Rezound or Spectrun

[tdetroit]

HTC Rezound AND LG Spectrum

Well, I have both. I have the LG Spectrum for myself, and bought the HTC Rezound for my partner. We both had the HTC Thunderbolt prior to this but Verizon tempted us with an early upgrade deal, so I took it.

Here's my conclusion (seeing how I rooted both of them and set them up).

1: Camera-They both take capable pics when we're out and running around. The HTC is a bit "warmer" but the LG is a bit sharper. It's a personal preference, but they both do the job, and do it well. Winner-Tie
2: Battery-The LG just lasts longer with daily browsing and Calls. Having said that, my partner is ALWAYS able to plug the phone in....me on the other hand, have to run around campus and can't be near a charger for most of the day, but I still have some juice left at the end of the day. They're both 4G phones with large screens, and they will suck power. Winner: LG but by a small margin.
3: Screen-They're both 720p displays and the .2 difference in size is negligible. Coming from a Thunderbolt, the 4.3" screen was perfect for my partner, I simply wanted something a bit bigger, and having Gorilla Glass was perfect for me, since I'm a bit rough on my phone. Winner-Tie
4: Build Quality-LG is lighter, HTC is heftier but also feels a bit stronger and better built, but in the end it's personal preference. Winner:Tie (Personal preference)
5: UI-Eh...I hate LG's UI, but once rooted, I slapped a custom UI on there anyhow, so this point is moot for me. My partner, and myself, love the Sense UI. Winner: Tie (Personal preference)
6: Connectivity-We've not had any dropped calls but the LG seems to hang on to 4G a bit better than the HTC. We live in Detroit which is a strong 4G market. I had the same issue with my Thunderbolt, where it would drop 4G once in a while. Winner-LG by a small margin.
7: OS-They both come with Gingerbread. Once the HTC is rooted, ICS is an option, not so much for the LG. I can't wait until the Devs come out with an ICS build for this phone or until Verizon upgrades it....BUT you still have to root the HTC to get ICS for now. Winner-Tie, because they both come with Gingerbread out of the box.
8: Dev support-HTC wins this round because the support for the LG is just now trickling in, but it's not enough of an issue for me to switch myself over to a Rezound. Winner-HTC

All in all, it's all about personal preference. They're both great phones. Don't expect the phone to replace a dedicated Dslr or P/S camera, but they both do an admirable job of taking snaps. They're both PHONES....you know-for talking?

That's just my $.2 on the matter.

 

[JeffDenver]

I am going to preface this by saying that since my last post in this thread, a friend of mine actually bought a Spectrum (on my recommendation mind you) and I got a chance to play with it. The Spectrum's display is indeed better (slightly deeper blacks and brighter with better view angles), and it is snappier than the Rezound (though this could be due to Sense...I am currently running stock). I do still think the Rezound is a little better, but I did underestimate the Spectrum. The display makes a lot more difference than you would think.

1: Camera-They both take capable pics when we're out and running around. The HTC is a bit "warmer" but the LG is a bit sharper. It's a personal preference, but they both do the job, and do it well. Winner-Tie

Did you try them at a variety of distances and lighting conditions? It did not look like a tie to me at all. The LG is great as long as you have a lot of light...but it degrades in low light far faster than the Rezound. Badly. The Rezound is also dramatically better on Macro shots.

These are pictures I took with the Rezound that I could not replicate with my friend's spectrum:

View attachment 49655View attachment 49658View attachment 49661View attachment 49663


In normal or bright light though, yes, the Spectrum is comparable to the Rezound. The Spectrum does not have a bad camera, it just is not as versatile.

2: Battery-The LG just lasts longer with daily browsing and Calls. Having said that, my partner is ALWAYS able to plug the phone in....me on the other hand, have to run around campus and can't be near a charger for most of the day, but I still have some juice left at the end of the day. They're both 4G phones with large screens, and they will suck power. Winner: LG but by a small margin.

