G2: Good, Bad and Ugly

[JHBThree]

My 5 year old iPod stores 160GB. iPhones have 64GB, iPads have 128.

A 64GB MicroSD card is smaller than my fingernail.

Technology is not a limiting factor.

For SD cards, yes, it is. An SD slot takes up space and adds manufacturing complexity, especially for sealed phone designs.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[oshia86]

 

[jfoofoo]

why we keep insisting on having the same discussion every time a high end spec phone shows up without removable battery and no SD slot...
I would like to know if the always on voice command that is build in on snapdragon 800, is a feature on LG G2, I can't find any press coverage on this.

 

[The_Engine]

My 5 year old iPod stores 160GB. iPhones have 64GB, iPads have 128.

A 64GB MicroSD card is smaller than my fingernail.

Technology is not a limiting factor.

Apple doesn't earn revenue as a service provider. A cloud services provider.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

[Farish]

Apple doesn't earn revenue as a service provider. A cloud services provider.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

Huh?

 

[kikaha]

SD cards are made with the lowest quality NAND available and have high varying quality. You got lucky and got a good one. That is all. Failure rate of SD cards is very high and it is often the phones fault due to poor quality or incompatible controllers but SD cards also have these issues.
Google also knows that non-contiguous memory on media like SD cards is a PIA in many ways.
Enjoys SD cards phones now because they are all going away and so are removable batteries.

?
Really?!
Are you kidding me?!
I have had at least 6 different micro SD cards over the years and not a single one of them has failed. In fact the only reason I don't have these cards anymore is because I gave them away & replaced them with higher capacity cards.
I also have two compact flash cards that still work perfectly fine as well as four full-size SD cards that also work perfectly fine.
Are you telling me that I was lucky with ALL of these cards?
Maybe all of these people who are having problems are either causing the problems themselves or buying cheap lousy quality cards and blaming the format rather then blaming themselves for buying crap cards.
Or yanking the cards out of the phone with out unmounting them first or taking them out of the card reader with out properly unmounting them.

 

[The_Engine]

Huh?

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/08/prices.jpg

Fair enough but that's more of a service connected to their device. Their primary revenue stream is selling hardware. You don't use their cloud storage unless you buy their device. But Google's services are available on any hardware and that is where they make their money.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

[Gary Friderichsohn]

I would be curious to hear what power users (who rely heavily on their smartphones far away from an electrical outlet) use in terms of removable batteries and juice packs. For example, when the staff at Android Central is out reporting on a major event (like Google I/O, CTIA, MWC, or CES), do they use their smartphones a lot? Do they run out of power in the middle of the day? If so, do they simply insert a new battery (if they're using a phone with a removable battery), do they hook up a juice pack, or both?

Well, I live off the grid and too far out in the country to have Internet so I guess I qualify. I use about 10g of 3G and 4G per month. I use solar power and a generator. I come to town and bring my batteries and Ankar juice packs in to charge them at restaurants. I bought about 6 of the cheap phone batteries from China. Between the juice packs and the batteries I aways have power stored up to run the phone. I pay Sprint about $90 per month. I want a phone with the most storage I can get, SD or otherwise.

I'd like to think that everyone at Android Central is using a Nexus 4 to cover events. If not, an LG G2 would be nice, too, once it goes on the market.

 

[_X_]

"The Cloud" is not a storage solution, its an ease of access solution.

Exactly!

Not only that I'll add it's a security risk. Your granting the government and the provider access to your data.what's worse is I'd the provider security is cracked , you data is comprised.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[_X_]

Huh?

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/08/prices.jpg

What he meant to say is nobody pays for their shoddy solution.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[SuperMarioVT]

After having multiple android phones for the past 4/5 years I am at the point that I only really care about 2 things..

First, battery life.. All nexus phone have horrible battery including most androids .. I need a phone that will last all day on 4G LTE not on Wifi and with moderate use of phone calls and applications.

Second, a decent camera.. These days is a pain to walk around with two devices(camera and cell phone) I really hope that the day which the phone camera almost replaces the need for a camera device arrives soon!



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[Rule9]

why we keep insisting on having the same discussion every time a high end spec phone shows up without removable battery and no SD slot...

