Sprint Users.. Would you wait for the Galaxy Nexus or get the Epic Touch 4G

What should I do?

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SofaKing

[H]ard|Gawd
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I have an upgrade available right now. I really want the G. Nexus but it seems like Sprint's LTE network is on hold for who knows how long.

The Epic Touch 4G seems like a similar phone in terms of specs with a lower screen res and no LTE. What would you do, [H]?
 
switch to Verizon. ;-)

Seriously, I have Sprint right now. I can't wait to switch to Verizon. Sprint's data network sucks balls.
 
Do you have to upgrade right now? Wait a few days for MWC and see what's out.
 
I was in the same boat 3 weeks ago. I had no intention of getting either phone, but one night of drinks later and I lost my Nexus S. I was going to hold out for the Nexus, but didn't for a few reasons:

1. A friend has it for Verizon so I got to see it first hand and had no idea it was as big as it was. It's too big imo.

2. I don't forsee Sprint's LTE service being available in my area (Orlando) till the end of the year at the earliest, and my next upgrade is in 1.5yrs. I'll hold out until Sprint's LTE service is solid in my area and the phones supporting it are also well received.

I really didn't care for the Epic 4G Touch when I first bought, mainly because I had a helluva time trying to fix my friend's AT&T Galaxy S2 a few weeks prior, so it already put a bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention I absolutely hate the TouchWiz software that's on it with the apps that come preinstalled. The hardware/screen are growing on me every day though, and the minute some ICS Roms + kernels become stable enough for daily use, I'll be free of this shitty TouchWiz software.
 
E4GT now. The GNex doesn't really offer much aside from ICS, and that advantage will go away soon. Personally, the Touchwiz on the E4GT is fine.
 
Galaxy note is rumored to come. :p But yeah at least wait for MWC which is in a few days. Personally I'm jumping ship, tired of Sprint's "2G" 3G.
 
I was in a similar situation a couple weeks back and just went with the E4GT. I don't regret it for a second. Spec wise they're very similar, and the gs2 actually has a better camera. After installing different custom ROMs and tweaking a bit, it's smooth as silk and I have no touchwiz to deal with. Fantastic device.
 
I can give an honest opinion here. I had both phones.

Was on Sprint for two years, bought the Epic 4G Touch when it came out in September, rooted it with a great ROM by Caulk, and ICS theme by Overstew. At the time it was hands down my favorite smartphone ever. Very fast, lightweight, thin, and great battery life. Best Android phone as of September 2011. But Sprint was very spotty in Chicago, sometimes great network, other towns not so good, and the 3G download speeds a re fucking joke, seriously the worst 3G speeds of any carrier. Makes 1xEdge look fast. And 4G WiMax :rolleyes: LOL what a fucking gimmick, good luck even locking onto 4G and holding that signal, and it will drain your battery dead in hours if left on 4G. But the phone itself, the Epic 4G Touch is hands down the best Gingerbread Android phone ever made.

Ok fast forward to January this year, I jumped ship to Verizon and the Galaxy-Nexus, Sprint is a distant memory now, the Epic 4G Touch feels old and outdated, and the Verizon network is light years ahead of Sprint. End of story, Verizon is much better, and the Galaxy-Nexus is the best Android phone PERIOD.

The Nexus has the awesome high res screen, looks much more sophisticated than the low res of the Epic 4G Touch, and full official Android 4.0 ICS is just plain and simple the best Android has ever been, a very mature and redesign of the OS. Even the custom ROM's for the E4GT that try to be ICS, just suck, and are not the real deal.

As much as I loved my E4GT at the time, I love my Galaxy-Nexus a ton more. And Verizon over Sprint LOL, no comparison.
 
FaRKle0079 said:
E4GT now. The GNex doesn't really offer much aside from ICS,
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and on screen buttons, and 720p screen. and NFC, and a bigger battery, and zero shutter lag.

but the s2 also has its ups: better camera and SoC.

owner of a Gnex, brother has an S2

both phones are good, its a tough choice.
 