My friend's battery life is pretty horrible. With the stock battery, neither phone has great battery life but the Rezound can go the same distance as the Spectrum without having to turn off brightness or 4G.

3: Screen-They're both 720p displays and the .2 difference in size is negligible. Coming from a Thunderbolt, the 4.3" screen was perfect for my partner, I simply wanted something a bit bigger, and having Gorilla Glass was perfect for me, since I'm a bit rough on my phone. Winner-Tie

Maybe it is just because I am a graphics nerd and notice this stuff...but I found the LG Screen to be much better. The IPS display is brighter and the blacks are deeper and that results in a much better picture. If you lay this phone next to a Rezound on a table and look at them both at low angles you will see the Spectrum is much clearer and less distorted. This is one area LG kicks ass in. IMO, this is the best display on any smartphone right now.

4: Build Quality-LG is lighter, HTC is heftier but also feels a bit stronger and better built, but in the end it's personal preference. Winner:Tie (Personal preference)

Pro Tip: Get the extended battery for the Rezound...it makes the phone feel very solid in a good way. Also easier to hold. There is empty space in the back and this provides a shock absorber effect. It is almost like getting a case for it.

This is a weak spot with LG...my asked me to locate a good case for his Spectrum and there is NOT a lot out there. I have found one (1) case that will fit the extended battery, and it is sold by Verizon (and it is not even labelled as an extended battery case!). And frankly, the cases they do have for it are Fugly as hell. The Spectrum has a very pretty face but an ugly body.

5: UI-Eh...I hate LG's UI, but once rooted, I slapped a custom UI on there anyhow, so this point is moot for me. My partner, and myself, love the Sense UI. Winner: Tie (Personal preference)

I would say LG is the winner. Because the UI takes up a lot less resources...If you install GoLauncher on both, it will feel snappier on the Spectrum. Apps launch faster on the Spectrum as well. The difference is not night and day, but it was enough that I noticed it. I did not even need to root...GoLauncher is awesome on this phone even stock. By contrast, even when I am not running sense on my Rezound, I am still using it, because HTC won't let me get rid of it. It still sits in the background greedily eating up my system resources like Sally Struthers in a tub of Chocolate Pudding.

And yes, LG's UI is hideous. It is the kind of UI that Apple users would create as a parody for Android. The app drawer feels like they deliberately made it as hard to use as possible. I feel like slapping someone at LG's design dept.

7: OS-They both come with Gingerbread. Once the HTC is rooted, ICS is an option, not so much for the LG. I can't wait until the Devs come out with an ICS build for this phone or until Verizon upgrades it....BUT you still have to root the HTC to get ICS for now. Winner-Tie, because they both come with Gingerbread out of the box.

I would say HTC wins this one...not only is it better supported in the Dev community, but HTC willingly allows you to unlock the Rezound.

Which leads me to the main reason the Rezound is better...it is HTC. HTC is just a better company. Updates will be more frequent, and support will be better and you are less likely to have HTC standing in your way if you want to root.

 

[t35rk]

This same info has been out for months between these two phones. Hopefully you guys that have hands on with the Spectrum and the Rezound can comment on impressions not so readily available elsewhere.

I returned my LG Lucid last week for heat issues and a touch screen that was not on par with HTC's.

Impressions on the touch screen on the Rezound and Spectrum would be appreciated. Also, how do charging times compare? My LG took forever. And also how does call quality and reception compare? Also how about the rear speaker? My Incredible was louder than my LG and sounded much nicer. Any other little tidbits would be appreciated.

Sent from my ADR6300 using DroidForums

 

[JeffDenver]

Impressions on the touch screen on the Rezound and Spectrum would be appreciated.

The Spectrum is definitely less sensitive. You need to press slightly longer for stuff to register. I do not believe this is a matter of hardware (it seems to have normal sensitivity in games for example)...I think LG did this on purpose to reduce accidental clicks maybe. In any event, I personally did not find it a huge deal.

