Anyone upgrading to the Optimus Black / Marquee?

[dishe]

So, I'll be honest- I thought there would be a lot of discussion already on this topic.

In case you haven't heard, the US version of the Optimus Black is officially available as of a couple of days ago. Its known on Sprint as the Marquee. It was released with very little fanfare, much like the Optimus S was as well.

It seems to be an upgrade in almost every way to the Optimus S, so I expected more people to be interested in switching to it. Personally, I am out of contract and have been waiting for a 3G phone that sports a front camera, flash support, and a decent GPU. Not to mention more internal memory so I don't have to juggle how many apps are installed before the "running out of storage" errors pop up. The Optimus S was good enough to hold me over until now, but I'm finding myself having some hesitation in switching- mostly, (and don't let it get to your heads) its because of you guys.

You see, any good Android device is about as strong as its community. If you have a healthy community building custom roms and rooting devices, you extend the capability of your device. I love the Optimus S and really do hope the community continues to go strong, but I was hoping to see some familiar faces in the Marquee section of the forum as well. But even though the phone is now widely available, it seems like a ghost town over in that section of the forum. That makes me nervous- how come no one else is interested?

 

[blackops1125]

They like there Optimus s don't want to leave. LOL!

sent from my CM7/Reborn w/ 1 Gb internal storage Optimus S

Always happy to help, hit that thanks button if I did

 

[hlxanthus]

As the saying goes, if it aint broke dont fix it. I never get a new release phone as they are notoriously buggy. I wait and see how it all plays out, read reviews ect.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk

 

[Jessicalt1]

I was between the Nexus, The Epic touch, and the Marquee. Ultimately, I went with Nexus b/c the other two were just too big for my hands. I want a phone, not a small tablet. The Nexus fit the bill for me. Although, their board has nothing on the Optimus Board. It's the shiz.

 

[dishe]

They like there Optimus s don't want to leave. LOL!

LOL- There is truth to that, and I do love my little Optimus. However, there is so much more I wish it did. There just wasn't anything better available to me that was compatible with my plan (no 4G on SeroP unless you want to pay more).

But there is a difference between being happy with it and it being "good enough". I always said there is no such thing as a perfect phone, you just have to pick the lesser of all evils that still does what you want. The Optimus, at least to me, was not a perfect phone, but rather good enough until something else comes along. I've been happily using it, but now something better may have come along, and I guess I find it a bit odd that very few have taken notice.

As the saying goes, if it aint broke dont fix it.

But, you see, in some ways it is broke. For starters, the limited internal memory has been an issue for me, causing me to pick certain apps I don't use often enough and remove them (only to install again when/if I need them). Other apps are too big to be installed at all anymore. I'm running reborn rom which helps a little, and have moved as much as possible to the SD, but it still runs out of memory occasionally. I also wish there was room for more of my core apps internally so that they don't disappear if the SD card dismounts.

Then there's the little screen and lack of keyboard, which despite using it since the week it was released, STILL can't seem to get used to. Or rather, I'm used to it but still just can't use as quickly as other phones. It doesn't bother me as much as when it first came out, but its almost as bad as my old HTC Vogue (arguably the most difficult device to type on), the only saving grace here being Google's voice dictation. I recently fixed a buddy's touch pro 2, and longingly remembered how comfortable it was to type on that thing. The Marquee still lacks a keyboard, but the bigger display helps on screen entry a lot.

Then there's flash support. Yes, one of the things I like about Android is the ability to run flash, not just in the browser but for apps that use it (tinyshark, zoodles, etc). There is that hacked flash 10.1 apk that I've been playing with on the Optimus, but it seems rather unstable. I love flash on my tablet, and wish it worked on my phone as well.

Then there's the camera. Oh, the camera. Yes, some people don't use the camera on their devices much, but there are just times I don't have my DSLR or point-and-shoot camera on me. And I've got kids. Priceless things happen and my old HTC devices took pretty decent photos. I noticed the quality of the Optimus' camera is a serious step down from what I'm used to seeing on smartphones. I'm almost embarrassed to share the pictures I get with it. I've seen sample pictures taken with the Optimus Black, and they really kicked it up a notch to something very usable. I'm assuming the Marquee has the same optics.

