So both these articles say the S2 is better

[oxymoron]

@titanoman, yeah stick around. I don't post as often as I read... which is multiple times a day. There is a sub-forum for just about every android device on here. A wealth of information. Most if not all of issues you may encounter with your device can be solved by searching and reading these forums. Before you know it, you'll go from n00b to knowing more about these devices than the people who sell them (that doesn't take much btw).

The GSII is a fantastic piece of tech, you deserve to be proud of it. As with any though, it's king of the hill status is only temporary.

Good luck on your journey, and welcome to the world Android obsession

*customized tapatalk signature*

 

[liquiddawn]

So I'm new to Android and I have been waiting on the GN to arrive, except I'm on ATT. As the days go by it's looking more and more feasible that it's not coming to ATT's network. I'm due for an upgrade and I'll be getting the S2 today. I really want the Nexus but I refuse to pay $600 or more for it to get it unlocked.

Since I'm still trying to figure things out, is it not possible to root the S2 and then upgrade it to ICS ourselves well before Samsung releases it? Not trying to stir anyone up, just asking an honest question that I don't have an answer for.

If that is the case, then I do have to ask what about the GN is so appealing? Again, please don't get mad, just asking an honest question. My plan currently is to get the S2 and pray and hope that ATT does get it, or at the very least Best Buy gets it unlocked. Then either I can return my S2 within the 30 day period and get the GN, or sell my S2 for about $400-$500 and then get the GN that way. Thanks for clearing some of this up in advance!

 

[anon(512898)]

If that is the case, then I do have to ask what about the GN is so appealing?

there are a few reasons why it is appealing:

- unlocked bootloader: this means that if you want to root/rom you do not need to worry about finding exploits to do what you want, you can just do it

-pure android: no need to deal with a bunch of apps you never use, no manufacturer overlay to eat up cpu cycles

-fast updates: since the device is maintained by google themselves, you will get updates before anyone else.

-long term support: the nexus one received updates until ics, so we are assuming the g-nex will receive a similar level of support.

You say that with rooting and roming you can fix points 2-4 yourself, but without the device specific code, aosp ports will be buggy and require extra work to run well, plus no device will see as many devs as the g-nex because of point 1. It is also nice to not "have to" root/rom to get points 2-4

 

[revickulous2001]

there are a few reasons why it is appealing:

- unlocked bootloader: this means that if you want to root/rom you do not need to worry about finding exploits to do what you want, you can just do it

-pure android: no need to deal with a bunch of apps you never use, no manufacturer overlay to eat up cpu cycles

-fast updates: since the device is maintained by google themselves, you will get updates before anyone else.

-long term support: the nexus one received updates until ics, so we are assuming the g-nex will receive a similar level of support.

You say that with rooting and roming you can fix points 2-4 yourself, but without the device specific code, aosp ports will be buggy and require extra work to run well, plus no device will see as many devs as the g-nex because of point 1. It is also nice to not "have to" root/rom to get points 2-4

This. And also the Galaxy S II commits the cardinal sin of smart phones...It has no notification LED. That feature ALONE is worth getting a different phone for.

 

[davey11]

Motorola and HTC update faster than Samsung does, and they are insufferably slow at times too. I will be shocked if even they come out with ICS in under 3 months.

Totally agree with this. The fact that GN will have ICS out of the box is HUGE.
The other OEMS claim "oh it will be on our phone soon" is wishful thinking at best.
I've owned a fascinate and that thing was on eclair for over 6 months with VZ promising froyo for many months without a peep. I doubt that thing will ever get official GB.
My current phone, a charge, is just as bad. Over 6 months still on froyo with no word when GB will be here.
Look at the TB, GB was ota and got pulled several times for bugs. Seems like even the present release has bugs.
With the ui overlay that the oems put on android, this will put a major delay on ICS coming to any other phone.

 

[ManBearPig618]

So I'm new to Android and I have been waiting on the GN to arrive, except I'm on ATT. As the days go by it's looking more and more feasible that it's not coming to ATT's network. I'm due for an upgrade and I'll be getting the S2 today. I really want the Nexus but I refuse to pay $600 or more for it to get it unlocked.

Just a thought for you...if you can get AT&T to just sell the phone to you unsealed in box, you can probably bring in pretty close to what the GN will cost off contract. You'll probably end up having to spend $100 or so, but depending on how much you want it it might be worth it.

 

[Jaycemiskel]

I have to agree that specs aren't everything. ICS has been optimized for the the OMAP and getting updates first is what I've dreamed about for years lol. Plus, with Verizon the other devices you have to choose from are the RAZR (4430 and not 4460 and no HD screen, have to wait for updates) or the Rezound (Qualcomm processor which isn't that great IMO, battery life will probably not be so great, really thick, have to wait for updates). I guess the Bionic is also a choice but I doubt many people will be picking it up. Those phones also have capacitive buttons and I'd rather not have them since they're no longer a necessity. We don't have an S2 on Verizon so there's no use comparing it although if we did I'd still pick the Nexus. I'm happy that a Nexus is finally coming to Verizon. Maybe now I can just upgrade to a new one each year.

