Five Reasons Not to Buy the G3

[rushmore]

More geared towards heavier users, since light to medium users should love the G3.

1. Qhd display is a weak fit for the 801. Per several reviews (Anandtech as example) the 801 is operating at it's gpu ceiling with Qhd.

2. In a few months there will likely be an 805 version to help battle against the iPhone 6. The gpu is designed to handle higher res better due to more memory bandwidth and higher gpu clock. Also the battery life is expected to be improved over the 801.

3. Performance is throttled to manage the display more efficiently and overrides of this impact battery life more.

4. For heavy use, the average battery life compared to other S800 series devices is 90 to 120 minutes less screen on time. Key being Heavy use. Light to medium use should see no battery life impact.

5. The display: Gets very warm and is sensitive to ambient temperature as a result. Also the sharpness issue that has not been confirmed to be a setting issue. It could be an issue with how the gpu behaves with the display tech. Hopefully not and is a setting issue.


That is it, though item five is really two issues, so technically six reasons.

 

[Google10]

cool thanks

 

[brewzer]

I don't put much stock in the 801 vs 805 argument for one simple reason. There's always going to be better performance if you wait for the next best thing. That's not a G3 issue, that's a technology issue. Of course everyone would love it to have the 805 and it would certainly perform much better if it did.

You also didn't list the poor reception claims going around. Signal strength could be inferior but there's no definitive answer either way yet.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Freecableguy]

1. Qhd display is a weak fit for the 801. Per several reviews (Anandtech as example) the 801 is operating at it's gpu ceiling with Qhd.

It is faster than a S600 device handling 1080p and quite close to the first 1080p/S800 devices (G2/N5) so not exactly a weak fit.

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph8169/64514.png
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph8169/64694.png

2. In a few months there will likely be an 805 version to help battle against the iPhone 6. ...

Thats speculation. We do know there will be a F460 version running a S805 chip but that might be exclusive to South Korea (just like Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A).

Also the battery life is expected to be improved over the 801.

How? S805 is still a 28nm chip, Adreno 420 is probably much beefier than Adreno 330 and unlike S800/S801 it doesnt pack an integrated LTE modem (requires a discrete modem). I wouldnt count on battery life improvements before some reliable tests.

I don't put much stock in the 801 vs 805 argument for one simple reason. There's always going to be better performance if you wait for the next best thing. That's not a G3 issue, that's a technology issue. Of course everyone would love it to have the 805 and it would certainly perform much better if it did.

My thoughs as well. S805 would be nice but it doesn't make S801 obsolete in any way. CPU performance is basically the same and GPU performance ranges from equal to ~50% faster than Adreno 330 which is good but not as impressive as the S600 to S800 jump (based on Anand Preview). Now 64-bit S808/S810 should be the real interesting upgrades next year.

 

[Duncan1982]

I am surprised Lg didn't opt for the 805 SOC , however I have the G3 and whilst its not perfect, I am finding it a joy to use.

I can't argue but despite these 5 reasons not to buy, you should work out if Specs are a must and get hands on reviews if these downsides will effect the device so badly that its unusable for your requirements.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[planoman]

Heavy users always know that in a few months the newest thing will be on the market. That does not stop them from getting a new device, using it and selling it when the next new thing comes along. I received my G3 yesterday and it took a while to set up. The options etc are plenty and it is very customizable, very similar to a Samsung, almost too much.

The G3 has plenty of horsepower. It can handle pretty much anything thrown at it even with the QHD screen.

The one thing that surprised me was the amount of bloatware on the G3. I disabled over 20 apps without really even looking closely at them. One great feature of WP is that you can delete all the bloatware apps and not just disable them.

 

[belodion]

I fear, rushmore, that your careful reasoning will have little effect. People are often sooner guided by their hearts than by their heads. I was when I got my G3.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Flagz]

Every Phone has it's flaws and are eventually learned from and fixed. I got JUMP for a reason and that's because I don't wanna deal with a two or even one year phone. I'm already planning to JUMP to Windows Phones Hero device once launched (McLaren) later this year (according to rumors)

 

[scipper77]

I personally am a little skeptical that quad hd has any merit whatsoever. I'm pretty sure that on a sub 6 inch display the pixel density is enough at 1080 that your eye can not discern between that and any higher resolution. Isn't that why apple started calling there displays "Retina" displays? Because your retina was what limited the resolution you could perceive?

