“This review focuses on some of the software quirks of the G2 and I was hoping those of you who own the phone can verify what it says or just share your thoughts on it.”
2013 | Ars Technica
“Particularly about the text reformatting bit (G2 vs Nex 4 as they illustrate it)”
Yes, the text formatting is different in the LG G2 from stock Android as illustrated in the image of the Nexus 4. With the G2 you can select seven (7) different fonts and six (6) different font sizes. The selection you choose does have an impact on how they are rendered in different areas. I really don’t see this as an issue, either in operability or user experience. Just my opinion though.
“and the menu overflow button being hidden due to their nav bar already having a menu button.”
Personally, I prefer having a dedicated Menu button because it is always in the same place. All too many times I have had to search around apps looking for the settings option. It is far from universally applied across all apps. Just ask anyone who has an Htc One running JB 4.1.2 how they feel about having a Menu button option, yes I have one and I know about this. Those in Htc One circles call it the “dreaded black bar”. Htc has updated software to allow for long pressing the Home button to access Menu options. Samsung’s Galaxy phones also have a dedicated menu button.
“EDIT: The number keypad too :-/
Last edited by brewkelyn; Today at 12:09 AM.”
I could not replicate this issue. I tried several websites that had dedicated fields for numbers and on each occurrence the standard keyboard opened giving full functionality. I never had an occurrence where a number keypad opened as illustrated. Maybe that is unique to Google Wallet where the author of the article used it, I don’t know, as I don’t use Google Wallet. Perhaps someone else can offer a better perspective on this.
Now for my thoughts on the article;
Authors have the liberty of writing anyway they choose. However, when I read reviews, those that take an objective view of an item and report their findings with neutrality based on fact are the ones that I find credible and worth noting. Those that have an agenda expressed though their words so obliviously slanted by their very own likes and dislikes tend to take on a biased subjective point of view that lessens credibility and believability for me.
In this particular article it is clear to me the author prefers vanilla Android and apparently anything else ruins it for him because it’s different. He starts off slamming on LG by saying they lack the negotiating power of Apple and Samsung, is this fact or fiction? At several points he describes the G2 with terms like, low-quality back, crazy button placement, watered down Verizon version, describes the software as being the cheesiest, bedazzled and overwrought, full of junk, slathered in skeuomorphic insanity, wonky font rendering, insane skin additions, Samsung clone, bit of a mess, poor app selector and stuck between the two biggest forces in smartphones (I’m guessing that he is referring to Google Nexus and Samsung here based on the context). Once you take out all these clearly biased and subjective comments and the derogatory adjectives, you can get to his actual findings.
In the end he writes;
The Good
• KnockOn. Double tapping to wake your phone completely changes the way you use it – Objective - Yes, it does
• A beautiful 5.2 inch, 1080p IPS LCD - Objective – Yes it is
• Minimal bezels – Objective – Yes they are
• Big-phone battery life – Objective – Yes it last a long time
• It's really fast – Objective - Yes it is fast
The Bad
• All of LG's software design - Subjective
• A plasticky back that feels cheap and greasy - Subjective
• A Menu button. This hides all the overflow menus you should normally see
Objective – Yes it does Subjective – as to “normally” (not on all phones)
• A huge amount of unremovable notification clutter
Objective – but inaccurate - some can be removed (Qslide apps)
• The broken font rendering, keyboard, and app selection menu
Subjective as to broken - Objective as to different
• You can buy nearly the same thing from Samsung with a removable battery and MicroSD slot - Subjective
The Ugly
The Verizon version looks and feels like a cheap knockoff of the original version
Subjective
Okay my rant is over. Personally, it is the best phone for me and I have owned more than a few here lately trying to find the one single phone that I can be happy with and the G2 is it.
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