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prepaid : optimus L9 or galaxy S2?

Ubercharrge

Android Enthusiast
Aug 11, 2012
542
105
It's really hard to choose between these two, but i'm sort of leaning towards the S2 because of its super AMOLED and its up to date updates and amazing development ( they even have cm7! i sort of like gingerbread a bit more for an odd reason even if it is laggy.. don't ask why :p)

right now i have an LG motion at metropcs and am getting rid of this locked down device :p tell me what you think
 
It's really hard to choose between these two, but i'm sort of leaning towards the S2 because of its super AMOLED and its up to date updates and amazing development ( they even have cm7! i sort of like gingerbread a bit more for an odd reason even if it is laggy.. don't ask why :p)

right now i have an LG motion at metropcs and am getting rid of this locked down device :p tell me what you think

LG makes some great screens as well. Imo, the S2 is not worth $100 more than the L9. The N4 is also a much better phone than the S2 at the same price.

Imo, it might be good to wait a cpl weeks and grab a used S3. Much better than the S2 and will get updates longer.
 
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It's really hard to choose between these two, but i'm sort of leaning towards the S2 because of its super AMOLED and its up to date updates and amazing development ( they even have cm7! i sort of like gingerbread a bit more for an odd reason even if it is laggy.. don't ask why :p)

right now i have an LG motion at metropcs and am getting rid of this locked down device :p tell me what you think
If you have a older(ie better) rate plan with metro, like unlimited unthrottled lte data for cheaper price find a way to stay with them when the merger gets going, by the end of this year more then likely they will be using gsm phones then you can get a t mobile, or unlocked s2,s3, or nexus device and keep your cheap plan and enjoy the benefits of the increased speeds t-metro will offer.
In the mean time if you really cant stand your current phone see if you can find a used s2 or s3 for metro.
 
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If you have a older(ie better) rate plan with metro, like unlimited unthrottled lte data for cheaper price find a way to stay with them when the merger gets going, by the end of this year more then likely they will be using gsm phones then you can get a t mobile, or unlocked s2,s3, or nexus device and keep your cheap plan and enjoy the benefits of the increased speeds t-metro will offer.
In the mean time if you really cant stand your current phone see if you can find a used s2 or s3 for metro.

I don't rly agree with staying with a company with what might be. What you say may not even happen. They might keep their cheap towers up and keep Metro a separate company and just gobble up their spectrum for T-Mo. We don't know for sure yet if the deal will go through at all.

I waited for years for Sprint to get with the program and it was not in my best interest to do so. Now if she's happy with the service and just hates the her current phone then I'd agree to just upgrade the phone for now.

But staying with Metro because one day eventually they will let her use a phone on a very old plan that they never even came up with, might not be the best coarse of action.
 
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I don't rly agree with staying with a company with what might be. What you say may not even happen. They might keep their cheap towers up and keep Metro a separate company and just gobble up their spectrum for T-Mo. We don't know for sure yet if the deal will go through at all.

I waited for years for Sprint to get with the program and it was not in my best interest to do so. Now if she's happy with the service and just hates the her current phone then I'd agree to just upgrade the phone for now.

But staying with Metro because one day eventually they will let her use a phone on a very old plan that they never even came up with, might not be the best coarse of action.
Have you been following the merger news, its all but done, everyone has signed off on it they will have shareholder meeting on the 24th, and it seems the major holders have agreed to the terms, it might just be more of a formality at this point.

And they have published the road map. metro will be going gsm and the cdma towers will be shut down and converted to lte by 2015. Metro will be putting out gsm phones later this year.
 
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Well, on eBay you can snag a T-Mo Galaxy S2 for $200
1
Samsung Galaxy s II SGH T989 Fair Condition White T Mobile Smartphone 610214627711 | eBay

The LG Optimus l9 is $180 after the shipping
1
LG Optimus L9 Black T Mobile | eBay

Keep in mind these are used.


I would go with the Galaxy S2. The extra $20 is worth it and the S3 is only getting one, maybe two more upgrades.
The S2 has Cyanogenmod 7-10.1. I'm not too sure on the development community for the L9.
Good point I have heard lg locks the bootloader down and very few people even dev for the locked lg phones
 
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Have you been following the merger news, its all but done, everyone has signed off on it they will have shareholder meeting on the 24th, and it seems the major holders have agreed to the terms, it might just be more of a formality at this point.

And they have published the road map. metro will be going gsm and the cdma towers will be shut down and converted to lte by 2015. Metro will be putting out gsm phones later this year.

