My experience using both a Nexus 4 and LG Optimus G (a comparison)

[rclifton]

quick questions - does optimus g have 4.2?

in my samsung galaxy nexus, it seems to run 4.2 just a little slower than 4.1.

No, it is supposed to get a Jellybean upgrade in the next few months. I don't believe there has been anything said as far as whether it will be 4.1 or 4.2 tho.

 

[Rahul Shandilya]

Hey can you plse tell me that nexus 4 is available at every t-mobile shop, or just selected one`s. Can you locate such stores selling unlocked nexus 4 at $499 near morreisville pa.

 

[rclifton]

It's only available at select Tmobile locations, you'll need to call some locations in your area and ask if they know which store is stocking it.

 

[maven1975]

Hang in there...

I have had both and I can tell you this is spot on to my observations.

LG OG scored 7700 in quadrant
LG N4 scores 4500 in quadrant

Its clear that the kernel and governor have been aggressively set lower than normal on the N4. This is due to Google not being able to figure out how to calibrate things correctly.

Once the developers get digging into things, I suspect we will be able to tap back into the power onboard.

 

[gilbequick]

Geez people calm down and stop being such a bunch of a-holes. This is just about as much of a quick, seat-of-the-pants review as you're going to get, this is how 90% of phone buyers choose their phone.

They're both store displays so stock OS, stock settings, both loaded down with junk. They should be relatively equal with "junk".

It's just one person's admittedly quick, store display review. It's not like we're bidding for the most accurate military missile guidance technology here.

 

[Szabinger]

It's not like we're bidding for the most accurate military missile guidance technology here.

We are not?!

 

[gilbequick]

We are not?!

Depends on who in this thread you ask.

 

[Ricolando]

This entire thread made me laugh. If you love your Nexus 4 who cares what the OP thinks?

Sent from my Nexus 4

 

[Ugslick]

Thats the thing. Google pushes out their new OS pretty fast, the LG UI is more optimized, even running on 4.0.4 than the N4 on 4.2. Optimization on the OS itself, as well as the OS being optimused for the Optimus G itself (at the hardware level).. New android versions is nice, but personally Id prefer having a stable and speedy OS over the latest iteration. Everyone knows (yet hardly pays heed to) the fact that what is new is less tested and less smooth than whats been out for a little while longer.. In the end, it is still up to personal choice. 4.2 is not broken by any means, but it IS far less CONSISTENT than LGs UI on the G. This is why I preferred the G over the N4.
Some of my friends have the N4 (in Canada, running LTE, one of them is getting an avg of 37 Mbps, with a max I saw of 57Mbps (on Rogers' 2600MHz network) and I have never seen any potential lag or issues on his phone..
I use my phone more with apps, browser performance (mostly on wifi, I use my network mostly on bussing to downtown and while out and about.. Im not using an LTE network right now, maybe when I switch carriers my Wifi might become obsolete lol)... sooo to me the interface is the most important factor.. and then just personal choice pushing me to the G over the N4. (although I do especially like the rubber grip on the N4)

 

[cjpp78]

I haven't used nexus 4 because i missed out on the play store sales. twice. Had played with a Optimus G in at&t. It was kind of slow but i figured it was just that display unit that had been messed with a lot. After tiring of waiting on a nexus 4 I bought a Optimus G from bestbuy for $100 on contract. I was amazed at how fast it was, especially compared to the display unit at at&t. Glad I got this phone after all. plus the option for custom roms in the future seem to be good considering its same hardware as Nexus 4. Did I mention its fast?lol Even on android 4.0 and with a heavy LG ui this thing is still like iphone 5 fast. Being the underdog, unpopular, under the radar or whatever you want to call it..That has helped me get a top notch superphone for $100 less than the others like iphone 5, Gs3 or Nexus 4

 

[Eric1987]

You got an optimus g for 250 off contract?

 

[CoolBeit]

Wow, to everyone calling the op a troll....lay off. I actually really appreciate him posting his impressions. If you think the problem was that the display model had been messed with, post that and I'll appreciate that too.

That said, I played with an Optimus G in a Sprint Store and it was blazing fast. Since Sprint has like 2 customers these days, it is likely that the display model was relatively untouched. I haven't used an N4, but it is pretty clear from all the threads in this forum that 4.2 has more than a few bugs that need to be worked out. It surely is possible that the op was actually experiencing lag introduced by the still buggy 4.2. Since we're talking about exactly the same hardware here, I would be pretty surprised if the N4 doesn't feel just as speedy if not speedier after a few tweaks. Good thing the phone is back-ordered and I don't have to worry about getting one just yet!