Because the AC community tends to have a lot more casual users and are fixated on it mostly I think because there's a lot more people here who just follow Samsung popularity. Compare this to XDA which has a lot more heavy duty tech heads and a lot less hyperbole about it.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

Well, Sony offers removable storage on the Xperia Z and Z Ultra. So Samsung is not alone.

Also, if Google was really against micro SD, they wouldn't have let Samsung sell a Galaxy S4 Google Play edition phone right on the Play store. I doubt Google would sell any device on its own website that was counter to its own philosophy. In fact, they showcased it at the last Google I/O conference (with no mention of the HTC One GPe). If micro SD was such a problem, Google could have asked Samsung to remove the slot. If Samsung refused, Google could simply present the HTC One as the sole Google Play edition phone. Of course, neither of those scenarios happened.

While the LG G2 doesn't have a micro SD card slot right now, we can't rule out any future carrier exclusives. For example, I could easily see an AT&T-branded LG G2 with a micro SD card slot. If you're on any other network except AT&T, you'd be out of luck. That's just how it is in the mobile phone business.

I didn't know that about the Sony phones. I've actually never paid much attention to them, so thanks for the info.

I will say I disagree on your point about Google and if they asked Samsung to remove the SD support. I don't believe they'd do that and if they did, I'd almost guarantee Samsung would say no. And there's no way Google would've pulled the S4 GE over a silly SD slot...not with the sales numbers the S4 puts up. They'd be crazy to even think about it.

You almost hit the nail on the head with your last paragraph, though. This morning I watched an unboxing of the South Korean variant of the G2. Guess what it's got? Yep, a removable battery AND SD support! It does carry a slightly smaller battery (around 2600 mAh), but here's the kicker...it comes with 2 batteries AND an external charger for the spare!

Needless to say, I'm going to be looking into that variant. If it carries the LTE bands necessary for AT&T LTE, I'm more than willing to purchase it off-contract.

What's funny is, I was wondering how the rumors could've been so off when they mentioned it would have a 2600 mAh removable battery and SD support. I guess we know now that they were spot-on...only they didn't realize what they were seeing was the South Korean version of the G2 and not the phone that's making it to the rest of the world. I don't understand why OEMs do this...bring what amounts to a completely different phone to one region while bringing what appears to be a lesser version to another. It's infuriating sometimes.

 

[tech_head]

For SD cards, yes, it is. An SD slot takes up space and adds manufacturing complexity, especially for sealed phone designs.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

No more than the SIM card in terms of sealing and complexity.
They already have USB.

Also to replay to a previous poster. Google code supports SD cards along with other storage. you may not be able to move apps there but below Android is a LINUX file system with mounting of disks and multiple storage types.

Also my daughter's S3 has yet to eat its SD card after a year.
My Razr HD and my previous phones didn't eat SD cards either.

Google sells cloud services, they don't sell microSD. Cloud services are recurring revenue.
The providers like this model because they can sell you more bandwidth.
I want my storage on my phone because I don't want to lease space, then have to pay to access the space I'm leasing.
It's a great model if you are Google and Verizon/Sprint/etc.

 

[JHBThree]

No more than the SIM card in terms of sealing and complexity.
They already have USB.

Also to replay to a previous poster. Google code supports SD cards along with other storage. you may not be able to move apps there but below Android is a LINUX file system with mounting of disks and multiple storage types.

Also my daughter's S3 has yet to eat its SD card after a year.
My Razr HD and my previous phones didn't eat SD cards either.

Google sells cloud services, they don't sell microSD. Cloud services are recurring revenue.
The providers like this model because they can sell you more bandwidth.
I want my storage on my phone because I don't want to lease space, then have to pay to access the space I'm leasing.
It's a great model if you are Google and Verizon/Sprint/etc.

Adding in the SD card adds complexity.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tech_head]

Adding in the SD card adds complexity.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Once again..
They must already compromise sealing to add a SIM slot. So they can be in the same tray. See Droid Razr HD for an example.
Oh, the need a whole nine fingers to make contact.
They have two cameras, multiple antennae, bluetooth, WiFi, 1080p display, headphone jack, USB with host mode, 2GB of RAM, either 16GB or 32 GB of flash and you say microSD adds complexity????
They also added dedicated RAM for the GPU......
You do realize that in some markets, it will come with microSD and/or a removable battery as requested by the carrier??

