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
I’ve been a loyal T-Mobile user for the last five years, so the logjam of sorts at the top of The Big Magenta’s smartphone linuep is particularly interesting to me. On one side, there’s the excellent Sensation 4G that Brian reviewed recently. On the other, there’s the dual-core MyTouch 4G Slide, which is set to launch in the coming weeks. And then there’s the G2x. The G2x is T-Mobile’s version of the LG Optimus 2X, better known as one of the first shipping Tegra 2 phones on the market. The best way to describe the G2x is that it’s an Optimus 2X with a different baseband and the stock Android UI, so Brian’s excellent Optimus 2X review offers a solid background for what I’ll cover in this article. It’s been on the market for some time now, but the long-awaited Gingerbread update has finally started being pushed to devices earlier this week, so let’s take a look to see how it stacks up.
| Physical Comparison | ||||||
| Apple iPhone 4 | HTC Thunderbolt | T-Mobile G2x (LG Optimus 2X) | HTC Sensation | |||
| Height | 115.2 mm (4.5") | 122 mm (4.8") | 123.9 mm (4.87") | 126.3 mm (4.97") | ||
| Width | 58.6 mm (2.31") | 67 mm (2.63") | 63.2 mm (2.48") | 65.5 mm (2.58") | ||
| Depth | 9.3 mm ( 0.37") | 13.2 mm (0.52") | 10.9 mm (0.43") | 11.6 mm (0.46") | ||
| Weight | 137 g (4.8 oz) | 183.3 g (6.46 oz) | 139.0 g (4.90 oz) | 148 g (5.22 oz) | ||
| CPU | Apple A4 @ ~800MHz | 1 GHz MSM8655 45nm Snapdragon | 1 GHz Dual Core Cortex-A9 Tegra 2 AP20H | 1.2 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon MSM8260 | ||
| GPU | PowerVR SGX 535 | Adreno 205 | ULP GeForce | Adreno 220 | ||
| RAM | 512MB LPDDR1 (?) | 768 MB LPDDR2 | 512 MB LPDDR2 | 768 MB LPDDR2 | ||
| NAND | 16GB or 32GB integrated | 4 GB NAND with 32 GB microSD Class 4 preinstalled | 8 GB NAND with up to 32 GB microSD | 4 GB NAND with 8 GB microSD Class 4 preinstalled | ||
| Camera | 5MP with LED Flash + Front Facing Camera | 8 MP with autofocus and dual LED flash, 720p30 video recording, 1.3 MP front facing | 8 MP with AF/LED Flash, 1080p24 video recording, 1.3 MP front facing | 8 MP AF/Dual LED flash, VGA front facing | ||
| Screen | 3.5" 640 x 960 LED backlit LCD | 4.3” 800 x 480 LCD-TFT | 4.0" 800 x 480 LCD-TFT | 4.3" 960 x 540 S-LCD | ||
| Battery | Integrated 5.254Whr | Removable 5.18 Whr | Removable 5.6 Whr | Removable 5.62 Whr | ||
T-Mobile G2x - The Hardware, Part I
The device hardware is nearly identical to the international version that we reviewed earlier in the year. It’s a fairly conservative design, with mildly curved edges and corners softening an otherwise rectangular body. The front side is a continuous glass surface, with a slight curve on the right and left sides. The bezel is thin on the two sides and larger on the top and bottom. The upper bezel contains the front facing camera, proximity and ambient light sensors, earpiece, and a silkscreened T-Mobile logo. The bezel underneath the screen is significantly larger and contains the four capacitive touch buttons, but there doesn’t seem to be a readily apparent reason for why there is so much wasted space on the surface.
The battery cover takes up the entire backside of the phone. It’s matte soft touch plastic in a colour that T-Mobile refers to as “Mocha Brown,” and has an aluminum strip down the middle. The camera resides under a slightly recessed window in the battery cover, and there’s a cutout next to it for the single LED flash. Unfortunately, this results in dust getting all over the inside of the battery cover, and especially between the camera module and the lens window. Common sense and good design decision, this was most definitely not.
The matte metallic silver ring around the four sides of the device bridges the glass front and the battery cover. As with the aluminum strip on the back, it gives the device a touch of brightwork to keep things visually interesting. LG devices in recent times have used variations of this design language, with a lot of rectangles, radiused edges, and a metal or mirrored chrome strip down the backside of the device. You can see in the Revolution, Optimus 3D, and even the Optimus Pad/G-Slate tablets. It’s a no-nonsense aesthetic with a bit of subtle visual flair. It seems a bit staid at first, but the more you use it, the more you’re drawn in. Count me a fan.
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B3an - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
I also get about exactly the same on my Galaxy S2.Almost feel sorry for the yanks not yet having the best phone on the planet months after release. Almost :)
Brian Klug - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
That's surreal, I get 4614.8 ms on SunSpider 0.9 on my SGS2 running the latest official firmware. Very very odd and unsettling, are you running a custom ROM?-Brian
Stuka87 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Interesting use for the Honda Distributer.D3CIM8 - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
I have been running a CM based Gingerbread (2.3.4) ROM with a custom kernel for some time now. I get a freeze or random reboot maybe once a week at most and I use my phone a lot. Unmounting the USB drive can result in instability occasionally. The camera isn't as nice as the LG one in 2.2 and AD2P just doesn't work. On the bright side there is a hack to get true 1080p/30fps video recording working on the camera. Netflix streaming also works which is a huge plus for me. With the custom kernel I get a minimum of a day under medium to heavy use.For reference I am using Faux123's ROM with his OC/UV EXT4 kernal. For you benchmark junkies, OCed to 1.5Ghz it scores 5000+ on Quadrant and is completely stable (my phone at least, YMMV).
On a side note, in the specs comparison chart you have the screen on the G2x listed as 4.3" instead of 4.0".
VivekGowri - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Fixed - that table got copied almost directly out of Brian's Sensation review, I wasn't looking too closely for issues. Thanks for catching it!fearsjohn - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
i had the same issues random reboots and stuff going wrong and the 2.3.3 update helped some. the funny thing about it is the kernal is still based on froyo not gingerbread. i got tired of the issues and flashed eaglesblood on it which is based on cm7 and fauxs kernal and it is so much better than the half baked crap lg and tmobile sent out. and these guys do not even get paid for it.yourwhiteshadow - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
passion for things cannot be replaced. that's the reason the modding community is so amazing, its the passion that drives things forward, not the money.Mr Benelli - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
I must have lucked out. After the Gingerbread update I have zero random reboots and zero reception issues. I have nothing but good things to say about my particular device's performance since the update. Although, I am waiting for a root option for GB...sabrewulf - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
I just got 3460 on sunspider 0.9 and 3333 on 0.9.1 with my Verizon Fascinate running the latest CM7 nightly, but even the the latest stock Verizon (2.2) ROM is in the 5-6000 range. You guys should really consider removing the 2.1 results from these reviews, or at least adding 2.2 results. The GS is still an extremely capable phone and to portray it in such a poor and inaccurate light is really doing a disservice to prospective phone buyers.lowlymarine - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
Agreed. The iPhone has a different entry for every point release yet the Galaxy S devices languish on 2.1 months after the last one got it's official FroYo update - and after the international GT-I9000 got an official Gingerbread update, to boot.