LG G2 in Lebanon?

vegetaleb wroteMmmm not so good then!
I called LG and they told me price can go from 629 to 669$ depending on the shop.
They said Virgin should have it by now,perhaps I will pay them a visit to try it.
S4 is getting 4.3 very soon and it looks very promising...
Damn I need at least 12 gb of free space so the 16gb version is a no go for me,rather wait 2 more weeks for the 32gb and at the same time watch the S4 4.3 evolution

Why dont you wait for the nexus 5 with 32 GB and android 4.4?

vegetaleb wroteWell nexus 5 would be 8mp instead of 13mp and 5'' screen instead of 5.2'' so no thanks

the difference is negligible between 5 and 5.2 honestly, s4's screen is 5.0

cam eras are not just about MP. the best phone cameras today are 8 MP (iphone 5, nokia 920...) hopefully the nexus 5 would be a surprise in term of camera.

kfc wrote

vegetaleb wroteWell nexus 5 would be 8mp instead of 13mp and 5'' screen instead of 5.2'' so no thanks

the difference is negligible between 5 and 5.2 honestly, s4's screen is 5.0

cam eras are not just about MP. the best phone cameras today are 8 MP (iphone 5, nokia 920...) hopefully the nexus 5 would be a surprise in term of camera.

Nexus 5 to be first smartphone with MEMS camera: fastest on a phone, Lytro like functionality
Posted: 02 Oct 2013, 07:26, by Victor H.Categories: T-Mobile AT&T Verizon Sprint Android Google
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Nexus 5 to be first smartphone with MEMS camera: fastest on a phone, Lytro like functionality
We have already seen from the leaked logs that the Nexus 5 will have an 8-megapixel camera, and some will be quick to utter a collective meh. Don’t be so quick to write it off - the latest diggings in logs reveal that it would be an exciting and first of a kind camera called MEMS.

The cryptic abbreviation is not important - what’s important is that MEMS cameras can focus 7 times faster than current cameras and take multiple images extremely fast. Those extremely quick capture times will allow for a quick succession of shots, and if the object is not moving fast, you'd be able to shoot first and focus later, like on a Lytro camera. Be it daylight or night time, a MEMS camera locks focus in a fraction of a second and multiple times faster than current cameras. The Nexus 5 will likely be the handset that brings the technology to the mainstream.

Nexus 5 to be first smartphone with MEMS camera: fastest on a phone, Lytro like functionality
The secret is hidden in Nexus 5 logs where we see a mention of some component referred to as imx179. Doesn’t ring a bell, does it? Google will quickly reveal however that such a component exists and it is the MEMS camera we just told you about, manufactured by Digital Optics. Altogether, we have the following details about the Nexus 5 camera:

- 8-megapixel unit that is not backside illuminated (not BSI)
- f/2.4 aperture
- sensor size of 1/3.2” (a bit smaller than top shelf smartphones)

So what exactly is a MEMS camera? For the answer, we turn the page back to the future, and that’s our article on the future of smartphone cameras.

MEMS cameras explained

MEMS is short for microelectromechanical technology and the technology differs drastically from the current voice coil motors (VCMs) used in smartphone cameras. It is the same technology that brought us microphone, gyros and barometers in a tiny smartphone. It is extremely precise - made in clean rooms just like all other chips - and is hundreds of times more power efficient.

Nexus 5 to be first smartphone with MEMS camera: fastest on a phone, Lytro like functionality
Voice coil motors are the current technology and they employ technologies that are a bit dated now. Auto-focusing in VCMs happens when a current is sent through a coil causing the moving elements of a camera to move in the direction of a magnet. There are a few set steps for the moving elements and at each one the camera evaluates the focus to determine whether the image is in focus or not (if not it just moves one step further and re-evaluates). It sounds complicated because it is. Plus, with that many steps locking focus could take a whole second. It is also imprecise and noisy.

MEMS technology on the other hand can focus nearly 7 times faster and is much smaller. It uses electrostatic force to draw to solid-state comb-shaped surfaces together, but they never touch and degradation takes much longer. Instead of having multiple moving elements you only have one with extremely quick auto-focus and power consumption of 1mW, hundreds of times less than VCM modules.