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DF-1 said:
and on screen buttons, and 720p screen. and NFC, and a bigger battery, and zero shutter lag.

but the s2 also has its ups: better camera and SoC.

owner of a Gnex, brother has an S2

both phones are good, its a tough choice.
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I don't see how on screen buttons is really an advantage though. Have you found NFC to be useful enough that it's a big convenience, or more of an added feature that you don't really use? The only thing the GNex has that I wish the GS2 had is the larger, higher-res screen.
 
My contract is up with sprint in a few months. And more and more I'm getting excited to ditch them and go Verizon.

While I was excited that sprint would be getting the new Nexus phone -- its what? 6 months late to the party?

I've had the sprint Evo 4g the past 2 years. Started off great, 3G is a joke now. and their "4G Wimax" just plain sucks. Even in areas where I get a 4G signal it's constantly crapping out.

The thing that really sealed my rage of sprint is for new years I dropped my phone, and it hit in that perfect spot shattering the screen. No problem really, I've been to an official sprint store and for 30 dollars they replaced the digitizer in an hour and all was good (no insurance or any other gimmicks). Go to the same store and suddenly "they don't do that anymore". And they basically called me a liar for telling them I'd been to THIS very store and had it done before.

After a firm and pissed letter to sprint, even with some sort of credit voucher they said they would give me if i renewed with them I think I'll be jumping ship. Yeah sprint has unlimited data.... but only because it seems to be physically impossible to download anything faster than 100kbps

Sorry for the mini-threadjack, to answer your question -- phone wise go for the Galaxy Nexus. ICS is suh-weet (i have it on my touchpad)
 
I've spent time with both of them and, while the s 2 is very nice, it still seems like a 1st gen candybar design, albeit with great performance and a box screen. The Nexus really feel like something different, the "next gen"design.
 
Sorry to thread jack - Are there any credible rumors that the Note will come to Sprint/CDMA? I have the galaxy S2 on sprint, and I am happy with it, but I would gladly ebay it for the bigger screen.
 
collegeboy69us said:
My contract is up with sprint in a few months. And more and more I'm getting excited to ditch them and go Verizon.

While I was excited that sprint would be getting the new Nexus phone -- its what? 6 months late to the party?

I've had the sprint Evo 4g the past 2 years. Started off great, 3G is a joke now. and their "4G Wimax" just plain sucks. Even in areas where I get a 4G signal it's constantly crapping out.

The thing that really sealed my rage of sprint is for new years I dropped my phone, and it hit in that perfect spot shattering the screen. No problem really, I've been to an official sprint store and for 30 dollars they replaced the digitizer in an hour and all was good (no insurance or any other gimmicks). Go to the same store and suddenly "they don't do that anymore". And they basically called me a liar for telling them I'd been to THIS very store and had it done before.

After a firm and pissed letter to sprint, even with some sort of credit voucher they said they would give me if i renewed with them I think I'll be jumping ship. Yeah sprint has unlimited data.... but only because it seems to be physically impossible to download anything faster than 100kbps

Sorry for the mini-threadjack, to answer your question -- phone wise go for the Galaxy Nexus. ICS is suh-weet (i have it on my touchpad)
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Your not the only one, if things don't improve by August then I'm jumping ship as well dial up might have been ok 15-20 years ago but not now. OP the nexus will at least get the possibility of more updates unless Samsung has been reliable in that aspect, never owned one.
 
I bailed on sprint as well since they informed me after the fact that I no longer get a discount on my last billing cycle. Hey sprint, how about a heads up BEFORE my bill jumps $30. Got my etf and left.
 
FaRKle0079 said:
I don't see how on screen buttons is really an advantage though. Have you found NFC to be useful enough that it's a big convenience, or more of an added feature that you don't really use? The only thing the GNex has that I wish the GS2 had is the larger, higher-res screen.
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The on screen buttons are amazing, especially if you are rooting and using custom roms. I can add new buttons, remove ones I don't like, rearrange them, skin them, color them, and hide them completely if I want to have a 100% full screen view.

I just ditched Sprint for Verizon, and got a Gnex. It's a fantastic phone. The screen is awesome, and the phone looks sleek as hell. ICS is great, and having a bone-stock android device is great. The ease of unlocking and flashing roms is something that will always keep me coming back to Nexus phones.
 
