- Jan 21, 2015
- 6
- 0
- 0
Picked up my black leather pre-order at BB yesterday. Couple of surprises, particularly given the that I'd read every review possible b4 buying:
Better than expected:
- Camera and Camera Launch speed: Camera is better than expected (I've taken some incredible macros so far) and the ability to launch from a locked, screen-off, position by double-pressing the vol down key is incredible. This is the best camera and camera access I've ever seen on a phone, bar none. I read a review yesterday arguing that it takes "too long" to launch the camera on the g4 and that the S6 was superior in this regard. Hardly.
- Value: $99 on 2 year contract with a free extra battery, charger and 32gb sd card? Seriously? Hard to beat that. (The competition, for me, was either the S6 edge or the Note 4; both would have cost $200 more.)
- Lollipop 5.1. I appreciate the nuances and additions over my prior 4.42 kitkat phone (s4). Mutlti-tasking is better and the lock screen notifications are heaven sent; the overall look and feel of the OS is a clear step up.
- Black leather back is a nice touch - the phone looks beautiful when face down on a table or counter; the combination of the curved back and the leather really works nicely.
Worse than Expected:
Design. The plastic is as plasticy as it gets, possibly suitable for a 2013 flagship but not in 2015. But even worse, the back edges flare sharply OUTWARD, meaning that, when gripping the phone one-handed, the edges jab into your palm. I'd read repeatedly that the phone feels "good in the hand," but that's only true when you are holding it only by the sides. To use it one handed you must hold it at an angle, and that's where it gets uncomfortable. Ultimately, whoever decided to sharpen the edges (over, for example, the g3's design) and flare them outward should be flogged. An appalling decision that can only be mitigated by throwing a case on it. (And, I can also see why, when the G4 was announced by LG, one of their execs noted that a "more premium" LG device would be released in Q3/4 2015. In many sense, given the competition, the device is not on-par in terms of materials or, in some ways, ergonomics).
On-screen keys. Ok, so this is not a issue with the G4 specifically, but if you are coming from another phone (samsung, HTC), get ready for the world of "on-screen" buttons (home, back, recent). For ME, they are atrocious. There is no other way to put it. I think Android has really lost its way here: why would I pay for a 5.5" screen if the on-screen keys then consume a chunk of my screen? That's just cretinous. (I recall coming home with my old samsung s4 and finding that sammy's bloat took 7gb of my storage and thinking: how can they call it a 16gb phone when I only get 9 gb?? Same thing here - how can you call it a 5.5" screen when you don't get to use the whole screen??) Now of course I quickly discovered how to disable the on-screen buttons for any given app, but then what? Now, to use the buttons, I have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen (to initiate the on-screen buttons) and then punch the needed button. What should be a one-step process becomes a significantly longer and more cumbersome two-step process. Again, that's just idiotic. I can now fully appreciate why sammy, htc, hell even Apple, keep a hardware (or capacitive) button(s). No doubt I will eventually get accustomed to this (and I know some people prefer on-screen keys; everyone gets their opinion), but the fact is this: there is no LOGICAL argument that can demonstrate that on-screen buttons are somehow "better": if you use them, you lose precious screen real-estate; if you disabled them for an app, you are burdened with a cumbersome process every time you need to access them. It's a lose-lose situation.
As Expected:
LG's interface. It's so so. I played with it for a bit, but ultimately disabled as much of it as I could and dropped Nova Prime on - works great, especially after disabling the on-screen buttons for nova prime (yes, you can do that!) and being able to see the whole, gorgeous screen!
Screen is delicious, as advertised.
Better than expected:
- Camera and Camera Launch speed: Camera is better than expected (I've taken some incredible macros so far) and the ability to launch from a locked, screen-off, position by double-pressing the vol down key is incredible. This is the best camera and camera access I've ever seen on a phone, bar none. I read a review yesterday arguing that it takes "too long" to launch the camera on the g4 and that the S6 was superior in this regard. Hardly.
- Value: $99 on 2 year contract with a free extra battery, charger and 32gb sd card? Seriously? Hard to beat that. (The competition, for me, was either the S6 edge or the Note 4; both would have cost $200 more.)
- Lollipop 5.1. I appreciate the nuances and additions over my prior 4.42 kitkat phone (s4). Mutlti-tasking is better and the lock screen notifications are heaven sent; the overall look and feel of the OS is a clear step up.
- Black leather back is a nice touch - the phone looks beautiful when face down on a table or counter; the combination of the curved back and the leather really works nicely.
Worse than Expected:
Design. The plastic is as plasticy as it gets, possibly suitable for a 2013 flagship but not in 2015. But even worse, the back edges flare sharply OUTWARD, meaning that, when gripping the phone one-handed, the edges jab into your palm. I'd read repeatedly that the phone feels "good in the hand," but that's only true when you are holding it only by the sides. To use it one handed you must hold it at an angle, and that's where it gets uncomfortable. Ultimately, whoever decided to sharpen the edges (over, for example, the g3's design) and flare them outward should be flogged. An appalling decision that can only be mitigated by throwing a case on it. (And, I can also see why, when the G4 was announced by LG, one of their execs noted that a "more premium" LG device would be released in Q3/4 2015. In many sense, given the competition, the device is not on-par in terms of materials or, in some ways, ergonomics).
On-screen keys. Ok, so this is not a issue with the G4 specifically, but if you are coming from another phone (samsung, HTC), get ready for the world of "on-screen" buttons (home, back, recent). For ME, they are atrocious. There is no other way to put it. I think Android has really lost its way here: why would I pay for a 5.5" screen if the on-screen keys then consume a chunk of my screen? That's just cretinous. (I recall coming home with my old samsung s4 and finding that sammy's bloat took 7gb of my storage and thinking: how can they call it a 16gb phone when I only get 9 gb?? Same thing here - how can you call it a 5.5" screen when you don't get to use the whole screen??) Now of course I quickly discovered how to disable the on-screen buttons for any given app, but then what? Now, to use the buttons, I have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen (to initiate the on-screen buttons) and then punch the needed button. What should be a one-step process becomes a significantly longer and more cumbersome two-step process. Again, that's just idiotic. I can now fully appreciate why sammy, htc, hell even Apple, keep a hardware (or capacitive) button(s). No doubt I will eventually get accustomed to this (and I know some people prefer on-screen keys; everyone gets their opinion), but the fact is this: there is no LOGICAL argument that can demonstrate that on-screen buttons are somehow "better": if you use them, you lose precious screen real-estate; if you disabled them for an app, you are burdened with a cumbersome process every time you need to access them. It's a lose-lose situation.
As Expected:
LG's interface. It's so so. I played with it for a bit, but ultimately disabled as much of it as I could and dropped Nova Prime on - works great, especially after disabling the on-screen buttons for nova prime (yes, you can do that!) and being able to see the whole, gorgeous screen!
Screen is delicious, as advertised.
.
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