Speaking of cameras, there's then the front camera. I seriously almost considered a Samsung Transform instead of the Optimus when it came out because the notion of Skype on my phone was really intriguing. Well, turned out Skype didn't support video until about a month ago and the Transform was a pretty bad phone, so ultimately I'm happy I picked the speedy little Optimus instead. But now, a faster device is available with a front camera, with what appears to be similar build quality that we're already appreciating from LG. Looks like a win/win to me, so again, I'm baffled as to why someone *wouldn't* be interested in this device.

I never get a new release phone as they are notoriously buggy. I wait and see how it all plays out, read reviews ect.

Indeed. But I bought the Optimus within a week of its release. In fact, I wrote the "Idiots Guide" here on this very forum. I've been there from the start, ever since KSmithinNY posted the rooting tutorial. I saw right away that the Optimus would have a following because someone posted how to root it within a day of its release online.
The Marquee does not seem to have the same enthusiasm at launch. Again, wondering if I'm missing something.

I was between the Nexus, The Epic touch, and the Marquee. Ultimately, I went with Nexus b/c the other two were just too big for my hands. I want a phone, not a small tablet. The Nexus fit the bill for me. Although, their board has nothing on the Optimus Board. It's the shiz.

I hear that. The size of the screen can be both a curse and a blessing. I initially didn't like the size of the EVO, but wouldn't mind something more like a Nexus. Again, there is no perfect phone, so I'm willing to make compromises if the other stuff is great- that NOVA tech display seems really cool. Bright enough for direct sunlight? I'll live with a 4" screen if that is true.

But, I also can't add a 4G device to my plan without paying more (SERO plans still differentiate, unlike regular plans).

Meanwhile, I think I found out why the device has had a slow start- Apparently, there is trouble getting them out there. I visited 4 stores around NYC today, NONE of them had it in stock to look at. A corporate store said the shipment was delayed and would get them in next week.
Some folks online said they pre-ordered, and found that Sprint messed up the shipping to be regular ground instead of 2-day air, so some of them still haven't received it either.
Maybe it will take until next week to pick up steam... We'll see what happens by then.

 

[reltm]

thanks for the info on availability, dishe. I thought the same thing - great to see a new LG phone that could be an Optimus S replacement, esp for SERO plans.

The developers astound me with what they are able to come up with, though. With them, I feel like I could wait a good while before upgrading. But I hear you - especially on the camera and screen size front.

I don't mind waiting a couple weeks to see what happens with it. It's hard to imagine any community being as good as this one, but hopefully the Marquee gets a good following, too. Then I'd consider it. But if it has no community, the Marquee is going to be a hard sell for me.

 

[lgos]

They like there Optimus s don't want to leave. LOL!

sent from my CM7/Reborn w/ 1 Gb internal storage Optimus S

Always happy to help, hit that thanks button if I did

1gb?! How did you do that?

 

[jcwxguy]

they did it by partitioning his SD card so part of it acts like and shows up as internal storage

 

[dishe]

they did it by partitioning his SD card so part of it acts like and shows up as internal storage

Which is problematic if you dismount the card. I've got one of those that dismounts on it's own if I don't format it now and then.

 

[sfhub]

Some folks online said they pre-ordered, and found that Sprint messed up the shipping to be regular ground instead of 2-day air,

I don't know if that is a mess-up. Sprint changed their policy recently and all the sprint.com orders are shipping out ground. It might be some generic policy change that applies to all orders, but my experience is only with the online sprint.com orders.

 

[kingdavidbaker]

I think its pretty simple why people aren't planning on making that switch. All comes down to two things...first the Marquee IS better than the Optimus but its not better enough. Slight improvements have been made but thats not enough for most people to make the jump. Personally I have never run into an issue with storage space or anything and I have been quite happy with the quality of pictures I have taken. The addition of flash is nice but like I said not amazing enough to make me want to switch. Second you need to take into account the reason most people chose the Optimus S in the first place....its free! The Marquee costs $100 with a new contract and the Optimus didn't cost me a dime. Its tough to convince someone who got a fairly awesome phone for free to upgrade to a slightly better one for $100. I do plan on upgrading soon but it will be a much bigger upgrade to something like the sgsII or Evo 3d.

