Fall of Dawn: LG Optimus One Vs Samsung Galaxy 551

Started this poll as Galaxy3 & Optimus1 can't be compared directly as both differ in price from 500 to 2000 in some place but the Galaxy 551 & Optimus One are of same price (LG O1 at 12,599 vs G551 @ 12,799, ignore the small price difference).

so guys, vote for the mobile you think is the perfect budget Android. below are specs of Galaxy 551 in comparison to LG O1, to ease out the strength & weaknesses of both at the same time:

*mynewmachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/LGOptimusOneP500.jpg *mynewmachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/samsunggalaxy551.jpg

Screen: both 3.2" but Galaxy 551 has resolution of 240 X 400 vs 320 X 480. but Galaxy 551 packs in 16M colour but Optimus One uses a 266M screen (not much of a difference).

OS: both runs on the 2nd latest Android version (as on time writing this poll) i.e. Android 2.2 aka Froyo. but Samsung uses touchwiz 3.0 UI over the stock Android UI, while LG packs the LG launcher (homescreen taskbar).

Connectivity: both have 3G (HSDPA @ 7.2Mbps) & Wifi b/g (GSM Arena & flipkart states that Samsung one have "n" bandwidth coverage also, if someone can please verify this)

Processing Power: Samsung 551 has processor running at 667Mhz along with 256Mb ram & inhouse graphics compared to LG Optimus One's 600Mhz Qualcomm processor with 512Mb ram & Adreno 200 graphics (which is better than the graphics of its competitor).

Input: LG Optimus One have 4 H/W keys (for the menu, home, search & back) but relies on on-screen keyboard for the main inputting. Galaxy 551 have 3 keys (menu, home & back) but have a H/W keyboard with 4 rows of keys (H/W keyboard is always better than onscreen keyboard).

Camera: both have a 3.2Mp camera with just autofocus. no flash, no lens cover. but LG O1 captures video at 18FPS but Galaxy 551's FPS isn't mentioned, but taken as 15FPS same as G3. in short, video caught from both these mobiles, SUCKS.

Battery Life: not taking in the talktime & standbytime as stated by their respective companies, LG Optimus One usually lasts for around 2days with moderate usage under best scenario thanks to its 1500mah battery. Samsung Galaxy3 (i know what i talking) lasts for 1.5days if used with the stock firmware (cause of some battery bug, modded firmware based on Froyo resolves it). it too uses a 1500mah battery. but Galaxy 551 uses a 1200mah battery (to make space for the H/W keyboard). so i don't expect more than 1.5days of battery life under best scenario (Froyo is optimized for speed & memory. indirectly increasing battery life. also a touchscreen being used eats more power than a touchscreen + H/W keys).

Weight: LG Optimus One weights just below 130gram which many may consider heavy. well Samsung Galaxy 551 goes 1 step ahead (actually 2 step) & weights at 156gram (well quite heavy). the extra weight is definitely from the H/W keyboard.

so basically this is it. please don't discuss about service provided by both or upgrade to newer OS as nobody can guarantee about the service one will get or when they'll be updated to newer OS. when they are released, i'll edit my post. thank you & let the poll begin.

Where is the poll by-the-way ?

Since no reviews are available yet for the 551, it is difficult to judge only by the specs. Still if we consider the features to be equivalent to the Galaxy 3, I'll vote for the 551 for overall aspects (including Samsung's reliability over LG)

had the battery been better and also resolution been better, i would have supported galaxy 551 but since optimus one is better in this field, i support it. its battery is very good. i am an owner of this awesome phone. hardware keyboard is not a matter of concern for me as i don't send too many messages. so it's no point for me to take hardware keyboard as it increases the weight too much. also 16M screen is better than 265k but battery and resolution are much more important for me. also 512 MB RAM is certainly better than 256 MB RAM!!!!!!

I can type faster on a capacitive touch then a hardware keyboard So I will blindly go for optimus one!

