Why mediocre specs compared to the 2x?

[WillyWonka]

Why is it that Verizon *loves* to gimp their version of of a phone, in this case the Optimus 2x?

To recap, the specs of the 2x:

1. Dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2
2. Full-size HDMI port
3. 8MP camera

vs the Revolution:

1. Single-core MSM8655
2. micro-HDMI port
3. 5MP camera

Why did Verizon gimp it? LG Home is *way* better than any Motoblur. And then they kill their chances with a mico-HDMI port and a single-core processor.

Why Verizon, why???

If the specs had been on par with the 2x, the revolution would have clearly crushed the bionic. However, with these gimped specs, who's the real winner?

Why would I want to choose the Revolution over the Thunderbolt, with the exception of battery life?

 

[diverbelow]

This is what I think and I could be wrong.

Here are my couple of theories:

1. We heard reports about the Bionic issues which also had the Nvidia dual core CPU and LTE modem for Verizon on how well those worked together.
2. Motorola wanted to be the first dual core android smartphone for Verizon and Verizon said yes

 

[Raptor007]

Also if you wanted Netflix the Nvidia Tegra2 chips are not supported due to lack of integrated DRM. The particular processor is the same or better than the TB (equals fast) but with the DRM libraries built in. We have yet to see if the Netflix app will run on other phones running the same/similar qualcom chip that don't have the DRM libraries.

Verizon hitched its horse to Moto and Moto is happy to do what they want, and so far the XOOM has been a lackluster performer, LTE is delayed on that until late summer, so 6 months post launch yeah so much for the ability to get crap out the door. Add the Bionic which isn't coming until late summer yet the DX2 has the Nvida Dual Core Tegra 2 1Ghz, 768MB-1GB RAM, (should have) 8GB of Internal Strorage and the qHD 540*960 display, but only has 3G. So unless Moto can get LTE to work with Tegra2 processors the DX2 may be the best shot.

 

[user311]

To say that the revolution is the same as the 2x would be like saying LTE and T-Mobile's 3.5g are the same. The revolution in fact was spec'd the way it was from the start, similar in ways to the g2x but different all together. Yes this phone doesn't have all the newest technologies which are just coming up to market but it seems to me to the the best of the litter out of the 3 LTE phones. A quick comparison between the Thunderbolt and Revolution:

Multi-Media :
-You did make it a point to include HDMI in your comparison and you ask why would you get this over the Thunderbolt. Well the thunderbolt doesn't even have HDMI out. Though they both have DLNA.

-The Revolution also has an on-board gpu which should allow for better video performance than the thunderbolt and give it the ability to output at 1080p.

-Both use snapdragons though the Revolution should have a newer model with built in DRM libraries making it from what I can see the only Android phone on Verizon which will have Netflix till late summer early fall. Yes, its a shame that neither phones are using dual core processors, but those really don't excite me because neither the operating system nor software is coded to work with multi-core processors at the moment and won't be till early to mid summer. Of course Quad-core processors should be out by winter/spring which may give me a good time to upgrade my phone again by then.

-The video panel is much better on the Revolution than the Thunderbolt.

Storage/Connections:
-The Revolution is supposed to be shipping with 16GB of onboard storage vs the Thunderbolt's 8GB(2.5GB usable).
-The Revolution will come out with Bluetooth 3.0 which will allow for up to 24Mbit/s Transfer rate (Fast enough for streaming video) vs's the Thunderbolt's 2.1 @ ~3Mbit.

Updates/Quality Control
-This will be LG's first smartphone for Verizon, and if the amount of support and speed which they are getting gingerbread to the GX2 is any indicator of what they will do for the Revolution I'll be more than satisfied. HTC has never really had any issues releasing updates to their phones in a timely manner.

-HTC though imo has had a decent amount of quality control issues with their devices. My brother for example had to go through 2 EVO's before getting a perfect unit and an old Touchpro 2 that I owned' speaker-phone/ringer died after 3 months of owning it. And well as we all know the Thunderbolt has some battery issues which HTC seems to always run into. Hopefully those issues don't carry over to the revolution even though they share a similar processor.

All in all I do believe that the revolution will be a much better purchase than the Thunderbolt and feel that it would even best the overpriced Droid Charge.

 

[Raptor007]

Has anyone seen the LG Revolution in person since CES, my concern is having a display that is washed out like the TB is outdoors. I have to point out this is NOT the first LG smartphone on Verizon, you forgot the LG Vortex and LG Ally.

