LG Thrill 4G vs. Samsung Galaxy S2

[Mind if I do a J?]

I'm a typical casual smartphone user, lots of apps and internet and whatnot, but no rooting or anything like that. I've been planning on getting the Thrill when it comes out, but my limited research seems to show that a LOT more people are waiting on the Samsung Galaxy S2.

When I look at their specs side by side, they look nearly identical, except that the Galaxy doesn't have 3D. Other than the Galaxy coming with Gingerbread and Thrill being merely upgradeable to it, I don't really see the appeal. But, I'm not very knowledgeable about this sort of stuff --- so, what am I missing? Why is the Galaxy S2 so much more popular? Should I be waiting for that?

For what it's worth, I just moved to a new house that doesn't get Sprint reception, so I'm looking to move to AT&T fairly soon.

 

[BigCiX]

The specs itself look identical but the S2 is slightly better. It has a 1.2 ghz dual processor with 1gb of ram vs a 1ghz dual processor with 512mb(dual channel) of ram on the Thill 4G. Alot of people think that the dual channel 512mb of ram on the Thrill equals up to 1024mb but that's not the case. Its still 512mb but instead of a single path to process it, it has two paths. Making apps, games, etc run smoother. The screen on the S2 has a Super AMOLED display which is a huge selling point. The front facing camera is also better on the S2. On the camera side the S2 has a higher pixel resolution but of course it's not 3D. Both phones have a 4.3 inch screen.

Pretty much the S2 is more of a popular phone because it's being labeled as the biggest contender for the i5. Like I said earlier. It's biggest selling point in my opinion is the Super AMOLED screen. I plan on passing up on the S2 because samsung has had big problems updating their mobile devices. I also feel like samsung has to many "major" products out making it difficult to keep up with support for products that's already out. Just this year coming up you can hear about a rumored 3D version of the S2 and a windows 7 version. Its hard to focus on a single device when you have so much out right now.
With all that being said as soon as the S2 comes out you can assure the next Nexas phone will become the talk about. It's hard to keep up with technology.

Both phones are great so you can't go wrong. Do some research or better yet wait till both phones are released then head on down to AT&T and fiddle with them.

 

[maerlim]

You've asked the $200 question, my friend. I myself am going to play with both to see which one I like better. It's going to come down to personal preference I think.

 

[BigCiX]

By the way....is that the Big Lebowski as ur profile pic?

 

[bigjerries]

I was gonna get the SGS2 but since everyone wants it ill get the Thrill. Specs are almost the same and well i want something different and 3D gimmick or not is different. The $100 price tag aint bad either

 

[BigCiX]

I was gonna get the SGS2 but since everyone wants it ill get the Thrill. Specs are almost the same and well i want something different and 3D gimmick or not is different. The $100 price tag aint bad either

After my Samsung Captivate (on number 3) i told myself never again. The SGS2 was announced and i told myself. One more chance. The LG was announced and......well....just read my siggy.

U can't beat $100 for this phone. Att had to do it or it wouldn't sell with SGS2 and i5 around the corner. I think att is in for a surprise. This will be a good phone that I'm sure is underappreciated by them.

 

[Mind if I do a J?]

By the way....is that the Big Lebowski as ur profile pic?

Let me explain something to you. I'm not Mr. Lebowski. You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. That or His Dudeness... Duder... or El Duderino, if, you know, you're not into the whole brevity thing.

 

[jinwons]

I think SGS2 will be hugely more popular than Thrill (Optimus 3D). LG is not exactly know for timely updates either and they also have many phones to support. At least, Samsung has super flagship device that will receive long support.
Froyo gate on GS1 last year was mainly for US carrier's fault. This year Samsung has stepped up seriously on OS/software updates from many indications, and the fact that SGS2 is launching with the latest android OS alone is huge improvement from GS1 last year.

 

[bigjerries]

I think SGS2 will be hugely more popular than Thrill (Optimus 3D). LG is not exactly know for timely updates either and they also have many phones to support. At least, Samsung has super flagship device that will receive long support.
Froyo gate on GS1 last year was mainly for US carrier's fault. This year Samsung has stepped up seriously on OS/software updates from many indications, and the fact that SGS2 is launching with the latest android OS alone is huge improvement from GS1 last year.

this may be true. but as an owner of the samsung captivate the gps doesnt work properly and the random shutdowns of the phone doesnt help either. Im not the only one this has happend to either.So im moving away from Samsung for a bit. Sure is has the best specs but thats not gonna last long in the tech world If samsung turned it around with the SGS2 and it timely updates thats fine but i think i should give LG a shot. The thrill 4g is not far behind.

