LG Optimus Pro or Galaxy Note 2?


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I wish they would give you an option to run stock android on your phone from the factory. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to flash a rom for tech savvy peeps.. at least they should give you the option to remove some of their crap..

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Actually you can't disable Touchwiz on Samsung's ROMs, but that's not necessary anymore, because it has improved A LOT compared to earlier versions, now on Android 4.1.2. All apps run VERY smoothly and I had no FCs or lags, ever... That was not true on Andoird 4.0.4... Samsung did a great job starting with the S3 and Note 2. I don't feel the need to run CyanogenMod anymore, because otherwise I would exchange a very polished ROM by a custom AOSP ROM lacking a ton of features that are intrinsically related to TW.

Unless you think Touchwiz is unbearably ugly compared to stock Android, which I have to agree. :/ But anyway, I can live with that for having a phone running smoothly and full of stock features.

There is also Wanam on XDA, which uses Samsungs stock ROMs but a lot more optimized... There are updates from Samsung and better kernels almost every week... My Note 2 can run for 2 FULL DAYS of medium to heavy use on one single charge... That's amazing. I never, ever used the extra battery I got.

For me, it's not about the launcher running smoothly, because frankly I've had Sense on my Incredible that ran smooth for Android 2.x days. It's just a personal preference of stock Android, and not having additional overhead from a manufacturer skin (read: functionality I will never use). Think of it this way: When you buy a Windows PC from a manufacturer (Dell, Asus, HP, Acer, etc.), you get unnecessary bloatware (programs you won't use or need). You end up reinstalling Windows yourself or removing the bloat yourself - that to me is the same process as installing a custom ROM/debloating.

If only you could build your own phone like you could your PC - now that would be sweet ;)

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For me, it's not about the launcher running smoothly, because frankly I've had Sense on my Incredible that ran smooth for Android 2.x days. It's just a personal preference of stock Android, and not having additional overhead from a manufacturer skin (read: functionality I will never use). Think of it this way: When you buy a Windows PC from a manufacturer (Dell, Asus, HP, Acer, etc.), you get unnecessary bloatware (programs you won't use or need). You end up reinstalling Windows yourself or removing the bloat yourself - that to me is the same process as installing a custom ROM/debloating.

If only you could build your own phone like you could your PC - now that would be sweet ;)

LMAO! I was just thinking about this and was going to post pretty much everything you just did..

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For me, it's not about the launcher running smoothly, because frankly I've had Sense on my Incredible that ran smooth for Android 2.x days. It's just a personal preference of stock Android, and not having additional overhead from a manufacturer skin (read: functionality I will never use). Think of it this way: When you buy a Windows PC from a manufacturer (Dell, Asus, HP, Acer, etc.), you get unnecessary bloatware (programs you won't use or need). You end up reinstalling Windows yourself or removing the bloat yourself - that to me is the same process as installing a custom ROM/debloating.

If only you could build your own phone like you could your PC - now that would be sweet ;)

I agree. But anyway, I don't see Touchwiz as such an overhead anymore. I get zero lag on the UI, but I think stock Android is way more beautiful.

Although if you have the "need" to debloat the OS, then you're automatically more tech-savvy and then you should consider Wanam or other custom ROMs. The only thing you'll lose is beauty, because TW is indeed horrible, but as of now, pretty lag-free on every aspect.

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Also, remember, TouchWiz is more than just the launcher. It's the suite of tools they bundle and replace stock tools with. It's the launcher. It's the skin. It's a whole layer.

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I agree. But anyway, I don't see Touchwiz as such an overhead anymore. I get zero lag on the UI, but I think stock Android is way more beautiful.

Although if you have the "need" to debloat the OS, then you're automatically more tech-savvy and then you should consider Wanam or other custom ROMs. The only thing you'll lose is beauty, because TW is indeed horrible, but as of now, pretty lag-free on every aspect.

Even if Touch Whiz only took 500K in memory, I still would not want it because I do not like how it functions or feels..

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Even if Touch Whiz only took 500K in memory, I still would not want it because I do not like how it functions or feels..

I don't like it either, but the gorgeous huge screen, the s-pen, 2 GB of memory and great performance + battery life are waaaay more important to me.

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See, my take on it is best demonstrated by the TouchWiz alarm clock... It was great and outclassed the standard Android alarm clock. Moreover, it outclassed the alarm clock that I purchased off Google Play. Yay, go touchwiz.

Then android got updated. As did the stock alarm clock with much better options, settings, features, look, etc. Now I am stuck with this lesser alarm clock from Samsung, and yet the stock one it replaces is actually superior!

I don't like it either, but the gorgeous huge screen, the s-pen, 2 GB of memory and great performance + battery life are waaaay more important to me.

So you get a Note 2 and ROM it!?

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See, my take on it is best demonstrated by the TouchWiz alarm clock... It was great and outclassed the standard Android alarm clock. Moreover, it outclassed the alarm clock that I purchased off Google Play. Yay, go touchwiz.