I know the Netflix app has been stripped out of the Revolution ROM, but the real question is will it run on other phones, it lets you get access to your que but without the DRM libraries I wonder if that will not happen.

Still this phone has potential, its just going to come down to the developer community and how much more you can actually do with it.

 

[jking3002]

Well, to be honest, I think the Revolution will be the best 4G phone for Verizon when it first launches, even though it doesn't spec as well as the tbolt or the charge. I think it's honestly just been tested and worked on more and it isn't rushed, thus the late release. Instead of trying to push the hottest specs, I think LG is trying to push the most solid phone for typical users. I have a theory that by specing down this phone a little bit, they are allowing the battery to actually last a full day with moderate use. I think they are working on the software aspect of this phone and not just following the "lets stuff the biggest chips into our phone!" mentality of everyone else right now.

We'll see when it comes out, and other than the limited specs and seemingly late release I have no evidence to back up what I'm saying, just getting a "feeling."

BTW- I own a thunderbolt, and mine has been fairly solid, although outside of having 4G this phone isn't blowing me away by any means.

 

[Raptor007]

@jking3002, I do think the LG Revo is going to be a solid phone and a solid 4G LTE with VoLTE phone as well. But you lost me when you said

. . . even though it doesn't spec as well as the tbolt or the charge.

. So I put together a quick chart and from my vantage point they all run about equal.

Revo has more Internal storage
ThunderBolt has more RAM
Charge has a great display technology (although we have not see the LG Revo outdoors, yet)
Revo can do VoLTE, TB can do SVDO
Charge/TB have higher MP camera but image sensor matters more than MP.

So it will come down to user preferences, I personally have a 32GB microSD card so I'm not worried about that.

 

[VideoEngineerAJS]

Not to be rude or mean but all of the LTE phones will be capable of VoLTE. They just did the test with the Revolution. The Revolution will use the same process as the other LTE phones in regard to voice and data. Verizon themselves said VoLTE will not be used until 2013.

Sent from my Thunderbolt

 

[Raptor007]

If that is true, then fair enough. But that still doesn't make the Revolution specs lower than the TB or Charge they are all on the same level each has something the other doesn't or doesn't have enough of. it simply comes down to choice. Rooting of course is becoming a big part of that choice.

 

[Raptor007]

Not to be rude or mean but all of the LTE phones will be capable of VoLTE. They just did the test with the Revolution. The Revolution will use the same process as the other LTE phones in regard to voice and data. Verizon themselves said VoLTE will not be used until 2013.

Sent from my Thunderbolt

I wanted you to know WebDevAnalyst that you were not rude, but you are wrong, at least regarding the HTC ThunderBolt and VoLTE. In fact it does not support VoLTE and there are no plans to add support for it. I contacted HTC Support and asked. Here is their reply.

Dear xxxxx,

I understand the importance of being able to use the LTE network for Voice calls. At this time, the LTE frequency is used for Data only on the HTC Thunderbolt. There are not any plans currently to add Voice over LTE to the device. I hope we have answered your questions in detail.

To send a reply to this message or let me know I have successfully answered your question log in to our ContactUs site using your email address and your ticket number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

Sincerely,
Jeffery
HTC

 

[VideoEngineerAJS]

Not that it really matters to me as by the time VoLTE is even in place other phones will be out, but I think those people don't really know anymore about that type of stuff than you or I do. The people that respond to those type of questions aren't exactly the people that need to know about that at the moment.

I do know for a fact that the Revolution will not be doing VoLTE out of the box either. All are capable it's just a matter of if they'll bother with it since all of these phones are sort of outdated already. I love the Thunderbolt, but I'm not planning on keeping it for 2 years.

Sent from my Thunderbolt

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

For the record the Optimus 2X (and G2X) have a micro-HDMI port, not full HDMI. How do I know? I own a G2X and the micro HDMI cable to hook up to a tv.

The revolution is not under-spec'd at all IMO. The single core Snapdragon it has is plenty fast. It'll probably have great battery life, since the processor sips power and there's no resource hogging Sense on board. Also, LG build quality is amazing. No issues in that regard with the G2X. I bet the reason they didn't go dual core with it is because of heat. Single core Snapdragon is a known quantity and was probably easier to engineer LTE around (just ask Moto LOL).

