V12

I appreciate the time and effort that everyone put into addressing my questions. Thank you for your responses. However, now I'm reading about touch screen and LTE reception issues being reported in the G2 users thread. So at this point, I may hold off to see how Lg responds to the apparent problems with their latest flagship device. This could be very telling for Lg's future as a high end Android OEM.

Questions for those in the know, regarding the Lg G2 and the Tulsa/Oklahoma market. Will/is there multiple lte bands available to be able to utilize the G2 for its tri- band capabilities within the next 2 year contract period. From what I've been reading here, tri-band support is what really differentiates the G2 from the Note 3. I currently own the HTC One, and if it was at least 5", I wouldn't even be eyeing a new handset, because to me screen size is the only thing newer flagships would have over the One. SD card and removable battery is not a factor for me. I've read that the Note 3 is a beast. But, I'm not sure that I would utilize its stylus capabilities or need a screen that large. Also being priced at $350 is a negative. I've never owned Lg, and I just wanted some opinion on the G2, given my concerns. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Edit: also I'm not sure how much longer the G2 can be had on pre-order for $99. $99 or $350? Hmmm Thank you.

That's true. Even more for Lg and Samsung it's about having some control and expertise in the development and sourcing of parts. When you can develop and buy screens and chips from yourself, especially if you're in the business of selling them, that can only help improve profitability. Additionally, back to clout and having the same flagship worldwide. When Samsung/Lg and HTC go to source a part, guess who's getting priority and better pricing. There's no substitute for the competitive advantage of economies of scale. I can't help but to also wonder what would the impact have been to the overall success of the One if Verizon was onboard at launch. What's the real back story to that? Does that also speak to clout with the carriers, how does Verizon call that One. (Pun intended)

Being successful in the worldwide smartphone marketplace is complicated. But guess what Samsung figured it out. HTCs demise has also been complicated, but also assisted by Samsung. The fundamentals of HTCs earlier successes, as Jeff and others have noted above proved to be detrimental after Samsung so astutely changed the game for all Android OEMs. Not going back too far, but HTC had the Hero variants, as an alternative for those on carriers, which at the time was really everyone else besides At&t, without the iPhone. They really made hay when they introduced the Evo on Sprint. This was essentially the start of the spec race, as HTC started the trend of using quality screens and components. HTC then subsequently released variants on other carriers. They key word here is variants, let's hold that thought for a moment. Meanwhile Samsung was having moderate successes as well. However the were plagued by quality issues and a reputation of having too many handsets and not supporting them. I remember when Samsung was the whipping boy on every Android site. However Samsung had the right people in place to get then on track, realising that by mimicking Apple's tactics, and in some cases taking them even further, they could become very successful. Starting with the S2 they were able to get basically the same handset on every carrier, worldwide with a few exceptions. The S3 proved to be a watershed moment, as the were now an Android OEM with Apple clout, as Samsung pulled of basically a worldwide launch of the same handset with virtually no carrier changes. Now let's merge these scenarios. As HTC continued down the road of carrier exclusives, some successful some not. They were not able to get a single handset to become a worldwide hit. Samsung was able to turn around thier image and success by utilizing focused marketing and support of defined flagship handsets. I believe HTC missed and opportunity with the Evo lte and the One X. Many would argue as I would that the Evo was a better specced variant, that was exclusive to Sprint. I would also argue as some here have pointed out that the Evo lte issues were magnified and related to Sprints launch of its unique lte network. (With the latest update my Evo which is now handed down, works pretty good.) Even here on this board there are varying assessments of performance. Just imagine if the Evo variant would have launched worldwide as the One X on more standard networks. I believe there may have been a much lower % of reported issues and HTC could have achieved S3 success. Even the S3 had some issues. Lastly, now that Samsung has changed the Android game and has more clout than any other OEM besides Apple, they are able to manipulate and influence the supply chain. IIRC the ONE was to be 5" initially. Also IIRC there were reports that Samsung was changing display tech for the S4. Looks to me that Samsung tied up the market limiting HTC and making a 5" S4 more attractive to some than a 4.7" ONE. I also recall news reports that HTC had problems sourcing many parts, delaying the launch of the ONE by many weeks. Samsung is vicsous. Now that Samsung is the undisputed leader in high end, they are free to flood the low end now squeezing OEMs. At this point I'm not sure what HTC can do to regain a foothold in the market, besides eliminating carrier exclusives and building on the next iteration of the ONE, marketing the hell out of it. SD cards and removable batteries don't matter at this point, it's all about changing perceptions. I'm pulling for HTC because its good for competition and I'd hate to see a market continued to be dominated by Samsung. I apologize for the length, I've been thinking about this for a while and had to get it out.