Edit: Oh apparently the phone is $100 after a $50 mail in rebate which will likely take 6 months to arrive.

 

[Jessicalt1]

I got my Nexus for free at Best Buy. lol. I haven't had it for long, but so far it's nice. I loved my Optimus though, she's a winner for sure.

 

[coachpelkey]

Were you eligible for an upgrade Jessicalt1?
I have another stupid year before I can upgrade. I am thinking about looking for an evo or nexus via ebay...

 

[dishe]

I don't know if that is a mess-up. Sprint changed their policy recently and all the sprint.com orders are shipping out ground. It might be some generic policy change that applies to all orders, but my experience is only with the online sprint.com orders.

Interesting, because it is effecting all the stores as well. Corporate rep told me they had a "problem with shipping" and handsets are en route to arrive by next week. Maybe they didn't anticipate this new policy.

I think its pretty simple why people aren't planning on making that switch. All comes down to two things...first the Marquee IS better than the Optimus but its not better enough. Slight improvements have been made but thats not enough for most people to make the jump. Personally I have never run into an issue with storage space or anything and I have been quite happy with the quality of pictures I have taken. The addition of flash is nice but like I said not amazing enough to make me want to switch. Second you need to take into account the reason most people chose the Optimus S in the first place....its free! The Marquee costs $100 with a new contract and the Optimus didn't cost me a dime. Its tough to convince someone who got a fairly awesome phone for free to upgrade to a slightly better one for $100. I do plan on upgrading soon but it will be a much bigger upgrade to something like the sgsII or Evo 3d.

Edit: Oh apparently the phone is $100 after a $50 mail in rebate which will likely take 6 months to arrive.

The Optimus S wasn't free the week it launched- it was $50 after mail in rebates. It wasn't free until Radio Shack and other third party stores had a sale over the next 2 weeks. Sprint eventually price matched on its own site some time later.

Meanwhile, right now the Marquee is $29.99 at Radio Shack: RadioShack introduces the LG Marquee to its lineup with a tempting $29.99 price

and that's within days of launch. It seems to about in the same price class as the Optimus S, only with updated hardware.

 

[Jessicalt1]

$29.99 is a really tempting price!

No I wasn't, I used my husband's upgrade. Last year I bought his Evo outright so it was screaming my name. Call it the good wife award. lol

 

[kingdavidbaker]

Eh even if the thing was completely free with new contract it still wouldn't be worth the upgrade IMO....I'd rather use the upgrade to get a much better phone for a bit more cash. Going from the Optimus to the Marquee would be like upgrading your bagel bites to a hot pocket....sure the hot pocket is better but the bagel bites are already made, right in my face to eat, and they are almost as tasty so why spend time/energy/money getting a hot pocket?

Edit: Oh and although the Optimus may not have been free at launch i'd bet good money that most people who currently own the device got it once it was free. If someone is going from an old "non smart phone" then absolutely yes they will want to choose the Marquee over the optimus....but SWITCHing from the Optimus to the Marquee just seems like a waste to me.

 

[Hawaiian_Geek]

I don't know if that is a mess-up. Sprint changed their policy recently and all the sprint.com orders are shipping out ground. It might be some generic policy change that applies to all orders, but my experience is only with the online sprint.com orders.

They're shipping ground to save money.....upgrading to the Marquee is silly because minor upgrades but essentially it's basically the same as Optimus but with Flash as the only real upgrade....I'd use my upgrade to buy a Galaxy SII or 3D Evo......but on the other hand if in December the Marquee is free then that's another story! LOL!

 

[BobbyXII12]

1gb?! How did you do that?

How goes one partition soave on the sd card? That comes in handy!

 

[angel4b]

They're shipping ground to save money.....upgrading to the Marquee is silly because minor upgrades but essentially it's basically the same as Optimus but with Flash as the only real upgrade....I'd use my upgrade to buy a Galaxy SII or 3D Evo......but on the other hand if in December the Marquee is free then that's another story! LOL!

I didn't want this phone when it was free...however when walmart agreed to pay my $99 to take this phone off their hands, i was forced to give in and upgrade. It took me 9 months to use that gift card