 

[BigCiX]

this may be true. but as an owner of the samsung captivate the gps doesnt work properly and the random shutdowns of the phone doesnt help either. Im not the only one this has happend to either.So im moving away from Samsung for a bit. Sure is has the best specs but thats not gonna last long in the tech world If samsung turned it around with the SGS2 and it timely updates thats fine but i think i should give LG a shot. The thrill 4g is not far behind.

The captivate is a big reason why sammy is a no go for me too:

1st Captivate - Couldn't detect a network after a reset; gps broken; serious lag

2nd Captivate - Earpiece went bad; gps broken; serious lag

3rd Captivate (the one i own) - Earpiece doesn't work. Speaker only; GPS FINALLY WORKS AND NO LAG. Third time could of had been a charm but can't hear from the earpiece. Still under warrenty but im done with this phone.

With AT&T backing up their updates in a respective manner i feel like the thrill will be a phone that i will enjoy for the next year ( i upgrade once a year)

 

[maerlim]

I got my Captivate the Friday before launch and never had a problem with it. GPS has worked great ever since I started using custom ROMs and GPS fixes that came with them (and with newer modems).

On topic, one major difference between the SGSII and the Thrill are the development communities. The SGSII already has a very active development community with some of the top Captivate ROM developers (Designgears, Supercurio, and icezar) already developing for it. The Optimus 3D (that the Thrill is based on) developer community is not nearly as active.

 

[BigCiX]

I got my Captivate the Friday before launch and never had a problem with it. GPS has worked great ever since I started using custom ROMs and GPS fixes that came with them (and with newer modems).

On topic, one major difference between the SGSII and the Thrill are the development communities. The SGSII already has a very active development community with some of the top Captivate ROM developers (Designgears, Supercurio, and icezar) already developing for it. The Optimus 3D (that the Thrill is based on) developer community is not nearly as active.

Yeah.....that's a big downfall for ppl that root their phones. I rooted my captivate only to allow 3rd party apk's to be installed. Never installed custom ROMS or anything else. So as for me I will be ok. Can't say that for anyone else though.

 

[Komodo Rogue]

SGII is better:

As other have probably said, the GSII was pretty much the best phone (chipset-wise) on the planet when it was released, before the OMAP 4430 and Snapdragon MSM8260 made it onto the scene. I still think the Exynos in the GS2 is the best around today, it beats everything else by a pretty good margin in most benchmarking tests (I can't remember which, but I know it got edged out by OMAP 4430 in something... check anandtech if you're curious), but if you care about chipsets and can wait until closer to the end of the year, the new Snapdragons built using a 28nm production process and maybe Tegra 3 will be shipping in phones by then, both of which will slaughter everything currently on the market.

One quick thing, when I skimmed this article, I saw some people make reference to the core clock speeds, like the GS2 runs at 1.2GHz vs the Thrill's 1ghz. Just know/remember that you're not comparing apples to apples, and the clock speed is set almost arbitrarily... the GS2 was originally 1GHz per core but they bumped it to 1.2 prior to launch (and there were rumors it could get bumped to 1.4 for the US launch). The 1GHz SoC in the Galaxy S phones is the same used in the new samsung infuse but the infuse is running at 1.2.

I guess my point is this: if it bothers you that the OMAP 4430 has a slower clock speed than the Exynos, you can always raise the clock speed on the 4430 if want!

The Super AMOLED plus screen on the GSII is the best screen tech available... seriously, it's just stupidly, ridiculously good. Fortunately, from what I have heard secondhand, the Thrill's screen is decent.

Gingerbread!

The GSII is incredibly thin, light, and sexy. I personally dig it, but you may not care about thin-ness, and some people think the lightness feels cheap. Then again, that's just the European GSII - it could be ugly on american carriers, time will tell!

Thrill is better

Build quality seems very HTC-ish; heavier than others but very solid and durable, and feels nice in the hands, especially with the soft-grip rubbery plastic.

As is an all-too familiar problem for Galaxy S owners, there are GPS signal issues, taking some people long waiting periods to get satellite locks and/or poor satellite strength. There may be software "fixes" and mods available/in the works, but I doubt it will ever really make much of a difference... I had a captivate, and in my experience using different ROMs and adjustments, some software tricks might help a little, but my phone basically never had worthwhile GPS for car navigation.

3D!

Gingerbread... eventually. AT&T said all phones will be gingerbread by the end of 2011 so it won't be too long, and if you're like me, you'll flash gingerbread immediately anyway.

Using HDMI doesn't require external adapter nonsense.

All 4 capacitive buttons instead of 2 capacitive and one regular (this is partly a matter of preference, and I haven't used it, but combining physical and capacitive seems extraordinarily stupid, but that's just me).

