, i'm relying on the fm+bluetooth thing there doing what I want. Should probably order one of those first, see if it'll work. Can try it out with my current phone.
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// have a nexus 5 and a Sony MW1 (the predecessor of the SBH50, with microSD support)

what do you want to confirm about the two devices working together? FM-radio on the Sony is a standalone feature, works w/o the phone
 
paperwastage said:
// have a nexus 5 and a Sony MW1 (the predecessor of the SBH50, with microSD support)

what do you want to confirm about the two devices working together? FM-radio on the Sony is a standalone feature, works w/o the phone
Click to expand...

Mostly just wondering about how annoying the whole thing is going to be to use on a daily basis. I'm somewhat picky sometimes. Basically i'll need to have on in my hands to know if it'll work for me.
 
Just a heads up if you pick up the N5 and stick with Sprint, buy it off contract. Also you will need a Sprint LTE sim card ( not sold with the N5) or your 4g will not work and the phone will not work properly.
 
I like my LG G2 (vzw) - the buttons don't bother me, as with anything you get used to it in short order.
 
LG G2 by far is the superior choice.

I've used it a number of times and the quality of the display, UI responsiveness and feel are top-notch.
 
Why are you fretting over a FM player?

You can get almost every single radio station in America with Tune-In or IHeartRadio. Since Sprint touts their unlimited data, I don't see why this is your hangup. FM players are all but dead on phones in the US
 
ComputerBox34 said:
Why are you fretting over a FM player?

You can get almost every single radio station in America with Tune-In or IHeartRadio. Since Sprint touts their unlimited data, I don't see why this is your hangup. FM players are all but dead on phones in the US
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IF you have data. Even though I don't, with T-Mo, where I work I have virtually no data most of the time. I hear Sprint's network is just a pathetic as T-Mo's too so that could very well not be an option aside from an FM tuner.
 
I'd imagine sprint would get better building penetration but the date speed will mor then likely suck unless your in a good area. Sprint here is god awful slow
 
To answer a few questions (too lazy to quote everyone)

1: Data where I work is almost non-existant due to too many folks all streaming in the area or something. LTE? Forget about it.. I can kinda see it in the conference room but again: not at my desk. (though even that'll go away once I upgrade. LTE hasn't officially launched yet so it looks like they've got small bits turned off as a friend's Nexus 5 wasn't seeing LTE in an area my phone did)
2: Wifi super sucks in the building i'm at. Zero signal at my desk.

Hence me wanting FM either in-phone or something convenient with FM built in.

Sort of Leaning twords the LG G2 again. Really don't need long time ROM support, all I really care about is getting CM11 stable. They've already got nighlies running.

ravx25 said:
IF you have data. Even though I don't, with T-Mo, where I work I have virtually no data most of the time. I hear Sprint's network is just a pathetic as T-Mo's too so that could very well not be an option aside from an FM tuner.
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Pretty much this. Sprint's been slowly getting better but there's still certain areas in town that are just bad. Their LTE is great where I see it but that's semi-patchy given it hasn't officially launched yet. (and at 1900Mhz it won't penetrate buildings much)

I've considered other carriers but well.. hard to argue with $30/month on a family data plan :)
 
Arizonian7 said:
LG G2 by far is the superior choice.

I've used it a number of times and the quality of the display, UI responsiveness and feel are top-notch.
Click to expand...

No it is not. Anymore no flagship phone is ever truly superior. There are pros and cons to both and it's purely subjective these days. To jump into a thread asserting one as "by far superior" is just plain stupid.

Especially considering the comparison you made between the 2 the n5 has the better screen of the 2 it's just smaller. They are both butter smooth and fast considering it's the same processor ram and gpu in both.

So not only did you say one was "by far superior" when neither really is but the reasons you gave where nonsense.

Oh and keep in mind the n5 is pure google with far more Dev support for custom roms.

But it's all taste anymore like I said one is not really better than the other just slightly different.
 
Battery life on G2 is awesome, but you did not mention that as being important (if you cared about battery life I'd def say G2). In your case it's a toss up between the 2. You can't go wrong with either.
 