The Rezound is very sensitive. Moreso than my Droid 1 was, and my Droid 1 was pretty sensitive too. You barely have to even graze the screen to get it to register a touch.

Also, how do charging times compare?

The Rezound seems to hold a charge better. But really, I would suggest getting extended batteries for either phone. With extended batteries both phones will make it through a heavy day of use with room to spare.

The Rezound does seem to charge "faster", but I don't know if it is a fair comparison, as my battery has been broken in for months now, and his is brand new.

My LG took forever. And also how does call quality and reception compare?

Superb on both phones. Both have voice cancelling mics and great radios. Reception is awesome on both. IMO the Rezound is slightly better.

Any other little tidbits would be appreciated.

The Spectrum is a fugly phone. If looks matter to you, this will be a factor. It has an awesome display, but the case is ugly, and the cases you can buy for it are even uglier. Especially the one (1) extended battery case. The extended battery for the Spectrum makes it even uglier if that were possible. It juts directly out of the back in a cartoonish way.

As for default cases, the Rezound's feels more comfortable as well. The spectrum's case is a slick fingerprint magnet. The Rezound's back is rubberized, and FAR easier to hold as well as being very resistant to fingerprints. The Spectrum is thinner and lighter without a case though.

 

[Bluesman2008]

I watched the video and this is obviously biased towards the spectrum. He made two mistakes (so far) (and typed in the corrections later) but it's clear he favored the spectrum. He shows the two phones sideways and says the rezound is "rezoundingly thicker". BS. Looks like 1 or 2 mm to me. BFD (if you want to know what that stands for, email me LOL). His "off axis" comments about the rez just don't fly. With mine, I can turn it damned near 90 degrees away and still see the screen just fine.He's upset because he doesn't get the beats audio to sound through his car when he streams it. Well, it's not supposed to. That's not what it was designed for. It was designed for the beats ear plugs that come with the rez.

 

[t35rk]

The Spectrum is definitely less sensitive. You need to press slightly longer for stuff to register. I do not believe this is a matter of hardware (it seems to have normal sensitivity in games for example)...I think LG did this on purpose to reduce accidental clicks maybe. In any event, I personally did not find it a huge deal.

The Rezound is very sensitive. Moreso than my Droid 1 was, and my Droid 1 was pretty sensitive too. [/FONT][/COLOR] You barely have to even graze the screen to get it to register a touch.



The Rezound seems to hold a charge better. But really, I would suggest getting extended batteries for either phone. With extended batteries both phones will make it through a heavy day of use with room to spare.

The Rezound does seem to charge "faster", but I don't know if it is a fair comparison, as my battery has been broken in for months now, and his is brand new.

[/FONT][/COLOR]

Superb on both phones. Both have voice cancelling mics and great radios. Reception is awesome on both. IMO the Rezound is slightly better.

[/FONT][/COLOR]

The Spectrum is a fugly phone. If looks matter to you, this will be a factor. It has an awesome display, but the case is ugly, and the cases you can buy for it are even uglier. Especially the one (1) extended battery case. The extended battery for the Spectrum makes it even uglier if that were possible. It juts directly out of the back in a cartoonish way.

As for default cases, the Rezound's feels more comfortable as well. The spectrum's case is a slick fingerprint magnet. The Rezound's back is rubberized, and FAR easier to hold as well as being very resistant to fingerprints. The Spectrum is thinner and lighter without a case though.

My Lucid touchscreen suffered from more than just being less sensitive. Sometimes it required multiple touches. Many times the accuracy was off. Sometimes high sometimes low. Overall the inconsistency of it was less the one on a HTC device. I could live with "less sensitive" as long as it was consistent.

Sent from my ADR6300 using DroidForums

 

[HowardZ]

Well, the gozilla glass on the LG specs is a plus that isn't talked about much.

When I upgraded my phone about a month ago, I wanted to be able to easily root and ROM as I had been doing on my droid-x using CM9/gummy/AOKP. This is a more important feature for me than cameras or audio.