IMO the performance of the Revolution won't disappoint. I had a myTouch 4G with the same processor and was never disappointed or left wanting for more.

 

[Droid800]

For the record the Optimus 2X (and G2X) have a micro-HDMI port, not full HDMI. How do I know? I own a G2X and the micro HDMI cable to hook up to a tv.

The revolution is not under-spec'd at all IMO. The single core Snapdragon it has is plenty fast. It'll probably have great battery life, since the processor sips power and there's no resource hogging Sense on board. Also, LG build quality is amazing. No issues in that regard with the G2X. I bet the reason they didn't go dual core with it is because of heat. Single core Snapdragon is a known quantity and was probably easier to engineer LTE around (just ask Moto LOL).

IMO the performance of the Revolution won't disappoint. I had a myTouch 4G with the same processor and was never disappointed or left wanting for more.

You are definitely correct. It appears that LG has found a way to get the best out of their version of the 8655 hardware, because Phone arena ran some benchmarks and it scored 1900 and 2100 on Quadrant. That puts it at the top of the single core heap, and almost as good as the G2X. (which, admittedly, doesn't have the software to make the most of both cores.)

 

[rbess1965]

Saw it this morning at a store and the display looks fine. Looks just like the Tbolts which is really nice and bright although neither is as nice as the Charge display. For me it's best selling point would be the 12gb available of on board memery with 16gb card, but expandable to a 32 card. UI, Web browsing and you tube videos all ran smoothly, unlike the Charge which has some difficulties in those areas. I must mention though that the You tube videos did not take up the full screen on the Rev or Tbolt. However it did on the Charge and was so much clearer. Audio was way better on the Charge also. Real crisp highs for example. Look and listen for these differences when you go check them out and you'll see what I mean.
Amendment: I went back by and discovered my error on the You Tube video thing. They had the quality settings different on them. My bad. Once I set them all to High quality, all 3 looked pretty dang good to me although over the 3G network, they skipped alot that way, but they all did it. Just wanted to correct that.

 

[rbess1965]

Also another thing I noticed that may interest some. You know how the micro usb charge port is on the side of a Tbolt and when in landscape mode watching a power hungry video, you can't plug in. Well both the Charge and the Rev allow you to watch video in landscape with either side down. The Tbolt will not rotate like that. I felt this was a plus because you can flip the phone and have the charge port up and charger plugged in while wathcing video in landscape mode. Very slick.

 

[tmacfan4321]

Is Sense really the reason why the Thunderbolt is getting terrible battery life in comparison to the Revolution? They both have pretty much the same hardware; I don't know what else could be the difference.

I'm getting the Thunderbolt regardless; it's going to have a better dev community than either of the other two devices and Sense is a nice UI skin.

 

[mothy]

Is Sense really the reason why the Thunderbolt is getting terrible battery life in comparison to the Revolution? They both have pretty much the same hardware; I don't know what else could be the difference.

I'm getting the Thunderbolt regardless; it's going to have a better dev community than either of the other two devices and Sense is a nice UI skin.

Not so sure about the dev support, the LG devices are easily rooted so they have a good dev comminutiy

 

[The_Engine]

You are definitely correct. It appears that LG has found a way to get the best out of their version of the 8655 hardware, because Phone arena ran some benchmarks and it scored 1900 and 2100 on Quadrant. That puts it at the top of the single core heap, and almost as good as the G2X. (which, admittedly, doesn't have the software to make the most of both cores.)

Like most I went to the VZW store today to check out thr goodies. Revolution smoked the charge on quadrant. Pulled about 1900.

Of course that is not everthing and it is binged. If Dev community comes along this could be a phenominal device. But it needs to he de binged.

 

[Raptor007]

Honestly a launcher whether its stock or 3rd party its all about choice. If I get bored with the Optimus UI I will just get SPB's launcher or ADW's there are choices other than stock.

If I had gone back to the TB I would have stayed with Das BAMF, their ROM is sweet, the latest ROM 2.0 UI is simply awesome work with parts of Sense 3.0 brought forth.

Still I will be happy to remove the crapware that Verizon put on my Revo and move forward.

 

[anthonyzul]

Just checked out the Rev in store. I have to say I like it a lot! My main concerns are these..

1) While I am pretty sure I will most likely switch phones before my 2 year contract is up, how well do you think the phone will hold up tot he future?

Also, 2) Can I get rid of Bing? It sounds petty, but Bing is itself enough reason to make think twice about the phone.