I do like the shape of the gs3 and gs4. It was hard for me to choose between the gs3 and the Evo. But the materials used was more important to me than the shape of the gs3. It would have been perfect if the Evo had the same materials with the shape of the gs3. Thinking back, that was a tough decision to make. But I know I made the right one for me every time I pick up my wife's plastic gs3.

I would also reccomend going to a store and trying each phone for yourself. I have gone and done this. My impressions are as follows: 1. Yes both are great phones and have very similar specs as noted. 2. As far as screen goes, I would give the gs4 the edge on size. At 5" , it's pretty amazing that they were able to fit that screen into basically the same footprint as the gs3 and the One. On the other hand, the screen on the One is gorgeous. So for me the beautiful screen on the One trumps the 5" screen on the gs4. 3. As far as the gimmicks that both phones promote, its true that the majority won't matter after a short time. It was noted they could just be ignored. Unfortunately the features on the gs4 has shown to slow down the phone, as I did notice lag. Additionally, I would often use the Boomsound and the Zoe features of the One. 4. The overall experience of the One was smoother due to Sense 5 as opposed to touchwiz and the lag noticed on the gs4. 5. Regarding expandable memory and removable battery. The gs4 does get the nod for being able to swap batteries out. However, I currently own the Evo lte and battery always lasts between 1 and 2 days, and fully charges in about 3 hrs. I'm sure I would be okay with the One's battery. Even though the gs4 does have a micro SD card slot, its widely reported that the base 16gb handset has only 8gb of usable space. Whereas the One's base 32gb has 26.1gb usable space, and can be had for $100 less than the gs4. This is the lowest I've seen on Amazon recently. This could be seen as a wash, but for me the One wins out. 3x usable space for less money, and I'm no where near to filling up the 32gb card in my Evo lte. 6. Finally, build quality is considered subjective, and like the other factors, could be a wash. The other categories can go either way or one phone may have a slight edge over the other. But for me, build quality is overwhelmingly in the One's favor. I urge anyone who hasn't held an HTC One, to do so. Its a marvel of technology and looks and feels like a $700 handset. I'm dissapointed that not much of the exterior of the gs4 has changed from the gs3. I know plastic works for Samsung and their customers. But I wanted to see just a little innovative and not such a safe approach taken on Samsung's part. Again this is my opinion, and I respect everyone's perspective. They are both great phones. However, HTC took the chances and came up winners when their future survival depended on it. I believe some of their innovations, like front facing speakers and camera, will become staples in future OEM offerings.

I used to suffer from very poor 3g service all over the city. But now it seems that for about the last 6 months or so, there has been a noticeable improvement in service. I can actually now go into a Google search directly from Google Now, and have results return without timing out like it normally did before. Of course this is in areas that had pretty decent existing voice coverage. However, along with LTE, I hope improvements will also come in overall coverage. I live in the SW part of the metro and there along 75 and coming in from downtown on 75 around the train yards, getting and holding any type of a signal can be difficult. (You know, now that I think about it, I wonder if the issue could be related to the train yard itself or the density of the commuters on that particular stretch of highway.) Believer it or not, but Tulsa is a fairly dense city, especially in quite a few areas. I have relatives in the area that you mention, 91st & Mingo. It is dense and getting denser with neighborhood developments, new apartment complexes, hotels, as well as hospitals. So, it's not surprising you had trouble in that area. From my limited knowledge I believe this can be alleviated to an extent by adding additional carriers. I hope the experts here will set me straight on this as well as the issue experienced along 75 heading into and out of DT Tulsa. Will any of NV help in these instances?