Then android got updated. As did the stock alarm clock with much better options, settings, features, look, etc. Now I am stuck with this lesser alarm clock from Samsung, and yet the stock one it replaces is actually superior!

So you get a Note 2 and ROM it!?

Can't you just install Google's alarm clock on TW?

Yes, I get a Note 2 and ROM it with a modified optimized stock rom. Works great. Even so that I'm actually bored by the plain functionality. lol

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Cheers. I was looking at Omega. You like it I assume, good Pen functionality with no TouchWiz bloat?

It's great. And it updates pretty often, immediately after Samsung's new updates.

I don't know what you may like or dislike on TW, but anyway, you can remove the bloat you don't want on Application Settings.

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Thank you all that provided you opinion. I think I will go with Sammy. This is because I have found out the LG Optimus Pro won't be available in Australia (prove me wrong? I hope I am wrong: http://www.pcworld.i...ia_confirms_lg/). There is one place that might sell it but chances are it will be carrier branded one with unremovable crapware installed. I don't want to get another branded phone.

I hope not to be disappointed. My current Android is a Sammy Captivate Glide and the slider has loosen up very badly and is very irritating. When the phone is closed, when I touch the screen it wobbles (the space between the two parts of the phone) so I am really disappointed with this phone. I feel like gluing the two parts together so it won't wobble when I use it. The keyboard is next to useless anyway (in my own view) with the flat keys.

I originally wanted a nice an solidly built keyboarded Android but at the time the only choice I had was the Moto Droid 3 and the Sammy Glide. The only reason I went for the Glide is because of the RAM size 1GB vs Droid 3's 512MB (Your loss Motorola) otherwise I would have chosen the Droid 3. Droid 4 is US only as far as I am aware (again your loss Motorola). I am deciding to go with a bigger screen Android hoping I will have more comfort over the soft keyboard and the LG Optimus Pro (which I may not be able to get) and Note 2 are valid options. I don't know of any other high end phones with keyboards so I have to stick with bigger screens.

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I had the chance to play with a Note 2 and an LG Optimus G (not the pro) and wow I was impressed by the UI smoothness of the LG Optimus G as well as the built quality and its rectangular flat shape.

I also played with a few Samsung devices but I was not equally impressed. I made a decision not to get the Note 2 and would go with an LG device instead but one that comes with removable battery and expendable storage.

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Get the Note 2. The phone is amazing with superb battery life, screen quality and features. Thus the S-Pen may not be useful on a daily basis, but you can use it to hover over webpages sometimes and for precision with the cursor. It's nice. :D

I agree. The Note 2 is the best phone that I've ever used.

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The Note 2 is amazing. powerful and incredible battery. There are also 100s of custom ROMs, kernels, themes etc with massive community support on XDA. LGs are hard to root and there are hardly any custom ROMs.

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I tested 3 or 4 (don't remember) Note 2s and for all I experienced "stuttering" when I did the following:

- From the "all applications" menu, make sure you have "Applications" selected from the top left corner and not "Widgets"

- Close down "all applications"

- Open "All applications"

- Select "Widgets" and slide to the left a few times

When I did the above combo, I experienced non-fluid animation. This does not fill me with confidence about the Note 2.

Can you please try the above and see if you can reproduce it? I would really like to know and also why I experienced these non-fluid animations with (at least) three different devices.

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I tested 3 or 4 (don't remember) Note 2s and for all I experienced "stuttering" when I did the following:

- From the "all applications" menu, make sure you have "Applications" selected from the top left corner and not "Widgets"

- Close down "all applications"

- Open "All applications"

- Select "Widgets" and slide to the left a few times

When I did the above combo, I experienced non-fluid animation. This does not fill me with confidence about the Note 2.

Can you please try the above and see if you can reproduce it? I would really like to know and also why I experienced these non-fluid animations with (at least) three different devices.

I can't reproduce that. However I am running Apex Launcher, with Monx's ROM and Persues Kernel. This is still a Touchwiz based ROM, just optimised. Everything runs smoothly, no problems with animations.

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I can't reproduce that. However I am running Apex Launcher, with Monx's ROM and Persues Kernel. This is still a Touchwiz based ROM, just optimised. Everything runs smoothly, no problems with animations.

No, you need to use the stock launcher, not Apex. I use Atom on my Glide and it is as smooth as silk, no stuttering what's so ever on my Glide and I am sure there won't be any issues on the Note 2 but here I am just making a point. Some little glitches/first impressions like this makes me question the quality of the device/software especially with the loose slider issue I have with the Glide. If anyone is using the stock launcher/ROM please test it.

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If anyone is using the stock launcher/ROM please test it.

You should head over to XDA...all your questions will be quickly answered..

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Alright alright, I give up. It's gonna be the Note 2 :)

So many positive reviews cannot be wrong: http://reviews.cnet....7-35426722.html + many others.

There are many, many versions for the Note 2 software. It's actually very complicated to track. But you can use custom ROMs and update to the newest with rooting and CWM on stock.

Check my older posts here on this thread. There's no stuttering I guarantee. :)

The problem is Samsung has no unity with software updates. Gotta do it yourself. :/

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