The T-Mobile G2 Preview
by Vivek Gowri on October 7, 2010 12:29 PM EST
So, the son of G1 is now out and open for retail consumption, and it’s certainly an interesting device. This is one of the first high end GSM HTC Android devices in a while, so it’s been understandably hyped. The keyboard is another unique factor - this is HTC’s first Android device with a physical keyboard since the original G1, and the G2, along with the Samsung Epic 4G and Droid 2, is currently the one of the few high end Android devices with a physical keyboard.
| Physical Comparison | |||||||||
| Apple iPhone 4 | HTC EVO 4G | Samsung Epic 4G | Motorola Droid 2 | T-Mobile G2 | |||||
| Height | 115.2 mm (4.5") | 121.9 mm (4.8") | 124 mm (4.9") | 116.3 mm (4.6") | 119 mm (4.69") | ||||
| Width | 58.6 mm (2.31") | 66.0 mm (2.6") | 63.5 mm (2.5") | 60.5 mm (2.4") | 60.4 mm (2.38") | ||||
| Depth | 9.3 mm ( 0.37") | 12.7 mm (0.5") | 15.2 mm (0.6") | 13.7 mm (0.54") | 14.16 mm (0.56") | ||||
| Weight | 137 g (4.8 oz) | 170 g (6.0 oz) | 155 g (5.47 oz) | 169 g (5.9 oz) | 180 grams (6.35 oz) | ||||
| CPU | Apple A4 @ ~800 MHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8650 @ 1 GHz | Samsung Hummingbird @ 1 GHz | Texas Instruments OMAP 3630 @ 1 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 @ 800 MHz | ||||
| GPU | PowerVR SGX 535 | Adreno 200 | PowerVR SGX 540 | PowerVR SGX 530 | Adreno 205 | ||||
| RAM | 512MB LPDDR1 (?) | 512MB LPDDR1 | 512MB LPDDR1 | 512 MB LPDDR1 | 512 MB LPDDR1 | ||||
| NAND | 16GB or 32GB integrated | 8GB micro SD | 1 GB integrated, 16 GB microSD preinstalled | 8 GB integrated, preinstalled 8 GB microSD | 4 GB integrated, preinstalled 8 GB microSD | ||||
| Camera | 5MP with LED Flash + Front Facing Camera | 8MP with dual LED Flash + Front Facing Camera | 5 MP with LED Flash and autofocus | 5 MP with dual LED flash and autofocus | 5 MP with auto focus and LED flash | ||||
| Screen | 3.5" 640 x 960 IPS | 4.3" 480 x 800 | 4.0" 480 x 800 Super AMOLED | 3.7" 480 x 854 | 3.7" 480 x 800 Super LCD | ||||
| Battery | Integrated 5.254Whr | Removable 5.5Whr | Removable 5.55 Whr | Removable 5.2 Whr | Removable 4.81 Whr | ||||
The G2 comes with a Qualcomm MSM7230 SoC, an 800 MHz part based on the 2nd generation Snapdragon core. It’s now on a 45-nm manufacturing process (the original Snapdragon QSD8x50 parts are 65nm) and has an updated Adreno 205 GPU. Beyond the die-shrink, the CPU seems to be relatively unchanged compared to the first gen-Snapdragon, just running at an 800 MHz frequency. The lower clock speed is probably to keep power consumption and yield in check for Qualcomm's first 45nm SoC. The Adreno 205, on the other hand, seems to be a pretty big improvement over the previous generation Adreno 200. The 205 adds hardware acceleration for Flash, SVG vector graphics hardware acceleration, and significantly improves shader performance over the Adreno 200. Performance is expected to be far more competitive to the PowerVR SGX 530 and 540 than the Adreno 200 ever was. So even though it doesn’t break the magical 1GHz mark, the MSM7230 is still a very potent SoC, especially in a device that forgoes the burden of a custom UI layer on top of Android.