The Thrill is nearly available, and I could see the GSII US versions coming soon enough, but I hate playing the waiting game when a release date is uncertain.. every time I get my hopes up, it seems like there is a delay, and to make matters worse, there is no guarantee it will ever make it to the US (I can't image it won't EVER make it, but it's certainly possible, and for me that makes waiting awfully difficult!).

So those are my thoughts on pros and cons of GSII and Thrill 4G. They both have custom skins which both seem decent, they should both get decent battery (I bet GSII will have longer life but not enough to make it a deal breaker), etc.

Just think about what's important to YOU, read lots of reviews from different sources, and (if possible) try them out. These phones are pretty different from one another so it probably won't be long before you have a preference, and whatever your choice, you can't go wrong with these two Good luck!

Edit - GSII seems to have a better camera by a significant margin - but then again, the Thrill can take 3D picture too, which is neat.

 

[BigCiX]

good review komodo about the 2 devices. That being said i still am fixed on the Thrill. Quality of the phone and the 3D effects alone makes me choose this phone over the plastic. I've been reading up on the GS 2 and there still seems to be problems on that device that were affecting the Captivate (wifi issues and gps). The OMAP processor is fast enough for me im sure. I think the only thing im going to miss about a Samsung phone is the SuperAMOLED.

 

[Darkeligos]

I sure hope the SGS2 is better than the Craptivate. I'm sick of this laggy phone, of which I am on my 2nd WITH custom ROM.

 

[Komodo Rogue]

good review komodo about the 2 devices. That being said i still am fixed on the Thrill. Quality of the phone and the 3D effects alone makes me choose this phone over the plastic. I've been reading up on the GS 2 and there still seems to be problems on that device that were affecting the Captivate (wifi issues and gps). The OMAP processor is fast enough for me im sure. I think the only thing im going to miss about a Samsung phone is the SuperAMOLED.

Thanks! Haha it became so long I didn't think anyone was even going to read it.

That being said i still am fixed on the Thrill.

Oh I wasn't trying to suggest the GS2, I was just showing the unique advantages they have over one another. I personally LOOOOVE the GS2 - but if I can get the money together (unlikely... but possible!), I'm going to get the Thrill instead of the GS2! I'm excited for everyone, the 3D is supposed to be way better than the evo 3D, and I thought the evo 3D had nice 3D at the mall.

 

[Mind if I do a J?]

Bumparoo -- looks like these two phones will be the serious competition for the early September release.

I had been all about the Thrill 4G, but at this point I believe I'm going to wait the two weeks for the Samsung Attain. Here's a basic pro/con list, let me know if I'm wrong or missing anything. Numbers from Compare Mobile Phones Samsung Attain vs LG Thrill 4G vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 .

Attain pros:

Thinner and lighter (116 g vs 168 g, 8.5 mm vs 12 mm)
Better screen (Super AMOLED Plus 3264 X 2448 vs. 2592 x 1944)
Better camera
Ships with Gingerbread
Possibly better battery life?

Thrill 4G pros:

3D
Cost

 

[Gr8Danes]

Bumparoo -- looks like these two phones will be the serious competition for the early September release.

I had been all about the Thrill 4G, but at this point I believe I'm going to wait the two weeks for the Samsung Attain. Here's a basic pro/con list, let me know if I'm wrong or missing anything. Numbers from Compare Mobile Phones Samsung Attain vs LG Thrill 4G vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 .

Attain pros:

Thinner and lighter (116 g vs 168 g, 8.5 mm vs 12 mm)
Better screen (Super AMOLED Plus 3264 X 2448 vs. 2592 x 1944)
Better camera
Ships with Gingerbread
Possibly better battery life?

Thrill 4G pros:

3D
Cost

I thought that AT&T's version was going to remain as the "Galaxy SII" with the 4.3 inch screen. Where as the others will change it's name and screen size to 4.5".

Edit: I see you were talking about the image resolution from the camera not the screen size. My bad.

 

[maerlim]

Attain pros:

Thinner and lighter (116 g vs 168 g, 8.5 mm vs 12 mm)
Better screen (Super AMOLED Plus 3264 X 2448 vs. 2592 x 1944)
Better camera
Ships with Gingerbread
Possibly better battery life?

Thrill 4G pros:

3D
Cost

Yeah in all reality the SGS-II blows the Thrill out of the water. AT&T and LG really missed the boat by not getting the device out sooner so that people could get attached to it before the SGS-II came out.

Everybody talks about the screen on the SGS-II, and it's certainly great. But one thing I noticed on that comparison that nobody's talked about yet is that the Thrill is limited to 14mb/s HSDPA and the SGS-II will do up to 21mb/S HSDPA. That's a big deal. Hopefully AT&T's network will live up to that. (Yeah I'm not holding my breath, but still...)