 

[qnet]

ICS will have plenty of bugs on a dev device just like Honeycomb on a dev device. I could find dozens of Google HC update threads on this forum that are causing crashing, screen dimming, and fc'ing.

Manufacture UI will fix a lot of these bugs but then they end up injecting their own so there is no escaping it.

If you know what you are doing on a dev device be it Nexus, Xoom etc you can work a lot of bugs out your self or at least work around with rooting. Google is too fast to implement new features but waaaay too slow to fix bugs with updates.

Good thing about the GN is easy rooting.

I've had issues with the Xoom but, that is the only pure Google device that I've had issues with. Both Nexus phones I've had (Nexus One & S) have had very few issues and, I can't ever remember any force closes.

Hopefully they're improved ICS to the point were there aren't many issues.

 

[Crispy]

This whole carrier vs Google updates discussion is moot for the most part. I bet most people here will be running custom rom's on their rooted phones, no matter which phone. And there will be ICS rom's for most phones out as soon as AOSP source drops.

I'm also tired of people not giving any credit to oem skins. Sense, TouchWiz etc may be big, but they have a lot of features that Google chose to borrow for ICS as well. e.g. Sense has had fantastic Facebook integration since day 1, you can open a contact and see their status updates, pictures etc right from within the people app.

For me the biggest difference with Nexus is the lack of buttons which more and more apps will take advantage of. I care less about ICS since even on my ancient Evo I'll be able to get it soon enough.

 

[Adrynalyne]

This whole carrier vs Google updates discussion is moot for the most part. I bet most people here will be running custom rom's on their rooted phones, no matter which phone. And there will be ICS rom's for most phones out as soon as AOSP source drops.

I'm also tired of people not giving any credit to oem skins. Sense, TouchWiz etc may be big, but they have a lot of features that Google chose to borrow for ICS as well. e.g. Sense has had fantastic Facebook integration since day 1, you can open a contact and see their status updates, pictures etc right from within the people app.

For me the biggest difference with Nexus is the lack of buttons which more and more apps will take advantage of. I care less about ICS since even on my ancient Evo I'll be able to get it soon enough.

Have you ever developed aosp?

Let me just say this. Google gets it first. Nexus updates come from Google. Def. not a moot point. Why leave frequent updates to rooters and tech nerds alone?

Most devices won't see aosp roms in the two weeks to a month, much less as soon as source drops.

As for not caring....how well do you think the ailing GPU in the Evo4G will faire?

 

[Jaycemiskel]

This whole carrier vs Google updates discussion is moot for the most part. I bet most people here will be running custom rom's on their rooted phones, no matter which phone. And there will be ICS rom's for most phones out as soon as AOSP source drops.

I'm also tired of people not giving any credit to oem skins. Sense, TouchWiz etc may be big, but they have a lot of features that Google chose to borrow for ICS as well. e.g. Sense has had fantastic Facebook integration since day 1, you can open a contact and see their status updates, pictures etc right from within the people app.

For me the biggest difference with Nexus is the lack of buttons which more and more apps will take advantage of. I care less about ICS since even on my ancient Evo I'll be able to get it soon enough.

People don't give much credit to oem skins because for the most part they're a reason for updates coming so slowly. I could care less about seeing someone's status updates when I open the contact if it means that it takes an extra 3 months for me to get the newest version out. There's a reason Android phones have the most problems with updates and skins is a part of it. Sure Google may have borrowed a few things from them but who's to say they wouldn't have done some of those things anyway.

 

[Droid800]

This whole carrier vs Google updates discussion is moot for the most part. I bet most people here will be running custom rom's on their rooted phones, no matter which phone. And there will be ICS rom's for most phones out as soon as AOSP source drops.

Moot? Sounds like its spoken by someone that's never owned a nexus. It's the difference between waiting on carriers to push updates, instead of google. It's the difference between getting the latest update as soon as its ready, and having to wait for the carriers and oems to rape stock android before they push the update.

I'm also tired of people not giving any credit to oem skins. Sense, TouchWiz etc may be big, but they have a lot of features that Google chose to borrow for ICS as well. e.g. Sense has had fantastic Facebook integration since day 1, you can open a contact and see their status updates, pictures etc right from within the people app.

So? The point is that android is good enough now, so no more skinning is required. At this point, those skins add no value to the user. They just add bloat and delays to the update process. That, and things like the sense people app take significantly longer to load than the stock app. (and any extra utility that sense version might bring is outweighed by its lag) Personally, I'll take Matias Duarte designed android over HTCs immature skin.

For me the biggest difference with Nexus is the lack of buttons which more and more apps will take advantage of. I care less about ICS since even on my ancient Evo I'll be able to get it soon enough.

