July 18, 2013 at 12:30LG Optimus G Pro
A couple of years ago, a South Korean company released a product that first caused bewilderment, and then occupied an empty niche of devices between communicators and tablets. Now only fruit sellers and htc are absent in this segment, all other manufacturers in one way or another released their devices with a size of ~ 5+ inches, and LG also did not stand aside: Optimus G Pro arrived to Russia.
In all respects, it can be attributed to “shades” - a huge display, a large battery, high resolution display, the ability to make calls without using a granite. I already had the flagship LG Optimus G, it showed excellent results in all aspects, from performance and design to autonomy, and I really waited for the G Pro - I liked the new course that LG took in the field of smartphone manufacturing. What did I expect from the G Pro? Transferring developments on the flagship device to the “ceiling” or “phablet”, as you like. Quality screen. Good camera. Great performance. Nice materials and appearance of the device. Actual OS. What really happened?
The diagonal of the screen increased to five and a half inches, the resolution increased to FullHD, the updated processor, which bears the Snapdragon 600 mark, became a fiery heart, and the battery capacity increased by one and a half times - to an impressive 3140 mAh.
There is only one competitor in overall indicators (screen, battery, display) of this device, Galaxy Note II, based on the basis of the third galaxy. But in addition to the Note (and the budget Mega), there are several more Chinese shades on the market, and among them there is only one more or less decent competitor: Huawei Ascend Mate. I can’t say anything about it - a smartphone as a smartphone, a screen and a processor are a little worse, the battery (theoretically) is a bit larger, and the camera is of unknown quality. That is, of course, he will find his buyer, but I personally do not dare to call this device advanced.
Of the “decent” competitors, there is also the Galaxy S 4 (which has a slightly smaller screen), Sony Xperia Z (again, a five-inch), and with a very big stretch is the flagship htc, although it is generally only a competitor in terms of hardware, the form factor closer to classic smartphones.
As you can see, in all respects the G Pro is not inferior to its direct competitor. But the numbers are numbers, and the actual impressions of the device can vary greatly. So how are things with the G Pro?
In general, the device resembles an enlarged Optimus G, which, however, is difficult to surprise anyone.
The continuity of images, the general features of the line and all that. However, in the little things, the G Pro is very different from its "little" brother: a neat silver edging, the course of the side buttons, the design of the back panel.
The proprietary textured coating did not go away, but the glass on the back disappeared and the battery became removable. In general, everything is visible in the photographs:
The screen is bright and juicy, does not lose colors at any angle, fades in the sun, but remains within the bounds of decency, the text is easily distinguishable. To be honest, after it, using Nexus is a bit strange: it seems that the device is not old, the gadgets are up-to-date, the screen is good, but you can’t look at sites without zoom, there’s less information getting on the screen, and I don’t really want to watch the video.
I had the same feelings after returning the test Galaxy S III and using my S II. This is a really cool experience - the ability to use the Internet at 5.5 inches with virtually no zoom: the screen clarity is enough to read the main text. The side faces are significantly thinner than the Galaxy Note II, which makes it possible to use the device with one hand with great comfort and it is much easier to type in portrait orientation. I would say that the device in terms of holding with one hand is quite a competitor to the Galaxy S IV.
Optimus G Pro is built on the basis of the Snapdragon 600 platform. The processor is quad-core, the architecture is Krait. The Internet is full of system tests on the 600th Snapdragon, and they all show excellent results. "Proshka" was no exception: in Antutu, the smartphone scores more than 20,000 points, in Quadrant - about 12 and a half thousand. A worthy result, however, from another 600'ki and do not expect.
Adreno 320 of the second revision is responsible for accelerating the graphics. Differences from 320'ki used in APQ8064 (Chipset from Optimus G and Nexus 4) - full support for OpenGL ES 3.0 technology, which allows you to bring graphics in mobile devices to a new level. Of course, there is no play in Crysis, but new mobile games show a pretty decent picture. Prior to PS, Vita has not yet matured, but Vita has access to hardware at a much lower level, and even on toys the light does not converge.
The smartphone supports all relevant wireless technologies;
Some kind of antenna is sealed in the plastic of the main body. Who will tell you what it is? Bluetooth?