I wont compare it spec to spec... if somebody wants qwerty keyboard he should go for samsung 551

But if qwerty keyboard is left aside I would vote LG optimus one for its better resolution, better graphic chip and more RAM

S

According to my usage, It would be LG optimus one

i choose optimus one mainly cause of better battery life & higher resolution screen. had Samsung used a higher resolution screen, even 14k looks for such a mobile. sadly, Samsung yet to learn.

R

i am in a very big dilemma as to go with which one???? as i have closely shortlisted to these two phones,,,,

Samsung 551 has the wifi n capability.... and QWERTY keypad,,,

also one advice from some tech person 667 Mhz with 256 RAM is better or 600 Mhz with 512 RAM,,, :-|

^^ Obviously, the 512 mb ram would be still better even with a bit slower processor(as like with a pc).

But since I have no hands-on experience with phones, I can't understand how much important ram is for a phone.

(Sometimes I fell so weird that 5 yrs. ago,I I bought a pc with 256 mb ram & now smartphones have double of that.)

N

@rsk
Both phones works smoothly, thus processing power is same. So I think phone with better RAM and good resolution is way to go (as long as QWERTY is not a must needed feature)
And about wifi-n take a look at gsmarena's artical on wifi-n and bluetooth 3.0

@paul
I know that, even I had a PC with mere 128 MB of RAM 7-8 years ago :-D

i used to have a PC with 256Mb ram where i used to play FEAR (slide show FPS). i hope O1 can perform better :smile:

R

Bought Samsung Galaxy 551 at 13400 Rs,, now awaiting to explore its features,,, and download lots and lots of android applications , games, widgets etc please suggest me some site where i can download lots of apps, also does this phone need antivirus?

S

rsk11584 said:
Bought Samsung Galaxy 551 at 13400 Rs,, now awaiting to explore its features,,, and download lots and lots of android applications , games, widgets etc please suggest me some site where i can download lots of apps, also does this phone need antivirus?

plz post your reviews

I would pick Samsung 551. After using landscape qwerty on n900, I favour this kind of keypads now.

+1 for galaxy..
hardware keys make lot of difference for me

M

I think its an upgrade over galaxy 3 for those who complained that galaxy3 looks like its plastic and is unattractive.

Sam.Shab said:
i choose optimus one mainly cause of better battery life & higher resolution screen. had Samsung used a higher resolution screen, even 14k looks for such a mobile. sadly, Samsung yet to learn.

you always talk about battery life. why? do you have a free voice plan? unlimited calls?

battery shouldn't be such a big criteria. carry your charger with you.

it annoys me that a post i make after 7 hours get merged as double post.

look my first post here was around 1 pm in the afternoon, its 2 am the next day and my post is merged

^^I don't believe it...nobody has free voice plans or unlimited calls but the time we all spend online on our mobiles because we cannot carry our computer or laptops everywhere makes battery drain faster. I always check my gmail and facebook on my mobile on the go. It consumes battery! I am surprised to see such post!

It is also not feasible or look OK to plug in charger everywhere...so it is a big criteria to have good battery life! duh man...this is basic!

@gagan007: correct gagan. Batteries should be the primary criteria for selecting a mobile phone. If it was not important I would have bought spice mi300!!!!!!!!!

M

gagan007 said:
^^I don't believe it...nobody has free voice plans or unlimited calls but the time we all spend online on our mobiles because we cannot carry our computer or laptops everywhere makes battery drain faster. I always check my gmail and facebook on my mobile on the go. It consumes battery! I am surprised to see such post!

That is called Humor! Duh!
Perhaps, I should be surprised that some of them here didn't it.

It is also not feasible or look OK to plug in charger everywhere...so it is a big criteria to have good battery life! duh man...this is basic

Whoa! I didn't know!!! (This is sarcastic, btw. I'm sure you wouldn't have understood)

That said, its not such a big deal either. Don't you carry yours with you? Dont you charge in your car? don't you carry your charger to your university or work place?
I'm on GPRS all the time, I charge in my car when I am traveling. I also have more than one phone (gprs enabled), and a laptop(datacard internet).

me1 said:
I think its an upgrade over galaxy 3 for those who complained that galaxy3 looks like its plastic and is unattractive.