PS I should mention that I'm currently using an Atrix 4G on stock GB, so context should be considered with respect to my use of the phrase "blazing fast"....

 

[6tr6tr]

Wow, to everyone calling the op a troll....lay off. I actually really appreciate him posting his impressions. If you think the problem was that the display model had been messed with, post that and I'll appreciate that too.

That said, I played with an Optimus G in a Sprint Store and it was blazing fast. Since Sprint has like 2 customers these days, it is likely that the display model was relatively untouched. I haven't used an N4, but it is pretty clear from all the threads in this forum that 4.2 has more than a few bugs that need to be worked out. It surely is possible that the op was actually experiencing lag introduced by the still buggy 4.2. Since we're talking about exactly the same hardware here, I would be pretty surprised if the N4 doesn't feel just as speedy if not speedier after a few tweaks. Good thing the phone is back-ordered and I don't have to worry about getting one just yet!

PS I should mention that I'm currently using an Atrix 4G on stock GB, so context should be considered with respect to my use of the phrase "blazing fast"....

Thanks! I never understand why people get so angry about someone not liking a product that was made by a big corporation. And I actually ended up buying the Nexus 4, not the LG Optimus G (although, if the LG OG had been an off-contract phone for the same price, I would have bought it).

BTW, My N4 is faster than the display model but still not as fast as the Optimus G I used in the store (which was also a display model). I really have never used a phone that fast before or since.

 

[Mellimel22]

(I originally posted this on reddit here: My experiences using both a Nexus 4 and an LG Optimus G but wanted to hear everyone's thoughts here too)

I recently used both a Nexus 4 (in a T-Mobile store) and an LG Optimus G (in a Sprint store) within 20 minutes of each other and here's my experiences:

(I used the Nexus 4 first, the LG Optimus G second)

Nexus 4

After reading the reviews I was surprised (and disappointed) to discover there was a fair amount of lag. It was the usual "Android" lag:

• Pinch to zoom in a browser had lag
• Scrolling in Chrome had some lag
• Popping up multi-tasking overlay had lag
• About 20% of the time going back to home screen had some lag
• Taking a picture in the camera app had lag
• Getting the camera controls to popup (and then moving your finger to select one) had lag before they turned blue

None of the lag was showstopping but it did not feel like a next-generation phone as the reviews had indicated. It felt like a Galaxy S3 with ICS.

Photosphere was amazing. Even indoors (in the T-Mobile store) it was able to stitch the image seamlessly (I followed people's suggestions to rotate around the camera lens).

The phone looks amazing and is surprisingly thin (thinner than it looks in the reviews). It feels good in your hand.

In a speedtest (I ran it 4 times) I got between 1.7-2.1mbps down and 1.5-2.2 up, but that's T-Mobile not the phone. (The store claimed they had HSPA+ 42)

LG Optimus G

The fastest phone I have ever used. I was very surprised. I'm including the iPhone 5 in that assessment. There was ZERO lag in anything I did on the phone. Switching home screens, bringing up the app drawer, starting the camera, pinch-to-zoom. NOTHING could stop this phone.

Unfortunately, it's a huge, blocky phone that, while light, doesn't feel comfortable in your hand like the Nexus 4. It felt thinner than the Nexus 4 though I'm not sure if it really was.

Speedtests gave me 700K-1.4mbps down, 650K-900K up. (Sprint claimed there was LTE in the area but only if I took it outside the store)

Camera was not very good. For a phone that has a 13 megapixel camera, I couldn't figure out why the pictures were no better than on the Nexus 4's 8-megpixel. Very disappointing. And the reviews were right that the auto-focus just kept sputtering.

But that speed! I have only used one phone in my life that came close - the iPhone 5. While I'm not a fan of LG's theme on Android (I prefer stock), this phone ran like a next generation phone. I'm still in shock at how fast it was...and confused. Since the Nexus 4 comes from the same hardware and is a combined effort between Google and LG, and is Google's flagship phone, why is the Nexus 4 drastically slower?

Please write with your experiences with these two phones as well, I want to know if these were isolated results.

I've used the lg op g and that camera is the BEST one out. No white out or washed colors at all maybe u saw a bad model or something. And truth be told it's not that blocky of a phone

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus Rockin 4.2.1 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Saiga]

I've used the lg op g and that camera is the BEST one out. No white out or washed colors at all maybe u saw a bad model or something. And truth be told it's not that blocky of a phone

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus Rockin 4.2.1 using Tapatalk 2

Its not Intuition blocky, but it is still very blocky when compared to the Nexus 4. Have you used a Nexus 4 yet? It feels truly amazing in the hands. Especially while held in landscape. The Nexus 4 feel reminds me of the CDMA BlackBerry 9850 Torch, the one that doesn't slide open. Both are really well sculpted on the top and bottom and it feels sorda like you are holding a very thin and comfortable video game controller.