Last I heard.....they upped the value(Because the last wasn't going to be fulfilled)and the major investor now approves it. I haven't seen anything that has said everybody is rdy. I'm not saying it won't pass, I'm saying its not a done deal yet.

Sprint was supposed to have LTE in my town 6 months ago now.....A road map is just their plans. Maybe they will happen, maybe they will happen later, or maybe they are laying this out to appease the shareholders until the business is theirs.

Anyways, I don't wanna fight about it but I'm just saying my opinion.
 
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Last I heard.....they upped the value(Because the last wasn't going to be fulfilled)and the major investor now approves it. I haven't seen anything that has said everybody is rdy. I'm not saying it won't pass, I'm saying its not a done deal yet.

Sprint was supposed to have LTE in my town 6 months ago now.....A road map is just their plans. Maybe they will happen, maybe they will happen later, or maybe they are laying this out to appease the shareholders until the business is theirs.

Anyways, I don't wanna fight about it but I'm just saying my opinion.
I understand, I thought it was a good discussion.

I know what you mean about sprint, they have taken on a big project and they may not have been able to keep to a time table. It may happen with metro and tmobile too. Since no one can see the future it is a gamble, but for myself, my wife has the esteem on metro unlimited unthrottled 4g for $40 a month. the data speed here in jacksonville isnt dismal, maybe 4 to 5 down usually and just about the same up. My t mobile gets better download speeds then that but worse up. However for the price we can wait and get better speeds when this goes through.
If I had gotten metro recently with the tiered plans they now sell I would dump them in a heart beat an go to t mobile. Also metro has said they will not change subscribers plans, so what I got now I keep later.
 
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I understand, I thought it was a good discussion.

I know what you mean about sprint, they have taken on a big project and they may not have been able to keep to a time table. It may happen with metro and tmobile too. Since no one can see the future it is a gamble, but for myself, my wife has the esteem on metro unlimited unthrottled 4g for $40 a month. the data speed here in jacksonville isnt dismal, maybe 4 to 5 down usually and just about the same up. My t mobile gets better download speeds then that but worse up. However for the price we can wait and get better speeds when this goes through.
If I had gotten metro recently with the tiered plans they now sell I would dump them in a heart beat an go to t mobile. Also metro has said they will not change subscribers plans, so what I got now I keep later.

Yup, like I said if they don't like the phone and are ok with the service then I'd take your suggestion and just get a new Metro phone.

I just wouldn't sacrifice service for what might be.

I'm on a fam plan with T-Mo and will be paying roughly $20-$30 a month depending on how much data I want. Speeds here are pretty good also, 20 ish down and I'm not rly looking forward to a spotty LTE dragging down my battery.

Hopefully coverage will get better with the Metro acquisition, I don't have many complaints though. The price is right for the service I get.
 
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Well, on eBay you can snag a T-Mo Galaxy S2 for $200 Samsung Galaxy s II SGH T989 Fair Condition White T Mobile Smartphone 610214627711 | eBay

The LG Optimus l9 is $180 after the shipping
LG Optimus L9 Black T Mobile | eBay

Keep in mind these are used.


I would go with the Galaxy S2. The extra $20 is worth it and the S3 is only getting one, maybe two more upgrades.
The S2 has Cyanogenmod 7-10.1. I'm not too sure on the development community for the L9.

Yea the S2 certainly has better dev support and likely always will. The L9 is popular with the cheap crowd atm and its a great phone for the price.

I'd say if they are thinking of going used with those prices then the S2 might be a better choice. The only problem is possibly getting a $200 brick if it ends up breaking soon, it is a 2 year old phone after all.

If it were me and we were talking brand new from the store I'd pick the L9 out of the two, used I think I would spend a bit more and get the S3 personally. But it all depends on your budget and how long you plan to use the phone.
 
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The L9 is an amazing phone, and the Optimus UI is so much better looking than touch wiz. The screen is excellent too. For brand new, the L9 is a far better value. If it'd only a $20 difference used, it comes down to preference. I would still choose the L9 myself. The development community means nothing to me because I don't root my devices, and for basically the same performance, I prefer the way it looks. I can't stand touchwiz.
 
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For me, I would choose the s2. Even for its age, it is still considerably good and developers are still working on it. Compared to the L9, the s2 is just better in terms of hardware and the software support.

However, based on the value of both phones, the s2 is likely to be suffering even more heavy depreciation after a year or so. If you want the most out of the worth, go for the L9. But forking out a bit more of cash and you get the S3 which is better than the L9 and more new (based on release date).
 
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