but from looks, its almost same. yes, 1 difference which i noticed (correct me if i missed) is G551 isn't glossy like G3. which is good. as it won't shine in your face while using it outside.

me1 said:
you always talk about battery life. why? do you have a free voice plan? unlimited calls?

other gave their own opinion & my opinion isn't any different still as you asked something, so replying. first of all, Android is power hungry. many services run in Android all the time. with Nokia, one can get 2-3days of backup. with Android, 2 days at max (under light usage). now these mobiles (sub 15k Androids) will mostly be brought by students & college goers. and, forget calls, most will use it to access net, music, videos, games, etc. and these are all heavy tasks. will drain battery empty by evening time.

now the problem. a new battery, if providing 2 days backup will offer backup of around 1-1.5days after 6month. so under heavy use, current mobiles will have juice in their battery till afternoon. than?

me1 said:
battery shouldn't be such a big criteria. carry your charger with you.

yes, for most it isn't. for those who work or stays at home, it isn't. but for students (most of us here are). it matters as much as aesthetics.

me1 said:
it annoys me that a post i make after 7 hours get merged as double post.

look my first post here was around 1 pm in the afternoon, its 2 am the next day and my post is merged

complain to admin about it.

gagan007 said:
It is also not feasible or look OK to plug in charger everywhere...so it is a big criteria to have good battery life!

yes. that true. i never carried my mobile charger to college (maybe only once i did).

me1 said:
That said, its not such a big deal either. Don't you carry yours with you? Dont you charge in your car? don't you carry your charger to your university or work place?

for those who work, its easy. but for us, students, we don't own a car :smile:

hey guys ... im in dilemma about wich mobile to go for .... My father wants to buy a new fone with GPS n WiFi ..... i prefer the OS to b Android .... Wat should i choose .... My budget is around 10-12K

M

I'm not working either.
Even the best of smart phones, wil need chargin atleast once a day, and sometimes twice based on your usage. If your usage is heavy, then you will have to find alternatives..
Im not sure if this is a possible option, but you can also get yourself an additional battery. like the one we get for iphones, where you can plug in the battery to your phone, and it starts charging the phone.

yes, but AFAIK, all Android based mobiles last 1day under usage & someone migrating from Symbian (nokia mainly) to Android may miss to complaint that Android is a bit complicated to use at first, but won't miss that Android mobile gives noticebly less backup. LG O1 seems to be one of few Android mobile capable of providing backup for 2days. i read in flipkart today that Galaxy 551 needs to b charged 2 times daily. a penalty for using 1200mah battery.

M

I don't know about the samsung phone, but optmus one needs to be charged more than once a day.
My phone was fully charged around 11 pm last night, its almost 4 am now, and I will need to charge again.
I didnt do much except for one phonecall, and some internet usage.

Ok, I plugged in my charger to see how much of battery is left
It shows 26% charging. Now, you do the math.
Its used up around 80% of battery in just about 4 hours

^^ I charge my lg optimus one p500 once in about 1.5 or 2 days and I use my phone much more than you. If at night you lose do much battery then use airplane mode.

me1 said:
Its used up around 80% of battery in just about 4 hours

80% battery in 4hrs? what were you using your mobile for? heavy multitasking?

but from lot of posts (not in TDF) i came to know LG O1 can last 2 days if used well & 1 full day under heavy usage.

M

I wish I could multitask, my phone does not allow that. I am assuming its not the phone but the internet speed that does'nt allow multitasking. Those who are on wi fi can answer this better..

As for charging once a day, there have been times when I have used my phone for 24 hours, but not more than that. And, that is only when I have use my phone for the purpose of calling and texting, and some essential online work.

me1 said:
I wish I could multitask, my phone does not allow that. I am assuming its not the phone but the internet speed that does'nt allow multitasking. Those who are on wi fi can answer this better..

how is multitasking related to net speed?

well LG O1 do not have a great battery up.. it last for not more than 1 day..

i use dis phone for browsing and calling in daytime..

i don't think any Android mobile have a good battery backup. those who used HTC (Android) mobiles will praise LG & Samsung (not this one). it sounds & actually is funny that HTC couples a 1200mAh battery with 3.8-4" screen. AMOLED or whatever low power screen they use helps very little in this case.

