Samsung S3 vs Evo 4G LTE vs LG Optimus G?

[etherealfocus]

After using a LG G2 for a year or so, I've decided I just don't need a fancy phone or have the inclination to spend a few hundred bucks on one. So, checking Swappa, I found three promising phones all in the $60-90 price range, same 4.7" size, same 720p resolution, same ~2000mAh battery...

Samsung S3: 2GB / 16GB
HTC Evo 4G LTE: 1GB / 16GB
LG Optimus G: 2GB / 32GB

My primary concerns are voice quality, battery life, and third-party support... I'll definitely want to root it and stick CM11, Slimkat, or similar on it.

I am tempted to ditch the Evo for only having 1GB RAM.

What do you guys think? Anything else I should be looking into?

EDIT: This is on Sprint btw.

 

[notposting]

Masochist?

Probably better off with at least the S4. Old battery, old chipsets (plus I'm not sure how much of the modem/radio was integrated on those yet). And if you want the best chance of 3rd party support on the least supported network, go with what was probably the best selling Android phone.

Also, dump Sprint yet? Any reason you're stuck with them?

 

[richierich1212]

wait, are you going to sell your G2? If so, I don't see why since you would barely make enough to justify downgrading.

 

[etherealfocus]

1. I dropped my G2 and I'm looking at either an hour of surgery and $60 or so to fix it... or spending more than the cost of another G2 to have someone else do it for me. Not worth it. The G2 is wasted on me anyway. I don't game, don't develop Powerpoints on it (lol), don't even multitask much beyond browser+Gchat+camera and maybe GPS. In short, no point in buying something fancy. Also I tend to break things...

I'm buying an identical phone for the wife as well, which doubles the cost differential. She's tired of WinPhone's lack of robust Google services (there's one victory for exclusionary marketing).

2. As for Sprint, I'm not tied to it - just haven't seen any big reason to switch. It works fine in my area, got 3-4 bars of LTE at my house and around most of the city. And I'm on the old Framily plan which means myself and 10 family members get unlimited talk and text and more data than we'll ever use for $30/mo per person. What would I gain by switching?

I had a Tmo rep walk into my office awhile ago and try to sell me on switching. I told them what I was paying and what I was getting for it and they flat out said they couldn't match it.

So, back to the phones...?

 

[etherealfocus]

As to the S4, it's going for $150 on Swappa... the G2 is 120. G2 seems like a blatantly superior phone - twice the storage, better camera, slightly larger screen, faster processor, 3000mAh battery vs 2600 on the S4.

They're both just overkill though for a device whose purpose is to call, send messages, take pics, GPS, and some light browsing.

 

[Crono]

You can get a Moto X for $120 on Swappa. I have it on Sprint flashed with Resurrection Remix (an Android 5.1.1 ROM) and it's very fast and smooth.

I used to knock Sprint, but they are dirt cheap for true unlimited data and I get fast enough speed to stream Netflix most places. They've improved a lot, though their coverage admittedly isn't that of Verizon or AT&T's. I've used all 4 major U.S. carriers in the past 2 years, and they are all good enough right now for me that I go with whoever has the best deal for my usage.

 

[etherealfocus]

Same price as a G2 for half the storage, 4.7" 720p screen instead of 5.2" 1080p, and 2200mAh battery instead of 3000 on the G2. Certainly not a bad phone from what I've read, but the G2 seems like a much better deal for even money.

Even the G2 is 50% more money than the S3/Evo/Optimus G though. It's a nicer phone but I have no use for the niceness.

 

[Crono]

I don't think it's a good option to go below $100 for a phone thats two or three generations behind on Sprint... it might not be a good experience in terms of battery and future proofing, even if you don't care about specs.

I would:
1) go for something like another G2, or a Moto X, GS4, or HTC One M8 (if you can find one for cheap)

2) Buy a relatively inexpensive new phone like a Moto E

3) Consider switching to a GSM carrier like T-Mobile or AT&T, which have more phone options

Or

4) Get a Lumia 635, because Windows Phone is usually dollar-for-dollar a better experience at the sub-$100 level for new phones.

Battery, updates (even with community created ROMs), and lack of warranty make it worth the extra measly $50 or so to get a new(er) phone, even if it is a low end one.

Just my two cents.

 

[kaerflog]

Check your PM.

 

[lopri]

I have to agree with Crono. Actually I would suggest a phone based on S800 class SOC for performance and longevity. If those are not the criteria you are looking for, then something like Moto E/G may be the next best option. HTC Desire 510 may be another. I personally forgo Windows phone.

 

[etherealfocus]

Sadly I have to agree on WinPhone. I actually prefer the WP8 interface (and direct-from-Microsoft update option without unlocking hassles) to Android but I run my business on Google Apps and WP8 lacks the robust Google app support I need. Sad... score one for anticompetitive BS tactics.

Everyone's points on sub-100 phones being a bad experience are well-taken... but I'd like to have a backup phone anyway, and could retask a crappy one as a hotspot for my car or something later on. I think the best plan is to go ahead and grab a cheapo now, and just accept that there's a fair chance I'll feel like upgrading down the road. Like I said, having a backup and/or car hotspot is never a bad thing.

The Desire looks ok EXCEPT that a) it's only marginally cheaper than the others and b) 4GB storage is really skimpy.

Kaerflog I'm checking PM now...

 

[lopri]

I believe most of these budget-oriented phones support micro-SD expansion.

HTC Desire 510
LG Tribute/Volt
Moto G

Common theme among them is Snapdragon 400 with LTE. Moto G would be my choice but the other ones aren't bad for the price, either.

 

[A5]

Do any of those work on Sprint? I don't think the Moto G does.

From the initial list, I can say that the Evo 4G LTE was a pretty bad phone in 2010 when it was first released. I can't imagine it is any better now.