I personally would pick up an unlocked international Galaxy S3, used if possible, then flip it in a year. Great price points now. Built in FM player, quad core ... pretty much a seasoned, well supported phone. No LTE which doesn't appear to be a big deal and good HSPA+ reception which is more prevalent and pulls down plenty of bandwidth.

Extra batteries are cheap and you'll still be able to flip it without huge depreciation depending on what you get it for.
 
biggles said:
Battery life on G2 is awesome, but you did not mention that as being important (if you cared about battery life I'd def say G2). In your case it's a toss up between the 2. You can't go wrong with either.
Click to expand...

Yeah, on any given weekday the phone stays plugged in almost all of the time.
Weekends are the only time when it'll be unplugged for more than an hour or so.

Probably just going to end up with the G2 out of sheer laziness. Not sure if i'd like the whole fm radio on a separate device thing.
I just hope I don't have issues with the back button and the belt holster style I use. (covered pocket kind of thing, phone goes in sideways)
 
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FnordMan said:
Yeah, on any given weekday the phone stays plugged in almost all of the time.
Weekends are the only time when it'll be unplugged for more than an hour or so.

Probably just going to end up with the G2 out of sheer laziness. Not sure if i'd like the whole fm radio on a separate device thing.
I just hope I don't have issues with the back button and the belt holster style I use. (covered pocket kind of thing, phone goes in sideways)
Click to expand...

I guess you wouldn't buy a car without a cassette player either would you ?
 
sok0 said:
I guess you wouldn't buy a car without a cassette player either would you ?
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Can't be a simple discussion without the idiots getting in and commenting, can it?
That has NOTHING to do with the post and is borderline offensive. If you can't add anything meaningful then don't post.
 
Pretty much the ONLY thing the guy asked for was an FM radio.... So why bother to try to argue with him that he shouldn't need it. He uses it, and he is already on sprint so apparently it works for him.
 
rudy said:
Pretty much the ONLY thing the guy asked for was an FM radio.... So why bother to try to argue with him that he shouldn't need it. He uses it, and he is already on sprint so apparently it works for him.
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Pretty much. Was just soliciting opinions about one vs. the other, contract and otherwise.
Fortunately the Sprint G2 has FM (most G2's in the .us don't), makes it one of like two Sprint phones with FM (Note 3 being the other) and the only one with support for all of Sprint's LTE bands they have.

Still not a fan of the whole sign a contract for a phone thing but also can't quite sink the full price for the phone at the moment. (upcoming medical bills and all)
 
Yeah, I find it strange that most US smart phones have their FM radios stripped from them while the international variants have them. I guess it's a ploy to get us to use more data for media, therefore spend more money for it. I'm surprised that Sprint has any phones with FM radios, but it seems that they are definitely more lax on their phones than other US carriers. Pretty awesome that they let you activate the Nexus 5 on their network. I think that is a first for a CDMA network (allowing an unlocked phone, I mean).

A lot of times the FM radio still actually exists on all the carrier phones, but it's disabled at the kernel level or something and is virtually impossible to enable again.
 
T4rd said:
Yeah, I find it strange that most US smart phones have their FM radios stripped from them while the international variants have them. I guess it's a ploy to get us to use more data for media, therefore spend more money for it. I'm surprised that Sprint has any phones with FM radios, but it seems that they are definitely more lax on their phones than other US carriers. Pretty awesome that they let you activate the Nexus 5 on their network. I think that is a first for a CDMA network (allowing an unlocked phone, I mean).

A lot of times the FM radio still actually exists on all the carrier phones, but it's disabled at the kernel level or something and is virtually impossible to enable again.
Click to expand...

Worse than that actually. the Wifi+Bluetooth chip almost always has FM on it. On the phone models that don't have FM they don't hooked up the maybe 4 lines needed for FM. (antenna, data, 2xground)
Really silly actually, would cost them very little per phone to enable it and yet they don't.

As an aside: Sprint actually sells the 16Gig Nexus 5 in store as well, they just charge $100 more than the play store if you buy it outright.
 
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