When LG launched its new G2 smartphone this week in New York, the company signaled its intention to offer consumers the best smartphone in the industry, but how could it deliver on such a lofty goal?
LG stumbled in the smartphone space as Apple and other competitors took over the market. Despite being the third-highest worldwide phone manufacturer, LG has struggled mightily in the North American market. The release of the impressive Optimus G last fall was a big move in the right direction, but now with the G2, the company may have sent a message to the market leaders that it may have something they don’t.
Until the device can be fully reviewed, the intangibles of that message are still open to debate, but on the spec sheet, there may be some advantages in the G2. It’s the first smartphone to run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, which clocks at 2.26GHz. It has a 5.2-inch IPS 1080p display with side bezels that are a tiny 0.1-inches thin. This combination means the display takes up three-quarters of the phone’s front panel, amongst the highest ratio of any smartphone.
It also means that LG could do away with buttons on the side and move them to the back instead. This is a design treatment that no other manufacturer has even attempted, and the reasoning behind it is that LG thinks it suits the way most people hold their phones, especially in one hand. The power and volume buttons are situated right below the camera lens on the back, and to protect the lens, an anti-fingerprint coating was used to fend off any accidental touches.
LG believes it has one of the best 13-megapixel cameras in a smartphone. True, it may not be able to match the sheer depth and size of Nokia’s recently-unveiled Lumia 1020 and its 41-megapixel camera, but since the G2 is on par with the other leading smartphones available, it will be interesting to see if those claims are valid. It has optical image stabilization in the form of a floating lens that compensates for subjects that are moving and for jittery hands. Low-light shooting, always a bugaboo for camera phones, is supposed to be markedly better here, too.
On the audio side, LG has taken a page out of HTC’s playbook and is including a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to help push out audio in 24-bit and 192KHz — both great settings, but it’s unclear how these will do when low-quality MP3s or audio streams are being played on the device.
On the user experience side, answering an incoming call is as easy as just lifting the phone to your ear. Awakening the phone and putting it to sleep is as simple as a firm double-tap on the screen. Again, no buttons to push.
Slide Aside is a new multitasking feature whereby users can move open apps to the side by swiping across an open app with three fingers. Text Link opens up direct access to calendar and email from an incoming text message.
Plug & Pop is an audio trigger that recognizes when a pair of headphones or earbuds have been plugged in and brings music controls and apps to the front. Guest Mode allows for maintaining a separate limited access profile to the G2, in cases where friends or kids want to use it. There is also an IR blaster built-in (called QuickRemote) for use with TVs and other home theatre devices.
The combination of the hardware and software feature set is impressive on paper, and is sure to test, not just the best Android phones available, like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One, but also the likes of the iPhone, BlackBerry Z10 and the best Windows Phone has to offer.
But execution will be the true test, since specs and window dressing don’t always add up to a stellar handset. Still, this is the most ambitious phone LG has ever attempted, and arguably the first time the company has an opportunity to leapfrog over the crowded Android market. No word on whether the G2 will be followed up by an LG tablet in the future, but “a plan for tablets” is apparently in the works, according to LG executives on scene at the launch event in New York.
This year has marked a major innovation curve for Android phones, following up on the big leap forward made last year. It will be interesting to see if the G2 becomes part of the conversation on what the best Android phone is by the time the holidays roll around, because for the last several months, it’s effectively been a two-horse race.
So far, only Telus has officially added the phone to their website, with only the black version available. Other than “Coming Soon”, no release date was announced. It’s expected Rogers and Bell will follow suit shortly.