Good luck with that. The fact that the nexus one isn't getting it should tell you what kind of (crummy) experience you're in for if you try and install it.

 

[bakerbert]

updates....updates.....updates.

I am currently on a Droid Charge with out a Gingerbread update and my girl friend has Gingerbread on her Droid X (A phone this is at its EOL). Any one else see something wrong with this picture.

I can not wait for this phone to come out and will jump on it from day one.

 

[Professor777]

Both of these phones are great, and the comparison boils down to one thing the HD resolution on the Nexus. People will also have aesthetic preferences but these are subjective. Specs do matter.

Software is NOT the issue, for actual programs or OS. Figure both phones for ICS. Some Nexus fanboys are saying that Samsung is slow so don't expect to see ICS any time soon. Fact is Samsung - the people in bed with Google and who make the Nexus, HELLO - already announced ICS for the S2 and the Note will be released it early in 2011. Put ICS on a Galaxy S2 Skyrocket or T-Mobile version and then make your comparison.
Spec wise the S2 Skyrocket is the better phone except in resolution, it has only 207ppi.

The Skyrocket and T-mobile versions have 1.5 dual cores, Super amoled plus, gorilla glass, and micro SD cards (we'll call the cameras a draw)

The nexus has a better display, but NOT a larger one. Its functional display for everyday use is only 4.3 because of the buttons. Seriously, what percentage of your phone use time is for movies? Get a TV.

Feature wise, the new S2's are better in all spec categories except the display which is a very important factor, and precisely why I am undecided as to which way to go.
However, since Verizon is such an expensive ripp-off, I will wait for the Nexus on ATT or get the Galaxy Note, which is superior to the Nexus in every way, it is just so dang big!

I tried to attach a comparison chart, I could not get it to insert or attach here.

 

[labs point]

What about those of us who are trying to decide between the Nexus, Razr or vigor who are not techies?

Will we enjoy the vanilla android experience as much as those of you who are developers? Will this be a useful phone for business? Will we find apps for MS office or altering documents from our phones? Will the reception be as good as a Moto phone?

I think lots of us read on this website who are not developers. I am hooked on this site but will most likely never be as up on the things these phones can do as most folks on here. I think I am down to Razr or Nexus, just waiting to see both in hand.

Would welcome any thoughts on my questions.

 

[whiteshadow001]

Technically the G-nex is VZW's S2, its just better

 

[ragnarokx]

So the GS2 will get ICS, which is great. But what's even better is getting every single version of ICS, along with the new goodies Google puts out.

I haven't followed the GS2 updates closely, but I believe it launched with 2.3.3 and recently got an update to 2.3.4. This might be the last Gingerbread update it will get here in the states if ICS is really coming that soon. I'm currently on 2.3.7, so it is still 3 versions behind.

But who cares about such small updates? Well, if you like trying the latest from Google like Google Talk with video chat or Google Wallet, then these small updates are what let you get them hot off the presses. Google Wallet is still a Nexus exclusive, and Google even gives you a $10 gift card for trying it (got some brew with mine, and any phone that buys me beer is ok in my book). Also, Samsung isn't known for releasing fast incremental updates to fix bugs, so any bugs the phone has must wait to be fixed with the next OS update, which takes time because it must be skinned and carrier approved. With a Nexus phone, Google just makes a new version of the latest OS and pushes it to your phone to fix those bugs.

 

[ShinyTop]

Ya, wait it for it on ATT. You will still be on ATT. Make real good use of that network speed.

 

[Droid800]

Spec wise the S2 Skyrocket is the better phone except in resolution, it has only 207ppi.

The Skyrocket and T-mobile versions have 1.5 dual cores, Super amoled plus, gorilla glass, and micro SD cards (we'll call the cameras a draw)

They most certainly are not. The Skyrocket and T-mo GSII both use a processor that is a generation behind the OMAP in the Nexus. Their higher clock speed is irrelevant; the OMAP is still the better processor. The Nexus' screen is better in every way. It might not have gorilla glass, but it has something comparable. The SD card I'll give you, but that one is entirely dependent on what the user needs.

The nexus has a better display, but NOT a larger one. Its functional display for everyday use is only 4.3 because of the buttons. Seriously, what percentage of your phone use time is for movies? Get a TV.

Feature wise, the new S2's are better in all spec categories except the display which is a very important factor, and precisely why I am undecided as to which way to go.
However, since Verizon is such an expensive ripp-off, I will wait for the Nexus on ATT or get the Galaxy Note, which is superior to the Nexus in every way, it is just so dang big!

I tried to attach a comparison chart, I could not get it to insert or attach here.

No, they're not. At best, they're comparable. At worst, the Nexus is better than everything except the stock GSII on AT&T.

 

[humpagardengnome]

And 6 months from then, Nexus will be #2 to something. Such is the cycle of life...

And the SGN will still be standout amongst the Android flock. Such is the quality of the device....