Motorola is driving people crazy by their newer updates plugging all exploits for rooting and disallowing downgrading to earlier versions. I read the latest update for Razer is the same, and every Verizon motorola phone is going to get one of these OTAs. The pop up gave a choice of OTA now or later, and then keeps coming back. It was a whole lot of work for me to get to rooted 621 on the droid-x (not Milestone X rooted, but 621 rooted), though I later went to AOKP as my favorite ROM. But, if I need blur features like playing video from phone onto my HDTV, I need to restore my rooted 621 nandroid backup.

So Motorola is chasing away all the potential buyers who like to root and ROM. New Motorola phones will come with the latest updates and will be unrootable.

So which manufacturers cater to people who like to root and ROM?

Anyway, for ease of rooting and playing - my choice was the Galaxy Nexus or the Rezound. Both have unlockable bootloaders - makes rooting easy and nice to be able to replace the stock recovery with clockworkmod or Ramon. The Rezound has the better radio - especially in 3G only areas. A coworker has the Galaxy Nexus and has plenty of dropped data events. The one week $50 verizon sale on the rezound made the difference. And now the Rezound has S-OFF.

One poster mentioned his LG is rooted, but does the LG have an open bootloader? Will Verizon's next update to the LG eliminate all hope of ever rooting it again?

We have many choices. It is like buying a car - people have different priorities in the features/advantages of various models.

Howard

P.S. It looks like the LG has an unlocked bootloader. At least they are saying this at rootzwiki:
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/19593-bootloaderlocked-or-unlocked/page__st__10

I didn't know and thus did not consider the LG.

 

[JeffDenver]

Well, the gozilla glass on the LG specs is a plus that isn't talked about much.

Mostly because it isnt as big a deal now as it was in the Droid 1 days. All modern smartphones use similar glass...the only difference is that Gorilla Glass is name brand. All things being equal, I would rather have Gorilla Glass. But I have not really seen a huge difference between the phones that have it and those that don't. Not with 2011 phones and later anyway.

When I upgraded my phone about a month ago, I wanted to be able to easily root and ROM as I had been doing on my droid-x using CM9/gummy/AOKP. This is a more important feature for me than cameras or audio.

Then I would skip both these phones and go with the Galaxy Nexus. That is about as root friendly as you can possibly get and still have a tier 1 phone.

Motorola is driving people crazy by their newer updates plugging all exploits for rooting and disallowing downgrading to earlier versions.

Yeah, it is obnoxious. And they are paying for it. I know for a fact that this policy has turned people off from buying them.

But then people say "So what...most people who buy smartphones are not phone nerds anyway". Thats true. But phone nerds are often the people normal buyers turn to for advice on what to buy.

So which manufacturers cater to people who like to root and ROM?

I would say Samsung and HTC are about even right now. HTC is the only one that officially allows you to unlock as far as I know. But Samsung is definitely not hostile to rooting.

 

[HowardZ]

Correction - it appears from posts on rootzwiki that the LG Spectrum does have an unlocked bootloader

Bootloader...locked or unlocked? - LG Spectrum - RootzWiki - Page 2

I also found that the LG Spectrum will be a GLOBAL phone.
This means that people who travel to other countries can buy and swap the little card and use other carriers.

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/12/2...l-to-be-verizons-first-4g-lte-global-devices/

There are people trying to use the Rezound as a global phone and are finding only limited success and having some difficulties.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1421341&page=59

So, if being able to swap the SIMM card and be on AT&T, T-Mobile, or european cell phone companies is an important feature for you, then the LG Spectrum might be the phone for you.



Howard

 

[Stelv]

Even though the LG Spectrum is a global phone I believe it will only work on CMDA 800, 1900mhz bands, and 700 LTE class 13 bands. So it may work on certain LTE, EV-DO bands but I dont think it will work on another American carrier other than Verizon. I am not totally sure though.

And if you want a phone with a good modding/rom/development community you will have to get a Samsung or HTC.