 

[GadgetGator]

My 5 year old iPod stores 160GB. iPhones have 64GB, iPads have 128.

A 64GB MicroSD card is smaller than my fingernail.

Technology is not a limiting factor.

It most certainly IS. You are erroneously making an apples to oranges comparison. Your old iPod has a freeking HARDDRIVE in it and does not have any cellular radios nor a five inch HD display and associated battery life needs. Not the same thing at all.

IPhones have 64gb, yes. And so do some Android phones which I even made reference to in my post so not sure what point you are making here.

iPads have 128...how big's that iPad again?? It's not a small Micro SD card they're using in there. It's a bank of memory.

As for the SD card, while the card itself might be small, the associated supporting hardware for it does take up some room inside. Ram and flash memory chips also take up room. I swear it seems like some of you think that your 4 and 5 inch phones are like some sort of Tardis with unlimited space inside. No, they are not. Everything has got to fit, and allow enough room for the radios, battery and chipsets. Oh, it has to be ECONOMICAL to produce and easy to make in mass quantities too. Thus far, we have been limited in what thing would affordably and physically fit inside. Those limitations will be overcome, prices on thing will come down. But right now, assuming you can fit in the memory chips, precious few would buy a 128GB phone. It would cost a lot. And memory beyond that amount just won't fit in there.....yet.

 

[RenoD2010]

It most certainly IS. You are erroneously making an apples to oranges comparison. Your old iPod has a freeking HARDDRIVE in it and does not have any cellular radios nor a five inch HD display and associated battery life needs. Not the same thing at all.

IPhones have 64gb, yes. And so do some Android phones which I even made reference to in my post so not sure what point you are making here.

iPads have 128...how big's that iPad again?? It's not a small Micro SD card they're using in there. It's a bank of memory.

As for the SD card, while the card itself might be small, the associated supporting hardware for it does take up some room inside. Ram and flash memory chips also take up room. I swear it seems like some of you think that your 4 and 5 inch phones are like some sort of Tardis with unlimited space inside. No, they are not. Everything has got to fit, and allow enough room for the radios, battery and chipsets. Oh, it has to be ECONOMICAL to produce and easy to make in mass quantities too. Thus far, we have been limited in what thing would affordably and physically fit inside. Those limitations will be overcome, prices on thing will come down. But right now, assuming you can fit in the memory chips, precious few would buy a 128GB phone. It would cost a lot. And memory beyond that amount just won't fit in there.....yet.

Dude. Awesome post and completely true. Consumers completely take for granted what has been accomplished, from a design and engineering standpoint, in the mobile phone space in just the past six years.

This $450 +/- LGOG has more processing power and internal memory (faster bus too) than my $2,200 1999 Sony Vaio did and this phone is a fraction of the size and weight.

That's $450 vs $2,200. And people complain that the Moto X is too expensive. Ha!

From my LG Optimus G E970 using AC Forums mobile app.

 

[JHBThree]

Once again..
They must already compromise sealing to add a SIM slot. So they can be in the same tray. See Droid Razr HD for an example.
Oh, the need a whole nine fingers to make contact.
They have two cameras, multiple antennae, bluetooth, WiFi, 1080p display, headphone jack, USB with host mode, 2GB of RAM, either 16GB or 32 GB of flash and you say microSD adds complexity????
They also added dedicated RAM for the GPU......
You do realize that in some markets, it will come with microSD and/or a removable battery as requested by the carrier??

What you posted does not change the fact that adding an SD card slot adds even more complexity. You also fail to understand that in the us market, where there will not be a version that has an SD slot, the pricing pressures almost certainly mean that adding an SD slot is not feasible because of that added complexity.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[philly]

?
Really?!
Are you kidding me?!
I have had at least 6 different micro SD cards over the years and not a single one of them has failed. In fact the only reason I don't have these cards anymore is because I gave them away & replaced them with higher capacity cards.
I also have two compact flash cards that still work perfectly fine as well as four full-size SD cards that also work perfectly fine.
Are you telling me that I was lucky with ALL of these cards?
Maybe all of these people who are having problems are either causing the problems themselves or buying cheap lousy quality cards and blaming the format rather then blaming themselves for buying crap cards.

of my last 2 sd cards, one being the 32 gb I bought for my razr M.. both have failed. I bought my 32gb direct from sandisk.

so eat it.