My girlfriend is on sprint and is waiting for the GNex. That phone will have a much greater developer community, along with the CDMA GNex, and it will have the only decent stock ROM out of the 2 phones.

the ET4G on sprint has almost no developer support, and is light years behind in the AOSP front.... easy winner, GNex
 
welp, i got the e4gt. liking it a lot so far and i'll root it and install ICS on it soon.. only gripe is the low resolution of the screen.

i'm too unsure about sprint's LTE network at the moment which directly affects the release date of the gnexus :eek:
 
I would definitely go with the epic touch over the nexus; the only thing the nexus has is lte over wimax but in truth the phone will likely be upgraded before lte is flushed out. In every other way the touch 4g is a better phone.
 
you2 said:
I would definitely go with the epic touch over the nexus; the only thing the nexus has is lte over wimax but in truth the phone will likely be upgraded before lte is flushed out. In every other way the touch 4g is a better phone.
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What makes you say that? The Gnex has a higher resolution display. It's got ICS, will be the quickest to get updates, and is bone-stock android. It looks much sleeker (this is an opinion, and you may disagree, but the all black front face of the Gnex is awesome). And LTE will be nice once it drops.

Best I can tell, the only thing better about the Epic touch is the camera (and thats only megapixels, as if anyone even needs an 8MP photo off a cell phone. Actual image quality I can't say which is better). The only other benefit I see is a MicroSD card slot, but for a lot of people the 32GB on the Gnex I think is quite sufficient.
 
If you have the choice for the Galaxy SII or Galaxy-Nexus on the same carrier, it boggles my mind why anyone would choose the SII over the Nexus. I have both phones, and as fast and slick as the Sprint Epic 4G Touch was, my Verizon Galaxy-Nexus just seems so much more mature and feels truly "next gen".

- 720p HiDef screen
- Android 4.0 ICS
- NFC
- LTE network

Those above four points are not minor updates, they are fucking HUGE compared to the Galaxy SII. Remember when Apple went to the "Retina" display for the iPhone4, Apple was acting like that HiDef screen was the best display since the second coming of Christ. Well for the Galaxy-Nexus it is also a major upgrade over the low res Epic 4G Touch. On a phone with a 4.5" or larger screen, the low res looks very bad, everything is so blown up and large on the Epic 4G Touch, makes it look like an old mans phone for Grandpa.

Android 4.0 ICS, is a major spit and polish to the Android OS, refined it to a diamond. I tried the ICS ROM's for the Epic 4G Touch, and sadly they are just not nearly as smooth or ready yet as compared to the official real deal ICS on the Nexus.

LTE blows away WiMax

NFC can be quite useful, more than I expected.
 
Zorachus said:
If you have the choice for the Galaxy SII or Galaxy-Nexus on the same carrier, it boggles my mind why anyone would choose the SII over the Nexus. I have both phones, and as fast and slick as the Sprint Epic 4G Touch was, my Verizon Galaxy-Nexus just seems so much more mature and feels truly "next gen".

- 720p HiDef screen
- Android 4.0 ICS
- NFC
- LTE network

Those above four points are not minor updates, they are fucking HUGE compared to the Galaxy SII. Remember when Apple went to the "Retina" display for the iPhone4, Apple was acting like that HiDef screen was the best display since the second coming of Christ. Well for the Galaxy-Nexus it is also a major upgrade over the low res Epic 4G Touch. On a phone with a 4.5" or larger screen, the low res looks very bad, everything is so blown up and large on the Epic 4G Touch, makes it look like an old mans phone for Grandpa.

Android 4.0 ICS, is a major spit and polish to the Android OS, refined it to a diamond. I tried the ICS ROM's for the Epic 4G Touch, and sadly they are just not nearly as smooth or ready yet as compared to the official real deal ICS on the Nexus.

LTE blows away WiMax

NFC can be quite useful, more than I expected.
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And by the time LTE is available in most areas the Nexus will be obsolete.
 
HydroBudz said:
And by the time LTE is available in most areas the Nexus will be obsolete.
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Well that is totally dependent on carrier + you're city. I live in a big market, no problem here in Chicago. Verizon has this whole area blanketed in LTE coverage, and I am sure Sprint will too later this year.