NFC Antenna and Wireless Qi Charging Coil Built-in Battery Cover
Including working and LTE-connection, plus the good old infrared port returned, with which you can control various household appliances.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to test it in practice - there is no corny TV at home (I do not need it). On the other hand, there are reviews of foreign authors, no one complains there - everything works. Well, in all sorts of cafes / bars / shopping centers you can have fun knowing the TV model.
A burning issue. With autonomy, everything is in order, despite the impressive size of the screen and one of the top SoCs inside, daylight hours (from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.) the smartphone transfers without any problems: SMS, music, the Internet, games, and movies and calls in the test process, I ran it. What seems to be the autonomy of the apple device ... Well written here . :)
Of course, if you turn on some Asphalt 7, unscrew the brightness to the maximum and play-play-play until green, the battery will give up in a couple of hours. True, it is interchangeable, and in the American supply there are two of them + a charger that supports simultaneous charging of both the battery and Optimus itself, so you can play all day long, if you so desire and have an outlet nearby.
The device is charged “from zero to hundreds” in 2 hours and 10-15 minutes. With my “lazy” use case, the device lasted two days, with active use by the evening, about 30-40% remained. Nice result.
The set of applications is standard for the 2013 lineup, everything is the same as in Optimus G: QuickMemo, a camera-translator, a set of dictionaries, and a file manager are no different from those of other LG devices of the latest generation. The main difference is the new applications for controlling household appliances via IrDA and an improved keyboard, which, in addition to standard modes, has another one that allows you to press the reduced-width keyboard to one of the edges of the screen. The Russian keyboard was never ennobled by punctuation marks and additional characters, accessible by long-click. This was mentioned so many times in the reviews and sent to LG as petitions and requests that it was time to put this fact into the minuses of the device.
Optimus G Pro does not use Wacom technology, and it does not come with the capacitive pen that Optimus Vu had. The absence of an induction pen that responds to the force of pressing and tilting made it possible to reduce the cost of the device and put a highly sensitive capacitive type sensor. Of course, it does not transmit the force of pressing, but it works much faster and does not cause a delay when writing notes or drawing in Q-Memo. You don’t particularly like gloves in the summer, but through the fabric the screen perfectly understands where you put your finger. In this case, the sensitivity clearly has some auto-tuning, as he recognized the first few clicks so-so, and subsequently worked the first time.
LG's engineers finally got to the camera and its applications!
There was a normal Burst-shot (and the length of the queue and rate of fire allow you to glue good GIFs), a lot of different plot presets, a good “camera” HDRi. The autofocus algorithm has been fixed, it has become better to cling to objects and more pleasant to work in difficult conditions.
The module itself is significantly larger than the Optimus G, in hardware, I think there are also quite a few differences.
Unfortunately, I did not take so many photos (the reasons for this are very different), so some of the photos are honestly taken from foreign (and not so) reviews.
The video quality was pleasantly pleased: the autofocus works smoothly, the exposure meter tries not to mess and give the main objects a normal level of illumination, the sound does not suffer from a “concert effect”, the colors are more or less similar to those that should be visible to the eye.
Unfortunately, engineers still need to work a little with the camera software itself. Shumodav aggressively climbs wherever it would be worth it, the white balance is sometimes determined in a very strange way, and in the dark there are so many noises ... Well, then you can see that you are taking pictures.
It is time to draw the line. Optimus G Pro is a worthy competitor to all 5.2 - 6 inch devices on the market.
Yes, the G Pro does not have a stylus and it doesn’t brew coffee, but you must admit that it isn’t often necessary to use a pen, all the more sensitive to pressure, and it’s better to trust coffee to a good coffee maker.
But it is amazingly fast, it has an excellent battery (maybe even two, it will all depend on what equipment will be sold in Russia), an updated camera, a good body made of plastic that is practical and resistant to shock and scratches, and it’s just excellent 5.5 ”Full HD -Display can not be discounted.
Foreign critics and users of the G Pro liked it, and we just have to wait a bit - the device will go on sale very soon.
In all respects, it can be attributed to “shades” - a huge display, a large battery, high resolution display, the ability to make calls without using a granite. I already had the flagship LG Optimus G, it showed excellent results in all aspects, from performance and design to autonomy, and I really waited for the G Pro - I liked the new course that LG took in the field of smartphone manufacturing. What did I expect from the G Pro? Transferring developments on the flagship device to the “ceiling” or “phablet”, as you like. Quality screen. Good camera. Great performance. Nice materials and appearance of the device. Actual OS. What really happened?
