What am I missing - why isn't this phone more popular?

[Androidcurious]

I checked this phone out today. I'm going to wait a week and see if its price drops on Amazon. It is a BEAST! Why isn't this phone on more people's radar? I mean the Android community? Build quality is so much better than Samsung, it has LTE and expandable storage unlike the Nexus 4 and that screen is amazing.

So what's the deal? Even this sub-forum doesn't get much action.

 

[drexappeal]

I checked this phone out today. I'm going to wait a week and see if its price drops on Amazon. It is a BEAST! Why isn't this phone on more people's radar? I mean the Android community? Build quality is so much better than Samsung, it has LTE and expandable storage unlike the Nexus 4 and that screen is amazing.

So what's the deal? Even this sub-forum doesn't get much action.

Well, for the Sprint version, first reason is their opting to stick with the Korean build without SD card slot.

A lot of people don't care for non-removable battery setups.

This phone had lots of potential, especially with the early leaks, but from what I gathered, LG has developed a similar reputation to what Samsung used to have... Lack of OEM support.

Another reason it's not getting the following it should is timing. With the Note 2 finally set to be released on all carriers in the US, coupled with Verizon and the Droid Incredible X, the Optimus G is getting lost in the background.

Up until they announced that Sprint's version would be internal storage only, this was a strong contender for me. LG should have jumped on the opportunity to release the phone worldwide after the Korean release.

They had a display (sprint) version at best buy that I checked out. It is nice, but the Note 2 features were too much for me to ignore.

 

[sanity29]

What's wrong with the Korean build?

Also, Samsung had a bad rep for lack of support, but that changed when they started to work with google on the nexus products. That could be the same with LG now. I know it's a long shot but maybe they will start support like Samsung did with their hands on the nexus line now as well.

The note seems too big for me, but I won't know till I go into the store and take a look. As of right now, I am very interested in this phone, but still trying to figure out the issue with LG since I have never used them before.

 

[drexappeal]

What's wrong with the Korean build?

Also, Samsung had a bad rep for lack of support, but that changed when they started to work with google on the nexus products. That could be the same with LG now. I know it's a long shot but maybe they will start support like Samsung did with their hands on the nexus line now as well.

The note seems too big for me, but I won't know till I go into the store and take a look. As of right now, I am very interested in this phone, but still trying to figure out the issue with LG since I have never used them before.

Nothing really, except no sd card slot .

And you are correct regarding LG's potential to turn the corner. Samsung didn't really get there until the sgs2 last year. The S3 completely took them to another level.

 

[sanity29]

Alright. Thanks for the info. The lack of a sd card bugs me but isn't a deal breaker for me. I have a partitioned 16gb card in my current phone and havent filled it. I guess for me, it just depends what I think when I play with it next week before I fully decided.
Thanks again for the info

 

[Androidcurious]

Well, for the Sprint version, first reason is their opting to stick with the Korean build without SD card slot.

A lot of people don't care for non-removable battery setups.

This phone had lots of potential, especially with the early leaks, but from what I gathered, LG has developed a similar reputation to what Samsung used to have... Lack of OEM support.

Another reason it's not getting the following it should is timing. With the Note 2 finally set to be released on all carriers in the US, coupled with Verizon and the Droid Incredible X, the Optimus G is getting lost in the background.

Up until they announced that Sprint's version would be internal storage only, this was a strong contender for me. LG should have jumped on the opportunity to release the phone worldwide after the Korean release.

They had a display (sprint) version at best buy that I checked out. It is nice, but the Note 2 features were too much for me to ignore.

I owned a Note 2, so I completely understand the Internet in that phone. At the same time the reason I returned it is because its just too damn big in practical usage day to day. That won't be true for everyone but the majority of smartphone/Android buyers aren't looking for a Phablet.

I didn't realize the Sprint version doesn't have expandable storage. That just sucks.

 

[drexappeal]

I owned a Note 2, so I completely understand the Internet in that phone. At the same time the reason I returned it is because its just too damn big in practical usage day to day. That won't be true for everyone but the majority of smartphone/Android buyers aren't looking for a Phablet.

I didn't realize the Sprint version doesn't have expandable storage. That just sucks.

Att version is the only one with sd card slot

 

[Androidcurious]

Att version is the only one with sd card slot

If Sprint had a large LTE footprint that might not matter due to their unlimited plans. Their 3G can be sketchy though so I'd want extra storage on that network.

Bizarre that carriers alter phones like that.

 

[drexappeal]

If Sprint had a large LTE footprint that might not matter due to their unlimited plans. Their 3G can be sketchy though so I'd want extra storage on that network.

Bizarre that carriers alter phones like that.

I'm not a big supporter of relying on cloud storage, even though I have several options (both dropbox and google drive). For what I do for a living, extra storage space is extremely important and I prefer having the actual file vs. one stored on a cloud drive. Combine that with my own personal needs...that's where the 32gb (which ends up translating to a few gb less after bloatware and UI bloat) would definitely not work for me.

Although it's not as crucial, I realized how much I prefer a removable battery vs. a non-removable.

 

[EarlyMon]

Another factor here is that with the announcement confusion driven by Sandy, a lot of people went into a holding pattern trying to figure out if the Nexus version of this would materialize.

And the Verge says that the Sprint variant comes with up to 32 GB storage and an sdcard so I am confused myself.

Either way, cloud or not, 32 GB storage is sufficient for probably most folks.

http://www.theverge.com/products/optimus-g-sprint/6002

 

[andyacecandy]

I was wondering the same thing. I'll be checking this phone out to see if it's worth trading my GS3 in for...

I definitely think it has better build quality/hardware than the GS3. Removing the battery and having micro SD have never been a factor for me.

 

[Androidcurious]

Another factor here is that with the announcement confusion driven by Sandy, a lot of people went into a holding pattern trying to figure out if the Nexus version of this would materialize.

And the Verge says that the Sprint variant comes with up to 32 GB storage and an sdcard so I am confused myself.

Either way, cloud or not, 32 GB storage is sufficient for probably most folks.

Optimus G (Sprint) Specs, Reviews, & Latest News | LG | The Verge

It's funny but I think this is a better version of their Nexus. A few reviews seem to suggest the same. One reviewer (might have been the Verge) suggested it was even a little faster than the Nexus.

 

[Skipppy75]

picked mine up at best buy for $99.99 today will see how it goes
32gb is way more than I need especially since I just uprgaded from an optimus S that only had something like 512mb

So far so go just wish there was a clean way to wifi hotspot without root

and for some reason my Optimus S that is running 2.1 still allows the wifi hotspot I reverted the forced download so it was free

 

[cozz]

I currently am looking at switching to Sprint and am looking at which phone to get. It seems to be between the S3 and the Optimus G. I went in to the store and played with the 2 phones, and loved the look/feel of the G much more than the S3. I preferred the G's design, it has a better size, and it feels sturdier. However it seems that the G is not really 'catching on' despite it's great specs. On Amazon there are very few cases/accessories for it, even sprint's own website doesn't have a lot of accessories for it. However Otterbox built a case for it, so they obviously think it will still catch on. They seem to only build cases for popular phones.

I think one thing holding me back is LG's reputation. They haven't always built the best quality phones or backed their phones up with support/updates. I've also read things about the phone overheating to the point that the screen automatically dims itself from 100% to 65% or something like that.

So for me I really want to love this phone, but I just don't know if I can pull the trigger over the S3 yet....