I will get a Thrill this weekend to play around with for a couple weeks then likely trade it in for a SGS-II when they come out.

 

[BigCiX]

Bumparoo -- looks like these two phones will be the serious competition for the early September release.

I had been all about the Thrill 4G, but at this point I believe I'm going to wait the two weeks for the Samsung Attain. Here's a basic pro/con list, let me know if I'm wrong or missing anything. Numbers from Compare Mobile Phones Samsung Attain vs LG Thrill 4G vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 .

Attain pros:

Thinner and lighter (116 g vs 168 g, 8.5 mm vs 12 mm)
Better screen (Super AMOLED Plus 3264 X 2448 vs. 2592 x 1944)
Better camera
Ships with Gingerbread
Possibly better battery life?

Thrill 4G pros:

3D
Cost

Here's the thing J. I'm picking this phone over the sg2 because I just have a feeling sg2 will be waiting a long time for the ice cream update. I actually think the LG Thrill will see it first out of these two devices. Going off the captivate, fascinate and epic, 2.2 update is going take a while. Just look at the Samsung infuse. Dead last on the gingerbread update. Inspire and atrix already have it. The 2.3 for that device was due by the end of the month. I'm sure current galaxy s users remember all the delays and it'll be out next month shananagins we went through waiting on 2.2. Samsung and carrier updates are like oil & water. Not a good mix. Therefore ill pick up the slightly less attractive Thrill and be happy with the 3D. Besides that, the attain will be old news once the overpowering HTC Vigor and nexus prime hit later this year. The only thing that I'll miss is the super amoled.

 

[BigCiX]

Bumparoo -- looks like these two phones will be the serious competition for the early September release.

I had been all about the Thrill 4G, but at this point I believe I'm going to wait the two weeks for the Samsung Attain. Here's a basic pro/con list, let me know if I'm wrong or missing anything. Numbers from Compare Mobile Phones Samsung Attain vs LG Thrill 4G vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 .

Attain pros:

Thinner and lighter (116 g vs 168 g, 8.5 mm vs 12 mm)
Better screen (Super AMOLED Plus 3264 X 2448 vs. 2592 x 1944)
Better camera
Ships with Gingerbread
Possibly better battery life?

Thrill 4G pros:

3D
Cost

Here's the thing J. I'm picking this phone over the sg2 because I just have a feeling sg2 will be waiting a long time for the ice cream update. I actually think the LG Thrill will see it first out of these two devices. Going off the captivate, fascinate and epic, 2.2 update is going take a while. Just look at the Samsung infuse. Dead last on the gingerbread update. Inspire and atrix already have it. The 2.3 for that device was due by the end of the month. I'm sure current galaxy s users remember all the delays and it'll be out next month shananagins we went through waiting on 2.2. Samsung and carrier updates are like oil & water. Not a good mix. Therefore ill pick up the slightly less attractive Thrill and be happy with the 3D. Besides that, the attain will be old news once the overpowering HTC Vigor and nexus prime hit later this year. The only thing that I'll miss is the super amoled.

 

[maerlim]

Here's the thing J. I'm picking this phone over the sg2 because I just have a feeling sg2 will be waiting a long time for the ice cream update. I actually think the LG Thrill will see it first out of these two devices. Going off the captivate, fascinate and epic, 2.2 update is going take a while. Just look at the Samsung infuse. Dead last on the gingerbread update. Inspire and atrix already have it. The 2.3 for that device was due by the end of the month. I'm sure current galaxy s users remember all the delays and it'll be out next month shananagins we went through waiting on 2.2. Samsung and carrier updates are like oil & water. Not a good mix. Therefore ill pick up the slightly less attractive Thrill and be happy with the 3D. Besides that, the attain will be old news once the overpowering HTC Vigor and nexus prime hit later this year. The only thing that I'll miss is the super amoled.

The thing is LG doesn't have a stellar reputation for updates either. And it has that 3d thing to complicate matters. For instance, the Optimus 2x just recently got Gingerbread, but the Optimus 3d does not. Essentially the same phone but with the 3d aspect being different.

 

[BigCiX]

Some guy posted that t comes with 2.3 out of the box

AT&T LG Thrill Pricing and Launch Date Revealed

 

[bigjerries]

Some guy posted that t comes with 2.3 out of the box

AT&T LG Thrill Pricing and Launch Date Revealed

that guy is playing with my emotions..haha.

 

[trusktr]

Anyone know if the the ATT GSII Attain will support LTE when ATT finally has it?