The diagonal of the screen increased to five and a half inches, the resolution increased to FullHD, the updated processor, which bears the Snapdragon 600 mark, became a fiery heart, and the battery capacity increased by one and a half times - to an impressive 3140 mAh.
There is only one competitor in overall indicators (screen, battery, display) of this device, Galaxy Note II, based on the basis of the third galaxy. But in addition to the Note (and the budget Mega), there are several more Chinese shades on the market, and among them there is only one more or less decent competitor: Huawei Ascend Mate. I can’t say anything about it - a smartphone as a smartphone, a screen and a processor are a little worse, the battery (theoretically) is a bit larger, and the camera is of unknown quality. That is, of course, he will find his buyer, but I personally do not dare to call this device advanced.
Of the “decent” competitors, there is also the Galaxy S 4 (which has a slightly smaller screen), Sony Xperia Z (again, a five-inch), and with a very big stretch is the flagship htc, although it is generally only a competitor in terms of hardware, the form factor closer to classic smartphones.
| Galaxy Note II | Optimus G Pro | |
| Screen | 5.55 "AMOLED 1280x720, 265ppi | 5.5 "IPS 1920x1080, 400ppi |
| CPU | Exynos 4412 ([email protected] GHz) | Qualcomm 600 ([email protected] GHz) |
| Memory | 2GB RAM / 16 GB Flash + MicroSDHC | 2GB RAM / 32 GB Flash + MicroSDXC |
| Battery | Removable, 3100 mAh | Removable, 3140 mAh |
| Camera (rear / front) | 8MPx / 1.9MPx | 13MPx / 2.1MPx |
As you can see, in all respects the G Pro is not inferior to its direct competitor. But the numbers are numbers, and the actual impressions of the device can vary greatly. So how are things with the G Pro?
Appearance, screen and ergonomics
In general, the device resembles an enlarged Optimus G, which, however, is difficult to surprise anyone.
The continuity of images, the general features of the line and all that. However, in the little things, the G Pro is very different from its "little" brother: a neat silver edging, the course of the side buttons, the design of the back panel.
The proprietary textured coating did not go away, but the glass on the back disappeared and the battery became removable. In general, everything is visible in the photographs:
The screen is bright and juicy, does not lose colors at any angle, fades in the sun, but remains within the bounds of decency, the text is easily distinguishable. To be honest, after it, using Nexus is a bit strange: it seems that the device is not old, the gadgets are up-to-date, the screen is good, but you can’t look at sites without zoom, there’s less information getting on the screen, and I don’t really want to watch the video.
I had the same feelings after returning the test Galaxy S III and using my S II. This is a really cool experience - the ability to use the Internet at 5.5 inches with virtually no zoom: the screen clarity is enough to read the main text. The side faces are significantly thinner than the Galaxy Note II, which makes it possible to use the device with one hand with great comfort and it is much easier to type in portrait orientation. I would say that the device in terms of holding with one hand is quite a competitor to the Galaxy S IV.
Stuffing and performance
Optimus G Pro is built on the basis of the Snapdragon 600 platform. The processor is quad-core, the architecture is Krait. The Internet is full of system tests on the 600th Snapdragon, and they all show excellent results. "Proshka" was no exception: in Antutu, the smartphone scores more than 20,000 points, in Quadrant - about 12 and a half thousand. A worthy result, however, from another 600'ki and do not expect.
Adreno 320 of the second revision is responsible for accelerating the graphics. Differences from 320'ki used in APQ8064 (Chipset from Optimus G and Nexus 4) - full support for OpenGL ES 3.0 technology, which allows you to bring graphics in mobile devices to a new level. Of course, there is no play in Crysis, but new mobile games show a pretty decent picture. Prior to PS, Vita has not yet matured, but Vita has access to hardware at a much lower level, and even on toys the light does not converge.
The smartphone supports all relevant wireless technologies;
Some kind of antenna is sealed in the plastic of the main body. Who will tell you what it is? Bluetooth?