The Optimus G is only rounded on the sides, the top and bottom are nearly flat enough to allow it to stand up on its own. Something I used to do with my uber blocky Intuition .

 

[mazzmoney95]

My Nexus 4 is blazing fast. Much faster then an iPhone or any other device I've used (noticeably better then the evo lte i had with cm 10). I'd be suprised if the G was faster then this but who knows. Maybe it's because i have animations to .5 and am using Nova with the Faster then Light settings.

 

[badbrad17]

(I originally posted this on reddit here: My experiences using both a Nexus 4 and an LG Optimus G but wanted to hear everyone's thoughts here too)

I recently used both a Nexus 4 (in a T-Mobile store) and an LG Optimus G (in a Sprint store) within 20 minutes of each other and here's my experiences:

(I used the Nexus 4 first, the LG Optimus G second)

Nexus 4

After reading the reviews I was surprised (and disappointed) to discover there was a fair amount of lag. It was the usual "Android" lag:

• Pinch to zoom in a browser had lag
• Scrolling in Chrome had some lag
• Popping up multi-tasking overlay had lag
• About 20% of the time going back to home screen had some lag
• Taking a picture in the camera app had lag
• Getting the camera controls to popup (and then moving your finger to select one) had lag before they turned blue

None of the lag was showstopping but it did not feel like a next-generation phone as the reviews had indicated. It felt like a Galaxy S3 with ICS.

Photosphere was amazing. Even indoors (in the T-Mobile store) it was able to stitch the image seamlessly (I followed people's suggestions to rotate around the camera lens).

The phone looks amazing and is surprisingly thin (thinner than it looks in the reviews). It feels good in your hand.

In a speedtest (I ran it 4 times) I got between 1.7-2.1mbps down and 1.5-2.2 up, but that's T-Mobile not the phone. (The store claimed they had HSPA+ 42)

LG Optimus G

The fastest phone I have ever used. I was very surprised. I'm including the iPhone 5 in that assessment. There was ZERO lag in anything I did on the phone. Switching home screens, bringing up the app drawer, starting the camera, pinch-to-zoom. NOTHING could stop this phone.

Unfortunately, it's a huge, blocky phone that, while light, doesn't feel comfortable in your hand like the Nexus 4. It felt thinner than the Nexus 4 though I'm not sure if it really was.

Speedtests gave me 700K-1.4mbps down, 650K-900K up. (Sprint claimed there was LTE in the area but only if I took it outside the store)

Camera was not very good. For a phone that has a 13 megapixel camera, I couldn't figure out why the pictures were no better than on the Nexus 4's 8-megpixel. Very disappointing. And the reviews were right that the auto-focus just kept sputtering.

But that speed! I have only used one phone in my life that came close - the iPhone 5. While I'm not a fan of LG's theme on Android (I prefer stock), this phone ran like a next generation phone. I'm still in shock at how fast it was...and confused. Since the Nexus 4 comes from the same hardware and is a combined effort between Google and LG, and is Google's flagship phone, why is the Nexus 4 drastically slower?

Please write with your experiences with these two phones as well, I want to know if these were isolated results.

I played with an Optimus as well and couldn't believe how fast it was. Immediate response with zero lag. I have ordered the Nexus 4 with the hope it would be similar. I hope this was due to something on the phone you tested and not a global issue. I also know that a lot of people are complaining about the 4.2 update and that it isn't fully optimized.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums

 

[josegb2011]

The nexus 4 just needs to be optimized just like when the galaxy nexus got the jelly bean update... remember how it changed the phone 2x faster not just because of project butter..it took most of the bugs out.

 

[badbrad17]

Geez people calm down and stop being such a bunch of a-holes. This is just about as much of a quick, seat-of-the-pants review as you're going to get, this is how 90% of phone buyers choose their phone.

They're both store displays so stock OS, stock settings, both loaded down with junk. They should be relatively equal with "junk".

It's just one person's admittedly quick, store display review. It's not like we're bidding for the most accurate military missile guidance technology here.

What he said.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums

 

[Patru Bogdan]

It looks like from now on you can convert the LG Optimus G into a Google Nexus 4. How cool is that? Here is a tutorial on how to do it.Enjoy