The T-Mobile G2 Preview
by Vivek Gowri on October 7, 2010 12:29 PM EST
So, the son of G1 is now out and open for retail consumption, and it’s certainly an interesting device. This is one of the first high end GSM HTC Android devices in a while, so it’s been understandably hyped. The keyboard is another unique factor - this is HTC’s first Android device with a physical keyboard since the original G1, and the G2, along with the Samsung Epic 4G and Droid 2, is currently the one of the few high end Android devices with a physical keyboard.
| Physical Comparison | |||||||||
| Apple iPhone 4 | HTC EVO 4G | Samsung Epic 4G | Motorola Droid 2 | T-Mobile G2 | |||||
| Height | 115.2 mm (4.5") | 121.9 mm (4.8") | 124 mm (4.9") | 116.3 mm (4.6") | 119 mm (4.69") | ||||
| Width | 58.6 mm (2.31") | 66.0 mm (2.6") | 63.5 mm (2.5") | 60.5 mm (2.4") | 60.4 mm (2.38") | ||||
| Depth | 9.3 mm ( 0.37") | 12.7 mm (0.5") | 15.2 mm (0.6") | 13.7 mm (0.54") | 14.16 mm (0.56") | ||||
| Weight | 137 g (4.8 oz) | 170 g (6.0 oz) | 155 g (5.47 oz) | 169 g (5.9 oz) | 180 grams (6.35 oz) | ||||
| CPU | Apple A4 @ ~800 MHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8650 @ 1 GHz | Samsung Hummingbird @ 1 GHz | Texas Instruments OMAP 3630 @ 1 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 @ 800 MHz | ||||
| GPU | PowerVR SGX 535 | Adreno 200 | PowerVR SGX 540 | PowerVR SGX 530 | Adreno 205 | ||||
| RAM | 512MB LPDDR1 (?) | 512MB LPDDR1 | 512MB LPDDR1 | 512 MB LPDDR1 | 512 MB LPDDR1 | ||||
| NAND | 16GB or 32GB integrated | 8GB micro SD | 1 GB integrated, 16 GB microSD preinstalled | 8 GB integrated, preinstalled 8 GB microSD | 4 GB integrated, preinstalled 8 GB microSD | ||||
| Camera | 5MP with LED Flash + Front Facing Camera | 8MP with dual LED Flash + Front Facing Camera | 5 MP with LED Flash and autofocus | 5 MP with dual LED flash and autofocus | 5 MP with auto focus and LED flash | ||||
| Screen | 3.5" 640 x 960 IPS | 4.3" 480 x 800 | 4.0" 480 x 800 Super AMOLED | 3.7" 480 x 854 | 3.7" 480 x 800 Super LCD | ||||
| Battery | Integrated 5.254Whr | Removable 5.5Whr | Removable 5.55 Whr | Removable 5.2 Whr | Removable 4.81 Whr | ||||
The G2 comes with a Qualcomm MSM7230 SoC, an 800 MHz part based on the 2nd generation Snapdragon core. It’s now on a 45-nm manufacturing process (the original Snapdragon QSD8x50 parts are 65nm) and has an updated Adreno 205 GPU. Beyond the die-shrink, the CPU seems to be relatively unchanged compared to the first gen-Snapdragon, just running at an 800 MHz frequency. The lower clock speed is probably to keep power consumption and yield in check for Qualcomm's first 45nm SoC. The Adreno 205, on the other hand, seems to be a pretty big improvement over the previous generation Adreno 200. The 205 adds hardware acceleration for Flash, SVG vector graphics hardware acceleration, and significantly improves shader performance over the Adreno 200. Performance is expected to be far more competitive to the PowerVR SGX 530 and 540 than the Adreno 200 ever was. So even though it doesn’t break the magical 1GHz mark, the MSM7230 is still a very potent SoC, especially in a device that forgoes the burden of a custom UI layer on top of Android.
The MSM7230 in the G2 has support for 3GPP Release 7, which includes HSPA+ and Evolved EDGE support. The G2 supports HSDPA class 10 for a maximum theoretical downstream rate of 14.4 megabits/s, and HSUPA class 6 for a maximum theoretical upstream rate of 5.76 megabits/s. Qualcomm's MSM7x30 series SoC comes in another flavor - the MSM7630 - which packs HSPA+ support alongside CDMA voice and data.
Rounding out the other specs, we’ve got 512MB RAM (also part of the SoC), 4GB internal NAND with an 8GB microSD card preinstalled (more on this later), a 3.7” Super-LCD TFT display with an 800x480 resolution, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and an LED flash, 720p video recording at 30fps, and a removeable 4.81 Wh (1300 mAh) battery. Oh, and one of the weirdest hinges out there right now.
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strikeback03 - Thursday, October 14, 2010 - link
Installing programs to the SD card is a function of both the OS and the app developer, Froyo now allows it but the developer also has to enable it. So right now I would imagine some programs can be moved and some can't.jmunjr - Sunday, October 10, 2010 - link
T-mobile disabled tethering on the G2. I used a G2 last night and this is the first T-Mobile smart phone I've been sold on...until I found out there is no native tethering support. Well there is but T-Mobile disabled it. Funny thing is tethering support exists in their prepaid Tap device... So silly...Jon Niola - Monday, October 11, 2010 - link
I went and sprung for the G2 this weekend. I am a software developer who is getting into the mobile space now and figured it never hurts to have another test environment.So mind you - I already own an HTC Droid Incredible and HTC Evo 4G and I am using them as a comparison.
First off - the thing that Vivek mentioned that I was most nervous about was the hinge mechanism. I have to say after being a bit rough with it (intentionally) it is strong and I have zero concerns about it breaking from regular use. The hinge actually has a horizontal support piece underneath as well that reinforces the two "posts" that connect the top half.
As for battery life it is actually holds charge longer than my Incredible or Evo 4G. While I am not doing a byte-for-byte, use-for-use comparison, I have been impressed at how even idle the battery goes down slower than the other two.
The build quality of this thing is actually impressive. Yes it is heavy - but a good heavy. It feels like a friggin tank in the hand. The brushed aluminum is a winner too. Does not feel cheap or plasticy at all but rather feels like a refined, well-made device.
Still getting use to the vanilla Android vs the Sense-enhnaced that I am used to but from a developer standpoint it is nice to have a clean test bed like that :)
Honestly I feel it was worth every penny.
rester555 - Monday, October 11, 2010 - link
I went to a T-mobile store to see if the OS was stock? It was indeed running Android Froyo 2.2, but it was not stock. It had the tethering options disabled.So is this really a stock version of Froyo?
Jon Niola - Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - link
News going around today that a stealth OTA update is re-enabling native tethering.Why it was disabled is beyond me but looks like it is coming back.
synaesthetic - Thursday, October 14, 2010 - link
It's not stock. It's almost stock; there are some crapware apps that CANNOT be uninstalled without root (which, due to the G2's restore-on-reboot function, does not stick).Tethering is also disabled and removed, as you've noticed, though some folks have (supposedly) received an OTA update re-enabling USB and Wi-Fi tethering as well as adding T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling app.
lukeevanssi - Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - link
when I saw this mobile phone than I understand to about this feature and details so I found here..http://burnxtreme.net/
jeans_xp - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - link
HAHA, first smart phone is iPhone 3GS. I find a good website for smart phone news and latest technology:www.mobilegoing.com
jeans_xp - Sunday, November 7, 2010 - link
No Samsung Galaxy S.www.mobilegoing.com