NFC Antenna and Wireless Qi Charging Coil Built-in Battery Cover
Including working and LTE-connection, plus the good old infrared port returned, with which you can control various household appliances.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to test it in practice - there is no corny TV at home (I do not need it). On the other hand, there are reviews of foreign authors, no one complains there - everything works. Well, in all sorts of cafes / bars / shopping centers you can have fun knowing the TV model.
Autonomy
A burning issue. With autonomy, everything is in order, despite the impressive size of the screen and one of the top SoCs inside, daylight hours (from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.) the smartphone transfers without any problems: SMS, music, the Internet, games, and movies and calls in the test process, I ran it. What seems to be the autonomy of the apple device ... Well written here . :)
Of course, if you turn on some Asphalt 7, unscrew the brightness to the maximum and play-play-play until green, the battery will give up in a couple of hours. True, it is interchangeable, and in the American supply there are two of them + a charger that supports simultaneous charging of both the battery and Optimus itself, so you can play all day long, if you so desire and have an outlet nearby.
The device is charged “from zero to hundreds” in 2 hours and 10-15 minutes. With my “lazy” use case, the device lasted two days, with active use by the evening, about 30-40% remained. Nice result.
Software
The set of applications is standard for the 2013 lineup, everything is the same as in Optimus G: QuickMemo, a camera-translator, a set of dictionaries, and a file manager are no different from those of other LG devices of the latest generation. The main difference is the new applications for controlling household appliances via IrDA and an improved keyboard, which, in addition to standard modes, has another one that allows you to press the reduced-width keyboard to one of the edges of the screen. The Russian keyboard was never ennobled by punctuation marks and additional characters, accessible by long-click. This was mentioned so many times in the reviews and sent to LG as petitions and requests that it was time to put this fact into the minuses of the device.
Stylus
Optimus G Pro does not use Wacom technology, and it does not come with the capacitive pen that Optimus Vu had. The absence of an induction pen that responds to the force of pressing and tilting made it possible to reduce the cost of the device and put a highly sensitive capacitive type sensor. Of course, it does not transmit the force of pressing, but it works much faster and does not cause a delay when writing notes or drawing in Q-Memo. You don’t particularly like gloves in the summer, but through the fabric the screen perfectly understands where you put your finger. In this case, the sensitivity clearly has some auto-tuning, as he recognized the first few clicks so-so, and subsequently worked the first time.
Camera
LG's engineers finally got to the camera and its applications!
There was a normal Burst-shot (and the length of the queue and rate of fire allow you to glue good GIFs), a lot of different plot presets, a good “camera” HDRi. The autofocus algorithm has been fixed, it has become better to cling to objects and more pleasant to work in difficult conditions.
The module itself is significantly larger than the Optimus G, in hardware, I think there are also quite a few differences.
Unfortunately, I did not take so many photos (the reasons for this are very different), so some of the photos are honestly taken from foreign (and not so) reviews.
Hidden text
The camera shoots well in HDR:
Frame without HDR
Frame with HDR
And its rate of fire allows you to glue good gifs:
The camera shoots well in HDR:
Frame without HDR
Frame with HDR
And its rate of fire allows you to glue good gifs:
The video quality was pleasantly pleased: the autofocus works smoothly, the exposure meter tries not to mess and give the main objects a normal level of illumination, the sound does not suffer from a “concert effect”, the colors are more or less similar to those that should be visible to the eye.
Unfortunately, engineers still need to work a little with the camera software itself. Shumodav aggressively climbs wherever it would be worth it, the white balance is sometimes determined in a very strange way, and in the dark there are so many noises ... Well, then you can see that you are taking pictures.
In total:
It is time to draw the line. Optimus G Pro is a worthy competitor to all 5.2 - 6 inch devices on the market.
Yes, the G Pro does not have a stylus and it doesn’t brew coffee, but you must admit that it isn’t often necessary to use a pen, all the more sensitive to pressure, and it’s better to trust coffee to a good coffee maker.
But it is amazingly fast, it has an excellent battery (maybe even two, it will all depend on what equipment will be sold in Russia), an updated camera, a good body made of plastic that is practical and resistant to shock and scratches, and it’s just excellent 5.5 ”Full HD -Display can not be discounted.
Foreign critics and users of the G Pro liked it, and we just have to wait a bit - the device will go on sale very soon.
