Before anyone makes a pointless comment, let me introduce myself and advise you a bit of my background. I have 11 years experience as a systems engineer and know technology well. Regardless of its Linux, Unix, AIX, HP-UX, or Windows...
That being said and now out of the way.
Purchased a brand new G2X yesterday. Used old SIM in new G2X, had the CSR update the PRL, IMEI, and other pertinent information before leaving the store. Made sure the phone could acquire a 4G and 2G signal. Performed a sync of my Google data (which took longer than normal, shouldve been a warning sign) and off I went on my merry way....
First things to note about the G2X and its current configuration:
Android 2.2 doesn't take advantage of the dual core processors hardware. In laymen terms, think how Windows XP cannot take full advantage of a SSD because it doesn't have TRIM support, or how Windows Server 2003 Standard is limited to run on up to 4 CPUs regardless if installed on an 8 socket physical box. The hardware (regardless of how good) is OS bound. Android 2.3 will resolve this, but for now the OS really isn't performing as well as it could and should. I understand this, hence why I am not bashing this phone or calling it a POS. It is technically in its RC phase currently from a software perspective and was most likely released earlier than LG wanted due to a push from T-Mobile. When 2.3 is released I will consider this phone truly production ready. Moving on.
1. Slow data speeds on 4G connection compared to MyTouch 4G. VERY SLOW! Constantly buffering YouTube, unstable network connectivity, slow loading of basic web pages consisting of all static content. Constantly bouncing between 2G, 3G and 4G. Tried setting to WCDMA only had no change on data speeds. When tethering (using wifi or USB) the data connection was also slow. Thinking this was a unique issue to a single device (mine) I checked with various other people I work with and they all confirmed similar performance. Replaced SIM and device, and had same performance issues. The average user would perhaps never notice the difference between 1.5mbps vs 6mbps but when you tether daily for work tunneling through a VPN, you will surely notice higher latency or worse performance. Summary: Latency higher, speeds slower, connectivity unstable.
2. Poor battery life as compared to MyTouch 4G. Though this could be expected with a dual core processor that has each processor operating at "same speed" frequencies. Though I honestly somewhat expected this.
3. Camera wasnt impressive. Regardless of 8MP, it still wasnt very good with shutter speed and focus. Same with front facing camera.
4. Wifi couldnt not see my Motorola SURFboard Gateway SBG6580 DOCSIS 3.0 Wireless Cable Modem (regardless of the settings) though my MyTouch 4G and other Android devices can see it and connect without an issues.
5. When connected via USB it always wants to mount the storage volume to my laptop, car, etc. I could not find a setting to disable auto mounting volume and to USB charge only. (i may have overlooked this as i didnt spend much time)
6. Default Webkit browser sucks. They shouldve included a bit more to it, like full HTML support. Pinch to zoom works but doesnt resize text on screen. Little functionalities like this shouldve been included even if they intend to leave the OS mostly stripped down.
7. Screen is good. Not great, but good. Wouldve liked to see higher res or maybe a 3.7" screen for the res they used, but overall its good. Still hard to see in direct sunlight though.
8. Shape is weird. The bottom of the bezel is too long. They shouldve trimmed that, even if it meant making the device a tad bit thicker. Instead it makes the device feel top heavy since the weight is at the top and the bottom teeter totters.
So. In summary. Got the phone, wasnt good for what I need (battery, fast and stable network) so I returned it and will patiently wait for either the 2.3 update (which should fix the OS/hardware stuff) or the new HTC device.
Cheers!
That being said and now out of the way.
Purchased a brand new G2X yesterday. Used old SIM in new G2X, had the CSR update the PRL, IMEI, and other pertinent information before leaving the store. Made sure the phone could acquire a 4G and 2G signal. Performed a sync of my Google data (which took longer than normal, shouldve been a warning sign) and off I went on my merry way....
First things to note about the G2X and its current configuration:
Android 2.2 doesn't take advantage of the dual core processors hardware. In laymen terms, think how Windows XP cannot take full advantage of a SSD because it doesn't have TRIM support, or how Windows Server 2003 Standard is limited to run on up to 4 CPUs regardless if installed on an 8 socket physical box. The hardware (regardless of how good) is OS bound. Android 2.3 will resolve this, but for now the OS really isn't performing as well as it could and should. I understand this, hence why I am not bashing this phone or calling it a POS. It is technically in its RC phase currently from a software perspective and was most likely released earlier than LG wanted due to a push from T-Mobile. When 2.3 is released I will consider this phone truly production ready. Moving on.
1. Slow data speeds on 4G connection compared to MyTouch 4G. VERY SLOW! Constantly buffering YouTube, unstable network connectivity, slow loading of basic web pages consisting of all static content. Constantly bouncing between 2G, 3G and 4G. Tried setting to WCDMA only had no change on data speeds. When tethering (using wifi or USB) the data connection was also slow. Thinking this was a unique issue to a single device (mine) I checked with various other people I work with and they all confirmed similar performance. Replaced SIM and device, and had same performance issues. The average user would perhaps never notice the difference between 1.5mbps vs 6mbps but when you tether daily for work tunneling through a VPN, you will surely notice higher latency or worse performance. Summary: Latency higher, speeds slower, connectivity unstable.
2. Poor battery life as compared to MyTouch 4G. Though this could be expected with a dual core processor that has each processor operating at "same speed" frequencies. Though I honestly somewhat expected this.
3. Camera wasnt impressive. Regardless of 8MP, it still wasnt very good with shutter speed and focus. Same with front facing camera.
4. Wifi couldnt not see my Motorola SURFboard Gateway SBG6580 DOCSIS 3.0 Wireless Cable Modem (regardless of the settings) though my MyTouch 4G and other Android devices can see it and connect without an issues.
5. When connected via USB it always wants to mount the storage volume to my laptop, car, etc. I could not find a setting to disable auto mounting volume and to USB charge only. (i may have overlooked this as i didnt spend much time)
6. Default Webkit browser sucks. They shouldve included a bit more to it, like full HTML support. Pinch to zoom works but doesnt resize text on screen. Little functionalities like this shouldve been included even if they intend to leave the OS mostly stripped down.
7. Screen is good. Not great, but good. Wouldve liked to see higher res or maybe a 3.7" screen for the res they used, but overall its good. Still hard to see in direct sunlight though.
8. Shape is weird. The bottom of the bezel is too long. They shouldve trimmed that, even if it meant making the device a tad bit thicker. Instead it makes the device feel top heavy since the weight is at the top and the bottom teeter totters.
So. In summary. Got the phone, wasnt good for what I need (battery, fast and stable network) so I returned it and will patiently wait for either the 2.3 update (which should fix the OS/hardware stuff) or the new HTC device.
Cheers!
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