T-Mobile G2x Review: Gingerbread-Infused
by Vivek Gowri on August 3, 2011 2:09 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Tegra 2
- Android 2.3
- LG Optimus 2X
- Android
- G2x
- Mobile
T-Mobile G2x - The Network
One of the major hardware differences between the G2x and the Optimus 2X is the cellular radio. While the O2X uses a Infineon X-Gold XG616, similar to what you can find in the Samsung Galaxy S/Nexus S and the iPhone 4, the G2x uses Qualcomm’s MDM6600 baseband, the whole point of the switch being to support HSDPA 14.4 on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network. At launch, T-Mobile advertised the G2x as a quadband 3G device, with support for HSPA+ over the 1900/850 MHz (AT&T) bands as well as the standard 2100/1700 MHz T-Mobile 3G bands. This, unfortunately, was a blatant error in T-Mobile’s information - after the G2x’s release, it became readily evident that quadband support was only for EDGE/GPRS, not 3G. How an error of this magnitude managed to slip through until the device started shipping (it was advertised with quadband 3G at CES in January) remains unanswered.
But no matter - if you’re on T-Mobile, HSPA+ works, and well. I saw speeds generally in the range of 3.5-6 Mbps downstream and 1.5-3 Mbps upstream. I’m not as obsessive with speed tests as Brian is, so I don’t have enough data points to construct a speed graph like he had, but they’re fairly consistent with results I’ve seen before. T-Mobile’s HSPA+ is faster in Seattle than in Tuscon where Brian is, which is why my numbers are so much higher.
We ran into some issues with cellular stability with the G2x - Brian complained about it before sending me the phone, and I personally experienced a couple of rather disconcerting periods where the G2x would be unable to send or receive cellular data for a span of 5-10 minutes, unless you got impatient and pulled the battery first. It looks like the implementation of the new baseband was rushed, but this is still a pretty significant issue to slip through. It’s something that I haven’t noticed post-Gingerbread, but it’s only been two days since the update released. I wouldn’t say it’s a major problem, but definitely an annoyance. It’s not the only indication that the transformation from Optimus 2X to G2x was a hurried process either, as we’ll see on the software side.
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halcyon - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
...but, when will you review GS2?I know you like to review operator models, but the original non-operator version of GS2 has been out for over three months already and it's the best thing since sliced bread, everybody says.
I'm sure you could get one directly from Samsung or afford to source one from an online retailer at RRP.
Really looking forward to that review.
quiksilvr - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
If there is a newer version of Sunspider out why wouldn't the phones be tested on that instead of the old version?bplewis24 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Because if you run all of the new phones on the newer version only, there will be no way to compare them to the old phones run on the older version of the test (unless you re-run every single phone on the new version).Brian Klug - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
We'll eventually move over to the new version as it runs similar tests with a few improvements, but also has a much shorter runtime.-Brian
MobileMenace - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
The table lists the screen size as 4.3in, but is actually 4.0.Is the Bluetooth streaming fixed for CM7 on G2x? That has kept me from using it, since I use that frequently. I haven't tried it recently, but it seemed to run stable several weeks ago.
beepboy - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Is that a Honda Dizzy (Distributor), from a Civic engine perhaps?Sansnombre - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
I see the phone, no big woop -- standard issue -- but what the h is it resting against? Good Lord, is that a distributor, circa 1978?! Or perhaps a mint example of the original electromechanical RAID distributing concept being used as a paperweight/photo accessory . . .VivekGowri - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Sixth-gen Accord, actually.Chaser - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
I love my Sensation :) And T-Mobile gave me an upgrade price for the Sensation that replaced my G2x.aegisofrime - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Nope, it's 0.9. I made sure to run the same version as you guys do. Here's the results. Apologies for the URL shortener but as you know the link for the results is fiendishly long.http://bit.ly/nh0crN