The MSM7230 in the G2 has support for 3GPP Release 7, which includes HSPA+ and Evolved EDGE support. The G2 supports HSDPA class 10 for a maximum theoretical downstream rate of 14.4 megabits/s, and HSUPA class 6 for a maximum theoretical upstream rate of 5.76 megabits/s. Qualcomm's MSM7x30 series SoC comes in another flavor - the MSM7630 - which packs HSPA+ support alongside CDMA voice and data.
Rounding out the other specs, we’ve got 512MB RAM (also part of the SoC), 4GB internal NAND with an 8GB microSD card preinstalled (more on this later), a 3.7” Super-LCD TFT display with an 800x480 resolution, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and an LED flash, 720p video recording at 30fps, and a removeable 4.81 Wh (1300 mAh) battery. Oh, and one of the weirdest hinges out there right now.
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xype - Friday, October 8, 2010 - link
Battery Life & Build Quality are pretty mich the two most important issues in a phone for me (For a smartphone, add Usability to the list). So it sounds a bit weird to say the phone has potential and whatnot, if you're afraid the hinges will break and the battery only lasts a bit more than half as long as that of its competition...JimmiG - Friday, October 8, 2010 - link
Despite a die shrink and an underclocked CPU, it's still down there with the N1.No matter what's causing it - inefficient hardware, poorly coded software protocol stack or lack of throttling and power-saving features, Google and OEMs need to fix this.
If you think 3.5 - 4 hours of 3G browsing is bad, try doing it on a moving train with the brightness cranked up. You're looking at around 2 hours. Not everyone has access to a power outlet or USB port during the day to top off their phones.
Also reviewers need to weigh in battery life more. It's hugely important.. How "smart" is a smartphone that switches itself off at 3pm?
strikeback03 - Thursday, October 14, 2010 - link
OTOH there are people like me who average 20 min or so of web browsing per day but do a decent amount of text messaging. Word on some forums is that the switching between 1X and EVDO on Verizon phones is a major source of battery drain, but they don't test that at all. Some battery tests are going to be more useful for some people than for others. Also, there are extended batteries for those who need them.Shlong - Friday, October 8, 2010 - link
I believe you omitted the Front Facing Camera for the Samsung Epic 4G on the chart.rcocchiararo - Friday, October 8, 2010 - link
Desire Z (and all the new SENSE htc android phones) has 768mb, not 512 like the G2fhgh - Friday, October 8, 2010 - link
http://0845.com/InrGood-looking, not expensive
fhgh - Friday, October 8, 2010 - link
http://0845.com/Inr
Fashion Female attire
letsreboot - Friday, October 8, 2010 - link
my feeling is that a backup copy of the original android image (or of another T-Mobile-blessed image) uses some of the 2GB left.G2 Rootkit in action, anyone?
AndroidFan - Saturday, October 9, 2010 - link
Indeed the G2 battery life is crippled by the poor battery capacity. But the result still surprises me because I feel the battery life on my G2 is much better than N1.I do browsing a lot and my N1 sucks on the battery life, which I later figured out might be related to the OLED panel on N1, which burns more power on white and light colors. I don't know what web sites are included in your test, but most websites like to use white background. Check out the browser battery test here http://blog.laptopmag.com/android-battery-test-rev... G2 having a LCD panel definitely is a plus for the browser battery life.
Also, Vivek, did you have Flash enabled in G2? That may make G2 browser battery life worse than the other non-Flash supported phones. That's why I always disable it on my G2 :)
teekan - Saturday, October 9, 2010 - link
I had a cable buy come over and say that their company don't even use speedtest.net anymore because how in accurate is. have you tried the same tests with speakeasy.net?I'm kinda in G2 Battery Denial because the G1 the number 1 flaw was the battery lasted before the 9' o clock news was over. after I got the extended battery pack for the g1 that came with a bigger back for it since the battery way so huge, i could actually use the G1 finally!
too bad I ordered the battery and did it only 2 months ago. I"m really hoping for G2 Battery Solutions out there soon, because how could they mess up on this again? Hopefully there you can install programs on your SD card this time now too. that was another Flaw.
thanks for your time.