mobile

Hey guys,

I'm a long term android guy and I'm trying to figure out what my next phone will be. Right now I've got a Samsung Galaxy S4 sgh-i337 (AT&T variant) which I've had for a while. Don't get me wrong, I love the phone, but recently is been having a SIM card reader error (hardware problem with this model, nothing you can really do about it). Between that and the fact that I can't install custom ROMs besides ones based on the same kernel that comes with the Samsung OS, I'm thinking it's about time to retire this phone. The problem I'm having is that I don't want to spend a ton on a new phone, but I also don't want a piece of junk either. Things that matter to me:
Minimum of a snapdragon 800
Minimum 2GB RAM
Easily ROM-able and long term support
Android Lollipop
Excellent battery life
Good cellular range (S4 always has low bars)

From my research, the G2 hits all of these and I can get a new one (AT&T variant D800) for <0 which is very appealing! The newer phones (galaxy s5/s6, HTC one M8/M9, LG G3) don't really seem too much better hardware wise than the G2 - no matter what the manufacturers want you to believe - so I've been eyeing this phone for a few weeks.

So tell me people, how does the G2 work on lollipop ROMs? How's the battery life and cell signal? Do you think people will be making ROMs for it for a while? And what should I know about ROMing this phone? (Like bugs, is the kernel/bootloader locked or replaceable on the AT&T D800?) What should I know?

Thanks in advance!