Galaxy Nexus now - or wait for SGS3 (both international versions) (POLL)

[Nvidiaguy07]

Been using a SGS2 for the past two weeks, and for the most part I'm happy with it. Its super fast, and is "good enough" for what i need it for.

The problem is I'm a huge phone nerd, and as much as i like playing around and flashing new roms and all that bullshit, i think i can justify spending money on something I love - rather than spending nothing on something i like.

i got the sgs2 for free basically, so if i sell, ill put that money towards an off-contract phone. assuming both phones are $700 - ill end up actually paying around 300-400 for the phone.

I'm making this thread to weigh pros and cons. I'm assuming this about the SGS3:
released in May/June 2012 (~6 months from now)
720p super amoled screen (probably non-pentile)
much faster cpu/gpu than nexus
much better camera
ics installed with no hardware buttons
NFC working for sure

Gnex:
+available now
+blessed by google
-have a feeling its going to have the shortest life out of all nexus phones - due to high res, and comparably low specs
-crappy camera

I feel like this should be a no brainer. Keep the SGS2 for now, and get the SGS3 in the summer, but heres my problem: The thing the drives me nuts about my current SGS2, is that its not an officail google phone, and updates are slower/more painful than having a nexus phone (i assume)

Like i said, i love flashing roms and all that crap, and being around the i777 forum for the SGS2 is kind of depressing. I hate all the extra work that has to go into porting CM9 to work on it. Not to mention, there are some problems with CM7 on my phone currently (camera mostly). Looking back on my last phone, I really wished I had a nexus S over my captivate just because of the support. Captivate is an awesome phone (same specs and nexusS i think) but it just had many growing pains, and problems with custom, and AOSP roms.

So really the question is how bad do i want a nexus phone, and is the SGS3 going to be faced with the same issues as every other non-nexus phone when it comes to custom roms. If my SGS2 had the same specs, but was a nexus phone, i would keep it, but i hate dealing with the issues im dealing with now.

thoughts?

 

[poofyhairguy]

My guess is that the SGS3 will be pentile, in fact it might outright use the GNex's screen.

What it should have is an amazing SoC, and different options the GNex lacks (SD card slot).

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

My guess is that the SGS3 will be pentile, in fact it might outright use the GNex's screen.

What it should have is an amazing SoC, and different options the GNex lacks (SD card slot).

I'd have no problem with that. 720p with that small of a screen wouldnt bother me. non-pentile might not even be noticeable.

 

[Andrmgic]

If you can pick up a galaxy nexus for a few hundred after selling your SGS II, it would most likely be worth it.

The SGS II has more powerful hardware already, though.. so it really depends on what you think is more important.. pure android and fast updates directly from google.. or having better hardware..

I owned a SGS II.. and I prefer the Nexus.. but that's coming from someone whose ultimate quest for any android device was to rid the device of manufacturer and carrier crap asap..

 

[ilkhan]

I'm assuming SGS3 will use next gen "HD Super AMOLED Plus" which would HD720p+RGB stripe.

Really, without released specs theres no way to tell how good the SGS3 will be.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

If you can pick up a galaxy nexus for a few hundred after selling your SGS II, it would most likely be worth it.

The SGS II has more powerful hardware already, though.. so it really depends on what you think is more important.. pure android and fast updates directly from google.. or having better hardware..

I owned a SGS II.. and I prefer the Nexus.. but that's coming from someone whose ultimate quest for any android device was to rid the device of manufacturer and carrier crap asap..

I think I might end up doing that, because like you, i love the idea of running stock android.

Im the kind of person who - if i bought a new computer, the first thing i would do would be to format, and reinstall windows from a msdn disk. I hate anything not AOSP. Which is a good comparison, because android phones basically are becoming like windows computers with the amount of crap that comes pre-installed. That being said, if i werent ableto install a fresh version of windows on my pc it would be a dealbreaker, so its kind of the same scenario here.

Realistically, after selling and buying a case and all that crap, i would assume im spending 400 on it. I feel like its almost not worth it because its a downgrade in some ways.

What im hoping for with the SGS3 is that its super compatibale with
AOSP roms (international versions usually are) and ill wait for that since the SOC will be a substantial upgrade.

But then again... thats half a year away... and i want my stock experience! (sadly, I have never owned a nexus phone before)

 

[Andrmgic]

Rock your SGS II until CES (January) or MWC.. (Feb) and we should know the specs of the SGS 3 by then.. then you can make an informed decision

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Rock your SGS II until CES (January) or MWC.. (Feb) and we should know the specs of the SGS 3 by then.. then you can make an informed decision

Probably makes the most sense.

Its just gonna taste so bad if i end up deciding to get the gnex then. I already feel bad enough getting the sgs2 so long after it came out, so if it does come to that, ill probably just end up waiting for the next nexus phone.

I know they come out about yearly, but is there a specific month they've been coming out?

In the meantime, ill just use my upgrades to buy and sell the most profitable phone. I usually like to do it the same time i buy a phone off-contract, so it doesn't seem like im spending 700+ on a phone, but Ill just have to remember them money made from that is for a phone.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Its just gonna taste so bad if i end up deciding to get the gnex then.

Why? It should be cheaper then.