 

[etherealfocus]

What's wrong with it? The 1GB RAM concerns me but aside from that it seems roughly competitive with everyone else.

 

[ThisIsChrisKim]

What's wrong with it? The 1GB RAM concerns me but aside from that it seems roughly competitive with everyone else.

What lopri suggests with getting a SD800+ based phone is that it included envelope tracking in the modem which substantially reduced LTE battery drain plus it is built on the HPm process as opposed to the LP process resulting in much lower voltages for the SoC at the same clockspeeds. Anything running the SD S4 chipset will be substantially worse on battery consumption.

The reason the LG G2 is used as a sort of benchmark is that it was the first phone to use the SD800 SoC, and that's when the reasonable expectation of "all day battery life" kind of become a true reality.

 

[Sheep]

What's wrong with it? The 1GB RAM concerns me but aside from that it seems roughly competitive with everyone else.

The battery life on the Evo 4G LTE was absolutely terrible compared to newer phones and will likely be even worse now. If you're looking at a used phone, the battery presumably won't be in brand new condition and will likely be even more worn down from use.

It looks like the Moto E is available on Sprint. I have no experience with it but it seems to be fairly well-reviewed as a budget phone. If you're willing to switch carriers to a GSM one like T-Mobile or Cricket, you'll open yourself up to a lot more phone choices. If I'm not mistaken, Sprint only allows phones they sell on their network which significantly limits your BYOD options.

 

[etherealfocus]

Thanks Chris and Sheep - good info! What about the M7? This looks like it might be a good deal: http://swappa.com/listing/TPT905/view

Is the SD600 just a slower version of the 800 or does it lack important features as well? I don't game so don't care about the CPU but do care about battery. The M7 does look like it's missing 700mAh of battery compared to the G2, but still 50% cheaper - not too bad and I can prob mitigate the battery issues with Slimkat or similar.

I wouldn't be willing to trade networks - it'd be a huge amount of hassle to switch myself and nine family members who'd then all need new phones as well.

 

[ThisIsChrisKim]

Thanks Chris and Sheep - good info! What about the M7? This looks like it might be a good deal: http://swappa.com/listing/TPT905/view

Is the SD600 just a slower version of the 800 or does it lack important features as well? I don't game so don't care about the CPU but do care about battery. The M7 does look like it's missing 700mAh of battery compared to the G2, but still 50% cheaper - not too bad and I can prob mitigate the battery issues with Slimkat or similar.

I wouldn't be willing to trade networks - it'd be a huge amount of hassle to switch myself and nine family members who'd then all need new phones as well.

The SD600 was okay on battery life. It was more focused on raw performance than any optimized battery. The M7 was also known to have pretty average-poor battery life. The Galaxy S4 has better battery (that is also user-replaceable which is probably important in an older/used phone) than the M7. It'll certainly be better than Snapdragon S4 equipped phones, however. The way I see it:

SD800 >>> SD600 > S4 Pro

 

[notposting]

The newer generations of SOC's are built on better processes usually, and incorporate more features onboard, versus a bunch of discrete chips - radio, LTE modem, various audio/video, etc.

Not just performance gains, but often power savings (and even the hot ones are likely to use less power at idle/low power.

As a comparison...you just dropped your 2014 shiny Dell ultrabook. But in all reality, it was overspecced for your needs. So everyone is pointing out a nice Asus replacement on a budget, still smooth running and modern. But you saw a lease return refurb in the Microcenter flyer, and really really really want someone to agree with you that the P4 Prescott HP laptop running XP is a good idea.



You dropped the G2. Using one of those older phones would probably lead to a flying phone (until the wall put an end to it).

 

[etherealfocus]

LOL ok ok point taken. And pretty much correct: I'm relatively picky about my laptops, but mostly just view phones as an annoying necessary evil. Still, I would like them to be an annoying necessary evil with good battery life and a decent camera.

So essentially what I'm getting is that a G2 or one of the Motos is as cheap as I can get without getting a complete POS... correct?

 

[ThisIsChrisKim]

LOL ok ok point taken. And pretty much correct: I'm relatively picky about my laptops, but mostly just view phones as an annoying necessary evil. Still, I would like them to be an annoying necessary evil with good battery life and a decent camera.

So essentially what I'm getting is that a G2 or one of the Motos is as cheap as I can get without getting a complete POS... correct?

Stick with the G2. Use it for another year or so until the battery loses more capacity and then take a look at what is out then.

I bought my parents 2014 Moto G's for their usage, and they find it to be adequate. Enough for their non-power needs. The performance, screen, and battery are all substantially worse than a LG G2, though. At the same price, I would have bought them G2's. But alas, it wasn't an option at the time last year.

 

[Zodiark1593]

No one's recommending the Zenfone 2? From what I read in announcements, it should be comparable to the G2 for a lower New price.

 

[etherealfocus]

Zenfones look nice but used price is around 200 vs 120-140ish for a G2. I've no need to buy new for a cheap utility phone.

 

[weeber]

I'll echo ChrisKim and suggest you stick with the G2, and I can say you don't want to downgrade to an Optimus G. I upgraded from the Optimus G (AT&T version) to the G2 (also AT&T) earlier this year. I'm really happy I'm on the G2 now.

The OG has barely adequate battery life, and most folks commented that I sounded clearer on the G2 vs my old OG. Since you seem to care about those two qualities the most, I think you'll be disappointed with an OG.

 

[etherealfocus]

Ok, sold. Sounds like I'll be snagging a G2 from someone right here on the forums.

As to the S3/Evo, which would be better as a mobile hotspot? Mostly interested in antenna strength for this use since it'd be plugged into my car. I drummed up a few leads on cheap phones and been wanting a hotspot anyway...