R

low battery backup or power hungry phone is the most common complaint of android phones / smart phones even if we dont use wifi, gps etc the backup does not improve much,,,

M

Sam.Shab said:
how is multitasking related to net speed?

If what you do, has to do with net speed..then its related

me1 said:
If what you do, has to do with net speed..then its related

got it now

S

galaxy 551 is the best

Samsung p551 way better..Android 2.2
touchscreen qwerty 16m colour
perfect Android phone,better than
Optimus one,Galaxy 3..
Optimus doesnt have any of things I mentioned other than touchscreen

thetechfreak said:
Samsung p551 way better..Android 2.2
touchscreen qwerty 16m colour
perfect Android phone,better than
Optimus one,Galaxy 3..
Optimus doesnt have any of things I mentioned other than touchscreen

optimus one has better screen resolution, better processor with gpu and double the ram of samsung p551

unless you need a qwerty keyboard, p551 is not a good choice

_

16 mil colour is a huge advantage?

N

^^^ and what about resolution???

thetechfreak said:
Samsung p551 way better..Android 2.2
touchscreen qwerty 16m colour
perfect Android phone,better than
Optimus one,Galaxy 3..
Optimus doesnt have any of things I mentioned other than touchscreen

hmm? can you define 'perfect android phone?'

what is the use of 16M color when the resolution sucks. and the slide qwerty is 'meh'. Most of the features of p551 are more like 'me too' and not 'i work'.

When Optimus One has better display, better onboard memory, better build quality, better CPU, dedicated GPU, better battery, 2.3 upgrade promised, how can you say that galaxy 551 is better phone? Just coz it has a qwerty?

S

@thetechfreak Oh **** son, you just got owned by desiibond!!. You should actually check your facts before making incorrect posts.

Well let's leave that aside, since probably his is a fake account of some galaxy owner to justify their purchase to boost his own ego. If thats what makes him sleep at night, let it be.

P

Ah one more thread on this eternal debate. Specs wise both phones are quite similar with minor differences. However, my advice to anyone in this quandary would be to pick up both the phones and check the feel of the phones . And you will know why people are recommending Optimus one.

on first look & feel, most will fall in love with G551's QWERTY. but only latter the low res screen & slow processor (actually slow graphics) may make the end user little sad.

Sam.Shab said:
on first look & feel, most will fall in love with G551's QWERTY. but only latter the low res screen & slow processor (actually slow graphics) may make the end user little sad.

yes. it is lovable till you turn on the device or the display is off. Tried to read a PDF doc and text and it's like am thrown into the mid 2000s.

P

Hi Sam,
In all fairness, the quality of materials, the solidity of build is quite better in Optimus one. The first impression is formed there itself.

As you have said, once you turn on the phones , the superiority of O1 is even more apparent

S

Hmm so, how about we close this poll? I mean it's already obvious now that the optimus one is the winner.

W

in my point of view Samsung Galaxy is better it has nice shape as well as totally featured and has a better resell value than L.G Optimus

wawarinka said:
in my point of view Samsung Galaxy is better it has nice shape as well as totally featured and has a better resell value than L.G Optimus

aaaha. didn't you read the post no. 39 in this thread? *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/1325187-post39.html

but he got 1 point right. resale value of samsung is definitely higher than that of lg.

Sam.Shab said:
but he got 1 point right. resale value of samsung is definitely higher than that of lg.

once the new gen droids are out, G3, G5 and O1's resale value will be calculated in number of peanuts.

anyways, I think the LG O1 will have better resale value than G3 if the sale is put up on tech sites where people know a bit about these phones.

^ agreed.

desiibond said:
once the new gen droids are out, G3, G5 and O1's resale value will be calculated in number of peanuts.

anyways, I think the LG O1 will have better resale value than G3 if the sale is put up on tech sites where people know a bit about these phones.

unfortunately it is true. also at the rate new mobiles are brought to market, today's midrange (below 15k) mobile will have 2-3 successor by the time its going to be outdated. so its more like use (~3yrs) & throw.