 

[gorcorps]

The support for the galaxy S 2 is there and IMO things seem to be moving pretty fast on it. I just got my SGS 2 and started using the unNamed ROM as PHG here and others have suggested. It's basically a stripped down stock firmware, then customized just a tad for bug fixes and such. Since it's stock ROM based everything works at least as good as stock and doesn't have the issues CM7 is having.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

The support for the galaxy S 2 is there and IMO things seem to be moving pretty fast on it. I just got my SGS 2 and started using the unNamed ROM as PHG here and others have suggested. It's basically a stripped down stock firmware, then customized just a tad for bug fixes and such. Since it's stock ROM based everything works at least as good as stock and doesn't have the issues CM7 is having.

I know unnamed and other will run better than CM7, but thats my point. I dont want to have to depend on Samsung to release firmwares, I want to run AOSP roms.

Coming from a captivate, roms like pinnacle and seredipity ran with less bugs than CM7, but thats not CM's fault.

This is why i want a nexus over any other phone. The ability to run AOSP roms without flaw. Im hoping eventually they iron the kinks out with the SGS2, and hopefullt the SGS3 will also be easier to dev for.

 

[Fire&Blood]

IMO, G Nexus isn't as big of an upgrade over the SGS2 as the SGS2 was over the Nexus S. However, if you really want the G Nexus, do not be deterred by the pentile display. It's not an issue.

If you are looking for a phone to keep, stick with the SGS2 until SGS3 or something else shows up. But if you must have the latest then by all means, get the G Nexus.
IMO, out of all 3, G Nexus offers the least value past the honeymoon phase.

 

[swanysto]

Speaking of ICS and not having hardware buttons, can someone explain to me how that won't hamper the ROM installing process? Also, if the phone is soft bricked, won't that make it difficult as well? I am guessing everything with have to be done ADB style from the computer. This seems like a pain, more than a perk.

 

[gorcorps]

I know unnamed and other will run better than CM7, but thats my point. I dont want to have to depend on Samsung to release firmwares, I want to run AOSP roms.

Coming from a captivate, roms like pinnacle and seredipity ran with less bugs than CM7, but thats not CM's fault.

This is why i want a nexus over any other phone. The ability to run AOSP roms without flaw. Im hoping eventually they iron the kinks out with the SGS2, and hopefullt the SGS3 will also be easier to dev for.

Understood, but it's not just a stripped down rom of the stock as it has many more upgrades/tweaks/bug fixes to make it feel different. From what I've seen it's very regularly updated with lots of ICS tweaks being brought in to the rom. You're at the mercy of Samsung for full version updates, but not for any updates to the rom which are often and pretty impressive.

 

[WelshBloke]

I know unnamed and other will run better than CM7, but thats my point. I dont want to have to depend on Samsung to release firmwares, I want to run AOSP roms.

Coming from a captivate, roms like pinnacle and seredipity ran with less bugs than CM7, but thats not CM's fault.

This is why i want a nexus over any other phone. The ability to run AOSP roms without flaw. Im hoping eventually they iron the kinks out with the SGS2, and hopefullt the SGS3 will also be easier to dev for.

Have you tried the latest Oxygen ROM? Thats an AOSP ROM thats not based on CM and usually gets bug fixed pretty quickly. Its also a bit more of a "pure" AOSP version than CM if thats your thing.

 

[Oyeve]

Stick with what you have. Unless you have disposable money then do WTF you want.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Speaking of ICS and not having hardware buttons, can someone explain to me how that won't hamper the ROM installing process?

They only appear on phones without hardware buttons.

Also, if the phone is soft bricked, won't that make it difficult as well? I am guessing everything with have to be done ADB style from the computer.

After you root and install clockwork you can just easily flash any ROM you want.

 

[Andrmgic]

The phone has a hardware power button and hardware vol up/down so you can navigate clockwork recovery without a problem..

 

[Red Storm]

You already have a really nice, solid phone. Stick with it until whatever comes out after the SGS3.

 

[shabby]

Im skipping the gnex mainly due to its lack luster gpu and lack of an sdcard, the sgs2 is more than enough for me right now.

 

[MrX8503]

You'll be updating every 3 months at that rate. Stick with what you have, the SGS2 is a powerful phone.

 

[WelshBloke]

Im skipping the gnex mainly due to its lack luster gpu and lack of an sdcard, the sgs2 is more than enough for me right now.

I used to think this didnt matter if the phone had some decent storage but since its been shown that the 64GB sdhc (and hopefully the 128GB) cards work in modern phones I'm thinking its a bit more relevant now.

 

[Pia]

There's no reason for the SGS3 to have a larger screen than the GNex, nor more resolution at that size, nor more subpixels at that size. RGBG pentile is just better at that high a PPI. Brighter (or more efficient at same brightness), identical to the eye. So it is my guess that the SGS3 will have a GNex display.

 

[Brian Stirling]

I was going to get the GNote but all the issues they've had with the screen has me gun shy. I'll look at the GNex and wait to see if there are any particular issues with its display or other issues but if it looks like the quality is good I may pick one up (I hate being limited with the iP4).

I have to say that Sammy has disappointed me with the QC on the Note and they will have to prove to me they have there problems resolved before I give them any of my hard earned money...


Brian

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

do you have the international SGS2? If so I'll buy it off you and you can get a Nexus!