All in all, we finally have some clarity on the Nexus 5 camera, one of the latest missing pieces of the puzzle. The Nexus 5 is expected to get officially announced this month, so stay tuned. Right below, you’d find a demonstration of a MEMS camera from MWC 2013.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nexus-5-to-be-first-smartphone-with-MEMS-camera-fastest-on-a-phone-Lytro-like-functionality_id47900

vegetaleb wroteTried the G2 at LG showroom, the screen is very nice though not the best for my eyes because it doesn't have the amoled contrast and the fonts are too small even in max settings.
The speaker as expected is very quiet,I would hate to miss calls because of low volume.
They didn't let me try the BT with my HTC stereoclip to see if the music is loud and clear enough in the car.
S4 is better in every aspects even in design,at least it has some chrome sides.
Though this knox thing on samsung devices is really creeping me out

That is weird! Most of reviews praise the G2 and say it's almost better than S4 (except gsmarena which for some reason loves samsung a lot).

Anyways if you want big fonts you should look and only look at Samsung. One of the reasons I hate touchwiz is because of their big font, big notification icons, big icons, big everything!

After reading almost all of the posts. I think what you want is a phone with good big screen that looks good and has a good cam with the newest cpu, how about xperia z1, it has all what you want, LCD screen, yes led has better contrast but let's face it the colours are not real they look wrong over saturated, it has 20 mp cam although not all about mp but the sensor is the biggest too, the interface is not so great and it looses price fast like all sony but it is a great phone and the highest rated on gsmarena and not plastic and a bigger battery than s4.
If you want a phone to use the z1 is great but if you want a phone to sell in 6 month well android market is not for you go for iPhone

vegetaleb wroteI know very well Android world,I always sold my HTC phones and samsung for only -100$ compared to retail price (when selling).
Even if the S4 price is down to 550$ in 6 months you can sell it for 400-450$ while LG (like for american cars in Lebanon) is not appreciated and will be sold 1/2 the price you sell an S4.
The more a phone is demanded in second hand world the higher you can put the price.
LG phones never had popularity in Lebanon,Nexus 4 is liked by some geeks like us but that's it.
Any way this is the first time I sell a phone after 5 months,it's just that I have problems with my eyes(PC screens kill your eyes) and don't want to put glasses all the time I use my phone.
S5 will not be out for another 8 months :)

Inside sources from Samsung say that they will push back the announcement of the Galaxy S5 and announce it in mid January, meaning it will be released in February. They were disappointed by the sales of the S4, and intend to include a true octa core processor having a 64-bit architecture. If the announcement date is true, then it looks like you're going to have to sell your S4 soon.

vegetaleb wroteDude IF they announce it in mid Jan it will not be out in the market before end Feb early March, meaning not before mid March here.
As usual the price will be pretty much high for a good month then stabilize,so not before mid April to get one.
Mid April is not soon ;)
I am still on the HTC One and planning to get either S4 9505 or Note 3 9005 in the coming 2 weeks.
LG G2 is very deceiving,price is high for a 16gb with no SD slot,camera is slow,BT as I saw the reports is bad for music and finally it doesn't have 1/10 of what the S4 has as accessories...

This is all from GSMArena, though I do agree that if Samsung announces a flagship product at a certain date, it will be out in less than a month. It would not make sense for a company to announce a product and wait a month and a half to release it, people would have forgotten about it. If you read the mobile news trends it makes perfect sense that they're releasing the Galaxy S5 early because first, iPhone one-upped everyone with an almost useless chip operating on a 64-bit architecture, and through their marketing they made people believe that 64-bit wipes the floor with every other smartphone in the market. Second, LG one-upped everyone by releasing an OIS camera which no other device has and did an impressive PR campaign for the phone that wowed people, including me. Samsung is doing EXACTLY as it should by releasing the Galaxy S5 in February to keep up with the smartphone technical trends so they won't end up like HTC, or worse, BlackBerry. I daresay it will reach Lebanon maximum by the end of February. Don't forget that phone vendors are still getting a lot of their phones from third party vendors outside Lebanon, and not just Samsung. I've seen i9505s with firmware designed for the Philippines here, and weirdly enough, contained the option to give you the UI in Arabic. That means there is a chance the phone will get here through third party vendors first when it's released outside Lebanon before releasing it officially through Samsung.

Can you define "slow camera" and tell me where you read that?

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy the G2 from abroad with international warranty?

@kfc i dunno if it's feasible! I bought it from USA but certainly LG Lebanon will never acknowledge it as if it's a device bought in here! You can call LG to be sure!