Yep, I have an airave, and I'm in Jenks, off of Main St. half a mile east of 75. I can't get a decent signal until I get half way to Tulsa Hills, Riverside, or the Creek Tpk. Calls go straight to voicemail if I'm 20 feet beyond my driveway in my neighborhood. Do you guys believe the Glenpool tower you and lynyrd65 have been discussing will impact my voice or data coverage? Early on, from everything that I was hearing on here, I thought that NV work wouldn't impact coverage. Now with recent discussions, I'm not so sure.

I thought you meant that it had already been returned to you. Okay got it now, thanks!

Soooo....what was repaired? And if they didn't admit to anything being wrong, what did they actually do then? And is the operation of the device different than what it was before you sent it in to HTC? I guess that I'm the only one that's confused on how you know something was repaired. Please let me know if I'm missing something.

Thanks for the once through. I've been trying to pick up a few things here and there along the way. But, I think I'm just becoming more dangerous! I took Robert's comments about not upgrading the legacy network in places where they are actively deploying NV to include backhaul as well. But I now gather that there must be a great deal more to upgrading the network than just backhaul, and it would appear that upgrading backhaul is a necessary first step in kicking off NV! Or is it a component of NV??? I think I got it though! Thanks!

Lately I have noticed that, when I have been out and about town and Googled something, its been much faster. That is good, because it has been an absolutely awful mobile experience the last several years. But I'm confused, was upgrading the backhaul already in the works? Taking Robert's comments above into consideration, would they do this work if it wasn't NV related? Anyway I wish adding sites were also part of the plan, without an air rave service at home is nonexistent for several blocks in all directions. Not even voice mail. It looks like Oklahoma's 2 metro areas are slowly being closed in on. Ardmore from the SW, Wichita and Joplin from the N, and Ft. Smith from the W. I would have thought we would have LTE before most if not all of these places. But I can't wait for LTE nonetheless. Yes I live in Jenks. I have 2 daughters in Jenks, I however graduated from BTW. That was not a pretty game this year. I was torn.

+1000 Any update on the Oklahoma market? Just hoping there is some news or development.

Upgraded my wife's sgs2 to the sgs3 for .96 cents @ Sam's Club. The entire process went surprisingly well. I don't do lines. To ensure that I would get a phone, I went in on Wendsday and paid $148, and then sent the kids in Friday morning to wait in line for the price adjustment. And what a line it was, so I'm told. She loves the phone btw...Other than this most recent instance, 1.) initially ported lines in corporate store. 2.) Retentions offered early upgrades via tele-sales due to poor service quality issues. 3.) Upgrades at Best Buy due to convenience (ALL Corporate stores are in heavily congested areas of the city, and BB in Tulsa Hills less than 5 minute drive) and instant rebates. BB usually knowledgeable and friendly staff. Most recently started price matching websites. Which is good because I would rather deal with my local BB than Amazon Wireless. Can handle any issue face to face.

If all of this indeed turns out to be the case, I will be in the nearest Sprint store before you can spell LTE. I've been sitting on an upgrade for quite awhile, waiting it out to make sure there is a fix available before being locked into a two year obligation with a faulty device. However, during this wait the Optimus G has caught my eye. I know the Lg is quad core, 2gb ram, zero gap, and a few more goodies, but I do love me some HTC. Also, if the above update rumors are true, the evo will now be on Jelly Bean and the Lg waiting still. We know their history, but Lg could turn it around, ala Samsung. With the Nexus program and the Optimus G, Lg has the potential to break into the Android big boy ranks (Samsung, Motorola, HTC) maybe even take HTC's spot. So bottom line crew, what would you do, take a chance on a Jelly Bean packing rejuvinated Evo 4g lte, an unproven ICS spec'd out LGOG beast, or wait it out again on a potential Q1 2013 4th generation Evo? How say ye?