But if you live in the sticks or small towns you are SOL either way. But Verizon already has a big LTE market, and just keeps on growing, Sprint will have a lot of catching up to do. And does Sprint have the long term cash flow to build up a strong and stable LTE network all over the U.S. ? That is quite an undertaking for a carrier, to build up a brand new operating network, in all 50 states, and all their individual cities and towns. Takes time and money.
 
Zorachus said:
Well that is totally dependent on carrier + you're city. I live in a big market, no problem here in Chicago. Verizon has this whole area blanketed in LTE coverage, and I am sure Sprint will too later this year.

But if you live in the sticks or small towns you are SOL either way. But Verizon already has a big LTE market, and just keeps on growing, Sprint will have a lot of catching up to do. And does Sprint have the long term cash flow to build up a strong and stable LTE network all over the U.S. ? That is quite an undertaking for a carrier, to build up a brand new operating network, in all 50 states, and all their individual cities and towns. Takes time and money.
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They're still expanding voice, 3G and WiMax around Charlotte. Chances of seeing LTE here by the end of this year is slim to none. I don't expect LTE to be in this area until 2014 sometime at the earliest. Verizon, OTOH, has excellent LTE coverage around Charlotte already and it's only getting better.
 
HydroBudz said:
They're still expanding voice, 3G and WiMax around Charlotte. Chances of seeing LTE here by the end of this year is slim to none. I don't expect LTE to be in this area until 2014 sometime at the earliest. Verizon, OTOH, has excellent LTE coverage around Charlotte already and it's only getting better.
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LTE is the future, and Verizon is the #1 LTE carrier in the U.S. that is partly why I switched to them from Sprint. Plus Verizon's 3G is pretty damn good too, much better coverage and speeds compared to Sprint.

Sprint has their work cut out for them getting their LTE network up and running, let alone LTE coverage all over the U.S. anytime soon.
 
Zorachus said:
- 720p HiDef screen
- Android 4.0 ICS
- NFC
- LTE network

LTE blows away WiMax
Click to expand...

-Screen is nice, no argument there
-E4GT already has 4.0 via Root/ROM, expected official launch within a month
-I have NEVER seen a use for NFC.....
-WiMax exists, and doesn't chew through batteries like a madman.... I get 6-15 hours (depends on my usage) on the stock battery of my phone, without ever turning 4G off, or Wi-fi on.

For all we know, Sprint LTE could be only just as fast their WiMax (~25mbps average down). Both technologies are roughly even, it just depends on what they do with it
 
25mbps down on their Wimax? You're smoking crack if you think those speeds are achievable. Crack I say.
 
The Gnex does have a higher resolution display but the epic touch display is very clear (amoled+); however having said that the display on the gnex is a + in the comparison. Where the gnex has issues are with volume, camera, snappyness, build, display easily scratch. To me (when I played with them) the epic felt better all around. The ICS is really a mute argument as the bootloader on the touch is unlocked and there are ICS roms available.
-
I nkow the gnex has a lot of hype but in my experience (testing of the device) it seemed to have a lot of issues with reception and build (esp the speaker). I chose the razr over the gnex. Having said this - a lot of folks feel the opposite - that the gnex is the best phone out there so I'm expressing an opinion - and some folks share that opinion but a lot of folks disagree.

Viper87227 said:
What makes you say that? The Gnex has a higher resolution display. It's got ICS, will be the quickest to get updates, and is bone-stock android. It looks much sleeker (this is an opinion, and you may disagree, but the all black front face of the Gnex is awesome). And LTE will be nice once it drops.

Best I can tell, the only thing better about the Epic touch is the camera (and thats only megapixels, as if anyone even needs an 8MP photo off a cell phone. Actual image quality I can't say which is better). The only other benefit I see is a MicroSD card slot, but for a lot of people the 32GB on the Gnex I think is quite sufficient.
Click to expand...
 
By the time GNex is released on Sprint, you'll be one or two months from getting the Galaxy SIII or the HTC Evo One... Both are rumored to be released on the May-June time frame. Those two phones are way superior to the GNex and the E4GT. So I believe waiting for the GNex is a stupid decision.
 
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