 

[doggy2965]

I fear, rushmore, that your careful reasoning will have little effect. People are often sooner guided by their hearts than by their heads. I was when I got my G3.

Posted via Android Central App

I like most will wait to phone comes out and try it. Then make a decision. Real world use is the only factor that matters to me.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[belodion]

I personally am a little skeptical that quad hd has any merit whatsoever. I'm pretty sure that on a sub 6 inch display the pixel density is enough at 1080 that your eye can not discern between that and any higher resolution. Isn't that why apple started calling there displays "Retina" displays? Because your retina was what limited the resolution you could perceive?

Don't forget that those retinas are attached to people like me who are very ready to see imaginary extra sharpness in the 1440p display.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[scipper77]

I remember when the HTC droid DNA came out. At the time it had the highest display resolution available. I think the S3 came out at the same time. The S3 ended up being the better performer and the difference in resolution was nothing but a line on a spec sheet when it came to user experience. Quad HD is only a big deal because it's the new feature that set todays phone apart from yesterdays.

I think there are incremental improvements in phone/tablet technology like processor speed, resolution, amount of ram, and then there are fundamental changes like adding a dedicated GPU, the jump from single core to multi core CPU's and coming soon the jump from 32 to 64 bit hardware and instruction sets. I am personally going to wait until 64 bit hardware becomes standard before I jump into another device. I think my S5 should survive for that long. I actually think a S3 should still be usable until the arrival of 64 bit.

 

[WhoMe]

I was also on the fence due to some of the performance concerns a few have expressed. However I've owned my Galaxy Note 2 for almost 2 years now and I'm bored of it. With every update it lags just a hair more than before and between that and the boredom of it I'm ready for something new. I'm also at that tipping point where I can easily get enough cash for the Note 2 to buy a G3, and if the ebay auctions ends well...maybe more.

Of the options available with Verizon this one seems the most exciting to me. The rest are simply more of the same. This is the Thunderbolt or DNA of this generation. I understand that may not be a very good line to be associated with, but I'm ready to give the bleeding edge another shake.

I have 14 days, if it burns my hands or it crawls.....Ill swap it out for one of the safer choices. No big loss.

 

[holsteinmoo]

Anyone have reports on battery life and lag on a U.S. Carrier version of the G3?

 

[holsteinmoo]

Heavy users always know that in a few months the newest thing will be on the market. That does not stop them from getting a new device, using it and selling it when the next new thing comes along. I received my G3 yesterday and it took a while to set up. The options etc are plenty and it is very customizable, very similar to a Samsung, almost too much.

The G3 has plenty of horsepower. It can handle pretty much anything thrown at it even with the QHD screen.

The one thing that surprised me was the amount of bloatware on the G3. I disabled over 20 apps without really even looking closely at them. One great feature of WP is that you can delete all the bloatware apps and not just disable them.

Three questions...Who is your carrier? How is your battery life? Do you have any lag in performance at all? I have pre-ordered one and am looking forward to receiving it. I have seen few reviews for U.S. Carrier versions.

 

[brewzer]

You do realize that there is an entire thread in this forum around the battery performance?

I did notice a small lag when I tested one in the AT&T store, but the lag was less than the S5 lag.

 

[nj1266]

Anandtech did a review on the phone and echoed much of what the OP said.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jtshurtleff]

There's a few small amounts of lag. Only pure android and maybe the One series sees close to zero lag. Batter is okay so far but it has only been a couple days. In a week people will be saying it's better. It always takes a little while and some tweaking. I will likely root and Rom for some better battery life

 

[thevaristy]

I am guessing all this lag talk is getting overblown. 801 vs 805 blah blah. The Nexus 10 's resolution is actually higher than the G3 @ 2560 x 1600, and that tablet is running a nearly 2 year old Exynos processor.

 

[planoman]

Three questions...Who is your carrier? How is your battery life? Do you have any lag in performance at all? I have pre-ordered one and am looking forward to receiving it. I have seen few reviews for U.S. Carrier versions.

ATT. Just fully charged so no real useful info on battery life. I started the screen at 50% and will adjust from there, if needed. I have usually set the screen to 40 to 50% on all of my phones. There is lag opening and leaving the app drawer but I do not know if it is lag but some will call it that. The device is smooth without question but the lag trolls will be out just like they do with samsung. I have been most impressed with the camera. Having a Moto X and Nexus 5, I had pretty much given up on a good camera. The focus is fast and accurate!